Latest Posts

M.A.G.S.

March 25, 2015

That Made Violent homecoming show the other week at Waiting Room was great for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorites was watching the crowd meet M.A.G.S., who played second at the show. It’s always enjoyable watching a crowd get introduced to an new act, but that Friday night something more happened: that audience watched M.A.G.S. with rapt attention, all eyes seemingly fixed on the three guys onstage, main man Elliott Douglas in particular. Cloaked in dreads and coiled purposefully behind his guitar and mic stand, he unleashed a mesmerizing set of bold post punk and new wave grooves that got the growing audience on his side in no time, and by the time the trio finished up, Made Violent might’ve been the hometown heroes on the verge of breaking out, but M.A.G.S. was the starlet serving notice that it were next. Which brings us to Saturday’s 5th[...]

Lesionread – Lesionread’s Greatest Hits! Vol. 1

March 23, 2015

Just a little shy of two years ago, Lesionread exploded onto the scene opening for Wild Nothing at the Tralf with an experience high on avant-garde mischief and mayhem, and Buffalo frankly hasn’t been the same since. The performing moniker of ever ambitious artist Shawn (Sean?) Lewis (Louis?), Lesionread has been an adventure ever since: staging fun yet challenging happenings, constantly refining his sprawling sound, doing his best to live his “art all day” mantra, and in 2015, he’s compiled two year’s worth of work onto a CD/tape cheekily titled Lesionread Greatest Hits Volume 1, and it’s our Album Of The Week. Still, as cheeky a name as Greatest Hits is for a debut album, it’s not entirely undeserved. From the start, it was clear that he wasn’t thinking about his art strictly in terms of songs, instead focusing on the experiences he’s orchestrating, and Lesionread has always been fine[...]

Five Year Rewind: Staff Picks – Part 2

March 21, 2015

Since the blog debuted on March 28th, 2010, with a truly horrible post about a Passion Pit show (sorry Bill), our ever revolving staff of writers and contributors have spun hundreds of albums and songs, and attended more shows in and out of Buffalo than I dare to count. To commemorate our upcoming five year anniversary this Saturday night. we have assembled a cast blog writers from past and present, each discussing their favorite albums, songs, shows, and even some memories since the blog’s inception. Today is Part 2. – Mac McGuire Matt Moretti (Staff Writer) Favorite Album: Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) A masterpiece of a hip hop record, and probably my favorite of all time. The buildup included weeks of some of the best free music we’ve heard, in Kanye’s GOOD Friday series. It featured some of Kanye’s best songs of his career: his best rapping on “Gorgeous,” perhaps his[...]

A House Safe For Tigers Release Debut Single “Evaporate”

March 19, 2015

Buffalo multi-instrumentalist Brandon Delmont (Girlpope, Son of the Sun, Odiorne, Lindbergh Babies) has a new project called A House Safe For Tigers, this time collaborating with Mark Constantino (Exit Strategy, Returners), and the pair’s first track from its forthcoming album is terrific. Harmoniously fusing Constantino’s gentle, plaintive, searching vocals to lush Beatlesesque psychedelia by way of Mercury Rev and late 90’s Wilco, “Evaporate” is straight up headphone music. Sweetly melancholic, beautiful, and loaded with mellotrons and Ringo drum fills from Delmont, it’s a hell of a change-up from hardcore stalwart Constantino and a great teaser for the upcoming full length vinyl release from Headless Actor Records.

Tonight: Royal Tongues

March 13, 2015

Head on down to the Waiting Room tonight to celebrate the release of Patterns And Shapes, the debut EP from Buffalo indie pop duo, Royal Tongues, along with Wild Things, Parade Chic, and American Low. Royal Tongues (Aaron Bonus, Justin Gammella) haven’t been around for long, but this tight collection of irresistible electropop jams and the amount of action the songs getting online (almost 200,000 streams of the EP’s closer “The Balance”) suggest they might not be long for Buffalo. This all ages show featuring some of Buffalo’s hottest up and coming bands taking over Studio at Waiting Room starts early with doors at 6pm, and $10 gets you in.

Tame Impala – “Let It Happen”

March 11, 2015

Tame Impala is preparing to unleash a currently untitled new album this year and to stoke the fires of anticipation, we’ve been gifted it’s lead track, the 7.5 minute epic “Let It Happen.” Available for download from the band’s website, “Let It Happen” is quintessential Tame Impala, but with some new wrinkles. Alongside Kevin Parker’s trademark spaced out drums, guitar and synths, and glorious multi-tracked vocal harmonies, there’s jittery freneticism , artful glitches, and a flirtation with 70’s prog rock. No release date or title yet for the third album from the Perth, Australia export or a Buffalo tour stop, but after two excellent albums and this appetizer, we’ll keep you posted.

Update: Date Change For WBNY’s Battle of the Bands

March 9, 2015

Due to a scheduling conflict, WBNY’s highly anticipated Battle of the Bands at the Buffalo Iron Works has been moved up a night to Friday, April 24th. Submissions closed yesterday, while the finalists who will be competing at Iron Works will be announced in the next few weeks. Stay tuned…

St. Vincent

March 5, 2015

Grammy Award winner St. Vincent returns to Western New York less than a year after her spectacular show last April at Babeville for a sold out show tonight at Rochester’s Water Street Music Hall, and I can’t lie to you, I am vibrating at a higher frequency with anticipation. St. Vincent, aka Texas native Annie Clark, has been steadily building momentum ever since her debut in 2007, and with her eponymous album last year, she found commercial and critical acclaim while confirming that she’s today’s Bowie; ie an ever evolving and shape-shifting artist willing to take her art apart and build something new and better (or at least interesting) with each iteration (until you put out Glass Spider). St. Vincent will never do that to us. The last time around, Annie took the Babeville audience to church, literally, filling the majestic space in the main room at Asbury Hall with[...]

