Music Review: Heidi Maria. By Brian Campbell.

Heidi Maria

I’m Done Playing the Game

On I’m Done Playing the Game, local hidden gem Heidi Maria is a kindred spirit; a passionate old soul sonically well beyond her years. Her voice is soft, sweet and hauntingly beautiful, and it’s her warm, welcoming docile tones that engulf the listener from start to finish on I’m Done Playing The Game, an EP brimming with heaping helpings of hearty, folksy Americana entwined with subtle undercurrents of beguiling alt-country. Maria’s voice is a revelation thanks to her powerful emotional delivery (“A New Song,” “The Star Song”), though I’m Done Playing the Game can get a bit bouncy at times (“Make Up Your Mind”). I’m Done Playing the Game is an EP equally befit for rainy days, chilly nights and enjoying the wind whip through the trees and wind chimes from your front porch, though after one listen, there’s a good chance you’ll want to spin this EP a hell of a lot more than that.

Grade: A-

Go Download: “The Chess Game”

Restaurant Review: Sato is certainly "Home"

Mrs. QCLA and I ventured over to the newest restaurant in Buffalo last night, Sato, located in the old O3 cafe on Elmwood Ave (2 doors down from Spot Coffee) for some appetizers and entree's.

We decided to get the Vegetarian Fried Gyoza Dumplings as a "small plate" appetizer. 6 came on the plate with a traditional dumping dipping sauce, and they were very well done. We both enjoyed them greatly (having three a piece) and while it was a smaller amount of food, i was happy that i had the room when the entree came out.

Before i get to the entree, I will say that i've had good quality Ramen in both Honalulu's Chinatown, and in Beijing, China. Which were both, understandably, amazing.

So was this. I was exceptionally happy with the Vegetarian Ramen. We both ordered the dish, and added in sprouts and garlic as extra's. A big, hot, steaming bowl of Ramen was delivered to our table shortly later and i was impressed.

Beer: All Grown Up: Blue Monk Review & Award

For any of you who have visited the Blue Monk on Elmwood ave, you know how 1) Magical and 2) Overwhelming, the beer selection can be. It's truly a beer drinkers paradise on tap, with 100+ selections available at all time.

Well it's officially been confirmed, The Blue Monk has been named the "Best Beer-Centric Restaurant in New York State" by RateBeer.com.

From The Buffalo News:
 “What appeals to beer geeks is selection, selection, selection,” said Joseph Tucker, RateBeer.com, executive director. “What we’ve been seeing is beer travel. They’ll come up with a tour, and Buffalo will be on the tour. If they’re anywhere in the area, they’ll stop in to places. They’ll target them.”

Not to mention the pairing of beer along with all the delicious food they serve makes for a great night out with friends and family. (QLCA and Mrs. QCLA were just at Blue 2 Friday's ago and enjoyed great food, great beer, and great company!)

So head on down to 727 Elmwood ave if you enjoy a great beer.

Tappo Restaurant Review

After being open for a a half a year or so now, QCLA and the family went to Tappo Restaurant (Tappo meaning "Cork" in Italian) for the first time.

We should have gone much, much sooner.

For appetizers, we ordered both the Plain bread with an olive oil dipping bowl, and cheesy bread. Both were excellent. The olive oil had a small little "kick" on the end which was delicious (and different, in a good way) and the cheesy bread was plenty cheesy. One thing about Tappo is they sure don't skimp.

For dinner, I had the alfredo. It was the perfect amount of richness, not over the top, not underwhelming, the sauce was a medium thickness and the flavor was perfect. (i, as always, sprinkled some crushed red peppers over top.)

Fashion Week of Buffalo Continues!!!

Model Jessica Lahr at The Delaware Mansion Boutique Runway show 9/24

 Mercedes Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week continues with tonight Grand Finale at the Statler Towers!

Before that though, the Boutique Delaware Mansion Show was held on Tuesday night featuring local designers including Blush, Eye Candy, and more. It was obviously a hot ticket, with the event jam packed inside, and the most fashionable people of Buffalo showing up!

