Latest Posts

Tonight: Neko Case

September 26, 2018

Neko Case made headlines earlier this month for a series of tweets lambasting Bradley Cooper as the “beige demon who makes sure very standard white dudes get to be in everything,” but if you were unfamiliar with her name up to that point, you’ve been missing out. Over the past two decades, Case has written and performed some of the most arresting and affecting music out there. Though she’s recorded with The New Pornographers as well as the supergroup case/lang/veirs, Case’s best work is on her solo albums, where she tells tales of the fury of the natural world and acutely felt human suffering in her signature alto. Forget about Cooper – people will still be singing Case’s “Star Witness” long after “The Hangover” has fallen out of syndication (long live “Wet Hot American Summer,” though). Moral of the story: check out Case’s show tonight at Asbury Hall, where she’s[...]

Tonight: Yo La Tengo

September 13, 2018

Cancel your plans and hold onto your butts because living indie rock legends Yo La Tengo will be gracing Asbury Hall in Buffalo tonight. Debuting in 1986, Yo La Tengo are heavyweight cult heroes whose music is so beautifully emotive and engrossing-ly atmospheric it will bring a tear to your eye. Their eclectic records range anywhere from Lynchian instrumentals to lazy river folk and make up 15 studio albums and countless additional material. This year, the resilient Hoboken, NJ trio released their latest lucid full-length, There’s a Riot Going On, adding to their impressive repertoire of celestial bedroom grooves. Yo La Tengo is a gift and will blow your mind with what’s sure to be a can’t-miss show. Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm. Tickets are $30 and you can get them here. Everyone’s going so don’t be the only one missing this supremely seminal band live.

Tonight: Feverbox

January 22, 2018

Mondays are terrible, it’s a scientific fact that’s generally agreed upon by all, and for good reason. The weekend is over and the next seems far away because the work week is long, plus there’s usually not much happening on Mondays, and when there is sometimes it feels a little like an imposition because after all, it’s Monday. But the good people at Asbury Hall and The Ninth Ward just might have what we need with their new Weekend Mondays: no cover, drink specials, good bands with good sound, with an inaugural edition tonight featuring local indie rockers Feverbox, psych rock behemoth in the making Deadwolf, Get Money $quad’s Quinton Brock, and DJ Miosi spinning tunes. Weekend Monday starts at 7pm. See you there.

Conor Oberst at Asbury Hall (09/14/17)

September 18, 2017

For his first show in Buffalo in quite some time, all in attendance at Asbury Hall this past Thursday got quite the unique experience out of Conor Oberst’s live show. Anyone that has listened Bright Eyes or Oberst’s solo work knows that he has seriously struggled with alcoholism in the past, and Buffalo may have brought out the worst in him. From the moment he came out onto the stage, he was clearly intoxicated, slurring his speech, forgetting the words and verses to songs. He managed to fight through most of his planned set, performing solo material, as well as countless Bright Eyes songs, including fan favorites “Lua” and “First Day of My Life.” His band mates nervously looked on as he reached his breaking point, stumbling off stage two songs before his encore. Just like that, the curtains closed and the house lights came on. While the reaction of the audience seemed pretty mixed, disappointment seemed to[...]

Tonight: Conor Oberst

September 14, 2017

After a bit of a prolonged local absence, Conor Oberst, sans his Bright Eyes moniker, will be returning to the Buffalo area tonight to perform within the acoustically rich walls of Babeville’s Asbury Hall. The Saddle Creek all-star has been touring in support of his latest record Salutations, the full band follow-up to last year’s bare bones Ruminations. The former reworked a number of the 2016 release’s tracks in addition to adding a handful of new songs to fill out the collection. Opening up for Oberst will be one of NPR’s current obsessions, the breakthrough folk singer Phoebe Bridgers. Tickets are still available to grab at the door for $30 or $35 dollars. Music is set to kick off at 8pm.

The New Pornographers at Asbury Hall (7/25/17)

August 3, 2017

Last Tuesday, The New Pornographers brought their tour to the historic Buffalo venue, Asbury Hall.  The band recently released their first record since 2014, titled Whiteout Conditions, and while the group played a solid amount off of the new record, they also played songs spanning their entire career.  With a boisterous opening set from, Cloud Nothings, the show did not disappoint.  Check out some photos from the night below, shot by blog photographer, Brendan O’Connor. Cloud Nothings The New Pornographers

Tonight: The New Pornographers

July 25, 2017

Well, I think it’s safe to say that tonight is one of the busiest nights for shows of the summer.  One option to make your Tuesday a special one is a rare appearance from Canadian indie vets, The New Pornographers.   On tour for their new album that dropped earlier this year, titled Whiteout Conditions, the legacy act is rolling through Buffalo with a stellar opener as well.  While you should expect to hear some cuts off of the new album, you’re sure to hear a good amount from their extensive, hit filled back catalog as well. The thing that makes this lineup so stacked is the touring opener for the show, Cloud Nothings.  While they have played in Buffalo a few times over the past couple years, the noisy indie outfit still brings the heat every show.  Doors open for the show at 7pm, and tickets are available at[...]

of Montreal at Asbury Hall (4/26/17)

May 1, 2017

The semiannual of Montreal art rock freakout rolled through Asbury Hall at Babeville Wednesday night with Christina Scheider’s Jepeto Solutions, and the results were customarily intense and deeply satisfying. Jepeto Solutions were instantly effective, with a continental psychedelic sound that recalled the soundtracks to Michelangelo Antonioni and Barbet Schroder films. Christina Schneider’s dreamy vocals kept everything in a hazy focus while she and her band bathed the crowd in shimmering guitars and kept us guessing through whimsical, swinging timing changes that conjured pleasing sensations of detached freedom and innocence, ideal sensations before a set from of Montreal. of Montreal devotees know that their shows are happenings in the truest sense, and the current show came at the audience hard with a teasing set that largely explored the band’s last three albums and visions of masculinity in 2017. Frontman/guru Kevin Barnes dazzled the crowd with a cross dressing series of tasteful[...]

