Tonight's The Night: A Tribute to Neil Young

Saturday, March 12

In an age where celebrity and icon status is attached to everyone and anyone, you hardly know where to begin when trying to sum up a career like Neil Young’s. From woeful folk ballads to raw-edged rockers, his style is hard to pigeonhole, because style was never really his thing to begin with. For 40 years the man has done what he’s wanted when he’s wanted, leading to 34 studio albums, two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a 2011 Grammy, and countless other merits. Still, Neil Young could care less about icon status, because for him, it’s always been about his guitar, his audience, and maintaining a cause. Beyond the musician Neil Young is the humanitarian and activist Neil Young, with a deep catalogue of charitable efforts that are as diverse and lasting as music he’s created. This Saturday (March 12), Tonight’s the Night honors the music of Neil Young at Nietzsche’s, as part of a six-act tribute concert to benefit TargetCancer, an all-volunteer organization that promotes the development of life-saving treatment protocols for rare cancers. The front and back stages at Nietzsche’s will feature music from Tonight’s the Night, Dee Adams & Leroy Townes, Bearhunter, Free Henry, Brad Gower & Friends, and Tom Maynor. TargetCancer was founded in 2009 by Buffalo native Paul Poth, who passed away from a rare, untreatable form of cancer at the age of 38. “Paul was a huge music fan and a great supporter of local music and that spirit is reflected in TargetCancer as well as this event,” said Poth’s cousin and Tonight’s the Night founding member Nathan Montague. “We have a lot of fun playing Neil Young songs a few times a year and wanted to channel this into a charity gathering—we’re sending this one out to Paul and everyone battling a rare form of cancer.”

—jon wheelock

9pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com). $5.

Thursday, March 10

Book Discussion with Staci Newmahr, author of Playing on the Edge

This Thursday (March 10) at Talking Leaves Books, Buffalo State College Sociology Professor Staci Newmahr will be discussing her book, Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk, and Intimacy, an ethnography of a pansexual SM community. Newmahr describes ethnography as “a written representation of a culture or subculture...that one arrives at by completely immersing oneself in that subculture for a period of time.” To write “Playing on the Edge,” Newmahr became a member of the SM community, befriended other members of the community, while simultaneously researching. Newmahr describes this as a “dual identity,” which helped create a balance between the personal experiences and academic information in the book. This information was gathered through four years of immersive participatory observation and life stories of community members in order to provide a full portrait of the SM community. Newmahr portrays SM as a recreational and gendered risk-taking endeavor, where experiences of “violence” intersect with experiences of the erotic. Additionally, Playing on the Edge explores the meaning of intimacy and how exactly we achieve it. This discussion will certainly challenge your assumptions about sadomasochism, sexuality, eroticism, gender, and emotional experience.

—jill greenberg

7pm. Talking Leaves...Books, 3158 Main Street. (tleavesbooks.com). Free.

Friday, March 11

Ice Cube

People talk about triple threats, but west coast rapper Ice Cube is a quintuple threat. Rapper, director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, Ice Cube, real name O’Shea Jackson, has dabbled in a little bit of everything, but his roots are as a gangster rapper with groups like C.I.A. and N.W.A. He left N.W.A. in 1990 to pursue a solo career after releasing their Dr. Dre produced debut album Straight Outta Compton, featuring controversial tracks like “Fuck The Police,” and “Gangsta Gangsta.” Immediately following his bitter split with N.W.A. Cube released his solo debut, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, which tackled street life themes like drug addiction and gang violence with tracks like “Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside).” The 41 year-old hip-hop star’s most recent contribution to the hardcore rap scene is 2010’s I Am The West, which includes a track, “Life In California,” produced by former C.I.A. group-mate Sir Jinx. When Ice Cube appears at the Town Ballroom on Friday, (March 11), just hope he doesn’t turn that permanently angry grimace in your direction.

—cory perla

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $35 advance, $40 day of show.

