Antigone Rising // Church // Boston MA // March 7, 2014

New York City based Antigone Rising have reinvented themselves and are now back for good to seal a permanent place in your music collection. After trudging though a couple of line-up bumps in the road over the years, they’ve finally found their concrete quartet of gelling perfection.  The four with the goods are: Kristen Ellis-Henderson (founding member, guitarist, author, blogger, Time cover co-star), Cathy Henderson (founding member, lead guitarist, maker of the best guitar-face[s] you’ll ever see, Kristen’s sister), Dena Tauriello (drummer/beat-keeper/human chronometer, coach, professor, most difficult band member to photograph on stage – ever.), and Nini Camps (lead singer, Miami native, NYC solo artist extraordinaire, non-blogger since 2012, whiskey imbiber).
The band has been nominated for an Independent Music Award (vote for them here) whose voting panel is overflowing with the musically au fait – Ann and Nancy Wilson, Laurie Anderson, Anthony DeCurtis, Chris and Oliver Wood, Suzanne Vega, Arturo Sandoval, Terry McBride, Kevin Lyman, Shelby Lynne, Band of Skulls, and Jason Olaine, just to name a handful.  The recognition comes as a result of their constant hard work – if they aren’t playing the 280+ shows per year they used to rack up performing on the Today Show, Tonight Show, Emeril Live, and opening for the Rolling Stones, Joan Jett, Aerosmith, Allman Brothers, or Rob Thomas, then they’re crowdsourcing funds (spin class! drum lessons! house concerts!) for their latest two-part album “Whiskey and Wine.”  Also big supporters of GLAAD, it doesn’t hurt that Kristen’s wife is the newly-named GLAAD president Sarah Ellis-Henderson.  If that isn’t enough, then add a week on the Olivia Travel’s Caribbean Equality and Leadership Cruise to the AR itinerary, rubbing elbows with Maya Angelou, Indigo Girls, Judy Gold, Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, Meredith Baxter, and Suzanne Westenhoefer.  No big deal, right?  Between that list and the band, half of my personal heroes were on that ship.
Oh, and that show at Church of Boston happened, too – Friday, March 7th. Antigone Rising opened the night with “Everything Changes,” threw in a good mix of old favorites and new tunes like “Everywhere is Home,” “Call Me Crazy,” “Weed and Wine,” and the super catchy “That Was the Whiskey” (but, really, when wasn’t it the whiskey?).  Proving their new-found cohesiveness, the band treated the crowd to witty banter and stories aplenty throughout the night – heartily opening up about writing their music and the truth – or lack thereof – behind “That Was the Whiskey.”  It’s obvious they are now officially a solid team, with their blissful camaraderie shining through as they actively criss-cross the stage, cracking each other up, with each member getting their turn to solo, showing us how overwhelmingly talented they continue to be, and that the whiskey and wine swilling virtuosas that are Antigone Rising have risen from the ashes and the sky’s the limit.
Check out their upcoming tour dates here.