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Tonight: Little Ruckus

July 6, 2015

Mohawk Place has been killing the gig game lately with a jam packed calendar and it isn’t stopping anytime soon. The extremely prolific and eclectic Little Ruckus, a sort-of collective from Iowa, is hitting Mohawk tonight on tour with Calliope Musicals. Calliope churns out classic rock and roll with twinges of folk and psychedelic landing on a happy, feel good vibe. Little Cake and Jack Toft is simple, catchy, and weird.  Self described as Kool Keith meets Crass plus a classically trained music teacher, the duo is undeniably alluring. Catch them with their experimental rap tonight at 8pm for $5. I think I just talked myself into going.

Tonight: Difficult Night

July 2, 2015

Mohawk Place will host an all-locals show tonight to enjoy this long Buffalo Fourth of July weekend with some American music. Hometown mainstays Difficult Night plays rock and roll that falls somewhere between Violent Femmes and either the White Stripes or the Goo Goo Dolls, maybe some Springsteen. Lifemusik Mit Andre is making his way downtown with his experimental home recording sound, while the gritty and spooky girls of Space is Haunted thankfully have taken a break from their summer hiatus. Finally, Peter Kirsch, kinda weird and kinda dance-y, rounds out the night. Doors are at 8pm and for $5, you can kick off, or continue, your weekend.

Tonight: Kal Marks

June 27, 2015

There are so many for cool shows to attend recently and if you haven’t made up your mind about tonight, then here’s another option: some rockin bands at a house on Hoyt. Kal Marks, heavy indie from Boston, will be rolling through with IAN playing dreamy fuzz from California in the vein of contemporaries Alvvays and Slutever. Political indie punk band Red Heat will be supporting. Lushes will round out the bill. So its 7pm at Hoyt House for $7 or whatever  you have.

A Place to Bury Strangers

June 19, 2015

Quintessential Brooklyn band  A Place to Bury Strangers descends upon Mohawk Place tonight. The noise rock trio is on tour promoting its new album Transfixiation and the band is still not afraid to take any chances. The album comes off the heels of the closure of iconic Brooklyn venue Death by Audio, where APTBS was closely affiliated, and in the spirit of the scene, the band is maturing and evolving. With elements of spacey shoegaze to supplement its loud chaos, the band’s feedback laden wall of sound is an intense experience. Instrumental post-rock band Sannhet from Brooklyn and Buffalo cool crew Alpha Hopper are opening up the gig at 8pm. This show is special addition to Herd Fest and the first fifteen people to show up with Herd Fest wristbands get in for free! Otherwise its going to be $15 at the  door.

Tonight: White Lung

June 15, 2015

White Lung is a cool band from Vancouver, British Columbia which reminds me of Nardwuar and gets me wondering what he might show the four piece about its past albums and sounds. Maybe it’s that Canadian Indie Music Award nomination or all that good press from music magazines about 2012’s Sorry (because every song on that release is a jam). White Lung plays gritty punk for fans of RVIVR, The Measure [SA], and Priests. Obliterations, hardcore from Los Angeles, are on tour with White Lung, and local band Utah Jazz (with members from Mayday! and Brown Sugar) have the garage punk niche covered for tonight. Be at Mohawk Place tonight at 8pm with $12 at the door or you might be sorry.

Tonight: Sebadoh

June 4, 2015

Sebadoh is hard to describe. The trio’s career, and subsequent sound, spans over a decade. They are kind of lo-fi, kind of all-American rock and roll, sometimes screamy, and a little experimental. I can only liken listening to their discography to that Dinosaur Jr. cover of “Just Like Heaven:” chaotic. But I am probably projecting; founding member Lou Barlow took a hiatus from Dinosaur Jr. to start Sebadoh in 1989. The lo-fi Cleveland act, Total Babes, which feature members of Cloud Nothings, open the show. The group sounds like it records in your bedroom, which is a good thing. Total Babes are cool, effortless, and clever. This should be a sweet start of summer gig. Sebadoh and Total Babes play at Mohawk Place tonight for $15. Doors open at 7pm.

