Walt Disney Weekend

All Weekend, April 3-5

Although it’s now a few months past the official 80th birthday of the world’s most revered rodent, this weekend’s “Mickey Mouse Movie Masterpieces: A Walt Disney Celebration” at Shea’s Buffalo (rescheduled from December) will offer plenty for Disney fans to celebrate. On Friday (April 3), limited seats are available for a charity dinner with John Culhane, author of the definitive book on the studio’s most revered feature, Walt Disney’s Fantasia. The dinner at Muse Restaurant in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery will accompany an exhibition in Clifton Hall (from 4-9pm) of the rare storyboards hand drawn by Ub Iwerks (pictured), Mickey’s creator, for his first appearance in the cartoon “Plane Crazy.” (These storyboards can also be viewed at Shea’s on Saturday).

Saturday (April 4) features an entire day of screenings at Shea’s, beginning with the documentary about Iwerks, The Hand Behind the Mouse, at 10:30am. At 2:30pm there will be a program of early Mickey Mouse cartoons projected from rare 35mm prints from the Disney Archive. Some of the cartoons will accompanied by the Wurlitzer organ. And at 6:30pm the Shea’s screen will be filled with a rare showing of the original roadshow print of Fantasia. The day will also feature tributes to two Buffalonians who figure in Disney history: Pat Powers, who founded the Buffalo Film Exchange and provided Disney with equipment to make talking cartoons; and Ralph Kent (née Kwiatkowski), a 40-year Disney veteran whose job was making sure that the character remained consistent through the labor of changing teams of animators.

The Walt Disney Weekend is a charity event benefiting various local children’s charities, the restoration fund for Shea’s Buffalo, and the Buffalo Film Festival. The weekend will wrap up with a lunch at the Anchor Bar on Sunday (April 5) at noon. Tickets are available at the Shea’s box office or from Ticketmaster locations. For a full lineup of events go to www.buffalofilmfestival.com.

—m. faust.

Thursday, April 2

Hylofi

Thursday night (tonight, April 2) Hylofi, the ten-piece industrial-samba-funk powerhouse, will bring their big rock-afro fusion sound to the stage of Nietzsche’s. The band describes their musical style as fusing “West African and Brazilian rhythmic influences with swampy New Orleans brass to concoct a hypnotic, pulsating live experience.” Frontman Timothy John Allen (formerly of Thought), who is said to be the brains behind the operation, was born in raised in Buffalo and is sure to draw out a good crowd of hometown friends. Hylofi began as a group of musicians fooling around with a toy drum kit in a Brooklyn apartment, but has evolved into the ten armed, multicultural musical monster that will shake the stage on Thursday. So come out and support a home-town guy, while being introduced to a blend of music that should have a little something for everyone. Local ambient-rock band Fourem opens the show

—justin sondel

8pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com)

Saturday, April 4

Two Cow Garage

The opening track from Two Cow Garage’s fourth album breathes with the life lived by a band on the road. “Waking up to cassette tapes and ash trays/Filled up from the night before,” from the track “Humble Narrator,” and many others on Speaking In Cursive (Suburban Home Records), cut to the heart of what it’s like to live out of a beat up van, preparing a whole day to play for one hour, crashing on floors, and then doing it over and over again. Two Cow principles Shane Sweeney and Micah Schnabel have lived to tell it, and not only have they survived, they’ve grown to be a helluva band in the wake of it. Their uncompromised combination of punk and classic rock touched with hints of twangy country and folk song tradition has only been bolstered since they locked in drummer Cody Smith and added keyboardist Andy Schell. As a band they pulled together a stunning and varied collection of songs on Speaking In Cursive, and have really coalesced as a live unit. Two Cow have long been favorites for loud, late shows in Buffalo and their gig this Saturday (April 4) is bound to be another good one. Roger Bryan & the Orphans and special guests open the show.

—donny kutzbach

10pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk Street (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $5)

Saturday, April 4

Jiyhe Chang

On Saturday (April 4), Hallwalls presents the third yearly installment in its annual series of new music concerts for grand piano. The concert is made possible by a grant from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, with the loan of a Steinway “D” Concert Grand Piano, courtesy in part of Denton, Cottier, & Daniels. The event in previous years has featured the Bugallo-Williams Duo and Winston Choi. The soloist for this evening is the rising young pianist Jihye Chang, performing a selection of ten pieces by European, Asian, and American composers ranging from Claude Debussy’s 1915 Études to the world premiere of young American composer Derek Johnson’s prize-winning Infinity Plunge, a work commissioned by Chang. Jihye Chang has performed widely, both in her native Korea and in America. Derek Johnson is both a composer and a multi-instrumentalist, whose compositions have been performed by some of the leading new music ensembles in North America. Johnson will be present at the concert to introduce his new piece.

—jan jezioro

8pm. Asbury Hall at Babeville, 341 Delaware Avenue (854-1694, www.hallwalls.org). $15 general, $10 members/students/seniors. Information: www.hallwalls.org

Saturday, April 4

The Brew

Massachusetts rock quartet The Brew will play at Nietzsche’s this Saturday (April 4), on tour promoting their new album Back to the Woods. The Brew consists of Chris Plante (keyboard), his brother Joe Plante (bass), Dave Drouin (guitar), and Kelly Kane (drums)—all of whom attended high school together. The band has an eclectic bunch of influences including classic and prog rock, jazz, reggae, world beat, indie, funk, and orchestral pop. Their passion for music and lyrics is apparent on the new album, and according to Jambase.com “They evoke O.A.R. in their modern romanticism at times, but are far more lyrically successful when they relax a bit, as on the positively intoxicating ‘Definitions,’ which brings to mind James Taylor in its primo folk-pop-iness, or the gently experimental title track, which hints at weird depths I’d love to hear them explore.” The Brew will be joined by Boston area soinger/songwriter Will Daily and the Buffalo band W.A.K.O.S.

