Glossary

Saturday, August 21

Waddaya mean you’ve never heard of Glossary? Making a short list of the best truly independent DIY bands in the US right now, Glossary is an easy lock for me. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee quintet makes uncompromised American rock and roll with a penchant for humbly anthemic songs, beautiful his and hers harmonies and just a kick of country, folk, and pop. That’s a lot to juggle but Joey Kneiser (singer/guitarist), Todd Beene (guitar/pedal steel), Kelley Kneiser (singer/percussionist), Bingham Barnes (bassist), and Eric Giles (drummer) pull it off with perfection. Following a pair of early records by leaning more toward Pavement and the Get Up Kids, Joey Kneiser and Barnes realigned Glossary with Kelley Kneiser and Beene in the lineup for 2003’s majestic How We Handle Our Midnights— a perfect ode to small town desperation and loneliness brimming over with hope of getting out and jangling hooks and harmonies. It was followed by the equally sturdy charged up rock of For What I Don’t Become in 2006 and the roots and gospel-imbibed waters of 2007’s Better Angels Of Our Nature. 2010’s Feral Fire finds Glossary at their full-tilt finest exhibited by the muscular, Thin Lizzy-esque “Lonely Is A Town”, which bursts with joyful abandon as does the infectious “Save Your Money For The Weekend.” The meditative ballad “Through The Screen Door” shines detaied haunted memories and regrets with heartache and austere spelndor. Beene gets “all Tennessee,” taking vocals on the rollicking Southern fried bar pop “No Guarantee,” which he penned. Heading in aboard their trusty tour van, Glossary’s appearance in Buffalo is long overdue: it’s been four years since their last show, making this Saturday’s (August 21) one not to be missed. Support comes in the form of Roger Bryan—who has recently begun work on the third full-length album by his band—with an acoustic set. —donny kutzbach

9pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (www.myspace.com/mohawkplace).

Thursday, August 19

Guggenheim Grotto

Here come the boys from Dublin. Pop/folk duo Guggenheim Grotto will waltz gently though Buffalo with soft songs and warm melodies. The band consists of a fine pair of Irishmen called Mick Lynch and Kevin May. First they took over their homeland when their self-released debut album, ...Waltzing Alone, became a critics’ favorite. The album’s first single “Told You So” reached No. 12 on the Irish National Airplay Chart. Then came their big takeover of the U.S., with performances at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Along with two No. 1 albums on the iTunes Folk Chart, rave reviews from Paste Magazine, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post, the band’s songs have also been featured on major television shows like One Tree Hill and Brothers & Sisters. Their sound has been compared to Simon & Garfunkel. The likening is an obvious choice with songs like “Map Of The Human Heart” and its shared “doh doh doh” melody. But the band adds modern flourishes to their songs about literature and women, giving room to synthesizers and drumkits. The band has recently embarked upon yet another of a handful of North American tours under their belt, this time ‘round in support of their latest album The Universe Is Laughing. Guggenheim Grotto will play the Ninth Ward this Thursday (August 19). Prepare to be charmed and swoon for these Irish boys with acoustic guitars. Kiss me, I’m folkie! —peter vullo

8pm. Ninth Ward at Babeville, 341 Delaware Ave. (852-3835 / www.babevillebuffalo.com). $11 at box office, Tickets.com, Tops Markets.

Friday, August 20

Art For The Park

For all the work People United for Sustainable Housing has done to rejuvenate housing on Buffalo’s West Side, the organization has likewise focused on improving the neighborhood’s public spaces. Currently PUSH is trying to renovate the park behind the Boy and Girls Club on Massachusetts Avenue. The refurbished park will include a splash pad, a skate park, and improvements to its basketball courts. Plus, PUSH is partnering with the Urban Soccer Initiative, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, to create a playing field. You can kick in a few bucks toward the project this Friday (August 20) when Sweet_ness 7, home office of half the West Side’s activists, hosts a fundraiser featuring food, drink, a silent art auction, and music. All for just $40. Visit www.UrbanSoccer.org or www.pushbuffalo.org for advance tickets. —frances boots

8pm-midnight. Sweet_ness 7, 216 Grant St. (883-1738 / www.grantstreetgallery.net). $40

Friday, August 20

The Monas, McCarthyizm & The Tails

The history of rock is filled with examples of siblings playing in bands together. Around these parts, you can point to Joe and Kevin McCarthy’s band McCarthyizm, or to Nelson and Eric Starr in the Tails—but did you also know that noted local rock shero Alison Pipitone played in a punk band with her sister Natalie and brother Damon (and bassist Aaron Britt) out in Los Angeles from 1986-1993? They were called the Monas. If you missed them at the Whisky-A-Go-Go you’re in for a special treat this Friday (August 20), when they join the Tails (featuring Brothers Starr, Dave Hill, and rock journalist/guitarist Jeff Miers), and McCarthyizm (featuring Brothers McCarthy, Tom Brown, and Michael Swain)—for what’s sure to be a big reunion night at Nietzsche’s. If you missed these great bands the first time around, you were either too young or you were living under a rock. Don’t make the same mistake again. And for those of us who were there back then, it’ll be like stepping into a time machine, man. I even think the cover charge is the same as 1995. —buck quigley

10pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. (886-8539 / www.nietzsches.com) $6.

