Andrew W.K.

Monday, April 15

That long-haired, bloody shirt wearing, pizza-shaped-guitar playing party animal that is Andrew W.K. comes to the Waiting Room this Monday (April 15). The show was originally scheduled for Soundlab but was recently moved to the freshly opened Waiting Room on Delaware near Chippewa. Andrew W.K. has been on a weird ride. In 2001 he released his most well known album, I Get Wet, an album that was really so bad it turned good. Reviewers of I Get Wet hated it. Fans loved it. Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber reviewed the album upon its release and initially gave it a 0.6. That’s right, he couldn’t even muster up an entire point for the hybrid punk-metal-hard-rock record. 10 years later I Get Wet was reissued and in August of 2012 it was given a new score by Pitchfork: 8.6. It was also crowned “Best New Reissue.” What a difference a decade made. The 33-year-old musician’s sweaty rock anthems have become icons of party rock. “It’s going to be super intense, but we’re going to be in it together, arm-in-arm and heart-to-heart, becoming a human party machine made of blood, love, and courage,” he says of his current tour dubbed the Human Party Machine Solo Tour. This tour was specifically booked for smaller, intimate venues like the Waiting Room, so be prepared for a wild ride. As his website claims, “[The show] guarantees to be a night you’ll never forget or remember!”

- cory perla

7pm The Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $18 advance, $20 day of show 16+

Friday, April 11

Kung Fu

A Kung Fu live show will have you seeing the future and reliving the past. The five-piece band’s combination of 1970s funk and modern electronic music draws inspiration from acts like Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters with a presentation more similar to contemporary live electronic acts. The regionally based band considers themselves a part of what they call the “new funk movement” characterized by searing sax solos, groovy guitar licks and rocking piano vamps. Formed in 2009, the band—made up of guitarist Tim Palmieri, Robert Somerville on tenor sax, keyboardist Todd Stoops, bassist Christ DeAngelis, and drummer Adrian Tramontano—seem more like they’ve been playing together for decades with a tightness that most bands only strive for. Check out Kung Fu when they come to Nietzsche’s on Friday (April 12) with support from Rochester hip hop fusion group Subsoil and Buffalo funk rockers Logo City.

- cory perla

9pm Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / nietzsches.com) $13 advance, $15 day of show

Friday, April 12

Tour Odyssey featuring The Dirty Heads and SHiny Toy Guns

What started out as raps jokingly laid out over cheesy hip hop beats has transmogrified into an acoustic reggae-hip hop group that has collaborated with such diverse musicians as Slash, M. Shadows, Josh Freese, and Sublime with Rome. The Dirty Heads (pictured) sling bouncy rhythms and warm musical tones to create a sanguine atmosphere. Their music shimmers with upstrokes and maintains the comedic tone that originated from those initial joke tapes. “Whatever has happened to us over the years, we’ve always kept a mindset about staying positive and squashing negativity,” says Heads front man Jared Watson. “And that’s the vibe we had making this album. I think that comes across to anyone who hears it.” Squashing negativity is exactly what tour-mates Shiny Toy Guns had to do in order to come back. After many hurdles and line-up changes, the band is once again a functioning unit, ready to bring their rock-based electronica music to Buffalo. Tour Odyssey featuring the Dirty Heads and Shiny Toy Guns comes to the Rapids Theatre on Friday (April 12). Midi Matilda and Oh No Fiasco open the show.

- tom etu

7pm Rapids Theatre, 1711 Main St., Niagara Falls. (205-8925 / rapidstheatre.com) $20 advance, $25 day of show

Firday, April 11

Donna the Buffalo

Donna the Buffalo is one of those bands that are really great to listen to live. They know how to put on a show and get you off your seat with their groovy-rock-and-roll feel-good vibe. It’s hard not to tap your feet to their rhythmic sounds and eclectic vibe. Donna the Buffalo formed in Ithaca in 1989. With over 20 years of experience and a tenth album in the works, they have managed to develop a sound that doesn’t fit into just one genre of music. Three leading vocalists, Tara Nevins (also on the fiddle, guitar, and accordion), Jeb Puryear (also on guitar), and Joe Thrift (keyboardist), have put in countless hours on stage entertaining fans for many years and have developed quite the following, so much so that they have developed a name for diehard Donna the Buffalo fans: “The Herd.” The band has gained the respect from many industry leaders because of their versatility and hard-working attitude. Folk music lovers flock to Donna the Buffalo because of their ability to renew themselves with every album. Their most recent album, which is still in the works, does not have a release date set, leaving The Herd chomping at the bit to hear what they have under wraps. One can only hope that when Donna the Buffalo come to the Tralf Music Hall on Friday (April 12) the band will preview some of their new material for fans.

