Ancients Of Earth Releases Valley of the Suns LP
Ancients Of Earth is a grungy, psychedelic, blues stoner rock band from the Queen City. There isn’t anything like them in Buffalo right now. They are writing nine minute songs and are refusing to apologize for it. Formed in 2011 by Thomas Oliver Daulton (guitar/...
The Tins
Hello and welcome to the first in what I hope to become an ongoing series where we check in with various local bands to ask that question that pops into our head from time to time, "what are they up to" these days. It has been a little while since we last heard from...
Neon Trees – Pop Psychology
It was just four short years ago that Utah-bred quartet Neon Trees scored its first hit on the mainstream pop charts with “Animal,” and only two years since the group followed that smash with the irresistibly catchy “Everybody Talks.” The new wave pop group consisting...
Buffalo Porchfest Once Again Needs Bands, Porches
Early last fall, the Elmwood Village threw its inaugural Buffalo Porchfest. Sporting a pretty simple concept (you register your porch/balcony and a band plays on it), October's event was nearly washed out after some nasty rain in the early morning hours. I hosted my...
The “Related Artists” Question
A few weeks ago a friend of mine - who is also a musician - posed a question to her Facebook friend: "Which other famous acts did she sound like?" Because I can never resist the opportunity to be a smart ass, I responded with "Def Leppard, Boyz II Men, and Frank...
Nelson-Type – Cycles
Nelson-Type is just one of "those" bands. Ever since the duo released 2011's excellent Grow Homeless, Grow Unbound, we buffaBLOGGERs have been waiting anxiously for their next release. It's been three long years and, yes... we admit (at times), we believed the rumors...
Just Announced: Mac DeMarco
The Tralf Music Hall is back with its "Summer of Indie" series. After the closing of Mohawk Place in early 2013, the Tralf really stepped up in booking quality indie acts that normally would have been playing the defunct music venue. For the 2014, the first big land...
Genesee Live Releases New Session Feat. Overhead Sam Snyder
Rochester's premiere live session series, Genesee Live, has released its latest installment this morning, this time showcasing Overhead Sam Snyder. The Rochester singer/songwriter, who is a featured member of 585 acts Maybird, Thunder Body, and Plastic Sun, delivers a...
Check Out Routine Involvements’ Future Days
We don't always cover music out of Rochester, but when we do, it's because it's that good. And Routine Involvements new tape, Future Days, is some of the best stuff we've heard out of Buffalo's neighbor to the Northeast in quite some time. RI take cues from all kinds...
Tonight: Master
One of the most underrated bands to come out of the early death metal scene, Master was instrumental in bringing the classic death sound to the forefront of metal culture. The group found some success in the late 80's and early nineties, releasing excellent...
Mount Eerie at the Ninth Ward (4/17/14)
Phil Elverum is like an old friend who I don't see very often and don't speak to very much, but when in his presence, the feeling of tranquility takes over. A Mount Eerie performance is just that soothing (though powerful) feeling projected onto an audience. This...
Today: Record Store Day
As you prepare to roam Buffalo in pursuit of a tangible music medium to take home and cherish forever, you may first want to plan out your optimal Record Store Day experience, which should obviously involve live music. Both Spiral Scratch and Black Dots Records will...
Tonight: Soul Patch/Spooky Business 90’s Birthday Bash
Soul patches are gross. Unlike the moustache, which looks great on the right guy (I'm looking at you Tom Selleck), or the ever-popular beard, these scrag-strips have no redeeming value. They are simply filthy tufts of hair that pool up under the lower lip and make...
Today & Tonight: Well Worn Boot Comic/EP Release Party
If you need a little excitement to liven up your Easter weekend, you'd be wise to catch Well Worn Boot - possibly the most shocking band in town - at Nietzche's tonight, for the release of their new EP and corresponding comic, Boot In Space. If you've never heard the...
Pharoahe Monch – PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Pharoahe Monch's PTSD provides a nice contrast from the usual super lyrical rap album. Monch has mostly been known for his lyrical dexterity and his technical rap skill, and as expected, that is all on display with this theme album. There is great variety in his flows...
Tonight: Turkuaz with Alan Evans’ Playonbrother
Nietzsche's is going to be the scene of a soul funk dance party tonight when Brooklyn funk powerhouse Turkuaz bring it back to Buffalo along with local hero Alan Evans' latest project Playonbrother. In town promoting their latest album Future 86, it's always...
