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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of featured events, including our editor's picks for the week: The Artvoice B.O.O.M! Grand Finale, the culmination of our 6-month long battle of original music for a $5000 prize; featuring Patrons of Sweet, The Tins, '92 Bills, and Sleepless City, this Friday the 20th at The Tralf.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our full events calendar on-line for complete event listings, a location guide to find your way about the city, restaurant reviews, and more.

White Mystery

Friday, April 27

What do you get when you combine fuzzed out guitar riffs, crashing drums, and lots of hair all growing out of a brother/sister garage rock duo? No, not the White Stripes; we’re talking about Chicago’s White Mystery. If you like the White Stripes, you’d certainly like White Mystery, but they are not a complete rip off of the Detroit garage rock band. “I like my coffee with black eyes, you want your whisky with a cigarette/we couldn’t be any more different/we are White Mystery!” sings guitarist Miss Alex White on their 2011 album Blood and Venom. They are different. Where the Stripes often opted for the less is more philosophy of music, Mystery opts for the more is more philosophy. Feedback, distorted vocals, and layers upon layers of guitars are their weapons of choice, and combined with miles of curly red hair and plenty of tiger striped clothing, the duo can really create a lot of chaos on stage. Their latest release, the People Power (Sea of Infamy) EP only bumps it up a notch with drummer Francis Scott Key White smashing his drum heads into oblivion, and plenty of yelping, and overdriven guitar from Miss Alex filling the hole that the Stripes left after they disbanded for good last year. Don’t miss White Mystery when they come to Soundlab on Friday (April 27) with support from Buffalo’s Aircraft and Pink Tiger, and Rochester’s Rational Animals. ­—cory perla

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (440-5907 / bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $8.

Thursday, April 26

EOTO

In a 1996 interview with Guitar World, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha pointed out the sterility of the rock-scene, claiming “the future is in electronic music. It really seems boring just to play rock music.” The ensuing generation whole-heartedly agreed. From rock, to pop, to rap and country, synthesizers and arpeggiators blare like misguided tourists examining a foreign city. The one genre to nail electronica-integration however is jam band. If you’re not convinced, EOTO will demonstrate for you on Thursday (April 26) at the Town Ballroom. Zebbler, creator of the Shpongletron Experience and curator of Thursday’s show describes EOTO’s set as “a custom-built ultra-sensory musical adventure,” combining the ear-buzzing elements of dubstep, breakbeat, and trip-hop with a light show that draws envy from the sun. EOTO’s festival-fit set list provides a sound setting for a bout of hallucinogens—or maybe just a beer, whichever you prefer. Partnering with EOTO Thursday—fresh off licensing his music as the soundscape for television’s America’s Best Dance Crew and America’s Got Talent—is Glitch Mob founding member Kraddy. Advanced ticket holders will get a free download of the show after the performance. ­—brett perla

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $15.

Thursday, April 26

25th Annual Bob Dylan Imitators Contest

Bob Dylan’s place in music history has been secured for a long time. He’s almost universally revered as one of the finest songwriters ever to walk the Earth, and possibly the most significant American songwriter of the past 50 years. With that said, one element of his work has always been a subject of heated debate: his voice. While many enjoy his nasally tone for the amount of character it brings to his work, others consider it to be a major drawback, in some cases going so far as to say that it renders his work unlistenable. But whatever your take on Dylan’s vocals, you should be able to get some enjoyment out of the annual Bob Dylan Imitator’s Contest, going on at Nietzsche’s this Thursday (April 26). Considering the many different periods Dylan’s gone through in his 50-year recording career, contestants should have plenty of options for which style of Bob they emulate. They could go with the sneering agitator of “Masters Of War” and “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, or, if his late period is more their style, the frog-throated romantic style that lent its own charm to 1997’s Time Out Of Mind. The concept of battling Dylan impressions might seem like a mockery of such a brilliant artist, but really it’s a high tribute. Who else delivered their lyrics in such a unique, individualistic honor that people would compete to see who could come closest to properly replicating it? —john hugar

Contestant Sign-up: 7pm, show starts at 8pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com). Contest Entry/Admission: $5

Thrusday, April 26

Reverend Horton Heat

Much like Alice Cooper back in the 1970s, The Reverend Horton Heat is the name of both the band and the lead singer. And for the past 25 years, they’ve provided listeners with some of the most diverse, energetic music around. From punk, to surf, to country, to psychobilly, there’s nary a style of music that the Texas trio hasn’t tried out in their career. Their original blend of different sounds eventually demanded its own moniker, so the Reverend (otherwise known as Jim Heath), took to dubbing it “country-fed punkabilly.” But whatever you call the band’s music, it’s certainly a spectacle to see in person, which is why the band’s show at the Tralf Music Hall this Thursday (April 26) should be quite a treat. In recent years, Heath has noticed that some of the band’s more popular tunes are their less serious ones, specifically, their light-hearted, country-tinged ones. The band’s set at the Tralf figures to include a heavy dosage of these tunes, including “Beer Holder,” which tells the tale of a man who is too out of shape to reach the table at his nearby watering hole, so he simply uses his immense beer belly as a “beer holder.” Along with many others, these tunes both parody the goofiness of many classic country tunes, while also paying tribute to it. It’s the kind of silliness that seems absurd at first, but slowly begins to make sense. So, if you’re looking for a show that will include skilled, diverse musicianship, along with some solid laughs, the good Reverend should be a safe bet. —john hugar

7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com). $21 advance, $23 day of show.

