AV Editors Pick: The Strip Teasers

Friday, December 12 - Sunday December 14

Dreaming Out of Digital

The Stripteasers: What better argument for trading in the TV for the seductions and visceral thrills of live performance? Buffalo’s best-known and most bizarre burlesque troupe’s latest show is called “Dreaming Out of Digital,” and it tells the story of what happens to—ahem—”Randy Dickiner” when the Stripteasers take over his New Year’s Eve. Written and directed by Megan Piret and Julie Rautenstauch, this collaboartion between the Stripteasers and the Alt Performance Group features video work by Danielle Boris; choreography by Piret, Rautenstrauch, and Joline Gigante; violinist Fran Egan; comedians Winston Duke and Shanin Allen; and spoken-word artist Kristianne Meal. The show began last weekend with shows on Friday and Saturday, and continues this weekend (Dec. 12-14) with evening performances all three nights.

—geoff kelly

Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm. Alt Theatre, 255 Great Arrow Avenue (www.alttheatre.com). $20 general admission, $15 students and seniors; $5 discount for online ticket purchases.

Thursday, December 11

Priestess

Canadian hard-core band Priestess rose from the ashes of its predecessor, the Dropouts (what do you expect when you name a band the Dropouts?), when three members of that band split to NYC to form the Stills. The remaining Dropout, Mike Heppner, started Priestess in 2003, releasing the debut album Hello Master in 2005, which was soon picked up by the American label Ace Fu. A major-label recording contract with RCA followed the next year, along with tour dates opening for Dinosaur, Jr., the Sword, Converge, and Mastodon. Priestess went on to join Megadeth for their 2007 European tour. A new album is due out in March of next year—just a few long months away—and the band is currently playing material from that CD at their live shows. Priestess comes to Buffalo this Thursday (tonight, Dec. 11), with support from the Found and Into Ruin.

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 East Mohawk St (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $10-$12

Friday, December 12

Alison Pipitone Band

Alison Pipitone says it’s been about three years since she played Nietzsche’s on Allen Street, whose stages were once homes away from home for the gravelly voiced singer, songwriter, and guitarist, renowned for impeccable songcraft and exuberant performances. For a while Pipitone and her band held down a regular gig at the Sportsmen’s Tavern up in Black Rock, where she debuted her last new CD, Tiger Babies, back in 2006. You might say she’s due, for a both a show in Allentown and possibly for a new recording. The latter, well, that’s up to Alison. As for the former, it happens Friday night (Dec. 12). She’ll receive support from the Blue Umbrellas, four women from Louisville, Kentucky who’ll give Pipitone’s rock-solid band a run for its money. Don’t miss it. It’ll be old home night. There’ll even be dancing girls on the tables...

—geoff kelly

10:30pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen Street (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com). $5.

Friday, December 12

Don Caballero

Named after a obscure “SCTV” character, Don Caballero are considered pioneers of American indie rock. Expanding on the sounds laid down by bands such as Slint and Bastro, Don Caballero practically invented the term “math rock.” Led by the manic virtuosity of Damon Che, one of the best modern drummers in the world, the band’s sound is an jagged attack of intertwining guitars and inventive percussion. Enitrely instumental, they lie somewhere between the heaviness of Black Sabbath and the progressive leanings of King Crimson without losing one iota of their own vision. Although the original Don Caballero disbanded in 2000, Che reformed the group a few years later to great acclaim and has since released two albums. Their most recent recording, Punkgasm, is one of their most diverse, and actually features some vocals. Don’t fret, however, the song titles are still hilarious. Don Caballero perform at Mohawk Place on Friday (Dec. 12). Opening are the Stay Lows and Trystero.

—eric boucher

9pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $10

Friday, December 12

Danny Masterson / aka DJ Momjeans

Since leaving “That 70’s Show,” actor Danny Masterson (who played Steven Hyde) has taken his career in a different direction. Masterson has reinvented himself as DJ Momjeans and has found success in this new arena as well. He will perform this Saturday (Dec. 13) at Level Nightclub as a part of what Factory Nightlife (“We Make the Beat Go Boom!”) is calling ”The Best Dance Party in Buffalo.” Other artists performing at the party will include Jesse Aaron and Jarvis and Corey Downey (performing in the Whiteroom), and the Communist Party’s Flava Braun and Sir Richard Rector on the Main Stage with Danny. Masterson is a practicing scientologist, so be sure to listen for subliminal messages pertaining to L. Ron Hubbard or dianetics. (But if you start to feel an unexplained urge to join the Church, get out of there as fast as you can!)

