RRIICCEE RREEVVIIEEWW @ Soundlab 9/25

photo from rriiccee.com

Vincent Gallo, who put Buffalo on the hipster map with his movie Buffalo '66, bought his musical project in RRIICCEE back to Soundlab last Thursday. While Gallo's past musical collaborators in other projects include Sean Lennon, Jim O'Rourke, Eric Erlandson and legendary New York artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, the current RRIICCEE line-up includes less recognizable names in brothers Nikolas and Simon Haas. Gallo describes RRIICCEE as, "a gesture of composing and performing at the same time, always hoping to avoid musical cliché or jamming... when we play live, the music is often created during the performance."

Upon descending the Soundlab steps Thursday night, it looked like Gallo had planned everything except the music. Seven rows of black folding chairs had been arranged in rows facing the stage, with a narrow, de facto walkway cutting the rows through to the back of the room. A drum set, synthesizers, amplifiers and guitars were set up in front of a white screen. The stage was completely lit by fluorescent light-- an island in the dark, subterranean Soundlab performance space.

RRIICCEE took the stage without opening act, the first song built up from guitar noise loop into abstract trip-hop. Throughout the set, the band also touched on elements of jazz, tropicalia, electronica and rock. Some of the songs had vocal melodies, a hint that some of the music is written beforehand. The music felt, at times, like the score to a film playing just behind the stage. Returning to trip-hop before the end of the set, Canadian emcee Buck 65 dropped a few freestyle verses over RRIICCEE's bed of minimal-ambient sounds.

photo from buck65.com

After playing about only 40 minutes, with no opening act, some people were grumbling about the ticket price after the show. Some were probably hipster-suckers, looking for a celebrity experience or Gallo photo-op. At $20 a pop, without hearing a single song they recognized, no doubt a lot of people were asking themselves-- who the fuck is Vincent Gallo anyway?

"Wait, I’m Not Even A Registered Voter… Am I?"

chit-chat from the Chainsaw--
an irregular feature

picks up on the theme of my recent mySpace blog...

Now, normally I don’t do many political rants ‘cause I’m not the type of guy to offer an opinion on something he doesn’t know a lot about. Oh, no, wait, that’s exactly the type of guy I am. And as long as I think I’m right, I probably am. Hey, if that philosophy works for George Dubya, it’ll work for me.

I just have to get it off my chest. Sarah Palin bugs me. Really, really bugs me. More so than any other candidate. Why? you might ask. Is it because she’s a woman? Well, pretty much, yeah. I’m not afraid to admit that my voting preferences are based on genitalia. That’s why I supported Hillary. She had the biggest balls of all the candidates.

Honestly, I have nothing against Palin personally. I just disagree with her on every issue. She’s anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, pro-drilling, pro-war, pro-moose hunting, anti-polar bear, and I’m pretty sure she voted for David Archuleta. And I’m sick of hearing guys referring to her as a MILF. I mean, yeah, she is, but so is Denise Richards, and I wouldn’t want her leading the country.

And let’s not overlook the lack of experience factor. Her only major political experience is two years as governor of a state whose entire population consists of ten Eskimos and several caribous. I guess it’s all a moot point, anyhow. Our votes won’t matter come November. With the way the Electoral College is set up, no matter which candidate gets the most votes, George Dubya will win again.

--A.L. Cerda

Roger Bryan on 'Recovery'

As he eases back into the beige-ing faux-fur couch in his second-floor practice space above Main Street, Roger Bryan takes a drag from a freshly lit cigarette. "It just reached a point where it really wasn't going to work the way it was," he explains.

In 2004, Roger would help start a band that would consume his creative energies for the next four years of his life, the Old Sweethearts. The band would go on to produce two proper releases. "When the Sweethearts first came together," he says, "it was a pretty inspiring period of time."

Grabbing a Miller High Life from a small dorm refrigerator a few feet away, Roger heads back to the couch as he describes how the band would fall apart as lost momentum gave way to dwindling creative drive and weakening relationships. The situation was further strained by guitarist Andy Vaeth’s commitment to his other band, the power trio Johnny Nobody. As the weeks, months and years passed Roger became increasingly frustrated.

