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Tonight: !!!

September 14, 2017

Yes you read it right. The !!! and Algiers show originally scheduled for the now defunct Waiting Room then cancelled outright is back on later tonight at the Mohawk. On tour in support of their latest release, the epic Shake The Shudder, the Sacramento by way of NYC dance punk superheroes will be kicking live jams for our dancing pleasure along along with rising Atlanta post punk soul outfit Algiers at a special late show in the heart of downtown. Doors open at 11pm and tickets are $10 at the door. Sleep is overrated. Dancing is all you need. The call has gone out to the party people. Will you answer?

Tonight: Roger Waters

September 9, 2017

Former Pink Floyd mastermind Roger Waters brings his Us & Them Tour to the Key Bank Center, making this his fourth show in Western New York in the last 10 years. Touring in support of his first album in 25 years, the Nigel Godrich produced Is The Life We Really Want, Roger will be playing new tunes along with solo and Floyd classics, unleashing the customary audio/visual sensory overload that’s only gotten more impressive thanks to increased computing power, LEDs, and high definition, and putting our President Trump on full Roger Waters blast (see clip below). Tickets are still available at all price points, including $31.50, and the show starts at 8pm.

Tonight: Sheer Mag

September 5, 2017

Philadelphia punk band Sheer Mag takes over tonight at the Mohawk with Lost Balloons and Mallwalkers. If rock is indeed the new punk, Sheer Mag and their magnificent front woman Tina Halladay has it turned up to 11, taking the proto cock rock of the 70’s and the DIY ethos and abandon of punk to the hungry masses minus the misogyny and nascent dude bro connotations endemic of 70’s hard rock and it’s cultural legacy to create something meaningful, righteous and vital for today’s increasingly diverse audiences. In town in support of the their very buzzworthy debut LP Need To Feel Your Love and one of the subjects of a New York Times feature on women in rock over the weekend, this is Sheer Mag’s time… and a big get for the Mohawk and for local audiences. Opening the show will be Madison Wisconsin’s Lost Balloons flying the flag for the international garage[...]

Tonight: Dance Yrself Clean

September 1, 2017

Tonight hot downtown eatery Marble and Rye will be the scene of the latest  Dance Yrself Clean Hipster Dance Party, where you can Resist the night away getting down to the latest and greatest booty shaking indie jams, brought to you by the usual suspects: Alison Lavis (editor of Highlights magazine), Ben Parsons, Tom (Humble Braggers/Girl Jeans) Burtless, Nick Muldoon, and Bryan Johnson (of the Family and Mutual Friends). The good and just cause that you will be dancing for and the beneficiary of your $5 donation will be the National Center For Transgender Equality. The tunes starts at 10pm.

Tonight: Big Huge

August 31, 2017

Tonight Sugar City will be the scene of a glorious power rock revival the likes of which has not been seen in a long time when New York City’s Big Huge makes their local debut. Taking the tight songwriting, unadulterated fun and crisp riffage of 80’s Top 40 rock while amputating the corporate slickness and replacing it with proper DIY downtown rock bravado, Big Huge feels just right, especially as showcased on their tasteful but kick ass debut LP Cruel World. Opening the show will be local punks Uniform(OPR), avante garde noise rockers Welks Mice, and psychedelic punk rockers Slow Mutants. Doors open at 8pm with music starting promptly at 8:30pm to honor Sugar City’s curfew and their neighbors. Cover is $7-$10 depending what you can kick in. CRUEL WORLD by BIG HUGE

The Able Bodies Get Pumped with Debut Video “Flicker”

August 24, 2017

Rochester indie pop starlets The Able Bodies just dropped a video for their debut single “Flicker” that’s alarmingly fully formed, deeply satisfying, and utterly irresistible. Shot and directed by Adam Antelek, Krit Upra, and Nick Kundrat (from the gnarly and very groovy Rochester indie culture magazine Floated), “Flicker” is a feel good 80’s digital freak-out as a fitness infomercial, perfect for a glorious slab of Jackson 5 by way of Daft Punk and Cut Copy goodness. The Able Bodies (aka John Viviani and Eli Flynn) are definitely onto something here with a this instantly timeless single that feels… right. Check it.

Bare Mattress – Some Great Magnet Pulls

August 22, 2017

Albany bedroom electronica act Bare Mattress dropped a tasteful EP of low key jams at the end of last month by the name of Some Great Magnet Pulls, and it’s irresistible vaguely vaporwave sonic textures and pulsating basslines will be ideal for your late night and or early morning come down/chill out sessions. Wrapped around a sinewy guitar and minimalist synths, “Toil Is” feels like a mantra set to a neon 80’s beat  before a very British New Wave guitar solo pulls it all together. The British New Wave vibe continues on “Then What,” a tightly stripped down joint with a minimalist approach to the synths and an insistent Peter Hook baseline. “Leasejumper” trades 80’s electronic dance rhythms for a thunderous backbeat that echoes, suspended in space before floating back to earth on the gorgeous fade out that is the LIN drum and ear candy caress of “Stars.” As much I enjoy the warmth of a[...]

Roger Bryan and the Orphans – 9er

August 18, 2017

Buffalo indie rock veterans Roger Bryan and the Orphans are back with a sparkly new EP of material ideally timed for wrapping up the summer season, looking ahead to fall, and giving it all a fuzzy folk rock kiss. 9er is a tight and thoroughly refreshing burst of Midwestern/Rust Belt sonic and emotional earnestness that recalls the stomping, charged up vintage 90’s Wilco sound I’ve frankly kind of been missing these last few years. “Man Of Time” is a series of musical sweet spots hit: plaintive vocals and guitar strumming give way to bittersweet harmonies and potent yet understated riffs that verge on anthemic. Wistful and beguiling, “Nowhere Else” is a psychedelic country rock gem that keeps lifting itself higher with it’s casually intricate vocal harmonies and modestly triumphant guitar rock heroism, while lead single “Whylife” is all searching Gen X angst and soaring guitars before crashing you back to earth. 9er is a[...]

