AV Editors Pick: Burchfield-Penney Art Center New Museum Project

Saturday & Sunday, November 22 & 23

Sam Beam, who performs and records under the moniker Iron & Wine, writes songs with the appealing, glimmering melancholy of single lamp lit in an otherwise dark bar: These memories and evocations draw you in, offer (and ask for) comfort and company. It’s not a bright place, sure, but stick around for one more… Once set to unassuming melodies strung out on an acoustic guitar, nowadays Beam’s evocative words are elevated by lush accompaniment, both on recordings and in live performance—a full band, slide guitar, piano, the works. Meantime, the singer whispers like Nick Drake into the microphone, hiding behind a thicket of red beard. Beam is at the tail end of a four-month tour that brings him to Babeville on Friday, supported at this show by Sub Pop bandmates Blitzen Trapper. That Portland, Oregon sextet has just released its fourth full-length, Furr, which finds the band’s hitherto engagingly eclectic approach to songcraft sharp, focused, and not a little Dylanesque.

—justin sondel

10am Saturday-5pm Sunday (31-hour continuous celebration). Burchfield-Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave. (878-6011 / www.burchfield-penney.org)

Thursday, November 20

Sebastien Grainger

Anyone with decent ears who heard the nihilistic but infectious 2004 release You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine—the sole full length from the Toronto based duo Death From Above 1979—could tell that not far beneath the bombast and clamor of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer Sebastien Grainger’s positively unique dance-punk-metal hybrid, there were some great songs. While Keeler’s post DFA1979 life veered toward electronic music with the project MSTRKRFT, Grainger’s path has shown his strength as a songwriter and band leader. Working up material and recording at his own Giant Studio (which he co-owns with Metric’s Jimmy Shaw), Grainger seems to have spent his time not so much reinventing his style but redefining it. The result is 2008’s titular Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains (Saddle Creek), on which Grainger proves a tempered artist with a strong sense of his tested talents but with enough daring to take unexpected turns and experimentations.He kicks off his 2008 tour with the Mountains next Thursday, (Nov. 20) right here in Buffalo.

—donny kutzbach

7pm. Mohawk Place. 47 E Mohawk St. (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com)

Thursday, November 20

Small Press Poetry: Elaine Equi & Jerome Sala

Next Thursday, Just Buffalo Literary Society and Rust Belt Books host a husband-and-wife team of poets: Elaine Equi’s latest book, Ripple Effect: New & Selected Poems, was a finalist for the LA Times Book Award and on the short list for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She teaches at New York University and in the MFA programs at the New School and City College. Her husband, Jerome Sala, has been described as an “honorable hysteric” by critic Peter Schjeldahl. His latest book is Look Slimmer Instantly from Soft Skull Press. Other books include cult classic such as Spaz Attack, I Am Not a Juvenile Delinquent and The Trip.

—geoff kelly

7pm. Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen St. (85-9535 / www.justbuffalo.org). FREE

Friday, November 21

Jsan & The Analog Sons

Friday night (Nov. 21), J-san & the Analogue Sons (JATAS) will perform at Nietzsche’s. This group of righteous rockers will bring the bass and a message of social consciousness to the stage. While always having a good time playing, this band’s lyrics aim to bring attention to important global issues. The sounds produced by these self-described “dub-rock warriors” is sure to please many earswith their use of elements of reggae, dub, house, soul, rock, and hip-hop. J-san, the lead singer of the band, was literally born of rebel stock, with a radical Vietnam veteran father and an Okinawan mother. He spent much of his early life traveling, living amongst, as he has said “artists and musicians . . . ganja growers and hustlers”. JATAS has had the privilege to share the stage with such revered musicians as the Wailers, John Brown’s Body, and String Cheese Incident. Head to Nietzsche’s this Saturday for some funky reggae, dancing, and perhaps a bit of enlightenment.

—justin sondel

10pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com)

Friday, November 21

The Flaming Lips’ CHRISTMAS ON MARS

Six years in the making, this “fantastical film freakout” by legendary cult-rock band the Flaming Lips will enjoy a one night only screening—one that also marks its progression straight to DVD. This epic project is the directorial debut by front man Wayne Coyne, who not only spent six years working on it, but also manages to maintain a straight face while wearing green makeup and antennae. The trailers, which are available on YouTube, suggest a film somewhere far below 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eraserhead, one with a DIY ethic that aspires to the level of Ed Wood’s worst—or best—work. As one Lips fan—with the moniker holymadman42—commented on the film one month ago: “I just saw this movie last night. It was easily the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. But once you give in to the strange (and low budget) style of the film, you might just notice that it is brilliant. One of the best films ever about mankind’s need to distract itself from the crushing meaninglessness and terror that awaits those who contemplate their own nature and purpose. Doesn’t hurt to watch it high either.”

