Latest Posts

Tonight: Big Data

April 7, 2015

The past decade has certainly seen no shortage of underground artists melding electro-rock, psychedelic rock, alt-dance and synthpop – from MGMT to Ratatat to alt-J and beyond. But Big Data – a relatively new project helmed by Brooklyn DJ Alan Wilkis – displays enough intensity and virtuosity to stand apart, if not above, many of its peers in such a crowded field. Big Data’s music is at turns heady and danceable, abrasive and poppy, upbeat and frighteningly paranoid. His debut, 2.0, released this March, features vocal appearances ranging from Rivers Cuomo to Rochester indie-rockers Joywave to indie-pop artists the world around, from Kimbra to Twin Shadow. But their lyrics are pretty universally manic – Cuomo croons about Edward Snowden on the blaring noise-pop of “Snowed In;” White Sea sings about a relentless lover over Europop synths on “The Business of Emotion;” and on the bass-heavy debut single, “Dangerous” (which peaked[...]

Just Announced: Big Data

January 23, 2015

One of 2014’s major breakout acts was Big Data, the project of Brooklyn electronic musician, Alan Wilkes. We like to think that JOYWAVE’s Dan Armbruster taking lead vocals on the hit song, “Dangerous,” certainly didn’t hurt either. You couldn’t go through a single commercial break without hearing the track pop up on TV. The Rochester musician was featured on Big Data’s sneaky good first single, “The Stroke of Return,” as well (listen at the bottom of post). After making its Buffalo debut this past summer at Kerfuffle, Big Data will be returning to to town on Thursday, April 7th at the Showplace Theater. Raise your hand if you thought shows were still being held there. Exactly. The show is being presented by Alt Buffalo so if you happen to follow the radio station on social media, expect A LOT of reminders about this one. You have been warned. Tickets go[...]

JOYWAVE Makes Network TV Debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers

July 31, 2014

After the explosion of their 2013 track “Tongues” and a couple of opening gigs for the Killers, Rochester’s JOYWAVE continued their excellent 2014 last night as the band made their network television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers. The electro pop quintet, led by Daniel Armbruster, closed out the show with a head bobbing rendition of said single, sadly without fellow Rochester siren Patricia Petrone of KOPPS providing her infectious scat in person. Armbruster also joined electro cohorts and recent Kefuffle act, Big Data, earlier in the program to play “Dangerous,” a song that you can not escape as of late if you have any alternative music channel or Doritos commercial on. While we are unsure where JOYWAVE will ride this high next, we over at the blog sure wouldn’t mind a proper full length down the road. Until then, we will continue to wear out Koda Vista over in the[...]

Kerfuffle at Canalside (7/26/14)

July 30, 2014

This past Saturday, Buffalo’s infant radio station, Alternative Buffalo 107.7, debuted their inaugural Kerfuffle on a crowd of thousands down at Canalside in spectacular fashion. The one-day music festival had a lot going in its favor that day: nearly rain free weather (Artpark was shaking its head all night), a bill of fresh and relevant acts (something that normally does not go hand in hand with summer music here in the city), and a revitalized waterfront that continues to provide the perfect back drop to many summer nights in Buffalo. Now, for a full review of Kerfuffle, read Ryan Wolf’s review here, but if you prefer a more visual recap, contributing photographer Andy Deluca was on hand capture all of the action and energy on Kerfuffle’s stage. For additional Kerfuffle shots, follow Deluca’s instagram account here. Cage the Elephant Bleachers Bear Hands Big Data Kongos Semi Precious Weapons Photos courtesy[...]

Today/Tonight: Kerfuffle

July 26, 2014

Back in mid-April, I remember seeing a lot of tweets from Alt Buffalo and their DJs filled with the hastag #Kerfuffle. Twitter had a minor buzz storm on its hands. To the surprise of some, Kerfuffle turned out to be a one day festival curated by the radio station. And as of yesterday, the damn thing was sold out. It’s not easy to sell out Canalside. That’s a big space. But when you have a hand full of alt-rock buzz acts, coupled with the strong following that Alt Buffalo has built in its first year, I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked. The first annual (I would assume) Kerfuffle bill is highlighted by acts like Cage the Elephant, Bear Hands, and Bleachers. If you are reading this post and have a ticket, I take it you know these acts. Bear Hands, though, is an act that has been on our radar[...]