Arts & Entertainment Archive - 10-18-2024

-West Herr Riviera Theatre-North Tonawanda, NY-October 5, 2024-

Herman Hermit’s starring Peter Noone rolled into the historic West Herr Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, NY on October 5th, 2024 for a show before a sold out crowd of nostalgic music fans. In the ‘60’s Herman Hermit’s was one of the most successful bands of the British Invasion racking up numerous chart topping hits in the States and England. The seventy six year old Noone still has his mop of hair and mega watt smile that endured him to legions of teens back in the heyday. His energetic seventy five minute set covered most of the Hermit’s hits and more with a voice still clear and strong.

Hitting the stage with “I’m Into Something Good” followed by “Wonderful World”, Noone prowled the main floor singing and interacting with the crowd for the first couple of numbers before rejoining his band mates on stage. A riff on the Beach Boys “Barbara Ann” featuring lyrics changed to mention Cheektowaga brought smiles and chuckles from the audience as did Gerry and The Pacemakers’ hit “Ferry Cross the Mersey” with lyrics changed to mention Tonawanda this time. A main point of Noone’s show is to interact with his audience telling jokes, asking them to sing along (which they joyfully did) and other playful banter. The man is a consummate showman. From the Herman Hermits’ catalog Noone offered up “Dandy”, “A Must to Avoid”, “Silhouettes”, “Leaning on a Lamp Post” and “No Milk Today”. In addition to the Hermits hits Noone covered The Searchers “Love Potion #9”, Huey Smith’s “Sea Cruise”, The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer”, Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” and Cliff Richards’ “Travellin’ Light” with lyrics changed to name check North Tonawanda. Throughout the show Noone would offer snippets of songs ranging from Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” and the Stones “Start Me Up” complete with some signature Jagger dance moves from Noone. Closing out the show Noone reached for Herman Hermits biggest hits including “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”, “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am” and a beautiful show closing rendition of “There’s a Kind of Hush”. After the show Noone came out to the merch table where a long line of fans waited to meet him as he gladly signed autographs, took photos and engaged with his fans.

Opening the show was The Shades of Blue who performed a fifty minute set of classic Motown and other soul hits from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s including “Disco Inferno”, “Stand By Me”, “Higher and Higher”, “Sex Machine” and “Love Train” among others.

For more information about Herman Hermits starring Peter Noone check out www.peternoone.com

For information about the West Herr Riviera Theatre and upcoming shows visit www.rivieratheatre.org

The Missing Worker is an experimental rock band formed in Buffalo around 2016. During that time they have released three studio albums and one EP of adventurous and rewarding music. For their latest album titled Behold…a Miracle!, the band consisting of Matthew Cieluszak (bass/percussion/backing vocals), Mike Hermann (guitar/piano/guitar synth), Demetri Realmuto (lead vocals), Erik Reinhardt (drums/percussion) and Todd Reinhardt (guitar/synthesizer/guitar synth), headed to Mammoth Recording Studios in Buffalo with Justin Smith behind the board to lay down the tracks. The nine tracks land on the heavy metal/progressive side of the musical spectrum but with a broad appeal to all music lovers. The album kicks off with “The John Keats Cybrid Retrieval Project” a pulsating sonic assault of the senses followed by the high energy rocker “The Possessed”. Other highlights from Behold… a Miracle! include the trippy vibe of “Confrontation in Sarasota”, the shades of scream-o tune “One Year”; the ringing guitar sounds of “Dolly”, the atmospheric rocker “The Burning of the Treeship Yggdrasil”, the musically adventurous opus “When the Machine Breaths” and the hard charging LP closer “Justify”. With a knack for mixing songwriting and musicianship into an interesting blend The Missing Worker has a bright future. 

September 3rd, 2023 seemed as unassuming as any other gig for this band of road tested warriors except tonight the tapes would be rolling for a possible new live album. And thank goodness those tapes were rolling as musical magic was made. The band ,Willie Nile (guitar/piano/vocals), Johnny Pisano (bass/backing vocals), Jon Weber (drums) and Jimi K. Bones (guitar/backing vocals), are a band at the top of their game able to give powerful and emotional performances of songs that they have played countless times. The thirteen songs on Live at Daryl’s House Club span a considerable portion of Nile’s career. The album begins with Nile asking the crowd “Are you ready?” before he and the band launch in to a celebratory “Places I Have Never Been” which sets the mood for the evening’s performance. An absolutely incendiary version of “This Is Our time” and the spot on social commentary and funky blues work out “Earth Blues” keep things rolling along while the melancholy grandeur of “Lost And Lonely World” and an epic rendition of “Shoulders” change the pace a bit. Other highlights include “New York At Night”, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” and “Trouble Down In Diamond Town”. A galloping run through “House Of A Thousand Guitars” and the sing along anthem “One Guitar” round out the album. If you have never heard Willie Nile and his band live in concert then their latest album Live At Daryl’s House Club is the perfect place to start. For more information about Willie Nile including tour dates and how to purchase Live at Daryl’s House Club go to www.willienile.com or visit www.facebook.com/willie.nile
Album photos by renowned photographer Cristina Arrigoni. 

