Now It’s Overhead is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and noted recording engineer Andy Lemaster. Originally from Athens, Georgia and now signed to the Saddle Creek label, this group is a culimination of LeMaster’s collaborations with Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor (both from the late, lamented Azure Ray). Male and female harmonies clash with oceanic layers of synth and guitar to create a nearly ethereal experience. Crossing the moody dancefloor pop of bands such as The Cure and Depeche Mode with the decade-later “shoegazer” scene of Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine, Now It’s Overhead’s music stretches over multiple genres. The band’s third album, Dark Light Daybreak, which is set to be released this coming September, is the most adventurous yet. Said to juxtopose stark arrangements with symphonic ones while the lyrics range from the beautiful to the tragic, this just might be the record that serves them up to a wider audience. If so, it will be attention they’ve all certainly earned. The Stay Lows and The Missing Planes will open the show.

Now just a fading memory for many residents, Buffalo’s famed War Memorial Stadium, originally dubbed Civic Stadium and later affectionately known as “the Rockpile,” stood proudly for nearly half a century at the corner of Jefferson and Best. Built in 1937 as a Public Works project, the stadium housed the original AAFC Buffalo Bills, stock car racing and the Buffalo Bisons over the course of its memorable history. So in 1983, when filmmakers were scouring the country for the perfect backdrop for Barry Levinson’s screen adaptation of The Natural—Bernard Malamud’s acclaimed baseball novel—they chose War Memorial, and began filming (the Stadium itself was demolished in 1988). The Natural is a classic, heavily-themed film about magic, inspiration and the “American Dream.” Oscar-nominated for cinematography, supporting actress (Glenn Close) and original score (Randy Newman), the movie has been lauded by critics as one of the most beautifully filmed of its time. This screening is part of the Riviera Theatre’s “Filmed in WNY Movie Series.” Director and Buffalo native John Takacs will start the show with a screening and discussion of his short feature, Tiny Magic (G), making the evening a double-feature of local interest cinema that’s perfect for all ages.

Based on reports from reliable sources, Buffalo’s only genuine rock stars—the Goo Goo Dolls—are packing it in. Packing in the crowds that is, on their big summer tour in support of their latest release Let Love In. The band—pictured here playing the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pavilion last Friday—really needs no introduction in these parts, and that’s increasingly becoming the case not only in the rest of the country but in the UK as well, where they’ll return this fall to sell out a dozen or so venues. At a point of maturity that few bands ever attain, it seems the Goos are now running like a well-oiled machine. They’ve been playing a great assortment of old and new songs this time around, sharing a bill with ‘90s faves Counting Crows. Both roll in to Darien Lake Performing Arts Center this Saturday. Later that night the Goo Goo Dolls’ Afterparty will take place at Club Infinity featuring music by Good Charamel recording artists Last Conservative and The Juliet Dagger at 11 o’clock. These two bands have been getting a lot of exposure as these bashes have been staged at venues all over the country. They’ve also been playing pre-show sets, as they will at Darien Lake at 6pm. Prediction: traffic will back up on the I-90 west at the Clarence exit right about 10:30 Saturday night as fans make their way to Main near Transit road.

Two things are fairly certain come mid-July in these parts: The temperature will reach scorching highs, and the year-long wait for the annual North Tonawanda Canal Fest to come back around will finally be over. The week-long festival features a History Weekend, July 22-23 at Gratwick-Riverside Park. Live music, Civil War history demonstrations, face painting, dance performances, street entertainment and book signings by local authors are all on the bill. Cinderella carriage rides along the Niagara River shore will be offered from 11am to 6pm, and the always popular Canal Fest Craft Show and Clinton Park Flea Market will be open throughout the weekend (a shuttle bus will provide transportation between the two). This year there will also be a visit from the historic tugboat Urger. Urger is one of the oldest working vessels in the country that is still afloat, and she has cruised the waters of the Erie Canal since the 1920s. Canal Fest culminates with a fireworks show from the shores of the Niagara River on Sunday night that should rival even the best of the Fourth of July shows. Remember, once the fireworks are over you’ll be spending the whole rest of your year waiting for Canal Fest to be back, so enjoy it while it’s here.