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Tonight: Public School Presents Ladies Night

January 30, 2015

The next installment of Public School, the Public‘s monthly dance showcase, goes down tonight at Hardware, and this one is run by ladies only. Featuring an all-female cast of DJs, included the fresh faced duo, GLDN GIRLS, and DJ Yama, the latter whom was given a nice spotlight a couple weeks back in the weekly publication, will be holding the front and back rooms down all evening. The night kicks off at 11pm with a $5 cover. All ladies who arrive prior to midnight, though, can walk right in for free. Sadly, neither act tonight has any audio clips that I can find, so lets just hope tonight turns out better than this.

MD WOODS Drops First Single From Young and Vain 2. EP

January 29, 2015

Winter usually kicks my seasonal folk obsession into high gear so I was pleased to see that stand out Rochester folkie, MD WOODS, dropped the first single from his forthcoming album, the sequel to his summer released Young and Vain 1. EP, earlier this week. On the passionate “Finally in Love,” WOODS’ pleading and somewhat broken down vocals recall Heartbreaker and Gold era Ryan Adams, so if that peaks your interest, give the song a spin. “Finally in Love,” which can be streamed below, will be featured on Young and Vain 2. in the near future.

2015 Buffalo Infringement Festival Poster Design Contest Open for Submissions

January 27, 2015

It may not look it outside, but the wheels are already in motion for year 11 of the Buffalo Infringement Festival (July 23rd – August 2nd), an 11 day spectacle centered around Allentown and behind that encompasses anything and everything under the performance arts umbrella, and even a bit more. One event simply served coffee a couple years ago. Anyways, venues are being locked down, musicians are submitting proposals, but before any of that, the festival needs a damn poster. So that’s where you, artists or non, come in. The organizers have opened submissions for the 2015 Infringement Festival Post Design Contest. Designs are being accepted through Sunday, February 15th, and the winner gets a cool $100. There are more technical requirements for the design so I will let the poster below do the rest of the talking. Good Luck.

Just Announced: METZ

January 26, 2015

When Mohawk Place, or I guess Buffalo’s Mohawk Place as it’s now technically called, reopened its doors this past fall, it had some growing pains. The sound wasn’t quite right, a bit of character was lost, and there was a lot of Magic Hat, like everywhere. But once the new owners and bookers got their feet wet, the place started to recapture some of the venue’s old spirit. Recent shows like Diarrhea Planet and the Wooden Waves album release show seemed to leave people with the impression that Mohawk had gotten some of its groove back, and with the exception of the loss of some of the old venue’s more colorful and crusty characters, the Hawk was settling back in just fine. The main reason of the new Mohawk Place’s coming of age has been this recent run of great bookings, and if rumors are true, even more are to[...]

Gaby and the Thurstones Contribute “Everything is Red” to Split Single

January 26, 2015

Over the weekend, a Rochester band that was new to my radar, although apparently not to the former host of the WBNY Local Show, dropped a solid single as part of the two-track Sport. Gaby and the Thurstones, a trio of singer/songwriters released a split single along with Little Alien, who I would assume to be another Roch act, but his FB page offers pretty much no info. Anyways, Gaby and the Thurstones’ contribution to the split, titled “Everything is Red,” is a pleasant cocktail of Fanfarlo, Local Natives, and Los Campesinos. It’s peppy, indie-folk with some chamber pop flair, and a bit of a ray of sun shine on an otherwise miserable winter day here in WNY. The full split single can be streamed here, and you can listen to “Everything is Red” below.

Just Announced: Big Data

January 23, 2015

One of 2014’s major breakout acts was Big Data, the project of Brooklyn electronic musician, Alan Wilkes. We like to think that JOYWAVE’s Dan Armbruster taking lead vocals on the hit song, “Dangerous,” certainly didn’t hurt either. You couldn’t go through a single commercial break without hearing the track pop up on TV. The Rochester musician was featured on Big Data’s sneaky good first single, “The Stroke of Return,” as well (listen at the bottom of post). After making its Buffalo debut this past summer at Kerfuffle, Big Data will be returning to to town on Thursday, April 7th at the Showplace Theater. Raise your hand if you thought shows were still being held there. Exactly. The show is being presented by Alt Buffalo so if you happen to follow the radio station on social media, expect A LOT of reminders about this one. You have been warned. Tickets go[...]

Tonight: The Public Presents

January 23, 2015

Kind of a slow night in Buffalo for music (unless you can still tolerate jam), so if you want to get your fix in, The Public will be throwing its first monthly showcase at Nietzsche’s to go along with the paper’s re-occurring Public School dance showcases across the street at Hardware. Headlining the evening, which is coined as “The Public Presents…,” will be buzzing Buffalo synth-pop act, Humble Braggers, fronted by Tom Burtless. The group dropped a couple solid EPs over the course of 2014, one that included a stellar cover of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (listen below), so keep a look out for them tonight. Rounding out the eclectic bill will be local MC Mic Excel, electronic artist JeffRepeater, and Essential Vitamins Crew ring leader, Cove. Music kicks off this evening at 10pm with a cover of $5. Photo Credit – Brett Mikoll

Just Announced: Horse Feathers

January 22, 2015

One of modern folk music’s most underrated and consistent acts, Horse Feathers, will return to Buffalo on Sunday, March 29th with an intimate engagement at the Tralf Music Hall. The Portland based band debuted in 2006 with its stunning debut effort, Words are Dead, and have been putting out quality album after album over the years. Horse Features will be on tour in support of its newest album, So It Is With Us. I remember catching the band a few years back in the Babeville basement and the performance still gives me the chills thinking about it. Tickets are currently on sale for $13 in advance, $15 day of.

