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Tonight: Bethlehem Steel

September 14, 2019

Celebrated indie rockers Bethlehem Steel celebrate the release of their new self-titled album with a show tonight at Mohawk Place. The follow up to their much-lauded full length Party Naked Forever shows the band is continuing to evolve and hone their sound. With their loud, fuzzy punk ethos and cathartic lyricism, the band has become a mainstay of Brooklyn’s thriving indie scene. This release also showcases the addition of guitarist Christina Puerto, whose tasteful lead work fills out the band’s already established textures. The true standout on this record as always is lead singer Becca Ryskalczyk, whose soaring vocals continually ground the band. Her ability to seamlessly transition from a contemplative, reflective tone to suddenly channeling anger and frustration is thoroughly compelling. While a far cry from her days as a singer-songwriter, Ryskalczyk has an innate ability to captivate listeners, which is only highlighted by the outstanding musicianship of the[...]

Tonight: Bethlehem Steel

March 20, 2018

Brooklyn by way of Buffalo garage rockers Bethlehem Steel are hitting up their old area on their way back home from Texas after SXSW tonight at Birdhaus with Gun Candy and Slowcooker. The gritty riffs and emotional heft you know and love from Bethlehem Steel, you know… “one of our own,” will be in full effect, so you’re probably going to want to hit this show. Opening the show will be punk troublemakers Gun Candy and gnarly surf punks Slowcooker. Doors open at 7pm and cover is $5-$10. Party Naked Forever by Bethlehem Steel

Tonight: Bethlehem Steel

November 10, 2017

The Buffalo-bred, Brooklyn based indie act Bethlehem Steel will be celebrating the release of their new record tonight at Mohawk Place. Out today via Exploding In Sounds Records, this is the band’s first full length record. Titled Party Naked Forever, it showcases their knack for dirty, in your face guitar riffs and vulnerable, cathartic lyricism. Joining Bethlehem Steel will be a full slate acts. Cold Sweats are grungey punk rockers via Binghamton and buffaBLOG favorites Pleistocene. The night will also feature sets from JACK, as well as DJ DMar. Doors are at 7, music at 8. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Tonight: Bethlehem Steel

September 7, 2016

The Buffalo-turned-Brooklyn based Bethlehem Steel is already five dates into their fall tour with fellow Brooklynites, Painted Zeros. Tonight’s show at Mohawk Place makes an anticipated sixth. After getting some well deserved praise and coverage from NPR following their SXSW performance earlier this year, the trio has been If you’ve never heard Bethlehem Steel before, a fresh listen introduces you to piercing melodies and a whole lot of fuzz. Frontwoman Rebecca Ryskalczyk’s voice carries a hauntingly somber tone to it that manages to still be bright and hopeful at the same time. If you dig a little deeper into the lyrical content, you become privy to the flip-side of their up-beat energy. The lyrics are equally as haunting. On “Yeah, I’m Okay With My Shit Life”, the last tune of their 6-song album Docking, Ryskalczyk sings, “…If I could breathe under water / I would stay there forever / to[...]

Tonight: Bethlehem Steel

June 4, 2016

Following a tour van mishap that led the band to cancel its most recent hometown appearance, Brooklyn-based trio Bethlehem Steel will finally make it back to its origin city of (as their bandname may suggest) Buffalo tonight. Sharing cues from Rochester-based fuzz rock contemporaries Pleistocene, the BFF bands are the local(ish) pioneers of their crafted genres. Have a listen to a track from B-Steel’s excellent Docking EP below, released in November via Miscreant Records. Tonight’s NY-centric bill at Mohawk Place includes Bethlehem Steel, lo-fi punk locals Space is Haunted, Slowcooker, and B-Steel citymates Stringer. Get there right around 8pm to catch them all–these bands are bringing more than just volume. $7.

