Bring Me Your Vultures: A Mohawk Place Documentary

Sunday, January 11

It was one year ago this weekend that 47 East Mohawk closed its doors. The Mohawk Place—the venerable downtown Buffalo live music venue and watering hole that was ground zero for Western New York’s underground live music scene as well as the local stop for the wide strata of touring artists between the scrappy up-and-comers to certifiable legends—ceased to be. It was a joyful Irish wake of a weekend where two sold out shows let the wild and left-of-center of Buffalo’s rock scene say goodbye to a joint that was more than just a room with a stage and PA. Mohawk Place was like a home, a refuge and place to celebrate, and that’s what filmmaker Michael Sobieraj along with co-producer Paul Besch capture in Bring Me Your Vultures. The documentary makes a disclaimer that it is not meant to be a grand summation or complete historical account of Mohawk Place but more of a look at its last days through the view of the people and bands that had populated it during various parts of the divey venue’s dingy but glorious run. Through a mix of interviews with scenesters and players, fly on the wall footage and live performances including Girlpope, Snapcase, and Every Time I Die, Sobieraj and Besch capture the spirit of Mohawk Place and catalog it for the ages. Following the film’s screening at Town Ballroom on Saturday (Jan 11) is an after party where plenty of the Mohawk Place will undoubtedly tell stories, talk trash, declare the best shows they saw and played over on East Mohawk and of course have a drink or three. Sounds pretty much like a typical night at Mohawk and I mean that in a very good way...

- gore peterson

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $17 advance, $19 day of

Thursday, January 9

Shubbaluliuma

Eastern-European gypsy-folk trio Shubbaluliuma ventures out into the Hungarian countryside, musically speaking, as the trio will be presenting the music of composer and pianist Béla Bartók, tonight (Jan 9), as part of an ongoing series at PAUSA Art House. Widely considered to be one of Hungary’s greatest composers, Bartók’s contribution to classical music is undeniable, and his experimentation in compositional practices is largely due to his lifelong appreciation of folk music. Bartók spent years traveling the rural regions of Hungary, among other places, collecting, analyzing and arranging the music he heard. He wove these peasant melodies and rhythms into his own compositions, including operas and violin duets. Buffalo’s own Shubbaluliuma, comprised of dueling electric violinists David Adamczyk and Evan Courtin, along with percussionist Campbell Ryan, will be performing their own arrangements of Bartók’s folk tunes, which promises to showcase some seriously nimble bow work as these strings go at it. It’s high speed, high energy avant-folk that Bartók himself would certainly applaud.

- jon wheelock

6pm Pausa Art House, 19 Wadsworth St. (697-9069 / pausaarthouse.com) $7 advance, $5 day of show

Thursday - Saturday, January 9 - 11

Joey Diaz

If you recognize comedian Joey Diaz, well then you’ve probably been looking very closely at some of your favorite movies. The veteran comedian hosts a popular bi-weekly podcast called “The Church of What’s Happening Now”—one of the most downloaded comedy podcasts online—but he’s also appeared in limited roles in everything from Spider Man 2, to The Longest Yard, and General Hospital. His latest role is as Mikey in the feature comedy film Grudge Match has him opposite some of the most recognizable names in film including Robert DeNiro, Sylvester Stallone, and Kevin Hart. With a style not dissimilar to Kevin Hart’s loud-mouthed, dynamic flair, Diaz, with his thick New York accent, delivers in-your-face comedy. He’ll tell you what it takes to be a “real Jew,” or how to, uh, properly do heroin. If you think you’re ready for a verbal assault from one of comedy’s most fervent comedians, check out Joey Diaz at Helium Comedy Club this Thursday through Saturday (Jan 9-11).

- cory perla

8pm Thursday, 7:30pm and 10pm Friday and Saturday Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St. (853-1211 / heliumcomedy.com) $15, Thursday; $18, Friday; $22, Saturday

