Surf-rocking to a new school year
By Erin Carson
September 10, 2011 - 2:01pm
Review: Best Coast opens the semester at Westcott Theater with Syracuse acts Animal Pants and Sarah Aument.

There may have been other people besides Syracuse University students at the Westcott Theater Friday night, but, as Giovanni Giardina, drummer for Syracuse band Animal Pants put it, it was "an SU party."

Fist pumping after dark
By Kathleen Lees
September 5, 2011 - 10:06am
Even without any Situation or Snooki lookalikes, an alcohol-free, "Jersey Shore"-themed party sponsored by Orange After Dark draws a small crowd to the dance floor.

Brightly colored glow sticks, plastic sunglasses and blue bubble chairs were just a small part of the event hosted Sunday at Goldstein Auditorium. Syracuse University students danced the night away at the Orange After Dark sponsored event, “On The Floor” at the "Jersey Shore" Dance Party.

Homecoming at the State Fair with The Scarlet Ending
By Chris Baker
August 26, 2011 - 12:11pm
The Syracuse-based band returns home to play the opening day of the Fair at Chevy Court.

Kayleigh Goldsworthy strolled the thoroughfare around the Chevy Court stage at the New York State Fair Thursday munching on a deep-fried potato on a stick. Her twin sister, Kaleena, had just polished off a corndog and was milling around behind the stage. Considering the two were about to perform on opening day at one of the fair’s largest stages, they were completely at ease.

Anthony Green gets up close and personal at Funk 'N Waffles
By Chris Ballard
August 21, 2011 - 4:21pm
Review: The Circa Survive front man teamed up with Good Old War to play for a sell-out crowd Saturday night at Funk 'N Waffles.

Anthony Green surveyed the sold-out Funk ‘N Waffles crowd through his black, thick-framed glasses.

“We knew when we got here it didn’t smell like any other venue,” he said during a lull between songs. “There’s beer, fried waffles and sweat.... This place is amazing.”

It was the venue's intimate setting that brought out the showman in Green, who is the lead singer for the progressive rock band Circa Survive. On Saturday night, he performed as part of a four piece acoustic act with indie-folk trio Good Old War as his backing band.

Shakespeare revisits Syracuse
By Jessica Palombo
August 8, 2011 - 4:50pm
The Syracuse Shakespeare Festival brings the playwright's work to Syracuse University students

"To die, to sleep, or just to take a nap and hope you wake up in time for dinner to make guacamole for 12 because you promised that you would."  -Actor Michael Carroll in "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged"

Children's cartoons. Curse words. And...Shakespeare? 

Ronnie Bell, founder of the 9-year-old Syracuse Shakespeare Festival, is hoping this unlikely combination will change college students' concept of the famous playwright.

"We're gearing ourselves toward SU more and more," Bell said.

Christian punks Underoath play up older material
By Chris Ballard
July 23, 2011 - 4:10pm
Review: Underoath and others light up Westcott Theater with heavy metal, strobing lights and projected video amps of energy.

It's been six years since Underoath graced a Syracuse stage.

In 2005, inside the dusty, baby-blue walls of Club Tundra that night, they celebrated the release of their brand-new record, They're Only Chasing Safety, which many fans consider the band's most successful album.

A lineup change and four albums later, Underoath's aesthetically pulverizing set at the Westcott Theater on Friday sampled the new-look Underoath without sacrificing much of the old.

Thousands eat their biscuits at Camp Bisco
By Eric Vilas-Boas
July 15, 2011 - 8:18am
Review: The Disco Biscuits' 10th annual music festival sold out this year because fans cared enough to make the trip.

Not everyone likes or even respects jam bands. The golden age of acts like the Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane are for the most part, gone, replaced by the followings of moe., Phish, or the Disco Biscuits.

The Disco Biscuits' sold-out, 10th festival in Mariaville, NY — 12 miles from Schenectady — drew flocks of hippies and drug-addled electro-nuts by the thousands this past weekend.

Super Ball IX reflects Phish's remarkable projection
By Lorna Oppedisano
July 7, 2011 - 10:51am
For its ninth musical festival, the now legendary jam act creates a fan experience like no other at Watkins Glen.

You’ve probably seen the reviews of Super Ball IX already: “Jam band Phish played to a crowd of 30,000 this past weekend" or “Hippies flock to Watkins Glen for weekend music festival.”

But here’s some fresh news you may not have heard: Phish members’ projections from 23 years ago manifest for weekend long phestival, creating a community and experience like no other.

Summer shows yield impressive lineups for CNY
By Eric Vilas-Boas
June 27, 2011 - 12:13pm
With a wide variety of New York music festivals in full swing, Camp Bisco X gives us many reasons to go.

With Bonnaroo 2011 now a thing of the past, Lollapalooza 2011 on the way, Coachella 2012 announced (as two identical weekends, no less), Central New York music junkies should probably turn their ears toward Mariaville, N.Y., and Camp Bisco X.

Kid Cudi rocks the Carrier Dome
By Sophia Botchway
April 30, 2011 - 4:33am
Cudi brings crowd to life after mixed reception to Damian Marley, Nas

The energy for the Block Party 2011 was in yo-yo form as anxious Kid Cudi fans waited for him to take the stage. Instead of the high energy throughout the night that was expected from the crowd of 15,000, the hype was visible at some times and hard to find during others.

A Syracuse University tradition, this year’s Block Party brought thousands of people out for the annually anticipated concert. After the Mayfest festivities in Walnut Park ended, the crowd of SU students made their way to the Carrier Dome for the performances.