Tonight: Downtown Boys

May 25, 2015

She’s brown, she’s smart, and she’s leading the saviors we didn’t know we’d been waiting for. This Memorial Day, get pummeled by a wave of political dance-punk from the Victoria Ruiz fronted Downtown Boys at Sugar City. The Providence based unit mixes punk and Spanish with jazzy sax parts to make a dance party that is also a learning experience. This is a band that gets back to punk’s political roots, a band that again makes punk a gateway to cultural and social consciousness. Downtown Boys has been around for a few years, but are creating a real buzz recently with the new album Full Communism that dropped this month, and I am excited about them. Downtown Boys is unstoppable. Green Dreams from Rochester and Buffalo’s own Boy Scouts are rounding out the show ($6, 6pm) with a lot of non-male representation, which is always best. Watch this must see[...]

Tonight: Mastodon

May 19, 2015

Mastodon has been a monolith of rock for over a decade. Hailing from Atlanta, but with members from Western New York, they are pioneers of heavy metal with strong influences of hardcore, groove, progressive rock, and stoner metal (Think early 2000’s radio hard rock). Obviously psychedelic with inspired lyrics and known to have elaborate live presentations, this should be a stellar show.  Fans of Mastodon are probably fans of Clutch which makes this line up a heavy metal nightmare made in hell. Mastadon will bring its “Missing Link Tour” to the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls tonight. Tickets are still available to purchase for $36 at the door at 6pm. Clutch and Swedish opener Graveyard will start the night off.

Tonight: Full of Hell, The Body, Red Death, and more

May 14, 2015

Tonight at Sugar City, six bands – Full of Hell, the Body, Buffalo based Gas Chamber/Cages, UK bad boys The Flex, Red Death, and Black Houses – will be bringing a pulverizing bill of sludgy hardcore to the venue’s newly built stage. Red Death, members of DC’s finest, churns out brutal tracks of hardcore thrash metal along the lines of what has been coming out of the capital recently. And in personal experience, no Red Death set would be complete without frontman Chad Troncale‘s commentary about smoking weed and jerking off. Full of Hell (from everywhere–MD, PA, and currently, temporarily Buffalo) puts on a sick show. Their relentless grind and noise is cathartic and the Body is just as chaotic. Doors open at 5pm for this stacked line-up. Black Houses is scheduled to go on at 6:15. Cost is $10 to lose your hearing for the forceable future.

Today: Buffalo Porchfest

May 9, 2015

Porchfest could very weel bring a community together. It is finally nice outside and it’s a great opportunity to explore the two mile radius of Elmwood Village and Allentown. The fifty-four bands and performers staggered throughout the afternoon on porches all around the neighborhood are eclectic. Leaning heavily toward acoustic, Americana, and stripped down indie folk, the acts billed as synth or hip hop or even jazz seem most refreshing and exciting. Today’s event takes place 1pm-6pm at various locations. And its FREE Check out Chuckie Campbell (fresh off a set at SXSW) starting at 3pm @ 651 Elmwood Ave.  

Tonight: Salad Days

April 28, 2015

Punk nostalgia has skyrocketed. Articles on “revivals” (emo) and documentaries of your faves (The Descendents) are everywhere around the punk and hardcore world recently, and the 2014 film, Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90), is the definitive look at where it all started. “I had heroes I would get nervous around. I know those dudes like Ian are just normal dudes, but those fucking people changed my life” says Dave Grohl in the preview, echoing my feelings pretty perfectly. I grew up and went to shows in and around Washington, DC, and it was always a bizarre experience seeing Ian MacKaye in a bar basement or at a summer concert series. The punk community owes a lot of gratitude to the people who created the hardcore movement in the nation’s capital, but isn’t part of DIY not worshipping idols? Why dwell in the past? Notably missing, at least in the trailer, is the presence of any[...]

The Queers

April 1, 2015

Mohawk Place is the site for the night’s best punk bill. Long time, Portsmouth punkers, the Queers (an act that’s reminiscent of high school, Screeching Weasel, and juvenile boys who picked on you when they actually liked you), will be rolling through town. The band will be turning out its brand of bratty punk alongside Richie Ramone. Ramone, perhaps unsurprisingly, sounds like the Ramones if they had a different singer, and with one listen to the Atom Age, its pretty clear they belong on this bill. Buffalo buds Newish Star are opening. Tonight’s doors open at 7pm, show at 8pm, and tickets are $15.