Author: Michael Witthaus

Yes connection

Jon Anderson recreates ’70s era with new group

By Michael Witthaus
[email protected]

On June 13, Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks released a video for “Shine On.” The original song recalls “Siberian Khatru ‘’ and other classics from his former band Yes. Guitarist Andy Graziano’s frenetic arpeggio caused a YouTube commenter to exclaim, “Jon turned to Steve Howe & said, ‘hold my beer’” and another to say “This IS Yes. … The spirit is with Anderson and always has been.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will weave a few tracks from True, a full album due this summer, with 1970s Yes material on June 22 in Concord. His collaboration with the Band Geeks — Graziano, multi-instrumentalist Richie Castellano, Andy Acolese on drums, and keyboard players Christopher Clark and Robert Kipp — began in 2018, when he saw them cover “Heart of the Sunrise” on their classic rock-centric podcast.

“I went, wait a minute, they sound just like us; they sound perfect, and they look so happy,” Anderson recalled in a recent phone interview. A month later he called Castellano to thank them. “In the middle of the conversation, I said, ‘Why don’t we go on tour?’ He kind of went, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we could go on tour and do sort of epics and classics.’”

For still unclear reasons, Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman had dissolved earlier in the year, so the singer was looking for a backing band. However, Castellano is in Blue Öyster Cult, so logistics were tricky. When the pandemic happened, he had to wait some more. Late last summer, after intense rehearsals, they finally were able to play for audiences.

“I couldn’t believe how good it was when we actually performed,” Anderson recalled. “We did 12 shows together and that really inspired me to want to work with them more, because they were just very open, grateful, thankful and everything about life.”

An original from the upcoming LP that’s been previewed at shows is “True Messenger,” which Anderson wrote over a decade ago. It includes elements of “Wondrous Stories” and “Roundabout” along with many tempo changes.

“I’d been working with a guy called Jamie Dunlap, who does a lot of the music for South Park; I found him to be a great musician,” he said. “We wrote two or three songs and that was one of them that I sent to Richie … he opened it up with ideas.”

Castellano was initially “kind of freaked out” at the thought of going into the studio, but Anderson reassured him, “I think we’d make a great album that probably would sound like Yes, and people who love Yes will like it; that’s what we aim for. There are two large 15-minute pieces, and the rest are very happy-go-lucky, rock ’n’ roll, and who knows what.”

The new project has charged up Anderson’s creative energy, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

“I want to tour the world with this band, and after that, who knows?” he said. “For the next couple of years I’m just going to go out there and perform the Yes classics and epics, plus the True album. New music is new music; by the time you’ve got it on the road, it blossoms. It’s just one of those natural things.”

In 2017 Yes was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion that marked the last time its original members played together, performing “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and “Roundabout.” Sadly, it was without original bassist Chris Squire, who’d died two years before.

Still, Anderson has fond recollections of the experience.

“I was very happy,” he said. “I think one of the things that was exciting about it was that we shook so many hands during the course of the evening. I was there with my beautiful wife, Jane. We were just having a good time, sipping Champagne. Then I remembered, ‘Wait a minute, I’ve got to go on and sing. I’ve got to be careful.’ We got up there and did two songs with the band. It was really fun, and the energy backstage was fantastic.”

Yes Epics, Classics & More featuring Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks
When: Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St. Concord
Tickets: $59 and up at ccanh.com

Featured photo: Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks. Photo by Steven Schenck courtesy Glass Onyon PR.

The Music Roundup 24/06/20

Local music news & events

• Local sounds: Enjoy a sumptuous buffet of regional music at Market Days, running through Saturday in downtown Concord. There’s music on three stages representing the Granite State and more, such as Ultimate Queen Celebration, a tribute performance closing out Friday’s festivities on the Main Stage in front of Concord Co-Op. Bicentennial Square will host the most local talent. Starts Thursday, June 20, 1 p.m., Pleasant and South Main streets, Concord, marketdaysfestival.com.

