Aristotle identified the original four genres of literature as comedy, tragedy, epic poetry, and lyric poetry. He knew comedy and poetry were closely related, but even he couldn’t have been prepared for what local talents Ben Brindise and Bruce Wilson have cooked up.
[INDIE] In celebration of the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album The Con, duo Tegan and Sara have announced The Con X, an album of artists covering the iconic album. The twin sisters have not yet announced who will be covering which songs, but it’s exciting project that should compliment their latest release, 2016’s Love You To Death. Where Love You To Death has more of a pop sheen than The Con, which dipped into more experimental territory, it’ll be interesting to see how the duo’s colleagues treat the album a decade later.
[INFRINGEMENT] Pipe Dragon was before my time in Western New York, but it sounds like it was a pretty cool spot… and its legacy continues with the annual Memorial Expo, the 5th of which is happening this year on Saturday, July 29, celebrating the spirit of the long-defunct venue with a diverse musical showcase. Travel back in time while enjoying the current sounds of the Buffalo underground on two stages at Mohawk Place, featuring Mom Said No, who’re currently working on a full length follow-up to their Motivation EP.
[INFRINGEMENT] It’s a battle of heaven-bound musical geniuses, and it’s for a good cause. Put on your best purple platforms (actually, maybe stick with shoes that are less likely to make you fall and break your ass, thus preventing you from ruining your 2017 Infringement experience) and come boogie to back-to-back sets of recently departed icons Prince and David Bowie, presented by local DJs, Xotec and Bill Page.
[PUNK] If you’re tired of your punk heroes getting soft and chasing hybrids that stray from the edge you fancy, D.R.I. is your band: the only hybrid happening here is the one that crosses hardcore with thrash metal, which sharpens that edge rather than sanding it down. Formed back in gritty 1982 Houston, D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) made seven albums before halting output in 1995. Since then, they’ve toured intermittently and hinted at recording new music.
[STAGED READING] As their contribution to the Infringment Festival, WNY Peace Center’s Resist Militarism Taskforce and Veterans for Peace Chapter 128 present a staged reading of The Lonely Soldier Monologues: Women at War in Iraq, a play by Helen Benedict based on interviews the author did with seven women veterans. The reading is directed by Kara Lynn Harris and features a talented cast of local woman actors.
[ROCK] There aren’t any sub-par projects with guitarist Warren Haynes involved. And especially since the Allman Brothers Band has folded, Haynes, now 57, has more time and energy to focus on his solo pursuits and his celebrated southern rock ensemble, Gov’t Mule. The latter has just released Revolution Come, Revolution Go, (Fantasy Records), a set of politically charged, driving tunes co-produced by Gordie Johnson and Don Was.
[R&B] Mary J Blige has forged a career in the name of empowerment, unflinchingly hanging out her dirty laundry for all to see, and it’s made her a genre pioneer. Indeed, prior to her 1992 debut, What’s the 411 and especially its follow-up, My Life, such candor was unheard of in modern R&B. Which isn’t to say that women in soul have shied away from singing the blues; it’s just rare that they’ve written the songs from their own personal turmoil in the singer-songwriter tradition.
[DANCE] Buffalo’s very own three-day dance festival, Dance Days of Buffalo, is returning for its second year and will take place Friday, August 4 through Sunday, August 6. During these three fun-filled days of dance, the festival will be welcoming local and out-of-town artists to share their knowledge of dance with participants. Each day festivalgoers will enjoy a wide range of classes, along with special performances.
[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] Electronic music producer Grabbitz became known to many around Buffalo after producing rapper Chae Hawk’s album Dance Party For The Heavy Hearted. The album features extremely slick dubstep and bass music productions melded with Hawk’s energetic lyricism and recognizable style. Since then, Grabbitz toured the country as a bass music DJ, quickly rising on the EDM scene—in 2016 he collaborated with deadmau5, lending vocals to his song “Let Go,” which ended up on Deadmau5’s full length album W:/2016ALBUM/.
[INDIE] Brick + Mortar are an indie rock/drum and bass/electronic duo from New Jersey, consisting of two guys on bass and drums with some vocals and electronic samples. Brandon Asraf and John Tacon have been playing music together since middle school and are both largely self-taught, although they both did take music lessons at times in their lives. Their duo was originally called Black Rhythm, but was renamed to Brick + Mortar in 2008 while they were playing up and down the Jersey coast.
Last weekend, July 15 and 16, marked the inaugural Cobblestone Live music festival. The festival, headlined by Real Estate, Aqueous, and Moon Hooch drew more than two thousand people to the Cobblestone District of Downtown Buffalo, where attendees watched a couple dozen bands across three stages. Photographer Tim Merrill documented the scene. Check out our photo gallery above.
Arts and Crafts Muse by Bradley Widman is on display at Norberg’s Art & Frame Shop in East Aurora through August 5. The show is entitled Remnants of the Spirit.