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See You THERE >> AV Editor's Pick
TUE 2/17

Artvoice Mardi Gras Festival

6pm Allen Street. (881-6604 / artvoice.com) $5

February is a cruel month, freezing weather, streets clogged with snow, and in Buffalo a couple of sports teams that can’t get out of first gear. There is one bright spot during the month. The Annual Artvoice Mardis Gras Festival. Buffalo has a few things in common with New Orleans. We both know how to throw a party and our cities are filled with art and music. Let Artvoice add a little Cajun-spice to your life with our 20th annual rollicking and rumbling Mardi Gras Festival sponsored by Magic Hat Brewing Company. For those who are joining us for the first time, here’s how it works: On Fat Tuesday (2/17 @6pm), Historic Allentown will become Buffalo’s own French Quarter. There will be live music, djs, drag queens and sometimes food at more than a dozen location along Allen St. Our volunteers will give you Mardis Gras beads and sell you a $5 bracelet, which grants you admission to every venue on the street. Just flash the bracelet wherever you go and our volunteers will reward you with more beads and more beads (let’s try to keep this PG-13, at least for a few hours). Venues will have unique but classic Mardi Gras festivities including grand queen performers, live music, dancing, and more. Funds raised by $5 wirstband sales benefit The Lifeline Foundations at ECMC, a not-for-profit corporation that helps obtain winter coats, bus passes and nutrition for the hospital patients to poor to get those things on their own. This is Buffalo’s biggest winter party night of the year, so come out and support a great cause. Participating venues include: Cantina Loco, Cathode Ray, Colter Bay, DBGB, Exchange, Fat Bob’s Smokehouse, Frizzy’s, Funky Monkey Nite Club, Hardware, Mulligans, Nietzsche’s, The Old Pink, and Q bar.

> AV Staff

Jim Jefferies

8pm Center for the Arts, 103 Center For The Arts (645-6259 / ubcfa.org) $37.50-$45

The Australian comedian, Jim Jefferies will be performing at UB Center for the Arts Friday night (2/13 @ 8pm). As soon as he takes the stage with his usual performer’s ration of two pints of beer, you’ll know where you are. He is greatly known as a vulgar spokesperson for the frustrations of young men and has no time for bullshit. He’ll get straight to the point while his ability to instill shock value is immediately matched with a quick line that will have you rolling over in your seats. Jefferies has many drunken adventures to draw on for his storytelling. His comedic style is based on his tales of fights, casual sex, drug-taking and generally never feature him as any kind of hero. His willingness to confront an audience directly is exciting and hair-raising. “The only reason you people are here,” Jefferies says at a show in San Antonio - “is because you want me to make you laugh for a fucking hour, because you know that when you go back to work on Monday your life’s going to be shit.” He makes no effort into making hilarious stories seem spontaneous. “Anyway, that’s all I have to say about dick cancer,” he’ll announce, to end a section. Of course he isn’t right about everything. He doesn’t have to be. His show is not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach is brutally honest stories and punch lines, you’ll have the time of your life.

> Jeff Czum

FRI 2/13
FRI 2/13

A Night of Burlesque

9pm Iron Works, 49 Illinois St. (200-1893 / buffaloironworks.com) $10 Advance $15 Day of Show $25 VIP

Buffalo Beauties presents a night of Burlesque this Friday (2/13 @ 8pm). No need to spend Valentine’s Day at a fancy restaurant you’re uncomfortable in. Do something different and a little risqué. Take your Valentine to burlesque performance by the 20 beauties taking the stage at Iron Works. In case you’re under the impression that a burlesque show is the same as a striptease show; it’s not. There’s singing and dancing and hopefully talent involved. Burlesque was the number one entertainment choice at the turn of the last century and it’s a good choice today.It should be a great event with DJ’s, food, dancers, and drink specials. Tickets are $15 at the door and VIP will only cost you $21. Don’t miss your chance to add a little excitement to that box of chocolate.