Tonight: Mooses

February 26, 2015

Tonight, Fred-town four piece, Mooses. will play the Mohawk with a strong bill of local and non local bands including The Naturalists and The Soft Love from Buffalo and Thick, out of Brooklyn. The blissfully fuzzed out psychedelia of this Fredonia quartet promises to balance out the garage rock of Naturalists and Soft Love and the intense punk of Thick. It’s always a treat when these guys play Buffalo. Doors open at 8pm, music starts at 9pm. Cover is probably around $5

Made Violent – Made Violent

February 25, 2015

The hotly anticipated debut EP from local trio Made Violent has finally landed, and it is definitely our Album of the Week. This fine five song collection is what we’ve been waiting for ever since they exploded onto the scene and began their somewhat wacky, but not surprising upward trajectory towards this big label release. These guys turned heads with a few shows locally with their propulsive downtown NYC meets Manchester guitar rock before essentially disappearing from the local scene and reappearing at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and in NME write-ups for the band’s UK mini tour before being signed to Columbia Records. Which brings us to Made Violent, one of the tightest EP’s you will ever hear out of Buffalo, a scintillating collection of bottom heavy guitar jams, joyfully louche and nihilistic lyrics, and delightful harmonies. “Two Tone Hair” kicks it off with a perfect distillation of what[...]

Rick James – “Below The Fun (Pass The J)”

February 25, 2015

Not to belabor the point, but yes it has been cold in Buffalo this year, for weeks on end with little or no let up for the last month (months?) or so. And yes, it’s been grating on people, gradually rending our social fabric in direct proportion to the narrowing of our snowbank lined streets. But people are persevering and dealing with the most Buffalo winter we’ve had in a while like we do, and frankly, you deserve a break to kick back, warm up, and get funky, and thanks to our patron saint, Rick James, here is the perfect anthem for Buffalo winters: “Below The Fun (Pass The J).” This deep cut from Rick’s 1981 album, Street Songs, isn’t strictly speaking a love letter to his hometown; in fact, it’s an unvarnished vision of life on the East Side that’s still applicable 34 years after it’s release. But it also offers[...]

Harmonica Lewinski – Naked Brunch

February 16, 2015

Rochester deviant surf rockers, Harmonica Lewinski, are back with a hot new EP Naked Brunch (Reel Time Records) that’s sharp, delightfully nasty, and our Album of the Week. Four hot cuts of off color 60’s inspired psychedelic surf rock engineered to make you feel funny while riding your long board or shaking your thing at a swingers party later that night, Naked Brunch offers some interesting glimpses into what this always entertaining band of misfits might have up their sleeves down the road. While “Titty Citty” and “Black Pussy Blues” are restatements of the HL ethos: wildly careening, off kilter surf rock that’s over the top lewd and sleazily dangerous, “Har Har Bizarre” blows everything up with some superbly wicked vocals and some joyfully licentious lyrics reveling in all manner of bad behavior. Naked Brunch ends with the straight up garage rock of “Boy On Fire,” a super tight single that clocks in[...]

Lesionread Releases NSFW Nail Polish Commercial

February 9, 2015

Local troublemaker and art polymath Lesionread released a hilariously NSFW nail polish commercial teasing his album release party next month at Dreamland (rescheduled due to arctic weather) with the recently added Brimstone Blondes, Planet Three, and Joe Bap. This clip is assuredly uncool for viewing at your desk, in church, or at the day care center, but if you get off on flaunting societal convention or can lock the stall door, go for it. As far as the much anticipated show at Dreamland, word on the street has it that not only is there a secret installation is in the works, the long running “feud” between Lesionread and Sleepy Hahas’ Pat Butler will finally be settled by a rap battle. The show starts at 8pm and cover is $5. Meanwhile…. Lesionread Merchandise 2015 (NSFW) from Shawn Lewis on Vimeo.

Planet Three – “Pluto”

February 3, 2015

Buffalo debutantes Planet Three dropped a new video last week for the Marilla natives ultra spacey jam “Pluto” that’s got tongues wagging in advance of the trio’s opening set next Saturday (February 14th) at Lesionread’s album release party. The clip, directed by the blog’s favorite polymath,aka Sean Lewis, is a lo-fi romp through time and space, featuring 80’s visual motifs, a cameo from the directors channeling both Spike Jonze and R. Lee Ermey, and lots of orange spacesuits. You can catch Planet Three in support of Lesionread at the latter’s release party for the new tape “Lesionread’s Greatest Hits! Vol.”at Dreamland.

Tonight: Parade Chic

January 31, 2015

Tonight, the night before America’s unofficial/official faux national holiday, the Studio at the Waiting Room will be hosting a hot lineup featuring some of Western New York’s most compelling bands: futuristic lo-fi rockers Parade Chic, dream pop New Wavers Smarthouse, SHEDS, the pride of Lancaster, and the Buffalo via Rochester weirdness of Unisex. $8 gets you into this all ages show, which starts early by Buffalo standards with doors at 6:30pm, making this ideal for getting Super Bowl LXVVI Eve (it’s official) started right.