• Shape shift: On any given night, Marcus Rezak might play fiery blues rock originals, perform with Frank Zappa’s old band mates, or do a prog-rock-infused Grateful Dead tribute. This time he brings Phish 1.0: Gumbo to town. It focuses on the Vermont band’s earliest phase, some of which happened at the storied club he’s playing at, and includes vintage gear from the same period. Friday, June 21, 8 p.m., Stone Church, 5 Granite St., Newmarket, $15 at stonechurchrocks.com.

• Pond crossers: Enjoy the hits of bands from The Beatles and Stones to Wham! and Radiohead as the Brit Pack performs. Founded by U.K. musicians Mark Sidney Johnson and Will Haywood Smith, with Americans Brian Percival and Matt Nakoa, the group faithfully covers decades of classics, from the British Invasion to early MTV through the ’90s second wave fueled by Oasis and Radiohead. Saturday, June 15, 8:30 pm., Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, $35 at palacetheatre.org.

• Melody man: The soprano saxophone played by Kenny G gave soft jazz an identity; countless fans who couldn’t name an instrumental song if they tried will pick out his ’80s smash “Songbird” while winding through the aisles at Target on the weekend. His 1992 album Breathless is the best-selling instrumental record of all time, going platinum over a dozen times; his latest LP is Innocence. Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m., Colonial Theatre, 609 Main St., Laconia, $59 and up at etix.com.

• Blues power: Bring a mister and big bottle of water to see Brian Templeton & the Delta Generators perform a gazebo show, as record temperatures are forecast. Wednesday, June 26, 7 p.m., Town Common, 265 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, $39 and up at etix.com.

Family business

Jersey Boys at Winnipesaukee Playhouse

By Michael Witthaus
[email protected]

Along with being a jukebox musical about a great American vocal group, Jersey Boys has a lot of drama. The director of an upcoming production of the show at Winnipesaukee Playhouse believes that experiencing it is akin to buying a theater ticket and a concert ticket at the same time.

The Tony-winning musical, opening June 21, follows the Four Seasons vocal group’s arc of success, a path marked by triumph and tragedy. Iconic songs include “Sherry,” “Rag Doll,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” but the human stories — music and the mob, frayed family ties and other struggles — are equally compelling.

“I think there’s a tendency to assume with a show like this that we’re just going to sing and have some fun,” Teisha Duncan said in a recent phone interview. “But these are people who lived, who we can easily access stories about. They’re building a full-bodied production of character work. It’s not just about being able to sing the part and having these distinct voices.”

Jersey Boys is Duncan’s third production in three years with the Meredith theater, and her first musical. A Black Jamaican woman, Duncan didn’t expect to direct the show.

“It’s very rare that they give me things that are very much concentrated in a part of American history,” she said, “but I grew up listening to the Jersey Boys, I knew Frankie Valli. It’s very much a part of our canon, the music.”

She’s also spent time on stage in the musical theater world, acting in Disney’s The Lion King and The Color Purple and others. Jersey Boys is a bigger challenge, though.

“This is my first jukebox musical that I’m directing and at this scale of work,” she said, and expressed gratitude for the opportunity. “Even though it’s a separate part of my artistry, I’m glad that they trusted that I know the genre enough to direct it.”

It’s an eagerly anticipated show; already, tickets are selling faster than any production in the playhouse’s history. It’s also an ambitious undertaking, with a set that can be quickly reconfigured for more than 50 scene changes, including the Brill Building, nightclubs, New York City bridges and even a state penitentiary.

“It has to transition in real time,” Duncan said. “And it’s exciting to experiment with that, to see how we can create continuity through these transitions and relationships so there isn’t a moment where the audience has to wait for a setup. All of that happens as a rolling pattern.”

An all-female creative team includes Duncan, choreographer Chloe Kounadis and musical director Judy Hayward. The cast has a few returning members like New York actress Drea Campo, part of the Playhouse production of [title of show] last summer, and a lot of fresh faces.

“We have a nice blend of newbies to both the show as well as the theater house, and they’re all excited about it,” Duncan said. “Some of them have done the show, but they’ve played other roles. Our Frankie, I think he played DiCarlo in the last production, and our DiCarlo played Guardio.”

When asked to name her favorite part of the show, Duncan recalled audience response the night it was announced for the 2024 season, and the era’s evocative power.