—justin sondel

8pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com)

Sunday, April 5

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog is one of those bands that sneaks up on you. They come off relatively unassuming, but a few minutes into one of their records or live shows, and the hooks are in. Dr. Dog has this ability to turn on a dime, meshing sing-a-long harmonies with exuberance and soaring joy from one great song to the next. There’s also this lovable shaggy quality that belies their tightness and proficiency as a band. Dr. Dog managed to top the Beach Boys/Beatles/The Band amalgam they put into action across 2007’s We All Belong with last year’s Fate—a record that made many a year-end “best of” list (including Artvoice’s). While dual lead vocal and lyrical duties traded by bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicksen tend to put the pair at the front of the picture, it’s impossible not to hear that this is a rare and real case of a whole and complete unit working together: There’s no way to overrate Zach Miller’s swirling keys at the heart of every song, or Frank McElroy’s note-perfect guitar parts and Juston Sten’s bouncy beats powering it all. Dr. Dog comes on Sunday (April 5) with support from Cave Singers and Golden Boots

—donny kutzbach.

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

Monday, April 6

Dinosaur, Jr.

Since the reunion of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph (aka Dinosaur Jr), the “end of extinction” references have rarely ceased. Now, it appears that the band is not just alive but really thriving. The indie rock legends inked a deal with Jagjaguwar, one of the coolest labels around, and are set to follow up 2007’s epic Beyond with a record titled Farm—produced by Mascis and recorded in his Bisquiteen Studio at his home in Amherst, Mass. To ready the Dinosaur to roam the earth again, the band is hitting the road on a series of dates—including this Monday’s (April 6) gig in Buffalo—previewing the album as well as playing many of their back catalog delights at ear-splitting volumes. The bonus: in purchasing a ticket to any of these upcoming shows, you get the choice of either a digital download code (for the new schoolers) or a tour-only 7-inch for “I Don’t Wanna Go There b/w Tarpit” (for the real Dinosaur “dinosaurs”). A night with one of the greatest American rock bands, and they send you home with a record? It just doesn’t get any better than that. Michigan’s Awesome Color opens the show.

—donny kutzbach

7pm (doors). Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3500 / www.townballroom.com). $19/advance at box office and Ticketmaster locations; $24/day of show

Tuesday, April 7

Richard Buckner

That Richard Buckner is one of the greatest songwriters of the last 20 years is without question. His lonesome and weary voice and his awe inspiring lyrical ability is matched by few. Once inaccurately lumped in with the alt-country movement in the mid 1990s, Buckner has since proven that he is anything but. Although country is a definite influence, he has tackled various genres including rock, post-rock, folk, and experimental. It might be more accurate to describe him as the American equivalent of Nick Drake. For a while, it was rumored that Buckner was retiring from music, but in actuality, he has been working on a new record which will finally see the light of day this year. In the meantime, his label Merge Records has reissued three of his classic records which had long been out of print: Bloomed, Impasse, and The Hill. Buckner performs an early show at Mohawk Place on Tuesday (April 7) with Tracy Morrow & the Magi Chippie. Please note that the show will be over by 10:30. (Seating will also be available).

—eric boucher

7pm. Mohawk Place, 47 East Mohawk St (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $10

Tuesday, April 7

Lotus

After a string of well received albums and growing popularity on the live dance club circuit, Philadelphia-based rock-electronica band Lotus has hit the road once more to promote its latest release, Hammerstrike (Sci Fidelity). The group’s live shows are famous for late-night energy and massive, spectacular light effects as well as the musical pastiche of jazz fusion, post-rock, funk, soul, R&B, piano, and world music that is as dance-friendly as can be without falling in the well of over-sampled, retro, disco-pop. With one foot in the indie rock scene (thanks to album sales) and the other firmly planted in the world of club music (thanks to the band’s tireless tour schedule), Lotus is rapidly gaining a following and a fan base both on and off the dance floor. Lotus plays Buffalo on Tuesday (April 7) with special guests BLVD, a live electro hip-hop group out of San Francisco.

—k. o’day

8:30pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / www.tralfmusichall.com). $13/presale at Ticketmaster locations; $15/day of show

Wednesday, April 8

Crippled Black Phoenix

Crippled Black Phoenix (CBP) is comprised of members from the Scottish istru-metal juggernaut Mogwai and former members of the infamous and ill-reputed Iron Monkey (whose last and final release was 2003’s aptly-titled Ruined By Idiots). We can’t say that CBP rose from the ashes of its predecessors—since Mogwai is certainly at the top of its game right now—but this stoner-freak-doom conglomerate is something of a European supergroup, featuring drummer Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey, Electric Wizard) and bassist Dominic Aitchison (Mogwai) creating what they call “endtime ballads,” dealing with apocalyptic topics and general gloom and mayhem. Their debut album—the first of an intended trilogy—is called A Love of Shared Disasters (Invada), and offers such oddities as a Tennyson ballad sung in its original dialect and set to anthem-rock instrumentals and an opening track entitled “The Lament of the Nithered Mercenary.” Their current US tour will promote the band’s new album 200 Tons of Bad Luck—part II in the trilogy—which is due out mid-April. They play at Soundlab on Wednesday (April 8).

—k. o’day

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