Windhand
7pm The Studio @ Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (853-5483 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $12-$15
The Richmond, VA, Doom Metal band Windhand has Black Sabbath fingerprints all over them. Nothing wrong with that! Their slow-pulsed sound is heavy and beautifully mournful. Singer and frontwoman Dorothia Cotrell’s vocals are satisfyingly eeire and sound like they were dialed in from another planet. They did find her on Craigslist so it’s possible she is from another planet. In any case, Cotrell and Windham managed to reach an emotional space few doom metal bands ever find. In 2013 the band’s album SOMA was on the top 10 metal list of just about every publication in the nation, SPIN, Rolling Stone, NOISE, Stereogum, LA Weekly, etc. “I don’t want to get pigeonholed as a ‘doom’ band,” Windhand guitarist Garrett Morris was quoted in SPIN. “Led Zeppelin had heavy songs and acoustic songs, all kinds of different stuff. That’s kind of what we’re trying to get to.” Sorry Morris feels that way. They’re a doom band and one of the best, with grinding guitars and the heavy drum thump of a Tyrannosaurus’s heart. If you want to check them out you can hear them at the Studio Upstairs at The Waiting Room along with Danava & Monolord tonight, Thursday 22. Doors open 7pm.
> Jamie Moses
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Willie Nile
8pm Town Ballroom’s Leopard Lounge, 681 Main Street (Fri/$20); 8pm Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst Street (Sat/$26) (willienile.com
Buffalo-born rocker Willie Nile returns to his hometown with a pair of shows this weekend. The first, an intimate “storyteller’ performance takes place in the Leopard Lounge at the Town Ballroom. Expect a unique evening of songs from his 35-year career, along with tales and remembrances from this former UB philosophy major. The following night, Nile plugs in with full band to rock the Sportsmen’s Tavern with the kind of energetic, street-smart material that has endeared him to fans that include the likes of Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townsend and Lou Reed, among others. After bursting onto the national music scene from NYC with the 1980 release of his self-titled album Willie Nile, followed by 1981’s Golden Down, Nile found his career in legal limbo for an entire decade. Just two releases followed in the 90s, but since the release of 2006’s Streets of New York his career has regained the sort of momentum deserving of a songwriter and performer of his caliber. If you’ve never had the opportunity to get hip to this hometown boy made good, this weekend is your chance.
> Buck Quigley
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Black Milk
10:30pm Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk Street (312-9279/www.buffalosmohawkplace.com) $10 presale/$13 door
Coming to Mohawk Place on Friday, Oct. 23, 10pm is Detroit rapper/producer Black Milk. What we like about Black Milk is he travels with a real band named Nat Turner. They’re actually living, breathing musicians not a mess of synth loops and recorded beats. Nat Turner, incidentally led a slave rebellion in 1831 in Virginia. There’s a brewing disagreement whether Black Milk is a better rapper or a producer–he has a long list of production credits. He’s good at both, what’s the problem? He also writes his lyrics, which is important considering the recent revelation that a lot of big hip hop artists were using ghost writers. Admittedly, some of his lyrics are a bit bizarre. “Story and Her” the video promoted on his website blackmilk.biz is a twisted tale of running into a girl you lusted after in junior high school and finally getting to take her home and live out your childhood sex fantasy. Okay, I’m good with that. But then he wakes up in her bed and the girl is dead. WTF? Why put that dead body in there? I didn’t need that I was good with the kid crush sex. Regardless of his necromantic fantasy Black Milk makes some fine music. He may be rapping in 2015 but the sound bed he creates is as sophisticated as 1970s Isaac Hayes or Curtis Mayfield, two geniuses of soul and R&B music. Black Milk’s talents as a producer are evident in every song with strong mixes and great balance between instruments and his vocals. The live shows are as good as the records. Also on the bill with Black Milk are Billy Drease Williams, DJ Sike, Dr. Ooo, and Chuckie Campbell & the Phaction.
> Jamie Moses
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Neon Indian
7pm Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (tralfmusichall.com/ 852-2860)
Did Marty McFly drop a mixtape out of the DeLorean, while he was on his way to 2015 with Doc Brown? Well if he did, Alan Palomo of Neon Indian must have picked it up, because the sound of his music is that 80s electronic tunes, warped in the influences of 30-years of pop and electronic music; and all those influences are key in Palomo’s songwriting. “To me everything creative is either a conscious or unconscious collaboration. I’m a collaborator, and through the ongoing life of Neon Indian, I’ve been able to define what collaboration means to me, even when I work alone,” said Palomo during a 2014 TED Talk he gave on the idea that creativity isn’t only based on originality, but also furthering someone else’s ideas. During his talk, Palomo makes the point that there is almost nothing left in art and music that hasn’t been done before, and that for electronic musicians, it’s all about sampling. “If nothing is original, then steal everything, and don’t be ashamed. Absorb anything within arm’s reach and let your mind tell you what it wants to do with it.” Hear Neon Indian’s electronic pop sounds live at The Tralf on 10/23.
> Peter Soscia
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Prom of the Dead
9pm Dnipro Ukranian Cultural Center, 562 Genesee St. (www.tornspacetheater.com/promofthedead) $20 presale/$25 door 18+
Last year Torn Space Theater took you to outer space. This Halloween they’ll take you to Candyland for the annual Prom of the Dead fundraising event. This year’s theme will drench the crowd in sugary pop sounds, coat it with dazzling Technicolor lights and sprinkle in some of Buffalo’s best DJs and pop acts: including Marcos Udagawa, Project, Dr. Know, Rev. Johnny Drama, Handsome Dan and many others.. According to the Torn Space website: “It’s going to hurt your teeth, but you know you’ll just want more.” As always, along with the dance party there is free drinks from 9pm to 10pm It’s a Halloween party, so dress as your favorite Candy Land character, piece candy, or John Candy, and get on down to the Ukrainian Cultural Center on Saturday night. Located on the other side of the Peppermint Forest (if you hit the Ice Cream Sea you’ve gone to far).
> Peter Soscia
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A Walking Dead Quiz
8pm The Century Grill, 318 Pearl St. (853-6322/ thecenturygrill.com) $5
Do you have a tank full of zombie heads in your office? Have you called someone’s baby “Little Ass Kicker”? Will you riot if Daryl dies? If so, grab your gear and get ready for a run into town on Wednesday, October 28th for Stupid Gets You Killed: A Walking Dead Quiz! at The Century Grill starting at 8pm. The quiz will cover the first five seasons of AMC’s hit sci-fi drama, with a handful of questions about the original comics, games and anything with “The Walking Dead” in its name. The event is $5 per person. Teams are limited to six contestants, with the winning team taking home a large cash prize that can be used as seed money for that zombie apocalypse shelter you’ve been meaning to build. The costume contest makes the event a great opportunity to give your Halloween costume test a drive as well. So whether you’re going as Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Coral, or your favorite walker, make sure you get to The Century Grill early and save a spot for your group, otherwise you might be left for dead.
> Peter Soscia
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