Latest Posts

of Montreal at Asbury Hall (4/26/17)

May 1, 2017

The semiannual of Montreal art rock freakout rolled through Asbury Hall at Babeville Wednesday night with Christina Scheider’s Jepeto Solutions, and the results were customarily intense and deeply satisfying. Jepeto Solutions were instantly effective, with a continental psychedelic sound that recalled the soundtracks to Michelangelo Antonioni and Barbet Schroder films. Christina Schneider’s dreamy vocals kept everything in a hazy focus while she and her band bathed the crowd in shimmering guitars and kept us guessing through whimsical, swinging timing changes that conjured pleasing sensations of detached freedom and innocence, ideal sensations before a set from of Montreal. of Montreal devotees know that their shows are happenings in the truest sense, and the current show came at the audience hard with a teasing set that largely explored the band’s last three albums and visions of masculinity in 2017. Frontman/guru Kevin Barnes dazzled the crowd with a cross dressing series of tasteful[...]

The Arkells @ Town Ballroom (12/11/15)

December 23, 2015

It was nothing but love on Friday, December 11th, between the crowd at Town Ballroom and musical act The Arkells. High-energy would be an understatement to describe the emotions of the band and audience. Hailing from Hamilton, ON., the Arkells started the show with “Cynical Bastards” from their latest album, High Noon, setting the tone for the concert. They did not disappoint with a variety of hits from their current album and past albums Michigan Left and Jackson Square. It seems Buffalo has fallen in love with these Canadian boys, but the feelings are mutual. Lead singer Max Kerman says they wanted to return to Buffalo before the year was over with mentions of returning to Canalside in 2016. Kerman gets sentimental talking to the crowd about Buffalo, the Town Ballroom and the people involved behind the scenes at the famous spot. “Music brought us together and it’s been love ever since,”[...]

Surfer Blood at Town Ballroom (11/21/15)

November 23, 2015

After speaking with singer and guitarist JP Pitts over the phone for an interview earlier in the week, I had a preconceived expectation of what they would both look and sound like live. Pitts was concise, very pleasant and efficient in answering every question I posed to the fullest. I was not wrong in assuming that these attributes would carry over to their live show. Sonically, the entire band sounded spot on and almost identical to their studio recordings (with a healthy dose of live nuance). It’s safe to say that in the short five years of this band existing, they’ve toured enough and written enough material to have perfected their deliverance. Their stage presence reminds me a whole lot of Real Estate, but slightly more adventurous. If you’ve seen Real Estate live, you know that they pretty much stick to playing the songs as is and, for the most[...]

Sufjan Stevens at UB’s Center for the Arts (10/30/15)

November 2, 2015

So we may not have been treated to a very random cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” but we were still undoubtedly treated. Sufjan Stevens, in his long-awaited return to Buffalo this past Friday, delivered one of the most spectacular live performances the city has seen all year. I thought Carrie & Lowell—Stevens’ 2015 full-length written in dedication to his late mother—was already a masterpiece, but seeing, hearing, and feeling the album performed live at UB’s Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre brought an entirely different light to the songs, a poignancy so thick it was nearly tangible. I wasn’t sure what to expect from opening artist Gallant; I hadn’t sampled his music before the show, but was confident that an opening slot on a Sufjan Stevens’ tour was already a testament to his ability. I wasn’t wrong—the young R&B singer (23) had an incredible falsetto and exuded a great deal[...]

Neon Indian at the Tralf (10/23/15)

October 25, 2015

In a year of live music treats, Friday night has to stand out thanks to the much anticipated return of Denton, Texas electronic funk outfit Neon Indian to Buffalo after a five and a half year absence, along with truly excellent opening support from Explorer Tapes and Lesionread. Any hard feelings (there really weren’t any) would be completely forgotten, wiped away by an electro-funk heavy set that took the crowd to Night School and turned the Tralf into an 80’s dance party. Explorer Tapes got everything going right with a gorgeous and aching set of Brian Wilson meets Lindsey Buckingham influenced 80’s yacht rock. The duo of Max Townsley and Drew Erickson, also from Denton, impressed the seated Tralf audience with plaintive and sweetly expressive harmonies, Buckinghamesque guitars and dreamy sythns, making the place feel like a nightclub on a cruise ship, which was perfectly simpatico with the headliner who’d composed[...]

