Forget that the end of the summer season is in sight, because there's plenty to look forward to this fall. The editors here at Artvoice have narrowed the field for you, and come up with 60 must-not-miss events to keep you busy until winter.

Don’t forget to check our on-line events calendar when you’re looking for something to do. Aside from the picks below, we constantly update it, and you'll find a whole lot more about what's going on.

September

September 4

Tonawanda Creek Moonlight Paddle with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. A $15 donation gets you equipment, instruction, and a tour. 7:30pm.

Adrian Belew

September 11

Writing Pictures @ Western New York Book Arts Center. Opening reception for an exhibition of prints, photographs, paintings, drawings and sculptures, selected from the extensive collection of Gerald Mead, a noted Buffalo artist and educator, at one of the coolest art venues in town. 6-9pm

Conversation Pieces @ CEPA Gallery. The opening of this mult-artist show about public dialogues coincides with CEPA’s annual Curtain Up! party, right in the heart of the action. 7pm-midnight.

Joseph Bochynski: New Suburban Landscapes @ Sugar City. The artist examines the refuse of the American dream. Opening reception 5-10pm.

The Tradition Continues: Artists from the Studio of J.A. Mach @ Artsphere Studio. Another opening reception in an eveining heavy with them. 6:30-9pm.

Adrian Belew @ Tralf Music Hall. Prog rock hero on tour with a trio. 8pm.

September 12

7th Annual Music is Art Festival @ Albright-Knox Art Gallery. More than 30 bands, 50 displaying artists, live art, dancers, djs, projections, a kids village, food, and beer tent. Free. 10am-10pm.

Opening Reception @ Burchfield-Penney Art Center. If you haven’t visited the Burchfield’s new space yet, now’s the time. 6-8pm.

Secrets of Allentown Tour. Meet at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site (a.k.a. the Wilcox Mansion) and embark on a tour of Allentown’s hidden gems. Sponsored by the Allentown Association. 10am-4pm.

Akron/Family

September 13

Violinist Elmar Oliveira and the Slee Sinfonietta @ UB’s Slee Hall. The program includes a special violin and string orchestra arrangement for Mr. Oliveira of Bloch’s Baal Shem: Three Pictures of Chassidic Life, Bach’s Concerto in A minor, and others. 7:30pm.

September 14

Iliana Kaplan Stangler @ Betty’s Restaurant. Opening reception for an exhibition of paintings by Iliana Kaplan Stangler. Will the restaurant’s new bar be open in time? You’ll have to go to find out. 6-9pm.

September 17

Akron/Family @ Mohawk Place. Legendary Williamsburg folk-indie-rockers. 9pm.

Dimensional Transitions @ Carnegie Arts Center. Opening reception for an exhibition of works by Gary L. Wolfe. 6-8pm. (Artist’s talk on October 3, 2-4pm.)

September 18

Ecologies of Decay and Rumors and Folktales @ Artspace Gallery. Opening receptions for two new exhibits. 6-10pm.

Mysteries: Work by Dennis Barraclough and Kevin Kegler @ Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery: Opening reception fat 6pm.

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper @ Erie’s Warner Theatre. Wouldn’t you drive to Erie, PA to see Cooper’s Theatre of Death? 7:30pm.

Free Art Conservation Clinic @ Buffalo State College. Bring damaged heirlooms, collectibles, or antiques. Faculty experts will examine your valuables, discuss conservation options, and provide advice about care. Some objects will be accepted for conservation treatment as supervised student projects.

September 19

Nash Lectures: A Tale of Two Cities: Tulsa, Oklahoma and Buffalo, New York @ Michigan Street Baptist Church. Hannibal B. Johnson, author of The Black Wall Street, and Dr. Barbara Seals-Nevergold. 11am.

Starfucker @ Mohawk Place. Portland, Oregon trio whose live theatrics are a must-see. 9pm.

September 20

Daniel Ulbricht’s Dance Spectacular @ UB Center for the Arts. A principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, Ulbricht and friends join Configuration Dance to present an evening of Balanchine works. 3pm.

