By: David Schultz

Since the dawn of time, Dick Clark has come to New York City's Times Square for New Year's Eve and drawn the nation's attention to the dropping of the ball in the Big Apple. In addition to this year's major television networks' canned and lip-synched Midtown celebrations, New York City also had their customarily varied slate of actual concert options.

Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule played the Beacon Theater, jamband veterans moe. took over Radio City Music Hall and the venerable Patti Smith rang in the New Year at the Bowery Ballroom, a familiar haunt just down the road from CBGB, the club whose closing she presided over in October. Over at B.B. King's, last-second replacement Chaka Kahn filled in for the recently departed James Brown. Instead of ringing in the New Year in funky style, The Godfather Of Soul lay in state at Harlem's Apollo Theater. Clad in a vintage purple suit, Brown's wake gave mourners a surreal opportunity to pay their final respects to The Hardest Working Man In Show Business while his music played one last time in the hallowed hall.

Jammin' Until The Break Of Dawn

While the "ball drop" may be New York City's most well-known year-end tradition; emerging jamband icons U-Melt are well on their way to starting a wonderful new one. U-Melt's late-night show at The Knitting Factory marked the third straight year that Rob Salzer, Zac Lasher, Adam Bendy and George Miller have taken the stage well after Britney Spears has been carried off to bed and past the time most New Yorkers have stumbled home to sleep off the evening's festivities. Playing until the crack of dawn, U-Melt kept raising the energy level of the room with each song; running through numerous grooves, some old, some new but all definitely original. U-Melt kept the Knit's packed crowd moving with old favorites like "Marvin The Pussy" and "Green Amber," newer songs like "Elysian Fields" and George Miller's exceptional "Perfect World" (which finished with a triumphant segue into Pink Floyd's "Eclipse") as well as well-chosen covers like the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979." Even with night becoming morning and the crowd beginning to physically run on empty, it was simply impossible to leave. Believe me, I tried; I could not pull myself away.

The relentless months of touring have honed U-Melt's skills to near-razor-sharp precision. Salzer's growingly lethal guitar solos and Lasher's luxurious keyboard rolls rightfully garner glowing raves but U-Melt's rhythm section truly makes their achievements possible. The pace of George Miller's drumming reveals an impressive stamina and the subtlety of Adam Bendy's skills on bass can sometimes be criminally overlooked. That U-Melt had the crowd still dancing at 6:30 in the morning is the best testament that can be offered to Bendy and Miller.

For those who forgot to make resolutions this past New Year's, allow me to help: make this the year you become a U-Melt fan. The existential part of your soul that thrives on excellent music will be eternally thankful.

One moe. Time

As they did in their last visit to New York City in 2005, moe. provided the first part of an amazing double-bill with U-Melt for those motivated and intrepid enough to catch both shows. The night before their New Year's Eve show at Radio City Music Hall, moe. returned to Irving Plaza, a venue they have long outgrown, for a bit of a warm-up. Breaking with tradition, moe. forewent their customary post-Thanksgiving shows at the much larger Roseland Ballroom this year, opting instead to join New Yorkers in ushering in the New Year. With the 1,000 person capacity venue busting at the seams, moe. kicked off the night with "Meat" and, but for an intermission, never slowed down over the course of their three hour set. Although The Conch, their new studio album, comes out next month, moe. focused on their back catalogue full of guaranteed crowd-pleasers like "Kyle's Song," "Akimbo" and "Rebubula." Returning from a bout of tendinitis that caused moe. to cancel some fall dates and kept him from playing guitar for many weeks, Al Schnier seemed no worse for wear, rejoining his fellow guitarist Chuck Garvey to recreate the band's distinctive double guitar sound. Flanking bassist Rob Derhak, their conversion of the zany "Dr. Graffenburg" into a sinuous groove that seamlessly segued into The Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" may have only been matched by their bouncy first set melding of "Y.O.Y" and "George;" the finishing jam leaving people humming and whistling it into the second set. With Jim Loughlin and Vinnie Amico providing double-barreled percussion, the stalwart jamband erased any mystery as to the cause of their longevity.

Vernon Reid & A Night Of Pure Guitar

Friday night saw Steve Vai's Favored Nations label present A Night Of Pure Guitar at Tonic on the Lower East Side. Headlined by Vernon Reid & Masque, the showcase also featured the Dave Weiner Band and Rob Balducci. Although the three bands had different styles, the limitations of guitar-centric instrumentals were impossible to ignore. Notable for the impressive guitar pyrotechnics, the evening begged the question of how much guitar is too much. The Weiner quintet and the Balducci trio put the focus of their sets squarely on the ample guitar wizardry of their namesakes who ripped off technically precise guitar riffs in such quick succession that they started to lose their freshness and diminished the ability to appreciate the creativity and technique at hand. Vernon Reid & Masque closed the evening with a tight hour long set that showed Reid's mastery of the skill of performing as well as the art of playing guitar. Conscious of the fact that the prior bands may have sated the audience's fill for pure guitar, Vernon Reid wisely offered a pleasant change of pace by allowing keyboard genius Leon Gruenbaum, bassist Steve Jenkins and drummer Don McKenzie ample opportunity to shine. Although billed as a guitar extravaganza, Reid's decision to not overpower the set with his own considerable guitar heroics after the audience had been treated to two hours of the same proved a wise success. Jenkins, a recent addition to band, really shone on Masque's cover of Radiohead's "National Anthem" as well as the homage to James Brown, keeping up with Reid's "Sex Machine" derived riff. Masque's set may have been the most well-rounded one, but it didn't betray the theme of the evening. When all was said and done, Reid left no doubt that he deserved his headliner status on a bill full of guitar maestros.

A Peek Into The Future

One of the thrills of going to a minor league baseball game is getting the opportunity to see young ball players destined for the pros. Although their skills aren't entirely perfected and they don't play with the same finesse that they someday will, the glimpses of raw talent can provide ample enjoyment and quite a bit of anticipatory excitement. That type of emerging, developing talent was on display at The Canal Room on Thursday night with New York singer-songwriter Jonah Smith and The Ryan Montbleau Band bringing their considerable skills to the classy venue.

After a brief opening set from the Josh Dion Band, Montbleau took the stage, seated as is his custom upon a simple swiveling bar stool. With Laurence Scudder (viola), Matt Giannaros (bass) and brothers Jason Cohen (keys) and James Cohen (drum), Montbleau led the band through a wide-ranging set that included some old-style Stevie Wonder soul, some country-blues and a roaring cover of Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science." Curiously, Dolby had just played the tune there himself last week, marking some sort of weird eighties confluence of the collective unconsciousness.

Backed by a trio, Jonah Smith followed with a lengthy set featuring songs from his self-titled Relix Records release, including "My Morning Scene" which has received some nice airplay on Sirius Satellite Radio. Montbleau and Smith's sets had their moments where everything clicked, but they also had occasional periods that unnecessarily rambled. Proving himself to be an amiable and unflappable performer, Smith weathered the efforts of a persistent fan who wanted his vintage era U2 shirt. Much like seeing a future superstar while they play AAA ball, both The Ryan Montbleau Band and Jonah Smith are going to be quite fun to follow as they develop and worth checking in on in a couple years, if not a few times before then.

[Johan Smith Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob]

Labels: Dave Weiner, Jonah Smith, Masque, moe., Rob Balducci, Schultz In The City, The Ryan Montbleau Band, U-Melt, Vernon Reid