Feed the City: Benefit for Food Bank of WNY

Friday, November 18

Buffalonians never fail to prove why we truly are “The City of Good Neighbors,” and it’s organizations like The Food Bank of Western New York that lend a hand far beyond the city limits to feed our region’s less fortunate. The Food Bank of WNY distributes over 11 million pounds of food annually to approximately 350 member agencies across Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara Counties. There’s a lot of food and a lot of ground to cover, and it’s important that we do our part as WNY’ers to make sure their shelves are stocked for the holidays. This Friday (Nov 18) internationally renowned, regional, and local musicians converge on the Town Ballroom for Feed the City, a concert benefit to raise $50,000 for the Food Bank of WNY to buy 350,000 pounds of food for Thanksgiving dinners for local families. Headlining the event is Buffalo-native and nationally recognized folk artist Willie Nile, hailed by the New York Times as “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years.” Lowest of the Low frontman Ron Hawkins and his latest outfit, the Do-Good Assassins, join a rock-heavy lineup that also includes longtime New York rocker Jesse Malin & the St. Marks Social, the Parlor Mob, the Pillagers, the Ruby Spirit, and the Scorched Earthlings. A memorabilia auction coinciding with event will include donations from luminaries such as Bob Gruen, Alice Cooper, Pete Townshend, Kiss, the Goo Goo Dolls, Melissa Etheridge, Dan Akroyd, Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers, the Tragically Hip, Burton Cummings, and Randy Bachman. An event as crucial and important to our community as Feed the City deserves our support, and with an all-star cast of musicians backing it up, it’s bound to be an entertaining night. All proceeds from the event benefit the Food Bank of WNY. —jon wheelock

6pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $25 advance, $30 day of show.

Friday, November 18

Mass Appeal

It’s the premier fashion event of the year in Buffalo. Dubbed Mass Appeal, this star-studded extravaganza takes place in an unlikely but surprisingly apt venue: the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. The church’s expansive space, high ceilings and majestic gothic architecture is suited to the sparkling grandeur of a fashion gala, and in turn, Mass Appeal fits the bill for the building’s long-standing tradition of active community involvement. 2011 is its fourth anniversary and this coming Friday (Nov 18) will mark another highly prolific year in local fashion and proudly unleash the full flair of Elmwood’s vibrant art scene. Though in many ways, it’s a combined effort, Mass Appeal owes a large part of its success to its creative mastermind and producer extraordinaire, Erin Habes. Habes is a local designer, entrepreneur, lecturer and fashion writer in addition to being the driving force and vision behind Buffalo’s most rapidly evolving sartorial wellspring. The event is a valuable opportunity for Elmwood boutiques to showcase their lines in front of an audience, for prospective holiday shoppers to get exclusive sneak previews of Buffalo’s dernier cri and for artists to unveil their newest creations. For guests, it’s an event you can (and should) dress up for, and a rare chance to witness in a single night the impressive resourcefulness and boundless potential of Buffalo’s thriving haunt of creativity. All of the music also comes from local talent, with electro duo Shock and Awe DJing the show portion, followed by DJs from Buffalo’s Queen City Cartel spinning sets at the after party. The premise of the event itself is wholly public-spirited as well, the netted funds go right back to serving the community via donations to the Elmwood Village Association. For an expanded preview of Mass Appeal go to our website, www.artvoice.com. —max soeun kim

7pm. Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 875 Elmwood Ave. $125 VIP/$30 General Admission. Tickets at 881-0707, elmwoodvillage.org, all Wegman’s locations.

Saturday, November 19

Shonen Knife

When I think about Japanese culture I immediately think sake bombs, Harajuku, Seabar , and peace signs. I can now add rock and roll to that list of associations after becoming familiar with Ritsuko, Naoko, and Emi, the three current members of Osaka, Japan’s Shonen Knife, an adorable female pop-rock band that translates to “Boy Knife.” The three colorfully adorned ladies of Shonen Knife exude the same positivity and girl power as the Spice Girls—but with an edge and a much longer track record (not to mention, they make their own music). This year marked the 30th anniversary of the group and the only remaining original member, Naoko, still looks as young and beautiful as she did in a band photo circa 1981. On this 30-year journey, they’ve played Buffalo several times, always revving up the crowd with their staple line “Are you ready to rock!?” Their catchy feel good melodies, do-it-yourself instrumentation, and garage rock undertones, has even got Buffalo’s-own Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls on board, who recently signed Shonen Knife to his label and helped co-produce and release their album Osaka Ramones: Tribute to the Ramones. From their happy-go-lucky rock music, colorful fashion sense and hand drawn website illustrations of kittens, egg rolls, spaceships, and fish, it’s obvious why Shonen Knife has lasted as long as they have. Come listen to Shonen Knife sing lyrics in English and Japanese at the Mohawak Place on Saturday (Nov 19). Wear something colorful and be ready to rock! Cosmic Shakedown and the Screaming Jeans open the show.—emilie hagen

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (465-2368 / themohawkplace.com). $13.

