Latest Posts

Cadaver Country Drops New Track “Not Sleeping (you don’t know)”

April 8, 2015

Yesterday morning, Jacob Verghese, mulit-instrumental of crust folk act Pine Fever, quietly dropped a new song from his on-going solo project, Cadaver Country. Titled “Not Sleeping (you don’t know),” the track finds Verghese once again playing jack of all trades role, handling instrumental duties from banjo to washboard to harmonium. The upbeat toe tapper has a whimsical feel that artists like Andrew Bird and a (potentially) stripped down Dr. Dog do so well. Check out the song below.

Just Announced: Lord Huron

April 7, 2015

LA based folk band Lord Huron will be back in Buffalo this summer on Tuesday, July 28th. After playing at Mohawk Place a couple years back, the quartet has now graduated to the stage of Town Ballroom. Lord Huron made its full length debut in 2012 with the ethereal collection of tunes, Lonesome Dreams, and just yesterday, dropped its sophomore LP, Strange Trails, which should see some serious road testing this summer as the band rolls through town. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 10th, at noon for $23 in advance, $26 day of. Widowspeak will join Lord Huron as support.

Tonight: Will Johnson

April 7, 2015

A couple months ago, long time Denton, TX rockers, Centro-matic brought their farewell tour through the Sportsmen’s Tavern, putting a cap on a nearly 20 year career, one that adopted Buffalo as a home away from home for the band. If you happened to miss the Centro-matic’s Buffalo goodbye, you sort of have a chance for redemption tonight at front man Will Johnson (Monsters of Folk) will be back in town, performing at the first house concert of the year in the living room Marty Boratin and Susan Tanner’s Hamburg home. Many people point to the first Canalside show as the beginning of summer, but in my mind, despite the weather not doing a very convincing job, Marty and Susan’s house concerts are the real start to the summer concert season. While Johnson isn’t set to go on until around 8pm, guests are encouraged to arrive around 6pm, with a[...]

Maybird Releases Music Video For “Two Horizons”

April 6, 2015

In the midst of recording new material, the Rochester bred psych folk act, Maybird, released the music video for “Two Horizons,” a track found on the group’s debut release Down and Under. The band currently splits time between Brooklyn and WNY, and for the clip, director and VICE news contributor, Michael Faller, choose to focus on the citizens of the band’s adoptive new city, recording intimate shots of both the young and old, at work and at play, some touching and some humorous, all while occasionally catching the breathtaking city skyline on film. The video feels like a moving collage of the Humans of New York photo series. Take a minute to watch the video for “Two Horizons” below and keep an eye out in the near future for new music from Maybird.

Just Announced: Strand of Oaks

April 2, 2015

One of 2014’s best success stories came from Timothy Showalter’s Strand of Oaks project. Last summer, the Philadelphia rocker released his acclaimed new album, the emotionally raw Heal, which was anchored by the blistering lead single, “Goshen 97” and the devastatingly nostalgic nod to Song: Ohio’s Jason Molina on “JM.” In leaving some of his folk roots behind, Heal would go on to find itself on countless year end lists and put Showalter under an unexpected spotlight. To keep the momentum going, Showalter will take Strand of Oaks on a summer tour in support of Heal, which will include a stop in Buffalo on Saturday, July 25th at the Tralf Music Hall Tickets will go on sale this Friday, Apri 3rd at noon, for $10.

Buffalo Porchfest Continues to Seek Bands, Porches

March 26, 2015

Despite this last gasp of what has been a truly horrible winter, better times are ahead. One sign that spring will at some point arrive in its true form is the announcement that the forth installment of the Buffalo Porchfest, presented by the Elmwood Village Association, will be going down on Saturday, May 9th. The concept is still as simple always: a band plays on a porch somewhere in the village and patrons can roam the neighborhood with the handy map/guide and take in a day of sun and music. Well, maybe just plan on music. After a really strong showing in last May’s installment, which saw the bi-annual festival feature performances from bands like Merchants, Radarada, Humble Braggers, and Alex Berkely & the Atlanta Falcons, the line up seemed to take a bit of a step back last fall. The on again, off again, and then straight up pouring[...]

The Televisionaries Drop Latest Track “AGAVE”

March 23, 2015

Despite this last blast of winter, summer is coming (we think), and with that, we have a seasonable new song from Rochester surf trio, the Televisionaries. Titled, “AGAVE,” the track is set to be included on the band’s forthcoming sophomore album sometime in the near future. Just don’t mistake that intro for “When The Saint Go Marching In.” You can catch the Televisionaries in their live (and free!) glory along with Buffalo’s finest surf acts, Aaron & the Burrs and the Hamiltones, next week on Friday, April 3rd. No matter what the weather looks like outside that evening, thoughts of sunny skies and tiki drinks will be in the air in the Glitterbox basement. Listen to “AGAVE” below. Surf’s up.

Five Year Rewind: Staff Picks – Part 1

March 23, 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 1. – Mac McGuire Steven Gordon (Staff Writer) Favorite Album: Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania (2011) There are so many good things about Thee Oh Sees: an insane rate of musical output, notorious live performances, profoundly debauched aesthetics, and a propensity for gradual innovation despite inherent stylistic simplicity. The group started a decade or two ago as the artistic vehicle for guitarist/vocalist/flutist John Dwyer.[...]

