Araabmuzik

Friday, November 4

Blurring the lines between hip-hop, trance, and R&B, AraabMuzik, aka Abraham Orellana, is making music you wouldn’t expect from someone who has worked with Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, and the Diplomats. The samples are there, so are the hip-hop breakdowns, and hooky synth vamps, but the samples are built for the dance floor, the hip-hop beats aren’t constructed to compliment rap lyrics, and the synth vamps are arranged in layers rather than as the focus of a track. And Orellana is the star here. “You are now listening to AraabMuzik” a sultry radio voice constantly reminds the listener throughout the hip-hop producer’s 2011 debut album, Electronic Dream. Ranging from down tempo trip-hop on tracks like “Free Spirit,” hardcore hip-hop on “Underground Stream” and dark, Zomby-like cuts “Feelin So Hood” and “AT2,” it is no wonder that Pitchfork gave Electronic Dream the “Best New Music” tag when the album was released this summer. Fortunately for those who choose to check out AraabMuzik on Friday (Nov 4) at Soundlab, this record producer is more than just a studio master. Orellana tears apart his 12 pad MPC drum machine night after night, known for having the fastest hands in the business as he frantically taps out every beat and groove. If you’re still a skeptic, Youtube him, because AraabMuzik is the MVP of the MPC. —cory perla

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (440-5907 / bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $15.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, November 3-5

Four Mad Humors

Sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholy are the Four Mad Humours, a dance piece beyond the limits of the imagination. That’s because Four Mad Humours is beyond dance. It’s sound, video, and movement presented through a series of video screens and live performances simultaneously happening in two places at once. As an audience member at the Alt Theatre you’ll see a live dancer in person performing a solo while watching a live video feed of a second dancer performing a second solo at the exact same moment, 100 miles away in a theater in Toronto. In addition to these two simultaneous performances there will be two additional, pre-recorded solo dance pieces, all projected onto four video screens at once. Then there is an intermission, everything reverses, and you’re given a live dance performance of one of the Four Mad Humours that you just experienced on video. If it all seems complicated that is because it is, and the only way to truly grasp the idea is to experience it for yourself. Experience Four Mad Humours this Thursday (tonight!) through Saturday (Nov 5) at the Alt Theatre. —cory perla

8pm. ALT Theatre, 255 Great Arrow Ave. (868-6847 / alttheatre.com). $20 regular, $15 students.

Friday, November 4

Michael Oliver and the Sacred Band

Michael Oliver owes his Matthew Sweet, Marshall Crenshaw, and REM influenced sound to his years spent with Go, Dog. Go!, the Western New York pop rock act that was active during the 1990s. Oliver refreshes this much loved sound with his own personal touches along with The Sacred Band, which features Jim Whitford, Michael Swain, Paul Zablotski, Rob Lynch, Erin O’Brien, and Alex Lynn. In addition to the obvious 1990s influences, the self-released Yin and Yanxiety has enough quirks to make it stand out from a nostalgic pop rock replication. Tracks such as “Complicated” have plenty of grit to sink your teeth into and are layered amongst unfolding confessionals like “It Was You.” Catchy hooks, handclaps, and classic rock time changes are to be expected, but Oliver’s emotional vocals and resonating lyrics fill this album with substance. The Sacred Band hits notes with spot on precision while leaving enough room for a loose, personal pace to compliment Oliver’s lingering vocals. Catch Michael Oliver and The Sacred Band as they celebrate their album release this Friday (Nov 4) at the Sportsmen’s Tavern with opening band A Potter’s Field. —jill greenberg

9:30pm. Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St. (874-7734 / sportsmenstavern.com). $10.

Friday, November 4

Mike Niman: People of the Rainbow

AV contributor and Buffalo State College professor Mike Niman earned the “Dr.” that usually precedes his name doing fieldwork with the Rainbow Family of Living Light, the nomadic, anarchistic community that has been gathering on remote public lands every summer since 1972. The 1997 book that resulted from Niman’s study of the community—its dedication to consensus and nonviolence and nonhierarchical self-governance, as well as its underlying values and challenges, both internal and external—is called People of the Rainbow. There’s a new edition out this fall, including new material, and Niman will read from it this Friday (Nov 4) at Burning Books, and talk about “temporary autonomous zones” and how the Occupy movement’s adoption of consensus is informed by the Rainbows. —geoff kelly

7pm. Burning Books, 420 Connecticut St. (burningbooksbuffalo.com).

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, November 4-6

Nickel City Smiler

Despite its rich history, Burma is one of the poorest countries on Earth and one of the least responsive to the needs of its ethnically diverse population. Decades of military rule and civil unrest have brought endless stories of abuse to the world news. You would suspect that any story that ended with someone leaving Burma and coming to the United States would be a story with a happy ending. But refugees who are accepted for resettlement in the US often find that they are trading one set of miseries for another, ending up in impoverished neighborhoods with little preparation and support. The documentary Nickel City Smiler follows the story of Smiler Greely, whose family was one of many placed on the West side of Buffalo. Local filmmakers Brett Williams and Scott Murchie were first exposed to the lives of local refugees when making a short film, during which they discovered the bureaucratic limitations of competing resettlement agencies. Nickel City Smiler will have its premiere screening this weekend at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, starting Friday (Nov 4) through Sunday (Nov 6). Come and meet your neighbors. —m. faust

7pm, November 4-6. Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main St. (nickelcitysmiler.com).