—buck quigley

8pm. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St. (884-7172 / www.squeaky.org). $4 members/$6 non-members. Contact theloraineproject@gmail.com or 347-482-6980 to RSVP

Saturday, November 22

Nash Lectures

This Saturday the fourth and final installment of the Nash Lecture Series, presented by the Buffalo Niagara Freedom Station Coalition, will be held at the historic Michigan Street Baptist Church. Thomas March, the poet, critic, and teacher who lives and works in New York City, will discuss James Baldwin’s “eloquent manifesto,” The Fire Next Time. This work by the revered fiction writer and essayist discusses an approach to reconciling the opposing sides of race relations, a position that was less radical than many, given the turbulence of the times. Baldwin, who avoided the perils of his rough neighborhood in Harlem and began preaching in his step-father’s church, suggests that the only way for race relations to truly change for the better is for both sides to realize and consider the human aspects of the other’s. March will discuss how these essays related to the struggles of the time in which they were written, and how they remain relevant today. Don’t miss the last installment of this excellent lecture series, given in one of this area’s most historically important buildings.

—justin sondel

2:45-5pm. Michigan Avenue Baptist Church.

Please contact theloraineproject@gmail.com or 347-482-6980 to RSVP

Saturday, November 22

Nelson Starr

Last spring long-time local music mainstay Nelson Starr did his damnedest to get the Food Channel’s Anthony Bourdain to come shoot an epsiode of his show in Buffalo. Sadly, he failed. (But here’s some trivia for you: Did you know that Bourdain’s theme song was composed by Buffalo native Allen Farmelo, late of Power Drill and Red Dog 7? True fact.) But Nelson’s not down: In fact, he’s put a new band together and is playing a gig at Nietzsche’s on Saturday, supported by Bread Gone Wry, Lenny Revell, and Family Funktion & the Sitar Jamz. Starr’s repertoire will reach back to material from his old band, the Tails, as well as some new originals. A member of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, Starr is always a good night out. And who knows? Maybe he’ll announce that he’s starring in his own local cooking show...

—geoff kelly

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

Monday, November 24

Compromising Integrity, Morality & Principles In Exchange For Money Tour featuring All Time Low

In all honesty, we may not really “See You (H)ere.” But how can anyone resist giving a shout out to Hot Topic for this awesomely titled tour? The powers that be at the Hot Top are clearly self-aware, and that goes a long way toward redeeming the business for its numerous sins. Don’t get me wrong, l shop at Hot Topic, and it is always a welcome respite from the rest of the mall and its Cheesecake Factories, calendar kiosks, and various over-scented establishments. However, the CD selection at HT is kind of reminiscent of the music section at, say, Starbucks. And as seemingly opposite as those two conglomerates are, it’s a distinct possibility that the Hot Topic CD purchasers of today will grow up to be the Starbucks label consumers of tomorrow. Chrome-hued hair, piercings, and eyeliner when you’re 15 may lead you to Avenged Sevenfold now, but a business suit and a caffeine addiction when you are 30 leads to... well, it’s too heartbreaking to mention. Anyway, have fun while you can y’all, and please, reach your All Time Low at an early age rather than a later one.

—k. o’day

6pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $16 at box office or www.Tickets.com / 888-223-6000

Monday, November 24

Electric 6 / Local H

No, they aren’t public transportation options. These bands are from the “Motor City,” for crying out loud. Detroit’s music scene has been one of the most interesting of the past couple decades, even—or especially—considering Kid Rock and Eminem (and I like them both—KR more than ever, despite his latest single). Electric 6 hit mainstream success in the early 2000s with “Danger! High Voltage!,” right around the same time that Local H’s distinctively different hit “Bound for the Floor“ was fading from the airwaves. Outside of the metro-Detroit area, neither band is as big as the other two I mentioned, yet arguably their respective hits are better than anything either of those solo superstars have done. Electric 6 and Local H co-headline a tour that comes to the Tralf on Tuesday (Nov. 24), with Toronto’s Golden Dogs opening the show.

—k. o’day

8pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / www.tralfmusichall.com). $15

Wednesday, November 26

Hawksley Workman

Wednesday, November 26, the infamous Thanksgiving Eve, the Juno Award winning singer songwriter Hawksley Workman will perform at the Town Ballroom. Workman, who grew up in the Muskoka region of Ontario, put out his first album For Him and the Girls in 1999 and has produced a prolific catalog of albums since then, with several of his more recent records being available only at his concerts. Workman has been compared to the likes of Tom Waits, Rheostatics, and Harry Nihlsson. His high energy songs are sure to electrify the festive crowd. Chances are that 90 percent of the age-appropriate Buffalo population will be going to the bars this night, and after the concert lets out, a short walk to Chippewa will lead right to the heart of the Thanksgiving Eve madness, with bars that will be packed until close.

—justin sondel

7pm (doors). Town Ballroom, 341 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com)