Successful theaters “have a conversation with their community, and they listen to them,” she began. “They want to connect to parts of their life and memories that are exciting and create theater that’s reflective of who lives in [and] engages with that community, the parts of their memory that pull them back to what makes them happiest.”

The cheers and applause that greeted news of Jersey Boys still rings in her ears, she said.

“It feels like that dialogue between the Winnipesaukee Theatre and the community members is actually happening, and we want to keep that conversation strong,” she said. “We want people to come in and really tap into those beautiful memories. There is a specific sound of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. You hear that song, and you’re right into that. It brings out some of the happiest memories of most people’s lives. So, I love that about Jersey Boys.

• Curtain calls: The Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) production of 42nd Street offers five shows in its final weekend: Thursday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 22, at 2 & 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 23, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $38 to $59. See Michael Witthaus’ look at the production in the June 6 issue of the Hippo on page 14 (hippopress.com to find the e-edition).

• On stage:Sleuth is presented by The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts on Friday, June 21, at 7 p.m., Saturday, June 22, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 23, at 2 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St., Manchester, majestictheatre.net, 669-7469). As described on the website, the show presents the ultimate game of cat and mouse played out in a cozy English country house owned by ca elebrated mystery writer whose guest is a young rival who shares his love for games. Tickets are $15 and $20.

• Craft: Hall Memorial Library (18 Park St. in Northfield; hallmemoriallibrary.org, 286-8971) will hold a Summer Craft Show on Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Premiere:The Nashua Historical Society at The Florence H. Speare Memorial Museum (5 Abbott St., Nashua) will be hosting the premiere of the documentary ​At Home and Abroad: Nashua and World War II on Saturday, June 22, at 11:30 a.m. and at 1 p.m., according to their website. The documentary chronicles the stories of civilians, veterans and Holocaust survivors as Nashuans share personal and family World War II stories. The film was created by local filmmakers John Sadd and Jeremy Frazier. The showing is free and open to the public. Doors open at 11 a.m. Visit nashuahistoricalsociety.org.

• Fest in the Clouds: Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough is hosting its second annual Community Arts Festival on Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival will feature more than 100 booths with the works of local crafters, artists and community organizations and attendees can look forward to a scavenger hunt, art activities for kids, and other events, according to a press release. Seecastleintheclouds.org.

• Symphony Saturday: The Boston Civic Symphony with Conductor Fransico Noya and Pianist Frederick Moyer will perform Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 22, Chevalier de Saint-Georges – Symphony Op 11 No. 2, and Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor at Colby-Sawyer College’s Sawyer Center Theater (541 Main St., New Boston) on Saturday, June 22, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students. Visit summermusicassociates.org or call 526-8234.

• Outdoor theater: The annual mainstage production for the Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth opens Friday, June 21, when Legally Blonde The Musical hits the stage at 7 p.m. The show runs most Thursdays through Sundays until Aug. 11, all at 7 p.m. with matinées on Sunday, June 30 and Sunday, July 28 at 1 pm, according to prescottpark.org where you can find information on reservations.

Jersey
When: June 21 through July 6, Fridays and Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays , 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Where: Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 33 Footlight Circle, Meredith
Tickets: $25 to $52 at the winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org

High flying

Northlands Festival returns

Goose has played Northlands in Swanzey before. The Connecticut-based progressive jam band did a drive-in show during the pandemic and returned a year later to perform for people in pods. In 2023 they appeared at the Northlands Festival as Orebolo, an acoustic trio. It’s an event the full band will headline this year.

For its third edition, the Northlands lineup is packed. Over two days, Goose and Greensky Bluegrass will play a pair of sets, on a bill rounded out by Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & the UN, Eric Krasno & Friends, Mihali, Sierra Hull, Dopapod, Spafford, Big Something, Tauk, Super Sonic Shorties, Cool Cool Cool and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. An undercard of 20 more acts includes special guests Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman and Nikki Glaspie.

In a phone interview from a tour stop in Denver, Goose keyboard player and guitarist Peter Anspach talked about looking forward to catching up with their friends from the circuit at the bucolic gathering.

“I’m really excited to see the Pigeons guys. They were such a big part in us learning how to tour,” he said, noting that the two bands were on the road just before Covid hit.

