Last Sunday, buzzing New York City three piece, Sunflower Bean, rolled through the Mohawk Place. With some support from locals Get Money Squad, I don’t think anyone in attendance walked away disappointed. Check out some shots from the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Get Money Squad Sunflower Bean
Chicago-based heavy metal band Disturbed performed at the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls last Tuesday night in support of their sixth album, Immortalized(the band’s 5th consecutive chart topping album). An energetic, powerful and hits filled performance provided the fans with exactly what they have been waiting for during the band’s self-imposed four year hiatus. Performing a mixture of songs from their new album littered with hits from yesteryear and a few covers thrown in, Disturbed were triumphant in their return to WNY. Rapids Theatre was the perfect intimate setting for their latest cover of Simon & Garfunkles “Sound of Silence” and the venue was literally shaking as the band ended the night with “Down with Sickness.” Non Point Disturbed Setlist: Ten Thousand Fists The Game The Vengeful One Prayer Land of Confusion A Welcome Burden Stupify Darkness The Sound of Silence Inside the Fire Stricken The Light Closer / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For /[...]
If I were to choose one word to describe The Front Bottoms’ show at Town Ballroom on April 6th, it would be fun. Love them or hate them, the New Jersey four piece known as The Front Bottoms have been packing venues across the world since their 2013 breakout release, Talon of the Hawk. With the release of their 2015 record, titled Back on Top, the band has found more mainstream indie success, while their live shows still remain the same. One big push pit, kids attempting to get as close to lead singer Brian Sella as possible, pointed fingers in the air. All cheesiness and pop punk stereotypes aside, this band never ceases to put on some of the most fun live shows that I have ever attended, and the show at the Town Ballroom was no different. On their first show of their tour, The Front Bottoms brought along up and coming[...]
From packing Black Dots Records a year ago to playing Coachella this spring, Sheer Mag is undoubtedly a success story. There are VERY few “hype bands” that are actually worth hyping up, and Sheer Mag is number one on the list. The band has managed to create a formula that not only the punks can get down with, but make a style of straight up rock music that is aware and accessible enough to break into the “normal” music scene. Backed by Buffalo natives Uniform OPR and Radiation Risks, as well as touring act Laffing Gas, the venue had to have been near sold out. Boasting their Thin Lizzy-esqe riffs and all around commanding presence on stage, the 5 piece absolutely tore down the Mohawk Place, making this a show for the ages. Check out some photos from the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Radiation Risks Laffing Gas Sheer Mag
While it has taken Kurt Vile a while to make a stop in Buffalo for a show, all in attendance were treated to a special night at Asbury Hall that made it well worth the wait. Mike Polizze of Philly act, Purling Hiss, opened up the show, utilizing loops of acoustic, electric, and bass guitars to create soundscapes topped off with incredible sounding vocals to boot. When Kurt Vile took the stage, the band jumped into their set with three tracks off of his stellar new record b’lieve i’m going down, and then kicked into a huge set spanning his entire discography, lasting almost 2 hours in total. Hopefully the Kurt and his band return to Buffalo sooner than later to take us another ride on their Freak Train. Check out some photos from the show as well as the setlist below, and click here for a full gallery. Purling Hiss Kurt Vile[...]
This past Monday, Buffalo was treated to arguably one of biggest indie tours of the year. The Spring Fling Tour packed the First Niagara Center, thanks to the four huge names on the tour. Headlined by Cage the Elephant, the tour also brought along the up and comers, Bear Hands, alt-rock veterans Silversun Pickups, and the massive UK indie act Foals along for the ride. All four bands were total crowd pleasers, the huge audience in attendance even brought the singers of two of the bands into the crowd for some face to face. Check out some photos from the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Bear Hands Foals Silversun Pickups Cage The Elephant
On their biannual trip to the Tralf Music Hall on Monday night, New Jersey punks, Titus Andronicus, were able to not only pull a surprisingly sizable crowd for a Monday night, but also create one of the best atmospheres at a show I have seen in a while. The band brought along The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn to kick the night off, for a set in which he played mostly solo material, along with one Hold Steady tune, “Certain Song,” and one Lifer Puller track, “Nasaau Coliseum”. As Titus Androncius took the stage, frontman Patrick Stickles took the time to warn the crowd about how slam dancing and crowd surfing makes some audience members unsafe, and kind of hinted not to do it in an effort to make everyone feel safe at the show. This however did not stop the crowd from breaking out into a mosh pit at multiple points[...]