—justin sondel

10pm. Level, 75 West Chippewa St. (853-5555)

Friday, December 12 - Sunday December 14

Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus

It seems impossible that the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus has never presented a holiday program. And yet this weekend’s series of three performances are the ensemble’s first go at such classics as “White Christmas” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” among many other songs. Dubbed “Hope for the Holidays,” the program will be performed three times in three venues: on Friday at 8pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo (695 Elmwood Avenue); Saturday at 8pm at Trinity Episcopal Church (371 Delaware Avenue), where the concert will be signed for the hearing impaired; and Sunday at 4pm at Hamburg United Methodist Church (116 Union Street, Hamburg). Accompanied by pianist Debi Overton and directed by Barbara Wagner, and more than 60 singers strong, the BGMC offers the perfect way to appreciate the season’s music.

—geoff kelly

8pm Friday & Saturday; 4pm Sunday. $20/general; $18/seniors and disabled. Contact 883-1277 or www.buffalogaymenschorus.com for details

Saturday, December 13

Language Foundry / Suite 440

Saturday (Dec. 13) Big Orbit’s Soundlab unites two multi-media collectives: Cleveland, Ohio’s Language Foundry (“A Forward Movement of Non-Idiomatic Expressions”) and Buffalo’s Suite 440 (“Sonic, Visual, and Written Craftsmanship”) will present (In)proper Words With(in)proper Borders: An Evening of Non-idiomatic Sound and Language. The performance features poets J.S. Makkos and Tom Orange, with guest musicians from the Language Foundry, and the Reactionary Ensemble (from Buffalo), featuring KG Price and Brian Milbrand. This will be an event that brings together experimental poets, musicians, and artists from both cities to highlight the community goal to find new and forward-thinking forms of expression and creativity. Visit www.languagefoundry.org or www.suite440.net to get a better idea (or any idea at all) of what we’re talking about. There will be small press books and CD-Rs for sale to help promote and develop the relationship and hopefully bring about future events between the two cities.

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (www.bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab)

Monday, December 15

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Next Monday (Dec. 15) the Town Ballroom will host Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, a Vermont based roots rock band. Lead by the 25 year-old Potter, the band has been gaining acclaim quickly with the singer drawing comparisons to blues/rock legends like Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, jazz singer Norah Jones, and country-western songwriter Lucinda Williams. The band’s most recent album, This Is Somewhere, is their third and most ambitious project. That album demonstrated growth for the band musically and otherwise, and led to a supporting slot on a nationwide tour with Gov’t Mule, followed by a recent tour opening for the Black Crowes. The influence of bands like these and their predecessors—the Stones, the Band, Neil Young (whose Crazy Horse album Everyone Knows This is Nowhere is an obvious reference)—is clear, yet this is one band that manages to hold its own so well that they are an opening act no more.

7pm (doors). The Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $14/advance (box office, www.Tickets.com /888-223-6000, Tops Markets) or $16/day of show

Tuesday, December 16

polar bear club

On Tuesday (Dec. 16) the Rochester-based indie rockers Polar Bear Club will take the stage at Mohawk Place. Polar Bear Club thrives off of the ability to create a unique sound in a crowded genre. In an interview with Free Time magazine, the lead singer Jimmy Standt described his band’s musical style as “...punk rock that isn’t afraid to be emotional and maybe a little experimental.” Their new album, Sometimes Things Just Disappear, exemplifies this ability, and its release has been helping the band to turn some heads outside the upstate New York—Rochester/Syracuse/Buffalo—realm. PBC features an ex-member of the defunct punk outfit Marathon, and should appeal to fans of Hot Water Music, Gaslight Anthem, and Against Me! Support comes from Fireworks and Ghost of a Stranger.

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E Mohawk St. (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $10

Thursday, December 18

Silver Beats

When the Beatles landed in New York in 1964, the hoopla was described as “the British Invasion.” But America was not the only country being “attacked” by the youthful English rockers who would—in six short years—forever change the world of popular music. Take for example the band’s trip to Japan in 1966, when they were sequestered in their hotel rooms before their live appearance at the Nippon Budokan Hall. A militant group made threats against them for performing at the venue that had previously been reserved for displays of traditional Japanese martial arts. Their reception in Japan was described as the “Beatles Typhoon.” All this being said, it should come as no surprise that one of the best Beatles tribute bands of all time hails from Tokyo, and they’re called the Silver Beats. They’re no strangers to packed American houses like Madison Square Garden, where they appeared as openers for the Killers in 2007. It turns out that two of the members will be taking a break from their current US tour to hang in Buffalo for a few days, so Tadaaki Naganuma (Paul) and Hajime Kubo (George) will be joined next Thursday (Dec. 18) by noted local rockers Geno McManus playing the role of John, and Howard Wilson on drums as Ringo. How fun is that?

10pm. Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, 76 Pearl St. (856-2337 / www.pearlstreetgrill.com) $4