Preview

Tonight: Atmosphere

April 29, 2015

Though its often thrown under subgenres like conscious, emo, or backpack rap, Minneapolis’ Atmosphere is a pair of luminaries of hip hop as a whole, and the group will be at Town Ballroom tonight. The duo of rapper Slug and producer Ant have made waves with their allegorical, thematic music for 20+ years. Atmosphere is also two of the founders of the powerhouse independent hip hop label Rhymesayers, which they started in 1995. A live band supports the group on tour, bringing a jazzy, improvisational feel to one of the more composed hip hop artists out there. Expect songs from 2014’s Southsiders as well as some classic stuff from albums like God Loves Ugly and Seven’s Travels. Supporting the group is noted slam poetry artist, rapper and political activist B. Dolan, as well as fellow Rhymesayers MC deM atlaS.Tickets for the show at the Town Ballroom are available for $25 at the door, which open up at[...]

Tonight: Salad Days

April 28, 2015

Punk nostalgia has skyrocketed. Articles on “revivals” (emo) and documentaries of your faves (The Descendents) are everywhere around the punk and hardcore world recently, and the 2014 film, Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90), is the definitive look at where it all started. “I had heroes I would get nervous around. I know those dudes like Ian are just normal dudes, but those fucking people changed my life” says Dave Grohl in the preview, echoing my feelings pretty perfectly. I grew up and went to shows in and around Washington, DC, and it was always a bizarre experience seeing Ian MacKaye in a bar basement or at a summer concert series. The punk community owes a lot of gratitude to the people who created the hardcore movement in the nation’s capital, but isn’t part of DIY not worshipping idols? Why dwell in the past? Notably missing, at least in the trailer, is the presence of any[...]

Tonight: Defeater

April 28, 2015

Tonight, a tour showcasing some of the biggest acts in modern melodic hardcore will be stopping in Buffalo tonight.  You can catch the some of the genres leading acts, as well as its upcoming groups, including Bridge Nine signees Defeater, along with the hard hitting Hamilton, Ontario natives, Counterparts. Opening the show will be Capsize, Hotel Books, and Better Off. Out of tonight;s supporting acts, be sure to check out up and coming post hardcore band Hotel Books, whose vocals border poetic spoken word and are backed by some incredibly diverse instrumentals. Doors open for the show tonight at 5:30pm, with tickets still available at the door for $15.  This show is at the Studio at Waiting Room, so stage diving is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Tonight: Afrika Bambaataa

April 25, 2015

Legendary DJ Afrika Bambaataa is making his debut performance in the Queen City tonight at Duke’s Bohemian Grove Bar. While the South Bronx DJ has scarcely a popular hit to his name, his fusions of hip-hop, funk and electro house made him one of the most ground-breaking DJs of the early 80s. Bambaataa (real name: Kevin Donovan) is widely as an originator of breakbeat DJing and electro-funk, and is widely referred to as the “Godfather of Hip-Hop” (not to be confused with the Doggfather – Snoop). His classic tracks include such old-school hip-hop staples as “Jazzy Sensation,” “Planet Rock” and of course, “Renegades of Funk” (which 90s babies may remember for its excellent funk-metal cover by Rage Against the Machine in 2000). But Bambaataa’s influence has largely overshadowed his relatively obscure hip-hop funk classics. Among his legacy is the Universal Zulu Nation – a hip-hop awareness group that helped spread[...]

Tonight: Landlady

April 22, 2015

Brooklyn’s Landlady will headline Mohawk Place tonight accompanied by Buffalo favorites Aircraft, Bryan Johnson & Family, and the JUST added Wax Mice. The New York natives are lead by Adam Schatz, the eccentric driving force behind the bands art-rock sound. The group is highly accredited, as its most recent album Upright Behavior was not only reviewed on Pitchfork, but received a positive rating of 7.4. Landlady has a unique sound, often including wind instruments, violin, and alike. Upright Behavior is the band’s first full length album, but its EP, Keeping to Yourself, might be the group’s strongest work, with distinction between songs, and in many ways a better understanding of themselves as artists. I’m not saying Upright Behavior sucks, I’m just pissed many have hailed it as the better work. Landlady’s “old stuff” has just as much to offer. Tonight is not just a night of music.  It is also a fundraiser for[...]

