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Tonight: Father John Misty

July 26, 2018

The Earth, stars, and various festival touring schedules have aligned to bring us one of the most fascinating Thursday at Canalside shows in a few years when zeitgeist channeling troubadour Father John Misty returns to our area at last tonight. It’s been a few years since he last brought the Town Ballroom house down and even more since his now quasi-legendary performance opening for Youth Lagoon back in magical 2012, so tonight’s show has more than a little anticipation going on as the ever entertaining and incisive Mr. Tillman brings his festival set in support of his latest effort God’s Favorite Customer to our suds and summer concert series. Be sure to get to Canalside in time for the opener, Richmond, VA by way of Nashville indie heroine Lucy Dacus, whose expansive and evocative sophomore album Historian is currently burning it up on Matador Records. Nestled sweetly in between the Jenny[...]

Tonight: Method Man & Redman

June 7, 2018

This year’s less than spectacular Thursday at Canalside season begins with one of the true bright spots on the schedule when Wu-Tang founder Method Man and early 90’s New School Hip hop legend Redman bring their classic team-up to Buffalo’s waterfront tonight. These muy simpatico cats have been collaborating and getting up to no good for almost twenty years since the first Blackout album, with a third edition currently in the works, so yes the jams always come in hot and heavy when these two come together to keep it nice and gritty. No word on opening acts but expect a few to get the party warmed up. Tickets are $5 and gates open at 5pm.

Tonight: Preservation Hall Jazz Band

July 14, 2016

Alas most of the coverage for tonight’s installment of Thursday at Canalside seems to have the buried the lede and missed the real point of tonight’s show, which is that Preservation Hall Jazz Band is playing tonight down on the waterfront. Proud emissaries of New Orleans and the American art form created in that city, jazz, Preservation Hall Jazz Band will hit Buffalo with pure New Orleans jazz, and their opening set is going to be a party and a must for local music lovers down for enjoying the music that kick started American popular music. There’s also some guy Shakey Graves headlining tonight at Canalside, but you don’t have worry about him. There are other shows going on later tonight, but your night should probably start with Preservation Hall Jazz band, who go on at 7:15pm after soulful Austin TX fuzz rockers Wild Child. Everything starts at 6:15pm, admission is[...]

Tonight: Public Enemy

June 23, 2016

Before joining three quarters of Rage Against The Machine and Cypress Hill’s B-Real for a summer of kicking up ruckus as The Prophets Of Rage (including a show in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention), Chuck D and the original “Prophets Of Rage” Public Enemy  bring their incendiary brand of woke hip hop to Canalside tonight. Nearly three decades into their illustrious career and no less relevant, PE is The Clash of hip-hop: one of the few (if not the only) hip-hop acts that genuinely “matters:” changing the sound and texture of hip-hop while challenging audiences and the status quo with potent yet fun lyrical fusillades against racism, injustice, and systemic corruption, and tonight’s free show will be a wonderful chance to do homage to the legendary band and check out what they’ve got to say in 2016. Opening the show will local MC Chae Hawk and the Buffalo Afrobeat Orchestra,[...]

Tonight: Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires

June 8, 2016

The Thursdays at Canalside Concert Series kicks off tonight in magnificent style with the return of Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires. One of the new soul legends on the mighty Daptone Records label headquartered in Brooklyn,  Bradley has emerged as one of the most potent voices on this scene or any scene, a soul man of incredible range, dexterity and smooth grit who has walked the walk and talked the talk during his 67 years on this Earth. In the last week of his current tour behind his latest release Changes, named after his wonderful cover of the Black Sabbath classic, Charles Bradley will be unleashing his realer than real and instantly vintage brand of soul with opening support courtesy of Vin DeRosa, winner of the Public’s Battle of the Bands. The show starts at 6pm. Admission is of course free with VIP tickets available for $55.

