Latest Posts

Tonight: Bryan Johnson and Family

BJ&FAM, boy have we missed you! After a well-deserved winter break, Buffalo’s favorite lake rockers are back to welcome in the warm April weather. This show is the latest in Yace’s string of low cost, high reward programming. Joining Bryan Johnson & co. tonight are upbeat Rochester garage act SKIRTS (whose new EP came out on Dadstache records earlier this year), the dreamy surf-poppers in the aptly named Dreambeaches, and a set from new harmony-heavy act, Feverbox. In a refreshing change of pace, tonight’s show will be happening at the Gypsy Parlor on Grant St. Bring $5 (plus some money for booze) and make sure you’re 21+.

Skirts – What Do You Wanna Do?

So, break’s over. January saw some fantastic releases, and although our blog activity may have waned through the month, that doesn’t mean we weren’t paying attention. One of those releases happened to be What Do You Wanna Do?, the new record from Rochester surf-poppers Skirts. We’ve been patiently waiting on this one since the quintet premiered the album’s lead single “Swimming” last summer by way of a live session at Rochester’s 1809 studios. The band also made their Buffalo debut at Nietzsche’s last fall, having played an electrifying set that included a couple of these tracks. WDYWD? polishes Skirts’ heart-throb beach pop formula into a catchy collection of songs with a particular focus on album cohesion and its tightly-knit arrangements. A single spin through the album yields a bit of fuzziness in the chest, a warmth most welcome in chilly February. You get tracks like the slow-burning “Golden Era,” which[...]

Sixties Future EP Release Party at Nietzsche’s (11/20/15)

Those in attendance on Friday night’s show at Nietzsche’s were treated to what I am probably going to have to call my favorite locals only show of the year. Cooler kicked the night off right, and with only a few shows under their belt, they played an incredible set, sounding like they’ve been at it for years. Rochester natives Skirts then took the stage for a rare Buffalo show and got the crowd’s feet moving, followed by a great set by Buffalo psych freakers Aircraft, hot off a new EP released on Admirable Traits Records. Sixties Future reminded the Buffalo audience that they mean business, ripping through tracks off of their new EP, also out on Admirable Traits. Check out some shots from the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Cooler  Skirts Aircraft Sixties Future

Tonight: Sixties Future EP Release Party

After stoking serious interest about town with some impressive shows at the Mohawk Place this summer and fall, not to mention at Dreamland opening for Made Violent’s last local show before their UK tour with Wolf Alice and Drenge, Buffalo’s next big band, Sixties Future will be celebrating the release of their highly anticipated debut EP tonight at Nietzsche’s. If that wasn’t enough, the release party also features from newbie emo/grunge locals Cooler, the soaring beach punks of Rochester’s Skirts, and the always excellent Aircraft. For my part, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that first time seeing Sixties Future at Mohawk this past summer, watching these guys unload a pleasing and distinctly Rust Belt tinged brand of American rock with notes of Springsteen and The National, and exchanging incredulous looks with fellow staffers Brendan O’Connor and Ron Walczyk while Mike Moretti stood at the back smiling beatifically like a happy papa.[...]

Full Body Releases Debut EP

Full Body is the new project from Skirts drummer Dylan Vaisey, couretsy of Rochester-based label Bangkok Blend. Skirts is one of our favorite Rochester acts here at buffaBLOG, so naturally our interest was piqued by this particular side project. Full Body is hyper-aware, literate indie rock for fans of The Front Bottoms, Pavement, or Sebadoh. The album features an eclectic mix of styles that ranges from ultra grungy to half-sung, half-spoken emo odes. Despite Vaisey’s ultra straightforward and blunt delivery, this batch of songs has a cryptic feel. Check it out a cut from the group’s debut EP Go Get It below.

Comfy // Skirts Split

It can be difficult to view a split release as a singular piece of work, and in some sense, it’s much more common and appropriate to view each artist’s contribution of songs as an individual creation. Comfy and Skirts’ latest joint EP release from Miscreant and Dadstache Records seems way more accessible as one harmonious album than usual. These two bands work well on their own, but are also incredibly compatible with one another. To me, Comfy is the unkempt, rebel of a sibling and Skirts is the slightly more ordered, quirk-ridden one. Both are deliberate in their sound. Both are equally expressive. I saw Comfy, a lo-fi garage pop band out of Utica, for the first time at Nietzsche’s not too long ago. Their live performance involved swaddling a fake baby fashioned from a blanket full of red string and disassembling it in a frenzied manner (the fake baby was[...]