“We’re so grateful to share musical history…. I can’t wait to see them and some other of the bands. Spafford’s going to be there; those guys are awesome. We went on tour with them, too. It’s going to be cool to see old friends — I always love that about festivals.”

Their current tour is the first with new drummer Cotter Ellis. Though a few Redditors lost it when founding member Ben Atkind departed in December and his replacement was announced, reviews since have been uniformly positive.

On The Chateau Sessions, a live album recorded in March, Ellis played with ferocity, rhythmically synched with bassist Trevor Weekz.

“I’m super, super stoked on how they’re locking in together and have been since the beginning,” Anspach said. “When we first started playing with Cotter, it was like, whoa, all right! Trevor has totally been unlocked, we feel.”

The band took the comments section madness that greeted Ellis’s arrival in stride. It reminded him of “Skinny,” a song on the new Billie Eilish album. “The internet is hungry for the meanest kind of funny and somebody’s gotta feed it,” she sang. Anspach observed, “There’s always got to be something going out to appease the masses who want to talk crap.”

If that kind of attention is the cost of success, Anspach is still grateful that Goose has flown this high — and that its rise is continuing.

“I was always looking for a lifetime original project where we could really explore what it means to be a band,” he said. “Be silly and fun but also serious and address topics in our lives that are important in our writing and share them with people…. It’s really a dream come true [and] I’m so grateful to everybody who supports us out there, makes it all happen.”

The new chapter with Ellis has the band re-visiting old material and finding new contours; artistically, it’s exciting.

“We’re feeling good. Energy is high, and there’s a lot of camaraderie happening right now,” he said. “We had a great off day in Hayes, Kansas, which is kind of like the dead middle of the state of Kansas. We all went to Applebee’s, and it was pretty funny. There was a bar in the center, and we took up every chair around the entire bar … the entire band and crew.”

Savoring the memory of that moment in middle America as his emergent band continues to conquer the country, Anspach is in a buoyant mood.

“I feel like I don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s a really good feeling,” he said. “We’ll see what’s next as we dive deeper into the music with Cotter. It’s feeling special; I hope people are as excited as I am.”

Northlands Festival
When: Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15, 11 a.m.
Where: Cheshire Fairgrounds, 247 Monadnock Hwy., Swanzey
Tickets: Starting at $109 for one day, $199 for two days, with camping, parking and special children’s pricing available.

Featured photo: Goose. Courtesy photo.

Summer fun

Hootie & the Blowfish, Collective Soul hit Gilford

Back in the ’90s, when there was still a record business, both Collective Soul and Hootie & the Blowfish were among a gaggle of Southern acts signed to major labels. The two bands spent time on the road playing shows together and forging friendships. Thus, the current Summer Camp With Trucks Tour, arriving June 13 at BankNH Pavilion, will be a happy reunion.

“We’re good friends,” Collective Soul front man Ed Roland said by phone recently. “To be able to go out and do a whole summer tour is really exciting for us. There’s no ego in any of the bands; everybody gets along. It’s like a fraternity getting back together.”

Along with the Gilford show is a date at Fenway Park, with Barenaked Ladies on the bill. Playing the Red Sox shrine is a first for Roland, who once lived in Boston while attending Berklee.

“I’ve seen some good baseball games there,” he said, adding that when he noticed the date on the band’s schedule, “I was blown away, actually. I told my mom I’m flying her up so she can be proud of me for something.”

It was a tongue-in-cheek joke; more than three decades past their breakthrough hit “Shine,” Collective Soul’s success is undeniable, and they’re still making records; their latest is Here to Eternity, an expansive 20-song effort. It opens with a solid one-two punch. “Mother’s Love,” which echoes “Where The River Flows” from their eponymous 1995 album, and “Bluer Than So Blue” are both driven by the band’s signature guitar-forward sound.

The rest continues apace; it’s fair to say there isn’t a weak track on Here to Eternity. The band hadn’t planned on making a double album; the project began with a dozen songs. Recording in Elvis Presley’s former Palm Springs home inspired him to stretch it out, however.

A standout among the tracks Roland wrote there is “Matter of Fact,” a direct homage to the King — and Queen. He was alone for a bit in the desert house.