Silo Sessions Announces Launch Party
Since closing up shop at the Vault last year, former venue runner Kevin Cain has had his hands in various projects, including the former Monday night Inventory Series at Hardware, curating diverse local showcases all over Buffalo, and performing with a cast of...
Tonight: Rustic Radio, The Nigh, Cosmic Shakedown
Musical diversity is the name of the game at Gypsy Parlor tonight. You wouldn't want to eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner (unless that thing was pizza) and you wouldn't want to see the same band with different faces playing three sets in a row....
Tonight: Honey Spine
Local backwoods folk sensations, Honey Spine, will be bringing their intimately gritty bluegrass sound to shallow Black Rock's Sportsmen's Tavern tonight. The banjo-led trio could best be described as a Tom Waitsy- stripped down bluegrass stylings of William Elliott...
Tonight: Artvoice Presents Night Shift
Artvoice is presenting the second installment of its monthly showcase series tonight at what appears to be the event's home base of Hardware. The bill is made up of some of Buffalo's best DJs, including a handful of buffaBLOG part vets like Brooklyn via Buffalo via...
Still Diggin’: Discover, Explore, Dance On It
Since my last Record Store Day post, my collection has taken on a life of its own. I have sought out vinyl from my wishlist, in addition to some records that have seemed to just come into my life. Initially, digging for records was a solo mission of mine; occasionally...
Tonight: Hollerado with Wildlife
Easter is still a few days away but talk about a basket of goodies: Hollerado and Wildlife will be at Town Ballroom this evening. We have a long way to go, but this lineup is a dark-horse contender for show of the year. I mean to take nothing away from Hollerado...
Kristachuwan Releases Beachers Cassette
Kristachuwan's latest release Beachers ranks, in my books, as the best ambient album I've heard while living in Buffalo. It's not pushing any heavy beats in my face, forcing my hand when it comes to dancing. "Dill's Pick" is a good example. Kristachuwan arranges the...
April 17th
Howson's Groove - "Shake Up" (Arkist Remix) South London duo Howson's Groove recently released their latest EP, Body & Soul which includes two original tracks as well as remixes from Fybe:One and Arkist. The re-work of "Shake Up" by Bristol producer Arkist,...
Tonight: Shilpa Ray
If you’re like me, you have a faux real job, such as a server, bartender or a barista. Not to say those aren't real jobs, but let’s face it, monkeys could do our jobs, and probably with less attitude too. In our ‘desired’ vocations, we don’t get out to see shows all...
Woods – With Light and with Love
With Light and with Love, as its creators must have intended, is light and lovely. Yet for an album offering semi-straightforward psychedelia that seems tamer than Tame Impala, there is a fair amount of sonic playfulness. Joy jumps from each note. Woods, a folk rock...
Mooses Debut “In Case They’re Wonderin'” Single
Mooses have been on our radar for a little while now. The Fredonia based four-piece has only released a couple tracks over at their bandcamp page, but it wasn't until they dropped the single "In Case They're Wonderin'," that we really stopped and took note. The track...
David Lee Rad & Pa_triot Drop “Spring Fever” Mixtape
Embracing "spring" so far in WNY hasn't exactly been the easiest of tasks. The weather has been mixed with constant tease and torture over the last couple weeks, capped off by Tuesday's absolutely deflating snow. So, getting into a spring mixtape has been equally...
Still Diggin’: Narrowing Your World
Record shops only really made any sense to me because of my experience with another increasingly-obsolete medium: television. Spending a summer alone, abjectly depressed and too hot to move a few years ago, I finally came around on TV. Streaming stuff over the...
Chuckie Campbell Reps The 716 In “Synesthesia” Video
Southern transplant Chuckie Campbell showcases the city like a lifelong native in the Buffalo in black and white is anything but video for "Synesthesia." Synesthesia, (I borrowed this from Wiki) is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or...
Tonight: Danny Brown
Danny Brown is said to be one of the most unique voices in the rap game, he stays representing Detroit and is known for his engraving in Fool's Gold Records. Rapping since he was a child, Danny Brown (full name: Daniel Dewan Sewell) went from the streets to the...
Tonight: Man Forever
Man Forever is the alias of John Colpitts who the New York Times has called "a kabuki demon by night," describing his project as a "tidal wave of percussion." Colpitts usually performs under Kid Millions as the drummer of the Brooklyn based group Oneida but his outlet...
Create The Next Tins Logo
We like to help our some of our blog buddies when we can. And The Tins, well, they have been blog friends since the beginning, back when "The Green Room" was blaring out of our blog offices, back when they were headlining our first bday party back in 2011 at...