Tonight: SLUGS

August 10, 2017

Rochester by way of Los Angeles trippy as hell slackrock outfit SLUGS will be laying down their enigmatic vibes tonight  when they return to Mohawk Place. Founded by brother-sister combo Marissa and James Longstreet, the two were staples in the Rochester music scene, performing under their electro-pop project High Drags. SLUGS is a bit of a change in pace from the hyper pop earlier workings, but still on par in substance. Also on the bill are Slowcooker along with tuneful post punkers Passed Out and garage rock duo Space Is Haunted. Doors are at 7pm and cover is $6. Bedroom Attempts by SLUGS

Tonight: Prince vs. Bowie Dance Party

August 3, 2017

Tonight, Buffalo Infringement Fest 2017 honors two of the heroes we lost last year with an epic Prince vs. Bowie dance party at the Mohawk to raise money for beloved and embattled art space Dreamland. DJs Xotec and Bill Page will be kicking the most danceable jams from the Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016) and David Bowie (1947-2016) oeuvres, along with some secret performances in between sets throughout the night. The dance party will be dedicated to Buffalo artist and Infringement Fest supporter Jenny “Lovely” Keys, who passed away last month; and proceeds go to the still closed Dreamland, which was regrettably caught up in the bureaucratic justice this spring. Infringement, Dreamland, Bowie, Prince… they are all about expression, and about getting free. Tonight, get free for a worthy cause. Cover is $5 and doors open at 8pm.

Tonight: Phantogram

July 31, 2017

Blazing supernova hot NYC electronic pop duo Phantogram makes their local debut tonight at the Town Ballroom with enigmatic electro chanteuse Skott. Phantogram, aka the duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, have been cranking cinematic, nocturnal soundtracks across three full length albums as well as guesting on various Flaming Lips projects,  their ongoing collaboration with Big Boi under the moniker Big Grams, and a show is really one of the more anticipated shows of our above average summer concert season. Opening the show will be the frankly mysterious Skott; she’s signed to RCA/Victor and her synth pop sound is bewitching, but beyond that she’s keeping a tight lid on the details, which is also nice, and refreshing. Tickets are still available for $27 and doors open at 7pm.

Tonight: Son Of The Sun

July 28, 2017

Beloved but dearly departed Buffalo band Son Of The Sun is getting back together for one night only tonight at Buffalo Iron Works, and they’re bringing their musical progeny with them to open the show. Zak Ward’s new band First Ward will be joined by The Soft Love featuring Jeremy Franklin and Joe Stocker and Brandon Delmont’s  A House Safe For Tigers project with Mark Constantino will be convening to show us some of the future of the local music scene before getting back together onstage to remind us of what Son Of The Sun was all about. Tickets are $10 at the door and doors are at 8pm. Almost Not There by Son of the Sun

Tonight: Garbage

July 25, 2017

Tonight alternative rock legends from two different decades collide beautifully when resurgent New Wave heroes Blondie and post grunge icons Garbage play Artpark with Deap Vally. Something of a 90’s supergroup at the time made up by mega producer Butch Vig,  Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and front woman extraordinaire Shirley Manson, Garbage burned hot from the mid 90’s and early aughts with a refreshingly danceable electronic noise rock sound and classics like Garbage, Garbage 2.0 and Beautiful Garbage before taking an indefinite hiatus and returning last year with their self released Strange Little Birds and co-headlining shows this summer with Blondie. Los Angeles technicolor garage rock duo Deap Vally open show the show, which gets going at 6:30pm (doors open at 4:45pm). General admission tickets are still available for $17.

Tonight: Foxygen

July 24, 2017

At long last, glam psych rockers Foxygen will be making their Buffalo debut tonight at the Tralf..  The pointedly Los Angeles based duo of Sam France and Jonathan Rado have spent the last decade taking a nihilistic sledgehammer to 70’s psychedelic rock and AM Gold radio on albums like We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic, … And Star Power, and most recently on Hang, a theatrical and phantasmagoric orchestral rock opus that’s pushes everything to the edge of sanity and frankly, beyond. Getting it going and transitioning your headspace will be Brooklyn lo-fi rock act Cut Worms and local provocateur/shaman, and Brimstone Blondes frontman Matthew Danger Lippman. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm, and tickets are still available at the door for $20.

Ugly Sun – Painted Post

July 24, 2017

Local garage rock  trio Ugly Sun have wrapped up an impressive first year in existence with an excellent EP in Painted Post that’s a perfect summation of what this band, and the Rust Belt rock revival they’re part of, are all about. Anchored by Trey Hollowood’s post rock-guitar heroics, the sharp and insistent drums of Harrison Crook and his brother John’s versatile bass and unfailingly melodic wail, the four jams on Painted Post are beautifully messed up. Kicking off with defiance and grit, “Marble Eye,” a real winner from their live set, crushes from the start, thanks to warm riffs that also grinds and stomps under a deft, cranked up Beach Boys chorus, while “Soil” is subversive liberation, jangly guitars, and an ode to getting dirty while we can before we ultimately getting dirty with the worms six feet under, an ethos I can thoroughly get down with while the city rapidly[...]