Saturday, November 5

Occupy Nietzsche's

It’s been a little over a month since Buffalo’s Occupiers set up shop in Niagara Square in front of City Hall, armed with signs, drums, tents, and a laundry list of grievances directed at the fat cats and greedy corporations that make life a bitch for everyone else. Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, Buffalo’s ardent 99%, like their Zuccotti Park comrades, have shown no signs of leaving any time soon. Occupying on a 24/7 basis is no easy task, nor is it a cheap one, with the constant need for resources and supplies, especially during the approaching winter. To help kickstart some funds, the occupation converges on Allentown’s tried-and-true watering hole this Saturday (Nov. 5) for Occupy Nietzsche’s, an event that benefits the Occupy Buffalo movement and ensures that our hometown protester’s voices remain loud and clear for months to come. Occupy Nietzsche’s brings in a packed lineup of local acts on both the front and back stages, including soulful indie rock from Whiskey Reverb, feel-good grooving from the BloodThirsty Vegans, in addition to alt-pop trio Poindexter, Glass Hero, and Cock Sinclair. Also set to perform is Adam Giancarlo, Chris Real, J-Du, BolognaTron, and a jam session from some of the occupiers themselves, dubbed Occupier’s Circle. Whether you’ve actually spent time out in Niagara Square, or just want to see what “occupying” is all about, Occupy Nietzsche’s is the place to get your rage fist out and hear some great music in the process. All donations go towards sustaining the Occupy Buffalo movement, so shell out a few (or many) bucks and help stick it to the 1%. —jon wheelock

9pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com). No cover charge, but donations go to Occupy Buffalo.

Sunday, November 6

The Loom

You all should take a peek at The Loom’s new music video (myspace.com/theloommusic). Not only because you’ll be able to relate to the visuals (recently filmed in the middle of the woods in Upstate New York), but because there’s just something about the natural sites and sounds incorporated throughout that calm the senses and give you faith in indie rock music coming out of our big cities. The Brooklyn-based five-piece, comprised of two brunette females and three bearded men, has a purpose for playing music much like the life purpose of all their fans—simply playing on a quest for joy. They were a hit at SXSW, and kicked off their current tour on November 1st in support of their debut album, Teeth. While they may share a similar soul to the Brooklyn hipster, their material is far from Williamsburg-influenced, and is more contingent with indie-folk music coming out of the Midwest. Like an obscure indie band playing a rust-belt dive bar on a Monday night, The Loom is that band who suddenly wakes the audience up when female French horn/trumpet player Lis Rubard, busts out a trumpet solo during the bridge, and suddenly makes everyone’s night much more epic. On Sunday (Nov 6), they’ll be stopping by the Vault for a set on their current tour. Rumor has it, the five bandmates prefer crashing at a local’s apartment rather than booking a hotel for the night, so who knows, a lucky fan may get an encore living room performance that night, or at the least, a wicked conversation with these five interesting musicians. The Rice Cakes, Jerry Fels and the Jerry Fels, and Sonny Baker open the show. —emilie hagen

9pm. The Vault, 702 Main St. (884-7172). $5.

Monday, November 7

Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays

On Monday (Nov 7) Buffalo United Artists will be among the more than 40 theaters and universities across the nation to raise the curtain on Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays. The free event is intended to raise awareness and funds in support of marriage equality. “Marriage equality is an issue that transcends borders,” explains the organizer. “Participants in 24 states include theaters in Texas, North Dakota, Florida, Kansas and Michigan, where both gay marriage and civil unions are banned; North Carolina, where the vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage was moved up to 2012; California, where gay marriage was legalized and then overturned by the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008; and many states where marriage equality is not yet a reality.” Responding to one of the defining issues of our day—the on-going battle for marriage equality throughout the United States—some of America’s most illustrious and Award-winning playwrights, including Heideman Award winner Jordan Harrison; Edgar Award winner Jeffrey Hatcher; Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman; Mo Gaffney of the Kathy and Mo Show; Tony Award nominee Neil LaBute, Sundance Jury Prize winner Wendy MacLeod, Obie Award winner José Rivera, Obie and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Paul Rudnick, and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright, have created a heartfelt, funny and altogether illuminating evening that celebrates the courage to be in a relationship–any relationship. Moisés Kaufman, author of The Laramie Project; Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde; and I Am My Own Wife and a contributing playwright to Standing On Ceremony commented, “After the success of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, we are thrilled to partner with Standing On Ceremony to facilitate another national convening with this beautiful collection of plays about a timely and urgent issue.” —anthony chase

7:30 p.m. BUA Theatre, 119 W. Chippewa St. (886-9239 / buffalobua.org, standingonceremony.net). FREE.