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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of featured events, including our editor's pick for the week: the Graph Rabbit with Sonny Baker, this Wednesday, September 11th at Babeville's Ninth Ward.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our full events calendar on-line for complete event listings, a location guide to find your way about the city, restaurant reviews, and more.



Graph Rabbit with Sonny Baker

Wednesday, September 11

Like those few precious moments between sleep and consciousness, the music of Graph Rabbit is surreal, celestial and often beautiful. Hailing from Brooklyn, Graph Rabbit began in 2010 as the solo project of Austin Donohue, but it wasn’t until meeting NYC-based/WNY-native producer Allen Farmello that Donohue’s artistic vision of Graph Rabbit solidified. Under this collaboration came the debut recording, Snowblind, which was released last year. As sleigh bells, glockenspiel, and analog synthesizers accompany a sparsely strummed guitar, Snowblind is a haunting listen of electronic backwoods psychedelia. Threaded by a vocal that alternately resembles Neil Young and Judee Sill, the album is a minimalist masterwork where the space between notes is as equally integral as the songs themselves. Evoking the imagery of the first snowfall of a late Autumn day, Snowblind possesses the melancholy and loss of someone or something that none of us can get back, and that is one of the records many charms. Following the completion of Snowblind, Donohue invited multi-instrumentalist Shy Kedmi to complete Graph Rabbit and, in turn, have been performing Snowblind in its entirety across the country without any use of computers. Graph Rabbit perform at The Ninth Ward at Babeville on Wednesday. Sonny Baker opens the show.

- bill nehill

7pm Babeville’s Ninth Ward, 341 Delaware Ave. (852-3835 / babevillebuffalo.com) $8 advance, $10 day of show

Friday & Saturday, September 6 & 7

Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie

The media has never lacked for opportunists who were willing to exploit the fears and prejudices of ignorant audiences. But in the late 1980s, most Americans had never seen the likes of Morton Downey Jr., who became a national sensation before burning out in the space of two years. His syndicated television program, which TV critic Tom Shales once called “A talk show with a hockey audience,” cast its host as an Archie Bunker-ish everyman eager to take on liberal targets, backed by a studio of hollering New Jersey yahoos. Its impact is only too well felt today in the spewings of Hannity, Beck, and endless rabid radio hosts who will stir up any pot in order to get ratings. Aside from recreating the show for audiences who have forgotten it or are too young to remember it, this documentary asks whether Downey, who grew up as a neighbor of the Kennedys, actually believed any of the hatred he spouted (If you do remember the show, you’ll be surprised by Downey’s backstory). The larger point it makes is that his own feelings weren’t as important as what he was able to unleash on his audiences. Funny and scary, as well as a must-see for 1980s nostalgists. Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie will play Friday (Sept 6) at 7pm and Saturday (Sept 7) at 1:30 pm at the Amherst Theater. Co-director Daniel Miller will be present for the Friday screening. Watch the trailer on Artvoice TV.

- m. faust

7pm Friday, and 1:30pm Saturday Amherst Dipson Theatre, 3500 Main Street. (834-7655 / dipsontheatres.com) $9.50

Saturday & Sunday, September 8 & 9

Echo Art Fair

Three years ago, echo Art Fair set the bar for fine art and collecting in Buffalo’s already thriving art scene. Buffalo native, entrepreneur, and echo Art Fair founder E. Frits Abell had high expectations when he created a weekend devoted to bringing contemporary, emerging artists, businesses, vendors, fine art collectors and first-time buyers under one roof with the hope that it would foster new connections in the arts community and aid in Buffalo’s continuing revitalization. After successful installments at Buffalo’s Central Terminal and Larkin Center in 2011 and 2012 respectively, it’s hard to imagine Buffalo without an event that is as well attended and consistently buzzworthy as the echo Art Fair. Now in its third year, the echo Art Fair promises to be bigger and more elaborate than ever before, with more than 100 submissions from artists and galleries vying for a spot in the two-day event. This is a juried exposition, meaning that those lucky applicants will be handpicked by a panel of highly qualified and experienced jurors, resulting in a scaled-down cream-of-the-crop field of exhibitors. From Buffalo, Toronto, Brooklyn, and beyond, fine art disciples converge this Saturday and Sunday, (Sept 7 & 8) for the echo Art Fair, held in a 25,000 square foot space in the Buffalo & Erie County’s Public Library downtown. Fair-goers can expect everything from painting, sculpture, photography, video, and mixed media art to be on display at site-specific installations, along with vendors, music and seminars on art collecting and buying. On Friday, don’t forget to check out the Coup d’etat (9pm at the Waiting Room), a dance party infused with visual arts running in conjunction with the fair. For a full schedule of the weekend’s events, visit echoartfair.com/schedule.

- jon wheelock

10am to 6pm Buffalo Central Library, 1 Lafayette Square (echoartfair.com) $5 Saturday, free Sunday

Saturday, September 7

Darwin Deez

Indie-pop singer Darwin Deez sometimes known as Darwin Smith will stop by the Waiting Room this Saturday (Sept 7) along with touring act Caged Animals. This will be the last round of tour for his sophomore album, Songs for Imaginative People. The lanky songwriter is best known for his bright, exciting guitar riffs and danceable pop beats. During shows, his band is notorious for breaking into choreographed dance moves at a moments notice. His new album takes an existential turn and is a bit darker than his self titled release, full of catchy pop hits like “Constellations” and “Bad Day.” Deez moved from Brooklyn back to his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina to work on Songs for Imaginative People. While the sound has not changed dramatically, his lyrics deal with the subject of loss, failed relationships, and feelings of aimlessness. Fans of the first album will not be disappointed though, the songs retain the quirky charm and thoughtful, well written lyrics Deez is known for. Opening for Deez will be local surf-rock four piece, Bryan Johnson & Family as well as electro-punk artist, Lesionread.

