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See You There!

Artvoice's weekly round-up of events to watch out for the week, including our editor's pick: the Annual Allentown Art Fest Music Fest, taking place from 2PM on at Nietzsche's on both Saturday & Sunday.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our new and improved events calendar on-line for complete event listings, a location guide to find your way about the city, restaurant reviews, and more.

XXVIII Annual Allentown Art Fest Music Fest

Saturday & Sunday, June 12 & 13

Every year at Nietzsche’s for the Allentown Art Festival the music starts in the afternoon and continues all night long. This year on Saturday (June 12) Michael Meldrum & the Buffalo Song Project will kick it off at 2pm, Square Circle (three-piece original rock group) at 3pm, Celtic Sessions (traditional Irish) at 4pm, Reverend Soapbox & the Rabble Rousers at 5pm, Sonic Garden (Grateful Dead tribute) at 6pm, the Outlyers at 7pm, Flatbed (roots Americana) at 8pm, and Shakey Stage (classic, alt-rock, Punkabilly) at 9pm. Moving into late night are Family Funktion & the Sitar Jams at 10pm, Anal Pudding (funk punk “potty” rock) at 11pm, Armcannon (classic video game music with “a twist”) at midnight, and Peanut Brittle Satellite (prog rock) at 1am. Sunday starts with Tim Baldwin, Heidi Maria & Maria Peach (blues-based “gumbo”), at 2pm, Melissa Munno & Ray Barry with Kilissa Cissoko at 3pm, Erie Lackawanna Railroad Band with Katie Panfil at 4pm, A Potter’s Field (original alternative rock) at 5pm, McCartyizm (60s garage and 80s underground) at 6pm, the Nelson Starr Band at 7pm, John Lombardo & Joe Rozler at 8pm, and Rose Bond & the Allen St. Jazz Band (bluesy torch songs) to end the eveningn at 9pm. Whew! Is that it? Oh, no: Scott Celani, Rick Smith, Josh Gage & the Genuflektors, and the Heavenly Chillbillies will take shifts playing in between sets on Saturday. Rob Falgiano and Ann Philippone with do those honors on Sunday. You can’t ask for a more packed and diverse showcase of local music. —alan victor

Stating at 2pm both days. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com)

Saturday, June 12

Johnny Nobody CD Release Party
We Were Wrong All Along

If there’s a tightness and intuitive quality to the trio of guitarist Andrew Vaeth, bassist Colin Roberts and drummer Jay White, it’s been earned. Together for nearly a decade and a half since their teenage garage years in Lockport, Johnny Nobody’s rise from kids playing Sloan covers to their uniquely pop-crested, muscular riff rock has been a long labor but the incubation has been worth the effort. Following up the 2007 powerhouse What It Feels Like Broke, We Were Wrong All Along has been a work in progress with writing and recording spread over a year and half with the band returning to Orchard Park’s Harvest Studio under the watch of enigineer/producer Mark Nosowicz. The results make for a helluva good rock and roll record. It highlights the band’s power, focus and innate ability to balance weighty issues with artful touches, all through the steam of unerring blue collar work ethic. To celebrate the release of We Were Wrong, the JN crew has put together a blockbuster lineup for Saturday’s (June 12) show at Mohawk Place that samples a broad but fitting array of the Queen City’s best bands with the locally-based lords of heavy Chylde, rambunctious rock salvationists Handsome Jack, and effusive powerpoppers Roger Bryan and the Orphans. —donny kutzbach

9pm. Mohawk Place. 47 E. Mohawk St. $5

Saturday, June 12

Megafun

Megafaun: these three bearded gentlemen make some golden Americana tunes. Picture them hairy, on horseback, in the sun searching for a shady place to gently pick their banjos and guitars. Their songs are far removed from the big city, making music for abandoned silos and bales of hay, like The Band met Whiskeytown somewhere on the banks of the Ohio River. “Volunteers”, from the band’s mini-album Heretofore due out September 14, is a sparkling country gem that features a prominent banjo melody, harmonica, and the picturesque lyrics: “Sunlight silhouettes of dogwood trees, swinging all alone in the Carolina breeze”. The North Carolina band is comprised of Joe Westerlund and brothers Brad and Phil Cook. The group embarked on their first headlining tour earlier this year, after extensively touring with fellow Carolinians Bowerbirds and folkie heroes Bon Iver. Megafaun’s second album Gather, Form & Fly received heaps of critical praise, crowned “one of the best records of 2009” by Pop Matters, and given 4 solid stars from both Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine. The band will play Soundlab this Saturday (June 12) with support from Sam Quinn. The show starts at 8pm. Be there. Be bearded. Megafaun is riding on in to sing you a song. —peter vullo

8pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (www.bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $10/$12

Wednesday, June 16

Rainbow Spirit Rising Interfaith Service
In Honor of Gay Pride

It is rare indeed that Artvoice sends its readers to church, but this service has serious mass appeal. This Fabulous Interfaith Service, held at Temble Beth Zion on Wednesday (June 16), boasts a number of special guests: There will be talk by local HUD chief Steve Banko, a Vietnam veteran, won a Cicero Award for outstanding speechmakers last year for his addresses to Iraq War veterans. Banko will be joined as a keynote speaker by the Right Reverend J. Michael Garrison, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese. All well and good, but the real reason to go is the Equal Love Waltz, three couples will take to the floor to promote marriage equality in New York State: State Senate candidate Sean Cooney and his partner, Whitney Arlene Crispell; Kitty Lambert of Outspoken for Equality and her partner, Cheryle Rudd; and Edwin Martinez of Hispanics United and his partner, Fernando Garcia. So if you believe in any couple’s right to tie the knot, put on your dancing shoes and get to the church on time. —geoff kelly

7:30pm. Temple Beth Zion, 805 Delaware Ave. (886-7150 / www.tbz.org)

Wednesday, June 16

Warpaint, The Phenomenal Handclap Band

In the 1980’s, powerful and emotional music created by powerful women was a hot commodity. Kate Bush made her impact with albums like Hounds of Love, while meanwhile Heart was making a comeback with their album Bad Animals. Los Angeles based indie quartet Warpaint (pictured above, right) has borrowed some of Heart’s emotion and some of Kate Bush’s dark lyrical sense to create dream-pop tunes that are just as moving as they are body-moving. In October they released their debut EP Exquisite Corpse mixed by Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. The album is a collection of haunting tunes that range from the gentle acoustic strumming and reverberated vocals on “Billie Holiday,” where singer Emily Kokal borrows the chorus to the 1964 Mary Wells song “My Guy,” to driving and distorted tracks like “Elephants.” The band is currently on a tour of the east coast with a final destination of Lollapalooza in Chicago before heading across the sea to the UK. They’ll make a stop at Mohawk Place on Wednesday (June 16) with seven piece retro rockers The Phenomenal Handclap Band (pictured below, left) opening the show. —cory perla

8pm. Mohawk Place. 47 E. Mohawk St.

Friday, June 18

Looking Ahead: Lucky Peterson

If you want to hear genuine blues the way it was meant to be played, check out Lucky Peterson on Friday June 18th at the Tudor Lounge. That Peterson nails the authentic sound of the blues is no surprise. Lucky’s father Alabama (born James Peterson), is a great blues player, too, and while Peterson is currently billed as a Texas blues artist, what people should remember is he grew up in a blues club here in Buffalo. His father owned the Governor’s Inn on Sycamore St., a regular concert stop for players like John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Wells, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy and dozens of other blues giants. The great bass player/songwriter Willie Dixon from the Muddy Waters Band saw a five-year-old Lucky playing organ at his father’s club, took him under his wing and recorded with him. As a result, before he was ten years old Peterson made appearances on the Tonight Show, Ed Sullivan and eventually played back guitar and keyboards for Etta James, Bobby Blue Bland and others. We should be thankful, considering the recent closure of the Lafayette Tap Room, that the Tudor Lounge seems to be stepping up to fill the role of Buffalo’s new blues room.

7pm. Tudor Lounge, 335 Franklin St. (855-9643 / www.tudorlounge.com). $10/advance or $12/at door.