Al's Blog-o-Sphere

The summer free concert events are ramping up with Lockport’s Canal Concert series kicking off as well at the first of several Buffalo waterfront concerts in the Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor series. Let’s see what we have:

Tuesday – Artpark – Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-A-Whirl Band
Thursday – Lafayette Square – Martin Sexton, Ryan Montbleau Band
Friday – Buffalo Place Rocks The Harbor – moe., Keller Williams
Friday – Lockport Canal Concerts – Rusted Root, The Funky Beets, The Ragbirds
Saturday – Buffalo Place Rocks The Harbor – moe., Donna The Buffalo

There are some tough choices here. You’d better clear your calendar and try to make more than one! Continue Reading…

Well, the summer concert season has officially begun with the first Thursday at the Square concert in Buffalo. They kicked it off with Alejandro Escovedo last Thursday.

This week provides more choices in free outdoor concerts in the Erie-Niagara area. Artpark opens it’s Tuesday series with War with Then and Now billed as openers.

Thursday at the Square continues it’s run with Ingrid Michaelson. A. A. Bondy opens.

With only two concerts this week, the choice is pretty clear. If you want familiar, comfort-food music, you’re going to go see War at Artpark. If you’re the type that goes and sees America there every summer, (June 29 this year) and thinks The Boys of Summer is a great local band, then you know who you are.

But if you want to hear something new and embrace something that isn’t being spoon-fed to you by 97 Rock, (or worse, WJYE) then Thursday at the Square is the clear winner. I hadn’t heard of Ingrid Michaelson or A. A. Bondi, but a quick listen online (I’ve put MySpace links in above) has tweaked my curiosity. They’re both worth a trip to see.

Kudos to Buffalo Place for getting “It” and bringing in some new and upcoming talent, rather than just the latest in the milk-it-for-all-it’s-worth touring greatest-hits has-beens.

Incidentally, MySpace may be getting kicked around by Facebook when it comes to popularity in social media, but it’s still the best place to find and hear new music. Every band has a page there. It must be required by law or something. Even when they have other outlets for their online presence, a MySpace page is an integral part of any musicians self-promotion kit.

The return of the Lockport Molson Canal Concert Series is about a month away and the promoters released the schedule and lineup of entertainers on Wednesday.

As usual, there is a lot of fuss about the headliners, and has brought in a bunch of top-name acts that will undoubtedly have the square behind Ulrich City Center packed again. You’ve probably already heard the names and most of them were no surprise; they were almost all leaked/announced on the individual bands websites and show schedules.

But, unlike most of the local free summer concert series, they have also released the local or regional performers who will be opening for the headline acts. I think this is great as it gives the fans of the local bands some notice, give the bands themselves time to promote their appearance and in the end, brings even more people to the shows. Since the openers play first, this means more people get there early and probably stay longer which translates to more business for the vendors and surrounding businesses. It’s such a no-brainer, that I don’t understand why venues like Artpark and Thursday at the Square don’t put more emphasis on this.

So, let’s look at a few of the local bands: Continue Reading…

Well, seven out of eight wasn’t bad. I couldn’t go to the last of the Lockport Molson Canal Concerts for the year. I had to stay home and take care of my wife, who has just gotten out of the hospital.

My son was at work and my daughter was working at the concert with the Youth & Recreation group. So I had to keep my wife company.

If I had to miss one show, I suppose this was the one for me. I’m not a huge fan of Jeff Martin, or The Tea Party, although everyone in this area who listens to Canadian radio – as most Buffalo FM radio stations suck – has heard of them.

I listened to a bit of Tea Party as I sat at home, just to get a sense of what I missed. I guess their music is just a bit dark and bombastic for my taste. It seemed like every song was playing as if the speed on the turntable was turned down 10%. But that’s just me. If you enjoy it, far be it from me to discourage you. If you went to the concert and enjoyed it, let us know, leave a comment and tell us about it. Continue Reading…