Latest Posts

Tonight: Cheap Girls

December 18, 2015

Michigan three-piece Cheap Girls have mastered the “throwback” feel. Their quintessential nostalgia-pop-punk sound is completely accessible but manages to maintain a characteristic garage-esque untidiness. There is a palpable earnestness in everything from the vocals to the slushy guitar parts that makes each and every song so inviting. In it’s most simple form, it’s feel good music for those that feel bad and the perfect band to keep in your pocket when you’re feeling a little wistful. If you’re at all a fan of The Menzingers or The Smith Street Band, I highly recommend seeing Cheap Girls tonight at The Studio at Waiting Room. Some of our favorite local bands including Mallwalkers, Cooler and Apathetic are slated to open. Doors are at 6:30pm and tickets are $12. Be there or be not there, but you should probably be there, as this show will pack a punch. Check the Facebook event for[...]

Shellshag at Sugar City (10/21/15)

October 22, 2015

Last night, the first Yace Booking showcase at Sugar City took place, and hopefully, it was not the last. The show set off with a quick set from touring pop punk act Rational Anthem, followed by a raucous set from local garage rock act Kharlos. Mallwalkers then took the stage to showcase their unique brand of danceable funk-punk. Finally, on tour for their latest release, Why’d I Have to Get so High?, Shellshag ripped through their set, no doubt winning the crowd over by the end of the evening.  Check out some shots of the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Kharlos Mallwalkers Shellshag  

Tonight: Shellshag

October 21, 2015

Tonight at Sugar City, Brooklyn lo-fi punk act Shellshag brings its tour to Buffalo for a visit. Also on the bill are local outfits Mallwalkers and Kharlos, and Rational Anthem all the way from Florida. It’s going to be a mixed bag of punk, for sure. Rational Anthem considers themselves pop-punk, while Don Giovanni Records’ Shellshag is more lo-fi garage punk. Kharlos and Mallwalkers also fall into that garage category, with Kharlos mixing some Thee Oh Sees vibes into their sound. The trio just released its debut cassette last month (check it out here), while Mallwalkers have begun studio work on the follow up to 2013’s Shake the Rust Off. All in all, four bands that will no doubt put on a killer show, and well worth the price, as Sugar City shows always are. The show starts at 6:30pm $6 will be due at the door.

Tonight: Harmonica Lewinski

May 29, 2015

Tonight, Allentown will be the place to be as Nietzsche’s will be hosting the monumental first showcase of buffaBLOG’s own Yace Booking Company, featuring a stacked line up of WNY talent and buffaBLOG favorites. Headlining the showcase will be Rochester based retro-surf / garage rock act Harmonica Lewinski, but that’s just part of the fun. Opening the evening will be Syracuse based psychedelic indie-electronica act, Phantom Chemistry, along with two local hard hitters: lake poppers Bryan Johnson & Family and closing with the infamous funk punk outfit, Mallwalkers. The show is set to take off at 10pm, and the cover is only $5

Tonight: Wooden Waves LP Release Party

December 5, 2014

Wooden Waves have been around for a few years so I was surprised to see they are just now releasing their debut full length, Wilder Dreams, on December 9th. This is sure to be a welcome addition to winding down year of great Buffalo music. Tonight, they will be celebrating the record’s release on One Percent Press at Mohawk Place. To really make this a party, they have invited a few friends, making for a very strong, all local bill. Starting promptly at 9pm and for the low price of $5(ish), tonight’s bill opens up with indescribable styling and creative mind meld of Little Cake & Jack Topht. As if that was not enough, Mallwalkers and TMMC round out the bill. This promises to be a real humdinger of a night, so you have no excuse for missing this. And, if these bands were not enough, DJ-about-town, Eric Kendall, will be DJing between[...]

buffaBLOG Rochester Showcase @ the Bug Jar (11/22/14)

December 1, 2014

A little over a week ago, the blog luckily escaped #snowvember to put on our first showcase in Rochester at the Bug Jar. On hand for the evening were three of the 585’s finest in the Absolutes, Buffalo Sex Change, and Harmonica Lewinski, in addition to Buffalo’s Mallwalkers and DJ Tight Mike. If you happened to miss the show, or are still a little fuzzy on the details, check out blog photographer Greg Jones‘ full gallery here.

Tonight: buffaBLOG Rochester Showcase

November 22, 2014

With #Snowvember loosening its grip on the Buffalo area, we are busting out of the city for the night and zeroing in on the Bug Jar for the blog’s first Rochester showcase. For tonight’s show, we are flipping the script. Normally, we invite a Rochester act into town to with a join the stage with some of Buffalo’s best, but for this evening, we are bringing the 716’s punk funk army and one of the Queen City’s finest, Mallwalkers, along to join a bill of the cream of the crop of Rochester local music. If you missed any of our week long look at tonight’s bill, take a minute to catch up below: The Absolutes Buffalo Sex Change Mallwalkers Harmonica Lewinksi Also, keeping the party going in between sets will be DJ Tight Mike, host of our weekly buffaBLOG Podcast. Expect a nice mix of indie and electro, in addition[...]

Mallwalkers

November 20, 2014

The only Buffalo band on the bill for this week’s roadtrip/showcase, Mallwalkers, may have to be airdropped into Rochester. Luckily blog editor, Mac McGuire, is a licensed pilot* and master of the skies.* That said, Mallwalkers will be rounding out this lineup by bringing their gritty brand of punk funk to Shelbyville…I mean Rochester. Mallwalkers have spent the year since releasing their debut LP, Shake The Rust Off, continuing to refine their sound and dominating whatever bill you put them on. Recently the band added two new members, Jaz Frazier (buffaBLOG alumni) and Mario Fanone (one half of UVB76), making the band perhaps the closest thing Buffalo has to an all-star band (way better than the Travelling Willburys). In addition to Saturday’s show at the Bug Jar (8pm, $7), the band has played and will be playing a few upcoming album release shows. I recently spoke with lead singer, Dan[...]

