The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
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Concert Reviews Gordon Lightfoot was not the star of the show. It was the new and improved Foothills, Oneonta’s sleeping revenue giant, which was making the more weighty appear- ance that night. And it is for this reason that the concert was a suc- cess, regardless of Lightfoot’s abil- ity to hit all of his notes. A year ago, the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta seemed to be sunk in a sea of its own debt and poor manage- ment. But in a sold-out performance last Thursday by Gordon Lightfoot, a folk legend known for his own take on a famous shipwreck, Foothills showed its first real signs of life. The same could not really be said for Lightfoot, who, at the age of 72, is little more than a shell of the performer and singer he once was. Throughout two hours of classic songs that helped to define both the folk-pop genre and the zeitgeist of the ’60s and ’70s, Lightfoot acted more as a cultural figurehead than a competent vocalist. As he went through the motions that have become a routine at this stage of his career, it was clear that Lightfoot has also decided at this point to forego virtually any verbal engagement with his audience beyond what is required of him; in that night’s performance, he let the songs speak for themselves. Those songs, on their own merit, are as good as they ever were, and though Lightfoot’s band is rather restrained in terms of its live personal- ity, the low-key nuance of his songwriting is always welcome, especially amidst the digital saturation of today’s music environ- ment. Although the majority of those who shelled out $60 or $75 to see last Thursday’s concert were nearly or equally as old as Lightfoot and were, therefore, generally overjoyed to see and hear him in person, he was not the star of the show. It was the new and improved Foothills, Oneonta’s sleeping revenue giant, which was making the more weighty appearance that night. And it is for this reason that the concert was a success, regardless of Lightfoot’s ability to hit all of his notes. Notably, Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller, the acting chairman of the Foothills board of directors, was in attendance alongside numerous other important contributors and stakeholders. Consid- ering the building’s financial past, the large number of reserved seats on the night of the concert helped to display the result of a hugely triumphant collaborative effort between local business, promoters, and community organizers. So, as awkwardly psychedelic background lighting washed over him, Gordon Lightfoot maintained a fixed posture, strummed his guitar at a barely audible level, and strained his voice in order to produce several real, musical pitches. Two hours later, he received a standing ovation and took an encore. It could not happen any other way; Lightfoot’s status purely as an icon, a folk monolith, will always be more than enough to satisfy an audience of his generational peers. He bowed twice, once on each side of the stage, and slowly walked off into the wings. 14 O-Town Scene April 7, 2011 — Sam Spokony Oneonta’s metal scene is more underground than ever, literally. Thursday night’s metal show at West End Billiards displayed brutal- ity that rivaled a hurricane. Billiards is located in the basement of the Iron Chef Buffet at 340 Chestnut St. The head-banger count was a surprising total of 216, comprised of both young and old. The show was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., but due to low at- tendance at that time the show was postponed temporarily. After an hour delay, the crowd had as- sembled; the lights went out and the show was under way. Six Gun Pacifist of Albany was up first, performing for the first time in five years. Claiming only a handful of practices before the show, they proved their metal wasn’t too rusty, only in need of a decent polishing. Contraband, out of Morris, was up next, with a swift, heavy and constant rhythm that was embraced by the crowd and kept the energy moving throughout the basement. Altered Mental Status, from Milford, offered beastly gutturals and sonic screams that rumbled the very foundation upon which they performed. After instigating the fabled “Wall of Death,” where the crowd disperses to either side of the venue then proceeds to charge at one another in a moshing-fashion, Altered Mental Status left even the most vicious concert attendee impressed. Trippin On Sunday, hailing from Unadilla, unleashed their brand of energetic, chainsaw-riff thrashing. The band’s set ended with what could have been the smallest crowd surf in the history of metal to date by their lead singer, Axl Veltron. Betrayed By Fate, a local band, graced the stage next. The band’s heavy music incited aggressive circle pits of moshing fans, surpris- ingly resulting in only a single sprained wrist. The crowd began to disperse around 1 a.m., leaving behind the hard- ened pit-dwellers as Two Step Sally finally made their way to the stage. Two Step Sally brought a swift burst of energy much like that of a defi- brillator, resurrecting a crowd nearly dead on its feet. The band kept the crowd two-stepping photos by Zach Bender CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Axl Velten of Trippin on Sunday crowd surfs; the mosh pit; and ‘Exercise Phil’ and Josh Gregary of Betrayed By Fate perform at a metal show Thursday at Oneonta’s West End Billiards. until nearly 2 a.m., when the show finally came to a close. The show was organized by Nasty Nate Productions, owned and operated by Oneonta local Parker Dunne. Nasty Nate Productions received support from Geoff Doyle of Two Step Sally, Russ Kanser of Contraband and Nu Phlo Entertain- ment in promotions and keeping the show available for all ages. A similar show is planned for early May. — Zach Bender Claiming only a handful of practices before the show, they proved their metal wasn’t too rusty, only in need of a decent polishing.