Thursday, June 20, 2013

Music Review: MGMT Live: Time to pretend (Bob Z)

2.5 stars (Out of 5)



MGMT came rolling into town on Wednesday night at Artpark in lewiston, NY, and there are two things that stood out amongst people leaving the show.

1) "Is it over already? That was really short." Indeed it was. The quality of the music was pretty good overall. I was bobbing my head and having a good time. Then suddently, it was over. I estimated it to be about an hour and ten minutes or so. Maybe i've been spoiled by the "jamband" scene, where shows regularly go 2.5 to 3 hours without hesitation, but a headliner should never play less than 90 minutes.

2) "I can't believe they didn't play 'kids' " It's true, they didn't play thier biggest hit (#1 most listened to on Spotify). In general, this doesn't bother me, i'm sure bands probably get sick of playing the same material over and over again, and if they don't feel like playing a hit then i have no problem with that.

But.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

My name is MUD: Live music review of Primus

Sunday nights Niagara River Rocks featuring everpresent band Primus was a great night had by all. With the exeption, of course, of the parking!

It's a funny thing whenever you go to see Primus. One person walks by you dressed in a black tshirt and ripped up jeans. Following right behind them is a guy in patchwork pants and lower back length dreadies. Next after  is a biker with leather vest, then the most "normal" looking late teen girl you'll ever see.

Its part of the magic of Primus, they're so hard to define musically, and so is the audience.

Young Primus fan giving Rock hands

Les Claypool's stage presence was in full effect tonight, mentioning how one of their songs was actually written about going over the falls (and making a crack about how they rarely write songs from places, saying "There isn't a Jerry the Racecar Driveville").

Monday, June 10, 2013

Allentown Art Festival




Another early June has come and gone, and with it the ever wonderful Allentown Art Festival, and the Allentown West Festival.

(In case anyone noticed an entire block of no tents, this is the seperation line between the two festivals. Allentown West is located between Elmwood and Wadsworth, the full blown Allentown Art Festival on the other side).

With so many talented vendors, it's easy to grasp just how large this festival is every year. 430 participants showed their wears, including jewlery, photography, paintings, prints, sculptures and more. It's quite a scene every year!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Music Review: Cosmic Shakedown- By Brian Campbell



Cosmic Shakedown
Mammoth Sessions EP

      From the Jack White-esque vocal refrains of opener “Down N Out” to the next-level Wolfmother sound of closing effort “Liars and Thieves,” Cosmic Shakedown’s Mammoth Sessions EP is a bombastic collection of thunderous offerings from the Buffalo, NY quartet. At a mere four tracks, the Mammoth Sessions EP is further proof that good things do indeed come in small packages as this succinct collection bears no shortage of standout cuts. Rays of Black Sabbath devotion permeate the smoky haze of “Tear You Apart,” a sludge-filled trek through the bog accentuated by just-fuzzy-enough, yet aurally stunning guitar leads, commanding vocals and slick key progressions. Touching on virtually everything in rock’s sonic underbelly from Southern and Psychedelic to Stoner and Doom, these Queen City boys present something for just about everyone on the Mammoth Sessions EP.

Grade: B+
Go Download: “Tear You Apart”


Queen City P.R.I.D.E.

I was, sadly, unable to attend this years Pride Parade for the first time in years. Wonderful writer, and friend, Samantha Nephew, contributed this wonderful piece to QCLA! (check out her blog at www.SamanthaNephewBlog.wordpress.com )

       "This last Sunday, Buffalo was out in full force showing some pride.

The Pride Festival of Buffalo, sponsored by the Pride Center of Western New York, is an annual festival that aims to spread awareness of issues in the Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Bisexual, Queer (or Questioning) communities while allowing these individuals to show Western New York that they are in fact fearless.


      This year’s theme to the weekend-long celebration was fearless. The theme honors to those who before being part of the LGBT community was socially acceptable to stand up against prejudice. Fearless honors those people who were willing to buck the idea that being different meant something was inherently wrong with a person.


      Fearlessness in showing pride not only represents and honors those who have come from before, but those who need inspiration and the courage to be true to who they really are.

According to the Pride Festival website, fearless also represents “…the Dean of the Law School at the University at Buffalo who was awarded the Mwongozi Award by Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission for speaking out for equality and non-discrimination and challenging negative attitudes and actions…”


      Pride is a celebration of achievement, awareness, and growing acceptance of the LBGT community.

And they showed their pride in style.