Friday, March 11

Neglia Ballet and The BPO present Romeo & Juliet

In their most recent collaboration since they began working together in 2005, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Neglia Ballet Artists will present Romeo and Juliet this Friday (March 11). The BPO will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s score in a live accompaniment, conducted by associate conductor, Matthew Kraemer, with choreography by Neglia’s artistic director, Sergio Neglia, who will also be playing the production’s Romeo. Principal dancer of the Colon Theater, Silvina Vaccarelli will be portraying our ill-fated Juliet with artistic director of the Irish Classical Theater, Vincent O’ Neill as her father, Lord Capulet, opposite of Heidi Halt as Lady Capulet. Principal dancers of the Festival Ballet of Providence, Mingaugas Bauzys and Ilya Burov will be playing the quarreling Tybalt and Mercutio. With sets and costumes made possible by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, local set designers Ron Schwartz and Dyan O’Connell enhance the stage with their work while Donna Massimo complements all with her costumes. Come see the world’s most beloved star-crossed lovers dance to their deaths this Friday at Shea’s Performing Arts Center!

—krysta zagorski

8pm. Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St. (847-1410 / sheas.org). $20-$75.

Friday, March 11

St. Patrick's Day Beer Tasting

The Burchfield Penney Art Center just got a little foamier. This Friday (March 11), the Burchfield will hold a St. Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting as part of their Second Fridays program. Their featured beers will span the globe from England to Mexico to our own backyard including locally brewed Flying Bison beer, Ithaca Beer Company, Heineken Light, Newcastle, and Dos Equis. Along with this fine selection of brews, Celctic-rock group the LeftOvers will provide music to drink to. They also might be at the front of the line to taste those fine brews because they’ll be the first to tell you that they like to drink, tell bad jokes, and play the type of music that brings people together. Since forming in 2001, the locally based six piece band, consisting of guitarists and vocalists Jerry Shea and Pat Gerken, singer Elizabeth Shea, Ryan Young on bagpipes, bassist Dave Pruski, and Greg Kent on the bodhran, has concentrated on performing popular drinking songs, classic Irish tunes, and even some ballads. This should be the perfect combination of drinking-music and drinks.

—herbie timpson

5:30pm. Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave. (878-6011 / www.burchfieldpenney.org). $20 presale, $25 at the door for non-members.

Saturday, March 12

Dark Star Orchestra

Dedicated to preserving the music, legacy, and vibes of the Grateful Dead, Dark Star Orchestra goes far beyond the realm of the typical tribute band. The band dedicates itself to recreating the Dead’s legendary concerts as well as their music. This Saturday (March 12), they will be appearing at the Town Ballroom. What sets DSO apart from other tribute acts, is that on a given night, they will perform a set based on a set list from the Dead’s extensive repertoire. The band is extremely meticulous in their approach, as they adapt stage positioning, vocal arrangements, and specific musical equipment and instruments in order to keep continuity with the era of the show they are performing. In their 14 years of performances the Chicago-based group has received quite a bit of recognition. Rolling Stone praised their “fanatical attention to detail”, while the Washignton Post referred to them as “the cover band for people who don’t like cover bands.” In addition, the band has jammed with many of their idols over the years, including five former members of the Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Donna Jean Godchaux-McKay. The band has also opened for Phish, whose bassist, Mike Gordon, has performed at several DSO shows.

—john hugar

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $22 advance, $26 day of show.

Saturday, March 12

Arctic Death

Come celebrate the one-year anniversary of one of Buffalo’s strongest local indie bands, Arctic Death, this Saturday (March 12) at Mohawk Place. The indie-garage-pop three-piece band consists of singer/bassist John Crook, his brother Harrison Crook on drums, and mustachioed guitar god, Steven Floyd. In a review by our arts editor, Cory Perla, he described Arctic Death’s latest self-titled EP as “nailed-down” with “over-driven guitar chords and tinkering little riffs which are joined by rock-and-roll drums that wax and wane.” Pure creativity paired with simplistic musical ingenuity make Arctic Death a band that sticks out among rock acts in Buffalo. It’s only a matter of time before someone outside of Buffalo takes notice of the strange and catchy coolness of their music, so don’t skip out on the chance to see these talent ridden lady-killers following sets by Smoke Signals, Patrick St. Johnson, and Nelson-Type.

—krysta zagorski

9pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (465-2368 / www.themohawkplace.com).