[FUNK] As the name might suggest, Baltimore-based Pigeons Playing Ping Pong brings an amused, prankster-style energy to the stage, making the band a recurring festival draw with its gooey funk amalgam. Perhaps what’s most surprising is the amount of groove the band churns out as a mere four-piece (since it sounds more like six). They come to Buffalo Iron Works on Friday, December 4.
[POP] The lone studio project of Katie Lau expands to a trio for the stage, Painted Zeros, allowing the barbed-but-dreamy tones of the Don Giovanni debut, Floriography (out late October), to flourish. Lau’s knack for coupling shimmering pockets of pop with progressive song structures and her multi-instrumental abilities make her a triple threat, rendering Painted Zeros a Brooklyn-based project worthy of your attention. Thursday, December 3 at Mohawk Place with Bethlehem Steel.
[FUNK] Back in the early-mid 1970s, jazz visionaries like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis got caught up in the swirl of funk as an off-shoot of soul with more progressive possibilities. Hancock’s Headhunters (both the album and the band of the same name) might be the most stunning example of this, while Davis’ On the Corner is less accessible (but built from similar ideas).
[HIP HOP] Last week rapper Slim Jesus set fire to a record contract on Instagram. The rapper, who was born in 1997 and hails from Hamilton, Ohio, has racked up 16 million views on his “Drill Time” music video, which was released in August. Why would he need a record contract? Certainly, for Slim Jesus, there’s no going back from such a grand gesture now, but he’s done well enough without the help of a record label so far, mostly due to the video for “Drill Time,” which was shot in a garage.
[FOLK] The hard-hitting sounds of Whitehorse—the Canadian folk-rock husband-and-wife duo of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland—will hit you in a deep place. Their repertoire is a multi-hued tapestry of soothing tones that boast a cozy familiarity with a pleasing air of originality.
[COMEDY] When it comes to controversial topics, Ralphie May, may be politically incorrect, but at least he’s freaking hilarious. Bold and unfiltered, he’s got “more flavor than your average white guy.” May is one of the most popular comedians in the country, having released several comedy specials and famously recording two specials in one night (the first comedian in history to do so).
[ROCK] In a surprising move, Andrew W.K. will make a super special appearance at Broadway Joe’s on Main Street from an ultra-intimate performance on Tuesday, December 8. The performance is part of the self-proclaimed King of Partying’s “Party Hard Holiday Super Special Celebration Solo-Tour,” which features the bloody, muscular frontman, clad in all white clothing, pounding furiously on a keyboard and hollering into a microphone in classic Andrew W.K. fashion.
[ROCK] For over a decade, Grace Potter has wooed crowds as the edgy and fun-loving front woman of the Nocturnals, a five piece outfit that has established itself as one of the most electrifying folk-rock bands in the nation after releasing four albums and headlining dozens of music festivals. If Potter’s made one thing clear, it’s that she knows how to rock a stage. It came as a shock to Nocturnal fans when 2015 proved itself as the year of her reinvention and the band went on hiatus.
[HOLIDAY] For the fifth year in a row the Queen City Market will set up shop for one day only, this Saturday, December 5 at Karpeles Manuscript Museum on Porter Avenue. More than 50 vendors will be present with such a wide selection of gifts—from pottery to vinyl records, jewelry, and one-of-a-kind art—that you should be able to find the perfect gift for just about anybody on your list.
Longtime readers may recall in that in late 2011 / early 2012, I had a habit of mocking Janice Okun’s Buffalo News restaurant reviews. One of them - her review of nondescript red sauce joint, “Valenti’s” took on a life of its own.