Kevin Shea
Staff Writer
kshea@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
West End Blend and The Waterhole Music Lounge present the second annual “The Blender,” a two-night soul funk dance party, Aug. 23-24, featuring West End Blend, pictured above, and several special guests. (Photo provided)
SARANAC LAKE — Over the years, West End Blend has grown a bond with this village and the Waterhole, a bar that regularly hosts live music. Friday and Saturday will feature performances of the band in the second year of a special series of shows called the Blender.
The group from Hartford, Connecticut, played its first Winter Carnival at the Waterhole in 2016. Apparent insanity and passion were the accelerants for the connection.
“It was the coldest temperature we all had ever experienced before, but we were amazed to see people parading around in bathing suits and other crazy outfits,” said Sam Horan, drummer for the band. “We knew right away that this was going to be a place that we would fit right in.”
And then they stayed. Ever since that day, the group has come back to perform. With bar owners Kiki Sarko and Eric Munley, they found warmth and hospitality.
“Eric and Kiki are just the best and have really helped us grow there,” Horan wrote in an email to the Enterprise. “You don’t find many club owners who make you a home cooked meal when you arrive … thanks Kiki!”
And with the locals, they found a desire for rhythm and chaos that matched their passion for music.
“Also, we’ve found that the people of Saranac Lake are some of the most fun people to play for,” Horan wrote. “Their rowdy, high-energy packs the place every time and are always dancing and smiling.”
Typically they stopped by for a single night’s show, and their horns, drums and vocals filled the large music hall of the Waterhole; however, last year they tried something new. It’s called the Blender.
“This will be the second installment of our annual ‘Blender’ series which started last year,” Horan wrote. “We talked with the Waterhole about doing a West End Blend-based festival and figured we can get the most out of it if we played two nights and had different bands join us each night.”
At last year’s Blender, the band recorded an album named “Live at the Waterhole.” For Friday and Saturday’s performances, the band will play “Say Hey Reprise,” which, according to Horan, was created during a performance on the Waterhole’s patio. It has since become tradition to perform.
“We were in the middle of our set when it started to look like it was about to start pouring rain any second, which would’ve forced us to stop the set,” Horan wrote. “While jamming on this slow funky riff, we started chanting, ‘it aint gon’ rain tonight,’ with the audience as a sort of anti-rain mantra. And (lo) and behold, it didn’t rain on us! We ended up liking that jam so much that we turned it into a full arrangement and recorded it for our ‘Say Hey’ album.”
This year there will be several bands playing before West End Blend each day. On Friday night, Root Shock, a Syracuse reggae band, will perform as the opener. On Saturday, the Blind Owl Band, a local band that includes Munley, will open. On both nights, the doors will open at 8 p.m., and the music will start at 9 p.m. The cost for each day is $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Two-day passes are available for purchase in advance for $20.
On Saturday there will be two free shows on the patio. The Blind Owl Band’s Arthur Buezo will offer “savage folk-rock music,” and Harsh Armadillo will play “high-octane New England funk-hop,” according to a press release from the Waterhole.