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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of featured events, including our editor's pick for the week: Artvoice B.O.O.M! Round 3 Quaterfinals, taking place Friday, April 19th featuring Revenge Therapists, This is Fiction, Well Worn Boot and So Far So Good.

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

Friday, April 19

It’s time once again for another live installment of the Artvoice Battle of Original Music—or, BOOM for short. This is where four bands plug in and strut their stuff in an effort to collect the most votes from a packed house of local music fans. Each act has already earned its place on this bill by winning one round in our weekly online contest at boom.artvoice.com. What makes the Artvoice contest so special? There is no panel of biased judges proclaiming a victor, for one thing. No, we prefer to leave it all up to the public. In order to succeed, bands need to rally their fans to vote for them online. Then they need to get them out to the live show. Because it’s there that every person through the door receives one ballot on which to cast a vote for his or her favorite act. At the end of the night, the votes are tallied and a winner is decided. The crowd favorite this Friday (April 19) will join previous live show winners Randle and the Late Night Scandals and Den of Lions on the bill for the Artvoice BOOM Grand Finale scheduled for Friday, June 14. It’s there that four bands will square off for all the marbles—which in this case is $5,000, plus eternal bragging rights as Artvoice BOOM Grand Champions. A contest like this would not be possible were it not for our underappreciated but thriving local music scene. So come join the fun as the Revenge Therapists, This is Fiction, Well Worn Boot, and So Far So Good have at it on the back stage at Nietzsche’s, giving it their all in the quest to become local original music heroes.

- buck quigley

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

Thursday, April 18

Opeth

There are origins to the various forms of metal in the same way that Mississippi Delta, Chicago, and Texas blues all share a common genre, but have regional and stylistic differences. Opeth belongs to the Swedish death scene, which has a unique regional sound that places a lot of emphasis on melody. The band has been around since the early 1990’s and continues to influence the current generation of metal while still staying true to their roots. Their major contributor, lead singer and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, is the longest tenured member and has been shaping Opeth’s diverse sound since the band started. Musically, the band gives each song its own unique dynamics as they incorporate a wide range of influences. This Thursday (April 18), Opeth will be bringing their Nordic twist on metal to the Town Ballroom. Opening the show will be another Stockholm native, Katatonia, who has been playing almost as long as Opeth has. The two bands have toured previously and Åkerfeldt even performed on an early Katatonia album. The show is sure to be more thunderous than Thor’s hammer as the two will combine for an immensely heavy night.

- jeremiah shea

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $25 advance, $28 day of show

Friday, April 19

The Devil Makes Three

The Devil Makes Three, a band unlike any other, visits the Town Ballroom on Friday (April 19). This three piece, drummer-less band, is comprised of guitarist/frontman Pete Bernhard, stand-up bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist Cooper McBean. Their musical style is a unique take on punk-inspired ragtime country, with elements of rockabilly and folk. With their strong fingerpicking guitar and deep bass sound, you can’t help but tap your feet while listening to their original lyrics. The goal of their live shows is to play with such power and rhythm, and to get the audience off their feet, dance, drink, and have a good time. Although the three members of the band are all New Englanders, the band formed in Santa Cruz, California, debuting their first self-titled album in 2002. Ever since, the band has been continuously putting out great albums. Their most recent album, Stomp and Smash: Live at the Mystic Theatre, is an album recorded over two nights at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, California. To get the real thing, join The Devil Makes Three with special guest, Jonny (Corndawg) Fritz, at the Town Ballroom this weekend.

- kendra sornberger

8pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $14 advance, $17 day of show

Saturday, April 20

Young Audiences Art Auction

Let’s start with this: Young Audiences of Western New York is a terrific organization. For 50 years, Young Audiences has been bringing working artists in all media into classrooms, inspiring young artists and future art-lovers. That’s reason enough to this Saturday’s Collectors Choice Art Auction at Tapestry Charter School. But there are dozens more reasons to go as well: Artworks donated by some of the region’s most talented and celebrated artists—Duayne Hatchett, Al Volo, Adele Henderson, Bruce Adams, Ani Hoover, James Vullo, Sally Cook, Faith Davis, to name just a few—will be put out to bid, all proceeds to benefit Young Audiences. (And everyone, with the possible exception of the event’s honorary chair, Gerald Mead, a voracious collector, needs more local art, right?) You can buy tickets to the auction, or set yourself up to bid in absentia, at the www., where you can also look at some of the works to be auctioned. There will be hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, and the fabulous Nancy J. Parisi will serve as auctioneer.

- geoff kelly

7pm-10pm Tapestry Charter School, 65 Great Arrow Avenue (yawny.org) $35/person general admission; $100/person for Patron tickets, and $150 for Patron Couple tickets.

