Latest Posts

Tonight: Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts

July 17, 2017

Tonight, NYC folk punk outfit Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts headline a top lineup over at Sugar City with Multibird, Jack Toft and Little Cake. Taking a garage/punk rock sledgehammer to austere folk music tropes, Jeffrey Lewis finds new epic territory to mine live, while Multibird, a new act from Rochester’s Seth Faergolzia takes apart the folk music form from the inside. Ana (Radarada) Vafai’s band Little Cake and local hip hop hero Jack Toft. Cover is $10, doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 7:30pm to beat the 10pm curfew.

Tonight: Selector Dub Narcotic

April 7, 2017

K Records founder Calvin Johnson heads to Sugar City tonight under the flag of his latest project titled Selector Dub Narcotic. The brains behind Beat Happening, Johnson has had a notable career in independent music scene, collaborating and discovering many independent bands that had went on to national limelight (Modest Mouse, Built to Spill to name a very few). Selector Dub Narcotic’s playful dance punk will be sure to get you moving.  Also on the bill are local funkpunk collective, Mallwalkers, and xylo-core duo Welks Mice. Doors at 7pm with a $7 cover.

Tonight: Mallwalkers

October 29, 2016

The expression “family friendly” and punk rock don’t generally go together but they might tonight when Mallwalkers celebrate the release of Dial ‘M’ For at Sugar City with special guests for an all ages show that also happens to be free. With doors opening at 6pm and music at 7pm (sharp) you can pack up the whole crew and see what’s going on at Sugar City while thrilling to the punk shenanigans of the 9 member local gang known as Mallwalkers; who will be joined by sharp indie rocker M.A.G.S., punk rock warriors Gun Candy and Trinkit, twee pop minimalists Welk’s Mice, and Pat Kewley, who will be doing stuff. Because it’s an all ages space Sugar City is a drug and alcohol free space, so please, do all that at home. There might be some punk rock loving families present!

Tonight: Guerilla Toss

August 19, 2016

Brooklyn-based band Guerrilla Toss has garnered a reputation for their ecstatic, genre-defying live performances. Their visceral, psychedelic take on funk, post-punk, and no wave is a barrage of frenetic instrumentation that centers around eccentric percussion and bass grooves. After moving to New York from Boston and signing with DFA records the now five-piece band released their latest album Eraser Stargazer which incorporates elements of disco and other dance music while preserving their idiosyncratic yet concise sound. Tonight, the band will perform at Buffalo art venue Sugar City at 7pm. Local experimental electronic musician Lesionread will open the show accompanied by his live band. Also opening are Buffalo progressive rock band Luanjie. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door.

Tonight: Sugar City’s Two Part Anniversary Party

July 23, 2016

Tonight is the resurrection anniversary of Sugar City . Well, it’s not the ACTUAL anniversary, as the group has been around since 2009, then briefly went into a hiatus while searching for a new headquarters, then started a new headquarters, then ran into some construction setbacks, and then… Point is, Sugar City has called their Niagara St. location their home base for about two years. Entering their seventh year as a collective, the group has been responsible for bringing some of the best cultural events to Buffalo via art exhibits, concerts, comedy shows, and unique programming, while maintaining a safe and welcoming atmosphere to the public, and it’s time to celebrate. The celebration is programmed in two parts. Part one is at the Sugar City hideout at 1239 Niagara St. At 6pm, doors open for the gallery. At 7pm, music begins, with performances by Basement Rat, Chevron Bloom, Glove, Jason Martin[...]

Tonight: La Luna

May 23, 2016

Tonight, Sugar City welcomes a lineup of punk and alternative garage rock acts to their back stage. Headlining the evening of noisy rock are Toronto natives La Luna. The group, who specializes in angvlar pvnk, is coming off the release of their second record, entitled Always Already. The band’s loud brand of DIY punk will be the showcase of the evening. La Luna will be supported by locals from Buffalo’s punk scene. Joining them will be stoop rockers Slow Cooker, who’s 3-song EP Rough Stough was released in December. They will be preceded by The Patterns, an indie post-punk group who are also fresh off an EP release. DUDES will open up the evening, having just released their debut album, Stay Home Pt 2. Doors are at 7pm, with a hard end time of 10pm. Cover is $6-$8 for the touring band, and free/pay what you can for under 18.

