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Steak & Cake Records

June 20, 2015 Shauna Presto

The Herd Fest-ivities continue on this glorious Saturday! Make sure you’re ready to rally by noon today, so you can head over to Record Theatre on Main Street for the Steak & Cake Records showcase. Steak & Cake Records is a DIY indie-rock label founded by Brandon Schlia (Mink, RED HEAT) that offers professional recording, production, mixing and distribution services for local artists. In other words, it is both a staple and accurate representation of Buffalo’s self-sufficient nature and synergistic music community — separate projects coming together to form something much greater than the sum of the individual parts. Dozens of wonderfully crafted records have been birthed through Schlia’s studio since its conception in 2011. If you haven’t explored S & C’s catalog on their bandcamp page, I highly suggest doing so now. This year’s showcase features seven Buffalo (and Philadelphia) based artists that support and are very much apart[...]

Mink – After Hours

June 8, 2015 Shauna Presto

Though many Buffalo show goers (myself included) may have been heartbroken having to say goodbye to Mink, the band’s posthumous EP, After Hours, could not be a better send off into the graveyard of local bands that were put to rest entirely too soon. Mink has a knack for easing you into a tune then turning you completely upside down. Just when you think you have the layout of a song figured out, they take you on an entirely different route. Between the impressively riffy guitar work from Brandon Schlia and the equally technical drum parts of Ken Culton, a raucous blend is created — one that pleases you and riles you up at the same time. Singer Jaz Frazier’s vocals are perfectly in sync with every change the music experiences. They are smooth and docile when needed, and piercing and powerful when there is an abrupt upsurge in attitude.[...]

Tonight: Hurray for the Riff Raff

June 3, 2015 Shauna Presto

It may be a chillier-than-usual start to the summer, but that doesn’t mean the essence of down home dog days can’t be celebrated. Hurray for the Riff Raff, a New Orleans based outfit, will help you do just that. Hurray for the Riff Raff is American folk that is dressed plainly — as in it doesn’t rely on contrived exaggerations of the genre to convey anything. It’s upfront, honest, and backed by authentic born-with-it type talent. Somewhere at the rootsy core of HFTRR’s music, the band offers a very real, palpable feeling delivered through Alynda Lee Segarra’s smoky, subtle vocals, the rawness of the instrumentals, and the slow unfolding of a beautiful story. Mechanical River, hailing from Charleston, SC, is set to kick off the show at Asbury Hall at Babeville. Doors are at 7pm with music starting at 8pm. Tickets are only $15. More information can be found here.

Tonight: Prawn

May 25, 2015 Shauna Presto

I saw a separate Prawn/Del Paxton show last March at The Lair, and it was an experience I can most closely (and I guess weirdly) compare to cracking a fresh egg on the rim of a frying pan. It was my first time seeing Del Paxton live, my first time really getting into Prawn, and I was genuinely excited about everything I was hearing. The show did not disappoint. If you weren’t at that show last year, fear not. Prawn and Del Paxton are headlining Dreamland tonight. Prawn’s post-rock sound is hypnotic, but not without inciting some type of visceral response, which makes for the perfect type of band to see in such an intimate setting. Del Paxton has recently joined the Topshelf family along with Prawn, and it is a well deserved membership. I’m consistently impressed with the trio’s live set and I’ve seen these guys a handful of times[...]

Tonight: Krill

May 18, 2015 Shauna Presto

Krill is a band with all the right buzz in all the right places. Hailing from Boston, they’ve garnered a super concrete East Coast fan base with their unique brand of what they simply deem “guitar rock.” They’ve settled into this mold of acceptance among avid followers of their label, Exploding In Sound, but they are totally okay with playing for the sake of playing to a crowd that will listen. Their latest release, A Distant Fist Unclenching, is a testament to their ability to create artful music that is balanced in both musicality and lyrical content. It’s grungy and dark, but equally playful when it comes to thematic elements and overall sound. I was lucky enough to catch the band on an all-star bill in Allston, Massachusetts this past September. Their set left me numb, but in the greatest way possible. Lucky for you, you can catch them in a[...]

