Latest Posts

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[...]

Tonight: Johnny Cash Birthday Bash

February 6, 2015

There is no ambiguity that exists in your cranial cavity when you hear the words “The Man in Black.” Without question, you know who that is: Johnny Cash. The late country music great is an anomaly, managing to bridge generations as well as integrate them, even though he has been gone from this world for over a decade now. Tonight, the Good Neighborhood will be hosting its annual Johnny Cash tribute show, celebrating his birthday at the Allen Street staple, Nietzsche’s. Everything gets kicked off promptly at 6pm, with Cash tribute band Boy Named Sue playing its monthly happy hour, only to be followed by a lineup of both annual favorites and new comers. On the bill are The CPX, Ten Cent Howl, Stoneflower, David Michael Miller of House Union, and Jim Candytree & Megan Brown of Whiskey Reverb. Everyone has shared their song selections, promising no repeats. The happy[...]

Tonight: Teenager

January 24, 2015

“Going back to school, or already went to school” blues got you down? Why not blow off some last minute steam tonight at Hoyt House? The young bucks who run the joint have a very relaxed attitude on life, where punk time is still alive and well. Tonight on the line up with be Toronto’s Teenager. Teenager is a garage blues punk outfit who could even foil Lester Bangs into thinking that they are the love child of The Sonics, Iggy Pop, and the Washouts, because in the music world it takes three to make a baby. Also on the bill tonight are Buffalo weirdos Alpha Hopper and fairly new lo-fi guys on the block Softlines. Show time says 7pm, but who knows. If you don’t know where Hoyt House is, you already know the drill: ask a punk.

Kharlos

January 8, 2015

Kharlos sounds like suburban kids jamming in the basement tripping out on their mom’s stash of benzies. The kicker is that that all three members Buffalo music scene veterans nearing their 30’s, or at least getting there. The trio’s EP, Hail Kharlos Vol. 1, is stacked with four songs that are equally adrenaline filled (“Better”) as they are soul warming (“Alright”). The band is just so Zen. They are overboard and self-assured, and they are okay with that. The raspy, echoing vocals of Benjamin Maries make you want to cuddle up with your favorite 80’s High School dramedy as he sings songs about cats and Acid trips. Kharlos is dance music for the emotional vacant and the rest of us degenerates who have no other excuse for being assholes. This is our Ann Arbor.  Kharlos is grunge with exactly two and a half bumps of 30mg, pharmaceutical grade Adderall, because[...]

The Afterbirth Tycoon Releases Purgatory On Parade

January 6, 2015

Power trio, the Afterbirth Tycoon, have been at it for nearly a decade, however in the past year,we have seen more activity from the outfit. Late last spring, the three piece released Late Bloom, a 10 track studio recorded release, and then last week, they hit us with another garage blue nugget in the form of the six track, Purgatory on Parade. The EP was recorded with Matt Smith at his Hi-Lo Studio earlier this summer, and mastered by John Angelo at Slave Pit Studios in Richmond, VA. “Matt is actually going to be moving,” guitarist/vocalist Jason Pitcher says, “so that will be the last session in his barn, but I hope to continue working with him wherever he lands. It’s always a good time working with Matt: no stress, lots of laughs, and I never hesitate to ask his opinion.” For the most part, Purgatory picks up where Late Bloom left off.[...]

Cages

January 4, 2015

“Have you heard Cages?” Josh Smith asks. I shake my head no. “Oh they’re awesome. They are this weird…I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s this avant-garde noise, neo-folk fusion of sorts. The first time I saw them was at the Sugar City Metro Show.” When Smith talks about Cages, his eyes light up like a redneck showing off his new thirty-aught-six at his daughter’s wedding. With excitement like this, it’s no wonder that he decided to put out Cages new record, Vivpary, on his imprint Black Dots Records. Vivpary is Cages follow up studio release to 2009’s, Folding Space. It was written in 2011 and recorded in 2012 at GCR in Buffalo. “The sound is really amazing. It’s the closest picture of what we have been working on. Definitely different than anything else we have recorded,” guitarist David Bailey says, adding, “This is the most fully realized[...]

Tonight: BoBo, Johnny Revolting, and more

November 14, 2014

Things are pretty much back to business as usual in the Queen City. It’s getting cold, the amateur street theater on Allen Street is in a recession, and Mohawk Place is once again live and well. Since reopening late this summer, the Mohawk (under new ownership) has been hosting show after show with each line up being stacked full of local home boys and home girls. Tonight is just another night at Mohawk with local acts BoBo, Cowboys of Scotland, and Johnny Revolting taking the stage. Also on the bill are Toronto’s The Nasties. Doors are at 8pm. $5.

Red Heat

November 11, 2014

Red Heat sounds like some kind of STD that possibly ran rampant through US Soldiers stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Rather, Red Heat is a thinking man’s punk trio consisting of Jordan Jones (drums), Nick Randall (guitar), and Brandon Schlia (bass/ vocals). The sound of fuzzy, infectious walking bass lines paired with the political vocals of Schlia draw you in, attacking such issues as militarization, national media, public education, and even Ferguson, MO. “My job is to write lyrics that run short but make a point,” Schlia explains, “like Bukowski if his obsession was world politics and not beer & pussy.” Red Heat uses everything at their disposal. They make you want to lock yourself in your bedroom and get reacquainted with every punk rock ever made from The Stooges all the way to NOFX, and everything else in between. Heat manages to even operate outside of[...]

