The Best of the Toronto Film Festival: Manufactured Landscapes

Friday, April 17

Jennifer Baichwal’s Manufactured Landscapes is simply one of the most beautiful, astonishing, and awe-inspiring documentaries I have ever seen. Baichwal, a Toronto filmmaker who worked for years in television news, set out to follow still photographer Edward Burtynsky, who produces large-scale photographs of industrial sites and waste dumps that have not merely scarred but actually changed the landscapes where they exist. Baichwal maintains Burtynsky’s meditative nature (it resembles a 21st century answer to Koyaanisqatsi) while extending it with time and motion. While the film isn’t intended to have a political nature, it’s impossible to come away from its depictions of Chinese factories, the mammoth Three Gorges Dam project (which has displaced 13 cities and 1.3 million people), and the swollen (and still swelling) city of Shanghai without shuddering at the example China is setting for other countries looking to industrialize. The opening shot alone, an eight-minute pan across the floor of a single factory building, is enough to set your mind reeling. I was lucky enough to see it in a theater at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival last year: Get off work early if you must, but don’t miss this chance to see it on a big screen this Friday (April 17) as part of the Albright-Knox’s Gusto at the Gallery program.

—m. faust.

7pm. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave. (882-8700 / www.albrightknox.org). $4/general admission; FREE for Gallery members

Thursday, April 16

Maria Taylor

Maria Taylor has collaborated with Conor Oberst, Spoon, Crooked Fingers, and Moby. However, most indie fans know her as one half of Saddle Creek artists Azure Ray, as well as for her own stunning solo career. Taylor’s ethereal vocals are unmistakable and unforgettable. After two acclaimed releases on Saddle Creek, Taylor recently signed to Nettwerk to record her third album, LadyLuck. An album that begs to be listened to alone and in the dark, LadyLuck is a personal account of the ruins of a failed relationship. Although her previous records were often centered around beats and oceans of sound, her third album is a more organic venture. Utilizing brass and woodwinds, LadyLuck is best described as an acoustic record. Like Joni Mitchell’s Blue, every word counts and, despite LadyLuck’s quieter aesthetic, it is beautifully intense. Maria Taylor performs at Mohawk Place tonight (Thursday, April 16). Whispertown 2000 and Bela’s Shadow are opening the show.

—eric boucher

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

Friday, April 17

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

That’s Mr. Quintron and Miss Panacea Pussycat, to you, audience. Multi-instrumentalist and inventor Quintron is a regular fixture in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, performing as often as not with his equally inventive better half, Miss Pussycat, at his own private club called Spellcaster Lodge. Quintron’s trademark piece of equipment is a custom-tailored organ synthesizer hybrid (Hammond/Fender Rhodes), which he designed to look like an automobile, with headlights and even vanity plates that read “QUINTRON”. He might also break out the “Drum Buddy,” a favorite of fellow musicians, which is a light-activated drum machine that has its very own infomercial. With so many tricks up his sleeve and such a colorful sidekick in the form of his lovely and talented wife (Miss P.), you wouldn’t think Quintron would need to maintain the eccentric persona he does, but the weirdness just keeps coming. No show is the same, and there’s no telling what he/they might say or do. Check it out on Friday (April 17) for a night of pupppets, performance art, and “Swamp Tech” noise rock. Bev Beverly opens the show.

—k. o’day

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (www.bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $10-$12.

Friday, April 17

Louis Gossett, Jr

The Buffalo Niagara Film Festival (BNFF) doesn’t kick off until May 1, but until then you can get in the mood with a visit this weekend by veteran actor Louis Gossett, Jr. In the 56 years since his 1953 Broadway debut in Take A Giant Step, Gossett has amassed nearly 160 film and television credits and won an Oscar (for An Officer and a Gentleman), a pair of Emmys (including one for his role in Roots), and two Golden Globes. In his spare time he played for the New York Knicks and co-wrote Richie Havens’ signature song “Handsome Johnny,” and despite a work schedule that has him in seven films this year alone, he took time to found the Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to combat racism by providing programs that foster cultural diversity, education, and antiviolence initiatives. Gossett will appear at the WNED studio on Friday evening (April 17) as a benefit for the educational programs of the BNFF. Contact www.bniff.org or 827-3534

—m. faust

6pm. Wine & cheese reception followed by a special presentation by Lou Gossett at 7pm. WNED-TV, 140 Lower Terrace St. (845-7000 / www.wned.org) $40.

Saturday, April 18

Chylde CD Release Show

Local rock band Chylde is celebrating the release of the new album Now It Can Be Told with a CD Release Party on Saturday (April 18). Playing heavy, apocalyptic, bluesy, stoner psych-rock has earned Chylde a following among fans of garage-metal, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, both near to and far from home. The CD Release Show will kick off a mini tour in preparation for the band’s national tour coming up this summer. Support at the show comes from friends and special guests Bearhunter and Handsome Jack, and Chylde promises even further entertainment in the form of “guest DJs, facepainting, free love, starbooty dance parties, and so much more...” The $10 cover charge is a bargain for all that, and a copy of the album to boot.

—alan victor

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

Monday, April 20

Bex Marshall

As they’ve been doing since the 1960s, British musicians have been responsible for periodically breathing new life into American blues and R&B music. John Mayall, the Rolling Stones, the Spencer Davis Group, Eric Clapton, and Van Morrison did a lot to spread the sound back in the day, and recent years have seen other great acts like James Hunter and Joss Stone reverently putting their own twists on the genres. Another Londoner making her mark these days is guitarist Bex “Lady Fingers” Marshall, who garnishes her soulful vocals with bluesy slide riffs and snappy bluegrass picking—two traditions that cover a lot of the American folk music landscape. Music writers have compared her to everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Bonnie Raitt, but there’s nothing bookish about her soulful roots style and smart songwriting. The title track on her current release Kitchen Table (House of Mercy) percolates like a hot pot of coffee, sure to prick up the ears of American music fans everywhere. See her play this Monday (April 20), a FREE show at the Sportsmen’s Tavern.

—buck quigley

8pm. Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St. (874-7734 / www.sportsmenstavern.com)

Thursday, April 23

MDC

Alternately known as Millions Of Dead Cops, Millions Of Damn Christians, and Multi-Death Corporation, among others, MDC were, and continue to be, trailblazers in the political punk movement. Founder and frontman Dave Dictor was an ex-hippie who settled in Austin, Texas, where his life was changed by punk rock in the late 1970s. Forming The Stains shortly after, the band mutated into MDC. One of the most powerful bands in a Texas punk scene that included The Big Boys and The Dicks, MDC relocated to San Francisco in the early 80s where they released their legendary single, “John Wayne Was A Nazi.” Although their output has never been that prolific, Dictor’s political rants rival those of Jello Biafra, and MDC truly drew the line in the sand of “us versus them” scenarios. Although inactive for some time, MDC began touring again in the last few years, including a legendary last minute stop in a Buffalo basement on Custer St. a few years back. Their lyrics continue to hold the same ground as they did years ago, and are probably more relevant now. MDC plays on Thursday (April 23) with Embrace the Kill, Mouth Sewn Shut, and Able Danger.

—eric boucher

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