The lineup at Hance Park for the McDowell Mountain Music Festival had some hits and misses, but oh did the hits hit hard. Day 1: Upsahl returned to Hance Park for the band’s second M3F performance, this time taking full advantage of the big stage with striking visuals, a fuller sound and a stronger set list. Then, there was Bear Ghost. Perhaps the greatest local act of the weekend and definitely the most memorable, the
The last of the local acts on Friday’s bill was Bear Ghost on the second stage, and they were just beyond amazing. It’s always refreshing – in part because it’s rare – to see a group of musicians as talented as the members of Bear Ghost applying that musicianship to arrangements as outrageously inventive as the best of their material in a way that’s entertaining for the players and the audience alike. I wrote “This
The feisty Phoenix four-piece known as Bear Ghost creates a veritable smorgasbord of sound on their 2016 release, Blasterpiece. Delivering a high-energy funk, Bear Ghost offers fluidly fuses elements of various genres for a totally unique and unified sound. If you spend some time with Blasterpiece, and really delve into the musical permutations from start to finish, you’ll hear elements drawn from varying genres stretching from prog-rock, chiptunes, and ska all the way to indie,
Number 1. Bear Ghost — Blasterpiece No matter how many times I reviewed local albums this year, regardless of what my favorite of the moment was, it always seemed clear that Bear Ghost’s Blasterpiece was the best album of the year. First of all, Bear Ghost is probably the most fun band in town to see live or listen to on record. “Fun” is an element that seems to be lost on a lot of
Blasterpiece by Bear Ghost 8. Bear Ghost— “Funkle Phil” “Funkle Phil” has been one of my favorite songs in Bear Ghost’s live set for awhile, and the single was one of my first favorite things in 2016. The song really shows off their style of prog-meets-indie-meets-nerd rock. It also shows off their affection for Queen in less-than-subtle ways throughout the track. This makes sense if you’ve ever seen their live show, which usually contains a