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Column 33: Asif Kapadia’s Amy Brings an Artist’s Work to Life

When the news came of the death of Amy Winehouse on July 23rd, 2012, it should have come as a shock, but sadly, it felt expected. The young soul singer’s life had long been the subject for tabloid headlines, her well-known addictions and downward spiral a punchline for late-night comedians. So for any film to try and tell the real story of one of the most iconic artists of this generation is a delicate proposition. Thankfully the story of Amy Winehouse is in the hands of London-born filmmaker Asif Kapadia, the man responsible for the acclaimed bio-doc, Senna. One of the startling things about Amy is the sheer amount of home video footage, with contributions from friends and family, almost every period of Winehouse’s life is documented. What this allows is a more intimate look at who the late musician actually was as a person. Early footage of Amy and[...]

Glastonbury: Part 2 (6/27/15, 6/28/15)

Saturday (6/27/15) While many artists caused a stir going into Glastonbury, none inspired the kind of controversy that Kanye West did as the hip hop super star when tabbed as the festival’s headliner, so much that the announcement drew a petition with over 130,000 signatures protesting the booking. Even death threats were aimed at Kanye West and festival owner Michael Eavis following the news. With Kanye’s Saturday headlining slot loomed heavy over the entire weekend, people debated and argued. It seemed like even other artists were commenting on the discussion, with some covering him or others taking time out of their set to slag him off. So what would happen when Kanye finally took the stage to a crowd of 90,000 people? Rumors swirled all weekend about whether he would show, who would join him, and if he was actually gonna drive in on a tank. But as the anticipation[...]

Glastonbury: Part 1 (6/25/15, 6/26/15)

While this blog has featured road trips from such places as Rochester and Toronto, Glastonbury might easily walk away as the easy winner of this blog’s longest voyage. So, would the largest and most famous music festival in the world be worth the 4,000 mile trip? In a word: Yes. I should begin this article by being honest. This is not my first Glastonbury. While I have been to domestic festivals such as Bonnaroo and Coachella, there is something about Glastonbury that always brings me back. The billing, the size, the hype, they all surely play a part in the appeal, but more than anything, it’s the otherwordliness of it all. Glastonbury feels less a festival than it does a remote temporary nation: one where everyone shares the same inspiring values, where people don’t have to concern themselves with day jobs but instead rather to see Jamie xx or Run[...]

Tonight: The Tins w/ Applennium

The rebirth of Larkinville over the past five years has been a beautiful thing to witness. The once desolate business park in Larkin Square has become a hub for life and culture, and has even inspired the birth of further restaurants and bars in the area. Adding to the life in Larkinville is this summer’s Live in Larkin concert series which has showcased a plethora of local talent throughout the summer. That said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t stress just how special tonight’s showcase is, featuring two of Buffalo’s best acts in Applennium and the Tins. If you haven’t been lucky enough to hear Applennium, then you’ve missed out on perhaps the most intriguing bands in Buffalo. The band’s songs are rich with layers and harmonies, inventive but still completely melodic. Applennium is one of those groups that’s garnered a lot of local praise despite its limited live appearances,[...]

Tonight: Glass Animals

I still remember the first time I heard Glass Animals. It was about this time last year on a long road trip down to Bonnaroo. The band’s lead single “Gooey” seemed to an in an endless radio rotation, sandwitched between other recent buzz bands like Joywave and Walk the Moon. It was the type of song initially that seemed fun as a catchy pop song on a road trip, but not as much more than that. However, as the month passed, I still found myself coming back to it, something was sharper and stranger about it than the pop songs that surrounded it. Finally taking the plunge into the debut album, ZABA, I found myself richly rewarded. This was certainly an album that had all the hooks of a big indie pop record, but the more I listened, I found something more sexy and sinister about it. Having more in[...]

Tyler, The Creator at Town Ballroom (6/14/15)

Sunday night, Tyler, The Creator, the controversial former/current ringleader of the rap group Odd Future, made his return to Buffalo at an interesting point in his career. The young cult rap superstar had just in recent weeks continually announced then denied the end of Odd Future, and was fresh off the release of his new album which continued to move further away from his debut effort Goblin. So needless to say, it was interesting to see how this show was gonna pan out and how the hardcore Odd Future fans that made up the audience would response to it. While the show opened with some of Tyler’s earliest work from Goblin, including perhaps Tyler’s strongest (and most demented track), “Tron Cat,” the show was mostly dominated by songs from his new record, Cherry Bomb. I’ll admit to not being the biggest fan of the new album, as I feel like[...]

Tonight: Matt & Kim

It’s that time of year again. As the weather gets warmer and the days grow longer, the Thursday at Canalside series has returned, and kicking off the year is none other than Matt & Kim. While the Brooklyn act might not find its names on any year-end lists, few would argue with the pair’s incredible live shows. Bringing to the stage a catalog of shimmering catchy pop gems and raucuous energy, the duo has become a staple of summer music festivals and concert series. Even those who aren’t fans of the band’s catalog will be able to enjoy Matt & Kim’s series of enthusiastic covers and general sense of fun that few live acts these days can match. The band has played Buffalo more than a few times with the crowd growing on each successive visit, so expect to get down there early tonight (gates open at 5pm). And if that’s[...]

Just Announced: The Psychedelic Furs

This August will see the joint-pairing of two icons of 80’s post-punk as The Psychedelic Furs and The Church kick off a North American, co-headling tour at Town Ballroom on Saturday, August 8th. The tour has been a long effort and dream of The Church’s lead singer Steve Kilney ever since the two band’s hayday, and will finally become a reality this summer. The groups will trade the stage and hits from “Under the Milkyway” to “Heaven,” “The Unguarded Moment” to “Pretty in Pink.” It should serve as both a wonderful night for retro-nostalgia and a night to witness two prime bands of a key chapter in post-punk history. Tickets for the show at Town Ballroom engagement go on sale for $29 in advance starting tomorrow.

