I ended up riding to Middleport and stopped for lunch at a diner there next to the canal. I’d been there before, on one of the bike club centuries I rode a few years ago. It’s always a convenient place to stop.

Just for the heck of it, I decided to ride back on Route 31, aka Telegraph Road and see just how bad the Bike Route 5 was. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all that bad. It was exactly as I expected, heavy traffic with cars and trucks pretty much constantly going by. But the wide shoulder was smooth and clear as can be expected. The riding was actually faster than taking the canal path and it’s crushed stone.

I kind of enjoyed the uphill ride. Most of it seemed to be gentle uphills folowed by gentle downhills. Not even enough to call rollers. The last hill up the escarpment was harder as you would expect, but an easier route then going up the hills on either Market Street or Clinton Street next to the canal.

When I got back to Lockport, I stopped by the Canal Street gazebo to see who might be playing there. It turned out to be Mike Petralgia, a friend who I knew from work. I hung out for an hour or so listening to him play.

From Fun on the Canal

The gazebo shows are a nice idea, but attendance always seems to be really low. In the not weather, there just is no shade and no one wants to stay there. Today, it was slightly more comfortable and a few people wandered by to watch. Some even took pictures at the Canawlers cut-out.

Ride mileage was about 29 miles.

Click on the photo to go to my Picasaweb album,

From Big Sugar

Last week’s Canal Concert with Big Sugar was, in my opinion, the best of the season. I was happy with the opening acts, but Big Sugar stole the show with a outstanding set. As I warned you, they were LOUD! but gave a great performance with songs representing all of their catalog. They really fed off the audience’s energy and fed it back in a long show going to at least 10:30pm.

The attendance was somewhat lower than the previous week. I don’t know why, maybe weather uncertainties, or other events, but a very respectable sized crowd nonetheless. It was a fitting turnout for the band without being excessively crowded and I got some good photos. I put my earplugs in and moved up as people were moving back because of the loudness!

Here’s next week’s lineup:

Monday: Artpark - Sara Evans, Amanda Nagurney
Tuesday: Artpark - The Trews, Aqueos
Tuesday: Gateway Harbor - No Excuses, Hit N Run
Friday: Artpark Main Stage ($) - Bachman-Turner
Friday: Pine Ave. Pavillion - Amanda Nagurney, Mason-Dixon Band
        (7-9pm Niagara Falls)
Friday-Saturday-Sunday: Hamburg Fairgrounds - Buffalo Irish Festival
Saturday: Ulrich City Center (Lockport) - NYS Rock & Blues Fest -
       Savoy Brown, Square Circle Triangle, Terranova Band, Wanted By The FBI,
       Flyin' Blind Blues Band, more
Saturday-Sunday: Elmwood Ave. Festival of the Arts - 3 stages, over 20 bands
       each day! Plus the festival!

Amanda Nagurney is all over the place this week. She’s really been busy this summer. I know I kind of said some less than enthusiastic things about her earlier, but I do love her. She’s a very promising talent and a credit to our area. I hope she has tons of success. Catch her at Artpark or in Niagara Falls this week.

The Trews at Artpark this Wednesday is the last First Niagara Wednesday show for the season and it should be a good one. I like The Trews, a band from Nova Scotia very popular on Canadian radio. There’s a Big Sugar connection here too: Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar has worked with them as a Producer. Aqueos, a Buffalo prog-rock jam band opens for them.

No Excuses and Hit N Run make for another cover band lineup at the Gateway Harbor event. No Excuses is one of those bands that needs an original name; do you know how many No Excuses bands come up in a Google search? But you might recognize some of the members from other local bands like Suckerpunch and Gravity.

The big shows this week are the festivals. NYS Rock & Blues Festival is new this year, held in the same venue as the Molson Canal Concerts were, just on Saturday. A bunch of great local bands are booked to warm you up for Savoy Brown.

From Amherst Scottish Festival

Another “more bands than I can mention” event is the Buffalo Irish Festival. If you love Celtic music, as I do, you have to spend a day or two at this festival. Oh there’s plenty of other things to do, but with a couple stages of pretty much continuous music, you can’t go wrong. Grab a Guiness while you’re there too!

