Latest Posts

Tonight: Made Violent

May 5, 2017

Buffalo’s own garage rock masters Made Violent don’t get to play the Queen City very often, but when they do it is a big deal, both for fans and the band themselves. Tonight the trio will be headlining the Studio at Waiting Room. The show  comes just days after the release of the video for their new single “Basement Ghost” which will be released on a 7″ vinyl with the B-side being “More Ways Than One”.  Also on the bill tonight will be Ugly Sun and Sixties Future. Doors open at 7pm, tickets are $13 at the door.

Tonight: Walrus

April 27, 2017

Tonight Curly’s will host Canadian Psyche-Rock outfit Walrus at the cozy west side DIY venue. “Walrus is one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live,” Schila, a booker for Curly’s, says adding “they were here like 2 years ago and people still stop me to ask about them.” Walrus’ show is one of a couple in the states for the band before they head back to Canada, in lieu of their first European tour with Wintersleep. Walrus’ new record Family Hangover  will not officially be released until June, but they will be playing most of the new album tonight. “It’s a little different,” vocalist and guitarist Jordan Murphy says of the June release adding, “we really took our time to make sure it was exactly how we wanted it to sound. it’s our first LP and that only happens once.” Also on the bill tonight are Steak & Cake alumni punk outfit Slow Cooker,[...]

Tonight: Feverbox

April 14, 2017

Babeville doesn’t disappoint with their show line-ups and tonight is no different. Tonight the Delaware Ave venue hosts Feverbox’s official release party for their brand spanking new self-titled EP. Forming in 2015, the band has been on the rise in the local scene, playing strong bills all over the city. Feverbox’s EP was written and recorded by the bands themselves over the pats six motnhs. “I would say it’s probably in the same vein”  says Nico Kelly, Feverbox bassist. “(the music) is much more concentrated, a little more mature. The EP flows much better between songs than any singles we’ve released in the past.” Also on the bill this evening supporting Feverbox will be old friends Super American who just dropped their own release and psych rock outfit Deadwolf.  Doors open at 8pm,  or $8 dollars at the door. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/314372360″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Tonight: Orations Release Party

April 1, 2017

College Rock isn’t just for the kids anymore. If you’re feeling nostalgic and are “jonesin” for some  80’s post-punk  jams then the Tralf may just be your pusher man. The Main Street venue will be hosting three Buffalo bands tonight that will most definitely fill your pre-alternative void. Slotted to play will be Orations, who will be celebrating the release of their new record Wych Elm. The album is Orations’ fourth release and first on US label Custom Made Music. Also on the bill will experimental noise punk outfit Alpha Hopper and late 90s emo revivalists Honey Coma. Punk time is null and void. It’s $7 at the door which opens at 9:15pm, music at 9:45 and a strict end by midnight. Wych Elm will be available for purchase on Cassette, CD and LP, as well as super sweet new T-shirts, because after all who doesn’t need another t-Shirt?

Morbs – s/t

March 24, 2017

Eric Ellman is a pretty busy guy in the current local scene. In the past six months he’s pumped out two Green Slime releases and now with the help of his cohorts Emily Churco, Mike Herman and Rona Eliyahu, Ellman has revealed the self-titled debut for Morbs. The 10 track debut which clocks in just under 20 minutes was recorded by Matt Chase and mixed and mastered by John Angelo. The self-titled debut from the Queen City garage-punk outfit comes out of left field. It’s hard to determine what stands out more, is it the stripped down pure adrenal gland capsule that is Ellman’s guitar? Or is it the vocals of Churco? Churco’s lips are fast moving even when they are stuck in traffic, like on the slower tracks “Co-Pilot” and “Made of Bones”. Even on these songs her vocals seem to still be moving at the speed of light. However,[...]

Rat v Cat v Bat Release Improvisational EP

March 14, 2017

Brandon Schlia just may be one of the hardest working people in the Buffalo music scene right now. It seems every few weeks he is releasing new music from a new project on his imprint Steak & Cake Records and this month is no different. Schlia with his cohorts Derick Evans and Nick Randall released Dress Rehearsal under the name of Rat v Cat v Bat. Dress Rehearsal is an all instrumental improvisational record that mixes elements of jazz and funk as well as rock. According to Schlia, Rat v Cat v Bat “came out of watching Donny McCaslin’s band and wanting to tap that musical space.” Schlia also sees the project as being “a personal challenge for him.” Listeners shouldn’t get too attached to the songs on Dress Rehearsal however, because Schlia is serious when he means Rat v Cat v Bat is completely improvisational, meaning that the songs on the four song release will never be replayed or recreated. “They won’t[...]

Tonight: Johnny Cash Birthday Bash

February 6, 2015

There is no ambiguity that exists in your cranial cavity when you hear the words “The Man in Black.” Without question, you know who that is: Johnny Cash. The late country music great is an anomaly, managing to bridge generations as well as integrate them, even though he has been gone from this world for over a decade now. Tonight, the Good Neighborhood will be hosting its annual Johnny Cash tribute show, celebrating his birthday at the Allen Street staple, Nietzsche’s. Everything gets kicked off promptly at 6pm, with Cash tribute band Boy Named Sue playing its monthly happy hour, only to be followed by a lineup of both annual favorites and new comers. On the bill are The CPX, Ten Cent Howl, Stoneflower, David Michael Miller of House Union, and Jim Candytree & Megan Brown of Whiskey Reverb. Everyone has shared their song selections, promising no repeats. The happy[...]

