Preview

Tonight: The Tins

November 7, 2015

Even with the year nearly complete, the Buffalo music scene still has a couple new releases to look forward to before the calendar turns, and one of those is from the Tins. While recording their forthcoming full length with Robby Takac, set to drop in 2016, the pop trio managed to pump out the self recorded EP Love on Strike as a place holder. The EP’s first single, the rising “Summer Jazz,” was already shared couple weeks back via Brooklyn Vegan, and you can expect the band to premiere the rest of the album when they take the stage later on at Nietzsche’s Joining the Tins this evening will be Rochester’s ready-to-break, electro dance rockers KOPPS (who may or may not have a good buddy joining them tonight…), reshuffled Buffalo synth rockers Humble Braggers, and Brooklyn’s hypnotic post-punk outfit, the Midnight Hollow. Doors open at 9pm tonight with a $7 cover. Make[...]

Tonight: The Multiple Cat

November 6, 2015

The angular pop mainstays in The Multiple Cat (IA) will make their way through Buffalo tonight on a musically diverse bill presented by Queen City Cartel. As a band, The Multiple Cat has stood the test of time as the ever-evolving project has spanned a nearly 20 year timeframe. Some of their latest material—see “Magic That Doesn’t Work,” below—finds a happy medium between indie rock and alt-country, feel-good tambourine vibes a-rumblin’. Make your way down to The Gypsy Parlor tonight to bask, dance, and maybe bask some more. In the name of true eclecticism, local support tonight will be provided by wild garage punk trio Kharlos and soaring psyche rockers Deadwolf, both acts having released fresh material this year. The party starts at 10pm for a cool $5.

Tonight: Lydia Loveless

November 5, 2015

There’s an emerging consensus that holds that Columbus, Ohio native Lydia Loveless can do no wrong. A singer/songwriter of uncommon clarity, grit, and conviction, she seems to defiantly hold the very promise and potential of American music in her hands. Having just stuffed the sophomore slump in the trunk of her car and on the road behind her just released Somewhere Else, Loveless returns to the Sportsmen’s Tavern stage tonight along with Toronto alt-country trio Elliot Brood. Tickets are $17 and doors open at 7pm.

Tonight: Dave Rawlings Machine

November 5, 2015

Dave Rawlings Machine takes over Babeville’s Asbury Hall tonight to support the band’s new release, Nashville Obsolete. The album is the latest entry in the impressive repertoire of Rawlings and his longtime collaborator and partner, Gillian Welch. Their seventh album in nearly 20 years of collaboration, Nashville Obsolete highlights the duo’s highly acclaimed and decorated musicianship, with contributions from other great names in Americana music, including Willie Watson and the Punch Brothers’ Paul Kowert. Tonight, expect to be floored by Rawlings’ preternatural guitar playing and Welch’s lovely vocals. This is a show not to be missed. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. Tickets are still available for $35 at the door.

Tonight: Screaming Females

November 3, 2015

New Brunswick’s finest rock and roll band, Screaming Females, hits Mohawk Place tonight at 8pm. With unique brooding vocals and catchy dancey beats, they’ve got all your modern new wave needs covered. The trio recently performed a viral cover of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” (because Ryan Adams can’t have all the fun) for AV Club’s online series, “Under Cover.” Check it out below. Potty Mouth is bringing their bubblegum punk as the supporting touring act. With hits like last year’s “Black and Studs,” Potty Mouth is for all rebellious teens everywhere. Read our interview with the band here. Local rockstars Hot Tip will open. It’s $14 at the door for true punks.

Tonight: Futurebirds

November 3, 2015

Athens, Georgia’s Futurebirds bring their laid back and stoned out brand of country rock to Mohawk Place tonight along with Burlington roots rockers Waylon Speed and local folk rockers Hokan. In town promoting their latest release, Hotel Parties, Futurebirds are a riot of chiming, cascading guitars and sweet harmonies, and for fans of Brooklyn it-band Phosphorescent, this is a can’t miss. Vermont’s own Waylon Speed, meanwhile, is straight ahead, ecstatic American roots music that’s a transcendent tonic for your clapping hands, dancing bones, and world weary soul. Tickets are $12, doors are at 7pm and Hokan gets the show started right around 8pm.

Tonight: Damian

November 2, 2015

Mondays are usually fairly sleepy in Buffalo, so many local singer-songwriters head on down to Nietzsche’s in order to try new material, collaborate with other musicians, or grab a fairly-priced PBR. However, this week at Nietzsche’s is a little different from the rest. This week is the debut and farewell performance of mumbly introspective local songwriter, Damian. We’ve covered a lot of Damian’s solo work and various group efforts over the past five plus years. His album, You Don’t Need It, has over 100 plays on our office computer, and we even dubbed his song “I My Own,” as the best song out of Buffalo in 2014. I guess tonight will be Damian’s Buffalo-residency swan song. It’s no doubt that he will be back, playing intimate semi-frazzled and endearing performances, it will just take a bit. Come to Nietzsche’s starting at 8pm to catch one of Buffalo’s best songwriters. Free dollars.

Tonight: Halloween Tribute Party

October 31, 2015

Cover shows are hands down my favorite Halloween tradition. When else can you see all your favorite classic punk bands on the same stage? One year, I got to see Slayer, SSD, the Misfits, and the Ramones together on the same stage and Lifetime, the Lawrence Arms, NOFX, and Descendents in the same weekend. This Halloween at Mohawk Place, you can see the Naturalists as Pavement, Wolf as the Replacements, members of Orations, A House Safe for Tigers and TMMC as Joy Division, and a Governess’ rendition of Turbonegro. The Halloween tribute is $5 if you wear a costume because why wouldn’t you. The punk imposters go on at 8pm. CC Death Squad will play creepily in between sets. Don’t miss your probably only chance to see Pavement and the Replacements.