"By the time we'd started the third record, it had been two years," he says. "Also, the 'new' songs we were recording, we had been playing all along (this period of time)."

Perhaps for a shot at redemption or maybe for closure-- Roger was inspired by this time in his life: the long, slow deaths of an important relationship between himself and the band as a whole; between himself and his band mates. This inspiration found its way into the songs on his second full-length as a solo artist, Recovery.

Although his backing band, the Orphans, includes some familiar faces, ex-Sweethearts Jeff Pietrzak and Erik Roesser, he wanted an otherwise fresh approach to Recovery. The new songs were shorter and faster. The band was recorded mostly live and in a few takes. Recording in guitarist Matt Smith's Hi/Lo Studio, the band entered the sessions without any preconceived notions on how the record would sound. The only predetermined goal, says Roger, was to finish the record with a sense of urgency and within a year from when the first songs were written. The results were better than he had expected.

"Everyone brings a very high level of play... we're lucky to all be on the same page," he says. "It was extremely refreshing, especially after years of sitting around."

Roger Bryan and the Orphans cite both Crazy Horse and the Replacements as strong influences, which can be heard throughout much of the album. The folky-garage of "This Song" punctuates distant, sing-a-long verses with searing guitar lines that flicker up like campfire. The 90’s alt-pop meditation of “If we fall” finds the band I an up-tempo gear, swapping melancholy for bitter-sweet.

And on an album filled with rebukes and flat-out regrets, Roger feels out for redemption on the record-closer “Full Reverse”, as Crazy Horse guitars wash over his scratchy vocal lines. Where he and the Orphans go from here is anyone’s guess.

JUCIFER! @ Mohawk Place, Friday July 25th w/ Chylde and Sonorous Gale

a rudy sizzle review

What the fuck is wrong you? Why do you even waste your time going to shows if you are going to run away at the first signs of something dangerous and perhaps even debilitating? SO WHAT if you might be deafened by the insane decibels that Jucifer is about to spew forth from their monolith of Ampeg? Who cares about your hearing anyway, you obviously don’t use it if you sat through Chylde’s set and thought, “aw yeah, right there is some real rock and roll.”

Your friends, you know, the guys who all work at that sweet restaurant owned by the piece of shit Greek who has more cocaine up his nose than on his cheap Pier One glass dining room set. Yeah, the same gang that seems to run the show in town, perhaps bringing in all the hot shit just to be able to let their awesome rock and roll band open. The same people that base their entire ideology on remaining ten minutes behind the coolness curve to make sure it at least sticks for their entire night on the Allen Street strip. See yourself there, wearing those flip-flops and that torn up ironic metal t-shirt, chugging cans of PBR at the Old Pink flamingo while your boy is spinning CD’s and no one is really using their hearing to discern the blandness piercing the speakers as a flash-in-the-pan, waif-British novelty has already run its course. Reach out across the room to your pal to give him a secret-man-shake and perhaps exchange witty retorts that are all based on your favorite sketch comedy show. Make a snide remark about how bored you are with the fact there is nothing wrong with your life as your parents keep sending you a check once a week to keep you well submersed in the ever-so-boring lifestyle that you seem to think of as being a “hardcore existence.” You know, you are so punk that you cannot stand punk music, nor can you stomach the thought of watching live music.


