Latest Posts

Infringement Festival Calls for Submissions

April 10, 2015

Like clockwork, every spring, the Buffalo Infringement Festival makes a public call for acts to participate in itsannual late July-early August festival. Infringement is a great chance for out of town bands to be guaranteed a show as well as introduce new projects to Buffalo’s music scene. In order to participate in Infringement, interested parties must register online here by creating a user name and submitting a proposal. buffaBLOG will be curating an exclusive out-of-towners showcase, also, so if you have sent us messages in the past about playing in Buffalo, here is your chance.

Tonight: Shana Falana

April 8, 2015

The Hive is set to host one of the most impressive bills of the month tonight in its tiny DIY attic. Headlining the bill is buzzing Kingston, NY-based duo, Shana Falana. The act is currently on a multi-month tour, supporting the April 7th release of Set Your Lightning Fire Free via Team Love Records (Tilly and the Wall, Roz and the Rice Cakes). If you are a fan of shoegaze with powerful female vocals, you should probably be at The Hive. Supporting Falana is Rochester lo-fi tag team, Buffalo Sex Change, indie-pop trio, The Tins, and a stripped down acoustic set from a hibernating Aircraft. $6 doors and it’s super early. Like 7pm early. If you don’t know where the Hive is, I would ask someone who does.

Just Announced: !!!

April 7, 2015

This morning, ESI announced it would be bringing one of the best live party bands, !!!, back to Buffalo after a 3+ year hiatus. On Friday, May 22nd, the dance punk act will be getting sweaty in the Ninth Ward basement. !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) have been mainstays in the indie dance sector, coming up with the likes LCD Soundsystem and remaining active long after. So pack your short shorts, hydrate up, and prepare to witness one of the best shows to come to Buffalo this summer. Tickets can be purchased on ticketweb for a cool $15.

Tonight: Advance Base

April 3, 2015

Tonight, Sugar City is presenting an evening for introverts. Headlined by always-in-his-head, Advance Base, along with support from Rochester’s ice bar, experimental Jax and blog favorite Damian, this  for those who want a calm and cool night with artists who will talk to your heart. I’ve heard the name Advance Base around the internet for a bit, but never stopped to give it a listen. #bloglife. I played a few songs last night and was instantly like “Oh wow, this sounds like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.” Guess what? Advance Base is Owen Ashworth, the voice and mind behind Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, an act known for its incredibly descriptive lyrics teeter tottering in between sad and self aware, and sometimes both. Another layer which makes this cake super sweet is the debut Buffalo performance by Ice Bar, who’s very impressive 2014 ante meridium came out of nowhere and[...]

Just Announced: Pile

March 31, 2015

This afternoon it was announced that Boston-based heavy indie rockers / 2015 tour warriors, Pile, will be taking the stage at Mohawk Place on Sunday, May 17th. The band has literally been all over the country in 2015, playing for four months straight in support of the highly praised album You’re Better Than This. After listening to the album over and over again this afternoon, I would best describe it as meeting in the middle venn diagram between Cursive, Pissed Jeans, and Attic Abasement. The bill will definitely be the best line-up on Buffalo that night. Support for Pile comes from spooky locals, JOHNS, who are still high on their very successful release show for Grift Marks as well as buzzing heavy-hitters, the Slums. No word on doors, but I imagine it would be on the early side and well worth your money.

Wooden Waves

March 27, 2015

I’ve seen a lot different ways to describe Wooden Waves. Some may consider them surf rock, others electro-pop.  The band was even nominated as one of the best ska bands in all of Western New York by the highly regarded All WNY Music Awards. I’m the kind of guy that likes to walk my own path, so I would describe them as 90’s indie rock. Regardless of descriptors, Wooden Waves are set to close the night tomorrow night with a fresh batch of tunes from their long awaited Wilder Dreams LP at our five year birthday party at Nietzsche’s tomorrow night. The quintet has been around longer than probably 90% of other Buffalo bands, all-the-while delivering quality triple vocal college-radio jams. All the bands are awesome and get there by 10pm.

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.[...]

Tonight: The Lopez

March 20, 2015

Tonight should be a rowdy one for Buffalo’s growing DIY scene with two legit out-of-towners plugging in their amps in The Northrup’s basement. PIttsburgh-based duo, The Lopez, is set to head to play headline, if that’s the proper term for a tiny basement show. Self-coined as “snot rock,”  The Lopez’ playful keyboards, fuzzy guitars, and a bouncy drum machine concoct a fun sound that fits somewhere in the middle of a vein diagram of Le Tigre, Sheer Mags, and The Buzzcocks.  Also set to play are Dallas-based punk-group Slimy Member, with local support from feminist-garde Boy Scouts, spooky low-fiers Space is Haunted, and the gripping wails of Jamie and the debt. Get there around 7pm with $5 in your hand to get The Lopez to Cleveland and Slimy Member to Brooklyn.