Preview: The Demos

May 11, 2015 Shauna Presto

If you’re feelin’ dog-tired from Porchfest this past weekend (or maybe you had a really rowdy Mother’s Day?), keep that show-going momentum up! Our Rochester neighbors from The Demos are bringing their tuneful indie pop to Mohawk Place tonight. Their harmony-laden tunes are sweet and sunny but offer enough kick to really dig into you and get you moving. It’s a cohesive mix between Kevin Devine and The Strokes with a hint of The Beach Boys. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t heard! Dead Flowers from Dallas are slated to headline (picture The Black Keys with a little more twangy Southern blues influence) along with Old Best Friend out of Brooklyn, whose tender indie rock sound is fairly similar to Wild Sweet Orange. Buffalo’s own 90’s influenced alt-punk act Wolf are kicking the whole show off, so get there early to check them out. It’s bound to be the[...]

Tonight: Jacob Peter

May 8, 2015 Shauna Presto

With his most recent EP release Wind Song in circulation, and a handful of acoustic solo shows under his belt, local indie-soul act Jacob Peter is finally debuting his new material with a full band in tow at Dreamland tonight. It’d be tough to not call attention to the similarities in song stylings that Jacob shares with John Mayer (more so during his Born and Raised days), though there is a slightly more theatrical quality to this EP. The lyrics deliver honest sentiments about navigating through the often ambivalent landscape of love, loss and exploration of oneself — moving forward from it, being pushed backwards by it, and standing still through it all. The instrumentals are anything but uncertain. They are warm, they are haunting, they are demonstrative of all the intricacies hiding between those two things. They effectively bring listeners on a journey; one that I can only imagine[...]

Tonight: UB Spring Fest

May 2, 2015 Shauna Presto

With the semester’s end in sight for area college students, and the generous blanket of warm rays we’ve been receiving lately, today is nothing short of an ideal setup for UB’s Spring Fest. This year’s event, sponsored by Alternative Buffalo 107.7 and held at the University at Buffalo’s Baird Point, is jam packed with headline-worthy artist after another. Cali natives and seasoned alt-radio vets, Young the Giant, are slated as the main act of the night. If you were able to catch the band at Canalside last year, you can most likely vouch for the energetic punch their set packed. Also in tow for the evening is sultry electro-pop singer Banks, whose debut album Goddess (released only last September) has made a lasting imprint on alternative charts worldwide. In the Valley Below shares a similar dark, synth-infused pop sound to Banks, but brings a fresh male/female vocal blend to the[...]

Joey Mason – Lazy Beach Baby

April 27, 2015 Shauna Presto

There’s a romantic charm to being lazy, especially when it involves sunshine, warm sand, and an expanse of blue ocean an arm’s length away. It’s one that we all lust after, on our busiest of days, on our not-so-busiest of days. This is the charm that Joey Mason has managed to capture on his latest 18-song release, Lazy Beach Baby. The title characterizes the overall theme and sound of the album pretty darn well. With fuzzed out vocals, reverb-laden guitar riffs and the occasional smooth tenor sax line, you are transported to a breezy landscape. Think down tempo surf rock with a little more spaciness. Stylistically, the instrumentals share the same pep that a band like A Great Big Pile of Leaves has, and the vocals bear a pretty apparent similarity to a more mellow Julian Casablancas. The beach aesthetic is plenty mentioned. On the song “Baby Baby” Mason sings[...]

Joywave – How Do You Feel Now?

April 20, 2015 Shauna Presto

Since the band’s inception, Joywave has been somewhat of a buoyant hot air balloon, steadily gaining altitude with every move they make. These Rochester natives can more-than-safely say that they’ve stepped beyond the realm of the local music scene, and even the regional music scene. They’ve saturated the alt-rock airwaves, successfully pinned a number one song on the alternative Billboard charts, been name dropped by Tony Hawk on Twitter, and have late night TV performances on both Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel tucked neatly under their belts. The explanation for this rapid emergence is simple. Joywave is a lure that will reel you in one way or another — if the incredibly catchy synth lines don’t get you, the adrenalizing dance beat or the slick mystique of singer Daniel Armbruster’s falsetto will. Their recently released full length album, How Do You Feel Now?, strongly supports this claim. The album opens[...]

