Doug Stanhope

Saturday, May 22

When a comedian is not afraid to say anything on stage, the crowd can get a little rambunctious. Alcohol-fueled rants, hecklers and controversy are all things that gritty and smart comedian Doug Stanhope deals with on a daily basis. The former host of The Man Show and popular standup comedian is on a North American tour that will bring him to Nietzsche’s on Saturday (May 22). He talked to AV this week:

You’re originally from Worcester, Massachusetts and you’re currently touring the East Coast. You also have a few tour dates in Canada. How do you feel when you come to a place like Buffalo that has cheap Canadian beer? I drink the same shitty beer no matter where I go, Miller Lite or Coors Lite. I drink weak, piss beer because I know I can drink a lot of it throughout the course of the night without fucking up my show. Although, my type of audience doesn’t really seem to give a shit if I fuck up my jokes.

George Carlin once said, “If you’re not offending someone, you’re not doing your job as a comedian.” When you hear an audience member heckling you while you’re on stage, what goes through your mind? It depends on what they’re upset about. You can offend someone because of the minutest thing. You could be talking about rape or fisting or abortion, things that on paper would be highly offensive to some parts of the audience, and then in passing you say something about diabetes and someone in the audience is offended because their grandpa just died of diabetes.

You’re not afraid to touch on subjects like child porn and pedophilia. Have you ever met Chris Hanson of Dateline NBC? No, but he’s one of those guys you watch and you just imagine a punching him in the face over and over. Like a Fight Club scene, you know? “I just wanted to destroy something beautiful.”

Do you think your appearances on Girls Gone Wild helped to shape your on stage persona? [He laughs.] You ball-busting motherfucker. It helped me learn how to act like I didn’t mind being there, when actually I did. People talk about it like it must be some dream job. I got no pussy and did little to no drugs. Ask any bouncer at a nightclub how much fun it is to be around drunk, stupid sorority girls at last call.

Which was more painful: being held responsible for the downfall of The Man Show or watching Too Late With Adam Carolla? I think Adam Carolla is very funny, I see him on Howard Stern all the time and I think he’s fucking great. I didn’t mind shooting that pig in a ditch called The Man Show. Unfortunately American television, unlike the BBC, doesn’t always know when to fucking quit.

I typed “Doug” into Google and the first entry that came up was former Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, the second is the cartoon character from the Nickelodeon TV show Doug, and you come in around the bottom of the first page. What is your reaction to that? Shame. It makes me worry more for you because you sit around Googling “Doug.”

I’m a blogger and this interview will probably make it into a blog. You have a journal on your website, you regularly update your Facebook, and you have a Twitter page. What does social media do for you? It gets people to visit my website and they can see when I’m playing on the road. But blogging is instant gratification. When you’re watching Chris Hanson and imagining pummeling his face in, you can just go right on Facebook and go, “I want this guy dead.” I bet there are a dozen Facebook groups devoted to Chris Hanson being dead. Google that. —cory perla

8-11:30pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com). $20 advance at Brown Paper Tickets (brownpapertickets.com/event/103827).

Friday, May 21

Reverend Horton Heat, Cracker, w/Split Lip Rayfield

Rockabilly never dies, and Reverend Horton Heat carries the torch into the 21st century. He knows the math: red-hot guitar at breakneck speed, echoey vocals singing of the Devil and cigarettes, a hint of hillbilly to top it off…it all adds up to the glorious 1950s sound reminiscent of leather jackets and switchblades. The Reverend, a.k.a. Jim Heath, hails from the Lone Star state and has earned himself a strong cult following with over 20 years of touring 300 shows a year, and a musical style that acknowledges his roots while never resorting to mere imitation. The Reverend’s new album Laughin’ and Cryin’ turns up the honky tonk with country songs about Texas , beer guts, bad men, and worse women. “Big Sky” rocks like a super-charged Link Wray number. In “The Devil’s Chasing Me,” the Reverend paints a clear portrait of his personal devil: “He’s got a red and black tuxedo. He’s got a hellhound driving limousine. He’s got a fire-breathing demon driver.” Horton Heat comes to the Tralf this Friday (May 21). Also on the bill is alternative rock band Cracker, whose 1993 album Kerosene Hat went platinum with the help of monster single “Low.” Cracker aren’t just some nostalgic ’90s footnote, putting out solid albums across two decades, including their most recent album, 2009’s Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey and the single “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me.” Supporting act Split Lip Rayfield is a vicious bluegrass trio who pick their banjos fast while their upright bass thumps like thunder through a Midwestern night. —peter vullo

7pm. Tralf Music Hall, 822 Main St. (852-2860 / www.tralfmusichall.com) $25 presale/$28 day of show at box office and Ticketmaster locations. Ages 21+.

