Prom of the Dead

Saturday, October 22

The best party-zombie-film (yes, this is an official movie genre) of all time is Return of the Living Dead. Those teenagers knew how to party: nude in a graveyard, huffing zombie fumes. The tagline for that film was “they’re back from the grave and ready to party!” which would also be an appropriate slogan for Torn Space Theater’s second annual fundraiser, Prom of the Dead. All of the coolest zombies will be there dressed in their finest torn shirts and bloody tuxedos. Some of their off-beat victims might even show up too. This Halloween costume ball will feature an epic battle of the bands between grungy locals the Fucking Hotlights and Vic Lazar, a solo set from bluesman Dan Harper, and DJs Lopro, Projex, and Handsome Dan who will spin some 1950s and 1960s themed dance tunes along with plenty of electronica and hip-hop, while James Wild orchestrates the evening as emcee. Show up early for free drinks between 9pm and 10pm and snap a photo in the creepiest photo booth in town. King and Queen of the Prom of the Dead will be awarded at the end of the night so dress to impress and prepare to rave to the grave on Saturday (Oct 22) at the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center. Tickets are $15 in advance and are on sale at Rust Belt Books, Second Chic, Talking Leaves, and Terrapin Station. —cory perla

9pm. Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center, 562 Genesee Street. (promofthedead.com). $15 advance, $20 at the door.

Friday, October 21

EOTO

It must be a difficult task to improvise music when loops and samples are involved, but EOTO do it. This live electronica band is comprised of Jason Hahn and Michael Travis from Colorado based jam band the String Cheese Incident. Though the String Cheese Incident is known for their own style of improvisation, usually bouncing between psychedelia, bluegrass, and jazz, EOTO goes where the String Cheese cannot. That is into the realm of dubstep and heavy electronic bass. Do yourself a favor and go to their Youtube page (youtube.com/user/eotovideo), check out their heady 2011 Tour Compilation video and you’ll get a taste of what you’re in for when the duo hits the Town Ballroom on Friday (Oct 21). Hahn and Travis have been blasting out electro-house tunes since 2006, most recently mixing in some psychedelic dubstep to round out their laser-like sound. Their latest album, 2009’s Fire the Lazers!!! serves up exactly the type of high energy music people have come to expect from this party-loving duo. Frosty Tone DJ, Big Basha will serve up a heaping help of bassy tunes as the opening act. If you’ve still got some energy left over after the show head over to Nietzsche’s for an EOTO after party featuring cerebral funk band Kung Fu. —h. timpson

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $15 advance.

Saturday, October 22

Jim Gaffigan

He’s probably the whitest guy you’ve ever seen, he has a love/hate relationship with Hot Pockets and, he likes to talk to himself. He can riff on bacon for hours and he’s Conan O’Brien’s sidekick as half of cartoon superhero duo Pale Force. His name is Jim Gaffigan and he’s a funny guy. Comedian, actor, and writer, Gaffigan’s clever, quiet style has earned him an unprecedented number of appearances on shows like the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “I’m a vegetarian now,” Gaffigan informed a Comedy Central audience during a stand up special. “I’m not a strict vegetarian though, I eat beef and pork...and chicken, but not fish because that’s disgusting.” The 45-year-old comedian from Chesterton, Indiana has appeared in guest roles on popular comedy shows like Bored To Death, Flight of the Conchords, That 70’s Show, and The Ellen Show. After two decades of comedy, which has included appearances in film and as a cartoon, Gaffigan has never left stand-up comedy far behind. Have a large slice of cake and go see Jim Gaffigan at the UB Center for the Arts this Saturday (Oct 22). —cory perla

>7:30pm. Mainstage Theatre, UB Center for the Arts, 103 Center For The Arts (654-ARTS / ubcfa.org). $42.

Saturday, October 22

Circa Survive

Not many singers can do what Circa Survive’s Anthony Green can do. That is, hit those powerfully high notes on songs like “Act Appalled” from the band’s debut record, Juturna, or “Your Friends Are Gone,” from the follow-up, On Letting Go. What makes his incredible vocal talents even more mesmerizing is the manner in which the 29-year-old singer drifts about the stage, through the resonating chords of the band’s ethereal, indie-hard rock, hypnotizing fans as they lose themselves in the band’s haunting melodies. After leaving like-minded, post-hardcore band Saosin to form Circa Survive, Green recruited guitarists Colin Frangicetto—who recently released a solo album under the name Psychic Babble —and Brendan Ekstrom from the depths of the Philadelphia hardcore scene, who in turn found bassist Nick Beard and drummer Steve Clifford to round out the band’s driving rhythm section. Seven years after their formation the band have announced that they have completed writing their yet-to-be-titled fourth full-length studio album, the follow-up to 2010’s critically acclaimed Blue Sky Noise. Don’t miss Circa Survive when they come to the Town Ballroom on Saturday (Oct 22) with special guests Maps and Atlases. —cory perla

7pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $20.