September 23

Ingrid Calame

Bike Night @ Faso’s Greatful Bear & Grill. It doesn’t matter if you’re into Harleys. It helps if you love Jerry Garcia. Regardless, Buffalo’s only tavern dedicated entirely to the Grateful Dead needs your suport: Local pols are trying to destroy the owner’s dream of turning part of his building into a boat. 5pm.

Ingrid Calame: Step on a Crack… @ Albright-Knox Art Gallery. In June 2008, with the help of local high school and college students, artists, and a security guard, Ingrid Calame traced markings on the floors of ArcelorMittal, the grain elevators of RiverWright, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery parking lot, and an abandoned wading pool on Louisiana Street. From these tracings Calame has created 11 works of art. Opening reception at 7pm.

September 26

Johnny Mathis @ Kleinhans. Classic. 8pm.

Back to Buffalo: UB Dance Alumni All-Star Concert. Seven UB dance alumni return to the school to perform. 8pm.

September 28

Margaret Cho @ Town Ballroom. She’s funny. She really is. 8pm.

Stinkin’ and Drinkin’ @ the Deerhead Inn. Mondays are bluegrass nights at the Deerhead, courtesy of Doug Yeomans and company, but the last Monday of each month is also Stinkin’ and Drinkin’ night, when the kitchen cranks out limberger and onion sandwiches. 7pm.

Buffalo Sound Painting Ensemble @ Hallwalls. If you have not witnessed a performance by this group, you really must. No one else in the region does what they do. 7pm.

October

David Sedaris

October 1

David Sedaris @ UB Center for the Arts. Him talk funny today. He really is. 8pm.

Alan Bigelow: Webyarns.com: Stories for the Web @ Burchfield-Penney Art Center. Medaille professor discusses nontraditional narrative created with Web-based media. 7pm.

October 2

Matt & Kim @ Soundlab. A good-timin’ husband and wife pop duo from Brooklyn. 9pm.

October 8

Ben Folds @ Kleinhans. Rocker meets BPO. 8pm.

October 9

A. S. Byatt @ Kleinhans. The Booker-winning novelist kicks off Just Buffalo’s third season of Babel, which brings top-flight writers from around the world tou our city. Among the best new additions to the region’s cultural live in many years. 8pm.

Ann Arbor Film Festival @ Squeaky Wheel. A traveling exhibition of independent and experimental films at one a venue that specializes in this stuff. 8pm.

Illstyle & Peace Productions @ UB Center for the Arts. Multicultural mixed-gender dance company from Philadelphia. 8pm.

October 14

Buffalo Chamber Players Opening Gala @ Buffalo Seminary. The region’s newest chamber group celebrates Mendelssohn’s Octet 200th birthday with a program that includes his Octet. 7pm.

Califone

October 15

Califone @ Mohawk Place. Experimental post-rock from Chicago touring behind a brand new record and film, All My Friends Are Funeral Singers. 9pm.

October 17

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #1 @ Kleinhans. Abdel Rahman El-Bacha joins the BPO as soloist, with Joann Faletta conducting. The program also includes pieces by Fuchs and Shostakovich. 8pm.

October 18

AC/DC @ HSBC. Seriously, how could you not? 7:30pm.

October 19

Ballet Hispanico @ UB Center for the Arts. The Manhattan dance company the preserves, advances, and celebrates Latino dance forms. 8pm.

October 21

Andrew Bird @ Babeville. One of the hottest tickets this autumn is this show at the church resurrected by Ani DiFranco, whose Righteous Babe Records released Bird’s first two solo albums. 7pm.

Emmylou Harris w/Buddy Miller @ Rochester’s Auditorium Theatre. Appearing just down the road in Rochester, the silver-haired Emmylou Harris keeps getting better and better. 7:30pm.

Andrew Bird

October 22

Richie Havens @ Kleinhans. Havens is no less energetic and political than he was opening Woodstock 40 years ago. 7:30pm.

October 24

Milton Rogovin’s 100th Birthday Party @ the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. The famed photographer of Buffalo’s neighborhoods and people hits three digits. Pay your respects to a national treasure. 1pm.

October 26

Gwar @ Town Ballroom. Bring an umbrella. 8pm.

