Michael Ian Black
Thursday 6/25: 8pm / Friday 6/26: 7:30pm & 10pm / Saturday 6/27: 7:30pm & 10pm Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St. (853-1211 / heliumcomedy.com) $20-$33
Michael Ian Black is very famous. Well, maybe he’s not that famous, but he keeps telling the world he is. In fact, back in 2011 he had a Comedy Central special titled “Michael Ian Black: Very Famous.” Whether or not Black is actually famous is up for debate, but there is no debating that he’s an incredibly funny comedian. The strange thing about Black’s career is that it has been somewhat in reverse for the past 20 years. He hasn’t become a wash-up or anything, but he’s slowly become a bigger star by using different mediums to achieve this fame. Many comedians start out by doing stand-up and hope one day to get noticed by Comedy Central where he or she will get a stand up special. If all goes well, they might get a television deal and could maybe even become an actor/actress. This is where Black has done things backwards. He started out on television in 1993 with MTV’s The State. He then went on to act on the successful NBC show Ed and continues this reversal of a career by trying stand up, writing books, co-hosting a podcast, and now having his own Comedy Central special. In recent years, Black has become one of the most popular and consistently funny people on Twitter. He shared his process for composing the perfect tweet, explaining that it can be difficult to capture the essence of a joke in 140 characters. He also went on to give the full backstory of a 2013 tweet which read, “Papa John has a real ‘I like to hang out naked in the locker room’ vibe.” The bit got some of the biggest laughs from his Comedy Central special. You can catch Michael Ian Black this weekend at Helium Comedy Club. Get your tickets fast, this one is sure to be a sell out.
> Jeffrey Czum
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Schwervon!
8pm Sugar City, 1239 Niagara St (buffalosugarcity.org) $5
Given that both Matt Roth and Nan Turner were each previously involved in various musical endeavors before the met, it was only a matter of time before the couple began playing together and Schwervon! was born. Roth says that their jam sessions started out just as something they did for fun, but fast-forward fifteen years and seven albums later, the duo have clearly made this project their top priority. The mysterious band name, “Schwervon!” is said to be a playful derivative of the phrase “Get your swerve on,” and that’s exactly what they do. The group sets out to create fun, indie-pop tinged music of the do-it-yourself variety. With Roth on guitar and Turner on drums and occasionally keys, the music is minimum yet rich with character. An upbeat pop-garage-rock-punk hybrid vaguely reminiscent of the Pixies, Schwervon! favors driving beats, radiant harmonies, and solid song structures that never lose sight of the point, whether it’s overcoming self-doubt or loving someone so much that you hate him or her a little. Roth and Turner will be making noise at Sugar City this Thursday (6/25 @ 8pm). Don’t miss out on seeing a unique group perform in a perfect setting for their music.
> Jeffrey Czum
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J. RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESS
7pm Town Ballroom, 681 S. Main St. (852-3900 / townballroom.com) $20-$23
The most recent LP from J. Roddy Walston & The Business, Essential Tremors takes its name from a nervous-system disorder that’s long plagued the band’s frontman. “It’s this condition where my hands shake. Sometimes not at all, but sometimes very bad,” says singer/pianist/guitarist Walston. “I’ve referenced it throughout all our records in some way, but it made sense to be more open about it on this release, which is partly owning and embracing your weirdness instead of letting it hold you captive because you don’t even want to talk about it.” For J. Roddy Walston & The Business – who formed back in 2002 in Cleveland, Tennessee – embracing weirdness means a celebration of that great and terrible burden of being human. Forcing the oft-clashing worlds of art and rock n’ roll to create songs that honors both their Southern roots and punk spirit. On Essential Tremors, the group builds off that formula with a mix of heavy hooks and elegant melodies revealing their affinity for artists as disparate as Led Zeppelin, pre-disco-era Bee Gees, The Replacements, Randy Newman, and the Southern soul outfits that once populated the Stax Records label. You can catch the band live this Friday night (6/26 @7pm) at Town Ballroom when they roll in with the Avers.
> Jeff Czum
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Mick Hayes
9:30pm Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St. (874-7734 / sportsmenstavern.com) $10
Some artists “crossover” between genres, but Buffalo-born original musician Mick Hayes blurs the lines completely. His recently released single, Soapbox, elegantly straddles styles, combining the instrumental smoothness of soul with the powerful gritty vocals of blues and rock. In addition to being an amazing songwriter and vocalist, Hayes is an extremely talented guitarist, and that becomes quite obvious towards the end of Soapbox. He has performed all over the world, having shared the stage with legends such as Stevie Wonder, Steve Vai, Michael Burkes and many more. Hayes is currently writing and recording a new studio album, his fourth, to tell the emotional tale of the past ten years of his life and give the listener an up-close perspective of the artist who, as he puts it, has “seen the world through dirty windshields.” You can catch this incredible local artist at Sportsmen’s Tavern this Friday night (6/26 @9:30pm).
> Greg Mach
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The Steve Miller Band
6:30pm Artpark, 450 South 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / artpark.net) $12
Some people call him space cowboy; some people call him the gangster of love, but most know him as Steve Miller, the guitarist and vocalist whose laid-back, infectiously catchy tunes have soothed the nation for decades. Miller got his start as a Chicago blues artist in the early ‘60s and then relocated to San Francisco to form the Steve Miller Blues Band. In 1967, they played a concert alongside Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix and Otis Redding at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival, an event that brought many important artists of the era into the national spotlight. Following their appearance, the band signed to Capitol Records and dropped the “Blues” from their name at the label’s request. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, they recorded massive radio hits and became of the most popular American rock/blues bands to date. The band just celebrated the 40th anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album, The Joker, and released The Joker Live as a tribute to the success it brought them. The record features exclusive, unreleased tracks, which were all recorded while on the road. Don’t miss your chance to see the Steve Miller Band when they perform at Artpark this Tuesday evening (6/30 @6:30pm).
> Maurice M.
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The ataris “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits” Tour
7pm The Forvm, 4224 Maple Rd. (831-3271 / theforvmbuffalo.com) $15 - $20
Without reunion and album anniversary tours, it’s hard to imagine how pop punk would have sustained itself over the past couple years. It’s become a matter of supply and demand, and The Ataris frontman Kristopher Roe isn’t afraid to admit he’s jumping on the bandwagon. For the first time in over 15 years, the Ataris will be performing their breakout album, Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits from start to finish this Tuesday (6/30 @7pm) at The Forvm. Possibly the most country-sounding album title in punk rock history, Blue Skies proved to be a massive hit for the Santa Barbara punkers. Sporting fine production thanks to Lagwagon’s Joey Cape, this follow-up to the group’s debut solidified the Ataris’ position among the leaders of late ‘90s-pop punk. The tempos are fast and the guitars drive home on songs like “I won’t Spend Another Night Alone” and “My Hotel Year.” Although Roe is the only remaining original member of the band, it’s still going to be an epic night of punk rock nostalgia. Don’t miss your chance to come out and sing along to “these anthems of our generation” (extra points if you understand that reference).
> Ted Logan
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