The Front Bottoms at Water Street Music Hall (10/22/15)

October 23, 2015

Here’s the thing about this band: every time you think you’ve seen enough or are burnt out on listening to their stuff, you come back for more. I’ve been to a total of five Front Bottom shows now and am somehow still unremittingly drawn to them. For the same reason I tend to always order a medium iced coffee with cream and caramel swirl when I roll through the Dunkin’ Donuts drive thru, I always try to snag a ticket if they’re in the area because I know what I’m getting into at a Front Bottoms show, and I know it’ll be real damn good. Last night’s Rochester show at Water Street stuck out to me among all of my past TFB show escapades. With a set list that included eight songs from their newest release, Back On Top, three songs from the Rose EP, five songs from Talon of the Hawk and four[...]

Toro Y Moi at Waiting Room (9/29/15)

September 30, 2015

Columbia South Carolina electro-funk chameleon Toro Y Moi at last made his Buffalo debut Tuesday night at a sweltering Waiting Room with Astronauts, etc. and the clear consensus is that show was absolutely worth the wait. In town in support of  What For, his fourth studio album in five years, the prolific Toro Y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) delivered an expansive set of chilled out electronica and corporate funk as heady, psychedelic ear candy that got the crowd moving Opening act Astronauts, etc. established an incredibly chilled out vibe with an intensely smooth and soulful light disco rock built on a tight yet laid back rhythm section, dreamy keyboards and the seemingly effortless falsetto of lead vocalist and member of Toro Y Moi’s touring band,  Anthony Ferraro. The vibe was straight up late 70’s and it was strong, moving the growing crowd with sharp grooves and mesmerizing them with melodic and[...]

of Montreal at Asbury Hall (9/14/15)

September 16, 2015

The always ambitious of Montreal avant-garde freakshow rolled through Buffalo for it’s annual visit, this time in the post religious sanctuary space that is Asbury Hall at Babeville, and for the brave music fans who left the safety of their homes on a Monday night, it was a glorious night to thoroughly get their ya-ya’s out- physically and otherwise. I really wanted to like of Montreal’s opener, especially because I usually dig their openers (Janelle Monae, Dream Tiger, Kishi Bashi), but Surface to Air Missive failed to excite When they veered into early R.E.M. territory, things looked up, but their predilection for 60’s jam band guitar noodling and staring earnestly at each other while they played became turnoffs. Their vocalist/rhythm guitar player did sing his heart out, putting the hammer down mightily on his throat muscles to hit some impressive falsetto notes, and I had to appreciate the effort, because[...]

EdgeFest 2015 at the Outer Harbor (9/12/15)

September 14, 2015

In 2011, I went to the notoriously rainy UK festival, Glastonbury. In what was one of the festivals worst years yet, rain poured for five days straight creating flash floods and leaving 12 foot piles of boots littering the fields. It was deemed “The Year of Mud.” Never did I think I would experience anything like it again, but as I stare at the mud caked jeans in my laundry hamper, I think Edgefest 2015 might come close. That being said, if there’s one thing that both festivals have proven, it’s that as bad as weather gets, it’s nothing that a few beers and some good bands can’t solve. Opening the proceedings were the rising hometown heroes of Made Violent. After continuing to grow over the past year, the band even caught the attention of UK indie rocks Wolf Alice, who asked the trio to open their UK tour. It’s hard[...]

Ratatat at Rapids Theatre (9/3/15)

September 4, 2015

I was told I’d encounter two things at Ratatat’s live show: lasers and birds. It was my first time experiencing the rock-tronica duo, comprised of Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, and after the forecast I was given, I walked into the Rapids Theatre entirely unsure of what to expect. I think it’s rare to be able to say that and see your own genuine sense of uncertainty equate to bona fide bewilderment come show time, which is exactly what happened. There was a palpable anticipation and an even more palpable energy soaked into the crowd. Pressed up against the stage barrier in the midst of wait time, the security guard in front of me smiled to the few of us up front and said, “This is one of the brightest shows I’ve ever seen, that’s why I’m sittin’ down on the ground when they start.” He definitely wasn’t wrong. About[...]

