Preview

Tonight: Jeffrey Lewis & the Jrams

October 21, 2014

Tonight, make a mini-road-trip to Boiler 54 in Medina to catch Jeffrey Lewis and the Jrams, with openers, freak-folk collective from Rochester, Seth Faergolzia and the 23 Psaegz. I absolutely love Jeffrey Lewis. He is a nerdy comic book hero who has mastered the art of grumblesome talk-singing. Lewis never fails to whip out the best analogies and jokes about anxiety, art, and the human condition—with tongue always in cheek, while still being a very serious sort of folk punk. You might recognize him from his covers of Crass songs, in which he turned the driving line (affected accent) “Banned from the Roxy… OKAY” into an acoustic romp. Or maybe from him waxing poetic about being a “Cult Boyfriend,” or how wonderful it’d really be to get accosted by Bonnie Prince Billy. Come out for a contemplative, cartoony, fun and folksy time. The show is at Boiler 54 (115 W[...]

Tonight: New Found Glory

October 21, 2014

New Found Glory is approaching 20 years as a band and still going strong. Often credited alongside Blink-182 and Green Day as the godfathers of the genre, the pop-punk heroes will be hitting the Town Ballroom tonight in support of their freshly-released eighth album, Resurrection. Pogo, mosh, or whatever, tonight’s gonna be a lot of fun. Supporting NFG tonight are We Are The In Crowd, Candy Hearts, and Fireworks. Tickets are $24 at the door. Get there at 6:30. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/9960957″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Tonight: Big D and the Kids Table

October 20, 2014

What do you have planned tonight? No seriously what do you have planned tonight? Binge watching Scandal on Netflix? Watching two football teams with cliché archrival namesakes battle it out on the televised gridiron? Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought. It’s nothing that cannot be rescheduled or caught up on at the water cooler tomorrow morning. So, why don’t you make your way down to the Waiting Room tonight and catch Big D and the Kids Table? Big D has always been that punk/ ska band that has just always sailed right underneath the Royal Navy’s radar, letting them coast right through customs. There are groups of musicians who play music together and then there are bands. Bands consist of people who are bound together by something bigger than themselves. Big D and the Kids Table is a band, one that is celebrating more than 14 years together, a[...]

Know Your Opener: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

October 19, 2014

It’s not every day that us Buffalonians are privileged to see musical acts from other continents, but if you’re planning on hitting up the White Fence show tonight at the Tralf, you would be so lucky. Opening for the psychedelic singer-songwriter is a grand seven-piece from Melbourne, Australia—meet King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. The band’s sound is, for a lack of better word, tremendous, walking heavy-footed on the border of neo-psychedelia and garage rock. Not only do King Gizzard’s songs easily draw comparisons to 1960’s psychedelic bands such as The Yardbirds and The Beatles, but do so without beating the genre like a dead horse. The songs are fresh, fuzzy, lush, and fun, all the while maintaining that 60’s vibe that gives King Gizzard their flavor. A lot of their songs have an unbridled energy to them (think The Hives), and if their live show is anything like the[...]

Tonight: Dads

October 19, 2014

New Jersey’s Dads have been exploding in popularity in the past couple of years due to the resurgence of the second wave of emo which still manages to lure heartbroken high schoolers and nostalgic twenty somethings. Touring in support of their latest full, I’ll Be The Tornado, Dads’ sound can be placed right in July 2001, halfway between the evolution of Chicago indiemo and 2003’s emergence of the skinny-jeaned jaded Myspace generation. Dads will be one of the first wave of bands christening the Studio at the Waiting Room (334 Delaware Ave UPSTAIRS), with support from Tiny Moving Parts and Nai Harvest.  Doors are at 7pm with a $13 cover. Make sure to wear your cool clothes.

Tonight: Gwar

October 19, 2014

For many, Gwar is that band. That band that “I must see before I die.” Earlier this year, though, many believed that if you hadn’t seen Gwar already, then you were doomed after front man and founding member, Dave Brockie, was tragically found dead due to a heroin overdose. However, Gwar is bigger than one man. Even with Brockie and his alter ego, Orderus Urungus, sadly gone, the show must go on. New front woman, Vulvatron, is the first female member of the shock-metal act since the departure of Slymenstra Hymen in 2000. Vulvatron is played by designer Kim Dylla, who allegedly shoots blood from her nipples (see below), so that’s something for the kiddies. The Gwar traveling circus will be making a stop in Buffalo tonight at the Town Ballroom. Also on the bill are Decapitated and American Sharks. Tickets are $24 at the door. This show is a[...]

Tonight: White Fence

October 19, 2014

There is something in San Francisco’s water supply that seems to enable a seemingly endless stream of musicians to release an equally endless stream of amazing psychedelic garage rock. Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees spring to mind first but you should not forget the output of White Fence, aka Tim Presley. You may recognize the name of the excellent collaborative record he did with Ty Segall last year. This year, Presley released the excellent Segall produced LP,To the Recently Found Innocent. White Fence’s output is, perhaps, the most accessible of the artists mentioned earlier. Pop rock inflected with just the right amount of grit and strange, To the Recently Found Innocent stands as one of this summer’s most memorable releases. Tonight, he will be brining White Fence to the Tralf to what should be a very good way to spend a Sunday night. Joined by King Gizzard & the[...]