Tonight: Teenager

January 24, 2015

“Going back to school, or already went to school” blues got you down? Why not blow off some last minute steam tonight at Hoyt House? The young bucks who run the joint have a very relaxed attitude on life, where punk time is still alive and well. Tonight on the line up with be Toronto’s Teenager. Teenager is a garage blues punk outfit who could even foil Lester Bangs into thinking that they are the love child of The Sonics, Iggy Pop, and the Washouts, because in the music world it takes three to make a baby. Also on the bill tonight are Buffalo weirdos Alpha Hopper and fairly new lo-fi guys on the block Softlines. Show time says 7pm, but who knows. If you don’t know where Hoyt House is, you already know the drill: ask a punk.

Kharlos

January 8, 2015

Kharlos sounds like suburban kids jamming in the basement tripping out on their mom’s stash of benzies. The kicker is that that all three members Buffalo music scene veterans nearing their 30’s, or at least getting there. The trio’s EP, Hail Kharlos Vol. 1, is stacked with four songs that are equally adrenaline filled (“Better”) as they are soul warming (“Alright”). The band is just so Zen. They are overboard and self-assured, and they are okay with that. The raspy, echoing vocals of Benjamin Maries make you want to cuddle up with your favorite 80’s High School dramedy as he sings songs about cats and Acid trips. Kharlos is dance music for the emotional vacant and the rest of us degenerates who have no other excuse for being assholes. This is our Ann Arbor.  Kharlos is grunge with exactly two and a half bumps of 30mg, pharmaceutical grade Adderall, because[...]

The Afterbirth Tycoon Releases Purgatory On Parade

January 6, 2015

Power trio, the Afterbirth Tycoon, have been at it for nearly a decade, however in the past year,we have seen more activity from the outfit. Late last spring, the three piece released Late Bloom, a 10 track studio recorded release, and then last week, they hit us with another garage blue nugget in the form of the six track, Purgatory on Parade. The EP was recorded with Matt Smith at his Hi-Lo Studio earlier this summer, and mastered by John Angelo at Slave Pit Studios in Richmond, VA. “Matt is actually going to be moving,” guitarist/vocalist Jason Pitcher says, “so that will be the last session in his barn, but I hope to continue working with him wherever he lands. It’s always a good time working with Matt: no stress, lots of laughs, and I never hesitate to ask his opinion.” For the most part, Purgatory picks up where Late Bloom left off.[...]

Cages

January 4, 2015

“Have you heard Cages?” Josh Smith asks. I shake my head no. “Oh they’re awesome. They are this weird…I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s this avant-garde noise, neo-folk fusion of sorts. The first time I saw them was at the Sugar City Metro Show.” When Smith talks about Cages, his eyes light up like a redneck showing off his new thirty-aught-six at his daughter’s wedding. With excitement like this, it’s no wonder that he decided to put out Cages new record, Vivpary, on his imprint Black Dots Records. Vivpary is Cages follow up studio release to 2009’s, Folding Space. It was written in 2011 and recorded in 2012 at GCR in Buffalo. “The sound is really amazing. It’s the closest picture of what we have been working on. Definitely different than anything else we have recorded,” guitarist David Bailey says, adding, “This is the most fully realized[...]

Tonight: BoBo, Johnny Revolting, and more

November 14, 2014

Things are pretty much back to business as usual in the Queen City. It’s getting cold, the amateur street theater on Allen Street is in a recession, and Mohawk Place is once again live and well. Since reopening late this summer, the Mohawk (under new ownership) has been hosting show after show with each line up being stacked full of local home boys and home girls. Tonight is just another night at Mohawk with local acts BoBo, Cowboys of Scotland, and Johnny Revolting taking the stage. Also on the bill are Toronto’s The Nasties. Doors are at 8pm. $5.

Red Heat

November 11, 2014

Red Heat sounds like some kind of STD that possibly ran rampant through US Soldiers stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Rather, Red Heat is a thinking man’s punk trio consisting of Jordan Jones (drums), Nick Randall (guitar), and Brandon Schlia (bass/ vocals). The sound of fuzzy, infectious walking bass lines paired with the political vocals of Schlia draw you in, attacking such issues as militarization, national media, public education, and even Ferguson, MO. “My job is to write lyrics that run short but make a point,” Schlia explains, “like Bukowski if his obsession was world politics and not beer & pussy.” Red Heat uses everything at their disposal. They make you want to lock yourself in your bedroom and get reacquainted with every punk rock ever made from The Stooges all the way to NOFX, and everything else in between. Heat manages to even operate outside of[...]

Garrett Klahn Returns Home with New Solo Project

November 4, 2014

Garrett Klahn hasn’t lived in Buffalo in nearly 20 years. “I just moved back at the end of the summer.” Klahn says. “My mother is here, so for the past 20 years I’d come home for at least two holidays every year, and for weddings, babies all that normal shit. So I was here a lot.” Klahn is best known for his involvement in a little band from New York City, Texas is the Reason, as well as a multitude of other projects. Klahn is now back in his native city of Buffalo calling the Elmwood Village and Allentown neighborhoods home, which do not resemble the humble districts they once were in his younger days. “The changes are black and white really.” He says of the now bustling Elmwood Village neighborhood. “I left in ’93, and then you didn’t really venture much past Lafayette.” So what brings Klahn back to[...]

Psychic Teens – “Face”

October 28, 2014

We all should thank Andy Czuba and Sugar City for bringing Psychic Teens to Buffalo many moons ago. The Philly outfit have been on the Queen City’s inhabitants radar since its deafening performance at buffaBLOG’s Herd Fest this past summer. Some ears are still ringing. The trio of brotherly love has just released its new single “Face,” accompanied by B-Side “All.” The former is a heavenly juggernaut of bliss born into the realm of post punk, layered with shooting gallery echoes, distortion, and compounded percussion. Here is hoping that “Face” is just the precursor for the follow up to 2013’s Come.  [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/172353634″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]