Bruce Jackson Working in Time

Friday, September 21

When UB decided recently to make a practice of honoring accomplished members of the faculty from time to time, the university also chose to bestown the inaugural laurel on Bruce Jackson. This was a safe choice: Folks around the world have been honoring Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of English and James Agee Professor of American Culture, for years; the French, in fact, have done so twice: In 2002 he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2012 he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérrite. Initially the form of the tribute was to be a two-day event with conferencing, but Jackson prevailed upon the school to produce a one-day arts event instead. On Friday (Sept 21) at Working in Time: a celebration of the arts in honor of Bruce Jackson, Jackson will present a slideshow of images from a forthcoming book, Inside the Wire: Prison Photographs 1964-1979, accompanied by music from his Grammy-nominated CD, Wake Up Dead Man, a collection of prison songs recorded in 1964 and 1966. BPO cellist Jonathan Golove will perform a piece that compser David Felder created for the occasion, A Garland for Bruce, and the documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, a friend and colleague of Jackson since the mid-1960s, will present a screening of Crazy Horse, about the famed Parisian cabaret club. Jackson’s wife, Diane Christian, UNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the English Department, will moderate the event. —geoff kelly

1-5pm, reception to follow, Slee Hall, UB North Campus. Free

Thursday, September 20 - Thursday, September 27

Mercedes-Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week

Thursday (Sept 20), 11am-2:30pm. High Fashion Photo Shoot in Niagara Square.

Saturday (Sept 22), 9pm. LUX Nightclub Swim Show. $15/$10.

Sunday (Sept 23), 1-6pm. Walden Galleria Mall Mainstream Fashion Runway Show.

Tuesday (Sept 25), 6pm. Boutique Show at the Mansion on Delaware featuring Anna Grace, Modern Nostolgia, and Lee Lee. $25.

Wednesday (Sept 26). VIP Designer Meet & Greet at Hotel Lafaytette.

Thursday (Sept 27). Main Runway Event at Statler City. VIP Golden Ballroom Show featuring four NYC designers, Terrace Room Show featuring Jimmylee & Alexis Bellino. $100/$40. —jill greenberg

Various times & locations (buffalofashionweek.com, brownpapetickets.com)

Thursday & Friday, September 20 & 21

Lotus

Just like the musically inspired community in Buffalo, the legendary band Lotus can’t be put in a box. Far from the limitations of one-genre musical composition, Lotus has paved the way for live electronica since their release of Vibes in 2001. Relaxed and funky, their celestial tones and uplifting spirit has moved music lovers around the globe. So much more than “jamtronica” this five-some from Philly brings hip-hop and trance influenced beats mixed with the purity of the electronic synth along with their traditional instruments. Each unique Lotus album is the soundtrack to a very different, unforgettable journey. The melodic hooks in my personal favorite, “In an Outline” on their self-titled 2011 album, is sure to give you an eargasm. Always keeping things groovy, Jesse Miller (bass and sampler) during an interview at Outside Lands remarked, “It is usually very obvious when you see a group that has improvised together for a long time, they seem to know where they are going even if it is surprising for both the performers and the audience—it feels natural.” So let go of your problems and come get swept away in the musical bliss that is Lotus at Town Ballroom for two straight shows Thursday and Friday (Sept 20 & 21) with guests Kung Fu and Papi Chulo. —jessica reinhardt

8pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $21 advance, $24 day of show

Friday, September 21

The Heavy Pets & Timber Coup

The rhythmic, catchy, laid-back reggae infused rock of the Heavy Pets is a true fusion of sounds. The band has combined rhythm and blues, jazz-funk, nu-disco, reggae, and rock into a perfectly blended piña colada–and not the kind that comes from a chemical-loaded mix, but a fresh, organic kind–to bring an audible taste of a relaxing island summer day. Since 2005 the Fort Lauderdale-based band have been appearing regularly at music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Langerado, their namesake PetZoo, and many others. Their second studio LP—eponymously named The Heavy Pets—was dubbed a “Top 10 Album of 2010” by The Huffington Post. Their most recent album was a return to their acoustic roots with a more organic approach, Swim Out Past The Sun, which was released in 2011 and features a three-song sit-in by longtime Jerry Garcia collaborator David Grisman. The Heavy Pets will be joined by Albany’s Timber Coup—a rock band that boasts heavy, progressive riffs and psychedelic grooves–for a performance this Friday (Sept 21) at Nietzsche’s. Come prepared to sway and head bang in equal parts. —jill greenberg

9pm Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / ecepresents.com) $12 advance, $10 day of show