Saturday, November 19

Machomer

Glavin! It might seem strange to call a rendition of Macbeth as performed by Homer Simpson virtuosic but that is just what comedian and actor Rick Miller’s performance in MacHomer is. In this one man, multimedia show, Miller takes on the voices of 50 Simpsons characters including Homer as Macbeth, Marge as Lady Macbeth, Mr. Burns as King Duncan, Ned Flanders as Banquo, and Barney Gumble as MacDuff, to the backdrop of sound and video. Since the play’s conception in 1994 it has taken on a few different variations, but Miller has managed to keep his impressions spot on and hilarious. With a script that remains 85 percent Shakespeare, this technically proficient, though outrageous version of the tragedy is fast-paced, and even educational. Don’t have a cow man, MacHomer will be live at the UB Center for the Arts Main Stage Theater on Saturday (Nov 19). Cowabunga. —cory perla

8pm. Mainstage Theatre, UB Center for the Arts, 103 Center For The Arts (654-ARTS / ubcfa.org). $19.50 general, $16.50 students.

Saturday, November 19

Cold Turkey: The 25th Annual Celebration of the Life & Work of John Lennon

Between his work with the Beatles, and his highly influential solo career, John Lennon has written some of the most important songs of the past century, which is why the performers at Nietzsche’s will have a lot of great material to choose from on Saturday (Nov 19) at Cold Turkey: The 25th Annual Celebration of the Music of John Lennon. The annual event was begun by the late Michael Meldrum and is being continued by his wife Diane, and his children, Xander and Julia. The event will feature local musicians from several genres paying tribute to the Lennon’s considerable back catalog. There will be over 20 acts performing, ranging from long-time favorites like McCarthyizm and Tom Stahl and the Dangerfields, to up-and-coming artists like Erin Sydney Welsh, a 15-year-old folk singer from Clarence. Sara Elziabeth, formerly of the band Silhouette will be performing a solo set. Even Buffalo News pop music critic Jeff Miers is joining in on the action, performing with his son Declan. Throughout his career, Lennon experimented with a number of genres, from the minimalist acoustic rage of “Mother” to the disco-fun of “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night,” to the proto-punk fire of the Beatles’ “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.” The performers at this event work in an equally diverse variety of genres, so there should be songs from every era of Lennon’s life covered. Hopefully, a few acts will step out of their comfort zones. In any case, this event will not only be tribute to a legendary musician, but it will also keep one of Buffalo’s proudest traditions alive. —john hugar

8:30pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com).

Sunday, November 20

Sleeping Beauty at The Bolshoi

Among the many highlights of the Culture in Cinema series at the Amherst Theatre in its initial season was the simulcast from Moscow of ballets from the Bolshoi Theatre. Ballet lovers will once again have the opportunity to appreciate this unique experience on Sunday (Nov 20), at 10am, when Tchaikovsky’s much-loved classic, Sleeping Beauty, comes to the main screen in the Amherst Cinema. Yuri Grigorovich based his choreography for this version of the ballet, after that of the original version, as choreographed in 1890 by Marius Petipa. Svetlana Zakharova will dance the role of Princess Aurora, the “sleeping beauty” of the ballet’s title, while South Dakota native David Hallberg, a principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre since 2005, makes his Bolshoi Ballet debut in the role of the Prince Désiré. Hallberg has the unique honor of being the first and only American dancer to enlist permanently with the Bolshoi, arguably the finest ballet company in the world, making this an event that no balletomane will want to miss. The Amherst Theatre has been specially upgraded to accommodate the Culture in Cinema series. —jan jezioro

10am. The Amherst Dipson Theatre, 3500 Main Street across from UB South Campus. (834-7655 / dipsontheatres.com). $20.

Wednesday, November 23

Social Distortion

The night before Thanksgiving is a magical bar night in Buffalo. All your big shot friends with their “jobs” that “pay money” will be back in town to shove it in your face. The good news is you can avoid all those herbs and see Social Distortion on Wednesday (Nov 23) at the Town Ballroom instead. The second night of a two-night run (the Tuesday night show sold out months ago) is a great chance to catch the best show from the band. They will have the chance to iron out the sound on stage the night before and won’t have a travel night behind them, which means a more rested and on-point performance from the four-piece. The band is coming off the success of their latest album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, which charted at number four on the Billboard 200, and received good reviews from Rolling Stone and Spin. Expanding on the goodwill gained from Hard Times, Mike Ness has mentioned he plans on recording another album in a year or two. It’s a burst of activity from Social Distortion, who have been slow to release albums in the past, taking almost seven years between their last album, Sex, Love and Rock n’ Roll and Hard Times. Chuck Ragan and Suedehead open the show.—nick torsell

7pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $35 advance, $38 day of show.