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

November 18, 2014

Hopefully they grabbed a couple parkas before hitting the road because New Orleans based act, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, will be dropping down on the winter wonderland that is Buffalo tonight. Made up of long time electronic musician, Quintron, and puppeteer (yep), Miss Pussycat, the pair have coined the term, “Swamp Tech,” a chaotic version of electronic dance music bred in the deep south for nearly 15 years. They even popped up on an episode of Treme, HBO’s love letter to the Crescent City’s eclectic neighborhood, a couple years back. Originally scheduled for Buffalo Iron Works, this show will now be taking place at the comfier confines of Mohawk Place. Buffalo punk-funk all-stars, Mallwalkers, the Queen City Lotto product, Scajaquada Creeps, are set to open. If you want to see something out there, fun, and original, this is the show for you. Plus, the city barely got hit with snow, so no excuses[...]

Tonight: Bryan Johnson and Family Release Show

November 6, 2014

Bryan Johnson and Family‘s upcoming release, Cool Your Jets, is shaping up to be maybe the best thing they’ve ever done. The two singles they’ve released, “Dead Fox” and “Cerulean Eyes,” take the elements of bands like Weezer, Vampire Weekend, and The Shins and, in their best moments, inject them with the intimacy of a campfire singalong. The rest of the tracks could be yours tonight as the Studio at the Waiting Room hosts the band’s release show. Ten bucks not only gets you into the show, but gets you a shiny new copy of the album as well. Filling out the bill: local emo superstars Del Paxton and superstar local punkfunkers Mallwalkers. Show kicks off at 8pm. FB event here.

Just Announced: buffaBLOG Rochester Showcase

October 22, 2014

After four years of throwing parties in various Buffalo venues, we were itching to branch out a bit and get out of town. So with the help of Rochester promoter/talent buyer/musician, Tim Avery, we are happy to announce our first show in the 585 at the Bug Jar this November. If you haven’t been to the venue, its kind of like Rochester’s Mohawk Place, hosting shows of some of the city’s best acts like Joywave, the Demos, and Kopps, while bringing in some fantastic touring bands. For our Rochester showcase, we reached out to some of our favorite Roch acts to help us out. Bug Jar regulars Harmonica Lewinski, Buffalo Sex Change, and the Absolutes (making their triumphant return) will cover the local talent for the evening. In addition, we couldn’t do a show without having Buffalo represented, so we are bringing our friends from Mallwalkers with to round out the night.[...]

Tonight: Peterwalkee Records Fest – Day Two

September 6, 2014

Day Two is underway for Buffalo’s most talked about independent record showcase, featuring some of the city’s best DIY artists. Peterwalkee Records has put together a great lineup featuring a who’s who of interesting and creatively “free” acts, including hometown heroes, Lemuria, buffaBLOG favorites Space Wolves and Mallwalkers, as well as up and comers Cross Stitch and Newish Star and a host of several others. In addition to the music (doors at 6, first band at 7), the American Legion 1041 (533 Amherst St), will also feature an art show, including art from band members playing the fest. You can expect big sales, vendors from local record shops and all the best food and music this side of the border. If you appreciate the DIY ethic, or are just looking to hear some rad bands, make it down the Legion tonight and celebrate with the best of em.

Tonight: Mark Sultan of The King Khan & BBQ Show

September 4, 2014

Shaken Stylus is taking over the backroom at Hardware (245 Allen St) tonight, bringing their rock and roll touch to a rather docile night on Allen. Formerly of Canadian garage duo, King Khan & BBQ Show, Mark Sultan‘s solo work is a mix of retro doo-wop meets the basement DIY punk scene. The bill is pretty rotund, with support from Buffalo’s favorite funk-punk something-tet, Mallwalkers, the ultra-vague DUDES,  and hardcore leaning Fleshy Mounds. Doors are $8 with a start time at 10pm. 

Sugar City

June 17, 2014

Sugar City deserves a lot of credit for the ceaseless work they have done to provide an open and collaborative space for all types of art in Buffalo. Over 5 years old, the arts collective is responsible for fostering a significantly stronger community of artists, musicians, and community activists. Even after losing their original space in Allentown, the organization regrouped and continued their work, sure to go even further now that they have a new space on Niagara Street. Perhaps the key to their continued success is their commitment to  being inclusive, welcoming and offering space to anyone with an idea and the wherewithal to make it a reality. They cannot be thanked enough for making a lot of wonderful things, including last year’s amazing Metro wide art and music show a reality. So, of course we tapped them to organize a showcase. Sugar City will be taking Hardware over[...]

Tonight: Screaming Females

April 6, 2014

There’s something ironic about having a band like New Jersey’s Screaming Females playing at Buffalo Iron Works. Something just doesn’t sit right with me. A band who has worked with the likes of Steve Albini playing at a venue that sells four dollar Pabst Blue Ribbons. Not that they have any say in a venue’s drink prices. It just doesn’t seem right is all. The Screaming Females scream Old Milwaukee and rot gut whiskey. They scream dirt, grime, and hepatitis. When you hear vocalist/ guitarist Marissa Paternoster belt out verses lines like, “I’m on a mission to smash the mirror/ Get myself off the scale,” you imagine it being in a dive bar in the deep swallows of the city. A place where you’d imagine to find an overdosed Iggy Pop, circa 1972, not in a bar in the cobblestone district with six dollar draft beers. I hope you made[...]