Tonight: Of Montreal

April 26, 2017

of Montreal will be making their what seems to be their yearly stop in Buffalo tonight.  Since their inception, of Montreal has basically been dropping a project a year, all having their own unique feel.  The band is currently on tour for their 2016 full length, Innocence Reaches, and gracing the stage tonight at Buffalo’s Asbury Hall.  Most of the band’s performances in Buffalo have been at the Town Ballroom, and a change of scenery for this show should be something to look forward to.  If you’ve ever been to an of Montreal show before, you should know that this will a show you won’t want to miss.  Set lists spanning their entire discography, insane stage antics, as well as the band’s ability to make every place they play feel like a stadium, all come together to create some of the most interesting live shows I’ve ever seen. The show will[...]

Tonight: The Mountain Goats

April 6, 2016

Officially celebrating 25 years together as a band, 2016 marks an important landmark for The Mountain Goats. The band originally arrived with a wave of similar mid-90s lo-fi folk rock bands but became bonafied legends for John Darnielle’s unique gift as a storyteller. Darnielle has always has a unique approach to songwriting by investing in different concepts from album to album and finding humanity in it, whether it’s religion, addiction, mental health, or as in their latest release, professional wrestling. Beat the Champ, continues in the tradition of the band’s long lineage but finds Darnielle and company operating in a slightly more playful and adventerous space then recent efforts. Tonight’s show at Asbury Hall marks the first show the indie rock legends have played in our fair city in 5 years and it’ll be interesting to see how new material melds with their classics. If the band’s live show is[...]

Kurt Vile at Asbury Hall (3/31/16)

April 4, 2016

While it has taken Kurt Vile a while to make a stop in Buffalo for a show, all in attendance were treated to a special night at Asbury Hall that made it well worth the wait. Mike Polizze of Philly act, Purling Hiss, opened up the show, utilizing loops of acoustic, electric, and bass guitars to create soundscapes topped off with incredible sounding vocals to boot.  When Kurt Vile took the stage, the band jumped into their set with three tracks off of his stellar new record b’lieve i’m going down, and then kicked into a huge set spanning his entire discography, lasting almost 2 hours in total. Hopefully the Kurt and his band return to Buffalo sooner than later to take us another ride on their Freak Train.  Check out some photos from the show as well as the setlist below, and click here for a full gallery. Purling Hiss Kurt Vile[...]

Tonight: Kurt Vile

March 31, 2016

Much could be said about Kurt Vile; He is seen at once as indie’s Dylan, a lone troubadour with a unique voice; he co-founded indie darlings, The War on Drugs, he has released some of the most iconic, unclassifiable albums in recent years. I prefer to think of him as an “artist”, in the truest sense of the word. He is a purveyor of truth in a sea of passer-bys. I remember when I first heard Kurt. Smoke Ring for My Halo had just come out and I was recommended the album by my sister. Released as a companion piece, the So Outta Reach EP was, in effect, disc two, and one particular track endeared me to Kurt right from the go. “Life’s a Beach” came as a storm at a time when I was trying to figure out where I was going in life, and, as if in an “a-ha”[...]

Tonight: Neko Case

February 27, 2016

Despite a couple of area gigs with Canadian power-pop act the New Pornographers over the years, local fans have been patently waiting Neko Case to make a return to town after a rain soaked day canceled her scheduled performance for Thursday at the Square in 2009. And after nearly seven years, the alt-country spitfire will finally grace a Buffalo stage later on this evening at Babeville’s Asbury Hall. Touring in support of her career spanning, vinyl box set Truckdriver Gladiator Mule, a collection of her eight studio albums from early works with backing band, Her Boyfriends, to 2014’s well received The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, the powerhouse singer/songwriter has a mighty deep catalog to pick from for her eager fans tonight. Case marks fantastic booking for the Delaware venue in what has been a hard to beat calendar[...]

Just Announced: Neko Case

December 17, 2015

After a rain soaked Lafeyette Square washed out her last last area show, alt-country queen Neko Case will finally be back in town on Saturday, February 27th at Babeville’s Asbury Hall. Last month, the long time spit fire and New Porngraphers member released a remastered, career spanning box set Truckdriver Gladiator Mule, a vinyl collection of her eight studio recordings, including her early work with backing her backing band, Her Boyfriends. Expect cuts from her nearly 20 year career on what should be a very special night at the very active Delaware Ave venue. Tickets are going on sale tomorrow for $30 advance.

Sleater-Kinney at Asbury Hall (12/10/15)

December 14, 2015

If anyone tries telling you that Sleater-Kinney wasn’t one of the best reunions of 2015, they are wrong. The front runner riot grrrl trio had been on hiatus since 2006 after the release of The Woods in 2005 after deciding to peruse other projects. To almost everyone’s surprise, the band swung through Buffalo last Thursday on the tail end on their reunion tour backing their new record No Cities to Love. My anticipation for the show peaked when it was announced that up and coming indie act Waxahatchee would be opening the show, and they kicked the night off with a passionate, emotional set. When Sleater-Kinney took the stage, though, it was something special. I was amazed at how tight they sounded live. It seemed as if the band had not skipped a beat, ripping through their new tracks, as well as playing perfect renditions of their old hits and deep cuts (check out the set list under the photos). This will no doubt go down[...]