Editor's Pick: MLK, Jr. Day of Service

Monday, January 19

“Anyone can be great,” said Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., “because anyone can serve.” As the day on which the nation honors Dr. King approaches—the day before the first African American is sworn in as president of the United States, no less—one might consider opportunities to serve those in need. One such opportunity is offered by People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), AmeriCorps, and Buffalo ReUse, who seek volunteers to help board up six vacant houses on the city’s West Side. The boards to be used in securing the houses are products of the Neighborhood Peace Mural Project, which engaged students from across the city in discussions about peace, community, and citizenship. Volunteers can email volunteer@buffaloreuse.org or call 885-4131. Folks will gather at 397 Massachusetts at 9am on Monday morning to begin work. If that’s not your cup of tea, visit www.handsongreaterbuffalo.org or www.mlkday.gov for other opportunities to serve, or check out www.volunteersolutions.org, the United Way’s tool for connecting volunteers with institutions and projects that need them.

—geoff kelly

9am. Meet at 397-398 Massachusetts Ave. Contact volunteer@buffaloreuse.org or 885-4131 for details

Saturday, January 17

The Big Lebowski

White Russians, Skynard tapes, money-crazed trophy wives, marmots... the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda will have it all this Saturday (Jan. 17) night. A screening of the Coen brothers’ cult classic The Big Lebowski will be offered with white Russians and Miller Genuine Drafts to be served beforehand and a few frames to be bowled at the Tonawanda Bowling Center afterwards. A box office disappointment when released in 1998, The Big Lebowski has since gained a massive cult following. Fans of the movie go so far as to throw parties where guests show up dressed as their favorite characters and down numerous white Russians, Jeff Lebowski’s (AKA “the Dude’s”) drink of choice. There’s even an annual Lebowski Fest, spawned in Louisville Kentucky in 2002, which treats fans to an entire weekend of Lebowski-themed activities and is now practically sweeping the nation by having expanded to most major cities. So get your bowling balls, bathrobes, roach clips, and dirty undies ready, because this Saturday its time to party, “Dude” style. (One tip: Avoid anyone dressed as “the Jesus.” He or she is bound to have some skeletons in the closet.)

—justin sondel

6:30pm. Riviera Theatre, 67 Webster Street, N. Tonawanda (692-2413 / www.rivieratheatre.org). $10/$17 Movie $10 / Movie & Bowling $17

Saturday, January 17

Infringement Festival Fundraiser #1

Let the games begin! It’s time to start gearing up for the 2009 Infringement Festival, with the first in a line of fundraiser/benefit shows to help ramp up the event’s profile and start the process of planning the eleven-day multi-media affair. A party will be held this Saturday (Jan. 17) to give a little taste of what’s to come, with performances by the Blood Thirsty Vegans (pictured), Shadow Swines, A Relative Term, Kassi Meyerhoffer, Clocks Ticking Backwards, Brrn, Sister Lara Siren Provocateur, and more. This year’s Infringement Festival —to be held in and around Allentown and the Elmwood Village sometime next summer—will mark the fifth anniversary of Buffalo’s participation in this multi-city, international performance art event, which seems to get bigger, better, and weirder every year. Visit www.infringebuffalo.org or www.infringementfestival.com for more.

—k. o’day

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

Saturday, January 17

Benefit for Douglas Luke

Since 2002, Corpus Dei (pictured) has been one of the kingpins in the Buffalo hardcore/metal scene. Founded by brothers Douglas and Chris Luke, this band makes one of the most bludgeoning assaults on the senses this side of the Lake Erie swamplands. With Douglas at the forefront leading the vocals, these live shows are never short of intense. However, this past November, Douglas was rushed to the hospital, unable to move his legs. After various tests, doctors discovered an abcess on his spine, which they successfully removed. Although he was left paralyzed from the waist down following the operation, Douglas has been making vast improvements and, with time, he should be able to walk without the use of any aid. To cover the medical expenses, friends have set up a benefit in his honor this Saturday (Jan. 17). Featuring various punk, hardcore and metal bands such as Sons Of Azrael, Avulsion, Spoonful Of Vicodin, Plates, Necrosquatch, and Hold It High, the evening promises to be a hell raising good time. And that is probably what Douglas wants most of all.