Tonight: Roger Bryan & the Orphans

October 18, 2014

The weekend has landed. That means, if you haven’t already, finding something to do that will wipe clean your pent up nine-to-five weekday stress. Well, if you’re reading this, you’ve come to the right place. Tonight, the second-floor stage of Elmwood watering hole Mr. Goodbar will host a variety of talent to satisfy your Saturday. Tonight’s bill includes local alt-country heroes Roger Bryan & the Orphans, the Niagara Falls natives in No Wounded Soldiers (think Arctic Monkeys meets Generationals), and the rhythmic explorations of experimental electronic artist Ay Fast, otherwise known as Adrian Bertalone. Pop-punkers The Revenge Therapists will be opening the show and kicking things off. If you caught RB&tO’s set at Harvest Sum’s showcase at Herdfest earlier this year, then you know their live set is not one to miss. Their organized blend of alt-country and rootsy college rock permeates down to the core for a feel-good sound[...]

Tonight: Zak Ward EP Release Show

October 18, 2014

Join Niagara Falls native, and former Son of the Sun front man, Zak Ward at Nietzsche’s tonight for the much-anticipated release party of his latest EP, That’s What You Get (think Woods, M Ward, early Wilco). Ward, who calls the record “his best work to date,” will be accompanied by a live band, featuring guitarist Sonny Baker and SOTS drummer Brandon Delmont. Tonight’s show, also features two openers, including an acoustic set by Buffalo’s own Sleepy Hahas. Rounding off the bill is folk/rock Chicago duo Joyeux. Doors for the show are at 9pm, with Sleepy Hahas slated to perform at 9:30pm. Ward and crew take the stage around 11pm. Don’t be late for what the Buffalo News is hailing as one of the four best club shows of the weekend.

Tonight: The Shivas

October 17, 2014

Tonight Mohawk Place (47 East Mohawk) has a pretty bitchin’ bill that will appease both the DIYers and entry level plebs. Headlining the stacked bill is Portland-based dream-surf foursome, The Shivas. With releases on both K Records and Burger Records, the band’s sound could easily be compared to SW/MM/NG, Beach Fossils, and a pinch of Aaron and the Burrs.  Not to be forgotten is the killer support for the show, featuring lo-fi electropop outfit, Small Smalls, power-pop partners, Space Wolves, and in-your-face punk act, Mayday! Should start off right at 9pm with a $6 cover.

Tonight: Audien

October 17, 2014

Get down with Audien this evening. The world-reknown electrohouse DJ will be taking over Lift Nightclub, Buffalo’s latest down-town party destination, and revving up the crowd with action-packed chord progressions, thundering buildups, and intoxicating drops. The young 22 year old producer has been on tour for most of the past two years, stopping in the major meccas of the world. Whether he’s playing in Miami Beach, Las Vegas, or New Delhi, he always brings his contagious energy, sweeping the crowd off their feet with his vibrant showmanship. So no, don’t miss this, and yes, chug down a redbull beforehand. Tickets are $25, Jessie Aaron will be playing for support, and the evening will take off at 10pm.

Tonight: Soul Butchers

October 16, 2014

It’s going to get hella weird tonight at Nietzsche’s when some of Buffalo’s (and beyond) more out there bands – Soul Butchers, Bike Cops, and Supergoner – unleash some high octane pre Halloween wildness. There’s something delightfully skeevy, dangerous, and wrong about Soul Butchers, whose 18 Wheeler EP makes for excellent reckless driving music, while Chicago  thrashers, Bike Cops, and 90’s rockers, Supergoner, will round things out with more music from the wrong side of the tracks. Doors open at 9pm and expect a modest cover.

Tonight: On The Cob

October 16, 2014

I recently read this piece in UB’s Spectrum about “Why Buffalo Rocks.” While Mohawk Place is not a 30-40 min drive from the South Campus, the writer did do a great job of introducing new students to the variety of venues that the city has to offer, giving prospective local music seekers a bit of a check list when it comes to venturing out looking for new music. And tonight’s show at the Mohawk is one of those nights where if you are new to Buffalo’s eclectic scene, then this would be a great way to catch up. Steak & Cake’s mini festival, titled On The Cob, is a long and ambitious bill covering genres from fuzz to punk to garage to even toe-tapping slacker rock out of Akron. Some of the venue’s old guard (Johnny Nobody, Shane Sweeney) will be on hand, playing along side some acts that may[...]

Tonight: K.Flay

October 15, 2014

When Kristine Flaherty was in California attending Stanford University, she began making rap music as a joke. A parody track opened the door to her passion for music and writing, and sparked her career as K.Flay. She began creating tracks last fall, uncertain of what would become of them. She sought out crowdfunding to bring her album to fruition, rather than her route signing with RCA. For her album Life as a Dog, she broke off from her major label to take initiative for more creative control over her art, and also to establish a more intimate relationship with her fans. “It seemed like everybody had an opinion. It should be more electronic, it should be more dancey, it should be more pop, but I never really fit and I never really wanted to fit the mold that they had in mind,” she said in her crowdfunding pledge video. Through crowdfunding[...]

Tonight: Filmstrip

October 15, 2014

Cleveland’s Filmstrip is an interesting band to listen to because they sound like guys who could explode into cathartic-but-too-obvious fuzz at any moment, but who choose not to. It’s reductive to call a band “mature” just because they aren’t ear-splittingly loud, so let’s just call them patient. Besides, “mature” indicates at best that they’ve totally figured themselves out, and at worst that they’re past their prime, and none of that is true. Their three most recent singles showcase the band tinkering with a few sounds: slower, melodic indie rock on “Stuck on Explode,” something like Neil Young & Crazy Horse on “Up on the Promenade,” and countrified punk a la The Men on “Waiting on a Train.” Hard to say where they’re headed, exactly, but I think the maturation is ongoing and that the best is yet to come. So check ’em out tonight at Nietzsche’s with local psychedelic doomsurfers[...]