Tonight: The Soft White Sixties

April 22, 2015

Buffalo Iron Works will be representing for the people tonight when the Cobblestone venue hosts San Francisco’s The Soft White Sixties along local favorites Handsome Jack. Earnestly rocking what’s been dubbed “working class soul,” this maximum R&B quartet are touring behind its just released debut album, Get Right, and for a city nostalgically holding onto it’s once proud working class ethos, this could be a pretty good show. Opening the evening’s entertainments at 9pm will be Buffalo by way of Lockport powerhouse, Handsome Jack, fresh off a Record Store Day 2015 set at Record Theatre last Saturday. Tickets are available at the door for $12.

Tonight: Every Time I Die

April 22, 2015

Every Time I Die (ETID for you ETIDIOTS out there) are clear frontrunners in the “Hometown Heroes” category. They’ve toured the world, sold a ton of records, and amassed a legion of fans during their 17-year tenure. What impresses most, however, is their unabashed loyalty to and love of Western New York in spite of all this. They usually play here 3x a year, whether it be as part of a summer festival (singlin’ you out Warped Tour) or for one of their famed Christmas shows. I’ve seen them a great many times here in countless venues over the years, probably more than any other touring band. The other day, I was trying to think of all the places ETID has played in the area, and that is a history lesson on its own. Here’s my count; the Atomic, the Basement Bar, Cruise Inn, 33 Tyler St, the Funeral Home,[...]

Tonight: Neutral Milk Hotel

April 21, 2015

At a certain point, the idea of seeing Neutral Milk Hotel in concert was akin to a talking dog, fantastic if it happened, but totally impossible. Tonight, Neutral Milk Hotel, reunited and touring, will be performing at a sold out Asbury Hall at Babeville tonight at 8pm. The band really needs no introduction, but for those unaware, Neutral Milk Hotel are best known for their 1998 album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The record, a masterpiece of surreal and sometimes violent beauty, is a touchstone for many. The band’s legend only grew when, following the album, band leader Jeff Mangum disappeared from the public eye altogether, surfacing to release field recordings from Eastern Europe at some point in the 00’s. Finally returning, first on a solo tour and now with the full band, Jeff has returned. Tonight’s opener is Circulatory System, a psychedelic band commonly associated with Neutral Milk Hotel along[...]

Tonight: Cantenac Dagar

April 19, 2015

French Polynesian experimental duo, Cantenac Dagar, create challenging instrumental music using banjo’s, cassette player’s, and human beatbox to achieve an often abrasive, drone-oriented sound. The pair’s latest release, a nearly thirty minute, one-track effort titled BUREC, develops slowly to reveal a raw, abrasive style with built around primal percussion. Tonight, the two will be performing at Mohawk Place where Cantenac Dagar will also play a set as the duo’s acoustic alter-ego, Fort Crèvecœur, which incorporates more traditional instrumentation with the same avant-garde inclinations as Cantenac Dagar. Also performing tonight are Buffalo experimental folk musician Lara Buckley, whose sparse acoustic arrangements combined with an other-worldly vocal delivery makes for a meditative take on the genre as well as local duo Double Memory. Show starts at 8pm. Admission is $5.

Tonight: Pale Angels

April 19, 2015

Tonight: Pale Angels come through the Glitterbox with local support from JOHNS, Kharlos and a “v. new” Alien Three. Pale Angels put a fuzzy sheen on what are, at their core, solid guitar-driven pop songs. Reminds me of the appeal of bands like Nirvana a bit: they rip and tear through their songs, but you can still hum the melodies to yourself for a while after the fact. Doors at 6pm, music at 7pm, $7 for the touring band. Check out “In The Sunset” below.

