News

Just Announced: Halloween at the Hamlin House

September 18, 2014

A demonic, unholy union has occurred in Buffalo, NY…. OLD FRIENDS, NEW FACES has teamed up with buffaBLOG to host a night of debauchery at the legendary (and haunted) Hamlin House (432 Franklin Street). OLD FRIENDS, NEW FACES has been throwing the scariest bashes in Western New York for forty years; we here at buffaBLOG have strived to be the best blog for finding local music, evil or otherwise. This year, we have combined our powers to make a freight-filled night of freakishly fun food, dance, and drink. The event will take place on Saturday, October 25 at 10 pm.  Performing two sets is the 90’s alternative cover band Soul Patch. Also, featured for a 2nd consecutive year is Spooky Stephen of the DJ duo, Spooky Business. Tickets are $18 presale over at our bigcartel store, or $20 at the door.  Every ticket includes FREE BEER until 2 am. Get your ticket now if[...]

Just Announced: DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist

September 17, 2014

After a few weeks of rumors, local promoter, Mike T. Marshall, just confirmed on his facebook page that influential DJ/producer, DJ Shadow, will be playing the Town Ballroom on Tuesday, November 11th along with Cut Chemist. Born as Joshua Davis and referred to as the “Jimi Hendrix of sampling,” Shadow is best known for his genre defining, debut release Endtroducing…, and for the development of the experimental instrumental hip hop scene. The two DJs will be in town for the vinyl-only, Renegades of Rhythm tour, honoring Afrika Bambaataa. I am not much of a DJ guy, but even I know this is a big one. Tickets are on sale right now for $27.50 in advance, $30 day of. I am guessing this show never reaches that day of price so buy your tickets now.

Just Announced: Turkuaz

September 10, 2014

Brooklyn party funk machine, Turkuaz, is set to return to Buffalo as the group has scheduled a date for the Waiting Room on Halloween night, Friday, October 31st. The ever growing collective will be touring along side of jam-tronic act, Jimkata. Those who have caught the band at their handful of Buffalo tops over the last couple years know they are in line for a high energy evening, and given that its Halloween night, who knows what the group will pull out. Tickets are now on sale for $12 in advance, $15 day of.

Yung Lean Announces Release Date for Debut Album

September 3, 2014

Swedish cloud-rap sensation, Yung Lean, has come back from his first-ever tour with big news. In the cryptic video below, the commander of the Sad Boys reveals that his debut album, Unknown Memory, is coming later this month on the 23rd. Unknown Memory is the follow up to Unknown Death 2002, the mixtape that made waves last year with it’s beautifully spacious production, ridiculous flow and lyricism, and some of the funniest music videos in recent memory. Lean is the yung face of one of the biggest movements in the hip-hop subculture, an artist that be perceived as a joke and a legitimate talent at the same time. Can he take another leap with this album, jumping from internet darling to a recognizable name? Probably not, but perhaps. RiFF RaFF went with Katy Perry to the VMAs after his debut album, Neon Icon, this year, so who’s to say we won’t see Lean sitting[...]

Just Announced: Merchandise

September 3, 2014

Buzzing post-punk outfit, Merchandise, will be bringing said buzz to Buffalo Iron Works this fall on Monday, October 13th. The Tampa based band is riding high on some great reviews of their latest album, After the End (4AD), which was released last week. Tickets will be available for sale at Iron Works’ box office and ticketfly beginning this Friday, September 5th, at 10am for $12 in advance, $14 day of. Lower is set to open the show. In the mean time, listen to song of the year contender, “Green Lady,” below. Photo by Tim Saccenti

Just Announced: Arkells

September 3, 2014

Hamilton, Ontario’s Arkells will be making a welcome return to the Queen City when they hit up the Town Ballroom on Saturday, October 4th. The lads will be in town to promote their latest release, the excellent High Noon, which finds the sturdy and reliable Arkells taking their always pleasing power pop into Bruce Springsteen and Paul Weller territory with rather interesting results that reveal previously unknown depths to these almost local favorites. TIckets are $18, can be purchased at the Town Ballroom box office or online at Ticketfly, and are onsale right bloody now. Here’s the video for “Come To Light,” the lead single off High Noon and a taste of this new phase for Arkells.

Just Announced: Jeff Tweedy

August 18, 2014

The Buffalo and Rochester areas are normally blessed with a Wilco show nearly every year, usually taking turns between the two cities. And while it doesn’t look like Wilco is doing much touring this fall, fans of the long time act will have the opportunity to catch front man Jeff Tweedy as he rolls through town later this fall with a date set at the Town Ballroom on Wednesday, October 1st. Tweedy will be touring in support of his new project, simply titled Tweedy, and its debut record, Sukierae. Set to drop on Tuesday, September 23rd, Sukierae finds Tweedy riding solo for the first time in his career, along with his teenage son Spencer on drums, and a cast of Chicago based musicians rounding out the group. I wasn’t sure what solo Tweedy material would sound like as it’s hard to hear his voice and not think Wilco, but after[...]