Just Announced: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

March 23, 2015

With spring in full bloom (sort of), Artpark has begun to roll out its summer concert schedule. We learned of the My Morning Jacket show a few weeks ago, along with Amos Lee just recently. The next show that should be of note is an August 4th engagement with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. The retro soul act will be a part of the “Wheels of Soul Summer Tour 2015” along with Tedeschi Trucks Band and Doyle Bramhall III. The show will be the conclusion to the venue’s annual  “Tuesday at the Park” series. After successfully beating cancer last year, its a pleasure to see Jones and her band returning to the WNY area. Those who caught them a few years back at Town Ballroom know should expect another soul explosion from the dynamic front woman and one of music’s finest backing bands. Tickets will on sale this Friday,[...]

Just Announced: Melt-Banana

March 19, 2015

One of 2013’s more bonkers shows in Buffalo had to be Melt-Banana’s ridiculous fall show at the Tralf Music Hall. The schizophrenic, Japanese punk/pop/noise group unleashed a chaotic set full of squealing guitars, out of control percussion, and songs sung so strangely you barely recognized they were sung in English. Concert opener Lesionread, who was still establishing her live act, even brought along a 15 foot machine pinata to the show, which was quickly destroyed at her request almost as quickly as it was assembled on the venue floor. If you missed this one-of-a-kind show, fear not. Melt-Banana will be back in town on Saturday, May 16th, at the strangely early time of 6pm, this time around at Mohawk Place. Tickets will go on sale this Friday at noon for $14 in advance, $16 day of.

Blue Falcon Drops New Single, “S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder)”

March 17, 2015

After an extended lull out of Rochester, our sister city’s music scene had a sudden surge last week with the release of some quality, blog worthy material. One of those bands, Blue Falcon, released its latest single during the tail end of last week. Titled “S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder),” something I would have to assume most WNYers were hit hard with this past, insufferable winter, the song has a laid back Mac DeMarco meets Earlimart slacker feel, a bit of a departure from the band’s blues-rock sounds on its previous EP, First Flight. No word yet on whether the single is going to be included on a future release, so in the mean time, listen to “S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder)” below.

Tonight: Harmonica Lewinski

March 14, 2015

Harmonica Lewinski first played Buffalo almost a year to the date at our fourth birthday party last March. A last minute dusting of snow made driving pretty difficult that night, and the Rochester based band nearly didnt make it off the I-90. Luckily, the garage/surf/punk outfit showed up just in time to play maybe the best set we have featured in the blog’s near five year existence. If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the group at our bday last year, you get another chance this evening. Later tonight at the Hoyt House, the group will return to Buffalo in support of its newest tape, Naked Brunch. Opening for Harmonica Lewinski is the ever evolving psych garage act, Sleepy Hahas, and Dead Wolf, the latter have absolutely no info listed on them, so your guess is as good as mine. The event page lists the start time at 8pm, and[...]

Dreambeaches Premiere Debut Single, “Trademark”

March 13, 2015

Earlier this morning, Dreambeaches, the new project from Humble Braggers‘ bass player, Corey Bzibziak, released its debut single. Titled “Trademark,” the track ditches HB’s soaring vocals and synths for a burst of lo-fi, surf-rock. The song sounds like the product of Cloud Nothings and Beach Fossils entering the studio together and having a bit of fun. Expect to see Dreambeaches live in the near future, with a full EP dropping sometime this summer. Listen to “Trademark” below.

JOHNS Begin Grift Marks Pre-Sale, Debut Music Video for “Thrust”

March 12, 2015

Buffalo’s resident dark garage rockers, JOHNS, are prepping the release of their full length debut, Grift Marks, set to drop on March 28th through local imprint, Peterwalkee Records. The album is now available for a limited edition pre-sale (you can purchase here), and is set to include some pretty nice incentives for dropping your money ahead of time. $20 snags you a pristine white vinyl copy of the record (only 50 have been printed) with a digital download for that one friend who still doesn’t have a player. Also included is a copy of the band’s bonus 5-track EP, House of No Lungs, a JOHNS t-shirt, poster, sticker, and a button. Now that is how you spend $20. In addition, the band premiered its latest music for the track “Thrust,” yesterday afternoon. Shot by Frank Napolski and Jeff Mace in the old Kitchen Distribution basement, the clip features some very[...]

Alex Berkley Premieres Annual “Fun-a-Day” Album, 28 Days of Fun: Shuffle

March 12, 2015

This being a music blog, my favorite project to look forward to during Sugar City’s annual Fun-a-Day exhibit (create something artistic for every day of the month) is the concept album from Alex Berkley. His first year album for Fun-a-Day, 28 Days of Fun, was a collection of songs, one recorded every day of the month: a simple, yet quality undertaking. For year two, he went more ambitious, recording a collection of diary-like entries chronicling the day to day life of the Elmwood Village every man for 28 Days of Fun: Sick of the Sound of My Voice. As for this year, his third musical installment for Fun-a-Day, the singer/songwriter put his iTunes on shuffle daily and proceeded to write a song, resulting in 28 Days of Fun: Shuffle. Some of the random songs that inspired the album were “Our Singer” by Pavement (Song 19: “Wings & Billy Madison”), “Jamming” by Bob[...]