Tonight: M.A.G.S.

April 18, 2015

Tonight may be a contender for one of the busiest music days in Buffalo in recent memory. Adding to an already bloated 4/18 is a showcase at Nietzche’s. Scheduled to play is pop-punk trio, American Low, Brooklyn’s psych-pop outfit The Midnight Hollow, indie rockers M.A.G.S., and the surfy Bryan Johnson and Family. Doors are at 9pm with a $5 cover.

Tonight: The Battery Electric

April 18, 2015

Saturday nights are for rock’n’roll takeovers, and what better way to celebrate than to spend it at the Polish Library; the East Side’s coolest haunt (612 Fillmore Ave). New Jersey outcasts, the Battery Electric and Hot Blood, deemed fit to grace our little town with the sweatiest, nastiest, r’n’r their bodies could muster. Full-scale heathen-on-fire, Turbo-worshipping, punk rock. Wondering why the highly hyped Jersey-boys have developed such a serious rep? Gotta get to the east side to find out. The bill also features a tour-de-force of Buffalo’s best. Johnny Thunders-rip off duo, Raunchy Sex, will be making their semi-annual reunion. Bobo, the Jimmer-led beautiful disaster, as well as garage bangers, Fatal Figures and Gay Boy Berserkers, Governess grace the stage, as do speed-chargers, One Way Terror. In between sets, Buffalo’s go-to punk rock DJ, Malik Saint, will be hypnotizing us with sleazy wax singles. And what rock’n’roll show would be[...]

Today: Del Paxton

April 17, 2015

In case you’ve been ignoring our Still Diggin’ posts, today is Record Store Day.  As a sort of celebration, local independent record boutique Black Dots will be holding a show at the shop. Unlink every other show at Black Dots, instead of being held inside, the bands will play playing outside on a patio above the garage connected on the side of the shop. Genre wise, this showcase really hits all ends of the spectrum. Playing will be local indie lake-pop act, Bryan Johnson and Family,  avant-garde Black Dots signee, Cages, as well as indiemo rockers Del Paxton. This show will serve as the official release show for Del Paxton’s 7” split with Gulfer, out on Topshelf Records. The forecast is looking great for today, so its sure to be a great show.  If you have some spare time during your busy record store shoping,  Cages will be opening the[...]

Tonight: Modest Mouse

April 17, 2015

I was originally going to write a long piece on Modest Mouse in honor of the band’s sold out appearance tonight at Asbury Hall, but what’s the point. You know who Modest Mouse is. The show wouldn’t have sold out in 10 mins if you hadn’t, so I will save both parties the trouble and just bring us to up the present. The Portland-based rock outfit released its sixth studio album and first in eight years, Strangers to Ourselves, exactly one month ago to the date. I met the album with a pretty tepid response, thinking “it took eight years to release that?,” but after a few more listens, Strangers really grew on me, and I am really looking forward to Isaac Brock and crew tackling the new album and the band’s deep catalog later this evening. As I mentioned before, this show has been sold out since Day 1,[...]

Tonight: The Tins

April 17, 2015

Tonight will probably be the last chance to see the Tins for free in Buffalo. The indie three-piece will host a night of upbeat tones at Mohawk Place including local favorites Brimstone Blondes, Parade Chic, and many more. With a line up totaling seven bands and a DJ set, the music will start at 7pm and is promised to “go all night.” Although free, the purpose of the night is to bring attention to the trio’s current Kickstarter campaign to raise money for both an upcoming album and subsequent documentary. The event is being hailed as the “unofficial after-party” for the Modest Mouse show at Asbury Hall in Babeville. Following Isacc Brock’s off kilter delivery and jagged riffs, the Tins will counter with an optimistic indie sound that might leave you feeling like you and the drummer have laid the same fair maiden at one time or another. After the[...]