Joey Mason Releases Music Video For “Left On The Beach”

March 17, 2015

Last week, the Williamsville born, multi-instrumentalist/psych-pop musician, Joey Mason, revealed a new music video for the track, “Left On The Beach,” which is set to be included on Mason’s forthcoming spring release, Lazy Beach Baby. According to Mason, the majority of the album is the “full band trying to emulate the late 50’s/early 60’s doo-wop/surfy sound.” The new single, paired with the unseasonable music video by trippy visual artist, Daniel Mcinerney, is very sunny, sounding like a glitchy Youth Lagoon, while the clip brings the viewer on a digital cruise inhabited by The Sims. Watch the video for “Left On The Beach” below, and keep an eye out for Lazy Beach Baby sometime this April.

Genesee Live Premieres Latest Session feat. Northern Spies

March 11, 2015

These past couple weeks have been really busy for us at the blog with our many various projects coming up (Herd Fest, our fifth birthday, plus many others that still are developing in our board room). Due to this, it took us a little bit to share with our loyal readers Rochester’s Genesee Live’s 21st session, with Northern Spies. You may remember Northern Spies from our brief track write-up we did in January. In early March, Northern Spies debuted its full-set recording at WITR Studios (a la the stellar session with Attic Abasement). Some faces may look familiar in Northern Spies, as they’ve been around the scene for a bit having participated in Joywave, the Demos, Cottage Jefferson, and Kopps. The half hour session is a healthy mix of 60’s power-pop, and even branches out to The Unicorns-esque Americana. Check it out below.

Tonight: Pink Elephant

March 6, 2015

Tonight, one of our favorite regional hard-hitting rock bands, Pink Elephant, will make its triumphant return to Buffalo. Quickly becoming a regular embedded in the Buffalo music scene, Rochester’s Pink Elephant has been buddying up with local bands Soul Butchers, Handsome Jack, and Governess. The group’s raw indie rock sound is something that Buffalo could always use a bit more of. Fans of Les Savy Fav, Heavy Hands, or Call Me Lightning should make their way out to Mohawk Place with doors at 8pm and a $5 cover. Also on the bill is Governess, Fatal Figures, and Tugboat, so you’re $5 goes a long way on Mohawk Avenue tonight.

Del Paxton Shares First Track From Forthcoming Split EP

February 26, 2015

If you haven’t heard about Del Paxton yet, this might be your first time on buffaBLOG. Hello. The Buffalo-based three-piece topped our top 20 list in 2013 with the song “Motion Sick,” played a slew of legit Buffalo shows, and most recently signed to emo revival label, Topshelf Records. Today, the wheels were put into motion of the upcoming 7″ split with Gulfer as the band premiered its new single “Bad Batch,” via Absolute Punk. Although I haven’t figured out how browse Absolute Punk for close to ten years, this is a major accomplishment. Thank you for the direct link. “Bad Batch” follows a similar formula that Del Paxton has mastered: Zach Schoedel and Dylan England’s dueling vocals, mathy clean heyday of Chicago emo guitars, and Greg McClure’s impressively tight drumming all culminating in a crescendo that make you want to jump over your friend to shout the chorus. Check it out[...]

AIMES – “Harmonique Cosmique” (Late Night Version)

February 24, 2015

Brooklyn-based electro-afficianado, AIMES, released a new single this month titled “Harmonique Cosmique,” via up-and-coming record label, Wonder Stories. The label put out four seperate versions of the song, including a disco version, a late night version, an AM version, and a beach version, making “Harmonique Cosmique” basically a dance song for all occasions.  AIMES’ latest effort proves the artist’s ability to make a variety of dance music that should serve as ambassador to the genre . Go rent a sexy sports car or spend 8 hours at Uniqlo, just make sure AIMES’ “Harmonique Cosmique” is queued up.

Tonight: Alex Berkley & Sonny Baker

February 16, 2015

Tonight Nietzsche’s will be set to host a fairly low-key night, featuring two of Buffalo’s best singer-songwriters doing what they do best – singing and playing original songs. On the line up is the man of a thousand bands, Sonny Baker, performing his Jim James-style ballads that have been perfected over his close to ten years in the Buffalo music scene. Also set to perform is Elmwood Village introspective songwriter, Alex Berkley. Perhaps Berkley will debut some of his newly-written tracks from his Fun-a-Day project? Get there around 8pm and there is no cover. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/190882198″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Krill – “Tiger”

February 5, 2015

One of my go-to bandcamp pages I frequent while zoning out to Super Smash Brothers is Boston’s up-and-coming trio, Krill. Although I love visiting wheretheresakrilltheresaway.bandcamp.com, I must admit that the songs were starting to get old with my roommate (“Are we fucking listening to Krill again?”).  Well, Alex will be delighted tonight to find out that Krill has a brand new song that has debuted via Rolling Stone.  The new single, “Tiger,” off of the band’s forthcoming junior release, A Distant Fist Unclenching, proves that Krill have graduated from the super cool underground indie playlists to super cool indie playlists. What I truly love about Krill is lead singer Jonah Furman’s free-wheeling, Tim Kinsella-like delivery. Oh and just so you don’t try to over think the lyrics, they are about a very likeable villager that’s mauled by tiger. Check it out below.