- sarah barry

6pm The Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $10 advance, $13 day of show

Monday, September 9

The Iron Event: Summer Harvest

If it were only for bringing together some of Western New York’s key culinary masters for a showdown and public tasting competition, the Iron Event would be an incredible happening on its own. There is, however, so much more to it and that is Daniel Tracy with his incredible story and fight. I first met Dan over 20 years ago at St. Joseph’s Collegiate. With his positive attitude and huge smile, I immediately liked the pint-sized 13-year-old, yet I honestly couldn’t have imagined—all these years later—what a hero and inspiration he would turn out to be. As a teenager Tracy helped his family with his tuition working in kitchens, honing the cooking craft. After graduation he went onto Niagara University and then Canisius College, all the while becoming a skilled chef. Tracy would work his way up through some of WNY’s best-known restaurants including Mother’s, Tempo, and Black and Blue. In 2010, the then 32-year-old found out he was suffering from ALS—commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease—a debilitating disease that ravages motor skills and muscle control ultimately resulting in death. Instead of wallowing in the dire diagnosis, Tracy almost immediately began formulating a plan to raise awareness and funding to fight ALS. Within eight months, he plowed his love of cooking into the first Iron Event. Another even bigger Iron Event followed in 2012. Now, the grip of ALS has Tracy wheelchair-bound, with little use of his muscles and trouble even speaking, but he has courageously continued to pour more energy and passion into this latest Iron Event than can be imagined. The impressive list of participants includes J. Lennon Lewandowski (Oliver’s), Mike Andrzejewski (Mike A/SEABAR/Tappo/Cantina Loco), Steven Gedra (Bistro Europa) and Christopher Daigler (Encore) along with seven others. All are donating their time and food to the cause, but there’s additionally an impressive prize pack for the Iron Event’s winning chef. Add to this mix of food and drink some live music and an array of rare items up for auction—including a guitar signed by Led Zeppelin’s surviving members—and it’s going to be a party not to be missed.

- donny kutzbach

6pm Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, 76 Pearl St. (856-2337 / theironevent.org) $30

Tuesday, September 10

El Ten Eleven with Eliot Lipp

It usually takes an orchestra of musicians to pull off good post-rock music, but El Ten Eleven somehow create soaring, complex post-rock anthems as a duo. On stage bassist Kristian Dunn stands next to drummer Tim Fogarty holding a double necked 1977 Carvin guitar/bass as Fogarty mixes electric and acoustic drum sounds live. The duo locks into grooves like “My Only Swerving,” a mellow yet driving track from their debut, self-titled record released in 2005. Comparisons to bands like Sigur Rós are often thrown around, labels like “math rock,” ambient rock” and “experimental rock” are often uttered in relation to El Ten Eleven, but these descriptions don’t sum up the full scope of El Ten Eleven’s work. From riffy songs like “Every Direction is North,” which was heard on the 2007 soundtrack to the documentary Helvetica, to twinkling tunes like “Connie,” to extended jams like “Transitions”—the title track from the duo’s 2012 record—El Ten Eleven really run the gamut of instrumental rock music. The talented power-duo will perform live at Nietzsche’s on Tuesday (Sept 10) with Brooklyn electronic music producer Eliot Lipp. Lipp has been a pioneer of American electro music since his self-titled debut in 2004. In an interview this week, Lipp told us that he’ll be releasing his next full length record, Watch The Shadows later this year. To read the full interview with Lipp, go to our music blog at artvoice.com/exitmusic.

- cory perla

9pm Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com) $12 advance, $15 day of show 21+

Wednesday, September 11

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

In 2005 Grace Potter and the Nocturnals self-produced their first studio album, Nothing But The Water. After self-producing two more studio albums and playing roughly 200 festivals and concerts a summer, they flexed their rock n’ roll muscles and enlisted producer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Black Keys musician, Dan Auerbach. In 2012 Auerbach, Scott, and GPN collaborated and bred their fourth studio album, The Lion The Beast The Beat. It’s obvious that this album, much like their earlier work, was inspired by music from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. In character with staple classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Cream, GPN’s music features heavy guitar-driven sound rooted in blues, bluegrass, and folk. Frontwoman, Grace Potter has a vigorous voice like Bonnie Tyler and writes heartfelt lyrics about life, love, and loss, like John Lennon. Their live performances eclipse their studio albums and frequently include rejuvenated classics like Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black.” With a stage presence equitable to Mick Jagger’s; a barrage of hip shakes, hair flips, and closed-eyed shrieks, Grace Potter smiles and dances to her band’s music like a smitten teen. Her prowess in vocals, songwriting, guitar, and piano deem her one of the most noteworthy rock goddess’s in the last two decades. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals come to the Town Ballroom on Wednesday (Sept 11).

- kellie powell

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $25 advance, $28 day of show