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Tonight: Hundred Plus Club

You know the deal. Wednesday before Thanksgiving = the #1 going-out night of the year. Nietzsche’s is properly prepared with a loaded card of homegrown indie rock talent to float you through to the holidays. Three-piece Cooler takes the stage fresh off of the release of their sharp-tongued, driving new single “Gentleman.” Hundred Plus Club is bringing their ear-worm catalog for some spins that’ll get your head bobbing and your body weaving.  Crisp outfit Urban Planning  and the snarky pop-punkers  SMUG round out a card that’ll leave the stage in flames. Plenty of chances to find your anthem for the night with the songwriting talent that’ll be in the room. We’ll see you there. $5 gets you in the doors after 8pm. What are you thankful for?

Tonight: Cloud District

Local alternative acts SMUG and Color Cult will give a warm Buffalo welcome to New Paltz’s Cloud District tonight as the three take the stage at DIY space Sugar City. With a stacked lineup spanning subgenres, tonight’s show is sure to attract a diverse audience of indie music lovers. The local bands on this bill are ones we know and loveSMUG has been playing around the city ever since they got back from tour in support of 2018’s Gorgeous, a triumphant pop punk record that blends catchy melodies, powerful vocals, and tireless, rhythmic guitars and drums to produce the perfect soundtrack to scream and dance along to. Labelmates Color Cult recently emerged from a rebranding, releasing a new single “Invisible Monster” in June following a name change from The Sofa Kingz. A slight departure from the sound of monikers past, the track keeps the party-ready indie pop charm of The[...]

Tonight: SMUG

Dust off those earplugs. Nietzsche’s will be hosting an alt-rock blowout tonight as pop punk trio SMUG headlines its first show of the season, with support from Canetis and Hundred Plus Club. SMUG left its past life behind with the release of 2018’s Gorgeous, a high-energy album that takes the late ‘00s pop punk we all loved (come on, you know you did) and brings it to the present, blasting listeners with a fresh, memorable blend of bubbly punk rock. If that’s not reason enough to get yourself down to Allentown, this will be Buffalo alt babies Canetis’ first-ever show, fresh off the back of the release of their impressive first single “Warning Call.” Round that out with Hundred Plus Club’s powerful indie rock, and you’ve got yourselves a certifiable banger. Doors for this 21+ show open at 9pm. $5 cover. Gorgeous by SMUGWritten by Grace Trimper

Tonight: White Reaper

Tonight, the Louisville garage-rock wonders White Reaper make their way down to Chip Strip at the Rec Room. This marks their first visit back to The Queen City since 2017, so make sure you see them this time around, because it might be a while before they decide to grace us with their presence again. Sharing the stage with them are Boston-based ethereal rockers, Twen, as well as Buffalo degenerate punkers, SMUG. Doors are at 7pm, tickets are $12. Written by Mike Rakiecki

Tonight: Slow Animals

There’s a rock show tonight at Buffalo’s Mr. Goodbar (downstairs) that should absolutely be on your radar. Can’t wait for the Strokes global comeback tour? Well, tonight you get the next best thing with the headlining act, Slow Animals, a Strokes cover band and patchwork of local talent. Come out and jam along with this on point five-piece as they perform your favorite tracks off albums like Is This It and Room on Fire. Sharing the spotlight is SMUG, the hometown pop-punk trio your mother warned you about. This set’s going to be a total party with addictive, booze-soaked anthems that will make you want to trash a living room. Everyone’s going to be there so give in to the peer pressure and don’t miss it. You know you want to. Topping it all off with a nostalgic indie rock sound that’s more comforting than a bowl of chicken noodle[...]

Tonight: SMUG

Local pop punk trio SMUG are celebrating their return tonight  on a jam-packed bill at Nietzsche’s. The band has been busy since the release of their debut full-length Gorgeous, which came out at the tale end of 2018, recently returning from a twelve-date east coast tour as well as wrapping up a successful college radio campaign. Joining these rascals will be grunge rock re-imaginists Ugly Sun, riot grrrl up-and-and comers Party’s Over, and the second ever revealing of somber indiemo act Wild Once. Doors are at 9pm with an $8 cover.

Tonight: Space Cubs

Tonight Nietzsche’s on Allen is closing out 2018 and getting 2019 started right with a proper banger featuring some of the area’s finest bands, headlined by super hot electro-futurists Space Cubs. Tirelessly adventurousand always up for blowing minds in whatever live setting they’re operating in, the Suzanne Bonifacio led Space Cubs will be leading the charge into next year with a midnight set capping a kick ass night of tunes from powerhouse psych rock revivalists Deadwolf,  sweet as hell surf punks SMUG and their strangely perfect harmonies, dreamy shoegazers Coral Collapse, and future punks Velvet Bethany. Doors are at 8pm and cover is $5.

M.A.G.S. at Nietzsche’s (12/22/18)

Elliott Douglas, the multi-talented musical force behind M.A.G.S. came home for the holidays for a headlining slot at Buffalo’s Nietzsche’s on December 22nd. Having recently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his artistic muse, this rare opportunity for M.A.G.S. to play the Queen City was met with a rapturous response, as friends, peers, and fans came out of the woodwork in support of Douglas. A gifted singer-songwriter and a serious multi-instrumentalist, Douglas was joined by his brother Christian on bass and Deadwolf’s Tyler Mendola on drums for a raucous evening of impactful indie-punk classics, including a selection of brand-new songs. Supporting acts that evening included Feverbox, playing in support of their new Political Theater EP, Rochester’s The Demos, keeping the spirit of The Strokes alive and well, and powder-keg punks SMUG, setting the stage for a night of playful mayhem. SMUG The Demos Feverbox M.A.G.S.

