the felice brothers
7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main Street (tralfmusichall.com/852-2860) $20
Hailing from Palenville, NY, the Felice Brothers formed in 2006 before any of them knew how to play an instrument. After building some chops busking in NYC subway stations, their primitive sound began to take shape. They’ve since gone on to become favorites at various festivals, as well as landing some cool opening slots for major headliners like the Dave Matthews Band, when not bouncing around the country in their short bus performing for an ever widening circle of fans at their own headlining gigs. Their primal Americana sound has been compared to a cross between The Band and Nirvana—although decidedly goofier than either—making for a foot-stomping good time live. Catch them hollering out their gang vocal choruses when they swing through town Friday night at the Tralf Music Hall.
> AV STAFF
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hallwalls dada day
8pm, Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Ave., (www.hallwalls.org), $5
Hallwalls is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of Dada. (That irreverent artistic and literary avant-garde movement first begun in 1916 at Zurich, Switzerland’s Cabaret Voltaire, defined by its mockery of materialistic and nationalistic attitudes and its opposition of bourgeois cultural norms). (Think of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, which was a urinal turned upside down). Members of the original Hallwalls artist group, directed by LP Lundy, created and started a yearly celebration of Dada day back in February of 1976 and this Saturday marks the 40th year since that tradition began. Saturday’s event will feature experimental music ensemble BuffFluxus and will include compositions by Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Mac Low, and Michael Colquhoun. Excerpts from reel-to-reel video documentation of Dada Day 1976, recently conserved and digitized as part of the ongoing Migrating Media project of archival restoration (videotapes, audiotapes, and exhibition slides), will be shown. Artist LP Lundy, originator of the first Dada day, will be returning from Chicago for this special event/celebration of all things Dada, including live music, poetry, films and performances.
> AV Staff
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Particle
8pm. Buffalo Iron Works, 49 Illinois Street (buffaloironworks.com/200-1893) $12 presale/$15 doors
As key pioneers in the emerging “livetronica” music scene of the 2000s, the Los-Angeles based progressive jam band Particle have created a singular sound that combines elements of electronic, funk, and rock with heavy emphasis on improvisation and sonic exploration. Always striving to think outside the box and create unique concert experiences, Particle paired their high-energy dance music with cutting-edge multimedia production, thematic special events, and epic marathon sets that quickly developed a loyal fan base of Particle People spanning genre lines. Particles unstoppable blast of gritty, electronic jam band standards employ a loose 70s feel which recalls Pink Floyd’s prog-rock and Return to Forever –styled jazz fusion with insistent disco-esque dance beats. Principal Keyboardist and songwriter Steve Moltz makes smart use of lush textures and synth-pop beats, creating a ambient sound their fans have dubbed “space-porn” which pushed Particle towards becoming a big staple at U.S. festivals as well as a major influence any today’s top touring jam, funk, and electronic acts. Particle is set to release their first studio album in over a decade sometime within 2016, but new and old fans alike shouldn’t miss the opportunity to see them this Sunday when they take to the stage at Buffalo Iron Works.
> AV STAFF
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SNAKE ‘N STYLUS
9pm. Allen Burger Venture, 175 Allen Street (allenburgerventure.com/768-0386) Free
For anyone who hasn’t taken notice of Buffalo being on the serious come-up, it’s time you have yourself a look, or better yet a listen. “Buffalo’s going to take off and we’ve decided to be the pilots.” Meet DJs Snake ‘n Stylus. Marcos Udagawa, running all over the NYC DJ fashion scene/circuit throughout the aughts, is back in his home city of Buffalo and teaming up with underground punk rock community staple, Malik Von Saint (owner of Shaken’Stylus, punk-garage band booking and spinning at The Old Pink). These two are out to change the musical landscape of Buffalo, aiming to make it, “the place that came up with ‘that’ sound.” Referring to their brilliant punk-disco-dance-rock style that pulls people into the music and gives them a depth. No one is doing what these guys are doing, “we are going to give you some high class shit.”
> Elizabeth Siematkowski
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commander cody and the modern day airmen
6pm. Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst Street (sportsmenstavern.com/874-7734) $20
George Frayne, aka Commander Cody, has been hammering out all kinds of American music from his place behind the piano ever since his influential band Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen landed in San Francisco in 1969. The band, which at times swelled to eight pieces, included guitar madman Bill Kirchen, whose driving licks made their 1972 cover of “Hot Rod Lincoln” a runaway hit in 1972. The Old Commander—as he’s affectionately known to his fans—continues to run full throttle, banging out old time rock ‘n’ roll, redneck country, boogie woogie and swing tunes like on his 2009 studio release Dopers, Drunks, and Everyday Losers, and 2013’s Live from the Island with his band the Modern Day Airmen. “Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues,”—an old original about a pothead grieving over a lost love—is as funny and genuinely touching today as it was when it was released in the 70s. This is a Valentine’s date destination that will not soon be forgotten.
> AV Staff
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Danish String Quartet
8pm. Kleinhans Music Hall Mary Seaton Room, 3 Symphony Circle (kleinhansbuffalo.org/885-0331) $25
The Danish String Quartet is a superbly talented chamber group, however, something unusual sets them apart from other chamber ensembles. The cellist is Norwegian and joined the group in 2008, but the three Danes met as children in a summer camp for music enthusiasts and became fast friends. They hung out with each other all the time, playing football as well as chamber music together. When camp ended they continued their friendship through the school year and met often to play music for fun. It’s no surprise they all ended up at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen together. It is their personal bond that lends the group an organic connection to the music they play with each other. Like a family of harmony singers, everything fits perfectly. Since forming they have toured the world, made several recordings and are the hit ensemble of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Their performance at the Mary Seaton Room, their first in Buffalo, will include works by Beethoven, Medelssohn and Janácek. This should be a delightful show considering the Mary Seaton Room allows the audience an intimacy not found in the larger hall.
> AV STAFF
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