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Must See Shows (4/9/25-4/15/25)

April 8, 2025

Thursday, April 10th @ 7pm Moon Hooch @ Buffalo Iron Works   One of New York City’s most successful (former) busker acts, Moon Hooch, returns to the Queen City Thursday for a night of dance, positivity, and woodwinds. Moon Hooch emerged from the Bedford L platform in the early 2010s and their live set was so mesmerizing, the band was actually banned from playing the platform because it became a standstill and was too dangerous to gather. From their early days, the project has mastered the upbeat, live dance looping sound that gets the crowd moving and grooving into the palm of their hand.   Opening the show will be space funk duo Future Show. Iron Works has really cornered the market on saxophone-centric dance acts. $25 and it’s well worth it.   Red Sky by Moon Hooch Friday, April 11th @ 7pm Bright Eyes @ Buffalo Riverworks   This[...]

Must See Shows (9/11/24-9/17/24)

September 10, 2024

Saturday, 9/14 @ 7pm Elemantra w/ Patchwork @ Black Dots The west side is set to host a double banger with locals Elemantra and Patchwork this Saturday night at one of Buffalo’s best record stores. The lineup consists of two locals at the top of Buffalo’s indie scene. Elemantra may be up your alley if you are a fan of a shoeagaze-y Mew meets Slowdive vibes, while Patchwork will impress followers of the 90’s college radio scene. Both bands are worth the field trip and it’s just $10 to support local artists.   Photo: Adam Parshall Monday, 9/16/24 @ 7pm Pile w/ Oceanator @ Buffalo Iron Works It’ll be a Monday night ripper with the return of Boston’s Pile to the 716. The heavy hitting act will be debuting at the highest capacity venue they’ve played in the city, coming a long way from the days of playing on Niagara[...]

Tonight: Rick Maguire (from Pile)

May 26, 2018

Sugar City is slated for a ripper tonight with Rick Maguire from Pile playing a stripped down solo set with support from a returning Yazan. Pile made waves with their breakthrough 2010 release, Magic Isn’t Real, which impressed both critics and fans alike. Eventually, Pile were dubbed a “musician’s musician” band due to their complicated instrumentals, free flow lyrics, and overall rollercoaster of crescendos and pullbacks. Doors are at 7pm with a $12 cover. Sugar City is an all-ages drug/alcohol free establishment, so no funny business.

Tonight: Pile

September 20, 2017

Tonight the 9th Ward will be playing host to Boston’s Pile, touring on the heels of their latest LP,  A Hairshirt of Purpose. Pile are never ones to disappoint and their new record is more of the same high octane ferocity. They’re one of those special kinds of groups, the kind that makes their name on being superb live performers. They’re the band that your friend will see live and then all they’ll talk about for the next few weeks is how crazy the show was.  Pile also don’t neatly fit into any single classification and always keep things exhilarating. Alongside with Pile are a couple of local stalwarts. Be Locust or Alone and freak pop/indie rockers, Hot Tip. Doors are at 8pm, $13 day of show. 

Tonight: Rick Maguire from Pile

August 23, 2017

Head down to Sugar City tonight to catch a short and sweet showcase featuring some stellar songwriters. Over the years, Rick Maguire has made numerous stops in Buffalo, mainly with his main project, Pile. While Rick is the front man of Pile, he has also been writing solo tracks since the late 2000’s, around the time when Pile formed. Tonight would be a great night to catch the amazing songwriter perform some of the more low key Pile tracks, along with some of his deep solo cuts. New Hampshire indie folk act, Footings, are also featured on the bill as well. Fresh off of the release of a fantastic new LP, the three piece’s set is not to be missed. The show will be opened with two sets from two Buffalo artists, David Adamczyk, a violinist/composer, along with folk songstress Laura Buckley. The show kicks off at Sugar City at 7pm, and its $7[...]

Tonight: Pile

May 17, 2015

Man, am I upset I have to miss this show. Tonight, the Boston four piece, Pile, will be bringing its live show to the Mohawk Place. The band is fresh off of its new album, You’re Better Than This, and with an extreme amount of buzz surrounding the group these days, is set to take off in popularity. With an absolutely mind numbing combination of post-hardcore sounding vocals, infectious riffs, and pummeling drums, Pile’s live show will have ears buzzing and your feet moving. Pile is not the only reason to check this show out though, as the locals on this bill are not to be missed. Opening the show will be newly formed act, Rosy, featuring members of Newish Star.  Following Rosy will be local post-harcore infused indie act, The Slums, and finally, taking the stage right before Pile will be one of my personal favorite local acts, JOHNS: a[...]

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.

Tonight: Pile

October 12, 2014

You know your band has to be good when a band as great as Krill writes their best album about how terrible they feel about how good you are. That’s Pile, talented enough to make Jonah Furman feel bad and bastard enough to come to Buffalo while I’m out of town. So please, enjoy this for me. Check out Dripping to get a taste of where Pile has been. It’s the most fun you’ll have while fighting off the creeping suspicion that your heart has been replaced with dust and spiderwebs. Then, check out “Special Snowflakes” to get a taste of where Pile is going. It’s more expansive, more ambitious and still gets stuck in your head. Hot Tip, Del Paxton and Softlines are all playing. Hot Tip and Del Paxton I’ve seen a few times each and can vouch for the fact that they rule. Softlines I only know[...]

Pile

October 7, 2014

Editor’s Note: Local musician John Toohill (JOHNS and Alpha Hopper) will occasionally sit down with touring bands and ask them some questions. For his latest installment, he spoke with Matt Becker of Boston’s Pile, set to play Buffalo this Sunday, October 12th, at Ocean Garden Oriental Foods (1235 Niagara Street). John Toohill: Hello Pile. Are you a particular pile of anything or can any old heapin’ mass of whatevers load on up and climb aboard? Matt Becker: Hey John. This is Matt, the guy who promised you a show, dropped the ball, and Rick picked up the pieces for me. Sorry about that again. I’m dumb. That’s why Rick takes care of stuff. Basically, we’re not a pile of any one thing. I don’t think a pile should really be one thing. It’s like, if you have a whole bunch of chocolate chips, you have a mound of chocolate chips. Or if[...]