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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of featured events, including our editor's pick for the week: BOOM! at Nietzsche's on Friday, January 16.

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.



BOOM!

Friday, January 16th

The time has come for this year’s Artvoice Battle of Battle of Original Music- BOOM. This marks the ninth year Artvoice has hosted the contest, which is open and free to all local original bands and music acts. This is the first of four live shows in which bands compete for a shot at the $5,000 cash prize in this year’s live BOOM Grand Finale on June 6th. The Nigh, Intent to Sell, Imperial Brown, and Shattered Glass will have to square off against each other in person at Nietzsche’s this Friday (1/16 @10PM). Every person who attends this show will receive a ballot at the door. It’s up to them to decide who gets to advance. At the end of the night, the votes are tallied and a winner is decided. The grand finale is a winner-takes-all where we’ll crown a new BOOM champion and one lucky band will take home a prize package including $5000 cash and goodies from Guitar Factory and GCR studios. Make sure to get to Nietzsche’s right at 10pm so you can grab a ballot and help pick our next winner.

- Jeff Czum

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

Thursday - Saturday, January 15-17

Jesse Joyce

After establishing his comedy career in the Pittsburgh area in 1998, Jesse Joyce made the move to New York City and has since made a name for himself. He attributes his comedic instincts to growing up with his fun and entertaining family. Joyce developed his own unique brand of comic charisma after following the example of his Uncle Michael, a former clown in the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Baily Circus. You might have seen him host AMC’s Date Night, as well as appearing on Entertainment Tonight, and Comedy Central’s hit shows Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. Joyce To The World, his debut CD, has been well received and is played regularly on XM and Sirius Satellite radio. Joyce has shared the stage with many well-known comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton and Bill Burr. He has tons of material that will make you fall out of your seat with laughter. Whether he’s making fun of the guy in the front row who’s trying way too hard to impress his date or how Ted Nugent is deathly afraid of gay marriage, he’ll be a great act to see this weekend at Helium Comedy Club.

- Jeff Czum

Thursday 1/15: 8pm / Friday 1/16: 7:30PM & 10pm / Saturday 1/17: 7:30PM & 10pm Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St. (853-1211 / heliumcomedy.com) $15-$30

Friday, January 16

Cage

Chris Palko, better known as the rapper Cage comes from a life of pain and hard living. Born in 1973 on a military base in Germany, Cage spent most of his childhood bearing the brunt of hard drugs, an abusive stepfather, and trouble with the law. He was eventually facing serious jail time for a crime he committed as a teenager, but the judge allowed him to seek help in a psychiatric hospital rather than a sentence behind bars. Through this experience, Palko was a trial subject for one of the chemicals used in Prozac. The negative reaction to this chemical that he experienced led him to attempt suicide several times, and helped fuel his already difficult struggle with substances and the demons he battled within himself. This darkness is present in his music, which acts as an outlet for him to vent years of abuse and trauma. Cage went on to release his debut album, Movies for the Blind, which still remains his most popular release. Throughout his career, he has put out total of four studio albums and has collaborated with artists such as RJD2, Camu Tao, DJ Shadow, and Yo La Tengo. Catch Cage and his powerful set Friday night (1/16) at the Studio @ Waiting Room.

- Jeff Czum

7PM The Studio @ Waiting Room,334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $15

Saturday, January 17

Alvin Risk

If you’re a fan of contradictions, enter the soundscape that Alvin Risk creates. Toeing the line between darkness and light, Alvin Risk’s tracks are at once melodic and heavy with soaring vocals, the audio equivalent of falling down the rabbit hole. While Risk has done his own dabbling in straight-ahead dubstep on tracks such as “Try It Out” with Skrillex, his solo releases experiment with more sub-genre blending techniques with touches of witch house, moombahton, and drum and bass. Josh Bennett for LessThan3, an EDM blog, said “If ever there were a man who didn’t give a f*ck about genres, it was Alvin Risk.” Risk stays busy with producing, DJing, singing, and manipulating his own vocals for his tracks. He adds touring to this list to promote his latest EP, Venture. His live show will have a visual aspect to it in order to connect the music of Venture to the narratives behind it. Attendees will also experience chillwave from Kodak To Graph. Be prepared to get atmospheric with them this Saturday night (1/17 @ 9PM) at the Studio @ Waiting Room.