Three shows came down the runway, with top models Jessica Lahr, Grace Modi, and more strutting their stuff for the patrons. With energy in the building, the DJ playing some great house tunes, and stylish outfits (impeccably tailored) coming down the runway, everyone seemed to have a great time.

On to tonight's festivities at Statler City. The Grand Finale is all glitz, glamor, and fun! Top notch designers from the  US and Europe, hosted in grand Ballroom of the BEAUTIFULLY redone Crown Jewel of Buffalo, Statler City, makes for an amazing evening! So come on down. Limited Tickets still available!

Mercedes Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week!

Mercedes Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week is officially upon us, and it's always one of the best weeks of the year!

It kicked off Thursday afternoon in Niagara Square with an official proclamation by Mayor Byron Brown that Fashion Week has started. Immediately followed by a "Black Swan" Themed photo shoot right in the square. (con't)

Delaware Court/Uniland Proposal

Today Uniland release its proposal for a new building to replace the current Delaware court building (on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa).

Its gorgeous. I was worried that if they tore down the current building that they would replace the curved corner front with a 90 angle style, but in keeping the curved front I love it. (Full disclosure, this building is only 2.5 blocks from my home, so home value prices no doubt play a part in the back of my head somewhere).

The 12 story tower will consist of 4 floors of hotel (long rumors to be "Aloft" brand), several floors of office space, and room for a nightclub, fitness center, and 4 boutique shops inside.It has been assumed for some time that the office tenant will be Jeremy Jacob's (owner of the Boston Bruins) Delaware North company, which will be moving from the Key Towers.

The "Chip Strip" is finally growing up, from being a drug and prostitute den in the 70s and 80s, to a nightclub scene in the 90s and 2000s, now restaurants, hotels and offices are going in, and I for one think its exceptionally good to diversify this area.

(That being said, I am worried about the "vibe" of Allentown if all the clubs on Chip go away... but that's for another blog!)

One more gigantic step for Buffalo, truly a city on the rise

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.

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").

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!

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.

Local Music: I Can See Mountains : New Album

Buffalo, NY’s I Can See Mountains have wrapped up recording of their debut LP, Life On A Houseboat. The band spent the later part of 2012 on an enlightening journey to write a record that would define the bands core ingredients; heart, and music that puts a smile on the listeners face and a thought in their head.

Last week the band released their first offering from the LP, "I Play The Fox" with their self-made video on Youtube (See below) and this week, the band presents you with "One Big Table" on their Bandcamp page - http://icanseemountains.bandcamp.com.

I Can See Mountains’ Life On A Houseboat is set for a release date of July 2nd, 2013 on vinyl, CD and Digital formats through Panic Records.

www.facebook.com/icanseemountains

http://www.panicrecords.net

-Brian Campbell

Music: Complete Arkpark Lineup

Complete Arkpark Schedule Tickets are $5,$10, or $15 depends on advance purchases and lineup act!

June 4: Billy Idol
June 11: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
June 18: REO Speedwagon
June 25: Chicago
July 9: The Doobie Brothers
July 16: Bad Company with Paul Rodgers
July 23: Blue Rodeo
July 30: The Machine performs Pink Floyd
Aug. 6: .38 Special with Blue Oyster Cult

Cuisine: Buffalo Restaurant Week 2013!

Don't forget WNY, this week is Buffalo Restaurant week! With over 100 establishments featuring a multitude of "$20.13" deals, it's an ideal time to try a new place out. From high end places offering  a single meal and a glass of wine for $20.13, to other places that have dinner for two for a total of $20.13, it's a great way to expand your food horizons at a great cost! so check out The Full List of Restaurants here to make your choice!

Mrs. QCLA and I will be going casual this friday, heading over to Boomerangs to try the dinner for 2 for $20.13, so expect a review this weekend!

Music: Counting Crows and Wallflowers @ The Harbor

For anyone who liked good music in the 1990's, today was a great day.

The Counting Crows and The Wallflowers are coming to Buffalo's Harborfront on Tuesday, June 28th for $16. This is a great first announcement for the prime Buffalo summer music series, especially for the types of people (like myself) who really grew up in the 90's.