Saturday, May 22

Bearhunter CD Release Party

Digging into the sophomore record from Buffalo’s Bearhunter is much like sinking the old teeth into one of those crazy candy bars with a whole bunch of layers. Every taste you get something different, but it mixes together with an unmistakable appeal. With Still Life Terrarium (recorded locally at Harvest Studios) there’s the dark coating, an overload of crunchy riffs, a creamy melodic swirl, and bits of chewy pop that always surprise. The tight three-piece combo of brothers David and Mike Calos (singer/guitarist and drummer, respectively) with bassist Rob Pusateri shows leanings toward Dinosaur Jr’s slack, and destroy with a pervading sense of foreboding and a dynamic and delivery that suggests Modest Mouse. As David Calos sings on “Pants,” the album’s opening track, “Life comes so fast that you can’t take a rest.” With that in mind, Bearhunter,barely wastes a moment across this winning batch of songs. There’s a grand drama that Bearhunter gets that so many other bands can’t fathom. Take songs like “Non Importe,” which starts delicately but evolves to a sprawling tear, or the bluesy, Zepp-ish “Shake a Fist.” This is not that typical smartass, stop-and-start rock that so often is the passport for a legion of lesser indie bands. There’s a tempered, artful build at work in these songs and in the way Still Life Terrarium plays out as a whole. There’s also plenty of room for joyful rock abandon of “Witches Watch”—with fuzzy guitar and plinking piano—or the ecstatic, poppy air lifts of “Been a Year,” which closes the album with a dizzying delight as David Calos puts his crisp falsetto to good use. There’s a lot of suggestion that in the a la carte “iTunes singles society” we’re currently in that the album format is dead. Thankfully, no one has let Bearhunter know. They celebrate the release of their new 12-song dispatch this Saturday (May 22) at Mohawk Place with like-minded local rock travelers Mother Red and the Found. —donny kutzbach

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

Saturday, May 22

Queen City Roller Girl Day

May 22, 2010 has been officially dubbed “Queen City Roller Girl Day” in North Tonawanda, celebrating Buffalo’s fastest growing (and arguably toughest) sports franchise to date. As the region’s first and only all-female, all-volunteer roller derby association, the Queen City Roller Girls have been hip-checking their way into Buffalo sports lore for the better part of four years now. Using the Rainbow Rink in North Tonawanda as home base, the league now includes nearly 90 women between four different teams, with one all-star travel team, the Lake Effect Furies, going up against teams from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Ithaca and Rochester. And the QCRG is not the “Wrestlemania” type roller derby you might be imagining, with flying elbows and hair pulling. No, it’s high-octane athleticism and strategy from some of Buffalo’s most competitive athletes. With names like B’kini Whacks and Pissi Longstocking, what’s not to love? Queen City Roller Girl Day kicks off at 3pm at the Carnegie Art Center, where there will be a free exhibit showcasing the colorful QCRG bout posters from years past, and continues with a special commemoration from the mayor on the steps of the Art Center. Follow a parade a few blocks down to Rainbow Rink for a 6pm doubleheader as the Blitzburgh Bombers take on the hometown Lake Effect Furies. Then the Alley Kats and Suicidal Saucies square up in a championship match to see who goes home with the coveted QCRG Cup. An after-party will be held back at the Carnegie Art Center followiing the games. Tickets for the Rainbow Rink bout can be purchased online (www.qcrg.net) or at the door. —jon wheelock

3pm. Carnegie Art Center, 240 Goundry St, N. Tonawanda (694-4400 / carnegieartcenter.org). FREE; 6:30pm. Rainbow Roller Rink, 101 Oliver St, North Tonawanda (693-1100 / rainbowrink.com). $12 advance at qcrg.com.

