Latest Posts

Ugly Sun – Painted Post

July 24, 2017

Local garage rock  trio Ugly Sun have wrapped up an impressive first year in existence with an excellent EP in Painted Post that’s a perfect summation of what this band, and the Rust Belt rock revival they’re part of, are all about. Anchored by Trey Hollowood’s post rock-guitar heroics, the sharp and insistent drums of Harrison Crook and his brother John’s versatile bass and unfailingly melodic wail, the four jams on Painted Post are beautifully messed up. Kicking off with defiance and grit, “Marble Eye,” a real winner from their live set, crushes from the start, thanks to warm riffs that also grinds and stomps under a deft, cranked up Beach Boys chorus, while “Soil” is subversive liberation, jangly guitars, and an ode to getting dirty while we can before we ultimately getting dirty with the worms six feet under, an ethos I can thoroughly get down with while the city rapidly[...]

Tonight: Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts

July 17, 2017

Tonight, NYC folk punk outfit Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts headline a top lineup over at Sugar City with Multibird, Jack Toft and Little Cake. Taking a garage/punk rock sledgehammer to austere folk music tropes, Jeffrey Lewis finds new epic territory to mine live, while Multibird, a new act from Rochester’s Seth Faergolzia takes apart the folk music form from the inside. Ana (Radarada) Vafai’s band Little Cake and local hip hop hero Jack Toft. Cover is $10, doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 7:30pm to beat the 10pm curfew.

Bold Folly –More Garbage Than Art

July 17, 2017

Buffalo psychedelic garage rock power trio Bold Folly are back with More Garbage Than Art, a larcenous EP of off-kilter punk jams that always keep you guessing and holding on for dear life right from the start. Between our home grown psychedelic bands (Aircraft, Deadwolf) and the touring variety playing the area over the next few months (Foxygen, Mac DeMarco, Flaming Lips, Roger Waters) Bold Folly’s latest offering is a fascinating entry, exploring the darker aspects of the journey. More Garbage Than Art starts with “Dogfight,”  a pleasant shuffling song with soothing surf rock backing vocals that give way to bloodcurdling howls and crushing punk chaos only to reset itself for the increasingly menacing second verse that goes even further, scraping it’s way to splendor before retreating again. The resulting tension continues to unfold on the bleak and vaguely Sabbathesque “I Wanna,” a tribute to watching TV with the closed captioning on in the background while[...]

Tonight: Hank & Cupcakes

July 14, 2017

Tonight Nietzsche’s will be jumping thanks to an incredible slate featuring the thunderous dance punk of Hank & Cupcakes and some of Buffalo’s most forward looking acts. Hailing from Brooklyn, Hank & Cupcakes, aka Sagit Shir and Ariel Scherbacovsky, rock an evolving, mighty sound that currently skews more punk than dance on their third full length release Cheap Thrill, while still keeping those danceable beats coming. Opening the show will be R&B crooner from the future Saint Opal, grunge rock heroes SMUG, and charming vintage alternative rock revivalists Hundred Plus Club. Doors open at 9pm and cover is $6.

Talking Under Water Release Video For “We Used To Dream”

June 13, 2017

To borrow and adapt a now classic Rick James quote, nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Ephemeral, elusive and irresistible, we can’t escape it now matter how hard we try (trust me, after a while you just go with it), and for Exhibit A of this human phenomenon would have to be the video for Talking Under Water’s “We Used To Dream.” Already lovely and melancholic slab of Beatles, Beach Boys and Chicago infused 80’s mega pop, the clip from the Rochester quintet is practically weaponized nostalgia… for the joy of youth, the Tom Hanks classic “Big,” and a magical time long ago when blowing on things like videogame cartridges really did fix them. The clip and single hail from the bands eponymous debut album which arrived in April and can be found here.

The Leones – Songs From The Canyon

June 5, 2017

With a turbulent spring doggedly holding out like that one lingering party guest against the full bloom of summer in Buffalo, Songs From The Canyon from ambitious Batavia psych rockers The Leones  arrived right on time last week with a clutch of spacious, heady jams ideal for Album of the Week… and for getting wasted around summer bonfires or driving in the desert or along the 90 at night with the windows/top down. Lovers of hazy, reverb drenched California rock will get a genuine thrill with Songs From The Canyon. Tom Burtless from Humble Braggers guests on the majestic album opener “Coast,” a plaintive country rock ballad journey that’s always in motion, while “Dealer” digs deep with a swirling, introspective piano and aching vocal harmonies before the high flying yet reassuring release of “Home.” There’s a nice War On Drugs vibe sure, but there’s also a real Laurel Canyon thing[...]

Tonight: The Leones

June 2, 2017

Tonight Batavia based psych rockers The Leones celebrate the release of their latest release, Songs From The Canyon at the Ninth Ward at Babeville with the busy as hell Humble Braggers and art rock outfit Parade Chic. Fans of vintage synths, spacious jams, and songs that conjure sensations of a beating sun over the low desert and yearning freedom won’t want to miss this one. Doors are at 8pm and cover is $5. Songs From The Canyon by The Leones

Rap & Destroy Return With “Act Like UGAF”

May 31, 2017

Buffalo hip hop punk crew Rap & Destroy follow up their debut singe “R Kelly’s heel” with an even clearer declaration of intent and sonic manifesto in the form of their latest cut, “Act Like UGAF.” A spicy sneak preview of their forthcoming debut LP R.A.D AdVICE due next week, “Act Like UGAF” is raw, insurgent, and solid for turning things up at the party thanks to it’s powerful collective presence and thoroughly blunted 90’s hip hop sound.

