Writer: Robert Gonzales
Photos Courtesy of Jive Hive

Tom O’Connor, guitarist and front man for the NolaNauts and founder & producer of The Jive Hive, created an incredible night of music called the Jam’uary Apiary. Well, it was as sweet as honey! I just combed my hair and swarmed down from Colonie to pile in to Cohoes Music Hall for a night of music and dancing. As I arrived, I first saw Courtney Blackwell, the lovely, positive, and wonderful singer in Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets. Greeted with a warm welcome, I was filled with the glowing essence of this remarkable Queen Bee.

I go to the ticket area where I run into the guys from Hilltop! Well, Aris & Marcus with David Klang… I gave some hugs and laughed at the last time I was at The Cohoes Music Hall was to see them the weekend before! They had opened for Annie and the Water and knocked it out of the park. But we were all excited for tonight’s show! Tom had acquired T.V. Doctors, Rob Beaulieu Band, and Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets to do a 3-up bill for Jive Hive Live’s concert series at the Cohoes Music Hall. The Jive Hive is an incredible story unto itself. The fact that Tom has opened his home to create an artspace for musicians to have free shows and recordings and stream live to their audience these intimate performances is merely a testament to what kind of beautiful universal family he and his wife are. They definitely create a buzz for local musicians to explore, with the network of other musicians, all for their love of music.

Well tonight was all about love. One Love. I had not arrived in time to see the T.V. Doctors. I had gone to The Palace to see The E-Block perform their earlier free show produced with the help of Mirth Films. I got there just as Rob Beaulieu started to play. Tony Perrino is shredding it on the organ/keys as Rob and Sherry are singing harmonies. Tom Pirozzi was playing bass, Chad Ploss was on drums, Dave Spadaro was playing guitar with Rob, and David Macejka was playing percussion. The Rob Beaulieu band is a great mix of classic songs and covers and original compositions. Rob is a great songwriter and a wonderful singer. Him and Sherry intertwine their vocals and share in the harmony of lyrics. Everyone was enjoying their boogie tonight. The crowd was excited and moving all around. Rob’s happiness brought a feeling of ease throughout the crowd and their jams got our feet moving.

Cohoes Music Hall is a great venue with a wide open dance floor. There is seating on the lower level as well as a balcony of seats overlooking the space. The staff at Cohoes is very friendly and accepting, and they are quite supportive of people enjoying shows in a safe environment. The Rob Beaulieu Band rocked out an awesome set. Then they made way for Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets. Dr. Jah is a funky reggae band known in the capital region as a great party band. Dave Geoghegan & Pete O’Hearn play guitar, Brian Miller plays bass. They all sing. The alluring and majestic Ms. Courtney Blackwell provides harmonies and vocal support. Amit Shamir holds down the beat and Dave Macejka accompanies the rhythm on percussion. Dr. Jah has recently added a horn section as well. Judy Jarnefeld and Scott Vorwald play sax and Audrey Van Genechten plays trumpet. Audrey & Scott play together in a funky horn band called Oobleck. The horns have been an awesome addition to Dr Jah. They fill out the sound with Chris Carballeira, who jams out on keys and really makes you want to get up and move!

Dr. Jah & the Love Prophets played through their catalog while the audience spun around and sang along with them to their songs. At the end of the evening, Dave calls up all the other guys that played that night along with Tom O-Connor who was responsible for gathering the night’s entertainment. They all jammed out to Fire on the Mountain giving everyone a chance to solo. There are three things I think of when I reminisce of this wonderful night of music:

1) Go see the Rob Beaulieu Band. They are an awesome band and such amazing people.

2) If you have a party, hire Dr. Jah to play it. They are such a fun and funky reggae party band and a hallmark of the capital region. I enjoyed seeing the other local musicians that were there to enjoy the show.

3)The third and most important thing is to go to The Jive Hive Live’s Website and check out their upcoming shows. Go to their YouTube Channel and subscribe. You can also search through the volumes of all the previous performances recorded at the studio space. Jive Hive provides this incredible service to musicians to be able to stream live shows to a world wide audience. Supporting them is like supporting every other local musician all at the same time.