Saturday, September 22

Here We Go Magic

Is it fate that Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich happened to be in the crowd during Here We Go Magic’s 2010 set at Glastonbury? The long-time Radiohead producer stood alongside Thom Yorke as they watched the Brooklyn based band perform to a sparse crowd in Somerset, England. As Here We Go Magic singer/songwriter Luke Temple stood stoically strumming his acoustic guitar and uttering the lyrics to songs like “Fangela” from the band’s 2010 self-titled album, he couldn’t have guessed that icons Yorke and Godrich were gathered and whispering to each other about the potential of the band’s electro-folk style. Godrich offered to produce their next album and this year that album, A Different Ship, was released. A Different Ship sounds a lot more like the Talking Heads than Radiohead, though, especially on songs like “Make Up Your Mind,” which combines layers of twangy guitars, clacking kraut-rock rhythms, and new wave synths. The record moves flawlessly between excited songs like “Make Up Your Mind” and sublime, melting tracks like “Alone But Moving” and “Over The Ocean,” as Godrich’s influence seeps through in the dense, yet clearly audible layers of guitars and percussion. The band returns to Buffalo on Saturday (Sept 22) for a show at The Buck on Franklin Street. —cory perla

7pm The Buckin Buffalo, 294 Franklin St. (tralfmusichall.com) $12

Saturday, September 22

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire

Six foot four, 250 pounds with a mouth full of gold and his neck draped in wooden beads, he’s hard to miss. Meet Mr.Muthafuckin’ eXquire. From rags to riches, the man dubbed eXquire went from being a security guard writing rhymes in Park Slope, Brooklyn to having the attention of every major label on the East Coast. Known for his mid 1990s hip-hop style, similar to rap legends Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Redman, eX is becoming a driving force in the underground New York rap scene. After dropping his first mixtape The Big Fat Kill in 2008, he turned heads with the gritty beats and syllable-heavy rhymes in his self-released album Lost in Translation. He gained popularity with fan favorite “Huzzah” and teamed up with ex-Definitive Jux label owner and fellow rap artist El-P and Das Racist in “The Last Huzzah.” Using humor and a lot of Four Loko, he has been able to catch the attention of America by, more than anything, keeping it real. During an interview with HipHopDX he states, “I feel like New York got out of representing the culture and kinda became a caricature of itself. I’m just trying to let people see our culture.” Come see the man himself plus special guests Dr. Ooo & C.U.F.X this Saturday (Sept 22) at Soundlab. —jessica reinhardt

10pm Soundlab 110 Pearl St. Buffalo, $12 advance, 18+

Tuesday, September 25

The Oh Sees and Ty Segall

San Francisco will be representing in Buffalo this week by bands Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. The California natives will co-headline the show at the Town Ballroom on the Tuesday (Sept 25). A likely pair, both bands work off of an experimental, garage-rock sound and are known for their live performances. Thee Oh Sees, formerly known as the OCS, Orinoka Crash Suite, Orange County Sound and Oh Sees, have gone through quite the evolution. The band was founded on the sounds of John Dwyer; singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The project began as a solo gig and gradually became the full band that it is today. The final project (or the current one) offers a smooth yet punkish style and it seems that the band has found its niche. Dwyer serves as the front man and lead guitarist, and his soft-spoken, echoing vocals are accompanied by mind-altering instrumentals. If you like the Strokes or Vampire Weekend, this might be the band for you. You might have heard their song “Tidal Wave” featured on an episode of Breaking Bad. Ty Segall, also a man of many hats, is the ringleader of his own ever-evolving project. Segall is known for releasing records at a rapid-fire frequency; he has had both solo albums and collaborations coming out as often as three times a year. That being said, his songs are often short and pungent, true to the garage-punk style. He is praised for being reminiscent of 1960s garage rock while maintaining his own fresh, psychedelic style. How does Segall describe his sound? Like “cherry cola, Sno-Cones and taffy.” This is open to interpretation, but should be a good indication that he’s going to put on a heck of a show. —elexa kopty

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $15 advace, $17 day of show

Wednesday, September 26

Das Racist

“They say I act white, but sound black, but act black but sound white. But what’s my sound bite supposed to sound like?” sings rapper Himanshu Suri on “Shut Up, Man (feat. El-P)” from Das Racist’s debut studio album, Relax. Seriously, what is he supposed to sound like? Hip-hop has some strict unwritten guidelines that Das Racist like to step all over, satirizing the drug, violence, and race references littered throughout most commercialized hip-hop while revering the voice that hip-hop has given to the voiceless. The Brooklyn based group—Suri aka Heems, fellow MC Victor “Kool AD” Vazquez and hype man Ashok Kondabolu aka Dap—self-released two mixtapes in 2010, Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man that on the surface may have seemed like party-rap but under the hood revealed a disdain for consumer culture and dispelled race assumptions with tracks like Sit Down, Man’s “All Tan Everything (feat Jay-z)” and “Puerto Rican Cousins.” Further breaking-down barriers, Das Racist has headed out on their American Rap Songs Tour with rapper LE1F—producer of Das Racist’s break out track “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”—who came out as gay before Frank Ocean made headlines as the “first” mainstream “gay” “rapper.” Das Racist, LE1F, and Safe & Lakutis come to the Town Ballroom on Wednesday (Sept 26). —cory perla

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $18 advance