[AMERICANA] Three of Buffalo’s finest Americana acts come together at Nietzsche’s on Friday, December 5. Uncle Ben’s Remedy, Folkfaces, and the Andrew J. Reimers Country Punk Extravaganza, each band with their own distinct style—Folkfaces with their edgy folk rock, CPX with their aggressive country sounds, and Uncle Ben’s Remedy with their outlaw rock sound—will take the stage for a whole night of downhome rock.
[BLUEGRASS] Floodwood might not ring a bell for most that aren’t in the musical know, but how about a band name all Buffalonians should be familiar with: moe. The link between the two isn’t necessarily stylistic, but in the names that make up the group. Al Schnier (guitar) and Vinnie Amico (drums) are in both bands, and while Floodwood can attribute some of their success to the association, the band is an incredible act in their own right; leveraging experience with a unique musical vision that pulls fans in.
[COUNTRY] Bill Kirchen has seen many things throughout his long career and he brings those experiences with every pluck of his guitar string. Known as a musical outlaw from the onset of his career, Kirchen’s live show is fueled with raw energy and the American spirit. His blend of rockabilly, country, and blues has a unique quality to it that is hard to understand without seeing and hearing it live. The old school badass will be making a stop at his favorite spot in the city, Sportsmen’s Tavern, on Thursday, December 4.
[POP] Lock up your wives and daughters—the era of the Boy Band Reunion is upon us, and the reunion of 1990s and early-aughts favorites are expanding the demographic from ages 10 to 40. Millennials may remember slow dancing to O-Town’s “All or Nothing” at school dances, or jumping on their beds singing along to “Liquid Dreams”, unaware that they were singing about, well, you know. Now, 11 years after disbanding, O-Town comes back with a new album, Lines and Circles.
[DRINK] On Friday, December 5, the Hydraulic Hearth restaurant and brewery will be hosting a keg procession at 8pm (following Holiday Live at Larkin) in honor of the 81st anniversary of the 21st Amendment – the repeal of Prohibition.
[REGGAE] Since 2005, seven-piece, reggae-rock outfit, Spiritual Rez, has released four studio albums. Their albums are good, but they’re like looking at photographs of the Grand Canyon – beautiful, but they don’t compare to the real experience. When Spiritual Rez takes the stage, they launch a full-frontal assault on the audience with textures and tones, and even the most somber become victims of the body-shaking epidemic.
[PUNK] Flogging Molly’s Celtic-tinged punk rock anthems haven’t staled a bit, even after nearly two decades. In fact, their sound—comprised of folk instrumentation, stammering drums, raging guitar, and Dublin-born David King’s passionate bark—offers up one of the best escapes from the ordinary in music today. In 2000, the band released their debut record, Swagger, on SideOneDummy records.
[COMEDY] Ian Karmel loves basketball, and his father; who is a 59 year old attorney who loves kombucha and Call of Duty. He also loves making audiences laugh through his hilarious Twitter feed, on which he makes ample note of the Portland Trail Blazer’s status and his father’s habits. The comedian from Portland, Oregon will come to Buffalo’s Helium Comedy club this Wednesday, December 3 through Saturday, December 6 for six shows.
OPINIONS OF YOUTH, by Ashley Pfeiffers
Whenever I think of my new boyfriend, I just get the biggest smile. He’s down in a parking lot right now by the woods.
Today, we went and got pizza. Just slices, not a whole pizza. He said, “I’m not even that hungry. Because, I’m full of love.” I just giggled and giggled and the guy behind the pizza counter got a little testy. Then, my new boyfriend and I went down under the overpass and I watched him spray paint a big giant kitten on the concrete.
[HOLIDAY] Live at Larkin has become a holiday tradition. As usual they’ve got the Robot Holiday crew on hand to deliver some non-traditional, unusal, and alternative holiday music (my favorite: “We Three Robots.” Think Daft Punk meets The New Horizons). Since this is Larkin Square, there will of course be plenty of food trucks on hand to satisfy any taste. Expect a holiday marketplace full of vendors like Elizabeth’s Holiday Granola, Fern Croft Flora, Mazurek’s Bakery, Devil Chicken Design, and many more.
[ROCK] Each year for the last 28 years, Nietzsche’s has hosted an annual tribute to John Lennon. This year will be no different with a slew of local bands including Tom Stahl and the Dangerfields and Bob James and the Love Parade, and singer/songwriters like Sara Elizabeth, Celia White, Julia Meldrum, and many more paying tribute to one of the greatest musical minds of all time.
For the thirteenth year running, Kenmore poet and publisher extraordinaire Geoffrey Gatza is treating us all to a sensory delight befitting the holiday without the overeating and relentless consumerism. Trained as a chef but practicing as a poet, the Thanksgiving Menu Poem is a perfect marriage of tastes for Gatza, who runs BlazeVox Books.
Gatza usually builds the poem around one of his favorites living poets (past years have included Anne Waldman, John Ashbery, Charles Bernstein,…) but this year’s poem is dedicated to YOU.
Over the past decade, Buffalo has experienced a dire shortage of social venues catering to the middle-class African-American community. Every weekend, Allentown and Chippewa are overcrowded with young college students, but neither entertainment strip offers what many in the community consider a comfortable and safe setting. Venues such as Blush Night Club, One Sunset, and the Good Life Bar at one point filled this void, but not a single one, due to reasons both banal and notorious, is still in business.