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Tonight: Pappy Stardust

September 5, 2015

Tonight Buffalo’s newest psychedelic guru Pappy Stardust celebrates the release of his latest CD All Around Sound with Tomoreaux, Mooses side project Moody Cosmos, and Buffalo dream pop outfit SHEDS. The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Steve Leszyk, Pappy Stardust has emerged as a supremely bold and experimental force for mind expansion, like the entire lineup for tonight’s show at Sugar City, and All Around Sound is a definitely a journey into out there sounds. Doors open at 7pm, and it’s pay what you can, so don’t be stingy. All Around Sound by Pappy Stardust

Tonight: Aircraft

August 29, 2015

While we have been geeking out all summer over the great music our sister city of Rochester has been putting out, Aircraft, one of the blog’s favorite Buffalo acts, has been busy at work on its latest release. Tonight at Sugar City, the soaring psych rock four piece is set to celebrate said release, a new EP titled 7 Gems from the Sparkling Void.  The EP will be released by Buffalo rooted label Admirable Traits records, which if you have been following, has quietly built a great catalog of local releases from Humble Braggers, M.A.G.S., Bryan Johnson & Family, and more. The party kicks off tonight at 7pm. Fuzzy Rochester shoegazers Pleistocene and fresh Buffalo rock saviors Sixties Future will provide support. $10 gets you through the door an a copy of the EP.

Tonight: Pawns

August 17, 2015

New York City’s Pawns and Rochester’s Hot Mayonnaise  will be bringing down the house at Sugar City tonight. Headliners Pawns sounds like a modern day Bauhaus channeling cool rockers with contemporaries like Perfect Pussy, Institute, and the latest from Ceremony. Nihilistic and anti establishment, Pawns vibe is very cool. Not to be overlooked is Hot Mayonnaise, who play straight up shredding punk rock with a 70’s vibe and look to match. Rounding out the bill are  new local act, Basement Rat will open. Tonight’s show begins at 7pm over at Sugar City with a $5 cover. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/161071418″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Tonight: Pleistocene

July 31, 2015

Infringement is one hell of a festival, isn’t it? In case you haven’t had your fill, we’d like to bring attention to the showcase at Sugar City tonight, also known as the Sugar City Masquerade Ball. Costumes are encouraged! Obviously we’re a music blog, so we’re here to tell you one of our Rochester faves, the jangle-poppers in Pleistocene, will be kicking off the night right. They’re followed up by Baltimore, MD’s Joseph and the Beasts (who sound like Father John Misty meets Of Montreal), as well as Buffalo stalwarts Like a Panther and Wolf. Pleistocene plays at 7:00 so make sure you get there early! $5 entry, $3 if you have a costume on. Let’s get festive.  

Tonight: Mischief Brew

July 29, 2015

In 2009, I was listening to a lot of folk punk. I remember emailing Mischief Brew to see if they wanted to play a show at my college. It never came to fruition, but they still have a spot in my heart. This evening at Sugar City, the group, touring from the Philadelphia area, is back, set to pump out the kind of goofy folk punk you can sing along to. Tonight’s support begins with Pine Fever, a band of Buffalo buskers for fans of Defiance, Ohio that compliment Mischief Brew nicely. Also from Philly, Dark Thoughts offer Ramones style, snotty punk rock and roll. Rounding out the night is Aaron and the Burrs, two thirds comprised of members of the band Blobs. I love contemporary surf rock and this band puts their own spin on it, taking it back to pure instrumental. There is something for everyone tonight at Sugar City. Doors[...]

Tonight: Wolf Eyes

July 21, 2015

Hardcore from all over converges tonight at Sugar City.  Wolf Eyes are from the “dead, dread-filled, haunted hills of Michigan” and have a way with electronic metal while LA’s Sissy Spacek plays noisey grindcore tracks all under one minute. Mid and West Coast meets the DMV with Pure Disgust and Barge, hailing from DC and Richmond, VA respectively. The Facebook event description for Barge says Infest for Generation Z and that’s pretty apt, for Pure Disgust as well. Representing Buffalo we have Modern Problems (members of Every Time I Die) and Black X(members of Harm’s Way and a million more bands) playing straightforward, straightedge hardcore.  Music will start at 6pm (hopefully) and be over by 10pm. All this for $10.

Tonight: Gillian

July 11, 2015

In elementary school, I had this friend named Gillian (spelled the same way). She was a fearless girl careful coordinate every outfit, had every hair on her head neatly trimmed, was clear and concise, but was also totally unafraid to throw down on the monkey bars, make up  Britney Spears songs by herself at recess and live in an eccentric bubble of her own. All of this comes to mind because it seems to be an adaptive description for Gillian the band (hear me out on this one). The quintet has a sound that’s super cohesive and well thought out, but entirely daring at the same time. It’s a cool fusion between 70’s disco and 80’s power rock, all housed under an undeniably catchy umbrella of indie dance pop. The alternating male/female vocals add a fresh and sonically pleasing dimension to it all. The New York City band recently released[...]

Tonight: Anklepants

June 28, 2015

Yes Virginia… that dude has a cock for a nose. Now that that’s out of way… tonight Sugar City will be the scene of an art and dance happening to end all happenings when it hosts controversial EDM artist Anklepants (known aliases: Dr. Reecard Farche, Josh Head). The Australian EDM wunderkind will be joined by local electro experimenters Ay Fast and Logan Locking, and word on the street has it that costumes and other manner of freakishness are HIGHLY encouraged at this Squeaky Wheel sponsored event. They want the wonkiest sesh ever, so if you’re going you’ve got to be ready to go all out. $10 gets you in and doors are at 7pm.