Tuesday, October 25

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

It’s difficult to recreate the sound of the sun shining in a recalled childhood memory. No need to try, because Unknown Mortal Orchestra rehashes this sound perfectly throughout their self-titled debut album, particularly on the nostalgia-jerking opener “Ffunny Ffrends.” Combining equal parts 1960s shimmering psychedelia, 1970s funk bass, and late 1980s hip-hop beats, Unknown Mortal Orchestra serves up an intoxicating cocktail good enough for late nights, early mornings, and red-eyed afternoons. Founded by former Mint Chicks guitarist Ruban Nielson, the band injected themselves into the indie music scene in 2010 with the release of the aforementioned viral sensation “Ffunny Ffrends.” The group’s success doesn’t end there however, since “Ffrends” went viral, Unknown Moral Orchestra has been named one of Stereogum’s “40 Best New Bands of 2011,” and the album made Pitchfork’s list of “Overlooked Records 2011.” The band’s gradual rise to fame spawned their current North American tour, which is set to hit Mohawk Place this Tuesday (Oct 25). Joining UMO are garage rock enthusiasts Gauntlet Hair, who also topped Sterogum’s best new bands list. —brett perla

7pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (465-2368 / themohawkplace.com). $10 advance, $13 at the door.

Tuesday, October 25

New Found Glory

If New Found Glory says pop punk’s not dead, then pop punk’s not dead. So decares the title of their current tour with fellow pop-punkers Set Your Goals and the Wonder Years, and NFG backs up the statement with their new crunch-heavy single “Radiosurgery,” the title track from their latest full-length album of the same name. “Radiosurgery” is hardly a stretch for the 14-year-old band from Coral Springs, Florida, but if you’re looking for a fun party anthem that would fit just as snuggly on Nothing Gold Can Stay as it would on Not Without a Fight, then you’ve come to the right place. “I can’t get your face out my head, it makes my brain hurt,” sings frontman Jordan Pudnick about the girl who perpetually gets away. Radiosurgery saw a release date of October 4th, allowing just enough time for hardcore fans to get properly acquainted with the album before the band’s visit. San Francisco six-piece Set Your Goals accompany NFG on their cross-country tour, playing frantic fan favorites like “Certain” and material from their latest album, Burning at Both Ends. These guys don’t stop in Buffalo too often so check them out on the Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour while you have the chance at the Town Ballroom on Tuesday (Oct 25). Some further proof that pop punk’s not dead; check out Yellowcard the next night, Wednesday (Oct 26) at the same place. —h. timpson

6pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $17.

Thursday, October 27

Lotus

By next Thursday you should have your Halloween costume ready, (I’m sure no one else thought to be Ryan Gosling from “Drive”) so get that one last night in before the streets turn into vague walking pop-culture references. Instrumental electronic band Lotus, playing on Thursday (Oct 27) at Town Ballroom, have benefitted from constant touring and late night slots at big summer festivals for the freshly sunburned. Now they’ve drawn their own following, bringing them to a headlining slot at Red Rocks, the famous amphitheatre that cuts through the Rockies. It’s not difficult to see why they’ve seen a return on all their hard work. Featuring pounding bass-lines that lead into longer jams appealing to hippies and ravers, they were bound to walk the line between the two subsets. Signed to the perpetually noodling String Cheese Incident’s label, but also playing to glow stick waving kids at Starscape Festival with acts like Infected Mushroom and Bassnectar, the four guys who make up Lotus probably have some stories to tell from this past summer on the road. And with a history of busting out their own costumes around Halloween in past years, including Black Sabbath and David Bowie costumes, maybe they’ll give the Buffalo crowd some last-minute ideas. —nick torsell

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $20 advance.

Thursday, October 27

Guitar Masters

Hearing and seeing guitar master Andy McKee play the acoustic guitar is something everyone should experience once. On Thursday (Oct 27) Buffalo fans will be able to do just that, when McKee revisits the Tralf to perform a set on his second celebrated Guitar Masters Tour, joined by guitarists Stephen Bennett and Antoine Dufour.

Artvoice: You have had over 150 million hits on YouTube. How has this helped your career?

Andy McKee: Well, I was primarily a guitar teacher but I had opportunities to perform in Canada, Germany and Asia. When I had this experience of putting things on YouTube, that’s when it started to take off and I got a lot of offers to constantly start touring and hook up with a manager and a booking agency.

AV: You use percussive hits to accompany your melodies. How did you master this technique?

AM: I heard about some guitar players like Michael Hedges and Don Ross having percussive ideas in their guitar playing. I kind of picked it up from those guys, and wrote some techniques about to how to get different sounds out of the guitar when I was 19 or 20. All that goes back to flamenco guitar playing from Spain. They really started to incorporate percussive stuff on guitar back then.

AV: Which guitars are you bringing on this tour?

AM: I play three instruments. I have my ani pitch guitar, baritone acoustic guitar, and harp guitar, all made by a Canadian named Michael Greenfield (Greenfield Guitars). It adds a nice bit of diversity to the tonal possibility of the music.

AV: Why should people check out your show at the Tralf?

AM: It will be a unique live experience for people to check out and hear us do as much as we can with one guitar. You’re not going to hear anything like this on the radio. It will mostly be instrumental acoustic guitar music, three of us taking turns doing a set each and we’ll do some collaborative stuff at the end of the night. —emilie hagen

7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com). $20 advance, $25 at the door.