“It’s really cool to see you all here, because the last time we played Buffalo, we played to like 17 people in a giant amphitheater,” PUP vocalist/guitarist Stefan Babcock addressed the crowd a few songs into the band’s already raucous set last night at the Studio at Waiting Room. It is clear that Warped Tour was to blame here (as usual), as PUP’s blasting, fun, punk tunes had already had the crowd on their feet by the first songs of the band’s set. There was no rest within the crowd for the majority of PUP’s set, kids taking to the stage to sing along and stage dive during the band’s insane live renditions of their tracks, warmed up just right by sets from Buffalo natives The Slums and Toronto act Pkew Pkew Pkew. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, PUP is a band that is best seen live. There is no[...]
While buffaBLOG was on break the past month, blog photographer Brendan O’Connor was out there doing what he does best: taking pictures of bands. While he didn’t have a chance to shoot any major national touring acts, he took the time to photograph some local Buffalo acts, and went out on a little weekend tour with local post- rock outfit Tomoreaux. On tour, he caught some incredible acts such as Albany’s existential goth poppers Slowshine, Rochester lo-fi duo Buffalo Sex Change, and the stellar up-and-coming pop punk young guns Prince Daddy and the Hyena. In addition, Brendan made a couple trips out to Fredonia where he also had the chance to shoot buffaBLOG favorites, M.A.G.S. and Sixties Future, as well as Fredonia psych-rockers Mooses. To kick the post off, though, we’ll start off with one of Yace Booking’s best events to date, which served as Tomoreaux’s album release party, featuring Cooler, Passed Out, and Brimstone Blondes. You can click HERE for a[...]
Last Friday, Alternative Buffalo hosted their second annual holiday concert, The Kerfufffle Before Christmas. This year’s show featured many notable artists – Wolf Alice, Third Eye Blind, Matt and Kim, and Sublime tribute band, Sublime with Rome along with some radio up-and-comers SomeKindaWonderful and BØRNS sprinkled in there for good measure. Check out the photos we snapped of radio station’s mega-holiday party. Some Kinda Wonderful BØRNS Wolf Alice Third Eye Blind
It was nothing but love on Friday, December 11th, between the crowd at Town Ballroom and musical act The Arkells. High-energy would be an understatement to describe the emotions of the band and audience. Hailing from Hamilton, ON., the Arkells started the show with “Cynical Bastards” from their latest album, High Noon, setting the tone for the concert. They did not disappoint with a variety of hits from their current album and past albums Michigan Left and Jackson Square. It seems Buffalo has fallen in love with these Canadian boys, but the feelings are mutual. Lead singer Max Kerman says they wanted to return to Buffalo before the year was over with mentions of returning to Canalside in 2016. Kerman gets sentimental talking to the crowd about Buffalo, the Town Ballroom and the people involved behind the scenes at the famous spot. “Music brought us together and it’s been love ever since,”[...]
Well, it’s another Every Time I Die Christmas show in the books. At this point, you should probably know of ETID, being one of the bigger exports out of Buffalo music in a while. The band’s heavy, pummeling sound never disappoints to create an absolutely raucous crowd, and this show was no exception. While I was a little bummed out by how much flat out fighting I saw going on in the pit, the band absolutely played to their fullest, serving as a reminder that they will always be Buffalonians at heart. Check out some shots of Revealer, Harms Way, Stick to Your Guns, and Every Time I Die below, and click here for a full gallery of shots from the night. Revealer Harms Way Stick to Your Guns Every Time I Die
Fresh off their new release Double Down, NYC pop artist Darwin Deez rolled through Buffalo on his latest tour through the US. With a set consisting of both new and old material, Darwin Deez managed to keep the crowd dancing throughout their whole set. Check out some pictures from their set below, and click here for a full gallery. Darwin Deez
To celebrate the release of their new LP, I, No Longer, Pentimento played their first set at Town Ballroom, opening for the Arkells. The band performed the new record in full to a huge, sold out crowd, proving that it would most definitely not be the last time they would play on that stage. Check out some pictures from the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Pentimento
If anyone tries telling you that Sleater-Kinney wasn’t one of the best reunions of 2015, they are wrong. The front runner riot grrrl trio had been on hiatus since 2006 after the release of The Woods in 2005 after deciding to peruse other projects. To almost everyone’s surprise, the band swung through Buffalo last Thursday on the tail end on their reunion tour backing their new record No Cities to Love. My anticipation for the show peaked when it was announced that up and coming indie act Waxahatchee would be opening the show, and they kicked the night off with a passionate, emotional set. When Sleater-Kinney took the stage, though, it was something special. I was amazed at how tight they sounded live. It seemed as if the band had not skipped a beat, ripping through their new tracks, as well as playing perfect renditions of their old hits and deep cuts (check out the set list under the photos). This will no doubt go down[...]