Arts & Entertainment
Alive After Five Meets Blues, Jam band
KGB, The Kelly Kearney Band and Sweaty Betty play in the third Alive After Five festival.
The third installment of Alive After Five was doused with jammy riffs from KGB, gritty blues from the Kerry Kearney Band and classic covers from Sweaty Betty.
KGB took to the Blue Point Brewery stage with originals as well as a elongated jam band version of Lionel Richie's "All Night Long (All Night)" and a rendition of The Beatles "Tax Man" complete with a revolving guitar solo. Erik Friedmanon bass and vocals, Fred Golick on drums, Kevin Griffin on guitar and vocals and Michael Katzman on keys and vocals have been playing together for about seven years.
Katzman, who celebrated his birthday onstage Friday, started playing when he was 25 at the Lonestar Roadhouse in Manhattan. Griffin describes the band in three simple styles: Jazz-funk soul, green-eyed soul, and funk fusion.
Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Friedmanon wrote the happy and melodic "Top of the World," a keep your chin up and don't let the punks get you down kind of song. "Roll With The Punches," written by Katzman, is more nonsensical and full of typical rocker imagery like switchblades.
Over at the Brick House Brewery stage, Sweaty Betty was rattling through a blues cover of "Kiss" by Prince. Housing Diane McArdle on vocals, Steve Gestone on guitar, Sly Geralds on bass and vocals and Mike Brenna on drums, Sweaty Betty gave a home-style version of George Clinton's "We Want the Funk," and a quaint jazz rendition of Sly and The Family Stone's "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself." Other covers that they made their own with a flood of sax solos and were, Donna Summers "Hot Stuff" and A Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie."
Find out what's happening in Patchoguewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Kerry Kearney Band can be found with their southern monolithic bass solos and awakening drum solos. Kerry Kearney on guitar and vocals, Frank Celenza on bass, Mario Stairano on drums, Ken "The Rocket" Korb on harmonica and FL on keyboard have been playing together since 1997. Their raw, rumbling sound has been named "psychadelta" because of Kearney's tantalizing Delta Blue Slide guitar.
"I missed two ferries to The Gathering of the Vibes to see them play," said a long-time fan.
