DocWu's Other Blog

Yesterday, I got a last minute notice about a show with three bands including The Old Sweethearts. The Old Sweethearts are a band I've been watching and hoping to be able to catch play sometime, so I decided to go see them. It was billed as a basement show and that's exactly what it was, a show in the basement of a house on Custer St. in Buffalo, almost to the end of the street by Shoshone Park, hence the "Last Stand" name.

Well, this wasn't a total surprise. The whole area is just a few blocks away from the UB campus and most of the homes are rented to students living off campus. The occasional party with bands is not unusual. I showed up as The Old Sweethearts were unloading their van in the driveway. I went down into the basement and found a small stage in a well, typical basement. A few chairs graced the place, but mostly it was just a basement, furnace, hot water heater, washer and dryer, etc. But it had clearly been the host to many shows. There was a section under the stairs with a collection of band stickers on it that rivaled the sound booth at the Mohawk. A fair amount of grafitti graced the walls and furnace as well.

No one seemed to be in charge. The only band there was the Sweethearts. Somehow, it was decided they would play first. When? It was already 20 after seven. Okay, 8:00 it is. Everyone disappeared for 20 minutes, then with 20 minutes left, started to set up. Well, they got 'er done in time and without fanfare, started playing. It was sort of a open practice, they said and they focused on new songs they were working on for their next CD. There were some rough points, but they sounded pretty good. The Old Sweethearts list a lot of influences, but their sound seems closest to The Shins or maybe a little harder-edged Fountains Of Wayne.

The second group had arrived and played next. They were Dan Reitz and band. This band was unusual, three keyboards, drums and an electric guitar. One keyboard usually played the bass lines. They were pretty good, but they were short one stand necessitating Dan Reitz to hold his keyboard whenever he used it. Other technical difficulties cut the set short. Their sound was, as you'd expect with three keyboards, somewhat electronic, but plenty of pop, rock and jazz influence. They were quite good. I especially enjoyed their unusual slow-tempo cover of the Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated.

The final act and the reason the show was put together was a guy called The Gunshy (Matt Arbogast.) He played acoustic guitar solo and all I can say was intense. He sung in a rough voice kind of like Tom Waits. He was from Chicago, travelling back from playing in Canada and stopped in Buffalo. His friends decided to put on the show for him since he was in town.

It was a good night for networking. Almost everyone there was a musician. Besides the bands playing, I met members of Hello Blue Hudson, Lemuria and Unwelcome Guests. Hopefully, a couple good podcasts will come out of it.

Here's another chance to hear some of Buffalo's finest original bands play and support a great cause at the same time. This is the second show featuring artists from the Bring It Back To Life compilation CD. Proceeds from the show and the CD sales go to the Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration project.

Come on down to Club Paradise, on McKinley Parkway in Blasdell on February 25th and take part in the event. Advance tickets are available at Club Paradise and are only $7.00 and still only $10.00 if you get them at the door. Video effects show by Jeff Garbaz and the Buffalo Barfly Girls are some more enticements to attend. Trust me, if you aren't having a good time at this, have someone hold a mirror up to your face and see if you're breathing!

Artists featured are: Michael Bly, Dirty Little Business, Cosmic Stepping Stone, The Feast, and Breakerbox.

link: http://easydreamer.blogspot.com/2005/11/rip-link-wray.html

I'm sorry to find out that Link Wray has passed away. I saw him play here in Buffalo in 2003 and he was amazing. Truly one of a kind, he inspired many guitarists and created a whole new style of playing. He will be missed, but not forgotten. His music will live on.

The above link has a multitude of information and other links if you want to reminisce or don't know who Link Wray is.

My review of the 2003 show is at this page under February 2003.

If you've found this page and wonder what it is, take a look at the original page: http://docwu.servebeeer.com

I'm not sure if I will be transferring that page here, posting newer posts here, or what yet. So keep an eye on both. I can map that URL here if the move becomes permanent.

What it is: An account, more like online diary, of my favorite music concerts, events, shows, festivals and gossip about the local Buffalo area music scene. Lots of photos and a calendar of upcoming shows.

My philosophy is to focus on accessible shows, low or no price events, not the big arena shows. Some are downright grungy bar shows, but the best music around, not your typical mainstream radio crap.