A time-honored New York City live music tradition will resume on Friday night, September 22nd with Freaks Ball XXI at The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn [get tickets].
The first edition of the long-running celebration in three years will feature a two-set headlining performance by WOLF!, the “Telecaster rock trio” led by Freaks Ball veteran Scott Metzger (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, LaMP), and an opening set by Brass Queens, the all-women brass ensemble that was recently presented with the first-ever “Riders’ Choice Award” by New York Governor Kathy Hochul following a fan vote.
The Freaks Ball is an annual concert/celebration put on by the NYC-Freaks, a NYC-based email discussion group for live music devotees that has remained vibrant and active for more than two decades. Through the years, Freaks Ball has developed a relationship for bringing together unusual groupings of the best and brightest players in the New York scene. Most notably, back in early 2013, Led Zeppelin tribute act Bustle In Your Hedgerow for a one-off Grateful Dead tribute set at Freaks Ball. The resulting project, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, went on to play various Freaks Ball events on its way to national acclaim and a touring career of ten years and counting.
“The NYC Freaks are a real New York institution,” Metzger said of the community. “The Freaks Ball is always a great time. I’m sure I’ve played more of them than anybody else at this point. It’s a great group of people who take their live music SERIOUSLY.”
Nearly a decade old, WOLF! weaves together elements of surf, rockabilly, and boogaloo with enough adventurous improvisation for Grateful Dead enthusiasts. Joining the guitarist is WOLF! regular Jon Shaw on bass and Tony Leone of Little Feat on drums. Leone’s WOLF! turn will mark a reunion of sorts for him and Metzger, who played together in Anders Osborne‘s band from 2013 to 2016.
While the Freaks are well acquainted with his work in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Metzger is looking forward to showing off a different facet of his sound with WOLF! at Freaks Ball XXI. “I play a different guitar with WOLF! than I do with JRAD. I’m big on finding the right combo of guitar/amp for each situation I’m in. It’s something I think about A LOT. I still sound like me (hopefully) whatever instrument I’m playing, but the context dictates which guitar works best. I don’t have a lot of guitars to choose from. I’ve probably got about eight, and even that feels like too many if you ask me.
“I play my Ronin Telecaster through a Magnatone Twilighter with WOLF! The Ronin is a workhorse, never goes out of tune, has great Curtis Novak pickups in it (the neck is his AWESOME take on a goldfoil). That guitar got knocked off a 5 foot stage by a crew guy once. It was still perfectly in tune. You could build a house with it—a total workhorse. The Magnatone I play through is one of the best 20(ish) watt amps I’ve ever played. It’s super full sounding, doesn’t hum at all, killer reverb channel, and has the famous Magnatone Vibrato, of course. I love that amp. 10 out of 10 stars. I’ve got a few pedals with WOLF! but not a lot. I stared using my ancient Line 6 DL4 for looping with the band recently and that’s been fun.”
Limited tickets for Freaks Ball XXI at Brooklyn, NY’s The Bell House on Friday, September 22nd featuring WOLF! and Brass Queens are now on sale here. Two dollars of each Freaks Ball ticket will be donated to a cause of Metzger’s choosing via the Freaks Action Network, the non-profit, registered 501(c)(3) wing of the NYC-Freaks.
View this post on Instagram
The post Freaks Ball Preps Return After Three Years Away With Scott Metzger’s WOLF!, Brass Queens appeared first on L4LM.
