[ROCK] When Coal Chamber announced that they were reuniting for a tour, you knew they had to bring friends. Filter brings the most experience as well as their sheer presence as being one of the most influential industrial rock groups of the 1990s.
[FOLK] Western New York’s Bill Ward went to Austin for a spell and when he returned (as they always do), he came back infused with additional grit. 40 years of performing ensures that he’s always juggling multiple projects, including launching the Mayville Bluegrass Festival. But this acoustic duo with Big Leg Emma’s Amanda Barton might be the best showcase for both talents, merging harmony and sweet string music with plenty of old-timey flair.
[JAZZ] Stevens scored a spot on last year’s Grammy nominated tribute to late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, spearheaded by jazz pianist/composer Billy Childs, introducing her to an audience that already has a soft spot for vocal theatrics and oddball timing.
[SPORT] The jabs will stick harder and get doubled up with greater frequency now that the Golden Gloves Upstate tournament enters the semifinal stage at the Tralf on Saturday, March 28 as amateur contestants glove up in reds and blues to battle for pride and a chance to advance to next month’s finals. Fighters from local gyms like Westside Boxing, Northwest Buffalo Community Center, Buffalo PAL, UB Boxing, and Casal’s Boxing will engage with each other and with gyms as distant as Albany, Elmira, and Watertown.
[ROCK] Don Felder’s tumultuous, storied past as Eagles lead guitarist is well documented in the recent History of the Eagles film and in his own book, Heaven and Hell. Whatever your take, the indisputable truth is that he played guitar on some of the most celebrated classic rock songs known to man. Dubbed “An Evening at the Hotel California,” Felder continues exercising his right to perform key tracks from the So-Cal heyday—Eagles fans will not be disappointed with this set list.
[ROCK] Dweezil Zappa’s traveling tribute to his dad’s astounding musical legacy finds him treating the material respectfully and with a meticulous ear, but his capable six-piece also knows how to improvise when need be. Now celebrating 10 years, Zappa Plays Zappa is performing the final Mothers of Invention release, 1975’s One Size Fits All, in its entirety.
[ROCK] Folks might recognize Alejandro Rose-Garcia’s rough-hewn mug from his recurring role on Friday Night Lights, but his music, made under the Shakey Graves moniker (an “Indian guide name” given jokingly by friends that stuck) has earned an audience of its own accords, as it should be. Rose-Garcia’s organic, lo-fi blues, infused with plenty of mystic, southern-gothic oddities, is the perfect remedy for pop’s inauthentic sheen.
[TRIBUTE] It seems like Dave Matthews Band plays Darien Lake every summer. And while the official announcement hasn’t been made yet, it’s usually safe to assume it’s coming. If the wait is killing you and you need some music that reminds you of summer to cure those winter blues, Big Eyed Phish is coming to the Forvm this Saturday, March 28. For what it’s worth, the Rochester band is the only seven-piece Dave Matthews Band tribute in the country.
[METALCORE] Metalcore is a genre that peaked somewhere in the middle to late 2000’s. Bands like Killswitch Engage and Unearth led the way as metal’s marriage to hardcore brought new fans to appreciate the technicality of 1980s metal while taking the genre in a fresh direction. Fast forward to today and most of those bands have either disbanded or faded into the distance. The Ghost Inside is a band that has survived and is still carrying the torche against the myriad of current trends and fads.
[ART] To those that do not have an arts background, sometimes talking about what you see can be paralyzing and uncomfortable. Sometimes one can be unsure of what they are actually looking at and fumble through their mental catalog of vocabulary, desperately searching for the right word, so that they don’t sound ignorant or unpolished.
[ART] This Friday, March 27 the art community is in for a special treat, with a double opening of new work (thesis exhibitions) by MFA candidates from UB, Megan Conley and Stacey Robinson.
[PARTY] It’s been 19 weeks since we put out our first issue, which featured a beautiful cover illustration by Craig LaRotonda—an illustration that has come to represent The Public as an idea and a brand. Since then we’ve done our best to choose some of the most intriguing and topical artwork from our region and beyond to adorn the cover of our weekly newspaper.
[POETRY] There is a rich tradition of experimental poetry in the Bay Area that dates back at least to the 1950s “Berkeley Renaissance” circle of Jack Spicer, Robin Blaser, and Robert Duncan, through the “Beat Poetry” scene of the late 1950s and into the 1960s, a tradition that intertwines with UB’s storied Poetics Programs on many fronts. With their passion for small press activity, poets’ theater, and challenging poetry that involves translation and linguistic experimentation, Joceyln Saidenberg and Brandon Brown are two of the most adventurous avatars of that tradition.