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Tonight: Friendship

October 21, 2015

If punk by way of Brooklyn or Japan isn’t your thing tonight, head down to Dreamland on this unusually busy Wednesday night for a set from Philadelphia’s Friendship. Friendship has a Weakerthans meets Bonnie Prince Billy with a touch of Magnetic Fields vibe and could easily be an alt-country counterpart to Buffalo slackers Difficult Night. The group’s new album You’re Going to Have to Trust Me was released this past weekend on New Hampshire label Burst & Bloom Records. You can give it a spine here. Joining Friendship will be fellow Philly, well, friend Abi Remold. The folk artist has a Sharon Van Etten thing going on and should be a fine compliment to Friendship’s laid back tawng. Buffalo’s own chamber pop six piece Parade Chic will open the show. Music begins this evening at 8pm with a $5 suggested donation to cover the touring acts.

Tonight: Pinky Doodle Poodle

October 21, 2015

Its Robby Takac’s Buffalo tonight at Mohawk Place. Pinky Doodle Poodle, all the way from Tokyo, is back to record a third album at Takac’s Good Charamel Records studio, and to make the most of their visit, will be hitting the stage at Mohawk later on. This band rocks like old school punk. Are they the Japanese Lemuria? When I saw Super Killer Robots at Music is Art my first impression of them was they were a typical hard rock band with one tall robot member. My first impression still stands. Lo-fi local punk band Boy Scouts will also open. Music begins at 8pm with a cover of $5.

Tonight: Shellshag

October 21, 2015

Tonight at Sugar City, Brooklyn lo-fi punk act Shellshag brings its tour to Buffalo for a visit. Also on the bill are local outfits Mallwalkers and Kharlos, and Rational Anthem all the way from Florida. It’s going to be a mixed bag of punk, for sure. Rational Anthem considers themselves pop-punk, while Don Giovanni Records’ Shellshag is more lo-fi garage punk. Kharlos and Mallwalkers also fall into that garage category, with Kharlos mixing some Thee Oh Sees vibes into their sound. The trio just released its debut cassette last month (check it out here), while Mallwalkers have begun studio work on the follow up to 2013’s Shake the Rust Off. All in all, four bands that will no doubt put on a killer show, and well worth the price, as Sugar City shows always are. The show starts at 6:30pm $6 will be due at the door.

Tonight: In The Valley Below

October 20, 2015

Buffalo will be greeted with the first solo show from popular LA pop act In the Valley Below this evening at the Tralf. The duo previously visited town for both Kerfuffle and UB’s Springfest, but are now back to the city that’s shown them so much love over the past year. The band is made up of the mid-western pair of Jeffrey Jacob Mendel and Angela Gail Mattson who met while playing in the Los Angeles to form In the Valley Below. You can hear the duo’s history in its music as their specific brand of pop music effortlessly blends the more twangy sounds of the group’s Americana and blues origins with the hazy synth-pop of the LA music scene. ITVB shot from relative obscurity to mass popularity seemingly overnight off the strength of the winningly romantic single, “Peaches.” The song’s breezy nature and subtle sensuality found the duo a plethora of new fans[...]

Tonight: Tundrastomper

October 19, 2015

The freshly reopened West Side basement spot Curly’s will host a night of solid indie and punk tunes. The show boasts some great local acts, including the wildly unique drum duo CCDS, the new lady quintet known as Basement Rat, and the thinking man’s punk trio, Red Heat. The touring act is Ardsley, New York’s Tundrastomper, a band which cooks up just the right mix of surf rock, punk, and indie into something that is just plain fun. Things are set to take off right at 7pm with CCDS with a cover of only $5.

Tonight: Unearth

October 18, 2015

I’m going out on a limb and putting my metal credibility on the line here with this next statement. Unearth is the single greatest metalcore band that has ever existed. Follow me on this one. Devastating breakdowns. Check. Dual guitar attacks that will haunt your thoughts for days. Check. Blistering leads. Oh yea, they’re there. Pantera-Groove. Yup, those too. Metal tunes that STAND OUT that you actually REMEMBER. Well, yea. That perfect mix of hardcore attitude and raw thrash metal breakneck speed. You get the point. Now, some may hesitate to call Unearth “metalcore” and while that label seems to not be so popular these days, I think that’s a perfect summation of what Unearth does. These guys came from the hardcore scene, but loved metal when that was not so cool. They essentially forged a new sound and style in the late 90’s and did so whilst sounding fresh and[...]

Tonight: Sage Francis

October 17, 2015

Known for his confessional, wordy lyrics, rapper and spoken word poet Sage Francis has nearly twenty releases to his name since dropping his 2002 debut Personal Journals. As president and founder of Strange Famous Records, he’s put out a series of his own mixtapes along with maintaining a roster of underground hip hop talent. Having performed with similar artists like Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Aesop Rock, Francis possesses an esoteric style that blends infectious production with thoughtful lyricism. Tonight, the MC will perform at the Studio at Waiting Room along with Buffalo rappers Frigid Giant, SonScotty, Tr38cho. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or can be purchased here.

