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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of featured events, including our editor's picks for the week: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, performing at Nietzsche's on Friday, February 3rd.

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.

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad

Friday, February 3

From the very first track of Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad’s new album, Country, you’ll notice a sound that’s quite different from GPGDS’s usual comfort zone. Is that a banjo? A fiddle? Don’t be alarmed, this is their comfort zone. What some might quickly peg as a departure from their familiar lineup of roots reggae/psychedelic-inspired improv, Country is, in fact, an album that solidifies what the Rochester-based quintet has been doing all along: writing sincere, heartfelt songs marked by meaningful lyrics and stellar musicianship. It won’t take long for even their most avid listeners to realize just how much roots-reggae and roots-Americana music has in common. As one could surmise from the title, country music definitely comes into play in their new release. But it’s less of a country music album than it is an album about our country, and for a band that has toured our great nation as much as GPGDS has over the years, this might be their most organic, natural musical output yet. Giant Panda will perform cuts from Country as well as previous favorites this Friday (Feb 3) at Nietzsche’s. Read a full review of Country, here, on our Artvoice Daily Blog. —jon wheelock

9pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com). $12.

Thursday, February 2

Kaleidescopika featuring LehrerDance & Cordis

LehrerDance and chamber music quartet Cordis join forces to bring Kaleidescopika, a production that fuses the artistry of dance, music and multimedia, to the University at Buffalo Center For The Arts on Thursday (tonight!). Through this event, the mixture of sensory visuals and sounds will transport the audience on a thrill ride full of excitement and imagination. LehrerDance continues to astonish crowds across the nation, showcasing their unique display of choreography and athleticism, which portrays an organic, relatable and sometimes humorous take on the human condition. Cordis has been entertaining audiences for over a decade with their modern day spin on 21st century chamber music. This quartet headed by contemporary classical composer Richard Grimes, who hails from Charleston, West Virginia, plays music which fuses custom-made and traditional ethnic instruments. The ensemble is made up of Grimes (concert cimbalom), Jeremy Harman (cello), Oscar Rodriguez (piano) and Andrew Beall (percussion). Along with these core instruments, the group also fits in the use of more unconventional yet remarkable pieces, such as the electric mbira and melodic and even the world’s longest playing cylinder-driven music box. —vanessa oswald

photo credit: LehrerDance

7:30pm. Mainstage Theatre, UB Center for the Arts, 103 Center For The Arts (654-ARTS / ubcfa.org). $26.50, $11.50 students (all schools), $23.50 groups (15 or more).

Friday, February 3

Donna the Buffalo

Donna the Buffalo’s feel-good pastoral tunes may not seem quite at home in Buffalo’s aged urban landscape or moody winter climate, but their vernal cheer could be just the the thing to get you through any seasonal depression you may be feeling. Supported by a nationwide following of dedicated fans who collectively refer to themselves as “the Herd,” Donna the Buffalo brings a sound that Buffalo’s hardcore/electronic music-oriented scene rarely gets to hear, drawing and combining influences from a diverse range of traditional genres like reggae, folk, country and roots rock. Though those with a more urban musicality may shy away, Donna the Buffalo’s music is more relatable than you may think. The five-piece band from Trumansburg will take their sound to the stage at the Tralf on Friday (Feb 3). Who doesn’t like getting drunk, relaxing on porches and balmy weather? —max soeun kim

photo credit: Jim Gavenus

7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com). $17.50 advance, $20 day of show.

Saturday, February 4

Caspa

Caspa is real West London dubstep. A little bit haunting, very bassy, and packing a punch, Caspa’s brand of dubstep is the result of his roots in jungle and hip hop. Also known as Quiet Storm and Gary McCann, Caspa has an extensive catalogue of tracks, which include his 2009 Fabric release Everybody’s Talking, Nobody’s Listening, as well as a list of genre defying remixes like his remix of Rusko’s “Cockney Thug,” Depeche Mode’s “Wrong,” 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Hurricane,” and Ludacris’ “How Low.” In 2007 Caspa put out his split FabricLive.37 mix with Rusko, one of the first FabricLive mixes to feature mostly dubstep, and also one of the first commercially available dubstep mixes. After spending most of 2010 on the festival circuit, and early 2011 in the studio, Caspa is back on tour this year with drum n bass pal, DJ Friction. If you couldn’t score tickets to the already sold out Rusko next week, you’ll be kicking yourself again if you miss Caspa this Saturday (Feb 4) at the Town Ballroom. Local dubstep extraordinaire Stuntman will open the show. —cory perla

8pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $20 advance.