Saturday, August 21

Swill & Grill

SickboY ProductionZ’s 2nd Annual Swill and Grill is back once again to bring the best of buffalo’s music scene to a kick-ass party. Saturday’s (August 21) event will bring 27 bands (new and veterans alike) performing on three stages, rain or shine (pavilions set up, just in case). Acts include the Rockstar Suicides (pictured), Emcee M.D., So Far So Good, Calamity From the Skies, Unholy Oath, the Root Hogs, the Clockers, City of Kings, Who Cares?, One Way Terror, I Am Fiction, Paradyme, the Cran-Tangerines, Warsaw, Brent Persia, Choke On This Cracker, Frontier, the Crackhorse, the Dumskulls, Surreality, Led By the Blind, Dead Before Dawn, and many others. The Swill and Grill will have bottomless cup beers for $15, raffled prizes from Guitar Factory and Player One Video Games, and booths for the sponsors which include Faith In Ink Tattoo, Headspace Headshop, Watchman Studios, and WBNY. And if you’re worried about not having enough food, you can bring your own grill and grill-ables. The Swill and Grill is all ages, so bring the whole family and enjoy the best music and food you can get this summer. Visit www.myspace.com/sickboyproductionz or —brendan karet (photo by Luke Copping)

2:30pm. The Chicken Coop/Vfw Post’s Outdoor Grove, 299 Leydecker Ave. West Seneca. $10/admission (www.ticketleap.com); $15/bottomless beer.

Wednesday, August 25

The Female Odd Couple

Neil Simon is a comic genius whose gift for clever dialogue is second to none. His string of Broadway hits is astounding: Barefoot in the Park, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Sunshine Boys, California Suite, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and on and on. The Odd Couple, his 1965 story of two totally incompatible roommates, a neatnik and a slob, was such singular triumph that it spawned a movie and a television series. Simon revisited the material in 1985, altering the play to feature women. The famed poker game became a game of Trivial Pursuit. Oscar Madison, the slob, originally played by Walter Matthau (and by Jack Klugman on TV), became Olive, and was played by Rita Moreno. Felix Unger, originally played by Art Carney (by Jack Lemmon in the film, and Tony Randall on TV) became Florence, and was played by Sally Struthers —who is currently appearing at Artpark in All Shook Up. Last month, as a fundraiser, Buffalo United Artists strutted out two of their most beloved drag performers for a “one night only” staged reading of the female Odd Couple. The reunion of Jimmy Janowski and Lauren Fox sold out in days. It was determined that audiences would have one more chance to see the reading. That day is Wednesday (August 25) at 7 pm in the BUA Theater. (For the record, Janowski is Florence and Fox is Olive – with Lisa Ludwig as Mickey, Caitlin Coleman as Renee, Kerrykate Able as Sylvie, Mary Loftus as Vera, and Darryl Hart and Adam Rath as the Costazuela brothers. Artvoice theater editor Anthony Chase directed). —alan victor

7pm. BUA Theater, 119 Chippewa (886-9239 / www.buffalobua.org). $25/advance; $30 at door

Thursday, August 26

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Why do the punks wear plaid? Well for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based ska-punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones it represents their clash of musical styles. The eight piece has been combining ska, punk, hardcore, rock, and even the occasional Irish bagpipes since their early days on the Boston music scene. As they explain their infatuation with the material on their website; just like plaid, the band’s sound is “busy and at times offensive.” Busy is for sure. In addition to the typical rock band musicians the band tours with two saxophone players, a trumpet player, and their signature break dancing non-musician Ben Carr, known simply as “The Bosstone.” Singer Dicky Barrett’s voice is about as offensive as they come, but his raspy, low down vocals didn’t stop the band from shooting into the flashy and wacky 1990’s mainstream music scene with their 1997 album Let’s Face It, which featured the contagious hit “The Impression That I Get.” Every kid who grew up in the 1990’s probably caught a glimpse of the Bosstones playing their song “Where’d You Go?” in the movie Clueless, while Brittany Murphy’s character Tai falls down the stairs. In 2003 the band went on a four year hiatus only to reunite in 2007 to release an album, Pin Points & Gin Joints, and resume their quest to tour the globe. They band will “skank” their way into Town Ballroom with their black suits and plaid backdrop on Thursday (Aug 26). —cory perla

7pm. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $30/advance at box office, Tickets.com, Tops Markets