Just Added – Scrabblefest at Next Wednesday’s Song School at the Sportsmens
By Seamus Gallivan
We’re adding a new twist to this month’s edition of the Song School song swap series at the Sportsmens Tavern – ScrabbleFest.
We’re adding a bit of a pre-game as we gather on Wednesday, February 29th (326 Amherst St, 7pm, $5), featuring Bob Buckley (Free Henry), Vinnie DeRosa (Vitamnin D), David Miller (Dive House Union), and Nelson Starr in the monthly installment of the series, co-presented by Battin Eyecare and Buffablog, that supports Music is Art through a raffle and collection of music instrument donations. In what will be the final preliminary round of Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo & Erie County’s annual Scrabblefest, one last contestant will be sent to the Scrabblefest finals on March 4th at the Central Library. Read more
Announcing, SXSW Sendoff for Son of the Sun, the Albrights, & the Tins
By Seamus Gallivan
The South by Southwest Music Festival makes a worldwide music scene out of Austin, Texas, as a storm of all aspects of the music business swarms around the Lone Star State capital for a wild week. While some 2,000 acts from over 50 countries perform at official festival showcases, thousands more make the pilgrimage to play endless unofficial events, network with other bands and industry folk, and in general spend the entire week looking for a good break and a cold beer; among this madness is always at least a handful of bands with Buffalo connections, and 2012 will have a new twist.
The Good Neighborhood is flying into the fray for the first time this year with Read more
Speakeasy Sundays Weekly Series Resumes This Weekend in Pearl Street Basement
By Seamus Gallivan
Speakeasy Sundays are back in the basement of Pearl Street Brewery – and now, there’s no cover, an earlier start time, and a mission to make the event the place to be every Sunday night in Buffalo.
The Pearl Street basement bar was called MacGarry’s during the era of Prohibition, when surely those downtown Buffalo blocks around the Erie Canal were still as seedy as anywhere for many a mile. Now named Brawler’s Back Alley Deli (76 Pearl Street), the room still has a relaxed, unique vibe that leads one to believe that it will always be a fitting home for underground music – and that’s exactly what The Good Neighborhood is presenting each week with Speakeasy Sundays (6-10pm), reaching back to the old era while updating the meaning of the speakeasy sound, and supporting our local arts and cultural organizations through the Give for Greatness. Read more
Song of the Day – Professor Longhair, “Go to the Mardi Gras”
By Seamus Gallivan
Part of what made the piano playing of Bogalusa, Louisiana native Henry Roeland Byrd – aka Professor Longhair – so distinctly funky was that he taught himself how to play on a piano that was missing keys; the larger part, of course, was the part of the country he came from. Although Longhair may have been too “out there” to become a mainstream star, his influence was obvious on those who followed in his footsteps both figuratively and literally, from Fats Domino to Allen Toussaint. And his collection of songs that will be sung far and wide today as part of Mardi Gras festivities alone makes him immortal.
If Mardi Gras songs were served for dessert, this would be the King Cake - Read more
Song of the Day – Robert Johnson, “Phonograph Blues”
By Seamus Gallivan
On February 19th, 1878, Thomas Edison was issued the first patent for the phonograph, the first device that had the ability to both record and reproduce sound. Most everyone has enjoyed it since, although apparently Robert Johnson had some trouble with it – could’ve had something to do with him selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads…Johnson may credit his immortality to the devil, but Edison deserves his share of the due. Read more
Songs of the Day – Sam Roberts Band, “Without a Map”; the Beatles, “Long and Winding Road”
By Seamus Gallivan
I took some wonderful photos to accompany this post, then found that I left the computer-connector-cord at home – just the latest stroke of clumsiness in this story…
Greetings from the Vandalian Restaurant in Fayetteville, West Virginia, just off of Route 19 between Buffalo and Vero Beach, Florida. Read more
Song of the Day – Scott Down & DJ Cutler, “716 Lesson”
By Seamus Gallivan
Tonight marks the return of the Drop-In Sessions at Merge (439 Delaware Ave, 10pm, $5), our third-Friday series anchored by DJ Cutler with a different group “dropping in” to jam with him each month – this month featuring funk-soul-reggae sextet The Rockaz – in support of Drop-In Nation Education and their mission to rescue out of school youth and unemployed or underemployed adults by providing holistic education, including life skills and career-training opportunities in a collaborative community-based setting.
The Drop-In Sessions are a bit of a “716 Lesson,” displaying the ability of Buffalo’s go-to DJ to collaborate on the spot with anyone who drops in – tonight will be the first time Cutler has even met most of the members of The Rockaz – while spotlighting Drop-In Nation Education founder Stacey Watson and her tireless work to keep area youth from slipping through the cracks. In her stirring setbreak speech last month, Watson stated that Read more
Tonight – Music at the Marcy Kickoff with the Albrights & Country-Punk Extravaganza – VIDEOS
By Seamus Gallivan
I wish it didn’t have to come to this. Tonight should be a banner evening as we kick off the Music at the Marcy series, but there is tension in the air in The Good Neighborhood. You see, I seek in every event a friendly combination of cause, venue, and entertainment, and Music at the Marcy seems on the surface like a perfect setup - Read more