Tonight: Superhuman Happiness

October 16, 2015

Luminescent NYC quartet Superhuman Happiness will be bringing their insanely pleasing brand of psych pop to Allentown’s Nietzsche’s later on tonight. Brimming with gorgeous boy-girl dual harmonies, warm and fuzzy melodies, and a mightily funky horn reminiscent of Antibalas, Superhuman Happiness are in town promoting their latest release Escape Velocity, and the vibe and good feelings will be potent and utterly irresistible. Opening the show will be blog favorite and Buffalo hip-hop troublemaker Jack Toft. According to the Bandsintown event page, doors open at 7pm, but this is Nietzsche’s so it’s probably closer to 9pm to 10pm, and the cover is unknown, so I’d keep $10 handy along with your dancing shoes…

Tonight: Short Moscato

October 16, 2015

Tonight over at the Gypsy Parlor, stop on down to celebrate the work of one of the Buffalo hip-hop scene’s finest members in Short Moscato. Whatever|Forever, the new album from the Good Huemans/Death Picnic MC, was just released a few weeks ago, and the record is nothing if not a testament to the city that built it. With it’s hard-edged rap and subtle melancholy, Whatever|Forever tells the story of a rapper, who like the Queen City, appears rough, but is thrillingly alive and brimming with originality. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Wza’s production, which is almost reminiscent of the work of the late-great Nujabes. Short will be performing the album in full tonight and will be joined by some of the city’s most exciting upcoming artists, including MileHighMusik! and Billie E$$co. It goes without saying that tonight’s show will reflect the album it celebrates, which is to[...]

Tonight: Aircraft

October 16, 2015

Buffalo’s heady psych pop outfit Aircraft will return to Mohawk Place’s stage tonight as the group continues to tour in support of its latest record, the Admirable Traits released 7 Gems From the Sparkling Void. With a healthy dose of surf and space rock, the album continues to raise the ceiling of one of the city’s most cherished and promising acts. Those who have yet to catch the band live will be #blessed tonight with some fantastic harmonies and exhilarating musicianship. Joining Aircraft tonight will be rising Rust Belt post-rockers Tomoreaux and sardonic slackers Difficult Night, both of which are set to release a new album over the next couple months. Rounding out the bill will be the debut local performance from Albany’s dark shoegazers, Slowshine. Doors open at Mohawk Place this evening at 8pm with a cover of $5.

Tonight: The Moth & The Flame

October 15, 2015

The Tralf seems to be the place to be right now, at least in terms of October gigs. Tonight, the venue plays host to alt-rock rising stars The Moth & The Flame. TMTF are currently out on tour in support of their recently released EP, Young & Unafraid, whose title track has seen a ton of success as the band’s first release with Elektra Records. Tonight’s performance is a last minute addition to the group’s tour, and will be  a part of Alt Buffalo’s ongoing “You Saw Them First” series. Local acts The Get Money Squad and Wolf are set to open. Doors open at 7pm with a $10 cover.

Tonight: Sonny Baker

October 14, 2015

Sonny Baker is set to celebrate the release of his new EP tonight at Mohawk Place. Baker’s Flesh it Out is soulful like, well, Pavement meets Ryan Adams. Baker (member of lots of bands) will perform will perform with his new trio which features members of Lazlo Hollyfeld, Rhubarb, Gravy, and more. I’ve loved Softlines from first listen and they don’t play enough shows. On the other hand, the ever prolific Newish Star just dropped a newish album and will be playing this gig too. Bright Eyes-esque Andy Pothier will also be there. Honestly, I heard him at Herd Fest and thought he was Conor Oberst. Mohawk opens its doors for the gig at 8pm and its $5 to get in.

Tonight: Meat Wave

October 14, 2015

Tonight might turn out to be quite a raucous Wednesday… Actually, I take that back. Tonight’s officially gonna get pretty rowdy. The Dirty Nil and Meat Wave will be stopping through the Waiting Room tonight; both bands will be slinging their brand of loud, aggressive, indie-punk. If you would like a comparison, both bands are contemporaries of METZ, Pissed Jeans, Single Mothers, or even Cloud Nothings. Opening the show are the Rochester-based post-hardcore/screamo dudes in DRUSE and the Fredonia-based alt-rockers in Ellsworth. Tickets are $12 and doors open at 6pm.

Tonight: Tiger Hatchery

October 14, 2015

If there’s anything the haphazard nature of Tiger Hatchery‘s music proves, it is this: chaos can be just as much a refined art as it can be an all-out disorderly rage fest. The  Chicago based free jazz group has been described from other sources as harsh, destructive, explosive — pretty much any adjective that incites some sort of discord. Upon listening, it all might initially seem senseless, but after awhile it seems quite the opposite. Every crazed run of notes seem to have a place after one another, and it just keeps going and going until you’re totally engulfed in the chaotic bubble they create. Their specific brand of sound reminds me of a class I took in my college days. It was called Free Improv and it was exactly one and a half hours of chaos. We did everything from use shopping carts as instruments to flail our arms around to short bursts[...]

Tonight: Saintseneca

October 14, 2015

Stellar indie folk crew, Saintseneca, will be rolling through Buffalo for an incredibly intimate performance at Babeville’s Ninth Ward tonight. The Columbus, OH outfit’s new album, titled Such Things, just dropped on Anti Records and while most critics have yet to weigh in, it is just as special and unique as their previous releases, still managing to avoid the label of just another bland indie folk band. Doors are set to open at 6pm with music starting at 8pm. Tickets will be available at the door for $15, and touring acts the Sidekicks and Yowler are set to open the show at the intimate venue. This is one you won’t want to miss.