Acoustic Alchemy concert recap 2 October 11, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.
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Other Acoustic Alchemy recaps: June 2008, June 2012, November 2016

Last night, I went to the YMCA Boulton Center in Bay Shore to see Acoustic Alchemy perform.  I last saw them in concert in June 2008 at IMAC.  I was only one row from the stage.

On guitars were the boss of the band, Greg Carmichael:

And Miles Gilderdale, who played both acoustic…

…and electric guitar:

Fred White was on the keyboards (the best picture I could get from where I sat):

Gary Grainger on bass:

And younger brother Greg Grainger on drums:

The set went on for nearly two hours, every minute a thrill.  Here’s what they played:
1. No Messin’
Originally heard on: “Radio Contact,” 2003

2. Overnight Sleeper
Originally heard on: “Natural Elements,” 1988

3. Angel of the South
Originally heard on: “The Beautiful Game,” 2000

4. Jamaica Heartbeat
Originally heard on: “Back On The Case,” 1991

5. Marrakesh
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album (9/14/11 UPDATE: Will be heard on “Roseland,” which comes out on 9/27.)

6. One for Shorty
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album (9/14/11 UPDATE: Will be heard on “Roseland,” which comes out on 9/27.)

7. Passion Play
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

8. Ariane
Originally heard on: “Blue Chip,” 1989

9. Playing For Time
Originally heard on: “Back On The Case,” 1991

10. Tuff Puzzle
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

11. Lazeez
Originally heard on: “Against the Grain,” 1994

Encore 1. Unnamed
Originally heard on: Upcoming 2011 album

Encore 2. Flamoco Loco
Originally heard on: “AArt,” 2001

Now for that part of the recap where I post a series of pictures:

“Tuff Puzzle” featured a Grainger duet:

The final note on “Flamoco Loco”:

And that was it!

After the band left the stage, many fans, myself included, got in line for the upstairs lounge for the meet-and-greet.  When it was my turn to meet and greet, I got a pic with the band:

Acoustic Alchemy’s next stop is the Daniel Street club in Milford, Connecticut, on Wednesday night.  (6/22/12 UPDATE: Daniel Street closed in January.)

10/13 UPDATE: Yesterday morning, the band had their gear stolen when their truck and nearby cars were broken into.  Katherine Gilraine has more on this (h/t Acoustic Alchemy Official Facebook Page):

One of my favorite bands, Acoustic Alchemy, had their truck broken into while in Milford, CT. It’s bad: pretty much all their gear has been stolen.

Here’s your call to action, people:

If you are local to NYC, NYS, NJ, PA, CT – keep an eye on your local papers for sales of the following items; if you are close to a pawn shop, keep an eye on it and see if anything on the list below will show up there; keep an eye on the local Dumpsters in the unlikely case you will find this gear tossed.

The list is as follows:

Pod X3 live pedal board
Fender Deluxe guitar amp
Tec Amp bass cabinet
Tec Amp Amplifier head
Roland A90 Keyboard
Yamaha Motif Rack unit
Korg Trinity rack unit
Rolls in line mixer
Roland Drum Pad
Large case of Pearl drum hardware
Fishman Aura Pedal
Ernie Ball Swell Pedal
M-Audio midi interface

The loss of this gear puts the current and ongoing Acoustic Alchemy tour in serious jeopardy. The guys have temporary replacement gear thanks to local vendors, but they need their original gear back ASAP. They are residents of the United Kingdom, and it seriously sucks that this happens to them on the rare occasion that they come to the US.

Please help these guys recover their gear. They have much more beautiful music to make, and they’d like to tour the US more often – without things like this.

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX concert recap October 1, 2010

Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.
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Wednesday night, Chieli Minucci & Special EFX performed at S.O.B.’s (Sounds of Brazil) in the South Village section of Manhattan, New York.  The performance marked 25 years of concert touring.

Chieli Minucci was on electric guitar…

…and acoustic guitar:

Jay Rowe on keyboards:

Jerry Brooks on bass:

Philip Hamilton on percussion…

…and vocals:

And Lionel Cordew on drums:

SET LIST
1. Uptown East
Originally heard on: “Slice Of Life,” 1986

2. Daybreak
Originally heard on: “Global Village,” 1992

3. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)

4. Ascension
Originally heard on: “Sweet Surrender,” 2007

5. The Night Is Ours
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010

6. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)

7. Mountina Jameroon
Originally heard on: “Without You,” 2010

8. Kickin’ It Hard
Originally heard on: “Night Grooves,” 2003 (Chieli solo album)

9. Cruise Control
Originally heard on: “Butterfly,” 2001

Let’s now take a pictorial trip through the night:

The final note:

That’s it!

After the band left the stage, I mingled with Chieli and Jay.

Here I am with Jay:

And with Chieli:

Here’s to 25 more years!