The Glitch Mob with Phantogram and Com Truise

Friday, July 29

Rarely does a line-up of three extraordinary electronic acts come together like this. On Friday (July 29) synthtronic three-piece the Glitch Mob will appear live with electro duo Phantogram and chillwave producer Com Truise at the Town Ballroom. The Glitch Mob is L.A.’s answer to bands from across the pond like Justice and Hot Chip, with a combination of slow rumbling rhythms, flashing synthesizer, and giant, swooping basslines. Last year the group released their debut album, Drink the Sea, their first LP since forming in 2006. Although the record was a long time coming, the band has been known for their wide variety of remixes from Coheed and Cambria, to the White Stripes, STS9, and Daft Punk. Their tour mates, Phantogram have lived a similar story, but on the opposite side of the country. Forming in 2007 in Saratoga Springs, New York, Phantogram released their own debut album in 2010. That album, titled Eyelid Movies, is a mix of Portishead-like trip-hop on tracks like “When I’m Small,” and Flaming Lips influenced psychedelic pop on songs like “Mouthful of Diamonds.” The wildcard here is Com Truise, also known as Seth Haley, a veteran producer who has worked under several aliases over his decade long career. His latest release, Galactic Melt, has been widely acclaimed critically since its release just last month, launching him to the same level as similar chillwave producers like Washed Out and Neon Indian. Don’t miss this trio of fresh electronic acts this weekend. —cory perla

Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $17 advance, $20 day of show.

Thursday, July 28th to Sunday, July 30th

Outer Harbor Fest

On the Water Productions is launching another four-day, family-friendly festival this Thursday (July 28) through Sunday (July 31) in an effort to revive and bring the public to Buffalo’s Outer Harbor. Located at the old Pier grounds on Fuhrmann Boulevard, the inaugural Outer Harbor Fest is bringing a full carnival and picnic environment to the waterfront. The event will include rides and games for all ages, a midway, and a display of cars, motorcycles, boats and tractors. Local barbecue and picnic food will be available inside a massive family area located beside the Seaway Trail. A major fireworks show is planned that is rumored to rival Independence Day celebrations, and more than a dozen bands, including classic rock staple Hit n’ Run; the Hangen-backed Mo Porter Doors tribute, and Glimmer Twins, an eight-piece Rolling Stones tribute, will be performing live music in a spacious beer garden along the Seaway Pier Slip. On the Water Productions has collaborated with the NFTA to install hundreds of feet of docks to provide transportation to and from the festival for both private boaters and the public via the new Queen City Ferry. Tickets are $5 and free for children 12 and younger, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Buffalo. —rachelle toarmino

4pm-10pm, Thursday through Sunday. Buffalo Outer Harbor, Fuhrmann Blvd (old Pier grounds). (886-806-3917 / facebook.com/onthewaterproductions). $5, free for children under 12.

Saturday, July 30th

Buffalo Dance Festival

This year marks the third annual Buffalo Dance Festival, presented by Artistic Directors Jon Lehrer of LehrerDance and Joseph Cipolla of Configuration Dance Theatre. Expect performances from both LehreDance and Configuration, as well as the Bill Evans Dance Company, and introducing for the first time, Melanie Aceto Contemporary Dance. It all happens on Saturday (July 30) at the Mainstage Theatre, located at the Center for the Arts, North Campus at the University of Buffalo. From 9am to 3pm, pre-professional, professional dancers, and educators will be able to participate in master classes from renowned teachers, including Cipolla, Lehrer, Evans, and special guest, Christina Johnson of Cedar Lake Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Workshop space is limited and is based on first-come first-serve basis with the master class package costing $70, including entry into all classes with admission to the evening performance. Cipolla and Lehrer are also introducing a new opportunity to young dancers in the area as part of the festival this year in the form of a Choreographic Intensive, in which those involved will learn a brand new work to premiere as the opening piece at the evening show. The cost of the Choreographic Intensive is $300, which includes entry into the master classes and evening show. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts box office and all Ticketmaster locations including ticketmaster.com. —vanessa oswald

8pm. University at Buffalo Center for the Arts, 103 Center for the Arts (645-2787 / ubcfa.org/cid/7/Dance.aspx). $23.50 general public, $18.50 students.

Saturday, July 30

The Bunny The Bear

Six-piece post-hardcore band the Bunny the Bear—currently representing Buffalo on renowned, Chicago based hardcore label Victory Records—might scare the shit out of you. But that usually happens just after they reel you in with their catchy, synthesizer based pop melodies. Take “Aisle” the second track on their sophomore album, and Victory Records debut, If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say, released in June. Simultaneously harsh yet appealing, contrasting sugar sweet electronics with chugging guitar, and the throat peeling growls of Matthew “the Bunny” Tybor with falsetto vocals from Chris “the Bear” Hutka. This combination of deafening metal and electronic hooks is not unusual for similar Victory Records bands like A Day to Remember and Between the Buried and Me, but TBTB seem to have struck just the right balance. Catch their brand of animalistic post-hardcore this Saturday (July 30) at Xtreme Wheels before they head off to the UK through November. I, I Captain, Don’t Be A Hero, Currents, Caught in a Crossfire, and Her Name in Stone open the show. —cory perla

5pm. Xtreme Wheels, 356 Hertel Ave. (893-2900 / AfterDarkPresents.com). $12 advance, $14 day of show.

