[FUNK] Founded in 2009, this extremely funky band combines the roots of jazz, funk and rock, drawing influences from early fusion groups like Head Hunters and Weather Report. The Connecticut-based five-piece band, Kung- Fu refer their music as “Nu-sion”—or new fusion. They like to blur the lines of various genres with a skillful sensibility.
[TECHNO] Resident DJ Rufus Gibson brings his monthly techno jam to Gypsy Parlor, Saturday, March 18. This month features Gibson, as well as DJ Flex and Jim Kempkes, both from Signal Noise in Rochester spinning house and techno until the sun comes up or someone kicks them out.
[CLASSICAL] Taking their name from artist M.C. Escher, the Escher Quartet aren’t as mathematically precise as the artist was, because of course their art relies more on emotion, touch, and feeling. The classical music string quartet will perform pieces by Haydn, Britten, Francisco Tarrega, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Fernando Bustamante, and Boccherini when the group comes to Kleinhans with Buffalo’s Jason Vieaux on Tuesday, March 21.
[CELEBRATION] Buffalo was recently ranked #1 for St. Patrick’s day celebrations by the finance website WalletHub. We were listed among the best cities in the world to celebrate St. Patrick’s day by Travel + Leisure. That probably means something. Of course Buffalo has two annual parades, first on Saturday in the Old First Ward, where the “real” parade happens, and then on Sunday when the more mainstream parade happens on Delaware Avenue. If you’re looking for something to do before, after, or instead of the parades, here are our recommendations.
[COMEDY] In an age where shock value reigns supreme and “funny” continues sinking to new lows, Brian Regan stands out as a comedian that relies on good old fashioned timing and tone to put across his humor. Known for keeping it clean, he makes humor from seemingly mundane scenarios – not unlike Jerry Seinfeld. It’s a welcome breath of fresh air and a reminder that, while the lowest common denominator approach may be effective, it’s also the easy way out. Regan, meanwhile, has a gift.
[ROCK] If there’s a musical tone associated with today’s Jersey Shore scene, it doesn’t sound much like the Stax-influenced sound of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. But 40 years ago, John Lyon (Southside Johnny himself) was considered a pioneer, coming out of the same family of artists that gave us Springsteen. Actually, Springsteen associate “Miami Steve” Van Zandt was a co-founder of the Asbury Jukes and did production work on their early albums.
[METAL] Going back to a track like “Extinguish Them” from Within the Ruins’ 2009 debut and comparing it to “Objective Reality,” the lead pick off the brand new Halfway Human album, it’s easy to hear the band’s shift in direction. Considered a deathcore outfit, the all-out pumeling math-and-growl approach of this Massachusetts-based four-piece is now tempered (albeit only slightly) by a bit of tidy production work and an auto-tuned vocal passage that serves an intro—the first actual singing to grace a WTR recording.
[COUNTRY] Awarded Best Country Act a couple times by the other publication, this local five-piece makes the most of the still raging country-craze, but it does so without all the annoying pretense and posturing – things that country-western music was never meant to embody anyhow. The results are quite pleasing, with an everyman bar-band sensibility that’s buoyed by sweet harmonies that recall country crossover acts of yore like Pure Prairie League.
[HIP HOP] Buffalo MC, Frigid Giant, will be at Mohawk Place this Friday, March 17. Inspired by lyrical giants like Wu-Tang Clan and Rakim, Frigid Giant, a hip hop wordsmith, emphasizes his sound with a tactful flow.
When running for congress in 2012, Representative Chris Collins went on WBFO to claim — falsely — that Obamacare was identical to Canada’s single-payer Medicare system.