Cloud Nothings

Friday, April 4

Immediacy is becoming a rare thing in music, a trait that seems to have been lost in rock music since the late 1990s. Much rock and pop is designed as escapism, to bring you to another place, but Cleveland indie-rock noise makers Cloud Nothings want to keep you in the here and now, and they do it pretty well. On their 2012 record Attack On Memory, they combined punk physicality with lyrics that dwell on wasted youth and teen angst from a matured perspective that somehow managed to break through those periods of arrested development. Their influences are numerous from no-wave noise breakdowns reminiscent of Sonic Youth, to the occasional Green Day inspired hooky chorus, and the driving aggression of Nirvana, though Cloud Nothings’ whole is more than the sum of their influences. On their latest record, Here and Nowhere Else the band faced the challenge of following up a truly great indie-rock record. They did so by striding harder from song to song as they ever have before. Cloud Nothings played Babeville’s Ninth Ward two years ago, a restricted space for a band that can easily launch into the chaotic, so it will be interesting to see how they spread their wings when they come to the more lofty Buffalo Iron Works on Friday (April 4) with support from Pleasure Leftists.

- cory perla

7pm Buffalo Iron Works, 49 Illinois St. (200-1893 / buffaloironworks.com) $13 advance, $15 day of show

Friday, April 4

Transmission Dance Party Presents: Depeche Mode vs New Order

An offshoot of the Transmission Dance party is happening tomorrow night. Get ready to change your plans or expand them—in place are the sort of conditions that forecast a night of unbridled, dance-floor, soul pouring escape. This time DJs Aaron Andrew and Bill Page have opted to take a turn from the usual lineup—The Smiths vs The Cure—and pay heed to New Wave synth renegades, Depeche Mode and New Order. An evening of their prolific tunes back-to-back will be hosted. Some may be thinking “Depeche Order and New Who?” while others of you have just squealed. Either way it should be noted that they are indispensable when it comes to shaping synth-pop as we know it today. Both British bands hit the scene in the early 1980s, refurbishing punk-routed sensibilities with springing synth patterns and machine-drum blitz. Both are responsible for churning out anthems that would characterize an era with a sonic template that evokes a sense of 1980’s club redemption, and tomorrow night poses an opportunity to relive their overlapping legacies. The tributary occasion will be held in the Back Room of Hardware and may or may not transpire into some kind of dance epidemic.

- jeannette chin

11pm Back Room Allen St. Hardware Café (882-8843 / allenstreethardware.com) $3 before 12 / $5 after

Friday, April 4

Neglia Ballet & The BPO Present: Romeo & Juliet

The spectacular collaboration between Neglia Ballet and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra continues next Friday (April 4), with a production of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, under the musical direction of Bradley Thachuk. This is a rare experience indeed: a top-flight production of a beloved ballet, danced to live music performed by a professional orchestra, in a beautiful theater. Led by the troupe’s artistic director, Sergio Neglia, as Romeo, the dancers also include Silvina Vaccarelli as Juliet, Jace Coronado as Mercutio, Mindaugas Bauztys as Tybalt, Neglia Heidi Halt as Lady Capulet, Paul Mockavak as Lord Capulet, Suzanne Evans as the Nurse, and Rorey Fraser as Paris. Supporting roles are played by local dancers and students in Neglia’s conservatory. Fraser, 15, has been a student at the conservatory for nine years, and Paris is his first major role.

- frances boots

7:30pm Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St. (847-1410 / sheas.org) $34.75-$83.75

Saturday, March 5

The Doyle Brothers

Over a 15-year career, Buffalo natives Ryan and Todd Doyle have made their mark on The X-Factor, toured the globe, opened for Sir Paul McCartney with their former band More Than Me, and through it all they haven’t forgotten their Buffalo roots. The Doyle Brothers’ soulful brand of modern pop fits a retro mold akin to artists like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake—honey-sweet vocals and smooth jazzy beats. Their honey-sweetness isn’t exclusive to their vocals; the brothers are kind-hearted humanitarians who refuse to be the only two to benefit from the fruits of their labor. They haven’t resided in Buffalo in years, but continue to support local charities. On Saturday (April 5), the duo will take the stage at The Forvm to perform at Spring Your Soul, a concert benefiting Women and Children’s Hospital and the Kiss Cares for Kids Radiothon. The Doyle Brothers will play alongside fellow homegrown musicians like multi-instrumentalist John Schmitt and jam quintet Little Mountain Band. The event will mark the commencement of the Spring Your Soul Foundation (SYS), through which the Doyles plan to host an annual concert each spring to raise money and awareness for Women’s and Children’s Hospital as they work to build the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital. Says guitarist and singer Ryan Doyle: “Our vision for Spring Your Soul is to stay connected and help others in our hometown community, and hopefully in time take this to other cities we play.”

