The Green Code has been in effect citywide since April 3 and it’s already busy at work shaping Buffalo. A zoning code, like a filter through which each increment of physical investment is pressed, can have a profound effect on the form and function of a city. The applications reviewed in the past month show this process of incremental change at work. Here’s what you need to know:
It sounds so harsh: “I’m not really here to make friends.”
But it’s true. I’m not. And I’m not sure I completely understand those who are.
When Close-to-home Governments Fail…
“The government closest to the people serves the people best.” So goes a popular myth.
With their drinking water supply at risk from construction of National Fuel’s proposed Northern Access natural gas pipeline, how well have Erie County Southtown governments served their residents?
[HARDCORE] If you’re looking for a solid underground hardcore show to go to this week, you’ve found it. Austin, Texas-based punk band Out of Body, South Carolina’s Riot Stares, and Buffalo’s Onpoint and Social Divorce round out this impressive line up.
[FUN] The second event in this year’s Party on the Portico happy hour series happens this Friday, July 21 at the Buffalo History Museum. This month’s party features the Tim Britt Band, who will deliver a colorful set of covers of everything from The Beatles to Dave Matthews, Whitney Houtston, and Mumford & Sons, and maybe some original songs too. The Tim Britt Band will be set up on the Buffalo History Museum’s beautiful back portico, which overlooks Mirror Lake.
[AFROBEAT] The Colored Musicians Club of Buffalo will continue their centennial celebration with a concert featuring the Buffalo Afrobeat Orchestra and Brotha Perry on Wednesday, July 26. The concert is the next in the free Live at Larkin concert series, which happens each Wednesday during the summer in Larkin Square.
[COUNTRY] Canalside gets a dose of country music this week with a concert from Eric Paslay. The red-bearded 34-year-old singer and songwriter from Abilene, Texas released his debut, self-titled record on EMI Nashville records in 2014 and has built a reputation for crafting pop-infused country style tracks, like his single “High Class.” He’ll be at Canalside this Thursday, July 20.
[LATIN] The Elmwood Village’s Picnic in the Parkway series continues this week with a concert from latin percussionist Wendell Rivera. The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame member will invite the crowd to dance along to his Afro-Caribbean grooves and latin jazz stylings. Check him out this Tuesday, July 25 for a free concert on Bidwell Parkway.
[PUNK] All Time Low are the rare pop-punk band that are in it for the long haul. It’s a tough thing to pull off—pop punk does not age with the punk, it stays the same, so writing music made from the perspective of a party hungry college or high school student becomes more and more difficult, and less and less authentic as time goes by. But All Time Low have managed to mature with their music and their fans. For one thing, they’re tighter as musicians, than they were when they started the band as teenagers in the U.K.
[ROCK] There’s no need to say anything about Blondie, who will headline the “Rage and Rapture” tour at Artpark on Tuesday, July 25 other than that they’re still in fine fettle after 43 years (including a 15 year break) and still recording new material that stands up to their generous history of hits.
[INDIE] Lead by singer Neko Case, the New Pornographers are never short on hooks. After seven albums, their catchy yet complex indie-pop style has been perfectly refined. Their latest album, Whiteout Conditions, is an exercise in pop songwriting—songs are crafted in such a was as to have the captivating ability to get you singing along by the end of the first listen.
[ROCK] Named in the spirit of the 1967 Detroit riots, the ever-shifting Rhode Island-based collective, Detroit Rebellion, is currently the duo of Jeff Toste on vocals and guitar and Micaiah Castroon on drums. Known for a grimy take on bluesy Americana, the band has spent the first half of this year recording a follow-up to a debut, The Man, that’s getting a formal reissue on the Bodan Kuma label this month. The new music will follow in the fall.
[POETRY] A few months ago, Just Buffalo brought poetry rock star Eileen Myles to town, this Saturday they’re bringing in the woman whose book Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night Myles selected to win the 2013 Gatewood Prize. Morgan Parker, also curator of the Poets With Attitude reading series in New York City, is headlining the usual eclectic mix of art and performance that is the Silo City Reading Series.
[INDIE] Who says kids from Westchester can’t rock? Hailing from New Rochelle with Weezer-like snark, El Silver Cabs has grown from a trio to a quartet since 2015 and—as announced just the other day—are now a five-piece with the addition of Laura Gwynn (Sirs and Madams), which will surely sweeten the vocals.
[ROCK] No, it probably won’t feel like the first time, especially without Rochester-born vocalist Lou Gramm, but Foreigner is celebrating 40 years this summer with an extensive tour and a newly released compilation entitled—wait for it—40, that includes (you guessed it!) a total of 40 songs released between their 1977 debut and now. It includes all 16 of their tracks that penetrated the Top 30 on Billboard’s singles chart.
[ROCK] This is unusual: a Rotterdam based band with a penchant for classic sounds that references everything from Jefferson Airplane to The Bee-Gee’s. With co-ed lead vocals and a folk-pop core, they’ve toured extensively through the Netherlands and have built a sizable following in the process (the band has over 35,000 Facebook followers).