Tonight: M.A.G.S.

Nietzsche’s is where it’s at tonight when it hosts an exceptional lineup featuring a home for the holidays performance from former Buffalo  but now Los Angeles based guitar hero and  blog favorite M.A.G.S., aka Elliott Douglas. Always hard to pin down when he was kicking around the city, M.A.G.S. hit listeners with surf punk, soul, and emo rock all, frequently at the same time, with a crack band including Deadwolf’s Tyler Mendola on drums backing up his soaring musical ambitions that’s also reconvening for the evening. Opening the show will be the wonderful fellas of Feverbox also home for the holiday weekend and fresh off the release of their righteous Political Theater EP, the always excellent power pop of The Demos, in town from Rochester with tunes from their fine If You Only Knew EP, and high flying local punks SMUG. Doors are at 9pm and tickets are $10.

SMUG – Gorgeous

SMUG’s new album, Gorgeous, knows exactly what it is: bratty pop-punk marked by massive, inescapable hooks. Through ten songs, “Gorgeous” never wavers from its goal to get you moshing with your friends now and humming to yourself later. Opener “Robbed Blind” sets the template for most of the songs on the album. A guitar tag and a quieter verse lead into a huge, anthemic chorus; repeat, add a bridge and you’ve made it. It’s a rhythm any listener’s familiar with, but that doesn’t make it less potent – on the contrary, the directness is kind of the point. SMUG doesn’t want to distract you with any frills. They want to upload the hooks directly into your brain. There are songs that break this mold a bit, and they’re the best on the album. “Earworm,” for instance, builds and builds and builds, starting with a calmer, almost power-ballady intro, but roars[...]

Tonight: SMUG Release Party

There’s a punk rock party tonight at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo as local favorites, SMUG, celebrate the release of their hotly anticipated debut album, Gorgeous. Formed in 2017, SMUG is a trio that’s been heating up the scene all year with addictively apathetic and high voltage punk tracks. Their combination of snobby vocals, kinetic riffs and hopscotch drumbeats is backed up with an infectious “fuck you” attitude that’s earned the trio a reputation as Buffalo’s baddest influences. Things are going to get rowdy so grab a beer, or two, with the cool kids and celebrate what’s sure to be an awesome record and even better performance. Showing their support are hometown pop punkers Kill the Clock. Featuring fast and emotionally fragile songs with catchy, scream-a-long choruses, this frenetic four-piece will get Nietzsche’s moving and your blood pumping. Rounding out this killer bill are Buffalo emo rockers, Cooler, and Rochester rockabilly duo,[...]

Tonight: The Curls

Squeeze the last drop out of your weekend with a show hosted at Electric Avenue in Buffalo tonight. Topping the bill and fresh off last month’s Pitchfork Festival are Windy City art-rockers, The Curls. This amorphous musical ensemble experiments with psychedelic bubblegum melodies and some of the quirkiest sounds you’ll ever hear. The tie-dye outcomes are all-out fun and catchy listens that will swirl inside your head for days. Come check out their amazing live performance which was has been compared to St. Vincent, Frank Zappa and the almighty Talking Heads. Need anymore convincing than that? Sharing, if not hogging, the stage are the Buffalo trio, SMUG. These guys have a bad attitude and play sniveling and awesome pop punk party anthems that will make you want to get piss-drunk and relieve yourself on a neighbor’s front lawn while flipping the world the bird. With infectiously nihilistic and in-your-face vocals[...]

SMUG Drops Music Video for “All Used Up”

Buffalo three-piece SMUG is fast, fun, and punk rock, clearly evidenced by their new music video for single “All Used Up.” As a band, SMUG embodies all of the rebellious cornerstones of pop-punk music – a DIY, fuck-you attitude bolstered by open-throated guitars and infectious vocal melodies. In true DIY fashion, “All Used Up” was shot entirely by themselves (and for themselves). The video finds the members of SMUG down on their luck – and whether that means getting beat up or just stepping in something smelly, the sentiment remains the same. All in all, its clear that SMUG had a good time with this one – check out the vid via the widget below. As always, if you like what you hear, be sure to swing by SMUG’s Bandcamp page to show them your support.

Tonight: SMUG

The 9th Ward plays host to a heavy hitting three band lineup this evening featuring some of the area’s most buzzed about indie acts. Slated as part of the Weekend Mondays series curated by Feverbox, this month will feature some up-and-comers that hit a little bit heavier than past installments. Tonight’s lineup features grunge rock act SMUG (fka The Naturalists), the always frantic emotive sounds of Passed Out, and Cooler’s moody indiemo repertoire. Doors are at 7pm with a $3 cover. $5 beer/shot combos. Let the weekend begin.

SMUG Drop New Video “Swearing At You”

At the Flaming Lips with Mac DeMarco show the other night I was talking with a respectable citizen and elected union official who lamented to me that he’d read something on the Internet about how today’s youth don’t engage in the coming of age shenanigans previous generations did. Sneaking beers, getting into low level trouble and other forms of teen rebellion has apparently gone out of style and been replaced by other pursuits… but it still happens, and it should be celebrated, like it is in the new clip and single from SMUG. The former Naturalists are up to no good, and “Swearing At You,” directed and edited by fellow buffaBLOG writer Shauna Kyle and Del Paxton’s Greg McClure,  is fun in all caps, and a reminder that some of the youth, including the kids at the Lips show, are all right.