Greetings! Last week, due to taking the previous week off, I plumb forgot to write a review of The Grandmothers of Invention show at The Bearsville Theater. Well, let me tell you, the small, but well informed crowd who were lucky enough to be there got to see one of the best musical performances Woodstock has seen in a very long time! The band features 3 former Mothers, Don Preston, Napoleon Murphy Brock, and Tom Fowler, ably assisted by a few extremely capable young men, virtuosos all! They perform the music of Frank Zappa and some of their arrangements are actually more complex than the originals! It was such a joy to sit there and listen to a group of guys who could really play! The Grandmothers raised the bar on the level of musicianship expected from a professional band, and everyone, jazz guys, rock guys, classical lovers and everything in between, could all get together around Frank’s music and the playing of The Grandmothers of Invention. Many thanks to Jodie Sleed at The Bearsville Theater for courtesies extended.

And last Friday night at Bearsville, one of last week’s picks, and a group of musicians that I have profiled in these pages several times, once again proved that they are in a league of their own, especially when stacked against other local talent. CKS, a super group of sorts that consists of Randy Ciarlante (The Band, Levon Helm Band, Hoo Doo Gurus), who regular readers of this column know is my favorite Hudson Valley drummer, (not to mention his amazing, smoky, soulful vocals), Bruce Katz, 3 time Blues Music Awards nominee for Piano Player of the Year, and a regular member of Gregg Allman’s and Delbert McClinton’s touring bands, and Scott Sharrard, AKA “Gregg Allman’s secret weapon”, also a member of Allman’s band and bandleader in his own right, put on a blazing performance with high point after high point! These guys are smokin’! I’ve been watching Bruce and Randy for 8 years, and this is the best band they’ve ever had! The show was a total joy from start to finish!

The theater was filled with loads of old friends and familiar faces, and a splendid time was had by all! Again, thanks are due to Jodie at the theater for making it all possible. If you get a chance to catch CKS and you don’t, you’re a fool, and you will regret it. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life! (Apologies to Humphrey Bogart).

Live music picks for the week are as follows:

Wednesday, August 22 – Up in The Catskills, at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS bring their amazing live show to town! Lead singer and frontman, Scott Weiland, is one of the best around, and guaranteed to hold you spellbound! Down in Manhattan, AL GREEN brings his soulful crooning to The Beacon Theater, and LITTLE FEAT stop by The Beekman Beer Garden and Beach Club at The South Street Seaport. All three will be fantastic, but ya gotta love the Little Feat show, because it combines three of my favorite things, a beer garden, a beach, and Rock & Roll!
Thursday, August 23 – Out in Brooklyn, at The Radegast Hall & Biergarten, the very talented recent emigree to The Hudson Valley, JESSE CAROLINA and her band, THE HOT MESS, will be blowing minds with her Janis Joplin/ Mae West style of jazzy blues and rootsy old time standards. This is a band to watch!
Friday, August 24 – With apologies to all the other picks this week, all of whom are absolutely fantastic and any one of them could be the Pick of the Week, but I have been looking forward to CHRIS ROBINSON AND THE BROTHERHOOD show at The Bearsville Theater ever since it was announced, so this has got to be it! Chris Robinson, for those of you who don’t know, is the lead singer of The Black Crowes, one of the finest Rock & Roll bands on the planet!
Saturday, August 25 – Today marks the annual musical event known as LIVESTOCK that takes place on Chico Finn’s farm in Bovina. This is one of the best parties anywhere, and is easily my second Pick of the Week! The only national act on the bill this year is Dash Rip Rock, from Louisiana, but they grow some pretty rockin’ bands out in Bovina! This is highly recommended. Visit www.livestockmusic.com for more information and directions.
THE WOODSTOCK SCULPTURE GUITAR AUCTION is a charity event with musical performances by NAKED and SPIV:UK. There’s a lot of information and a lot going on at this event, so it’s best that you visit the theater’s website for more. http://www.bearsvilletheater.com/events-calendar/woodstock-sculpture-guitar-auction-naked-spivuk
Monday, August 27 – The great PATTI ROTHBERG makes her, I think, first visit to The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan. At least her song, “Dirt” is great. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the rest of her live act, but I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, based on the strength of “Dirt”, a great record!
Wednesday, August 29 – THE DEMOLITION STRING BAND returns to The Rodeo Bar.
Thursday, August 30 – LUKAS NELSON, Willie’s son, makes his first visit to our neck of the woods at Club Helsinki in Hudson.

Next week, I’ll be profiling one of the best, most sophisticated, lyrical bands of the 60’s – Love! Don’t miss it!

Have a great week!

Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.