Tonight: Soul Patch

October 30, 2015

Keith Buckley is a man of many talents. Of course, you may know him as the local guy who yells a lot as the singer of hardcore act, Every Time I Die. Other than that, he leads a fairly simple life: getting tattoos, hanging out at the Pink, giving out wise and loving advice in The Public, writing for Comedy Central shorts… and of course, dressing up like Kurt Cobain and covering 90’s alternative hits. You can see the latter of those things happen tonight at Mohawk Place as Soul Patch headlines buffaBLOG’s now annual Halloween party. Soul Patch is of course fronted by Keith, with Steve Micciche (also of ETID), Niko Georgiadis, Joey Dynamite, Jeff Schaller, and Jessika Schreiber joining the party. Sixties Future, who have been making plenty of waves locally in 2015 with their indie-alt rock sound, will be opening. If you haven’t seen them yet, now[...]

Tonight: Sufjan Stevens

October 30, 2015

It’s rare enough for an artist to produce an album revered as a masterpiece once in their career. And to do it twice is nothing short of remarkable. But that’s exactly the kind of artist Buffalo will welcome to tonight as eclectic singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens will take the stage at the UB’s Center for the Arts. While Sufjan already had a host of great releases behind him (including 2004’s excellent Seven Swans), it wasn’t until 2005, with the release of Illinois, the second album in his now defunct “50 States Project,” that he truly broke through. The album was a sweeping baroque pop masterpiece, a stunning humanist collage built from history, folklore, and personal experience. It rightly received mass acclaim and produced a chart entry by way of lead single, “Chicago.” And while Stevens has continued to produce beautiful work over the years, including The BQE, his inspired Christmas double album, Silver &[...]

Tonight: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad

October 29, 2015

Fresh off the May release of their fifth studio album Bright Days, Rochester’s favorite live reggae jam band, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad will be returning to Buffalo’s The Tralf tonight. While Bright Days was mostly an exercise in finely crafted, laid-back roots-rock, the band’s usual live sound is a funky, low-end heavy mix of jam-band rock and dub reggae. It’ll be anybody’s guess which style they decide to bring to tonight’s show. My hope is a little of both. Bright Days is an amazingly natural-sounding, with the Eagles-esque soft rock of tunes like “Trust In Time” and the country ballad “Humboldt County Gold.” You’d think they took more influence from the Band than the Wailers. Still, it’s things like the electronic-tinged reggae rhythms of “Missing You More,” the funky wah wah bass of “Love You More” and the 420-friendly lyrics of “Mr. Cop” that the band is best known for. Opening[...]

Tonight: The Bones of J.R. Jones

October 27, 2015

J.R. Linabury, the one-man creative force behind the era-bending blues tunes of solo project The Bones of J.R. Jones, will take the iconic stage of Mohawk Place later tonight. “Solo” is a word that only goes so far when describing the project; Linabury may be the only body on stage during performances, but somehow he doesnt appear alone. He transcends the one man/one guitar stigma, crafting swirling folk songs using guitar, banjo, hi-hat, and bass drum in a commendably simultaneous fashion. The whole package is astonishingly honest, and shatters the boundaries and limiting capabilities of “solo” projects as they’re typically defined. Joining J.R. on tonight’s bill are the harmony kings in local psyche act Deadwolf and the soulful musings of Jacob Peter (Humble Braggers, Dreambeaches), also of Buffalo. Doors open promptly at 7pm with a $5 cover.

Tonight: Darklands

October 27, 2015

Darklands throws a little bit of everything your way. There’s a fuzz-driven foundation, indie pop vocal lines to latch onto, that same magnitude of sound that a post-rock band might project, and an overall shoegazey blend. The Providence, RI band’s recent five song EP, St Thaddeus, dishes it all out equally. “Hope,” the nearly eight minute long closer to the EP is my favorite song off the release. It manages to have a somewhat lackadaisical attitude that a band like Ovlov carried (RIP), but it’s still melodic enough for you to stay tuned in. It erupts into an enormous, dreamy jam toward the end that I can only imagine will be badass in a live setting. The three piece plays with Twin Foxes, another Providence based band, tonight at The Tree House (ask a punk). Local support is offered by Avocado Boys (ft. members of Newish Star, Softlines, and Rosy)[...]

Tonight: Young Empires

October 24, 2015

Buffalo plays host to our Canadian neighbors with the synth-pop jams of Toronto’s Young Empires this evening. The trio has made waves in Canada in recent years with its unique blend of indie rock, synthpop, and Latin American percussion. The band found further success when lead single, “Rain of Gold,” was included in FIFA 13 leading to a UK chart run. Nw fresh off the release of the eagerly-awaited debut album, The Gates, the three piece has arrived in Buffalo with a fresh batch of funky jams. Young Empires have earned much acclaim for their sensational live shows and should provide tonight’s Waiting Room crowd with nothing short of one hell of a dance party. And Joining Young Empires will be  Wild Things, American Low, and Humble Braggers so be sure to get down there early. Tickets are $12 and doors to Waiting Room’s Studio open at 6pm.

Tonight: Neon Indian

October 23, 2015

After about four years of silence caused partially by a stolen laptop, Neon Indian’s Vega Intl. Night School is one of this year’s surprises. Vega Intl. sounds like something you might hear in a restaurant in Blade Runner. A solid record oscillating between atmospheric synth tunes akin to music from Italians Do It Better and the aggressive tight groove of album highlight “Slumlord.”    Tonight, Neon Indian returns to Buffalo for the first time since a great show at Soundlab a few years ago. Playing at the Tralf, the group will be joined by Explorer Tapes and local electro-spectacle performer, Lesionread. Doors open at 7pm tonight and tickets can still be purchased for $19.