Wednesday, February 8

Emancipator with Little People and Natasha Kmeto

This Wednesday (Feb 8) Soundlab will overflow with relaxing tones, soul-stirring bass lines, and layers of electronic sound bites. Emancipator, who is based in Portland, Oregon, will provide this delicate yet captivating music. His ethereal layered soundscapes, which are textured with dreamy echoing vocals and rollicking drums are reminiscent of British musician, producer, and DJ, Bonobo’s trip hop. This comparison makes sense considering Emancipator’s first live show in July 2009 was as the opening act for Bonobo at the Roseland Theater. Since then Emancipator has toured with Bassnectar, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and Pretty Lights. His latest album Safe in The Steep Cliffs is the auditory equivalent of a crisp and smooth cucumber martini. Where Bonobo’s music unfolds linearly, Emancipator’s develops in rolling waves of new instrumentation and organic samples that include choirs, horns, American folk instruments such as the banjo and mandolin, violin, and some Asian influences. His signature style harnesses these elements with clean production and hypnotizing melodies. Joining Emancipator will be downtempo electronic producer Laurent Clerc, known as Little People, and Portland-based electro hip-hop singer-producer Natasha Kmeto. Little People’s stripped-down tracks and Kmeto’s pumped up hip-hop vibe will compliment Emancipator’s carefully crafted style. Attend this performance in any mood as a sure fire way to calm your racing thoughts, sink into the energy, and slow down as you’re surrounded by transfixing sounds. —jill greenberg

9:30pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl Street. (Tickets available at mnmpresents.inticketing.com/events/180292, Terrapin Station, & Headspace Elmwood.) $12. 18+.

Wednesday, February 8

Lock Up

To read the line up of the musicians currently performing as grindcore band Lock Up is to read a who’s who of today’s metal scene. The supergroup is comprised of vocalist Tomas Lindberg of At The Gates, guitarist Anton Reisenegger of Chile’s Pentagram and Criminal, drummer Nick Barker of Cradle of Filth, and finally bassist, and Rochester legend, Danny Lilker of Anthrax, SOD, Nuclear Assault, Autopsy and about four other bands. Originally created as a side project by Shane Embury of Napalm Death (for whom Danny Lilker is filling in for at this Buffalo show), Lock Up is a supergroup who actually live up to their hype. Their latest album, 2011’s Necropolis Transparent, is a tornado of crashing bass kicks, spinning guitar riffs, and thunder-god vocals as demonstrated on tracks like “Accelerated Mutation” and “Life of Devastation.” Lock Up will take the stage at Club Infinity on Wednesday (Feb 8) with death metal band Goatwhore, thrashers Strong Intention, and Buffalo black metal group Hubris; who will release their debut album on Buffalo metal label Buchered/Sevared Records later this winter. The concert is the latest installment in a series of concerts presented by Club Infinity and Glorious Times, a promotion company started by Brian Pattison, co-author of Glorious Times: A Pictorial of the Death Metal Scene 1984-1991. —cory perla

6pm. Club Infinity. 8166 Main St., Williamsville (565-0110 / infinityconcerts.com). $15 advance, $20 day of show.

Thursday, February 9

Umphrey's McGee

I still remember the first time I heard about Umphrey’s McGee. I had just moved out west and met a new group of friends, who, immediately, when talking about musical interests, asked; “Do you know Umphrey’s?” Similar to die hard Dave Matthews Band fans who say they’re “going to Dave,” hearing Umphrey’s without the McGee, resonated an immediate kinship with the group, and reckoned the idea that this was the kind of group you have to see live. Since their debut 13 years ago as a progressive rock band at Notre Dame University, Umphrey’s McGee remains a band who is all about the listener experience, and in recent years, have been connecting with their fans more than ever through Facebook, Twitter, monthly podcasts, their digital “Easter Egg Hunts, and the Stew Art light show illuminating their shows—so advanced it allows fans to text the direction of the set (pretty tech savvy for a jam band, don’t ya think?). But, if you hear their new album, Death By Stereo, produced by tech gurus Manny Sanchez (Smashing Pumpkins, Fall Out Boy) and their own Kevin Browning, you’ll hear lots more than jam-rock, as the album travels to worlds of electronic house and dance. The record, still progressive rock at heart, has already sold more than two million tracks online, drawing in new fans all over the globe. When the six members are welcomed to the Town Ballroom on Thursday (Feb 9), you’ll be able to dance to their new tracks “Domino Theory” and “Miami Virtue,” and vibe to a revamped version of the classic hit “Hajimemashite.” Don’t miss out on the Umphrey chemistry! —emilie hagen

photo credit: Brian Spady

7pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $22.50 advance, $25 day of show.