1809 Studios Releases Latest Session feat. Skirts

Though its gritty garage punk sound is poppy enough to dance to, Skirts also have this old-fashioned, summer heartbreak sound that’s hard to get out of your head. The Rochester-based band released an 1809 Session for the track “Swimming” late last week, making it the latest installment in the series. 1809 Sessions is a recurring video series filmed at 1809 Studios in Macedon, NY that has recorded live sessions for a variety of Rochester and touring bands. With the popularity of visuals in the music realm rising, tons of bands are filming live sessions these days. That being said, not every band’s energy translates well through video, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem in the slightest with Skirts. The band has plans to release a split EP with garage-pop band Comfy from Utica through Miscreant and Dadstache Records. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for that in early[...]

Skirts Premieres First Single from Upcoming Comfy Split EP

After another week already full of relentless show announcements (now Built to Spill?!), it seems fitting that we near the end of our day with a post about something else that just won’t quit—Rochester’s 2015 music scene. With excellent and promising releases from artists like OHS, Howlo, Pleistocene, and Harmonica Lewinski (among many others) having dropped or on the horizon for this year, we’re happy to premiere another track worthy of your attention. Rochester garage-pop darlings, Skirts, have just dropped their first track from their upcoming split with Utica-based Comfy (that’s all of them in the photo being friendly), the tape slated for release later this summer on Miscreant/Dadstache. The song, titled “Indian Premier League,” does not disappoint, channeling an upbeat island sound similar to something you might hear from Cults or a chilled-out Vampire Weekend. The progression is fun and catchy, percussion is flavorful, and the vocal harmonies are[...]

Comfy – “Poetic”

Utica and Rochester BFFs, Comfy and Skirts, respectively, are set to drop a split EP later this summer on August 7th through Miscreant Records and Rochester tape label, Dadstache. While the first listen from Skirts’ half of the EP won’t come until next week (stay tuned…), the Comfy boys (who you may have caught at our firth birthday party last March) dropped a tease this morning through Impose in the form of the less-than-a-minute track, “Poetic.” With Cap’n Jazz like vocals and a touch of Tim Kinsella-esque depression, “Poetic” is a perfect little morsel of the Comfy world, one that appears to be changing a bit as the group goes through some line-up changes (drummer Zeno Pittarelli is exiting the group this summer). You can now pre-order the record over at Miscreant’s bandcamp page for the very fair price of $5. In the mean time, listen to “Poetic” below.

Skirts Debut First Single From Semesters EP

Rochester garage-pop act, Skirts (formerly the dorm room outfit Meanagers), dropped the first single from its forthcoming EP, Semesters (Dadstache Records), early this afternoon. Led by a bouncy surf rock lick, “Pink Hair” features a peppy, playful melody and bursting guy/girl vocals from Hayden Ford and Brianna Battista. The single and new EP are follow ups to the great, basement session filmed by Genesee Live this past summer, which you can view here. Listen to “Pink Hair” below and keep an eye out for Semesters later this fall.

Tonight: Beekeepers

Carnival Night by Shaken Stylus means that there will be balloons, silly string, kazoos and beach balls at an undisclosed location tonight. It means late evening fire hooping by Kayla Hoop. It also means four fine musicals, Beekeepers (Detroit) and Skirts (Rochester), along with locals Copy Manager and False Paul. It’s been a chilly, gray, rainy and dreary week, so a carnival sounds pretty alright to me. Beekeepers is a great fit for the theme, too. Their music is sometimes boppy, sometimes jazzy, sometimes dark and usually fun in the eccentric and unsettling way that a carnival can be. Skirts, meanwhile, are a bunch of blurs, blending the lo-fi vocal hooks of the Marked Men with surf rock, the Cure and the ever-present influence of the 90s. These songs will be fun to stomp around to, but produced differently, could have also showed up at a killer prom scene in[...]

Genesee Live Debuts New Session feat. Skirts

Early this Monday morning, Rochester’s live video session series, Genesee Live, debuted its latest installment featuring Skirts. Formally a dorm room act named Meanagers, Skirts has turned into a peppy five piece act, combining early Cloud Nothings, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Los Campesinos type vibes. You can watch the full, basement filmed session (keep an eye out for David Lynch) below. If you have missed any of Genny Live’s prior sessions, you can check out all of the former installments at GL’s Tumblr page.