Currently playing Richard the Lionheart in James Goldman’s play The Lion in Winter at the Irish Classical Theatre, Matt Witten is a formidable figure in the Buffalo theater scene. He recently played Vince Lombardi, the indomitable and tireless head coach of the Green Bay Packers in Lombardi, at 710 Main for MusicalFare.
Just as this country was trying to dig out from underneath a financial crisis, thousands of debt collection suits were commenced in courtrooms across New York State. These lawsuits included repeated copy-and-pasted testimony and affidavits without merit. Yet the accuracy of these filings remained unquestioned. Until recently.
Growing up in Toronto, John Massier remembers his impression of Buffalo being oddly formed by our three TV networks, legendary TV anchor Irv Weinstein, and long-gone local shows like Rocketship 7. “When I was a kid, your impression was that some part of Buffalo was constantly on fire. There’s always a fire in Cheektowaga or somewhere and I realized over time that was because there are a lot of wooden houses here, more than Toronto. You get this strange sense of the place when you are close to it, but far away.”
The sendoff and memorial for entertainer extraordinaire Lance Diamond would perhaps have both pleased the man for the outpouring of love in the room, and also made him blush a little at all the attention. He was, offstage, a humble man.
Known for his glimmering bedazzled suits that sparkled like diamonds under the white-hot lights of the stage, Lance was also known for his great kindness to friends, neighbors, and fellow musicians. Dozens took the elegant wooden stage of Kleinhans Music Hall on January 9 to pay tribute through recollections and musical tributes.
The dismantlement of the streetcar industry after World War II was an event that took place at the same time in nearly every American city. The International Railway Co. (IRC), established in 1902, operated the network of streetcar lines that served Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lockport, and the suburbs.
[PUNK] On Saturday, January 17, 17 of Buffalo’s finest punk bands will come together for Cold Blood MMXV at the Adam Mickiewicz Polish Library. All 17 acts are listed below, but If you find yourself overwhelmed by this blizzard of punk and hardcore music, just consult this handly list of must-see acts.
On Sunday, there was a huge rally in downtown Paris in honor of the people slain during the week in attacks by jihadist madmen. It was a strong show of support for the principles of pluralist democracy and freedom of speech, including the freedom to offend and ridicule.
The United States Government was not visibly represented at the rally.
This has resulted in two astonishing domestic right-wing memes. One is predictable: Obama is a national disgrace. The second was unforeseen: America’s right wing suddenly like France.
[HIP HOP] When people think of East Coast rap they usually think of names from the1990s like Wu Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Nas but Cage is making a run at changing the definition of East Coast rap. The rapper, real name Christian Palko, from Middletown, New York (born in Germany) takes an approach more similar to Aseop Rock or El-P (two artists he’s collaborated heavily with).
Get your fix of indie rock, punk and ska at The Forvm on Friday, January 16. Philadelphia “high energy ska band” Behind Deadlines headlines with support from Strasburg Virginia’s 90 Proof Therapist, Buffalo indie rockers Noah Gokey and the Skulls, and local jammers Fat Tire Society.
[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] For the last year, the crew at Wax Museum Radio has been running their independent, artist-led internet radio station as a platform for streaming Buffalo-based music and culture to the rest of the world in real-time. Boombox is something like the station’s IRL transmission, featuring a rotating line-up of WMR DJs in the intimate brick-lined confines of Hardware’s Backroom; the show will be broadcasting live from Allentown.
[ROCK] Warm your frozen souls at Mohawk Place next Sunday, January 18 where Weyes Blood will be stopping by and delivering a performance as part of her winter tour across the nation.
[CELEBRATION] On Nov. 9, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at Kleinhans Music Hall at the request of the University at Buffalo’s Graduate Student Association. Now, 48 years later, Kleinhans will host their annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration in the same hall where he once stood. The celebration will include a word from Bishop T. Anthony Bronner from the Elim Christian Fellowship Ministry, as well as song, dance, and other performing arts in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s work and legacy.
Anyone with an appetite for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, or Jerry Lee Lewis, should head to Mohawk Place on Saturday, January 17 and check out local rockabilly quintet, Kickstart Rumble. Equipped with an arsenal of fierce originals to accompany the same covers they hauled into Merlin’s (now Blue Monk) in 2009, they’re ready to rattle the floorboards through the roots of rock, and Junior Douglas’s upright bass with a thump that just won’t quit.