Beach House at Town Ballroom (8/21/15)

August 22, 2015

Whenever I’m writing a review of show, I always bumrush the stage to get a pic of the night’s setlist because writing it down in real time is a pain and it takes you out of the all important moment. But there were no setlists to be had last night after Beach House’s mesmerizing return to the Town Ballroom, and I knew I was in real trouble because piecing this show back together in my mind afterward would be nigh impossible. Like the best REM dreams, it feels like Beach House’s set basically just happened; while it obviously had a beginning and an end, between the unidentified new songs and gossamer vibe, everything else in between was beyond time. It was a pleasant sensation to float along with for the duration, but that means no setlist, only fragments. After a bracing but brief opening set by Baltimore garage rock duo[...]

Umphrey’s McGee w/Aqueous at Canalside (8/6/15)

August 7, 2015

Back on April 29th, local groove lords Aqueous announced that they would be opening for one of their favorite bands, Umphrey’s McGee, at Canalside, igniting an interesting twitter exchange. Dan Murawski of Orchard Park, an apparent Aqueous backer, wasted no time in proclaiming the group would “blow Umphrey’s out of the water, so get there early.” The following day, Umphrey’s keyboard player and founding member Joel Cummins responded with the joking reply “Umphrey’s suuuuuuuuucks so bad.” Although Murawski’s comment may have been a bit inflated, there was some truth to what he said. For one, this was absolutely a show to arrive early to and second, there is an argument to be made that when considering the time allotted to each band, Aqueous did more with their hour than Umphrey’s did with their two and a half. Working with a shorter than usual slot time, the Buffalo band still managed[...]

Father John Misty at Town Ballroom (8/1/15)

August 2, 2015

Triumphantly returning to the Town Ballroom stage three years after a now legendary opening performance for Youth Lagoon, Father John Misty delivered a scorching, hot as molten lava headlining set that melted the minds and libidos of the assembled sold out crowd. The show, part of an international tour supporting his 2015 masterpiece I Love You, Honeybear and sandwiched between Lollapalooza and shows in NYC, was an unexpected late addition to an already fine summer of shows, and now stands as one of the finest of the year, and a near religious experience. The opening set from the enigmatic Springtime Carnivore was ideal, and got everything started right with a satisfying mix of Cardigans-esque 60’s pop and Southern moxy. Playing a selection of tunes from her eponymous debut, Springtime Carnivore (aka Greta Morgan) wowed the attentive crowd with expressive, breathless vocals and hazy, jangly guitar riffs that conjured bittersweet sensations[...]

Iron & Wine w/ Ben Bridwell at Canalside (7/30/15)

July 31, 2015

As Samuel Beam and Ben Bridwell sidle on stage, they are received by a spirited yet collected crowd. Beam has this benevolent air about him while Bridwell has more of a boyish excitability (you can see this as his head flits back and forth at the mic and he attempts to dance). Beam, most commonly known under the moniker Iron & Wine, and Bridwell, vocalist of the staple indie-rock group Band of Horses, are undoubtedly two successful and prolific musicians in the indie/alt-folk scene of the past decade. So naturally, with their talents combined in a joint set, we expect great things. The duo’s friendship predates both of their main musical projects and the camaraderie is apparent. There’s a moment mid-show where they exchange coy laughs and joke about Hootie and the Blowfish being the only notable band out of South Carolina (both are also originally from SC). Beam takes[...]

Cake at Canalside (7/25/15)

July 27, 2015

In a summer that’s been made certifiably awesome by a whole bunch of shows from obscure bands in intimate locations like Mohawk, it was crazy refreshing to be able to sing the f***ing SHIT out of a bunch of songs that have weathered through my ever-changing tastes in music, and I’m sure I can’t be the only one with this train of thought. First of all, the intro. Who else but Cake has the gall to pre-construct a five minute, constantly building and never climaxing introduction to precursor their show with? It’s great, and I can’t find a Youtube clip, so you’ll just have to bear with me and probably go see Cake for yourself if you haven’t witnessed this gimmick yet. Then, the band walks out to the Kerfuffle crowd and with the first chord I easily recognize as “Sheep Go to Heaven,” the song that got me into[...]