Sunday, July 31

Flogging Molly

Demographics experts; check my math. Buffalo’s population is 12.2% Irish, that is approximately 32,000 people, the third largest ancestry group in the city behind African Americans and Germans. The problem here is that there is no way all 32,000 will fit down by the Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf when Celtic-punk band Flogging Molly rocks it on Sunday (July 31) as part of the Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor series. And that’s not to mention the other 230,000 inhabitants of Buffalo who might want to see the seven-piece band’s gritty form of pub rock. Formed in Hollywood in 1997, the band got their name from, you guessed it, an Irish pub called Molly Malone’s. “If it didn’t have mandolin, accordion, fiddle, and whistle, it would be punk rock, and if it didn’t have guitar, bass, and drums, it would be traditional Irish music,” said Dublin native and band leader David King in describing the group’s instrumentally diverse style. In May the band released their fifth studio album, Speed of Darkness, a commentary on economically dashed dreams and plans dismantled by the recession. Sublime tribute band Badfish open what should be a hard rocking show down by the water. —cory perla

6pm. Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf. (buffaloplace.com/thursday-at-the-square). $10 advance, $20 day of show.

Sunday, July 31

Pictureplane with Teengirl Fantasy

Those long nights spent zoned out in a dark bedroom, mixing layers of synthetic sounds and beats, is paying off for many DIY electronic artists, a few of whom will bring their infectious creations to life at the Mohawk Place on Sunday (July 31). Electronic musician/producer Travis Egedy, who goes by Pictureplane, will join the boys from electronic duo Teengirl Fantasy and house duo Gatekeeper, to put on what he advises to be a night of “extremely contemporary music that will be both emotional and moving. It’s going to be a mindblow,” he says, noting all three acts to be on the same musical wavelength. (Pictureplane and Teengirl Fantasy’s have both been featured in Pitchfork). Pictureplane’s dark, acid-tinged psych-pop preceded by Teengirl Fantasy’s dreamy dance songs and the strange instrumental house music of Gatekeeper, will undoubtedly move the crowd into a happy trance state all night long. Expect sensual urges to arouse during Pictureplane’s set, as his latest album Thee Physical explores human communication through physical contact and touch. “It’s an album about touching the world, literally,” Egedy said. Don’t miss out on this synthetically human combination. Buffalo’s own RoboRoc and the birD Day will get the show started. —emilie hagen

9pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (465-2368 / themohawkplace.com). $10 advance, $12 day of show.

Monday, July 1

The Decemberists

Despite their very wintery name, it should still be quite nice outside, according to Buffalo’s standards, when indie-folk band the Decemberists make a stop at Artpark on Monday (Aug 1). The band has been hard at work since their formation in the early 2000s, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums including their 2002 debut Castaways and Cutouts, and their 2006 album, the Crane Wife. This year could be the biggest for the band so far though, because the Portland Oregon based five-piece released their sixth full-length studio album, the King Is Dead, which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top 200. Rolling Stone hailed it as deeply simplistic, and though that might seem like a bit of a contradiction, the phrase perfectly sums up the stripped down and honest acoustic songwriting of bandleader Colin Meloy. Their northwestern, indie-pop friends in the Head and the Heart join them for this concert on the mainstage at Artpark. —h. timpson

8pm. Artpark, 450 South 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / artpark.net). $58, $34.

Thursday, August 4

Wiz Khalifa

Some use E-Z Widers, others use Zig Zag, some forego papers altogether and head straight for Philly Blunts. Whatever you use, you’ll smell them all burning when Wiz Khalifa rolls through Artpark next week as part of his Rolling Papers World Tour. Most commonly celebrated for his chart topping 2010 Pittsburgh rally anthem “Black and Yellow,” Khalifa, a self-righteous Pittsburgh native, is no newcomer to the rap game. Since bursting onto the scene in 2005 with his Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania mixtape, Khalifa, real name Cameron Jibril Thomaz, has become a hip-hop contender, having taken the stage with heavyweights like Method Man, Red Man, and Snoop Dogg. Rolling Papers, the rappers latest release and major label debut, sold nearly 200,000 copies in its first week, ranking in at number 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, and has since gone gold, amassing over 500,000 sales; a noteworthy feat for an artist in the digital age. Khalifa plays all the hits from the album on its namesake tour, along with plenty of old favorites. Rapper Big Sean, basking in the haze of moderate success after his 2011 debut Finally Famous, and token toking rapper Chevy Woods share the mic with Khalifa as they light up Artpark next Thursday (Aug 4). —brett perla

7pm. Artpark, 450 South 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / artpark.net). $32.50 reserved seating, $22.50 lawn.

Thursday, August 4

Tokyo Police Club

This Thursday (Aug 4), Thursday at the Square closes out the series with Tokyo Police Club at the Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf. Hailing from Toronto, Tokyo Police Club have gained fame and stardom through their witty lyrics, bright and energetic sound, and through a healthy presence in social media. Born out of the minds of Greg Alsop (drums), Josh Hook (guitar), David Monks (vocals, bass), and Graham Wright (keys, percussion) in 2005, Tokyo Police Club have since been quickly propelled into the limelight, performing on the Late Show with David Letterman three times, at the Juno Awards (where the band was nominated for “Alternative Album of the Year”) this year alongside Arcade Fire, and touring in 2010 with Passion Pit. Tokyo Police Club played at Mohawk Place in February of this year while a blizzard stormed through the Queen City and the surrounding areas, but the band is back this summer to bask in the Buffalo sun. “We’re excited to be back,” Greg Alsop said. “I love Buffalo, it’s such a beautiful area.” When asked about closing out the series, he replied: “We’re excited to be doing it, it feels great to be asked” From the beginning of the annual summer concert series at the Square when Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes took the stage back on June 2nd to ending the year with Tokyo Police Club, coming from just across the border to close out the series, Thursday at the Square has amassed quite a variety of musical talent and spectators alike. —michael koh

5pm. Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf. (buffaloplace.com/thursday-at-the-square). Free.