Shayfer James, Sarah and the Safe Word, and Bellwether Breaks put on a great show in Rochester, N.Y. on April 2nd, 2023!
Multitalented singer, songwriter, and pianist Shayfer James has always had a flair for storytelling with his music. During his Shipwreck Tour, a nationwide series of events commemorating the release of his album of the same name, his knack for the art really shone. We got a chance to see Shayfer James during the Rochester, N.Y. leg of his tour at Photo City Music Hall, accompanied by Sarah and the Safe Word and local band Bellwether Breaks. Here’s what we thought of the sets!
Bellwether Breaks
The first opening act for Shayfer was the Rochester-local band Bellwether Breaks. Consisting of five members (vocalist Elyse Coughlin, guitarist Peter Goebel, bassist Eugene Bisdikian, keyboardist/saxophonist Chris Coon, and drummer Dave Goebel), this quintet of soulful musicians serenaded us with a great and groovy set of nine songs that showcased their repertoire quite handily.
At times, the sound mixing for this live performance jumbled the lyrics under the instrumentation, but overall we had an enjoyable time listening to the funk and soul of this band. A highlight of this set was, without a doubt, their cover of “I Put A Spell On You”, a song covered from the portfolio of Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins and many other artists since. There was something remarkable about hearing that song live that we could feel deep in our bones. One other highlight was their original song “Blow The Roof Off”, a boisterous number that really did have the audience pumped in preparation for the next act, Sarah and the Safe Word.
Sarah and the Safe Word
When I tell you that there is not a band active and around today that is quite like Sarah and the Safe Word, you’d best believe that. This sextet (consisting of vocalist Sarah Rose, guitarist Kienan Dietrich, violinist Susy Reyes, bassist Maddox Reksten, keyboardist Beth Ballinger, and drummer Carlos Gonzalez) delivered an absolutely bombastic performance to the fanfare of the entire audience, who, if they weren’t yet fully energized by Bellwether Breaks’ set, they surely were by the end of this one.
Without giving too much away, Sarah and the Safe Word performed songs from their albums Red Hot & Holy, Good Gracious! Bad People., and their newest album, The Book of Broken Glass. Many of these were the songs a seasoned fan of the band would likely come to expect, but with colorful commentary by Sarah Rose interspersed between them as well as placed equal parts strategically and chaotically within them. (We seem to recall a fast-food order somewhere in the midst of one number.)
It should be noted that special attention should be given to the vocal performance of violinist Susy Reyes here. While every member of Sarah and the Safe Word gave their vocals to the set in some capacity, Reyes’s guttural and lyrical screams were especially show-stopping. She blew us away during “Ruby Off The Rails” and “Formula 666” especially.
When all was said and done with Sarah and the Safe Word’s set, it was time for us to turn our attention to the man of the hour, Shayfer James.
Shayfer James
During this final set of the night, Shayfer James regaled the audience with the songs from his newest album, Shipwreck. We have a lot to speak about on this note, but so does Shayfer – as we interviewed him (and the aforementioned Sarah Rose) right after the set, we can leave Shayfer’s insights to that interview. However, his set was a thing of beauty and poise, incorporating other songs from albums like Counterfeit Arcade and Americanachronism into the narrative designed for Shipwreck.
With songs like “Devils & Rebels”, “Villainous Thing”, and “Mercy Down” in his hour-and-a-half-long set, we got a real sense of showmanship from the musician. Some songs were prefaced with some insights into how they were composed, such as how Shipwreck‘s “Must We” was done in one take a few years back in Shayfer’s old apartment, or how “Battle Cry” off of Counterfeit Arcade was inspired by Irish lullabies his mother used to sing him in his youth. These stories fulfill important roles for Shayfer in that they provide these glimpses into the life of an artist to those who may not realize that music is a major process, even for someone so fluent in it.
In the end, we learned a ton from Shayfer (and once more would like to reiterate keeping an eye on this space for our interviews with both Shayfer James and Sarah Rose of Sarah and the Safe Word). We highly recommend you look to see if the Shipwreck Tour is heading close to you. If it is, make a beeline for it, and if not, still make a beeline because this concert tour is not one you should opt to miss.
You can find Shayfer James’s newest album, Shipwreck, on Spotify now!
Furthermore, you can find Sarah and the Safe Word’s newest album, The Book of Broken Glass, on Spotify now as well. Bellwether Breaks’s newest single, “The Prime Directive (A Black Triangle and a Silver Moon”, can be found here.