Saturday, April 20

Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue

Nothing mixes better than listening to hard rock music and watching someone literally pound a nail into their own face. Nothing mixes better than short skirts on fire breathing women or tattoos on a sword swallower. Travelling around the country in a large red prison bus, the sideshow, circus-freakshow that is Hellzapoppin delivers just such a mix of music and shocks. Led by characters like sword swallower Chelsea NoPants, “human oddity” the Amazing Boobzilla, breakdancer Trixtah Rodriguez and his wonder dog Mr. Buggles, this travelling burlesque freakshow is like Iron Maiden meets Ripley’s Believe it Or Not. “In this jaded and turbulent world, the aim of Hellzapoppin is to provide entertainment to an audience that thinks they’ve seen everything,” says its creator, MC, and sideshow stuntman Bryce ‘Govna’ Graves. “It’s our job to prove them wrong!“ Hellzapoppin has performed at some of the world’s biggest rock festivals like OzzFest and the Family Values Tour with Korn and the Deftones, on the Warped Tour, and in supoort of Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, and even Bob Dylan. The Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue will make a stop at the Waiting Room this Saturday (April 20) so wear some fireproof clothing and prepare for a freak out.

- cory perla

8pm The Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $12-$14, 16+

Monday, April 22

Guts & Glory - an evening with Anthony Bourdain

Love him or hate him, Anthony Bourdain knows food. The sometimes profane but always passionate chef, author, and television host has made a career out of visiting exotic places, sampling rare cuisines, and criticizing it all in his snarky, yet veracious tone. As television host, Bourdain has embarked on many culinary adventures for the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and The Layover; a travel and food show on which the 56-year-old foodie visited cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and many others tasting all that he could taste and experiencing all he could in only 24 to 48 hours. The Layover ended after two seasons and now Bourdain will host two new shows; one on CNN called Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, on which he’ll visit Myanmar, Libya, Peru, and the Congo in search of obscure indulgences, and the other; an ABC produced cooking competition series The Taste. He is a contributing authority for Food Arts magazine, and has also appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Times of London, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and many other publications. On Monday (April 22) Bourdnain will step on stage at Shea’s Performing Art Center to spend the evening telling candid stories and sharing funny tidbits about his life, work, and travels before opening the floor to a Q&A session with the audience as part of his Guts and Glory tour.

- cory perla

7:30pm Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St. (847-1410 / sheas.org) $35-$75

Tuesday, April 23

Fear Factory

Fear Factory has always been proficient at bringing dark apocalyptic instrumentation and sci-fi tinged lyrics that deal with both Orwellian and religious themes. Their name is an apt description of their industrial sound, and a promise for what is to come if you attend their concert on Tuesday (April 23) at the Rapids Theatre. During their career they have covered Gary Numan, contributed a song to the Mortal Kombat soundtrack, and created a series of concept albums, the latest of which, titled Industralist, was released last year. Their punishing rhythms crush your eardrums into dust and their lyrics prepare you to fight off all oppressors. Immerse yourself in the heavy, gripping, industrial chaos on Monday night and indulge in the fear. Hate Eternal, Kobra and the Lotus, and Low Road Revival play in support

- tom etu

6pm Rapids Theatre, 1711 Main St., Niagara Falls. (205-8925 / rapidstheatre.com) $20 advance, $25 day of show

Wednesday, April 24

STS9

Known for their relentless math-metal style, the Dillinger Escape Plan comes to the Town Ballroom on Wednesday (April 24) with tech metal band Faceless and Relapse Record’s Royal Thunder. For those unfamiliar with the band’s unique style, their sound can be a little intimidating. Unusual time signatures are not unusual for the band hailing from New Jersey. Rhythms can jerk and move suddenly in any direction, like Elaine from Seinfeld kicking spastically on the dance floor, as guitarists Ben Weinman and James Love shred their strings with surgical precision. These guys are musician’s musicians; appealing to fans who spend their time at shows staring at fret boards and counting beats, but also to people who prefer to lose themselves in the pure intensity of their complex music. Their break out record, 2004’s Miss Machine, released by Relapse Records, set the standard for the band’s following releases; alternating moments of intense musical complexity with slower tempo breakdowns and cleaned up vocals. In 2010 the band released Option Paralysis, this time on their own record label, Party Smasher Inc. The record was well received, opening the door for this year’s follow-up, One Of Us Is The Killer, which will be released via Party Smasher Inc on May 14. Recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts—who has also worked with the Cure, Glassjaw, and Suicide Silence among others—One Of Us Is The Killer’s first single, “Prancer” was released last month and by the sound of it the band is moving in a familiar direction. Dillinger Escape Plan is bound to play a few cuts from their new record when they perform at the Ballroom this week, so if you’re interested in getting a sneak preview of One Of Us Is The Killer, you shouldn’t miss this one.

- cory perla

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $16 advance, $19 day of show