J. Cole Releases Track in Response to Events in Ferguson, MO

August 15, 2014

J. Cole is the first big activist coming from the world of hip hop regarding the tragedies outside of St. Louis. This past Saturday, an unarmed black teen was shot to death by a police officer. Facts are muddled. The police say 18 year-old Michael Brown was assaulting an officer, reaching for his gun. Witnesses say Brown was running for his life from an officer who started the interaction with his gun drawn threatening to shoot. Some people of Ferguson reacted honorably with events like candle-light vigils, but others complicated the problem recklessly looting stores and vandalizing property of their own community, a community that already had big-enough problems at hand. It’s a tricky issue. Four nights of clashes between police and protesters followed, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. In the last couple days, tensions have settled and it looks as though the community will try[...]

Just Announced: Stars

August 12, 2014

Toronto romantics, Stars, will return to Buffalo this fall to play to another full house of wide-eyed dreamers. After playing the Tralf last year, the long time indie-pop act, which is one of the many off shoots of Broken Social Scene and the Arts & Crafts Collective, is set to return to the Main Street venue on Sunday, November 23rd. The five piece just announced their latest album, No One is Lost (10/14), the follow up to 2012’s The North, and as of yesterday, the album’s first single, “From The Night,” is currently streaming online (and also below). Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 15th, for $20.

Just Announced: Heavy Rotation – Back To School Dance

August 12, 2014

The fall semester is quickly approaching, which means to many of us (not me, I am sadly 30), summer is nearing its inevitable end. We thought we could help ease the pain of returning to the books by finally having our second go-around of our Heavy Rotation dance party series. We debuted our first installment last fall as part of the Elmwood Village’s annual Mass Appeal event at the Pierce Arrow, and for this time around, we are taking over the back room of Hardware to showcase some of our favorite area DJs with our very own back-to-school dance. On Friday, September 12th, join us as Chauncey Tails, DJ Pizza Pizza, and Teenwolf will man the back while Rick Jameson (Spooky Sean of Spooky Business) will loosen everyone up as he gets things going in the front room. Heavy Rotation: Back To School Dance is a 21+ event. Music kicks[...]

Just Announced: The Gaslight Anthem

August 11, 2014

New Jersey’s rousing, heartland rockers, the Gaslight Anthem, are set to to play Town Ballroom later next month on Wednesday, September 17th. Frequently drawing some Springsteen comparisons no thanks to lead singer Brain Fallon’s decidedly Boss-like vocals, and because New Jersey, the band’s latest record, Get Hurt, drops tomorrow. Providing support for the Gaslight Anthem will be Against Me!. The Gainesville act, led by Laura Jane Grace, has been making Buffalo a frequent stop as of late. Co-Presented by Funtime and After Dark Entertainment, tickets go on sale Friday, August 15th, at noon. Ticket prices are $26 in advance, $29 day of. Photo Credit – Ashley Maile

Contribute to Desire Will Set You Free

August 5, 2014

Berlin. The LGBTQ community. Punk rock spirit. These are some of the common threads of the upcoming film from Yony Leyser (William S. Burroughs: A Man Within), Desire Will Set You Free, slated for release in Spring 2015. Straight from the press release, Desire “explores artistic and marginalized life in Berlin with an often critical and sometimes humorous (but always reverent) eye. The story follows the encounter between an American writer of Israeli/Palestinian descent and a Russian aspiring artist working as a hustler. Actively exploring gender identity, sexuality, andthe differences between expatriate and refugee life, the main characters travel through Berlin’s layered history and unique subcultural landscape. On their adventures they discover influences and remnants of the Weimar Republic, WWII, the Bowie years, and punk”. Jillian Mertz, a staple of the Buffalo music & arts scene, and recent German transplant, has been heavily involved in the promotion of this film, as[...]

Just Announced: New Found Glory

August 5, 2014

On Tuesday, October 21st, many Buffalonians in their mid-20s will have a flashback to spiked bangs, Billabong shirts, and Dickies shorts as 90s punk-pop heavyweights, New Found Glory, will be bringing their “The Glamour Kills Tour” to the Town Ballroom. Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 8th, at noon for $22.50 advance, $26 day of.

Just Announced: Hooray for Earth

July 21, 2014

With Sugar City’s official grand opening weekend just around the corner on Friday, August 15th, the newly relocated DIY collective is wasting no time in locking in some great shows to lead another great Buffalo summer to its triumphant finish. On Wednesday, August 20th, the new Niagara Street home base will be hosting NYC pysch-tronic act, Hooray for Earth. The band will be on the road promoting their at-the-time newly released album, Racy, set to drop next Tuesday, July 29th. Keep an eye out for tickets prices in the very near future.

The North Park Theatre to Screen A Hard Day’s Night

July 21, 2014

The 1964 classic A Hard Day’s Night has been digitally restored and remastered, and will be gracing the big screen at the also recently restored North Park Theatre, which screened the original when landed here 40 years ago, this week through Thursday. Directed by Richard Lester and featuring some band called The Beatles on the cusp of global domination, A Hard Day’s Night is nothing short of a masterpiece, a celebration, and send up of The Beatles by The Beatles that’s breathlessly entertaining, hilarious, and yes, like it says in the trailer, revolutionary. Yes, Elvis was a movie star too, but he was Elvis, in movies. A Hard Day’s Night, however, features George, John, Paul, and Ringo in a movie about themselves, a movie explicitly designed to sell their art to a potential worldwide audience, and present and solidify a public image they’d crafted, an example of self commodification that redefined youth[...]