buffaBLOG 5th Birthday Artist Spotlight

Wooden Waves

March 27, 2015

I’ve seen a lot different ways to describe Wooden Waves. Some may consider them surf rock, others electro-pop.  The band was even nominated as one of the best ska bands in all of Western New York by the highly regarded All WNY Music Awards. I’m the kind of guy that likes to walk my own path, so I would describe them as 90’s indie rock. Regardless of descriptors, Wooden Waves are set to close the night tomorrow night with a fresh batch of tunes from their long awaited Wilder Dreams LP at our five year birthday party at Nietzsche’s tomorrow night. The quintet has been around longer than probably 90% of other Buffalo bands, all-the-while delivering quality triple vocal college-radio jams. All the bands are awesome and get there by 10pm.

Applennium

March 27, 2015

You might have noticed that we’re throwing a 5th birthday party for ourselves tomorrow evening at Nietzsche’s. You might also have noticed that Applennium is one of the bands playing. The oft-revered but rarely-spotted band only plays one or two shows a year; we consider ourselves very lucky to have secured them for our big day. Applennium specializes in simmering jams with perfect male/female harmonies. One might say they excel at creating moods instead of just plain old songs. We say it every time we cover them, but Applennium is one of Buffalo’s hidden gems. True talent shrouded in mystique. We’ll see you tomorrow at 10pm sharp. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175635118″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Comfy

March 26, 2015

What would a birthday party be without some out-of-town charm? Well in the case of our fifth birthday party, it would be without Comfy, Utica’s buzzing indie-rock (and roll) sweethearts. We’ve had our ears on Comfy for a while now; their early 2014 debut Pillowhugger, an endearing collection of garage pop confessionals smothered in slacky indie-rock charm, is one of our favorites from last year. Think Rochester’s Cottage Jefferson (another one of our 2014 favorites) meets Krill and you’ve got a pretty good start. (If you can’t conjure that up, just scroll down right now and hit play.) The band is definitely worth your attention before they hit the back stage of Nietzsche’s this Saturday night. The Utica natives look to have a big year in the works. Comfy is rumored to be finishing up a fresh release for your patient ears and have begun plans for a summer tour (according to their[...]

Difficult Night

March 26, 2015

Difficult Night sits at the intersection of a handful of disparate influences. There’s the Malkmus vibe in the lyrics, the vocals and the music, but not quite so wacky. It’s a bit more conversational, if you you imagine you’re having a conversation with a hyperliterate neurotic. It noodles, it jams, it bobs your head. Sometimes it may even rock a bit. But guitarist/vocalist Shane Meyer is so out front the entire time crooning that he kinda reminds me of Van Morrison. Instead of singing about caravans and eyeballs and whatnot, though, he’s making puns, telling stories and twisting his words around. The music itself is understated and effective, complementing the vocals and building a space for Meyers to talk. In that sense, it certainly feels like an intimate singer-songwriter project, but without all the overwrought emotions and emotional whispers that label often implies. Check out Difficult Night and a few[...]

M.A.G.S.

March 25, 2015

That Made Violent homecoming show the other week at Waiting Room was great for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorites was watching the crowd meet M.A.G.S., who played second at the show. It’s always enjoyable watching a crowd get introduced to an new act, but that Friday night something more happened: that audience watched M.A.G.S. with rapt attention, all eyes seemingly fixed on the three guys onstage, main man Elliott Douglas in particular. Cloaked in dreads and coiled purposefully behind his guitar and mic stand, he unleashed a mesmerizing set of bold post punk and new wave grooves that got the growing audience on his side in no time, and by the time the trio finished up, Made Violent might’ve been the hometown heroes on the verge of breaking out, but M.A.G.S. was the starlet serving notice that it were next. Which brings us to Saturday’s 5th[...]

Zak Ward

March 25, 2015

Birthday parties for people are overrated. Birthday parties for music blogs guarantee a jam packed night with kick-ass bands. If you haven’t already caught wind, buffaBLOG is celebrating its 5th year this Saturday at Nietzsche’s. Kicking off the merriment is Zak Ward, who will be joined by former Son of the Sun band mate Jeremy Franklin, as well as Sonny Baker (Wooden Waves, Lazlo Hollyfeld, A Hotel Nourishing). Ward delivers his tender acoustic indie-folk songs with a sufficient dose of grit. His voice has comparable tone quality to Thom Yorke when it comes to soaring vocal lines, apparent in songs like “That’s What You Get,” and sounds like a healthy mixture of David Bazan and Gregory Alan Isakov during quieter moments. The addition of ethereal sounding synth parts and swelling, twangy instrumentals makes for a very even-tempered, enjoyable listen. This year’s bill will not disappoint, so come early and pack[...]