One of the most original acts in indie-electronica, the Books approach avant-garde music with a pop sensibility…or perhaps it’s the other way around. Tagged “folktronica” when its first album (2002’s lauded Thought for Food) launched the duo from obscurity, The Books’ ability to forge its own unique audial universe transcends easy labeling. Playing guitar, banjo, cello and electronics, the duo typically overloads its melodies with samples of voices cut from thousands of original field tapes and obscure recordings discovered in thrift store cassette bins. These disparate, unrecognizable samples are cleverly arranged into disjointed narratives marked by the interplay of language and sound, in an approach that never feels corny or heavy-handed as do some other forms of sample-based music. The juxtaposition of human voices engaged in casual drama gives the music a documentary feel, enhanced by the stuttering bits of heartfelt guitar and cello locked into looping rhythms built from the found objects that are employed as instruments. The recorded effect is beautiful, and when combined with the linked collage of visual images projected during the set, it should prove stunning live. Opening the show are Todd Reynolds and the Sleeping Kings of Iona.

Funginii, according to Michael Basinski of the music/sound poetry ensemble Buffluxus—and he should know—are part-fungus, part-genie. They are raucous, magical, woodland creatures who hide your car keys in strange places, hold incense in Mayan structures, and inspire strange and compelling verbal and musical orchestrations that manifest entirely through improvisation. If that sounds a little like elf-rock to you, you’re poking around under the wrong tree: Buffluxus is even further out than that. The Buffluxus musicians—Don Metz, Karen Yacobucci, Douglas Manson, Matt Chambers, Basinski, Leah Muir and Chris Fritton—improvise music and sound poetry, Metz’s guitar work at turns holding earthbound or launching spaceward a choir of words, near-words and sounds. The piece they’ll perform on Friday at Squeaky Wheel, Funginii, features music by Metz and words by Basinski, as well as improvised video and handmade film by Brian Milbrand and Tom Holt. Metz and Basinski are veteran strange agents, and Friday’s collaboration will surely, as it has in past performances over the years, yield a unique, ephemeral wonder.

If Buffalo is to become the living architectural museum that many preservationists are pitching for, Linwood Avenue could serve as its architectural timeline. Since being platted in the 1850s, the tree-lined street has evolved to house a diverse sampling of the city’s many bulding styles, ranging from 19th-century Georgian to 20th-century Arts and Crafts. The five-block strip was home to some of Buffalo’s most accomplished citizens, from the father of the Peace Bridge, Frank B. Baird, to Dr. Edward J. Meyer, founder of ECMC. Architectural buffs and voyeurs can peek inside these historic homes during the Linwood Preservation District and Friends Association’s second annual Linwood Homes Tour. The self-guided tour will include homes on Linwood Avenue from North Street to West Ferry, as well as those on both sides of Delaware Avenue between Byrant and Ferry. Advance tickets can be purchased by mailing a check (see below) payable to the LPD&F; the address is “Homes Tour,” 242 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209. The tour begins at the Art Dialogue Gallery. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Linwood Association, as well as the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, which co-sponsors the event.

Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the early 1950s, when America was facing the oppressive political climate of McCarthyism and Cold War paranoia. Forty-three years after its publication, his novel—a social criticism of censorship and unchecked governmental power—is every bit as relevant. Besides the national issues of the PATRIOT Act and government spying, regional issues like library closings and reduced or eliminated funding to arts organizations also threaten the creativity and freedom of Western New Yorkers. That’s why Just Buffalo Literary Center chose Fahrenheit 451 as its choice for the annual Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, to revitalize the role of literature in American pop culture. Throughout the month of May—to be declared Fahrenheit 451 Month by Mayor Brown—Just Buffalo is organizing several events to engage WNY in a literary and civic discussion. This Wednesday, union members and staff from Local 1199 will read and discuss Fahrenheit 451 from 5 to 7pm at MAFAC. Immediately following, Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian will introduce a screening of the 1966 Francois Truffaut production of Fahrenheit. A discussion will follow.