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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 Battle of Original Music (BOOM!) Round 3 Quarterfinal live show, this Saturday the 25th at Nietzsche's.

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.

Artvoice B.O.O.M! Live Show

Saturday, February 25

Four of the area’s best original acts will meet Saturday (Feb 25) in another live round of the Artvoice Battle of Original Music, or BOOM, for short. When the ballots are counted at show’s end, only one will win the opportunity to compete in the BOOM Grand Finale, scheduled for Friday, April 20. At that event, one band will walk away with $5,000 and the eternal right to proclaim themselves Artvoice BOOM Grand Champions—joining the ranks of other local notables like Dali’s Ghost, TypeRelevant, Photos of Wagons, and the Etchings. Over the years, hundreds of bands have participated in our contest, and we’re happy to have been able to shine a light on all these talented up-and-comers. This Saturday it’s a chance to check out The Absentee Project, the Freeeek, Breckenwood, and ’92 Bills (pictured clockwise from top left), as they plug in and rock out in an effort to win a ticket to greater fame, glory, and cash. And remember, local bands, there is still one more of these preliminary contests before the big one in April. Patrons of Sweet, and the Tins have already won a spot in the Grand Finale. This Saturday, another band will win a spot on that bill. Visit boom.artvoice.com to see how to get in the mix. By April 7, your band just might be one of the acts hitting the stage. But you’ll never know if you don’t apply. Plain and simple—you gotta get in it for a chance to win it. —buck quigley

10pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com) $5. 21+

Friday, February 24

INNI: A Film by Sigur Rós

Searching for your weekly nostalgia binge? Search no further, thanks to Squeaky Wheel, who will screen Sigur Rós’ film INNI this Friday (Feb 24). The film highlights concert footage from the Icelandic post-rock powerhouse’s career. Originally comprised of archival digital footage amassed over the past decade, director Vincent Morriset re-filmed INNI on 16mm, and then re-filmed it again to create the feel of an artifact recovered from a time-capsule. Unlike Sigur Rós’ 2007 documentary Heima, which displayed the group’s aesthetic affinity for their native Iceland, INNI grants an objective look at the performances that have shaped the band’s persona throughout their existence. Though the film shares songs from the breadth of Sigur Rós’ discography, the band’s latest album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is prominent. With track listings ranging from Ny Batteri to Glosoli to E-bow however, the screening has something for each sub-generation of Sigur Rós fan. —brett perla

7pm. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St. (884-7172 / squeaky.org). $7 general, $5 for Squeaky Wheel members.

Friday, February 24

Johnny Cash Birthday Bash

Very few musicians who started in the 1950s have remained as relevant to new generations as Johnny Cash. Whether it was the newfound popularity he received after covering modern rock songs as Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” and Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage,” or how America was told his life story in the massively successful biopic Walk The Line, people of all ages have continued to be introduced to Johnny Cash, and quickly embrace him. As a result there figures to be a considerable audience for the inaugural Johnny Cash Birthday Bash, which is being held at Nietzsche’s this Friday (Feb 24). Presented by The Good Neighborhood as part of their bi-montly Tributary Series, the bill will feature five local artists—A Band Named Sue, Steam Donkeys, Million Dollar Trio, Andrew J Reimers Country-Punk Extravaganza, and Shaky Stage, picking from the vast catalog of recorded music that Cash made in his lifetime. For anyone fearing that this will lead to multiple covers of cash mainstays like “Walk the Line,” “Ring Of Fire,” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” fear not—the show has established a “no repeats” rule, meaning that every setlist has to be completely different from the one that preceded it. As a result, it’s likely that we’ll see the artists go deep into Cash’s discography, pulling out tons of forgotten gems. While the show will likely appeal to Cash’s casual fans, it’s being made with the diehards very clearly in mind. This will be detailed, dedicated tribute to one of music’s most iconic performers, as well as one of its deepest catalogs. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper will receive a percentage of the $5 cover, as well as all proceeds from the multi-show raffle of a kayak donated by Buffalo Harbor Kayak. —john hugar

10pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com) $5. 21+.

