Deep in the bowels of Buffalo’s McKinley High School, students in John Serra’s electrical class set up breaker boxes in mock rooms comprised of wood studs, poke around on the internet and tinker with a set of solar panels they have installed on a fake roof.
[PARTY] Take off your platform shoes and put on skates instead, because Friday,
[FESTIVAL] For the second year in a row, Larkin Square, Hydraulic Hearth Restaurant & Brewery, and Flying Bison Brewery team up host the family-friendly, activity packed Larkinville Ice Festival. The activity lineup, which is so long, we can’t print even half of it, includes live music, food, crafts, vendors, games, and horse drawn carriage rides.
[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] Massive is the word that comes to mind when thinking of Denver’s Wuki. Check out last year’s “Get Down” and you’ll get the idea. A banger of the highest magnitude, “Get Down” gets straight to the point with little foreplay, whipping out a big floppy booty-tech bassline and tingling snare claps.
[TRIBUTE] Get Back to Beatlemania with this annual celebration of all things Fab Four (as well as Paul McCartney’s Wings—always a fun inclusion), featuring a collective of revered local talent: HEARsay’s Cathy Carfagna, Valkyries keyboardist Joe Rozler, drummer Rob Lynch, and singer/songwriter/guitarist Geno McManus. There are also bound to be some unannounced surprises, Saturday at Sportsmen’s Tavern.
[ROCK] Hosted by Arlowe Price and Suzanne Suchan, Hawkapalooza is designed as a Suicide Prevention/Awareness show that will feature an eclectic local lineup performing selections from the 1990s. We’re told no tune will get played twice! Participants announced thus far include C.O.T.C., Tony Derosa, Floozie, and Nine Layers Deep, along with Nirvana tribute band, Floyd the Barber, and the Pearl Jam cover outfit, Unleash the Lion.
[ROCK] The name might have you assuming this is an indie-pop outfit, but Donna the Buffalo have been delivering a tasty blend of roots music since forming outside Ithaca in 1989. Along the way they’ve recorded with Jim Lauderdale and Bela Fleck, while vocalist Tara Nevins toured in Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s band BK3 back in 2009. It’s the skilled blend of folk, country, and rock, infused with elements of Cajun/Zydeco music and flourishes of reggae that make this five-piece a consistent festival draw.
[POP] It’s been a busy few years for Kentucky-born Joan Osborne, beginning with the success of her interpretative blues homage, Bring It On Home, which featured gritty covers of tunes written by Ike Turner, Allen Toussaint, John Mayall and Otis Redding. The collection achieved accolades galore, nominated for a 2013 Grammy—one of her seven total nominations. In 2014 she released Love and Hate, a pledge-supported collection of new material that’d been in the works for years, in addition to the debut set from Trigger Hippy.
[ELECTRONIC/DANCE] Another huge dance party is coming to the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center. This one is called Revenge of the Synths, presented by Dark Waves Entertainment, and it takes place this Friday, January 29. Headliner Berrix will bring some deep dubstep beats to the US from his hometown of Antwerp, Belgium for his first show in the states. Fans know this producer from his releases on labels like Full Flex Audio and Dub Selection.
[EMO] Side swept bangs, studded belts, the grudge-esque eyeliner in the prime of your youth—this Saturday head down to Milkie’s and relive it all over again for the second volume of Taking Back Saturday where buffaBLOG has summoned local emo mavens from past and present to take over the DJ booth.
[COMEDY] Donnell Rawlings has proven his acting chops with roles on Chappelle’s Show (as Ashy Larry), and Guy Court, but his standup prowess shouldn’t be ignored. In the standup arena he shares observations on modern technology and race. Similar to greats like Chappelle, his comedy is universally accessible and hilarious. Catch Donnell Rawlings at Helium Comedy Club on Thursday, January 28 through Saturday, January 30.
[CLASSICAL] Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto dazzles. JoAnn Falletta is on the podium for this performance, which features violinist Chloe Hanslip. Hanslip has established a strong international reputation for her impeccable violin work. Her extensive repertoire stretches across the classical eras virtuosos, such as Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and also includes many contemporary works by modern composers, including Pulitzer Prize-winning Ryan Adams. Enjoy Hanslip perform Tchaikovsky and Brahms’ beloved Symphony No.
[JAZZ] The Art of Jazz returns with the Yosvany Terry Quintet. Terry is a Cuban-born musician who moved to New York in 1999. He has orchestrated his career around refashioning the sounds of Afro-Cuban jazz, favoring a flexible, harmonically sophisticated, and culturally full-bodied brand of fusion. His Grammy-nominated sophomore release, Today’s Opinion, is a perfect representation of this. Catch the Yosvany Terry Quintet to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery on Sunday, January 31.
Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson will make his return to Buffalo for a concert at the UB Center For The Arts on Wednesday, September 28. The 73-year-old singer, songwriter will embark on a 55-date world tour in celebration of 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ seminal album, Pet Sounds. Each concert will include a full performance of Pet Sounds, one of the most meticulously crafted and best selling pop albums of all time. According to the press release, this will be the last time Wilson performs this prodigious album in full.
[JAZZ] An all star group pay homage to legendary jazz drummer Art Blakey and his group the Jazz Messengers this weekend at the PAUSA Art House on Saturday, January 30. Jon Lehning, Dave Schiavone, Harry Fackelman, George Caldwell, Harry Graser, Jack Kulp, and Alec Dube make up this collective paying tribute to one of the greatest jazz percussionists of the 20th century.