Tonight: What the Beck

After exploring nearly every seminal act of the 90’s, finally tonight at Nietzsche’s, 10 talented artists will form a tribute supergroup to take on one of the most diverse artists in modern pop music, Beck. From the stream-of-consciousness slacker rock of Mellow Gold to the funky grooves of Midnight Vultures and the melancholy introspective ballads of Sea Change, Buffalo’s megatribute band What the Beck will have quite the feat ahead of them. The show should be nothing if not tremendous fun, dancing in mass to songs like “Sexx Laws” and “Girl.” If that’s not enough 90’s goodness for you, the band will be partnering with Big Bottle Rocket, who will be opening proceedings with an hour long tribute to grunge gods Nirvana. If you grew up in the 90’s or just appreciate one of pop music’s most creative artists, then you know “Where It’s At,” Neitzche’s tonight. Cover is $10, music[...]

Column 31: It Follows, Unfriended, and Fresh Take on Horror Music

While the summer movie season has just begun with the box office wrecking ball of The Avengers, I thought it was worth taking one last look back at the spring. Spring is often the dump season, where studios get rid of whatever excess cargo they deemed not prestigious enough for awards season or not bankable enough for the upcoming summer. This spring, however, featured some surprise success in what is one of film’s most frequently uninspired genres, horror. Over the last couple months, movie goers were treated to the release of two brilliant micro-budget horror films, which not only found clever ways to rethink the supernatural slasher genre, but to also rethink the music of the genre. Let’s start with It Follows, a film built in the vein of 80’s John Carpenter horror films along with the nostalgic beauty and quiet melancholy of The Virgin Suicides. The film’s central conceit –[...]

Tonight: Soul Patch

It takes a lot for a 90’s cover band to be news; they’re basically a dime a dozen in Buffalo. But when local hardcore legend Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die comes crashing back into town to play a few tunes, ears perk up. Tonight, Keith and his 90’s cover band, Soul Patch, will take the stage at Duke’s (site of SP’s first show) for an evening of pure nostalgia. The group comes with a catalog of everything from Nirvana to The Cardigans. The band even gleefully stands on neutral ground, playing jams from Britpop rivals Blur AND Oasis. If you want to spend an evening side by side with friends in a mass singalong and catch what might be one of the year’s most fun shows, then this is one not to miss. And hey, if none of that appeals to you, then we got two words for[...]

Blur – The Magic Whip

It’s 2015, and there’s a new Blur album. That phrase itself seems kind of strange, like “Bad Pizza” or “Best Michael Bay film”, but at last, it has finally happened. And there’s no way a release of this magnitude could not feel like an event. Blur was globally one of the biggest bands of the 90s, with a string of #1 hits in almost every country (except the US). It even took an actual act of God for this album to even exist, the product of a series of cancelled shows in 2013, that left the band stranded the in Hong Kong for a week. Over that week, the four members of Blur would reconnect and produce the sessions that led to The Magic Whip. There also is an inherent oddness to The Magic Whip itself, While others have struggled to frame it in among Damon Albarn’s past work or[...]

Column 30: Rick Masi’s On the Level: A Love Letter to Buffalo and the Sounds of the City

Tomorrow at the Amherst Theatre, will be the grand cinematic debut of one of Buffalo’s most exciting new voices, Rick Masi. His first feature-length film, On the Level, is a thrilling neo-noir about a teenage boy investigating the death of his brother and those he meets on the quest for answers. Masi’s  independently-funded feature debut was conceived as a love letter to the city he calls home and is chalk full of local talent. The film also rather excitingly features a whole soundtrack produced by some of Buffalo’s most talented up-and-coming artists. Earlier this week, I sat down with the film maker and some of the film’s featured artists to talk about the project. buffaBLOG: So tell me about On the Level? Rick Masi: Well, its a neo-noir drama about a teenager named CJ and his journey to find his brother’s killer. As he starts pealing away the layers, he realizes[...]

Done Diggin’: Staff Grabs

Another Record Store Day came and went this past Saturday, and it turned out to be a great overall experience for many of us on staff here at the blog. The weather was fantastic, dozens of local bands were playing free shows all over Buffalo’s record shops, and we even bought some decent vinyl. Check out what a few of our writers had to say about Record Store Day 2015. Cliff Parks My football (soccer) team Arsenal was in the FA Cup semifinal, forcing me to bail on the prodigious line at the original Record Theatre at Main and Lafayette, which wasn’t specifically the end of the world because there weren’t too many RSD special releases this year that I considered “MUST HAVE.” Next year, hopefully I won’t such a conflict again, otherwise I’ll have to get in line at 5am like the brave souls at the head of the[...]

Modest Mouse at Asbury Hall (4/17/15)

If I’m being honest, there’s no way for me to approach this review without a little bit of bias. There’s a lot of bands that hold a special place in my heart, but Modest Mouse was my gateway into the world of indie rock. I still remember hearing “Polar Opposites” on a Music Choice channel when I was 12 years old and spent the next 3 months playing almost nothing, but The Moon & Antarctica and Lonesome Crowded West on repeat. While I haven’t been as hot on some of their latest work, to say that finally seeing Modest Mouse on Friday was a sentimental moment is an understatement. The sold out show at Asbury Hall was undoubtedly the hottest ticket in Buffalo this year, initially selling out in all of five minutes and scalper tickets were going for almost $150 online. After 20 years into their storied career, Modest Mouse[...]