You can view more of her work at her website www.cristinaarrigoniphotography.com

Handsome Jack is back with a new slab of their swaggering psychedelic blues rock on their latest release A Good Thing. As usual the band, Jamison Passuite (vocals/guitar), Joe Verdonselli (vocals/bass) and Bennie Hayes (vocals/drums), wrote, recorded, mixed and produced the album on their own. They recorded the album at the old Harrison Radiator factory building in Lockport, NY on tape using a Tascam 388 with John Angelo doing the mastering. Evan Laedke stops by to add keyboards to the session. Highlights among the eleven tracks on A Good Thing include the bluesy rocker “Wind It Up” which opens the album and sets the tone for what’s to come, the brash yet soulful “Tough Love”, the greasy rocker “She Don’t Know How to Rock and Roll”, the groovalicious title cut “A Good Thing”, the down home comfort of “Sasparilla”, another soulful number “Nobody Left but You” and the musical nod to the late Band bassist “Rick Danko’s Red Floor”. Handsome Jack’s timeless fusion of boogie, blues, rock, soul and country makes A Good Thing another great album from these master purveyors of music. For more information about Handsome Jack and their latest release visit www.handsomejackmusic.com or go to www.facebook.com/handsomejackband

Lara Price is a force to be reckoned with. The powerhouse blues and soul vocalist was abandoned at birth and was part of Operation Baby Lift which was the mass evacuation of orphans from South Vietnam. Ninety percent of the orphans did not survive but Price did and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. She pursued her dream of singing in a band and has gone on to release seven albums, toured the US and China, played in multiple bands and has received numerous accolades and awards. This brings us to her latest album Half & Half a ten song cycle that showcases Price’s sassy, sexy and slightly gritty vocal prowess. The title refers to the album being half recorded in the Bay Area and the other half done in Austin, TX. Price surrounds herself with a large roster of musicians for these sessions including guitarists Mike Zito, Mighty Mike Schermer, David Jimenez and Kid Anderson who also produced the album. Highlights from Half & Half include the roots rocking “We’re Still Friends”, the Honky Tonk rocker “Fools Like Me’, the funky blues number “Things Ain’t Everything”, the powerful ballad “Rain”, the chugging Chuck Berry style rocker “Days Ago”, an acoustic rendering of Duke Ellington’s “Solitude” with Matt Burger on guitar, the heart aching rocker “The Way Love Goes”, the soaring and churchy “Trouble, Heartache, Sadness” and the Gospel tinged ode to a bad relationship “Heart On A String”. For more information about Lara Price and her latest album Half & Half visit www.laraprice.com or go to www.facebook.com/larapricemusic

Drummer Bob Christina had a forty year friendship with Matt “Guitar” Murphy. After playing with each other in bands, Christina asked Murphy if he’d like to return to the studio after a ten year hiatus to record an album. Murphy jumped at the chance and the two began recording. After finishing a session and with only one week before the final sessions Murphy sadly passed away at age 88. Now tasked with finishing the project, Christina reached out to those that had performed or were friends with Murphy to help finish the session. No less than seventy two artists agreed to help Christina finish the project. The result is the twenty three song double album titled True Blues Brother: The Legacy of Matt “Guitar” Murphy. While Murphy is best known for his stint with the historic Blues Brothers band his career began in the ‘50’s and his resume includes work with Howlin’ Wolf, Little Junior Parker, Memphis Slim and countless others in addition to being an in demand session player and his own distinguished solo career. True Blues Brother: The Legacy of Matt “Guitar’ Murphy contains his final three studio recordings (Matt’s Boogie”, “Matt’s Shuffle” and “Tired of Sleeping Alone”), a new song written and performed by Grammy winner and Buffalo Music Hall of Fame inductee Tom Hambridge (“Jack Rabbit Boy”) and the first in studio collaboration by Murphy’s friend’s Joe Beard and Billy Boy Arnold (“You Wasn’t Doin’ Too Good” and a cover of Muddy Water’s “Let Me Hang Around”). Other artists lending their talents include Fran Christina and the Original Roomful of Blues (Fran Christina also went on to being a member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Chuck Levell (The Allman Brothers/The Rolling Stones), Steve Cropper, Ronnie Earl (Roomful of Blues), Jaimoe (The Allman Brothers), Bill Kirchen, Lee Oskar (War), Toni Lynn Washington, Doyle Bramhall II and many others. True Blues Brother: The Legacy of Matt “Guitar” Murphy is a fitting tribute to a titan of the blues. For more information about the album visit www.nolabluerecords.com

Singer songwriter Brock Davis has released a new album titled Everyday Miracle. The thirteen song album is subtitled Backstage Sessions-Part 1 and features the first half of the songs that Brock (vocals/piano) and his band (Pat McGrath-guitar/mandolin, Rob McNelly-guitar, Justin Ostrander-guitar, Duncan Mullins-bass, Marcus Finne-drums, Russ Pahl-pedal steel and Michael Rojas-Hammond B3/piano) recorded at Nashville’s Backstage Studio. The tracks were laid down in a whirlwind session over the course of two days. Part 2 will be released in early 2025. Lots of choice nuggets to choose from off Everyday Miracle including the uplifting country style “Keep On”, the breezy and easy twangy rocker “You’d Think I’d Know By Now”, the emotional “Rain Falling On The Water”, the ballad “September Rain”, the feel good “Ready For A Good Time”, the earnest heartland rocker and title cut “Everyday Miracle” and the heartfelt “I’ll Always Be Your Dad”. The two songs that end the album are a love story set to song. The first “Angela (Please Say Yes)” a gorgeous ballad and wedding proposal set to music and “My Promise To You” which are Brock’s wedding vows set to a country melody. For more information about Brock Davis and his latest album Everyday Miracle visit www.brockdavismusic.com or head over to www.facebook.com/brock.davis.band