—eric boucher

10pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $7

Sunday, January 18

Disco Biscuits

A mixture of electronica, rock, and funk, the Disco Biscuits’ music has helped popularize trance, a genre that is improvisational and hypnotic. Their mesmerizing, trippy shows have made the group one of the most successful live acts within the jam-band community. Known for being experimental performers, the Biscuits’ often play songs backwards, break them up into parts, and blend individual songs together. Billboard named their 2002 album Señor Boombox (Megaforce) a top electronic and top independent album of the year, cementing the band’s reputation as not only energetic and talented performers, but capable of producing exceptional records. Their most recent CD, The Wind at Four to Fly (SCI Fidelity), is a live taping that spans the group’s 20-year career, and serves as a solid introduction to the genre. The Disco Biscuits’ musical ingenuity, unique sound, love for performing, and longevity promise an entertaining Sunday (Jan. 18) evening.

—lindsay berman

7 pm doors. Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. (852-3900 / www.townballroom.com). $20 advance / $25 day of show at box office and Tickets.com

Monday, January 19

Marianne Dissard

Spice up your Monday (Jan. 19) night this week with Marianne Dissard for an “Evening of French Pop.” This Parisian-American musician will stop in Buffalo as a part of her East Coast tour promoting her debut album L’Entredeux, released in the fall of 2008 and produced by Calexico’s Joey Burns. Her music is a rare blend of European and US influences, mixing French sensuality and lyrics with her distinctly bluesy voice and folk style. Her stage performances are a seductive mingling of catchy melodies, with her deep, raspy voice emanating a haunting sense of longing. Her band, including piano, accordion, electric and acoustic guitar, and harmonica, highlights her eclectic style. In addition to being a singer-songwriter, Marianne Dissard’s talent and wit are displayed through her political activism, performance art, and documentary films. Straddling musical genres and nationalities, her show promises to be both entertaining and unpredictable. Gypsy-jazz band Babik will open up, with DJ K.Isabella playing vintage and new french pop beforehand.

—lindsay berman

9 pm. Soundlab, 110 Pearl St. (883-3209 / www.bigorbitgallery.org/soundlab). $8

Wednesday, January 21

Happy B-Day Bill! w/ Grand Buffet

As the public invite reads: “Come celebrate the 36th anniversary of the birth of everyone’s favorite bartender/booking guy/sad folkie in the city. He’s a man of mystery. He’s a man of intrigue. He’s a man usually wearing a flannel shirt.” Bill Nehill is a local rock and roll renaissance dude who—in addition to his duties booking bands and keeping bar at Mohawk Place—performs as singer/songwriter Tracy Morrow and regularly contributes to Artvoice under yet another fake name. For his birthday on Wednesday (Jan. 21), Nehill summoned Pittsburgh outfit Grand Buffet (pictured)—a duo kind of like Sparks if they made hip-hop records—to take a one-off date and come to town. Grand Buffet has been relentlessly issuing records of skewered avant raps and is among the highlights in a currently fertile music scene that includes Girl Talk and Black Moth Super Rainbow. Pensacola, FL eclectic pop experimenters Paper Scissors Rocketpack will also be in town for the celebration, along with a local bill that includes Roger Bryan & the Orphans, folk-core trio Fences Make Good Neighbors, and singer Mallory Mordaunt

—donny kutzbach

10pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St. (855-3931 / www.mohawkplace.com). $7

Thursday, January 22

The Sword

If you like sorcery and epic tales of the battle between good and evil, then next Thursday (Jan. 22) there is an event for you. No I’m not talking about back to back to back screenings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m talking about up and coming, Austin, TX-based metal rockers the Sword and their myth-referencing lyrics coming to the Tralf. These Sabbathesque metal heads have recently been touring with Mettalica, but are now on their own national tour in support of their new album Gods of the Earth. The new album “dropkick(s) you with chunky riffs and chords at a largely steady pace, giving proper personification to the title of the third song on this album, ‘How Heavy This Axe’,” wrote Ryan Van Horn Jr. of Metalminute.com. So head downtown next week for some epic stories set to the tune of head-rattling bass. Opening the show is LA’s Year Long Disaster—whose lead singer and guitarist is Daniel Davies, son of Dave and nephew of Ray (of Kinks’ fame)—and local rockers Chylde.

—justin sondel

8pm. Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. (852-2860 / www.tralfmusichall.com). $12/presale or $15/day of show at box office, Ticketmaster