In their five years as a band The Decemberists have ascended to remarkable heights, especially for an idiosyncratic indie band with a favor for richly textured folk rock and eloquently detailed lyricism and storytelling. They’ve moved from playing tiny clubs to large theaters and even proved to be truthier on guitar than politico-pundit Stephen Colbert when they battled him in December on his show, The Colbert Report. 2006’s The Crane Wife (Capitol) —which was one of ARTVOICE’s albums of the year— is their boldest, brightest move yet, with the ever literate singer/songwriter/guitarist Colin Meloy expanding on his wordsmithing and finding inspiration in an ancient Japanese folk tale. It’s perfect that Meloy and company will finally make their Buffalo bow at UB’s Center for the Arts - just a few hundred feet from the Samuel Langhorne Clemens Hall, named for the given name of Mark Twain and home base of one of the nation’s finest English departments. Opening the show is My Brightest Diamond, a.k.a. the opera-trained singer Shara Worden, formerly a backup vocalist for Sufjan Stevens.

This Brazilian trio presents more of a challenge than just the proper pronunciation of its name (BOHN-JAY DOH ROH-LAY, in case you don’t know). Dubbed “baile funk” or “funk carioca,” these terms describe the sound of Rio de Janeiro’s underground music scene, sprung from the shantytowns —or favelas— of Ipanema. The genre-busting producer Diplo is largely credited with the “discovery” of this musical genre, which is most often compared to Miami Bass but with fast beats and aggravated vocals that send it spiraling in the direction of old school punk rock. Bonde do Role was the first group signed to Diplo’s Mad Decent label (along with fellow Brazilian group Cansei Ser Sexy) and now, after giving some crazy, attention-grabbing performances at the recent SXSW music festival, their international profile seems pretty well established. The group just signed on to Domino Records, where they’ll keep company with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and The Arctic Monkeys. Described by the Miami Herald as “the Beastie Boys meet Peaches in Sao Paolo,” lead singer Marina Ribatski has a reputation for camp and vamp while producer/MC Pedro D’eyrot slings hilariously cheesy samples, “Summer Lovin” from Grease and ACDC’s “You Shook Me” among them. Starting the show will be sets by FreshQuac and DJ D-Star.

Officer Patricia Parete is a fighter —and a strong one at that. She has shown a degree of bravery and courage unmatched by many others, and although she remains in recovery she continues to provethe resilience of the human spirit. To applaud her and thank her for her fearlessness, her fellow officers and friends have put together a fundraiser for Saturday night at the Convention Center to raise money to help her with health care-related needs. She is more than a colleague to these people —she is a good friend who has touched more lives than she herself may be aware of. Parete has had the backing of the entire city, including Mayor Brown and Police Commissioner Gipson, and even some unexpected friends from out of town: Comedian Jay Leno has charitably donated an autographed Harley Davidson XL 883L Sportster motorcycle to be raffled off that night (raffle tickets are available at Cozumel, Fat Bob’s, and at area Harley dealerships). There will be nine musical acts performing, including Anatara, Maria Aurigema, Caledonia Pipe and Drums, Cold Blues Band, Will Holton/Smooth Jazz, The Latin Jazz Project, The Live Wire Band, Speedy Parker Blues Band, and Alison Pipitone. There will be gift basket raffles and food stations from area restaurants as well. Most importantly, everyone who gathers together Saturday night will be there for Patricia Parete.

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis will be taking his solo-acoustic tour “Have Guitar, Will Travel” to the University at Buffalo North Campus on Wednesday, April 4th, in what will be the final show of the cross-country tour. His first famous acoustic performance came on MTV in 2002, when he and fellow Staind band mates performed a powerful unplugged set and received high critical acclaim, leading to the release of the best-selling DVD MTV: Unplugged (Staind). To capture that same intimate experience, Lewis is going back to the basics with this solo-acoustic tour. He will perform an array of classic Staind songs, along with some of his favorite covers by artists such as Pink Floyd, Tool, and Alice in Chains. Lewis also likes to customize each set on the spot, taking audience requests to ensure that no two shows are alike and each set is personal. The acoustic setting is particularly suited to an artist like Lewis because he is so incredibility passionate and intense in his music and performances that he enthralls the audience with the emotion that his lyrics provoke. He is one of the better acoustic performers to come out of the 90’s MTV scene and this is a great opportunity to see rock in a very raw form.