Saturday, February 25

Blockhead

Blockhead a.k.a. Anthony “Tony” Simon is a lot smarter than his title would imply. It takes some brains to stitch together tight soul-hop tracks like “The Music Scene,” with it’s mechanical but humanized clacking dance beats and hooky vocals. “We call that a joint, we call that a joint” a trembling voice repeats toward the end of the song. It’s heady music from a heady guy. Blockhead’s focus is on rhythmic and body moving hip-hop beats with a wildcard edge: usually something like bouncing string samples, a small soliloquy, or a funk bassline (see “The Art of Walking” from his 2005 album Downtown Science). The Ninja Tune Recording artist, who grew up in downtown New York City, spent the beginning of his career as a producer, crafting beats for artists like Aesop Rock, who’s critically acclaimed album Labor Days, he produced. Now he’s focused on his own tunes though. His latest album, 2009’s The Music Scene, is a head bobbing mixture of 1970’s influenced soul melodies and intricate hip-hop beats. Don’t miss Blockhead when he hits Soundlab this Saturday (Feb 25). —cory perla

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (440-5907 / bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $12 advanced.

Saturday, February 25

Seth Meyers

As someone who knows a few things about comedy, Mel Brooks once said, “Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.” One of the many great things about comedy is that it is everywhere and it can be heavily influenced by the surrounding settings. Humor is a complex thing that can be enhanced or reduced depending on how it is presented. While he is best known as the star of Saturday Night Live’s news parody segment ‘Weekend Update’ and head writer of SNL; comedian Seth Meyers will bring his brand of humor to the UB Center for the Arts this Saturday (Feb 25) in the form of standup comedy. Meyers has helped create some of SNL’s best comedy for the last 10 years, hosted the Webby Awards twice, delivered a hilarious keynote at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, and is currently writing and will star a movie called Key Party. Don’t miss this opportunity to view Meyers in a different light and observe how his presentation changes your laughs. —jill greenberg

photo credit: Anya Garrett

8pm. University at Buffalo Center for the Arts, 103 Center for the Arts. (1-800-745-3000 / ubcfa.org) $35.

Tuesday, February 28

Steve Aoki & Datsik

There are a lot of other well-known names associated with electronic dance music producer Steve Aoki. Names like Bloc Party, MSTRKRFT, the Kills and the Klaxons can be found on the list of acts signed to Aoki’s dance-punk label Dim Mak Records, which he founded in 1996. Since founding the label, the 34 year old has created a successful music career of his own, DJing, producing, remixing, and collaborating. In January of this year Aoki released his debut studio album Wonderland, which features everyone from Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo to Chiddy Bang, LMFAO, Travis Barker, Lil Jon, and Kid Cudi. A combination of house music, electro-pop and hip-hop, Wonderland is full of high energy party tracks like “Livin My Love,” with lyrics like “I’m just Living my Love/why you killing/why you killing my buzz, buzz, buzz?” His touring partner right now is Canadian Dubstep DJ Datsik. Datsik a.k.a. Troy Beetles is still a young man, but his list of remixes—featuring the likes of Wu Tang Clan, The Crystal Method, and MGMT—would rival anyone on the scene right now. Aoki will take his party rock anthems to the Town Ballroom with Datsik on Tuesday (Feb 28). Local guests Solidisco (DJ Dstar & Biacco) open the show. Be there, just don’t kill the buzz. —cory perla

photo credit: Ysa Pérez

9pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com). $30 advance. 16+.

Tuesday, February 28

Lights

Singer-songwriter is a term easily separated these days in the worlds of pop and electronic music. Canadian pop sensation, Lights, stands out as one of the few performers keeping this hyphen intact. It’s easy to respect a female performer who can sing, compose, play the guitar and independently produce beautiful layers of sound with a synthesizer. The petite singer-songwriter, with her long dark hair swooped all to one side, does it all while effortlessly inspiring any crowd with her sweet, honest energy. The 24-year-old got her start as a writer for SONY/ATV Publishing in 2006, composing music for Canadian television series Instant Star, and has since been in the studio working on her own brand of music. On her 2011 sophomore album Siberia, (Last Gang Records), she’s embraced an edgier side, adding dubstep elements to her token pop melodies, weaving in her current influences- Rusko and Burial. Siberia is a little darker, a little heavier, and symbolizes her exploration of a new, unknown musical territory. On Tuesday (Feb 28), Lights will be at Club Infinity to perform dancier tracks from Siberia, and will make you fall in love all over again as she strips it all down to the basics- just a voice and a guitar. Her presence is so bright, It will be hard not to question your own sweetness that night. —emilie hagen

7pm. Club Infinity. 8166 Main St., Williamsville (565-0110 / infinityconcerts.com). $15.