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

October 14, 2015

The Buffalo News via Buffalo.com reported Wednesday that the Common Council unanimously voted Tuesday to eventually move the wildly successful Canalside Concert Series somewhere not Canalside, a move that might potentially kill off the long running concert series just when it’s getting good. Apparently complaints about noise, traffic, and unruly young people by Marine Drive Apartments residents proved sufficient to precipitate this shock move, and now Canalside concertgoers get to look forward to the series moving to the Outer Harbor or Lasalle Park, and truthfully, I don’t think the series can survive a move to either. Let’s be honest: while summer was great, it hasn’t been a good couple of weeks for the “fun crowd” in Western New York, with the oncoming change in bar closing time in Erie County, which is totally happening by the way (you’ve been warned), and now word of a Canalside Concert move to the[...]

Umphrey’s McGee w/Aqueous at Canalside (8/6/15)

August 7, 2015

Back on April 29th, local groove lords Aqueous announced that they would be opening for one of their favorite bands, Umphrey’s McGee, at Canalside, igniting an interesting twitter exchange. Dan Murawski of Orchard Park, an apparent Aqueous backer, wasted no time in proclaiming the group would “blow Umphrey’s out of the water, so get there early.” The following day, Umphrey’s keyboard player and founding member Joel Cummins responded with the joking reply “Umphrey’s suuuuuuuuucks so bad.” Although Murawski’s comment may have been a bit inflated, there was some truth to what he said. For one, this was absolutely a show to arrive early to and second, there is an argument to be made that when considering the time allotted to each band, Aqueous did more with their hour than Umphrey’s did with their two and a half. Working with a shorter than usual slot time, the Buffalo band still managed[...]

Iron & Wine w/ Ben Bridwell at Canalside (7/30/15)

July 31, 2015

As Samuel Beam and Ben Bridwell sidle on stage, they are received by a spirited yet collected crowd. Beam has this benevolent air about him while Bridwell has more of a boyish excitability (you can see this as his head flits back and forth at the mic and he attempts to dance). Beam, most commonly known under the moniker Iron & Wine, and Bridwell, vocalist of the staple indie-rock group Band of Horses, are undoubtedly two successful and prolific musicians in the indie/alt-folk scene of the past decade. So naturally, with their talents combined in a joint set, we expect great things. The duo’s friendship predates both of their main musical projects and the camaraderie is apparent. There’s a moment mid-show where they exchange coy laughs and joke about Hootie and the Blowfish being the only notable band out of South Carolina (both are also originally from SC). Beam takes[...]

Tonight: Iron & Wine w/ Ben Bridwell

July 30, 2015

My experiences at Iron and Wine visits to Buffalo over the years have been a bit mixed. Sam Beam’s sort of solo show (his sister was on hand to play cello) at Babeville’s Asbury Hall back in 2008, despite being rather beautiful, was down right sleep inducing while his face saving, big band backed performance at Town Ballroom in 2011 was quite possibly my favorite show at the venue that year. I missed his Spring Fest show at Buff State the following year, but I recall that being a solo show too, so maybe it was for the best. As for tonight, I think its safe to assume this show will be a busy one as Beam, a former Florida State film professor, takes on his biggest Buffalo audience yet at the Thursday at Canalside concert series with Band of Horses front man Ben Bridwell by his side. The pair[...]

Spoon at Canalside (6/25/15)

June 27, 2015

It goes without saying that there’s something exceptional about a band that’s been in the game for so long and still preserves a knack for consistency and relevance. In the case of Spoon, “in the game” translates to eight full length releases over the span of two decades, six singles peaking in the top 50 of US rock charts, music placement in over a dozen movies and television shows, and international tours galore. I imagine the band’s consistent success being attributed to the unique duality of their music. It has a classic rock ‘n’ roll feel to it and is poppy enough to reel in droves of both young and old. Spoon is like the quiet cool kid you knew from high school — somehow noticed by few and everyone at the same time — who undeniably wore his heart on his sleeve but disguised that sensitivity with a gritty[...]