- kendra sornberger

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

Saturday, April 13

Mindless Self Indulgence

If you are sick of a song after a minute and find yourself flipping through your iPod to change genres, you many want to take a chance on the quirky versatility of Mindless Self Indulgence. After five years, MSI will make their triumphant return to Buffalo on Saturday, (April 13) at the Town Ballroom. Their eclectic and highly vigorous live performance is as musically energizing as it is physical. The dynamics of MSI’s music jumps through fiery gymnastic hoops and aggressively mixes genres in such a blender that they are almost impossible to categorize. Danceable, punk, and avant-garde all at once, the band is somehow as widely accessible as they are polarizing. Jimmy Urine lashes out with an elastic voice that dances over a spastic cornucopia of sound provided by guitarist Steve Righ? bassist Lyn-Z and backed up by Kitty’s hectic drumming. Utterly sarcastic as they are aggressive, they combine obscene stage antics and satire-ridden lyrics into a stage show of ridiculous proportions. Listening to one of their more energetic songs (there are many) is like taking a shot of espresso and chasing it with a gigantic energy drink. The effect live is even more exaggerated and off the wall, and it sure to be a heart pounding performance. That is, if Mr. Urine can “Get it Up.”

- tom etu

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $23 advance, $26 day of show

Saturday, April 13

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

Josh Ritter has perfected the art of singing and songwriting folk music with The Royal City Band. Armed with a loyal fan base, Josh Ritter and The Royal City band released a number of albums; most recently a new album titled The Beast in It’s Tracks in early March. Ritter is a one-of-a-kind folk artist who has worked from the ground up. His first few albums and tours were all self funded with profits going to touring and, of course, the release of new albums. He has harnessed the power of well-written lyrics and with the help of his Royal City Band has captured a sound to tell his story. The Beast in It’s Tracks is a collection of songs that are reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky with the lyrics of a man who knows what real life and the simple things are all about. Ritter began playing and writing at a young age, using inspiration from Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. At 21, Ritter released his first self-titled album on the Oberlin College campus where he attended for American History Through Narrative Folk Music, a major which didn’t exists, so he created it. Josh Ritter, one of Americas “100 Greatest Living Songwriters,” according to Paste Magazine comes to Asbury Hall at Babeville, Saturday (April 13). Playing with Ritter, is Sea Wolf, a Los Angels California based indie folk band with leading man, Alex Church playing solo acoustic. Ticket purchase also includes a digital copy of The Beast In Its Tracks.

- kendra sornberger

7pm Babeville’s Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave. (852-3835 / babevillebuffalo.com) $28 advance, $32 day of show

Sunday, April 14

Spring Fest 2013 featuring Kendrick Lamar and Steve Aoki

The University at Buffalo is once again bringing a solid line up to Alumni Arena for their annual Spring Fest. This year the festival will be led by young hip hop sensation Kendrick Lamar and dance music king Steve Aoki. These two could be the biggest names in their respective scenes right now. With his 2012 major label debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, 25-year-old Kendrick Lamar rocketed to the top of the hip hop scene, receiving rave reviews for his deep lyrical content juxtaposed with catchy yet unorthodox hip hop beats featuring superstars like Dr. Dre and Drake. The record came at the heels of his equally acclaimed 2011 record Section.80. On the flip side is EDM poster-boy Steve Aoki, DJ, record producer, and founder of Dim Mak Records. Aoki is fresh off of his main stage performance at the 2013 Ultra Music Festival in Miami, where the thin, long-haired musician whipped the crowd into a serious frenzy with his bassy, electro-house sounds before bathing himself in champagne and tossing an inflatable raft into the crowd, which he was presumably going to jump into before the crowd prematurely ripped it to shreds. He capped off his set by hurling a large birthday cake into the crowd. This is the type of absurd mayhem that Aoki brings to every performance, essentially a crazy man paid to make other people go crazy. Joining Lamar and Aoki this Sunday (April 14) at UB’s Spring Fest will be Chicago electro-dance trio Krewella, indie-pop band Bad Rabbits, and DJ/producer 5 & a Dime. UB students receive free admission to the event by showing their UB ID at the gate. General admission tickets are $35 and are available at all ticketmaster locations.

- cory perla

5pm Alumni Arena, 108 Alumni Arena, University at Buffalo North Campus (ticketmaster.com) Free for UB undergrads, $35 general public

Tuesday, April 16

STS9

The only thing that surpasses STS9’s vast and intricate sound is the energy they bring to every show. Short for Sound Tribe Sector 9, the band is made up of five musicians who not only share a musical vision that is technically executed, but physically linked with the technology they use. They are a band by strict definition, but have worked toward pushing that definition to its theoretical boundary over the years. While still playing traditional instruments, the group also utilizes custom in-ear monitors, computers, recording and sampling software, and other various tools to layer their sound as they progress through a show. This approach is thoroughly immersive and creates a textured sound that is unique to the Tribe. The dance-heavy music has a futuristic spin and utilizes aspects of jam, psychedelic rock, drum and bass, and funk among others. While most jam bands leave ample space for improvising and soloing, STS9 progresses together through various soundscapes, focusing more on the overall experience of the crowd rather than showcasing their individual talents. This Tuesday (April 16) the band will be hitting the stage at the Town Ballroom with openers Russ Liquid. This is going to be more than just a concert though as the overall experience they create will transcend the music played.

- jeremiah shea

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $24 advance