Saturday, May 22

Gruesome Twosome: Rob Zombie & Alice Cooper

Of the various tours this summer, few can eclipse “The Gruesome Twosome Tour” coming this Saturday (May 22) to Artpark. A rare co-headlining bill featuring Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie, one can barely imagine what sort of theatrics and sick exploits the two of them will get up to to outdo each other. Cooper, a veteran of off kilter garage bands such as the Nazz and the Spiders, was discovered by Frank Zappa in the late 1960s. Moving to Detroit, the Alice Cooper band aligned with such bands as the MC5 and the Stooges while working on bizarre gimmicks that were half vaudeville, half low budget zombie film. Albums such as Love It to Death, Killer, and Billion Dollar Babies remain classic records which have not only inspired the obvious followers such as New York Dolls, Kiss, and Marilyn Manson but also hundreds of underground garage bands who were weaned on Cooper’s hard-edged rock and roll. An obvious Cooper disciple, Rob Zombie grew up in the art punk world of 1980s New York, forming White Zombie near the end of that decade. Initially coming off as a Birthday Party clone, White Zombie soon became a force to be reckoned with, fusing metal, punk, and industrial with more than a nod to B-movie exploitation. Breaking up the band at the height of its popularity, Zombie released the now classic Hellbilly Deluxe. Striking out on his own meant that Zombie could encompass all of his passions, such as art and film, into his music. After directing various gory films and perfecting a live show that could rival only his current touring partner, Zombie has just released Hellbilly Deluxe 2, the long-awaited sequel to his first solo album. Not sure if there will be a victor among the two artists, but there is sure to be enough beheading, doll mutilation, and various other things to make you want to forget the rest of the summer concert season. —eric boucher

8pm. Artpark, 450 S. 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / artpark.net). $33.50 (lawn); 43.50; $78.50 (PIT).

Sunday, May 23

Deano & The Purys

Underground promoters Susan Tanner and Marty Boratin are kicking off this season’s series of house concerts with a cool combination of rough-hewn musicians from the Bloodshot Records stable. Deano Waco (Dean Schlabowske) of the Waco Brothers and Dollar Store will be joined by Bill Anderson, Pete Stiles, and Jo Walston from Austin punk-bluegrass greats the Meat Purveyors. (The “Purvs,” get it?) This special gig fell into place as a stopover for the group as they travel back from the Sadies CD release party up in Toronto the night before—where they open the show. These well-attended house concerts offer fans an informal setting in which to pass around a plate, grab a cold beer, and enjoy some great acts that too often sail under the radar on our local music scene. Reverend Soapbox & the Rabble Rousers open the show. Suggested donation is $10, and bringing a dish to share is good form. —buck quigley

4pm for potluck dinner; 6pm showtime. 7341 Nelson Dr., Hamburg. (Note: Although the mailing address is Hamburg, the house is actually in Eden.) Call 812-4671 for more info.

Thursday, May 27

Django Reinhart Centennial Celebration feat. Stephanie Wrembel, Babik

It was just 100 years ago that Django Reinhardt—one of the 20th century’s most diabolically gifted musicians, a pioneer of guitar music, and a truly strange agent in his personal and professional lives—was born in a Gypsy caravan in Belgium. To mark the centennial of the man who changed jazz forever with just two good fingers on his fretting hand, the Tralf Music Hall is hosting a show next Thursday (May 27) that features two modern Reinhardt acolytes. Babik, the Buffalo-based quartet named for Django’s son, needs no introduction to local audiences: Their interpretation of Django’s relentlessly rhythmic style has been a crowd pleaser since they formed in 2005. Frenchman Stephane Wrembel, meantime, is one of the most celebrated talents in contemporary jazz guitar. He and his band, the Django Experiment, shared five soldout shows with Babik at Joe’s Pub in New York City in January. The reprise at the Tralf promises to be one of the highlights of the musical year. —geoff kelly

8pm. Tralf Music Hall, 822 Main St. (852-2860 / tralfmusichall.com) $20 presale/$23 day of show at box office and Ticketmaster locations.