- Jill Greenberg

PM The Studio @ Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $15-$20 Ages 18+

Wednesday, January 21

At Issues: An Investigative Post

We are drowning in a sea of digital options in our personal lives, our news sources and our digital marketing choices in business ventures. The most adept players follow and use our digital habits to herd us into this or that digital friend space or store or blog or news chat, etc. In real estate it’s location, location, location. Online it’s traffic, traffic, traffic. Whether you’re an end user or a manipulative webmaster Investigative Post is hosting a decidedly worthwhile event. There’s no better way to have some experts help make sense of the often confusing digital matrix surrounding us than with a happy hour beverage and the comfortable Allentown Hardware Cafe. Investigative Post continues it’s “At Issue” series with a look at how digital media has changed the way we communicate and organize in our community. Social media marketer Jason Mollica of JRM Comm will speak about the influence social media has on advertising and communication and how Buffalo compares to other markets. Justin Booth from GoBike Buffalo will talk about how they use social media for their work organizing followers and furthering their mission. Michael Wooten from WGRZ will talk about how he social media, digital mapping and crowdsourcing to enhance his reporting in tandem with traditional methods. $10 fee includes a free drink and an Investigative Post membership.

6PM Allen Street Hardware, 245 Allen St. (882-8843 / allenstreethardware.com) $10

Wednesday, January 21

Like Pacific

Like Pacific sounds like they really wish that it was still 2002. And you know what? Maybe we all do. The early aughts were a simpler time, when black and leather was relegated to the insides of Hot Topic instead of all over Paris runways. Listening to punk pop meant you were a part of something underground and special, back when DIY meant making pins and patches for your friend’s band rather than snapping Instagrams of a tablescape for your blog. But don’t let the nostalgia mislead you, this band has an unbridled energy and speed that brings them to the forefront of pop-punk’s many incarnations. Along with their own refresh of the genre, the Toronto-based band brings the kind of ernesty that allows their fervor for this music to shine through. To celebrate their recent signing to Pure Noise records and the release of their self-titled EP this month, Like Pacific is touring in Canada and across the US. They are stopping in Buffalo the day after their EP drops, on Wednesday night (1/21 @ 6PM) at the Studio @ Waiting Room. In a recent interview with The Prelude Press, Like Pacific said, “You should always feel comfortable in your own skin and always be yourself before you are anyone else. You should always feel proud of who you are and what you do.” If their sound is any indication, this is a motto the band lives and plays by.

- Jill Greenberg

6PM The Studio @ Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $10-$12

Wednesday, January 21

Dr. Dog

Philadelphia based band Dr. Dog has been known for turning out hook filled albums, and their 2013 release, B-Room is no exception. The psychedelic-folk vibe that the group has come to be known for is present with revitalized energy behind it. B-Room is a more soulful album from the six-piece band and the music blends together perfectly. Toby Leaman’s bass playing is as strong as ever when matched up with Eric Slick’s danceable drumbeats. “Love” is easily the catchiest song with guitarist/vocalist Scott McMicken carrying one of the best melodies and arrangements of the album. Dr. Dog succeeds at making records with catchy songs and smart lyrics, but in order to fully understand this band, one must see them live. On the night of Wednesday (1/21) Dr. Dog will be performing at the Town Ballroom. The band just put out a live album, live at a Flamingo Hotel last Tuesday, and it’s vividly clear that they will be sure to get the crowd moving with their energetic stage presence and big sound. It’s going to be a high decibel experience complete with a light show and searing guitar riffs all night.

- Jeff Czum

7PM Town Ballroom, 681 S. Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $20-$23