> Jeff Czum

Snocore 2015 Winter Tour

6pm Rapids Theatre, 1711 Main St. (205-8925 / rapidstheatre.com) $22-$27

The alternative/hard rock festival, Snocore will be making its way to Rapids Theatre this Saturday night (2/14 @ 6pm). Created specifically to battle the mid-winter blues, this show snap you awake. Alternative/metal band, Flyleaf will be headlining with support from Adelitas Way, Framing Hanley, and Fit For Rivals. Flyleaf is coming off their North American tour following the release of their fourth studio LP, Between the Stars - the first album with new vocalist Kristen May. May has replaced founding member Lacey Mosley Sturm, who left in 2012 to focus on her personal life. The new album reached number 33 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and the reinvented band is on a steady rise. The Snocore tour has been actively touring the winter season since 1996 with a four-year break between 2011 and 2014. Over the years it has featured groups like Everclear, Incubus, and Blink-182. If you need to blow off some steam and take your aggression from this harsh winter out on something, Rapids Theatre is the place for you.

> Jeff Czum

SAT 2/14
SUN 2/15

Tigo Notaro

7pm Tralf Music Hall, 3690 Main St. (835-3500 / tralfmusichall.com) $23-$25

Tig Notaro’s stand up routine is an extraordinary comedic experience. She blends deep sadness and laughter to place where they can coexist. The experiences that she uses for her material are heavy, but her delivery is hilariously spot on and brutally honest. The Grammy Award-nominated comedian, writer and actor dealt with her struggles in a unique way. Within the span of four months in 2012, Notaro contracted pneumonia, a deadly bacteria infection, suffered the death of her mother, endured a break-up of a long-term relationship, and was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. Any of these dreaded life events are more than enough to send anyone spinning into depression – but Notaro turned it into comedy material. She utilizes painful subject to her advantage and sets herself apart from any other comedian. Notaro’s story is brave and admirable and her perseverance and raw humor make her an act to see. “It was one of the greatest standup performances I ever saw,” said legendary comedian Louis C.K. If you want to see a woman who will make you laugh and inspire you, come down to the Tralf Music Hall Sunday night (2/15 @7pm).

> Jeff Czum

Kim Manning w/ The Organic James Brown Concert Series

8pm DBGB, 253 Allen St. (240-9359 / dukesbohemiangrovebar.com) $5

Duke’s bohemian Grove Bar & Alien Life Form Ent. once again present the Organic James Brown Concert Series featuring Kim Manning of Parliament Funkadelic. When Kim Manning takes the stage, you’ll be in for something spectacular. Since Joining legendary funk icon, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, Manning has worked with such artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, and more. Her music has been described as a fusion of funk, jazz, rock and reggae with smooth bass lines and funky dance beats that will have you movin’ and groovin’ all night long. Come down Sunday night (2/15 @ 8pm) for the funkiest lineup to hit buffalo in a long time and celebrate the life and music of James Brown, godfather of soul. Critts Juke Joint along with Milk & Cochise are set to kick the event off followed by Preach Freedom of Rusted Root. Preach Freedom’s music has one goal, to raise consciousness and make you dance – The perfect blend for Brown’s legacy.

> Jeff Czum

SUN 2/15
TUE 2/17

You Blew It!

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

You Blew It! is one of the last great bands in the emo revival scene that took place over the last decade. Like a balanced mix between Weezer and The Get Up Kids, YBI! pulls influences from 90’s emo and indie in a way many have aimed for but few have achieved. The Orlando quartet began playing music in a bedroom in 2009, and since then has released 2 full-length albums and 5 EPs. Their most recent 2015 release Poineer Of Nothing represents their sound as a whole. Tracks like “Bedside Manor” and “Lanai” gracefully sweep from the delicate and soft to the jagged and distorted. “Your Side” takes things down a step to a slow build of clean guitars and the distant rumble of cymbals. Each track in their catalog is completed with appropriately emotive lyrics, from “Lanai,” an overcoming longing for a present quickly slipping into the past, to “Your Side,” the sweetly nostalgic plea that seeks for closure. It’s not very often you come across a band that can still pull off that 90’s emo rock that influenced many great iconic bands today. On Tuesday (2/17 @ 6pm), You Blew It! will be performing at the Studio @ Waiting Room with Tiny Moving Parts and Rozwell Kid.

> Jeff Czum