Tonight: Spoon

June 25, 2015

Indie rock legends Spoon stop by Canalside tonight for the fourth week of free music down at the waterfront. In what is bound to be one of the highlights of the series, Britt Daniels and Jim Eno bring their nearly two-decade old band around for the first time in a long time. Spoon will no doubt be playing songs off of their most recent LP, 2014’s fantastic They Want My Soul. Also worth checking out before you head down to the harbor is the band’s cover of The Cramps’ “TV Set” that they recently performed on Conan (see below). July Talk will precede Spoon with Battle of the Jam Bands winner Tomorreaux kicking things off at 6PM. VIP passes are $40 as is the usual for these shows. For the rest of us, it’s free.

Arkells at Canalside (6/11/15)

June 12, 2015

After leaving the Arkells show at Canalside last night, it was difficult to decide who had had more fun: the band or the audience. Like poutine, Tim Horton’s, and everything else that’s considered “good” in Canada, Arkells have established themselves in the Buffalo culture. With roots in nearby Hamilton, Ontario, the band has seen its massive success in Canada transition smoothly into the American music scene. Of course, the band (made up of front man Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Nick Dika, Tim Oxford, and Anthony Carone) is no stranger to Buffalo, or even to Canalside. Max spoke fondly of intimate shows performed in the city, like the one at Town Ballroom in April. He also reminisced about the first time they played at Canalside in 2011, when they opened for the Tragically Hip. Arkells’ ascent from opener to headliner in a four-year span mirrors their burgeoning success. Despite the Hip[...]

Tonight: Arkells

June 11, 2015

The second installment of Thursday at Canalside 2015 keeps it going tonight with a visit from Hamilton, ON’s Arkells along with Robert DeLong and Milo Greene. Local favorites who almost qualify as local, Arkells have been journeying down the QEW to Buffalo for the last few years, gradually building a sizable audience for its potent power pop, currently showcased on most recent album, 2014’s High Noon. Rounding out tonight’s hodgepodge of acts will be Washington state EDM starlet Robert Delong and Los Angeles indie folk rockers Milo Greene. Tonight’s Thursday at Canalside will also be interesting to see how Canalside handles the crowds as amenities like beer, food, and port-a-potties that were lacking at last week’s kick off. Will supply satisfy demand? Will the NO FUN police break up excessive freedom? Will the crazy fun times continue? Find out tonight. Gates open at 5pm.

Matt & Kim w/Made Violent at Canalside (6/4/15)

June 5, 2015

Well folks, congratulations. We did it. It’s been building for years, and it’s certainly been talked about a whole lot, but Thursday night it sure felt like the much ballyhooed “new Buffalo” was real, and it was awesome. The first Thursday at Canalside of 2015, which featured Brooklyn duo Matt & Kim, new local heroes Made Violent. and Boston’s Bearstronaut, was something brand new for Buffalo, an immediate victory for the youth experiment with this year’s edition of Canalside, and something close to a dream come true. The Millennials and 20 somethings were truly in the ascendency Thursday night, with many attending their first Thursday at Canalside judging by the rampant confusion about the cash for tickets currency exchange concept that has been in place for the last few years. Drawn by a bill featuring decidedly younger artists, they were there to kick it out, and all three bands held[...]

Tonight: Matt & Kim

June 4, 2015

It’s that time of year again. As the weather gets warmer and the days grow longer, the Thursday at Canalside series has returned, and kicking off the year is none other than Matt & Kim. While the Brooklyn act might not find its names on any year-end lists, few would argue with the pair’s incredible live shows. Bringing to the stage a catalog of shimmering catchy pop gems and raucuous energy, the duo has become a staple of summer music festivals and concert series. Even those who aren’t fans of the band’s catalog will be able to enjoy Matt & Kim’s series of enthusiastic covers and general sense of fun that few live acts these days can match. The band has played Buffalo more than a few times with the crowd growing on each successive visit, so expect to get down there early tonight (gates open at 5pm). And if that’s[...]