Yo Gabba Gabba Live! There's a Party in My City with special guest Biz Markie

Friday, September 3

“Listening and dancing to music is awesome!” Thank you, DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba. Your many neon colors light the way to a better tomorrow. Kids these days need to start off with heavy cool factor. The Nick, Jr. television show is hosted by DJ Lance Rock, hailing from Gabba Land, and an assortment of multi-colored magical creatures including a yellow robot called Flex, a red cyclops named Muno, and Foofa the pink flower bubble. The show premiered in 2007 and has since gone on to win a Daytime Emmy and host many a fine musician during its Super Music Friends Show segment. Past musical guests include the Roots, the Ting Tings, Of Montreal, and the Shins—who delivered the positive goods with a song called “It’s Okay, Try Again.” The cuddly Biz “Just A Friend” Markie is joining the Gabba gang on this stop, which should make for a pretty cute—and very funny—combo. With psychedelic sights and sounds straight out of Yellow Submarine, Yo Gabba Gabba has become a hit among children and parents alike. Let’s not forget the college kids who tune in and freak out with red eyes when all their favorite bands pop up with sugary songs. Yo Gabba Gabba Live! hits Artpark this Friday (September 3). There are shows at 2 and 5pm. One dollar from each ticket sold will be donated to Habit For Humanity and their efforts in building homes in Buffalo. As MGMT sang during their performance on the show, “Art is Everywhere.” Feel like a kid again and sing.

—peter vullo

2 & 5pm. Artpark, 450 South 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / www.artpark.net). $35 at box office, Tickets.com

Thursday, September 2

Tortoise

Not many bands can say they invented their own genre. Tortoise can. Post-rock didn’t exist before 1994, the year that Tortoise released their first, self titled album. What they’ve created since then are songs, using traditional rock instruments, that transcend rock music. Their guitar strings expel textures and atmospheres rather than hooks and riffs. Their percussion acts as an anchor, but it’s usually impossible to tell just how many hands are actually crashing on each noise-producing drum head as all of the members are multi-instrumentalists. When they perform live there are two dueling drum kits set up facing each other, as percussionist John McEntire (also of the band the Sea and Cake) sits adjacent to musicians John Herndon and Dan Bitney, while they intermittently switch between guitar and drums. Between their massive ambient dream-scape tracks and their driving, jazz based epics the band has a catalog of music as emotionally variant as any classical music composer of the last century and are just as influential. Their latest album, Beacons of Ancestorship is a bit more worldly sounding than their previous five albums, but it still moves at an unrelenting pace. Last time Tortoise came to town they played the Tralf, (and the performance was recorded in it’s entirety for Artvoice TV) but this time it will be a much more personal experience when the band takes the stage of Soundlab tonight (Sept 2), with local support from Fourem. —cory perla

9pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (440-5907 / www.bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab)

Thursday, September 2

Jeff Bridges and The Abiders

Tonight’s (Sept. 2) the last of a two-night only stand by actor Jeff Bridges, who finally took home a well-deserved Academy Award in the Best Actor category this year for his portrayal of washed-up country star Bad Blake in the movie Crazy Heart. Bridges has a bunch of memorable roles to his credit—including his beloved portrayal of laid-back recreational bowler-cum-private detective “The Dude” in the cult favorite The Big Lebowski—but his turn as a country singer rang so true, it must have seemed like a no-brainer to take the show on the road, albeit for just these two shows so far. If you’ve heard songs like the super-catchy “Fallin’ and Flyin’” from the T-Bone Burnett-produced Crazy Heart soundtrack, you know it’s not such a far-fetched idea. But that’s not all. Bridges will also be playing original tunes from Be Here Soon, a CD he released earlier this year that incorporates a bunch of styles unrelated to his fictional country music persona. Bridges plays guitar, as he did in the movie, and is joined by top-notch musicians called the Abiders—which fans of “The Dude” will agree is a great name for his backing band. -buck quigley

8:30pm. Fallsview Casino and Resort, 6380 Fallsview Blvd., Niagara Falls, Ontario (fallsviewcasinorsort.com)

