Thursday, March 28th
Hamell On Trial & Tom Stahl Live in the 9th Ward
Tickets (GA Seated): $10 advance, $12 day of show at Ticketfly.com or the Babeville Box Office (M-F 11a-5p), or charge by phone 866-777-8932
7pm Doors, 8pm Show
Hamell On Trial
Hamell on Trial is the musical alias of New York-based folk punk hero Ed Hamell. A one-man explosion, he is loud-as-war one minute, stepping off the microphone to whisper to an enthralled audience the next. This is a dynamic performance informed by politics, passion, intelligence and the all-important sense of humor. His caustic wit and devil-may-care attitude has long been a favorite of anti-establishment icons Aesop Rock, Kimya Dawson, Ani DiFranco and the critical elite inciting Rolling Stone magazine to call him “Bald, bold and superbad!” Henry Rollins says “Hamell is a one man rock show!” He has been described as “Bill Hicks, Hunter S. Thompson, and Joe Strummer all rolled into one” by Philadelphia Weekly and a “one man Tarantino flick: loud, vicious, luridly hilarious, gleefully and deeply offensive” by the Village Voice.
His tenth album, Tackle Box, is his second for New West Records and features all instruments and sounds played by Hamell himself, with the exception of one. Hamell states, “The first voice you hear on the album is Donald Trump. It’s from a campaign rally where he was saying he’d like to punch a protester in the face. His supporters cheer. I thought I’d kickstart the album making people aware that, should they disagree with that attitude, should they find his actions deplorable, his lies, his vanity, his lack of grace and intellect, his pandering to the lowest common denominator, his inciting violence towards minorities and the disenfranchised, they could find safety here at a Hamell show, from a Hamell song. Let us remember that he did not win the popular vote, his supporters are in the minority and I will treat them with all the respect THEY show minorities. The first voice you hear on the album is Donald Trump. ALL other voices you hear on the album, in firm and resolute opposition, are mine.”
Tackle Box was co-produced by the Grammy award winning producer Phil “The Butcher” Nicolo (Bob Dylan, Ms. Lauryn Hill) and features the controversial song “Not Aretha’s Respect (COPS),’ an autobiographical tale teaching his child how to not get shot by a police officer. “‘COPS’ is a song about parenting. My son is 15, I’m teaching him how to drive. I’m explaining, because he has the ability at home to explain his side of the story to me, that he might not have that chance when he’s in a situation with a police officer. Say ‘Yes sir, no sir’ and come home safe to me. The boss ain’t always right, but he’s always the boss. All four incidents in the song actually happened. I play all kinds of gigs, house concerts, theaters, diy punk rock rooms and the kids love this song. It’s even has a chorus they can sing along to and rally behind. Last year I was touring across the country with my son and the day after we played Dallas, some cops got shot. I wish no violence on anyone. I preface my introduction to this song live now by saying I just wish the good cops would call out the bad cops. This “Code of Blue” thing is helping no one. And if we don’t think it’s a race thing, well…”
Once again we see Hamell uncompromising, fearless, obscene, insightful, absurd, angry & poignant and, in a first-time-ever ploy, including four children’s songs…for balance. Hamell says, “I threw the four ‘FROGGY’ songs in there, trying my hand at children’s songs if you will, to maybe make sense of what the American Dream is or maybe was. In the four songs, interspersed throughout the album, we see the character Froggy as a child, courting, running a business with his wife, and finally surrounded by his grandchildren. This is how he interprets success. I think in light of all the volatility in the country, I needed to remind myself of happier times or potential. And of course the listener, after so many confrontational topics, needs a little refuge.”
Hamell tours the world constantly, seemingly enjoying every performance challenge. From larger stages and theaters, winning the coveted Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to house concerts and DIY underground spaces, this is a man who clearly loves to play. Armed with a battered 1937 Gibson acoustic guitar that he amplifies mightily and strums like a machine gun, a politically astute mind that can’t stop moving, and a mouth that can be profane one minute and profound the next, with Tackle Box, Hamell sets his sights on the new America and issues personal and spiritual. His performances invoke thoughts of the great, rebellious satirists and social commentators of the past: Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks. Hamell is a great mind with acoustic punk rock mixed with a seeker’s soul. There’s no way around his obscenity but in that is a willingness to fight for the free thinkers of the world. Don’t we need that now more than ever?
Tom Stahl
The journey to the 2017 induction class into the Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame started back in 1994. In October of 1994 Tom Stahl had back surgery and that forced him to quit his truck-driving career. He had a degree in Communications, but had written a song or two, and with the support of his wife Mary Lou, he decided to continue in that direction. Tom picked up his guitar and turned to music. In early 1995 he went to an open mic at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo NY with four original songs. The organizer of the open mic, Michael Meldrum, asked Tom to come back and do a songwriter showcase in March 1995. In the Spring of that same year, he brought his best tunes out on a debut cassette entitled “I Wanna Be Ignorant”. Now there’s a CD bearing the same name, the same tunes and a generous helping of extra tracks to go with them. The ball started rolling from there. In 1996, Tom came out with his second CD, entitled “The Song Is The Thing”. Over the next three years, Tom released two more original CDs entitled “Hang On” and “Shut Up and Smell The Coffee” with the backing of his band [originally known as the Tom Stahl Band, now known as Tom Stahl And The Dangerfields]. In 2000 they collaborated on the 1st CD bearing that name. The CD was entitled “Nothing”, and was released in 2001. The songs from this CD were featured on the Food Network show, “Food Nation” with Bobby Flay. The band also made special cameo appearances on this show. In May 2002 they released, “At The Tralf” (as Tom so eloquently put it “just in time for Mother’s Day”), a set of live recordings from a December 2001 concert. In April 2003, the band released the 7th CD entitled, “Most Town”. The 8th CD followed in December 2006, “King Of The World”. Tom went back to his roots & recorded an Acoustic CD of some of his favorites along with some new songs in August of 2011. This CD became available for sale in early 2012. The 10th CD entitled “You Are Here, Be Here”, featuring the band was released in May 2014 followed by their 11th CD entitled “This World Right Here” with a release date of July 2016. Tom as a solo artist and with his band mates, has opened for such acts as Three Dog Night, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Loverboy, Joan Osborne, America, Don McLean, Poco, Sara Craig, Black 47, Moxy Fruvous, Tom Cochrane, David Wilcox, Dave Mason, Ron Hawkins [Lowest Of The Low], Artimus Pyle [the original drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd], Blues Legend Buddy Guy, Paul Revere And The Raiders, Leon Russell, Ellis Paul, Martin Sexton, John Sebastian [The Lovin’ Spoonful], Vance Gilbert and Loudon Wainwright III. The Dangerfields have been labeled as R&B, folk, rock, pop, rockabilly, and country. Their sound has been described as a cross between The Eagles, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & the Barenaked Ladies. We call it “Dangerfield-esque”. What everyone DOES agree upon is that this is some of the best songwriting you are likely to hear east of Eden.
Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/28/2019
8:00 pm
341 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo
New York
14202
United States