Still Diggin’: Still Digging For Classics
I wasn't always a vinyl head. Sure I grew up with vinyl, but by the time I was in high school, it was cassettes for my Walkman, and the digitally pristine sound of the CD became the coin of the realm during college and for a decade after. But after reconnecting to...
Tonight: Et al.
Baltimore's Et al. will be touring through Spiral Scratch today, bringing their new-wavey guitar-driven pop along with them. In case you missed the Queen City Lottery Showcase, two of the bands have "made it" and are acting as support tonight. Nail School, featuring...
Harmonica Lewinski
The second installment in our 4th birthday party video series comes from Harmonica Lewinski. The Rochester based surf-garage act barely made it to our party as the snow had better ideas that evening. But luckily for us, and everyone in attendance, the band made it and...
Japanther – Instant Money Magic
"Do it--don't try it" could be Japanther's motto. The duo, consisting of Matt Reilly and Ian Vanek, have proven they can keep creating fresh, innovative material again and again. Their approach is just as avant-garde as it is rooted in plain old experimentation. Since...
Just Announced: Andrew Jackson Jihad & Cheap Girls
If you were at the Hold Steady show last week at the Town Ballroom, you know first hand how commanding Cheap Girls are. The boisterous indie-rock trio was just announced to be linking up with folk-punk outfit, Andrew Jackson Jihad, for a surely rousing night at the...
Watch Lesionread Perform At The WBNY Studios
Buffalo's art student turned performance artist Shawn Lewis, aka Lesionread, recently invaded the WBNY studios over at Buff State College. Complete with Red Boy, Lewis delivered a manic set which included blog fav "Neutronbomb" and "I Want To Fall In Love" the latter...
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Eurydice”
Shimmering pop perfection from melancholy NYC indie quartet. The soaring "Eurydice" can be found on the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's upcoming LP, Days of Abandon, due out on May 13th. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144201135"...
Still Diggin’: Still Searchin’ for the ‘Holy Grail’
When I broke up with my ex girlfriend, Stephanie, it was a long time coming. We just weren’t connecting. She was going through a transformation of sorts. She was trying to become this feminist stripper in the form of an incarnation of Frida Kahlo. I mean she had the...
Figurehead Releases Wordy Single
Over the weekend, Figurehead released their new single "a song about the sea, a song about sex, a song about using both to drown yourself." You may remember Figurehead from their fall 2013 release which first put them on our radar, No One Wants to Be Your Friend. The...
Tonight: Julie Byrne
I would like to compare Julie Byrne's music to that of a bird in flight. The chords swoop in from the clouds, barely audible to the ear. Then, the wings of the track flap, move closer, creating a delicate ripple as the sweet trill of her voice is heard. It's like...
Still Diggin’: Our Tribute to Record Stores and Record Collecting
By now, it is almost a cliche to point out that, with the rise of digital media consumption, there has been a parallel rise in older formats rooted in its physical existence. For every E-Book reader, you will find another person loudly decrying the value of books. So...
Just Announced: Man Man
Manic Philadelphia fivesome, Man Man, will return to Buffalo this summer with a repeat performance at the Tralf Music Hall on Tuesday, July 8th. The experimental group was in Buffalo this past fall in support of their 2013 release On Oni Pond. The band is known for...
April 14th
April 19th marks the 20th year human beings have been able to buy and/or steal Nas' seminal album Illmatic. To celebrate the glory of himself, the MC has launched a multi-city tour, which you are doubtless aware of if you found yourself pondering your life's ambition...
Just Announced: Herd Fest
Spring has arrived in Buffalo, and just like that, things are on the up. With summer in the city nearly here, we are happy to announce our next big party plans. Rather than do another stand alone showcase, we decided to be a bit more ambitious this time around. On...
Delplato & Kujawski – Strings & Chords
I am treated to the best of the best of local music from week to week. Over the past few years, I have had an opportunity to objectively review and appreciate a wide variety of music that comes my way. That being said, nothing ever seems to grip me like a release from...
Requiem For The Greatest Hits Album
As one of the few people still buying CDs, I'm already something of a musical relic. What I tell you next might shock you though, the last two albums I bought were Greatest Hits compilations. Just in case you thought I was aiming for any hipster cred here, the...
The War On Drugs at the Town Ballroom (4/13/14)
Last night, the Town Ballroom hosted one of Buffalo's more anticipated live shows at the quarter mark of 2014 in Philadelphia's The War on Drugs. Riding high off of the band's acclaimed album, Lost in the Dream, front man Adam Granduciel and crew delivered a...