Tonight: Chain & the Gang

May 8, 2016

Some might call them the last great rock and roll band. Some might call them gritty punx. Either way, Dischord record’s band Chain & the Gang are here to bring some tongue-in-cheek (or is it?) punk rock to Buffalo tonight. This particular show has an incredible staff of backing bands. Enjoy some punk-funk from Mallwalkers, some very dark indie rock from JOHNS, improv madness from Much Band, and some surf punk from Nicky Reynolds & His Pushers. Doors are at 6:00, bring $7 to get in.

Tonight: Pleasure Leftists

November 12, 2015

Pleasure Leftists return to Sugar City tonight with JOHNS and Worst Gift. The Cleveland group is all post punk with a catchy goth vice you can dance to (always important.) Their bandcamp tags them as “deranged,” which is fun, and even better, their label Deranged also put out releases from White Lung and Fucked Up. Worst Gift will bring perfect glam metal from Toronto that calls back to certain Baltimore hardcore. JOHNS, Buffalo’s punk purists, will join. Get to the gig at 7pm with $8.

Tonigh: IJI

November 9, 2015

Seattle, Washington act pop IJI will be talking the stage at Sugar City this evening.  IJI, the project of songwriter Zach Burba, boasts some incredible fun, dance heavy, groovy pop songs that will no doubt inspire the audience to put on their dancing shoes. Locals on the bill include Peter Kirsch, who features a unique lo fi slacker throwback similar to the first Mac Demarco record, as well as Welks Mice. The vibraphone duo boasts an incredibly unique sound that is easier seen than described. Doors open for the show at Sugar City tonight at 7pm.  For only $5, there’s no reason not to go check out some fun music. Who doesn’t want a little fun to close out their dreary Monday?

Shellshag at Sugar City (10/21/15)

October 22, 2015

Last night, the first Yace Booking showcase at Sugar City took place, and hopefully, it was not the last. The show set off with a quick set from touring pop punk act Rational Anthem, followed by a raucous set from local garage rock act Kharlos. Mallwalkers then took the stage to showcase their unique brand of danceable funk-punk. Finally, on tour for their latest release, Why’d I Have to Get so High?, Shellshag ripped through their set, no doubt winning the crowd over by the end of the evening.  Check out some shots of the show below, and click here for a full gallery. Kharlos Mallwalkers Shellshag  

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: 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: Plack Blague

October 11, 2015

Get your treats and beats tonight at Sugar City featuring six acts with at least two collabos. With a headliner like Plack Blague, who sports song titles like “Sarcastically Erect” and “Disco for Satan, you literally cannot go wrong. This is probably the best gay industrial noise out of Lincoln, Nebraska. Streetcleaver from Jamestown sounds like if Death Grips played through a bad connection, while Gainsville rap Brrat Boys and Big Whatever will join Baltimore rapper Height. Local beats by UBV-76 and a collaboration from local usuals Jack Topht and Fleshtrade will round out the bill. Music begins 6pm at Sugar City. Bring $8 to help out the touring bands. Leather Band by Plack Blague

Tonight: Eskimeaux

October 9, 2015

Eskimeaux is conscientious music for the attentive listener. Started as a solo effort by Gabrielle Smith, the project has recently evolved into a four piece outfit on the road. The band’s latest full length release, O.K., has been held in high regard by major publications like Stereogum, Pitchfork, and NPR, to name a few. Stark honesty is littered throughout, but it’s dressed up in a silk case. The album really does a good job of taking a bare-boned look at what it’s like to feel scared, unsure and alone in a quiet, humble way. It also successfully breaks the mold of traditional, soft-toned indie singer-songwriter type music in terms of instrumentation. There’s a real clarity to the heavily layered songs, and one that brings the whole collection to a much more poppy level. It’s less lo-fi bedroom rock, more crystal clear, heartfelt stuff that’s carefully constructed. I have a hard time imagining Eskimeaux playing anywhere else in[...]

Tonight: Worriers

September 23, 2015

Straight out of Brooklyn, Worriers have been blazing across the country in true punk glory. Half sprechgesang (a la Hold Steady, use a dictionary!), half spitfire-punk, this band is leading the pack with socially conscious lyrics and songs that feel like a sucker punch to the face. Unsurprisingly, Worrier’s newest release, Imaginary Life, was produced by the legendary Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! fame. Worriers will fit right in at Sugar City this evening. Green Dreams and the Patterns are slotted for support. The show is only $6 and it starts at 7pm.