Friday, January 10

Wsada 9

Experimental noise music might be the purest type of music that exists. Usually structureless and improvisational, the genre reduces music down to its most base form, as abstract sound-art. Whether the musicians who make this music are using electronic devices or more traditional instruments like saxophones and guitars, the result is usually a hypnotic wall of sound that defies any conventional sense of music. The Wash Project, a combination laundromat and community center located on Buffalo’s West Side, will play venue to WSADA 9, another installment of a monthly series that aims to survey the city’s growing ambient and experimental noise music scenes. The show will be headed by the Baczkowski/Nace Duo (pictured)—saxophonist Steve Baczkowski and guitarist Bill Nace—who manipulate their instruments with a variety of unorthodox, yet compelling techniques. Baczkowski and Nace first performed together in 2005 as part of Thurston Moore’s Dream/Aktion Unit. Nace has performed under numerous aliases including his most recent, Body/Head, with another Sonic Youth founder, Kim Gordon. Rochester’s Milk Boy aka Martin Freeman will add his atmospheric ambient concoctions to the mix, while Buffalo multi-media artist Jax Deluca brings her strangely organic experimental sound stylings to the party as well. WSADA 9 will take place this Friday (Jan 10) at the Wash Project, 417 Massachusetts Ave.

- cory perla

8pm The Wash Project, 417 Massachusetts Ave. (wsadaseries.tumblr.com) $5

Friday, January 9

Clutch

A spine ailment and herniated discs might have deferred Clutch’s fall tour, but triumphant surgery has singer Neil Fallon feeling better and the band is back on the scene. For those unacquainted with the Maryland boys, Clutch peddles an intoxicating mix of stoner, blues, and southern rock charm. Their straight-to-the-gut tracks routinely bother the upper echelons of the Rock Billboard charts and, throughout the 1990s and now the new millennium, they frequently defy their ‘cult band’ misnomer and bag themselves some airplay with the odd surprise hit. Their most recent album, Earth Rocker, is complexly layered with fist-pumping anthems and flashes of 1970’s fuzz and groove. The music plays like a wicked cocktail of blues, funk, rock, and metal with a taste that can only be Clutch. Fallon’s unmistakable toad-rasp vocals are as essential to Clutch’s sound, as are his out-of-this-world lyrics (see “The Wolfman Kindly Requests...”). There is a self-consciously classic-rock feel to how the band structure their songwriting and melodies. Live performances guarantee an endless supply of catchy grooves and if you can’t get down to them, well you must be either dead or a certified member of the anti-fun brigade. Clutch will play at Town Ballroom on Friday (Jan 10) with the Sword and Crobot.

- kellie powell

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $22 advance $25 day of show

Saturday, January 11

Night of the Living Dead Winter Shakedown

It’s time to truck on down to the Tralf for the Night of the Living Dead Winter Shakedown! Performances include local bands the Maniacs, Workingman’s Dead, and the Grateful Dans all paying homage to one of the most unique and eclectic bands of the century, the Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead were never inclined to forge a very narrow musical path. Their wide musical scope included tunes from folk to psychedelic to rock. Similarly, these tribute artists don’t simply parrot the Grateful Dead hits—they incorporate their own dispositions into the melodic tunes of the Dead. When the Maniacs (est. 1992) play “Eyes of the World,” they take the signature Hunter/Garcia sound and throw in a few shots of fast rock that blends so perfectly with the high, sharp guitar licks. You won’t want to miss Buffalo’s pinnacle Grateful Dead tribute artists all under one roof, when they come down to Night of the Living Dead Winter Shakedown at the Tralf Music Hall on Saturday (Jan 11).

- kellie powell

7pm The Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com) $10 advance, $12 day of show

Sunday, January 12

Firestarter

Doing their best New Found Glory impression, Firestarter stick to a strict pop-punk formula: melodic vocals, fast drums, head-bobbing breakdowns and hooky guitar riffs. They might not be pioneers of the infamously well-worn genre, but the Upstate New York pop-punk revivalists do what they do well. On their latest record, New Beginnings, the four-piece band—vocalist/guitarist Matt LaPerche, guitarist Zack Bartnicki, bassist Jeff Henlin, and drummer Matt Bliss—let loose a persistent stream of catchy, tight pop-punk tracks that would sound at home on any Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtrack (as they like to joke on their Facebook page) or any mid-catalog MxPx record for that matter. With their longest song, “Three Year’s,” clocking in at just under three minutes and 30 seconds, Firestarter keep it concise on blistering yet catchy tracks like “Myrtle Ave,” and “49 Stow.” Take this opportunity to catch one of pop-punk’s rising acts at the Forvm this Sunday (Jan 12) with support from Old Again, Head North, Creekview, Alleys, and Sacklunch, presented by One Less Bird Productions.

- cory perla

6pm The Forvm, 4224 Maple Road (831-3271 / theforvmbuffalo.com) $10 advance, $12 day of show