Bands to check out: Penny Whiskey (played at the Scottish Fest last weekend), Emish, The Dady Brothers, (Lockport’s own) The Dustmen, Seamus Kennedy, (Outstanding!) and The McKrells. Kevin McKrell is a gifted songwriter and is currently performing as a trio with his daughter and Buffalo native and former Steam Donkey, Doug Moody.

And it’s a shame they fall on the same weekend, but the Elmwood Festival of the Arts is also going on. As an art festival, it’s kind of the Allentown festival’s little brother, but less pricey and more accessible, IMHO. But for entertainment, you can’t beat it with several stages going at all times. Check the web page for the schedule, you’ll need to plan ahead to see the acts you want.

The biggest problem with narrowing this week down is there are fewer evening shows and the weekend ones all happen together. Wednesday with The Trews at Artpark is an easy choice. The weekend, though is a “can’t do it all” situation. The best case scenario would be Irish Fest on Friday night, the Rock & blues Fest Saturday, and finish up with the art festival Sunday! If you can do all that, you’re a better man than me!

[Clicking on photos will take you to their albums!]

Mike introduces Penny Whiskey.

[Click any photo to go to album]

Well, after two days of riding 40+ miles, topped off with the Big Sugar concert Friday night, you’d think I’d take a day to rest. No, not when the Amherst Scottish Festival is the next day!

I’ve enjoyed this festival many times over the past years and didn’t see any reason not to go again this year. I always enjoy the music, whether it be the bands on the main stage or the pipe bands marching on the field. There’s just something about a couple dozen pipers and drummers marching towards you that just grabs you until you feel it in your gut. No wonder they went to battle that way, it sure intimidated their enemies.

From Amherst Scottish Festival

It was good too see so many friends there that I’ve come to know over the years, all fans of the music. Even a few others that I knew from other places. There was a pretty close-knit community of fans of the band Kilbrannan who all seemed to be there. Of course, that group has become two, Penny Whiskey and Stone Row, both of which played at the festival.

From Amherst Scottish Festival

Kirk McWhorter, leader of Penny Whiskey, seemed to be in charge of the show, and had a great set of acts there. I didn’t get there early in the morning, so I didn’t see them all, but was there in time for those I really wanted to hear.

Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without something new to me and this year didn’t disappoint. I was introduced to the music of HarpBeat, a collaboration of a harpist, Carol Farrar and a duo, known as Step In Time. (Monte and Marcia Jones)

From Amherst Scottish Festival

Both accomplished acts, they were on the bill separately, but as the story was told on stage, they were appearing on a morning TV show where they were told there was only time left for one song and asked if they could do a song together. They rehearsed during a commercial break and pulled it off so well, they decided to work together.

Here’s a video of Stone Row

[Left: Jeremy Hoyle Band/Strictly Hip at Finnans in 2006]

Tuesday: Artpark: Foreginer, Free Henry!
Wednesday: Artpark: Sloan, David Nolf
Wednesday: Gateway Harbor: Dreamland and That ’80s Hair Band
Friday: Gateway Harbor: Bleeding Hearts
Friday: Canal Concerts Lockport: Big Sugar,  Johnny Nobody,
                          Beggar's Best, Jeremy Hoyle Band 
Saturday: Amherst Scottish Festival (Amherst Museum):
     ($10 admission to festival)
     Penny Whiskey, Celtic Circle Ceilidh Band, Stone Row,
     Harpbeat, Hobson's Choice,  Step in Time, more

It’s hard to believe, but the Thursday at the Square shows put on by Buffalo Place are already over. It is just me, or didn’t they go until September in the past? But they had some geat shows this year and more Rocks The Harbor shows on the weekends than ever before.

As far as local bands, Free Henry! get’s their shot at Artpark today. Well worth seeing again, if you caught them at the Hard Rock recently. I had them on my podcast a few years ago and they are even better now.

David Nolf is new to me, but sound really good on his web page. If you’re going to see Sloan, be sure to get there early and check him out. you won’t be sorry.

