Monotonix

Sunday, April 18

Israeli hardcore-punk band Monotonix prepare to infiltrate Mohawk Place on Sunday (April 18). If you want to get a good grasp of where this band is coming from, just visit their myspace page and click on their photos. They are hairy, vulgar, usually half naked, (you can kind of tell they probably smell like beer and sweat just by looking at them), and all they care about is making as much noise as possible with blunt objects and steel guitar strings... and thats where their brilliance lies. They completely lose themselves in their live show. They’re not doing it for the audience, they’re doing it for their own twisted pleasure, and one can’t help but become immersed in the sheer debauchery of it all. Live footage of the band usually depicts frontman Ami Shalev scaling any vertical object with a foothold that he lays his eyes on and eventually leaping off of it into a sea of fans. The band was forced to cancel a show for the first time in Janurary when Shalev injured his leg after jumping off of drummer Haggai Fershtman. The band boasts that it was the first show in their 700 show history cancelled due to injury. Audience members can usually choose just how involved in the mayhem they want to be, but a word to the wise: Start practicing your axehandles and windmills now. Local band the Fucking Hot Lights open the show.

—cory perla

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (myspace.com/mohawkplace).

Saturday, April 17

Gregory Alan Isakov

On Saturday (April 17), Gregory Alan Isakov will bring his hushed folk music to the Ninth Ward. Isakov creates subtle, intimate music suitable for staring at stars and reflecting quitely on things like grass and newsboy caps. There’s a secretive quality to Isakov’s music, as brushes gently brisk a snare drum on songs like “Garden.” It’s as though the singer and his band are trying to be as gentle and delicate as possible, to not scare anyone away. The lyrics show a love for detail and music itself, as can be heard in “Big Black Car “: “You were a phonograph, I was a kid. I sat with an ear close, just listenin’.” The young singer/songwriter lists Will Oldham and Bob Dylan as some of his influences, easily heard throughout his music. Isakov was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and eventually moved to Colorado. He’s released four albums, the most recent being 2009’s The Empty Northern Hemisphere. Isakov has gained much critical praise from publications like Paste Magazine and has toured with such well known acts as Fiona Apple and Richie Havens. He was also named Denver Westword’s Best Male Singer-Songwriter for 2007. Saturday’s show at the Ninth Ward starts at 7pm with local folkies A Relative Term. Get close to the stage. Feel the hush.

—peter vullo

7pm. Ninth Ward at Babeville, 341 Delaware Ave. (852-3835 / babevillebuffalo.org). $10 advance at Tickets.com / 888-223-6000, Tops Markets, and Babeville Box Office.

Saturday, April 17

Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake

Hallwall’s The Art of the Improvisers series is underway and this weekend presents a great one. If improvised music (or free jazz as it is often called, to the dismay of some) has a sax-wielding colossus - ever the vanguard and continually taking chances and pushing forward - it’s got to be Peter Brötzmann. Born in Remscheid, Germany in 1941 the self-taught saxophonist/clarinetist was a driving force in Europe’s free jazz scene with a string of recordings in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s—including Machine Gun, Nipples and Fuck de Boere: Dedicated to Johnny Dyani—that remain benchmarks to this day. In addition to long-standing creative partnerships with the late double bassist Peter Kowald, along the way Brötzmann has played and recorded with Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Fred Hopkins, Rashied Ali, Keiji Haino, Anthony Braxton and Bill Laswell to name just a small few. Chicago-based drummer Hamid Drake – a gifted player known for incorporating elements of Afro-Cuban, Indian and African rhythms in his playing - has been a regular part of Brötzmann’s orbit as well and the two musicians will perform together on Hallwall’s stage this Saturday. The Art of the Improvisers then continues at Hallwalls on Wednesday, April 21 with a performance by William Parker Trance Quartet.

—donny kutzbach

8pm. Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave. (854-1694 / hallwalls.org). $15 general admission, $10 Hallwalls members/students/seniors.

