Herd Fest Showcase Spotlight

Only Comrades

Only Comrades have become known as the crew adorned in base tones, with classically gothic-inspired design and a vibe that sings dark and sweet and tempestuously divine. Since the clique’s European travels, the Comrades’ artistic work reflects that much more poetic prowess. For their Herd Fest showcase, the street wear crew will present Tanner Caldwell, hailing from Philadelphia. As a DJ and producer, he travels nearly consistently and has releases under names such as Top Billin, Gold Whistle, creator of DICKSQUAD, and more. His sound is expansive and unique, whether you’re looking to bounce to some jersey club, or get melodically lifted with songs like his remix of Télépopmusik. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/119188090″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Sharing in the camaraderie are Buffalo’s SwaggleRock, comprised by Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin. These two and Caldwell have shared the stage before and will again during Comrades’ showcase at Hardware. SwaggleRock just recently[...]

buffaBLOG

I’m not sure if you have gotten the message yet, but there is something called Herd Fest going on and buffaBLOG is dabbling in it. This Saturday, the blog. along with many other progressive members of the music community. will combine forces to deliver a festival that has people traveling both far and wide (I have a friend coming from NYC to see it). The goal is to show the community at large that Buffalo’s music scene is thriving even if it is not reflective upon the numerous closed venues in the past couple of years. Our party is Saturday night at Duke’s as usual and here is what we have in store. First on the lineup is Brimstone Blondes, channeling its retro-sound ranging from semi-obnoxious B-52s to ultra-hip-dipping Talking Heads. In numerous personal conversations I’ve had, I’ve always dubbed frontman, Matthew Danger Lippman as one of Buffalo’s secret treasures,[...]

Harvest Sum

Back in 2006, I really didn’t know much at all about Buffalo’s local music scene. I just graduated from college and returned home to figure out my next move. While working part time at UB, my boss turned me on to this band he liked from this local label. He told me a guy he went to high school with played guitar in it and I should check it out. Said it had some poppy Wilco vibes going on. He burned me a copy of the Old Sweethearts’ Arms of the Town and I was hooked. I didn’t know there was local music that could affect me like those bigger bands that stopped in our city once in a blue moon, if we are lucky. I wanted to find more acts like this. I started visiting Mohawk Place on a semi-regular basis. Being from Amherst, I never went into the[...]

Spiral Scratch Records

There’s something pretty special going on at Spiral Scratch Records this Saturday, June 21st. The independent record shop is hosting an afternoon showcase for our inaugural Herd Fest this weeks, so you might want to step outside your normal Allentown routine and check this bill out.  Headlining the afternoon showcase is Bill Nehill and The Poison Arrows along with White Whale, Dream Journal and Fleshy Mounds.  While Nehill and crew have a very early 90s singer-song-writer vibe (feels kind of like Counting Crows or the Wallflowers with some Rust Belt grind) the other three bands are much more high-energy, creating a wonderfully balanced and eclectic experience for concert-goers. Dream Journal is a punk, hard-core band with intelligent lyrics and a velocity to their tunes that makes it nearly impossible to stand still, while Fleshy Mounds kick up the volume and the violence, you can’t really decide if you wanna punch someone, or dance with them listening to their tunes but whatever[...]

Black Dots

Josh Smith deserves a lot of credit, and not just because he’s a walking, talking encyclopedia of underground punk knowledge. Or because he owns and operates a basement record store, Black Dots, on the West Side of Buffalo. Or just because he runs a local label by the same name, or even because he also supplies a space for shows on the West Side. No, he doesn’t deserve credit for any one of these things, he deserves credit for all of these things. On paper, Smith should totally be Barry from High Fidelity. He’s been embedded in the underground scene in Western New York for years now. He’s shared the stage with members of Syracuse’s Perfect Pussy, among others. He knows about all of the bands you’ve never heard of, and can speak of them coherently and articulately. However, Smith is not that guy. “So I’m going to be releasing[...]

The Good Neighborhood

In what we hope and anticipate to become a yearly staple in Allentown’s music triangle, Herd Fest starts this weekend at Hardware, Duke’s and Nietzsche’s. Outside of this unofficial triangle but very much a part of the action, Spiral Scratch Records, Black Dots and College St. Gallery will also be holding showcases of their own. What is a showcase, you ask? Well, it was when contestants came down and bid on things like beds and trips to the rainforest and Toyota Corolla’s and made chit chat with Bob Barker. What is a showcase in the context of this article, you ask? Well, friends of buffaBLOG were invited to host a night of music at each venue by hand-picking their favorite Buffalo acts. This Friday, The Good Neighborhood is “holding down” at Neitzsche’s. And what a way to kick things off! I don’t think I’m allowed to pick a favorite showcase,[...]

Sugar City

Sugar City deserves a lot of credit for the ceaseless work they have done to provide an open and collaborative space for all types of art in Buffalo. Over 5 years old, the arts collective is responsible for fostering a significantly stronger community of artists, musicians, and community activists. Even after losing their original space in Allentown, the organization regrouped and continued their work, sure to go even further now that they have a new space on Niagara Street. Perhaps the key to their continued success is their commitment to  being inclusive, welcoming and offering space to anyone with an idea and the wherewithal to make it a reality. They cannot be thanked enough for making a lot of wonderful things, including last year’s amazing Metro wide art and music show a reality. So, of course we tapped them to organize a showcase. Sugar City will be taking Hardware over[...]

Quiet Country Audio

If you follow buffaBLOG at all, you should be familiar with Quiet Country Audio. Although it functions as a full-blown recording studio, the men at QCA specialize in high-quality live video sessions of local and national bands. As one of our curators for Herd Fest, they have picked several local artists (and one out-of-towner) with QCA sessions under their belts. Their showcase will be held on June 20th at DBGB’s beginning at 10pm and mostly features bands from the emo and pop punk spectrum. Ghost House is QCA’s pick from NJ and fits in nicely with the other emo/punk heavyweights from Buffalo. Cedar Kites is next up, reminiscent of Brand New and Balance and Composure. Rust Belt Lights is the punkiest of the bunch, riding fast tempos and crunchy guitars. The Traditional are just coming off finishing their new album, and will probably have plenty of new, heavily-emotional material to show off. Wrapping[...]

Steak & Cake Records

Let’s get this done! This Friday, Buffalo’s own Steak & Cake Records, the Potomac based DIY label, will host the very first showcase of the inaugural Herd Fest at College Street Gallery, featuring a stacked lineup of local favorites. Space Wolves will kick off the night at 7:00 with a set of their signature blend of surf / garage rock, followed by the rhythmic indie pep of the NYBRKFST (pronounced “New York Breakfast”) at 7:45. Next up on the menu of delicious sonic treats is Alex Berkley & the Atlanta Falcons at 8:40, which is bound to be bangin’ if their performance at the buffaBLOG Birthday Party earlier this year is any indication of what Berkley and the boys are capable of. I’m especially excited for the return of A Hotel Nourishing, closing out the showcase with their set at 9:25. You won’t want to miss this two-piece, consisting of[...]