- kellie powell

8pm The Forvm, 4224 Maple Road (831-3271 / theforvmbuffalo.com) $10 advance, $12 day of show

Saturday & Sunday, April 5 & 6

8th Annual Buffalo Small Press Fair

We’re two weeks into spring, and even though things are still looking a little dead outside, the Karpeles Manuscript Library will be blossoming with activity this Saturday and Sunday (April 5 & 6) as the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair heralds the return of Spring during it’s annual two-day event. Now in its eighth year, the BSPBF brings together independent publishers, cultural workers, artists, writers, crafters and everyone in between to set up shop, share ideas, sell their wares, and celebrate the DIY ethos that makes it all happen. Visitors can expect a literary marketplace of vendors with a variety of book-related materials, art, handmade crafts and ephemera ready for tender: small press poetry and fiction, comics, print-on-demand novels, local interest, letter press and book art, antique collector’s editions, zines, gig posters, binding equipment, photography and more. Open readings will be held in the upstairs of the library on Saturday, with workshops and presentations scheduled for Sunday on a first-come, first-serve basis. In addition to the fair, there are a number of ancillary events running throughout the weekend at the WNY Book Arts Center on Washington St., including Progressive Fiction Night (Thursday, April 3, 8pm), a film screening of Sign Painters (Friday, April 4, 7:30pm), and All Poetry is Small Press Poetry Reading (Friday, April 4, 9pm). The 7 @ 7 @ 7 Poetry Reading will take place after the fair on Saturday at Sweet_ness7 Café (7pm, 220 Grant St.). Get out to the events, browse the tables, talk to the vendors (who are all very nice and passionate about their crafts) and pick up a thing or two—your support goes a long way in making sure that these folks can continue to do what they love.

- jon wheelock

Saturday April 5, 12-6pm, Sunday April 6, 11am-5pm Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Porter Hall, 453 Porter Avenue (buffalosmallpress.org) free

Sunday, April 6

8th Annual Taste of Culinary

Buffalo may not be known for top-ranked sports teams or warm weather, but we are home to some of the most architecturally significant structures in history and damnit, our chefs can cook! On Sunday (April 6), the ECMC City Campus will play host to the 8th Annual Taste of Culinary presented by the American Culinary Federation of Greater Buffalo. Dating back to the gilded age, ECC’s 250-foot tower continues to proudly overlook Ellicott Street. A skylight of opaque glass and steel frame completes the rich architectural seduction of the building and provides the perfect ambiance for sampling some of the latest culinary innovations of the city’s finest chefs, chef educators, and culinary professionals. Each year the Taste of Culinary boasts some of Buffalo’s top culinary geniuses. Last year’s professionals included Chef James Roberts with the Park Country Club and winner of the Nickel City Chef Competition, and Chef Steve Gerda from Bistro Europa, one of the city’s most avant-garde restaurants. This year’s bash will feature over 30 local restaurants, purveyors and clubs. Tickets are only $30 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Chef and Child Foundation to encourage the fight against childhood obesity and educate children about nutrition.

- kellie powell

12pm-3:30pm ECC City Campus, 121 Ellicott Street (851-1001 / tasteofculinary.com) $30 advance

Tuesday, April 8

The Hold Steady

After four-year’s without a new record, the Hold Steady is back with a gift in hand: Teeth Dreams. Released on March 25, this album reiterates the messages that the Hold Steady has been belting out since 2003, but with an older, wiser veneer. Entering the second decade of doing anything warrants reflection and a putting of things in perspective, and these guys do it though storytelling, and with a nostalgic ease. Their classic rock roots are still as clearly eminent as their father-like truisms. But these guys have the right to preach a little. They’ve been at the bottom, and they root for and try to lift those up that may be there now. Frequently addressing the human condition is the the Hold Steady’s specialty. Infusing messages about how to live a more fulfilling life into lyrics can be found across all genres, but singer Craig Finn’s abrasive vocals are a symbolic representation of the struggles associated with living, whereas the actual words are little flashes of light in the dark. Capture those flashes this Tuesday (April 8) at Town Ballroom.

- samantha wulff

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $20 advance, $24 day of show