“They staged it for us with cool, hip, mid-century, modern furniture, and we just set up shop,” he said. “I slept in Elvis’s bedroom; it was my house.”

Among the furnishings was a record player and a stack of about 50 albums that Roland grew up on, including Queen’s The Game. Thus, “Matter of Fact” has a “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” intro that echoes “Don’t Be Cruel” — but that’s not where the riff was born.

It’s the first riff Roland ever wrote.

“I used it to get into Berklee College of Music. It’s a little jazzy, and I was like, that’s cool. Now let’s put a little rockabilly-type vibe to it and see if it works.”

“Sister and Mary” has an “Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da” vibe that was also inspired by Roland’s record sessions. “I like listening to my heroes and studying on vinyl,” he said, adding that The Beatles, Elton John, Jeff Lynne, The Cars and Tom Petty are “my professors … I’m like, see what he did right there?”

One of the collection’s best is a live version of a song Roland wrote just before lockdown.

“Bob Dylan, Where Are You Now?” is a lament for a bygone time that he’d like to see again. Dylan was “one of my favorite professors…. He made you aware of what was going on without being preachy [and] that’s kind of what I was trying to do … set a tone of what was going on, from the pandemic to everything. It was an ode to him.”

Hitting the road again is always good for the energetic singer, songwriter and guitarist of a band with an ability to upstage headliners.

“To be honest with you, this one’s going to be really special,” he said of the upcoming run. “Just to enjoy each other’s company and then get up there and do what we all love to do. Edwin and the Hootie boys, they still love what they do, it’s inspiring. So, we gotta get up there and do our job, that’s for sure.”

Hootie & the Blowfish, Collective Soul and Edwin McCain
When: Thursday, June 13, 7 p.m.
Where: BankNH Pavilion, 72 Meadowbrook Lane, Gilford
Tickets: $56 and up at banknhpavilion.com

Featured photo: Collective Soul. Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 24/06/13

Local music news & events

• Supergroup: With members from four big north-of-the-border acts, Trans-Canada Highwaymen is more than the sum of its parts. In addition to playing hits from their old bands Barenaked Ladies, Sloan, Odds and The Pursuit of Happiness, they have fun with songs from their recent Explosive Hits album, a compendium of Canadian classics from the late ’60s and early ’70s. Thursday, June 13, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $54 and up at tupeleohall.com.

• Worldly: Berklee student Noah Harrington began forming Acoustic Nomads in search of a sound that didn’t exist. He found like-minded musicians with wide-ranging backgrounds, from Venezuelan Cuatro to bluegrass and jazz, gathering them into what he referred to as “a bunch of weirdos, an island of misfit toys.” Their eclectic Pan-Americana music is stunning. Friday, June 14, 7 p.m., Word Barn Meadow, 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, $12.50 and up at thewordbarn.com.

• Laughs: A packed comedy lineup is headlined by Ryan Shea, who fronted a hardcore band before getting into standup. He started telling jokes in response to his mother, who had a brief comedy career that included making fun of him a lot. Fourteen years later, he’s carved his own niche. Dan Donahue, Joni Grassey, Katy Coughlin, Tristen Hoffler and Damien Chruniak round out the bill. Saturday, June 15, 8:30 pm., Murphy’s Taproom, 494 Elm St., Manchester, $20 at eventbrite.com.

• Furious: A showcase from hip-hop label Leathal Wreckords has Fury, touring in support of latest album Rage Quit, and Juggalo-adjacent rapper Tre Lb, who is both one half of the duo Chop Shop and the younger half-brother of Shaggy 2 Dope of Insane Clown Posse. Also performing are Dr. Gigglez, a horror-centric group named after the 1992 slasher movie, and Trench Town Mafia. Sunday, June 16, 7 p.m., Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester, $15 at eventbrite.com.

• Celtic: Though formed in Los Angeles, the origins of Gaelic Storm are English; co-founder Steve Twigger was born in Coventry. Widely known for playing in the steerage party scene during the movie Titanic, their style a melting pot of influences including traditional Irish music, folk, pop and rock. Wednesday, June 19, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua, $39 and up at etix.com.

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