Tonight: buffaBLOG’s 6th Birthday Party

March 26, 2016

There’s something great to be said about the camaraderie that has formed between buffaBLOG, Buffalo musicians and honest music lovers over the past six years. We’re celebrating the all-around enthusiasm for the local music scene as well as the DIY essence of that camaraderie tonight at Nietzsche’s, and the lineup couldn’t be doper. Helping to kick off the night are Telempathy and The Get Money Squad, both of which maintain a surfy tone, though Telempathy has a more 60’s rock-infused lo-fi sound while TGMS has a breezier groove to them. Also slated to play are Cooler, one of our favorite fuzz rock bands who seem to be gaining enormous momentum lately, Moody Cosmos, psychedelic garage rock act who are gearing up to deliver new material this summer, and The Leones, whose dreamy, ethereal tunes are every bit atmospheric as they are ruminative. The only sad bit of news to report on is the cancellation of Bethlehem Steel’s set for the night.[...]

Just Announced: buffaBLOG’s Sixth Birthday Party

February 26, 2016

It seems like just yesterday that buffaBLOG was obsessively writing about Love Scenes, The Bird Day, and Arctic Death, but after checking the site stats, it seems as though this was five plus years ago. This means we are turning six. It’s time to celebrate. Please join us on Saturday, March 26th at Nietzsche’s where we celebrate our existence as an all-volunteer blog that is just really into the Buffalo music scene. On the main stage this year we have trippy-sunrock act, The Get Money Squad, along with support from Brooklyn-based fuzzy sweetness Bethlehem Steel (fronted by former Buffalonian Becca Ryskalczyk), dreamy psych-folkers The Leones, and the night started off by scene newcomers straight from 2002, Cooler. On the way to bum cigarettes we got you covered. At the front stage we will have a karaoke set by psych-y Fredonia art student, Moody Cosmos. Starting off the night we will have super[...]

Tonight: Painted Zeros

December 3, 2015

Hot off the release of their debut full length Floriography (Don Giovanni Records), Brooklyn-based dream fuzz trio Painted Zeros is set to hit Mohawk Place tonight on one of the coolest bills of the dwindling year. Floriography, written and recorded by Zeros frontwoman Katie Lau, is a beautifully textured record with a wide dynamic range–sometimes sweet and delicate, other times in-your-face gritty and explosive. Think Mazzy Star meets Smashing Pumpkins. The onstage iteration of the project is rounded out by drummer Jared Kaner and bassist Jim Hill, the latter formerly of Cottage Jefferson (Rochester!) fame. To make the show particularly homecoming-y, we have the Buffalo-bred, now Brooklyn-based Bethlehem Steel back in town, also hot off a fresh effort that snagged a slot as our Album of the Week last month. Can tonight’s show get any better? Yep. To top it all off, we have three of the best locals Buffalo’s punk scene[...]

Bethlehem Steel – Docking

November 9, 2015

This isn’t the first time we’re writing about Bethlehem Steel (BS), so by now, Becca Ryskalczyk’s move to Brooklyn has been well-publicized. We like to take care of our own, even when they move out of town after all. In case you’re unfamiliar, Becca was Buffalo-born and educated at SUNY Fredonia. You may have caught her several years ago on a solo trek across the US with fellow Buffalonians A Hotel Nourishing. Either way, we consider Becca an honorable Buffalonian, even as she’s busy making waves in the Brooklyn independent scene. Docking is the new EP (out via Brooklyn’s Miscreant Records) from this talented three-piece. Though they’ve always had a knack for fuzzy indie-pop (see “Guts” from their last EP, Grow Up), BS has really stepped up their fuzz game on Docking. Opening track “One Giant Fuck Machine” is a poppy, apt introduction to this EP, showcasing the groups’ loosely-wound, borderline lo-fi tunes. Most notable is Becca’s[...]

Rebecca Ryskalczyk of Bethlehem Steel

July 20, 2015

Next week will see the return home of Rebecca Ryskalczyk, the front woman of the Brooklyn based, Fredonia bred indie trio Bethlehem Steel. The Buffalo born musician is currently on a solo tour that will bring her back to town for a pair of Infringement Festival dates. We recently caught up with the songwriter to discuss Buffalo and Brooklyn, her new label and upcoming EP, and her some of her favorite local music memories. buffaBLOG: Over the last couple years, we have seen some pretty great acts, including Zealot, Mr. Boneless, and Well Worn Boot, come out SUNY Fredonia and the surrounding town. What was the scene like when you were going to school there? Rebecca Ryskalczyk: There was a very tight knit DIY scene when I went to school there. I met all my current band-mates through the music scene there. Jon played in Longitude and Zephyr in Zona Mexicana. House shows[...]