Friday, September 3

Dungen

“Vägen bort är lång. Längre bort än hem.” It is a Swedish phrase meaning “The road away is long. Longer than to home.” It is also a lyric from the song “Panda” by Sweden -based psychedelic rock band Dungen, and it couldn’t be more appropriate. Dungen will perform at Mohawk Place on Friday (Sept 3), appearing in concert for the first time since the release of their latest album Skit I Allt, which came out this week on Subliminal Sounds Records. The band is certainly far from their home near the arctic circle, but with the release of their seventh studio album, they couldn’t be in a better place. The four piece has been playing music together since 1999 and have released a string of critically acclaimed albums including 2004’s Ta Det Lugnt and 2008’s 4. Their sound is similar to their Nordic brothers in Jaga Jazzist, with fluttering flute tones, the occasional string arrangement, and jazz structured jams on songs like “Lejonet & Kulan” and “Sjutton.” But they’re also not afraid to show their rock n’ roll edge. “Skit I Allt” translates into “fuck all” in English, but rather than portraying any violent imagery, the title seems to represent more of “fuck all and party” attitude. The video for the album’s title track depicts a beer drinking, fun loving jam session full of long haired hippie-types smoking their funny cigarettes and dancing to the mellow rock tune. Sounds like its time to spruce up on your Swedish and grab a pilsner. Dungen will be joined by local math-rockers the Stay Lows. —cory perla

8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (465-2368 / www.themohawkplace.com)..

Saturday, September 4

Gamalon

Instrumental music fans save this date: Saturday (Sept. 4) because at 9pm George Puleo, Ted Reinhardt, Tom Reinhardt, Jim Wynne and Vince Fossitt will be jamming on stage at the Central Park Grill for a one-time show. Original Gamalon members George, Ted and Tom haven’t played together since 2002. “It’ll be fun.” says Puleo. So spread the word and come support these guys. Save a spot on the calendar for Haiku (featuring Puleo, Wynne, and Fossitt) too, returning to the Grill Saturday, October 2nd.—dawn mullen

9pm. Central Park Grill, 2519 Main St. (836-9466). $5

Wednesday & Thursday, September 8 & 9

Disco Biscuits & Glitch Mob

I could tell you about the latest Disco Biscuits tour, but the Reservoir Dog Biscuits could probably do it better. “Let me tell you what this tour is all about,” said bassist Marc Brownstein, in character as Quentin Tarantino’s Reservior Dogs character Mr. Brown, on the band’s website. “It’s about these fans who are regular party machines. I’m talking morning, day, night afternoon, show show show show show. This tour will remind the party machine what it was like to be a noob again,” If you can’t already tell, the Disco Biscuits are into providing their fans with a fun, party-like atmosphere, and they happen to bring that party to upstate New York quite frequently. The band, from Philadelphia, played Town Ballroom in March and put on their annual electronic jam-band festival, Camp Bisco, in Mariaville, NY, in July. Just like Camp Bisco, the Biscuits bring together elements of electronic music and jam bands to create an entrancing and climactic experience. Their latest album, Planet Anthem, reiterates this on songs like “The City,” with bubbling electronic sounds and robotic vocals. The Disco Biscuits will return once again to Town Ballroom for two dates, Wednesday (Sept. 8) and Thursday (Sept 9) along with LA-based electronic group the Glitch Mob. —cory perla

7pm (doors). Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $23/advance, $25/day of at box offive, Tickets.com

Thursday, September 9

The Alarm

They never got as big as U2 nor can they claim the musical or historical impact of the Clash, but sitting somewhere between the two with an unmistakable propensity for anthemic, populist rock delivered with punk vigor is the Alarm. They began in Wales in the late 1970s, and by the 1980s the Alarm were a consistent chart fixture and always a hot box office act as a live draw. No slouches in America, the band were cult favorites at college radio, MTV and even earned a spot touring with the aforementioned U2 on the 1983 War Tour. Flash-forward nearly thirty years and it’s tough not to hear songs like “68 Guns” or “Blaze of Glory” and not want to pump the fist and sing along. To the credit of Alarm centerpiece singer/guitarist vocalist Mike Peters, the band still has that kind of power today and has continued touring and self-releasing music with the same spirit and punch in the 21st Century. One band who—without question—owe a debt to the Alarm is Buffalo’s the Pillagers. Pillagers vocalist Gary Zoldos forged a friendship with Peters that began decades ago but has maintained to this day. Fittingly, their bands will share the stage at the Racetrack next Thursday (Sept. 9). —donny kutzbach

8pm. Dunn Tire Raceway Park, 57 Gunnville Rd, Lancaster (759-6818 / www.dunntireracewaypark.com). $10.