October 27

Get Up Kids @ Town Ballroom. Celebrated emo innovators who left that scene behind, broke up, and reformed. 8pm.

October 29

Shaolin Warriors @ UB Center for the Arts. A much more kinetic performance than David Carradine’s in Kung Fu. These monks execute incredible, balletic acts that illustrate the philospohical underpinnings of Buddhism. 8pm.

November and beyond…

November 4

The StepCrew @ UB Center for the Arts. International dance production featuring the world’s top talents in Irish Step, Ottawa Valley, and modern tap dancing as well as fiddling. 8pm.

Neko Case

November 6

AJ Fries and John Haddock @ Hallwalls. Opening reception for two shows: new black-and-white paintings by Buffalo artist Fries, and Haddock’s black-and-white depictions of 1970s-era porn as performed by 1930s-era animated mice. 8pm.

November 8

Neko Case @ Rochester’s Harro East Ballroom. A beautiful venue in which to catch the solo artist and New Porographers vocalist. 8pm.

November 9

Hakeoke @ Q. Every Monday, eveverybody’s piano accompanist and music director Michael Hake (who is also AV’s calendar editor) takes to the keyboard at Q to accompany anyone who wanst to sing anything. Local theater’s best voices are often in attendance. 10pm.

November 10

Metallica @ HSBC. Still banging heads after 27 years. 7:30pm.

November 12

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band @ UB Center for the Arts. Here he is. Yes, it’s true. 8pm.

November 13

Jazz Example with Bilal Abdullah & Sharon Bailey @ Anchor Bar. When Dodo Greene died, the torch passed to Sharon Bailey. Go to the Anchor Bar this night or any Friday night to find out why. 9pm.

November 20

Ha Jin @ Kleinhans. Just Buffalo’s Babel series continues with PEN/Faulkner winning writer Ha Jin. 8pm.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

November 21

Nash Lectures: Tell the Children the Truth: Urban Education and Transition Training @ Michigan Street Baptist Church. Dr. Kush Bhardwaj and Dorian Gaskin will discuss transition training and its dual service in local communities of need. 11am

November 22

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band @ HSBC. Perpetually one of the best live acts in rock-and-roll—and one of the few that can still pull off grand stadium rock. 7:30pm.

Liza Minnelli @ UB Center for the Arts. She’s 63, just three years older than the Boss. If he can still go all night, why shouldn’t Liza? 8pm.

November 26

Buffalo Middle Eastern Dance Festival @ Brounshilde Post 205 in Kenmore. Workshops, performances, concerts, and food celebrating belly-dancing and other Middle eastern arts. 7pm.

November 29

Pelican @ Soundlab. Chicago art metal ensemble. 8pm.

Loretta Lynn @ Memorial Arena (w/Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers). You’ll have to cross the Rainbow Bridge into Niagara Falls, Ontario to catch the Coal Miner’s Daughter, but she’s worth the toll. 7pm.

Pelican

December 4

Rey Scott & Co. @ Musicians Big “6” Club. A Sun Ra veteran, saxophonist Rey Scott is one of the city’s great jazz educators, and every Friday he leads an open jam at one of the city’s least-recognized music clubs. 7-10pm.

Allentown First Fridays Gallery Walk. Every Friday, art galleries in Allentown open their doors. The holiday shopping season is the perfvect time to check it out. 5-9pm.

December 5

Sibelius Symphony #2 @ Kleinhans. Berhnard Gueller conducts the BPO, and cellist Allison Eldredge joins as soloist. 8pm.

December 6

Channels: Stories from the Niagara Frontier @ Market Arcade Film & Arts Center. Squeaky Wheel matches documentary filmmakers with local grassroots initiatives and screen the resulting fworks. This year’s subjects include the Coalition for Economic Justice, Native American Community Services of Erie & Niagara County, Preservation Buffalo Niagara, and Read to Succeed Buffalo. 3pm.

December 8

Biava Quartet @ Kleinhans. A program that includes works by Haydn, Schoenberg, and Grieg. Presented by the Buffalo Chamber Music Society. 8pm.

Fall Arts Features Film • Theater • Visual Arts 60 Things You Must Do This Fall