Garrett Klahn Returns Home with New Solo Project

November 4, 2014

Garrett Klahn hasn’t lived in Buffalo in nearly 20 years. “I just moved back at the end of the summer.” Klahn says. “My mother is here, so for the past 20 years I’d come home for at least two holidays every year, and for weddings, babies all that normal shit. So I was here a lot.” Klahn is best known for his involvement in a little band from New York City, Texas is the Reason, as well as a multitude of other projects. Klahn is now back in his native city of Buffalo calling the Elmwood Village and Allentown neighborhoods home, which do not resemble the humble districts they once were in his younger days. “The changes are black and white really.” He says of the now bustling Elmwood Village neighborhood. “I left in ’93, and then you didn’t really venture much past Lafayette.” So what brings Klahn back to[...]

Psychic Teens – “Face”

October 28, 2014

We all should thank Andy Czuba and Sugar City for bringing Psychic Teens to Buffalo many moons ago. The Philly outfit have been on the Queen City’s inhabitants radar since its deafening performance at buffaBLOG’s Herd Fest this past summer. Some ears are still ringing. The trio of brotherly love has just released its new single “Face,” accompanied by B-Side “All.” The former is a heavenly juggernaut of bliss born into the realm of post punk, layered with shooting gallery echoes, distortion, and compounded percussion. Here is hoping that “Face” is just the precursor for the follow up to 2013’s Come.  [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/172353634″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Handsome Jack – Do What Comes Naturally

October 27, 2014

There is always a lot of talk about the hardcore and punk scene in Buffalo, but what about the blues? Bands like Johnny Nobody, Mr. Boneless, and in particular, Handsome Jack? As for the latter, the Lockport four-some hasn’t released a proper full length since 2011’s Super Moon, but in Do What Come Naturally, which Handsome Jack celebrated the release of this past Friday at Mohawk Place, the wait was certainly worth it. Once again, my brothers from another mother  prove that Buffalo’s got soul. Do What Comes Naturally is a red-eye flight and a universe away from Super Moon. I guess you could say the boys did some growing up. Where as Super Moon sounded like an overly extended ballad, Do What Comes Naturally is rough and hard around the edges. The band, now cocksure and headstrong, lays it all out on the table, letting the listener know exactly what they are working with.” From the[...]

SHEDS

October 21, 2014

The glory of the the DIY/ House venue is the element of surprise. Sometimes you are lucky if you know more than two bands. Then there’s the out-of-town band. But there is always that variable, that one band that no one knows shit about. SHEDS is one of those bands. SHEDS just played their first show earlier this month at the Glitter Box. “We were kind of removed from the live music scene for about a year,” guitarist Patrick McPinic says, “during which we holed up every weekend to play music. We really enjoyed all of the bands at the Glitter Box show.” SHEDS consists of a trio of Lancaster natives: McPinic, Justin Young (guitar/vocals), and Jason Overholt (drums). They have been playing together for almost a year in a half and just recently released their first single, “HPBG.” If you happened to carouse the merch table at their Glitter[...]

Tonight: Big D and the Kids Table

October 20, 2014

What do you have planned tonight? No seriously what do you have planned tonight? Binge watching Scandal on Netflix? Watching two football teams with cliché archrival namesakes battle it out on the televised gridiron? Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought. It’s nothing that cannot be rescheduled or caught up on at the water cooler tomorrow morning. So, why don’t you make your way down to the Waiting Room tonight and catch Big D and the Kids Table? Big D has always been that punk/ ska band that has just always sailed right underneath the Royal Navy’s radar, letting them coast right through customs. There are groups of musicians who play music together and then there are bands. Bands consist of people who are bound together by something bigger than themselves. Big D and the Kids Table is a band, one that is celebrating more than 14 years together, a[...]

Tonight: Gwar

October 19, 2014

For many, Gwar is that band. That band that “I must see before I die.” Earlier this year, though, many believed that if you hadn’t seen Gwar already, then you were doomed after front man and founding member, Dave Brockie, was tragically found dead due to a heroin overdose. However, Gwar is bigger than one man. Even with Brockie and his alter ego, Orderus Urungus, sadly gone, the show must go on. New front woman, Vulvatron, is the first female member of the shock-metal act since the departure of Slymenstra Hymen in 2000. Vulvatron is played by designer Kim Dylla, who allegedly shoots blood from her nipples (see below), so that’s something for the kiddies. The Gwar traveling circus will be making a stop in Buffalo tonight at the Town Ballroom. Also on the bill are Decapitated and American Sharks. Tickets are $24 at the door. This show is a[...]

Tonight: II Sogno Del Marinaio with Mike Watt

October 8, 2014

The Sportsmen’s Tavern is like the forgotten step child on Christmas, somehow ending up overlooked while everyone else got presents. In all fairness, the Sportsmen is really easy to skip over, especially if you don’t live in Black Rock. For the Allentown and West Side kids, it’s really convenient to locked into our little commune between the Glitterbox, Hoyt House, the Jungle Gym, and Black Dots Records, not to mention the Allen Street staples like Nietzsche’s, Duke’s, and Hardware. Sportsmen’s manages to fly underneath the radar, even though the joint continues to book some amazing acts. Tonight is one of those nights, as II Sogno Del Marianio with Mike Watt will be gracing the stage. Watt is just that guy, still flying high on his glory days with The Minutemen. In recent years, he has found himself in projects with musicians half his age as well as taking over bass responsibilities[...]