Friday, April 27

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad sounds more than at home live onstage and the band knows it, filling the live set with musical segues and extended, improvised jams throughout the night. This spontaneous approach to a live performance, along with instrumental excursion, comes as no surprise considering the band has played 500 shows in the past three years alone. Hailing from Rochester, the group has always been about word of mouth, about the grassroots efforts of fans and the connection they have with them. With the help of fans and their growing success, the band has been able to pump out music at an astounding rate, releasing two full-length albums in 2012 already. Those albums are Country, which was released in January, and just this month the six piece band released In These Times. As far as jam band albums go, these records couldn’t be more different, something you can tell just by comparing the artwork and album titles. As you might imagine, Country channels a country vibe, almost entirely recorded with acoustic guitars, and complete with banjos and fiddles too. In These Times takes a different approach with slick production, effected guitars, and electronic organs that combine to create a reggae influenced, down-tempo sound. Giant Panda returns to the live stage in Buffalo this Friday (April 27) for a show at the Tralf with local support from Slip Madigan. —h. timpson

7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com). $15 advance, $17 day of show.

Ongoing through Saturday, May 5

Give for Greatness: One More Week of Fun and Supporting the Arts

Sure, we’ve got a more enlightened county executive this year—but the region’s small arts organizations still operate on shoestring budgets. They need our help. The second annual Give for Greatness campaign to raise money for such organizations is rushing toward its conclusion this week. Saturday (April 28, beginning at 9am) is the Yard Sale for the Arts at 464 Gallery (464 Amherst Street), featuring clothes, books, art, electronics, and more, as well a screening of “Buffalo Unscripted” after dusk. Sunday (April 29) is the BPO Broadway Spectacular (see page 9), as well as another installment in Speakeasy Sundays, with Gruvology at Pearl Street Brewery’s basement bar (79 Pearl Street, 6-10pm). On Tuesday (May 1), it’s the Lawyers for the Arts party at the Ellicott Square Building (295 Main Street). The campaign then comes to a heady end next Saturday (May 5, 3-10pm) with the second annual Fiesta for the Arts at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, featuring performances by Lehrer Dance and Configuration Dance; music by Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Andrew J. Reimers and the Country Punk Extravaganza, On the Sly, Buffalo Soundpainting Ensemble, Unit III, the Rockaz, Like a Panther, Clandestina Cosmica, DJ Cutler, Jen Whitmore, and the Mustn’ts; theater by Peace of the City; and much more. You just can’t miss it. —geoff kelly

photo by Jill Greenberg

Various Locations (www.giveforgreatness.org).

Saturday, April 28

Jimmy Janowski Walks a Mile in Her Shoes

“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” is an international men’s march to help stop gender violence, rape, and sexual assault. For the last six years the event has been run by the University at Buffalo Men’s Group, with all of the proceeds going to the Advocate Program of Crisis Services, Western New York’s most comprehensive crisis center. On Saturday (April 28) from 12 to 3 pm., participants will walk a mile, starting at Crisis Services, 2969 Main Street , and continuing down Hertel Avenue to the North Park Theatre for a celebration party. Many men actually wear women’s heels for the event, and so, organizers naturally thought of actor Jimmy Janowski to co-host this year’s walk. Celebrated for his cross-dressing performances at BUA in such shows as The Birds, The Divine Sister, Rebecca, The Bad Seed, and The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, Janowski is joining forces with Channel 2 News anchor Maryalice Demler as co-chair. Janowski has taken up the banner to fight a problem that he believes can be slowed or stopped, if we work together. “You’d have to be hiding in a closet to miss the headlines these tragedies generate” says Janowski. “And for every news story there are countless more unreported incidents. The problem is way too common! I became involved, and am encouraging others to get involved,” continues Janowski. “That begins by raising awareness that the probem exists in the first place. It does exist. It exists in our own community. We plan to have some serious fun drawing attention to a serious problem!” Janowski was alarmed when he learned that event organizers had set him up with a web page sporting one of those little fundraising thermometers to show how close he’s gotten to his goal. “It will be just terrible if I don’t achieve my fundraising goal,” the actor explained. “Please tell people to go to http://tinyurl.com/JoinTeamJimmy and sign up to walk to or make a donation to ‘Team Jimmy!’ Tell them, ‘Don’t be a heel! Wear one and help us stop this nonsense today!’” —anthony chase

12pm to 3pm. Crisis Services, 2969 Main Street. (tinyurl.com/JoinTeamJimmy).

Sunday, April 29

UB Spring Fest feat. Rick Ross

Don’t ever look at Rick Ross the wrong way. Not even if you’re 50 Cent. He’ll beat you down; it doesn’t matter if he is a pretending to be a drug dealer or if he is sporting his old correctional officer’s uniform (a little bit of info that Fiddy help to reveal). After creating beef with fellow rapper 50 Cent over a rouge glare—beef that has lasted about four years now—Rick Ross has declared victory. Does that make the 36-year-old Ross, real name William Leonard Roberts II the biggest rapper in the world right now? That could be, especially after MTV named him Hottest MC in the Game earlier this year, beating out Kanye West, Niki Minaj, and Drake. Well Buffalo, your chance to see the king himself has arrived because Rick Ross will be performing with fellow Ciroc Management signing Fabolous and 22-year old Young Money rapper Tyga at this year’s UB Spring Fest. It all happens this Sunday (April 29) at UB North’s Baird Point Amphitheater. Make sure you watch who you’re looking at or else you might have to squash some beef of your own. —cory perla

5:30pm. UB North’s Baird Point Amphitheater. (sa.buffalo.edu) $20 for Non-UB College Students with valid school ID at the door, $35 for general admission tickets, free for UB students.