Tonight: Soul Night

June 26, 2015

Word on the street is that there is a storm brewing this weekend. Meteorologists are yet unsure if it will be a real SOUL storm, but if you come down to Milkie’s tonight, you are sure to feel the thunder in your soles. By now, Soul Night is a Buffalo institution, a seasonal night of some of the best pop music ever recorded and one of the city’s sweatiest dance floors all organized to benefit the tireless work of Sugar City. This is fever pitch level stuff folks. Have you ever seen what this music does to people? Have you ever, say, listened to Sam Cooke by yourself? You know its power, you know what it can do. Now imagine it louder, in a bar full of some the city’s hippest kids. Yes, you see why you cannot miss this event right? The rain forecast tomorrow was ordained by the[...]

Tonight: Schwervon!

June 25, 2015

So what’s in a duo, anyway? Schwervon! has an answer for that question. Armed with a guitar, a drumkit, and personality for days, Nan Turner and Matthew Roth craft deceptively simple yet deeply magnetic indie rock and makes it look as effortless as ever. And yet, somehow totally inimitable. With five albums and countless tours under their belts (some of which in support of some heavy-hitting names such as The Vaselines, Belle and Sebastian, Vampire Weekend), the NYC-bred, Kansas City-based art-rock power duo aren’t messing around. Schwervon!’s (yes Microsoft Word, the exclamation point is actually a part of their name) current tour makes a pit stop at Sugar City tonight on an expertly-arranged bill featuring blog-favorite slack rockers Difficult Night and rhyme-spitting funnyguy Jack Topht. Bring five bucks. While the show starts at 8pm, prime yourselves up beforehand with a Schwervon! music video produced by Difficult Night’s own Damian Weber,[...]

Sugar City

June 21, 2015

Ease into your Herd Fest comedown today as Sugar City is set to close out the festival with a pair of much needed relaxing events. Those looking for that last minute Father’s Day gift should head down to the Niagara St. space’s record fair starting at 1pm to grab some vinyl to add to the big guy’s collection. Over 1,000 records will be for sale from various local shops and distros, so leaving empty handed is not an option. Later on this evening, a local music video showcase will run, featuring clips from Alpha Hopper, Every Time I Die, Mink, Orations, Healer, and more, plus the debut of a brand new music video from grunge trio Kharlos. The screenings will begin at 7pm and are set to be hosted by comedy pair Dan Firestorm and John Toohill (JOHNS, Alpha Hopper). Both events are free of charge so feel free to remove[...]

Michael Mulley’s “People That Rock”

June 19, 2015

With night one of Herd Fest 2015 in the books, we next turn out attention to Niagara Street, where Sugar City will host the opening of Michel Mulley’s “People That Rock” exhibit. For the last 25 years, he has been shooting everywhere from festivals to basements, while capturing everyone from Dee Dee Ramone to Social Distortion to Henry Rollins. His massive collection of photos, each with its own great story, will be presented to the public later this evening and open for sale beginning Sunday at 1pm. Mulley, who last year hosted the Steak and Cake showcase at his former College Street Gallery, has since relocated to the Market Arcade building to display his impressive portfolio. The opening exhibit will be one of three special presentations from Sugar City during Herd Fest, the latter two will come on Sunday in the form of a record fair and local music video[...]

Tonight: Northern Spies

June 11, 2015

Lately it seems like some of Rochester’s best and up-and-coming acts have been making frequent stops to Buffalo and the trend continues tonight as ROCH foursome, Northern Spies, will take the stage at Sugar City. The power pop group, which features members of KOPPS and Quarries, recalls acts like Elvis Costello, the Byrds, REM, and Stephen Malkmus. While the band only has a short EP to its name, the late 2014 released Nothing But Static, its spring released Genesee Live session should give a nice indication of what to expect later on from NS. Music begins this 8pm with a cover of $5. Indie rock trio turned quartet, Wolf, and Steak & Cake’s politically minded act, RED HEAT, will round out the bill. And please remember to leave the booze and drugs at home as Sugar City is a substance free space.

Tonight: YAWN

June 8, 2015

Sugar City has been tearing it up lately with excellent and affordable all-ages bills featuring some of the coolest indie/punk/whatever acts rolling through Buffalo, many times stacked with quality local talent. Tonight the newly revamped Niagara St. venue will follow that trend when Chicago’s indie-psyche sensation YAWN brings its freshness to the Queen City. The act’s latest LP Love Chills (via Old Flame Records) is blissful and weird, channeling catchy summer vibes through a pair of kaleidoscope binoculars. Recommended for fans of MGMT, Panda Bear, and Menomena. Though YAWN won’t be the only act peddling pandemonium from Sugar City’s freshly-built stage tonight, as the Buffalo-bred experi-tronic whiz kid Lesionread will be shaking things up with his own electro craziness to whip the crowd into shape. If you’ve never been to a Lesionread show you should probably remedy that tonight. Also on tonight’s bill are YAWN tourmates Blind Moon and Pleasure Hammer,[...]

Tonight: Queen City Music Lottery #2 Showcase

June 6, 2015

The Queen City Music Lottery is an exciting experiment  that tests some of the myths we hang onto about bands, such as that they are made up of organically formed people who share deep personal bonds. Obviously, we know this isn’t actually the case but on some level, I think we unconsciously subscribe to this. This is why the Lottery sounds so intriguing. What happens if you assemble bands via lottery, what kind of random combinations of people does it create and what kind of music can they make in a short time? As I mentioned, the Queen City Music Lottery is Sugar City’s annual event where bands are assembled by drawing names out of a hat. These bands can be made up of long time musicians or people who have never picked up an instrument in their life, the bands are assembled and given a few months to coalesce.[...]