Tonight: Maybird

May 27, 2017

Tonight Rochester by way of Brooklyn vintage rockers Maybird will be bringing their instantly timeless rock to the Buffalo Iron Works with Sun Parade. The quartet from just up the 90 made a big splash regionally, rapidly drumming up a number of admirers, including a few of our staffers, and more importantly mega producer Danger Mouse, who snapped them up and released their debut EP Turning Into Water in 2015.  Opening the show will be The Sun Parade, four gents from the wilds of Massachusetts exploring the outer reaches of college fried indie rock.  Doors open at 8pm, show’s at 9pm, and tickets are $10.

Tonight: Interstellar Vibrational Travel Experiment

May 26, 2017

Tonight beloved art space Dreamland will play host to the Interstellar Vibrational Travel Experiment (IVRE), a multidisciplinary multimedia excursion beyond the limits of space, time, and corporeal location. Conducted by Wren Williams & The Sons Of Luther, HOP HOP, and Rat v Cat v Bat, audience members/test subjects will be expanding their consciousness and  journeying into the beyond without changing coordinates via curated stimuli, theoretical vibrational frequencies, and the power of shared, communal experience. Reality challenging science isn’t free, so a donation of $5 (for science!) would be tremendously appreciated and a genuine boon to humanity.  Audience members/test subjects are encouraged to be present for departure by the appointed zero hour of 8pm; arrival is scheduled for 11pm but please be aware that time is entirely subjective. Good luck.

Tonight: Wavves

May 19, 2017

Beloved California surf rockers Wavves make their welcome return to Buffalo tonight at the Tralf with Chicago psych rockers Post Animal. It’s since six long years since Nathan Williams and company played the Town Ballroom and the band’s had some adventures: signing to Warner Brothers after the indie success with King Of The Beach and releasing two albums with them before totally falling out with Warners and returning to the indie world all pissed off and invigorated. Footloose and free, Wavves dropped their wonderfully wacky and adventurous sixth album You’re Welcome this very day in history, making tonight’s show even more special for local fans. Chicago buzz band Post Animal opens the show, having just dropped their latest single “Special Moment” last week. The buzz surrounding them is noteworthy for a few reasons: 1) it’s entirely justified thanks to their dense and dreamy, Tame Impalaesque sound; and 2) part of the buzz[...]

Tonight: SMUG

May 12, 2017

Buffalo’s music scene is definitely fluid, with bands coming and going, frequent collaboration, and sometimes bands up and change names. Case in point: the reborn punk rock band Naturalists, now known as SMUG, who took a break, changed their sound, recorded a forthcoming debut album, and rebranded themselves with a nifty all caps name that’s got fans of Naturalists eager to see what’s next. What do these guys sound like now? Nobody knows but them, but the impenetrable mystery becomes clearer tonight at their debut show tonight the Mohawk with tuneful surf rock darlings Dreambeaches, punk rock machine The Slums, and space rock explorer Moody Cosmos. Doors at 8pm and cover is $5. Wicked Dreams/ Grown Up by The Naturalists

KOPPS Drop “Baby I’m Dead Inside”

May 3, 2017

Rochester electro darlings KOPPS are back with a new single that accurately/regrettably/inevitably captures the zeitgeist, the sweet electronic poison that is “Baby I’m Dead Inside.” Trading their trademark trashed glitz for simmering, low key electronic funk punctuated by crunchy, fuzzed out guitar riffs, KOPPS find a new brand new slowed down groove for Patricia Patrón’s sultry disco diva vocal stylings to bewitch the faithful into helpless submission. Check out “Baby I’m Dead Inside” below and keep an eye on KOPPS- they could be busy this year.

Tonight: Contemporary Color at the North Park Theatre

May 2, 2017

Tonight, the North Park Theatre will be hosting a special screening of the Ross Brothers’ documentary Contemporary Color in collaboration with Cultivate Cinema Circle. The 2016 film documents the 2015 concerts organized by David Byrne to celebrate the highly “sophisticated folk art form” known as color guard, the athletic dance routines featured during high school and college game halftimes that accompany marching bands, in this context substituting indie bands for the marching bands. Featuring performances by 2017 Record Store Day Ambassador St. Vincent, Nelly Furtado, tune-yards, Dev Hynes, How To Dress Well, Lucious, Zola Jesus, Beastie Boy Ad Rock, and color guards from across the country, Contemporary Color looks looks musically, visually, and emotionally intense, and worth checking out on the book screen with the sound turned up like they do it at the North Park. Tickets are $10.50 and show starts at 7pm.

Tonight: Cloud Nothings

April 28, 2017

Tonight Cleveland post punk garage rockers Cloud Nothings make a welcome return to Buffalo at the Tralf for their first local show in three years. These spirit brothers of the Rust Belt and their mighty, primal rock are back in support of their excellent fourth album Life Without Sound, a melodically complex turn that still retains the angst fueled howl that makes them on of the most captivating bands going right now. Your guess is as good as mine about who’s opening the show, but tickets are still available for $18, and doors open at 8pm. UPDATED: According to Cloud Nothings Twitter feed the openers will be “some weird Cleveland ____” in the form of a band called Brainwashed California and “this guy” Adam Miller.