"August and everything after" is one of the best albums of all time, even though Rolling Stone magazine rates it at (only) the 67th best album of the 90's :

"An artfully crafted, intimate song cycle, August and Everything After seemed to explode on impact. Vividly produced by T Bone Burnett, its post-punk bleakness married to old-school rock influences, August became that rare album over which both alterna-kids and classic rockers could bond. Sure, there are a few moments when you can hear how badly the Crows want to be Van Morrison, the Band, R.E.M. and, yes, Bob Dylan, but those don't offset the divine inspiration of "Rain King," "Round Here" and "A Murder of One."

The Wallflowers are a decent band also, with front man jakob dylan (yes, Bob Dylans son), they created a great, catchy acoustic sound that straddled the happy/depressing line really well, sometimes within the same song. They took a 7 year hiatus a few years back and, from all accounts, are stronger than ever.

NFL: 2013 Draft

It's that time of year again Bills fan, the time to pick apart a whole bunch of college kids most of us have only seen highlights of: its the draft!

For the past 13 years, this has been one of (if not the) most exciting time to be a Bills fan, with new optimism and hopes. This years draft is especially interesting because of the holes on the team, and the "Will they/Won't they" Quarterback question.

Instead of will they, the question in this post is "should they" and the answer to that question is absolutely yes. If they think they've identified a guy ***coughcoughBARKELYcoughcoughNassib*** and they think this player can lead them to the promised land, then pull the trigger at 8.

Especially now that the jets have 2 first rounders (9 and 13) and are a quaterback needy team, I don't feel like there's much choice. Wait til the second round? Top of round two has a multitude of QB needy teams (which is why theyre drafting at the top of the round), and while i would love it if they traded back into the first round (I pretty much just love trades), there is no gaurantee of that happening.

So go ahead Bill, take that QB and 8 overall, grab your WR/LB/TE in rounds 2/3, and give me a real reason to watch and hope this year.

Sports: Complete Bills Schedule Breakdown NFL 2013

Thank the NFL gods, we have warm weather games!

There will be 6 home games before thanksgiving this year, and only one Ralph Wilson Stadium home game in december, so for all the TV watchers out there, a lot more should be on TV this year!

Heres the full recap! (with some notes)

Preseason
Aug. 11 at Indianapolis, 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 16 Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Aug. 24 at Washington, 4 p.m.
Aug. 29 Detroit, 7 p.m.

Regular Season
Sep. 8 New England, 1 p.m. -Doug Marone gets thrown to the wolves early, and he better hope the NasKleOlb QB monster is up for a quick challenge.

Sep. 15 Carolina, 1 p.m. - It'll be nice to finally see Cam Newton in person, he's a dynamic talent, and Carolina should be better this year than last.

Sep. 22 at N.Y. Jets, 4:25 p.m. - Battle of the AFC east bottom feeders? Mike Pettine gets a chance to outshine Rex Ryan only three games into the season.

Sep. 29 Baltimore, 1 p.m.- For me, a much more likeable ravens squad now that RAy Lewis is retired. I'm already marking this one down as a defeat (Welcome to being a Bills fan!)

Region: Riding the Metrorail

So this past weekend, a few of us were heading to the Sabres game and decided to ride the metro rail from the allen street station.

I stood outside the station for a moment and thought about how UB will be building a $375 million dollar state of the art medical facility right over top of this staion (while incorporatioed the station into it). Its going to be gorgeous, and this rail stop has so much potential.

The excitement

Region: New HARBORcenter design disappoints...slightly

The Pegula backed HARBORcenter redesign came out today and I must say, while still being a great project overall, the redesign leaves much to be desired.

Initially, the top hotel portion had a beautiful curved glass design which i thought mimicked, or paid homage to the grain silos of Buffalo's past. This 1970's block top look isn't nearly as nice as the original renderings.

That being said, my disappointment is still muted due to the fact that this is still such a wonderful project, with the two NHL size ice rinks, massive sports bar, 8000 feet of retail space, and a hotel being built. The parking garage size is a little overbearing but at the very least I get it.

Now about fixing that hotel portion...

-Bob Z