Snarky Puppy and Mister F bring worldly dance party to Upstate Concert Hall

Music lovers at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park got a taste of homegrown, world-class music Thursday Sept 11th with performances by Mister F and Snarky Puppy.

The livetronica four piece band, Mister F calls the Capital District home and was surrounded by familiar faces as they celebrated their 100th show of the year. Mister F played multiple songs off their debut album released this year, The F Stands Four and has been touring heavily to share their electric dark funk sound. Opening the night with “Vocoder” featured Scott Hannay demonstrating his wild keyboard playing skills and vocals on the talk box with upbeat flair. Ben Pickering laid down major bass rhythm as he grooved to the steady tempo for “On and On” while Andrew Chamberlaine stretched out his strings for a hard-hitting melody. The jams got dark as Matt Pickering clashed cymbals and struck drums with seriously focused energy that spread across the venue. Don’t miss Mister F as they will be all over the Upstate area this week, making stops in Oneonta, Ithaca and Albany performing their electric fusion with force.

BDL PhotographySnarky Puppy is one of the biggest bumps under the radar; you either have no idea who they are or were losing your mind that you got to see them in the intimate setting of Upstate Concert Hall. This year, Snarky Puppy won a Grammy Award in the Best R&B Performance category for their rendition of “Something” by Brenda Russell from their album Family Dinner – Volume 1 and have been catching the main stream ear ever since. The all instrumental band was a 7-headed monster that night as they kicked off their World Tour here in Upstate with hypnotizing tight jams. Bassist and pack leader, Michael League joked that it feels like they have been on a nonstop tour since 2006. League is everything you would want in a band leader, with friendly crowd engagement and strong transition assists, encouraging the band to always take it to the next peak. They have nonstop buildups with tremendous horn solos stretching out mellow jazz notes before leaping right back into the jams. They have a foreign yet universal sound that speaks to everyone with a fusion of pop, funk and futuristic jazz. The drummer and percussionist had an all-out dizzying solo session of salsa rock as jazz flute was introduced for a circus melody. The show ended with a celebratory all out blast of an encore that left the crowd still wanting more. Here’s wishing Snarky Puppy a safe and awesome tour with a fast return to Upstate NY!

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