The Bleeding Hearts have a web site, but I still really came away not knowing much about them. I did learn that there is an interesting Rock/Punk band in North Carolina with the same name and that Roger Waters had a band called The Bleeding Heart after he left Pink Floyd. It really is true, all the good band names are taken…

But for local music fans, Friday’s Molson Canal Concert in Lockport is a treasure trove with three great local bands.

Johnny Nobody, Beggars Best and Jeremy Hoyle Band are all some of my favorite area bands. Johnny Nobody and Beggars Best are hard-rocking bands that should get the crowd pumped. The Jeremy Hoyle Band, a band that impressed me years ago at one of the North Tonawanda concerts can be great. They frequently play local bars as “Strictly Hip” or “Toby Live!” and are a great cover band, but really shine when they bring out their original material. I hope they do for this show!

I’m a Big Sugar fan, so you can guess which show I’m going to try to be at this week. I remember Big sugar playing pretty regularily around Buffalo years ago, but was sad when they broke up. I saw half of the band as Grady in Buffalo a while back and they were absolutely the LOUDEST band I’ve ever heard. They played an outdoor stage and literally cleared out a space in front of the stage for a couple hundred feet as people moved back. It was ear-bleeding loud, but great music! Be prepared for anything at this show: bring earplugs!

For a change of pace, try the Amherst Scottish Festival being held Saturday at the Amherst Museum. Food, Highland Games, exhibits and lots of Celtic music make it well worth the small admission. Hours are 9-5, so get there early and make a day of it.

Photo from last week’s Canal Concert: Jamie Moses Band ft. Michael Hund

From Jamie Moses Band

Buffalo native Willie Nile plays at Artpark, plus a homecoming show for Peter Case (Wikipedia bio) at the Sportsmen’s Tavern on Friday, Aug. 13 makes it a week for reunions. The Sportsmen’s show is neither an outdoor festival or free, but should be on any local music fan’s wish list. Read the bios on these two guys and look at the names they’ve worked with and you’ll see if they’re not musical royalty, they’re at least in the King’s Court!

Top that off with some local bands playing with histories going back into the ’70s and you’ve got a local music week that’s hard to top.

Tues: Artpark: Doobie Brothers, Mick Hayes Band
Wed: Artpark: Willie Nile (Wikipedia bio), Alison Pipitone
Wed: Gateway Harbor: Fat Brat, Weekend Party of Nine
Thurs: Lafayette Square: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Hit and Run
Fri: Lockport Canal Concert: Tears For Fears, Missing Star,
                The Pillagers
Fri: Gateway Harbor: Naughty Dawg

On a sad note, Weekend has had to cancel their appearance Wednesday due to the serious illness of their keyboardist, Ned Wood. A benefit in Ned Wood’s honor is being planned for Sun. Sept. 26 at Frog Hair on Transit Rd. Weekend is one of those bands embedded in Buffalo’s music history and a BMHOF inductee. (2000, the same year as Peter Case)

Once again, time is short and I’m writing this on Monday. The week has already started and I want to get this posted.

Headliners-wise, you just can’t go wrong. You won’t hear me say anything against the Doobies, the T-Birds, or Tears For Fears, but because of the Buffalo Connection, I really like the Willie Nile show at Artpark. Kudos to them for bringing him back and for bringing Alison Pipitone to open for him. I’ve seen Willie several times and he’s a great performer. That’s no hyperbole, I mean GREAT. He’s played Buffalo many times in recent years, but don’t let that stop you, on that great stage in Lewiston, it will be an awesome show. Alison Pipitone is a perfect fit as an opener. I always hate when they put bands together and you wonder if the promoter has ever listened to their music. Not here. Alison is the rockingest girl in Buffalo and a great choice to play before Willie Nile.

Missing Star and The Pillagers open for Tears For Fears at Lockport this Friday. Again, this is a week you should get there early. These openers are well worth checking out before the main show. I don’t know who the early opener at the Canal Concert was last week, or if there was one. I got there late due to the rain, but did enjoy Reign of Kindo and Kansas.