Jan 28 : "Loyalty and Blame" - Heliocentric Overdrive (Philly)

SEPTA got me there in time for the last couple songs. A couple weeks ago I went to Ortlieb's to see Heliocentric Overdrive. The band is one of frontman Tom Lugo's creations. All of his outfits are under the umbrella of his production company, Patetico Recordings. Over many years I've been to shows of his various projects, but Jan 16 at Ortlieb's looked like it drew the biggest crowd yet!

In the final song, making sure the we were all fully immersed in the music, Tom jumped down off the stage and played his guitar moving around through the audience. He increased the intensity as the audience applauded. His background in athletics and martial arts gave him the agility to do more moves than we see in others who try to do the same thing.

The music was also more tight than when I saw them last.

Here is a sample of their latest work. The song is "Loyalty and Blame", and was released over the summer :::

Heliocentric Overdrive doesn't have any other shows coming up soon, but here is the click to their Facebook page where can find out what's next ::: Heliocentric Overdrive on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic is from Tom Lugo's Facebook page.)

Jan 07 : "The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani"

"The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani" is Democracy Now's full-length video of their live broadcast of the New York City inauguration. The event was beautiful and inspiring. The link to the video is below.

Mamdani had a message of hope, offering big plans and big ideas which were all drawn from interactions he and his team had with average citizens. What a breath of fresh air compared to so many politicians on both sides of the aisle. Many offer little more than to tweak the status quo. Many offer little if no inspiration to follow or support them. Many don't have well thought-out platforms and offer little more than "we're not as bad as our opponents". And too many try to divide and demonize others.

The excitement in this event is electric. You can see it in the faces of those in the audience as well as those on stage. Good speakers. Good music. People react positively to someone offering bold new ideas, and, in our current political climate, someone who does not try to divide the members of the populace against each other.

Aginst all odds, Mamdani and tens of thousands of his supporters achieved one of the biggest political upsets in recent times, beating well-funded opponents who also had the support of the political machine.I truly hope that Mamdani will be successful and that more candidates will emulate his style. If Mamdani is as successful in governing as he was in campaigning, he might well turn out to be the standard by which all future candidates are measured.

So here is the link to the full ceremony. Check it out; I'm sure you will both enjoy it and be inspired by it. This was a special broadcast from "Democracy Now". "The Inauguration of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani" (CLICK HERE).

(pic at top is from broadcast)