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Tonight: Cheap Girls

December 18, 2015

Michigan three-piece Cheap Girls have mastered the “throwback” feel. Their quintessential nostalgia-pop-punk sound is completely accessible but manages to maintain a characteristic garage-esque untidiness. There is a palpable earnestness in everything from the vocals to the slushy guitar parts that makes each and every song so inviting. In it’s most simple form, it’s feel good music for those that feel bad and the perfect band to keep in your pocket when you’re feeling a little wistful. If you’re at all a fan of The Menzingers or The Smith Street Band, I highly recommend seeing Cheap Girls tonight at The Studio at Waiting Room. Some of our favorite local bands including Mallwalkers, Cooler and Apathetic are slated to open. Doors are at 6:30pm and tickets are $12. Be there or be not there, but you should probably be there, as this show will pack a punch. Check the Facebook event for[...]

Tonight: Cheap Girls

October 13, 2014

Mohawk Place is a venue with more than a lot of history for Buffalonians and since it reopen last month, many bands will add to the esteemed venue’s history. That said, few bands better reflect both where the venue has been and where it is going than the showcase of bands gracing it’s stage tonight. That starts with Cheap Girls, a trio hailing from Lansing, Michigan with a sound that reflects everyone from The Replacements to Gin Blossoms to the Gaslight Anthem. They’ll be hitting our fair city in support of their latest album, Famous Graves.  The band has been quietly been making a name for themselves among retro-rock enthusiasts for awhile and with their realist blue-collar lyrics, catchy pop hooks, and classic guitar riffs, should put on quite the show. And speaking of bands of the future working off the past, Beach Slang will bring their brand of 90s-inspired[...]

Andrew Jackson Jihad w/Cheap Girls, Dogbreath at the Waiting Room (6/17/14)

June 18, 2014

Patrons arrived to “good news” on signs plastered near the entrance. The Waiting Room had a new owner. But because of that, the venue had to apply for a new liquor license. Thankfully, the no alcohol rule didn’t impact most of the young patrons who came to start a wave-like mosh pit for the headliner Andrew Jackson Jihad. Lansing’s Cheap Girls made notable Buffalo shout outs to Mohawk Place and local band Failures’ Union. Dogbreath won the award for best merch of the evening with a variety of colorful friendship bracelets, which this writer imagined were made to pass the time in the tour van. Written and Shot by Taryn Alper

Tonight: Andrew Jackson Jihad

June 17, 2014

Folk-punk duo Andrew Jackson Jihad, consisting of Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty, surely have a way with words. The first line that struck me from the group was “There’s a rapist and a Nazi living in our tiny hearts.” Even though the initial reaction is to sit back and protest—“I am certainly not a Nazi,” the underbelly of the statement means that we all can be evil, we all have the capability to damage and create chaos. Such is the vein that most of the songs AJJ runs along. They’re critical masters. In the song “FWP (Fuck White People)” they take a political dig at the larger representation of the good old USA “First they take the land, then they take the soil, and with their bloody hands, they dig for oil.” This past May, AJJ released Christmas Island, an album that featured a more orchestral sound. Lyrically, Sean Bonnette didn’t stray[...]

Just Announced: Andrew Jackson Jihad & Cheap Girls

April 15, 2014

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 Waiting Room on Tuesday, June 17th. AJJ will be touring in support of their latest records, Christmas Island, set to drop on May 6th. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 18th, for $15 in advance, $17 day of.

Know Your Opener: Cheap Girls

April 8, 2014

Lester Bangs once wrote, “nothing ever quite dies, it just comes back in a different form.” Now Mr. Bangs could have been talking about a slew of things, however most likely he was speaking of music. Cheap Girls fits right into the quote by the late rock critic. The Lansing, Michigan natives’ sound is reminiscent of late 80’s alternative rock, a time when bands like Husker Du, The Replacements, Uncle Tupelo, and REM ruled the college radio air waves. After seven years and three studio albums – Find me a Drink Home (2008), My Roaring 20’s (2009) and Giant Orange (2012, the first album to be produced by Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace) – people are finally taking notice of the band. Currently on tour with Brooklyn’s The Hold Steady, Cheap Girls are on the verge of dropping their fourth studio album, Famous Graves, due out May 14th. “The phrase started taking[...]

Tonight: The Hold Steady

April 8, 2014

One time I heard the Hold Steady described as “Bar Rock for literates,” and to this day, I think that’s the best description I’ve heard of them. Thoughtful lyrics spoken story-like to the tune of hard-driving indie music with classic rock leanings. I suppose that’s an oversimplification, but it’s apt. If you have never heard the Hold Steady, I suggest you check out any of their first four albums (although, in truth, I like Heaven is Whenever just as much as those other releases). The music pulsates and the lyrics have a certain kind of weight that songwriters often strive for, but fail to capture. Perhaps that’s what’s made them so popular over the years. Despite the departure of original member and musical genius Franz Nicolay, the band’s popularity has continued to grow in recent years and the Hold Steady now find themselves on the road supporting their recently released,[...]