Silo Sessions Premieres Latest Installment feat. Aaron Folmsbee

January 20, 2015

One of my favorite, although short lived, bands to emerge out of Buffalo over the last couple years was Marine Biologist, a emotional post-rock outfit that featured a revolving cast of musicians all based around singer/songwriter Aaron Folmsbee. Folmsbee, who also was a member of Bourbon & Coffee, recently moved out west for a year to serve as a musical apprentice (I think?), but before leaving town, managed to record a haunting clip for the Silo Sessions series, which has continued to release quality clip after clip on a weekly basis. Watch Folmsbee in the video below perform “Ballerina” while sitting on top of a ladder. P.S. Folmsbee recently hinted he may start recording some new Marine Biologist material so keep an eye out and fingers crossed. Silo Session 28 : Aaron Folmsbee from silosessions on Vimeo.

Just Announced: Weird Al

January 20, 2015

One of the more unexpected success stories of 2014 was the comeback of Weird Al Yankovic, who dropped his well received new album, Mandatory Fun, last summer, and surprisingly (or maybe not depending on how you feel about the guy) gained his first #1 album on the Billboard charts of his long career (watch the pretty touching reveal here). The artist, who for nearly 30 years now, has made a career of parodying acts from Michael Jackson to the Presidents of the United States of America to Lorde, in addition to dropping countless viral music videos, just announced a massive tour in support of the album, one that will include a stop in Buffalo later this summer. Yankovic will bring his “Mandatory Fun Tour” to the University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre on Wednesday, July 15th. Tickets will on sale on Friday, January 30th at 10am, for $49.50.

KOPPS Debuts New Single, “Dumb”

January 19, 2015

It’s been a minute since we’ve last heard from Rochester-based electro-pop quartet, KOPPS, although they have been sharing the radio waves (specifically the infectious scat from lead singer Patricia Petrone) with Rochester breakout act, JOYWAVE, with the 2014 breakout single of the 2013 single “Tongues.” If you have been following KOPPS on social media, then you should not be surprised to find a new single debuting this morning. Titled “Dumb,” the track is a brief, 90’s club banger with hushed paranoid backing vocals from co-member Kyle O’Hara. The single is currently streaming via Soundcloud below.

Tonight: The Soft Love

January 17, 2015

What the hell is The Soft Love? The band has no recorded material to its name, has never played a show (although that will end after tonight), and yet, at the time of this posting, has over 80 RSVPs to this evening’s event page. Well, we do know some info about the band. The four-piece is made up of members of the recently departed Son of the Sun and former Mohawk greats, The Thermidors, so the pedigree and benefit of the doubt is certainly on the band’s side. And according to member Jeremy Franklin, the quartet will be tapping into some of that darker garage sound ala Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, so he’s got me listening. You can find out what the hype is all about tonight at Nietzsche’s as The Soft Love will make its live debut supported by Rochester’s The Absolutes and DJ Lulu, so I suppose we can[...]

Made Violent Announces Debut EP, Premieres “On My Own” via Consequence of Sound

January 16, 2015

Between playing gigs in NYC and London over the better part of 2014, Buffalo trio Made Violent has been a bit quiet on the home front as of late. As it turns out, the three-some (which includes members of former Buffalo outfit Crush the Everlasting) has been working on its debut, self titled EP, set to drop on February 24th via StarTime International, an imprint of Columbia Records. Earlier today, Consequence of Sound debuted the EP’s first single, the brash “On My Own.” Lyrically, the song is pretty contemptuous, but the Made Violent way is all about fun. The single delivers the urgency while retaining that MV playfulness that makes them so fun to listen to in the first place. If this is your first encounter with Made Violent, think back to that neo Brit-Invasion a few years back that included bands like Kasabian meets the indie stylings of Drink Up Buttercup,[...]

1809 Studios Premieres Latest Session feat. Big Fred

January 16, 2015

Its been a minute since we caught up with Macedon’s 1809 Studios and its still fresh video session series, 1809 Sessions. Located just outside of Rochester, the studio has already hosted and filmed some great acts out of the 585 including buzz band Secret Pizza, crooner Jon Valenti, and harpist Mikaela Davis. The studio’s latest installment, the #9 from the young series, comes from a Rochester band called Big Fred. The band does have a Wild Beasts type feel to it though so you are a fan, then maybe Big Fred is up your alley. Check out the clip, produced and filmed/edited as always by studio engineer, Dave Drago, and Roch-singer/songwriter, Jon Lewis, below.

Just Announced: Shakey Graves

January 15, 2015

This has been a busy week for show announcements (Diarrhea Planet, Torche, Tigers Jaw), but one of the more under-the-radar shows going down this spring will be the cult, anti-folk musician, Shakey Graves, making his debut on the Town Ballroom stage on Tuesday, March 31st. The NPR and Paste favorite, who was born as Alejandro Rose-Garcia and performs with his own make shift drum kit fashioned out of a suitcase, will be on tour in support of his newest album, And the War Came, which dropped in fall of 2014. Tickets for the spring engagement will go on sale tomorrow at noon, for $15 in advance, $18 day of.