Sunday, April 18

Benefit for Mary Tomaselli

Words aren’t too useful when it comes to describing Mary Tomaselli. There are plenty that fit— lovely, gracious, generous, unconventional—but a string of single-word adjectives doesn’t come close to doing the trick. So we’ll switch to phrases—sparkly-eyed, sharp-witted, warm-hearted, community-minded—but that falls short, too. To get a sense of Mary one must do just that...her infectious smile, her melting brown eyes, her great smell (which perseveres no matter how many hours she’s spent in a hot kitchen), and her unmatched ability to make a person feel welcome and an honored guest in her restaurant. Owner and operator of La Tee Da in Allentown, her success is certainly due to the restaurant’s aesthetic, gorgeous patio, and delicious, homemade food. But it is Mary’s presence as a hostess that imbues La Tee Da with its special familial feel—that and the fact that it is a family affair, with three generations of Mary’s family on full time staff. Recently and unexpectedly Mary was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She is pursuing holistic treatment as well as conventional therapy. Her daughter and granddaughter helm the restaurant, and the community—which Mary has always been an active member of from when she owned the Beanstalk on Bryant St. to her dry-cleaning business on Allen St.— is invited to a benefit at Harry’s Harbour Place Grille on Sunday (April 18). It’s a $30 donation for a cash bar, entertainment, and, no doubt, terrific food.

—k. o’day

2-6pm. Harry's Harbour Place Grille, 2192 Niagara St. (874-5400 / harrysharbour.com / marysangelsonline.com). $30.

Monday, April 19

Trailer Trash: The Weirdest & Wildest Vintage Film Trailers Ever Made

At least until the last decade or so, the most important job in the movie business was trailer cutting. Sell the sizzle, not the steak: the trailer was what persuaded people to pay for a ticket, and if the actual movie turned out to be a dog, well, there are no refunds. There are hundreds of trailers that are far more entertaining than the atrocious movies from which they are culled, and you can enjoy an evening of them at this program of exploitation cinema previews curated by the staff of Sugar City. Life may be too short to make time to watch all of Robot Monster, Glen Or Glenda, Shogun Assassin, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Werewolves On Wheels, or Super Vixens (pictured below), but here’s a change to get all of the cheapest thrills from those and dozens of others in one sitting. If you thought The Hangover was transgressive comedy, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

—m. faust

8pm. Sugar City Arts Collaborative, 19 Wadsworth St. FREE (come early to enjoy free popcorn and refreshments).

Tuesday, April 20

Aloha

On Tuesday (April 20) indie rock veterans Aloha will make their way back to Soundlab in support of their newest album Home Acres (Polyvinyl Records). The album, which was released in early March, is a step in a different direction for the band. Its their fifth and the follow up to their 2007 EP Light Works. Where Light Works was a mostly acoustic endeavor, Home Acres is made up of some faster and more aggressive songs. The tracks have an intensity that the band hasn’t shown since 2004’s Here Comes Everyone. The lyrics and singing of vocalist Tony Cavallarioa still have the same cozy and comfortable small town vibrations. His love for metaphorical contrast between light and darkness is apparent in every aspect of the album, from song titles like “Moonless March,” and “Searchlight,” lyrics like “I fought the tyrannical sun, I try to forget you but your memory won” (“Ruins”), down to the cover art, a pencil drawing of an ominous, rustic and dark cottage in the woods. Their instrumentation and musicianship still stands out. The drumming of percussionist Cale Parks is exceptional and the band utilizes xylophones, vibraphones, and marimbas to create a dreamy and psychedelic, yet down to earth sound. Don’t be surprised if they rise up and rotate instruments mid-set, as all of the members are multi-instrumentalists. Local experimental indie rock band The Stay Lows open the show.

—cory perla

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

Wednesday, April 21

Dead Meadow

Droning stoner-rock band Dead Meadow return to Buffalo on Wednesday (April 21), to perform along side The Buffalo Killers at Mohawk Place. The band is on tour in preparation of the release of what they call a “full-legnth old-school concert movie soundtrack,” titled Three Kings. The film will be a mix of live footage and dream sequences depicting the duality of the human condition. Yeah, it’s kinda deep, but Dead Meadow is no stranger to substance. Since their formation in 1998 the band has released five psychedelic guitar heavy albums, rich with dreamy atmosphere inspired by fantasy writers like J.R.R Tolkien. Their latest album, Old Growth (Matador Records), lands somewhere between hard rock and hippie music. Its no departure from their standard guitar driven formula though, complete with epic slow jams, scratching bluesy riffs and solos that last for half a song. In this land of electronic music Dead Meadow is an island. Just three guys with a couple of guitars, some beat up drums and occasionally a sitar, playing what they call “neo-psychedelic rock,” and losing their minds on stage like Led Zeppelin circa 1969.

—cory perla

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (myspace.com/mohawkplace).