Tonight: Pleasure Leftists

April 16, 2015 Shauna Presto

I was able to see Pleasure Leftists for the first time last year at Buffalo Iron Works as an opener for Cloud Nothings. The venue was jam packed and teeming with anxious attendees awaiting their opportunity to thrash around to the nihilistic, lo-fi punk of the headlining band. The members of Pleasure Leftists were a quiet presence while setting up and playing, mentioning only that they were from Cleveland and throwing polite thank you’s in between songs. But they had this way of commanding the entire room as soon as they struck a note. The dark, but alluring howl of lead singer Haley Morris worked in perfect harmony with the steadfast rhythm section and somewhat ominous guitar parts. The blend definitely had me (and everyone else) deeply entranced for their entire set. You can catch Pleasure Leftists tonight at the Glitterbox, along with Aaron and the Burrs, Softlines and Corliz[...]

Blue House Records Live Session with Pizza Club Productions

April 14, 2015 Shauna Presto

It’s always encouraging to see creative channels come together in a DIY fashion to support one another. It’s the existence of this kinship that gives birth to cool collaborations and a robust local art scene. Fredonia is somewhat of a hatchery for this dynamic, which agreeably led Blue House, the solo project of Long Island native Danny Palladino, to team up with Fredonia based Pizza Club Productions in recent weeks to film their second Cool Little Music Session. Pizza Club Productions is the ongoing live music video series started by Joe Cardina, Cam Gordon, Chelsea Newton. and Eric Lemke. The group aims to unite music and visual fronts to showcase bands all over the area through well produced videos. Blue House, a fairly new endeavor, is one of the handful of artists to be featured so far. With subtle vocal embellishment, bare-boned arrangements, and quiet reflectiveness, Blue House comparatively calls[...]

Tonight: River City Extension

April 14, 2015 Shauna Presto

River City Extension’s sound is anything but stale. With the addition of melodic guitar, strings, keys, and refreshing structural changes, this New Jersey based group offers an invigorating approach to rootsy blended indie rock. Though unique in their own respect, they share the same propulsive, positive feel that a band like The Mowglis possesses, and have similar rhythmic variance of 2011 era Bombay Bicycle Club on their newest release, Deliverance. There is this overall pleasant assuredness that shines through their tightly wound sound that is quite contagious for a listener. Naturally, if I were to make one suggestion for what you should do on this lovely Tuesday, it would be to stop by the Studio at Waiting Room for this show. Philly natives, Cold Fronts, will be opening with their bedroomy riff rock, along with locals, Our Modern Moloch. Doors are at 7pm, and you can still get a ticket[...]

Tonight: Wilder Maker

April 9, 2015 Shauna Presto

Sometimes the best musical landscapes are painted through the most seemingly simple songs. With all the pleasantries of easygoing alt-country mixed with harmonious folk influences, Wilder Maker steadily leads you through that landscape, introducing you to the treasure-like intricacies along the way. This Brooklyn based group is unmistakably good at capturing a sweeping and pensive Americana vibe. The band’s founder and lead vocalist, Gabriel Birnbaum, shares a similar baritone croon to Matt Berninger of The National, which is both vulnerable and inviting. Catch Wilder Maker at Mohawk Place tonight, along with Sharon Mok of Tiny Rhymes, another solid alt-folk artist. Doors for the show are at 7pm, and admission is only $5. (Note: Hussalonia was originally scheduled to play but will not be on the bill tonight in case you were expecting them.) Check out the Facebook event for more information.

Tonight: Diarrhea Planet

March 30, 2015 Shauna Presto

If we move past the obvious party metal comparison and the unpleasant imagery of the name (sorry if you’re not already picturing an entire planet of diarrhea), Diarrhea Planet is a hardworking band with a more-than-devoted fan base that has successfully transitioned themselves from a “buzz band” to a mainstay in the rock scene. The sextet from Nashville, TN consistently owns and stays true to their image and sound, one that is eccentric, a little droll, but never hackneyed. They are a well-oiled arena punk machine with classic riffage and the energy of a loaded bottle rocket. Think Andrew W.K. meets The Afghan Whigs meets Heavy Cream. Buffalo’s own psychedelic blues rockers Sleepy Hahas will also be gracing the stage, along with punk rock outfit Left & Right from Charlottesville, VA. Last time Diarrhea Planet was in town, the guys played Mohawk on a Monday, and it looks like they’re[...]