However, if your bros in Chylde are playing, than it’s got to be a party. It’s got to be the place where all the shit is going down. Right? “Who is the opening band? Sonorous Gale? What do they sound like? Big Business? Tragedy? A raw version of NoMeansNo? Perhaps the coolest band in Buffalo? No way, Chylde obviously is, I mean at least that is what they told me. Sonorous Gale just can’t contend, what with all that precise musicianship and intricacy in song structure. That just bores the hell out of me, especially when it is delivered with such ferocity and honesty. I hate that shit. I like when my music sounds like it is overly thought out, as if the songs are eschewed from any type of shred of original thought. I need my music to remind me of what my cousin’s and older brother liked when they were 16. I cannot fathom anything that sounds remotely like it is original because then it might be too much for my PBR buzzed brain to handle. My girlfriend liked it, but fuck her anyways. She likes anything that pisses me off, that’s why she dragged my ass to Jucifer anyways. I went because my boys, my main dudes, Chylde were on stage promptly @ midnight. They always do it right, hitting the toll of midnight and letting the riffs roll and rage proper. I like to smoke a bunch of weed and pop some pills and act all stupid-off-the-chain when they riff, but my gal just idly watches and occasionally reminds me that I am making an ass out of myself. I don’t care, I love rock and I love Chylde. She loves Jucifer, probably because there is a girl in the band that kind of looks like a deranged fairy on acid. She probably digs them because they sing about the French revolution and Marie Antoinette (whoever that is?) I think that they are just a phase and someday she’ll realize that their complicated raucous is merely an allusion to the fact that they wish they could just let the good times roll and forget about stuff like historic events that shaped cultures and what not.”

Yep, that sounds about right, doesn’t it? I guess if Jucifer’s immense wall of Ampeg cabinets frightened you away before you even gave them a chance (they were selling earplugs jack-ass), then you might as well have went back to your hipster high chair for your bottle to be inserted back into your stupid mouth. Mommy made sure it was nice and lukewarm, like you like it.

~ Rudy Sizzle

Infrigment 08 Picks

It's Infringement fest time again folks. Besides some of the local bands covered in previous posts-- here's the silo3 best bets:


Ajent-O
underground hip-hopper who's baby steps have been followed by a string of solid tracks. THE premier underground rapper in Buff City.

Saturday, July 26 10:00 pm - 2:00 am, Nietzsche's

Audibel
this Rochester, NY solo act's latest songs have him sounding more like a minimalist Panda Bear and less like post-electroclash. good stuff.

Monday, July 28 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm Burnwood



thee Audience
these guys are always lo-profile which is a shame. Best thing to see in Jamestown, NY besides the five Lucy and Desi museums.

Sunday July 27 7:30-8:30pm Gateway Gallery


besnyo
local anthemic-indiepoppers get better with every release-- for fans of JAMC, Flaming Lips,M83

Friday, July 25 Nietzsche's 10pm
Friday, Aug 1 Golden Key 9pm

patrons of sweet

less than a year old, these grizzled locals sound great already

Sunday, Aug 3 Nietzche's 9pm

Ray Tarantino

Sony artist with a Coldplay hard-on slumming it-- great voice, decent songs.

Friday, July 25	6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Buffalo Barfly HQ
Friday, July 25	10:00 pm - 2:00 am	Nietzsche's
Saturday, July 26	1:00 pm - 2:00 pm	Gateway Gallery
Saturday, July 26	6:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Skunk Tail Glass

voidologists
the minimalist "harsh" noises on the above link will put your speakers through their paces.

Monday, July 28

6:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Burnwood

Wednesday, July 30

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Squeaky Wheel

Saturday, August 2

6:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Squeaky Wheel

“I Don’t Love The New Millennium”

chit-chat from the Chainsaw--
an irregular feature

Don’t get me wrong. The past seven and a half years have been, more or less, good to me. It’s just that I don’t miss them enough to feel nostalgic about them. But VH-1 has scraped the barrel and mined the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s for every single possible event that could warrant a half-assed joke or two. (I’m sorry, but 1983 was not interesting enough to warrant three hour-long specials.) And since presumably nothing of note happened before 1970—and as far as I can tell from history books, nothing did—VH-1 and their third-rate panelists have moved on to the… uh, aughts? Seriously, have we figured out a classification for this decade yet?


I remember when I Love the 90’s first debuted, many snobbish critics decried it, claiming it impossible to be nostalgic for a decade barely over. Little did anyone realize that VH-1 was just being cutting edge and innovative and forward-thinking. After all, in a world driven by instant gratification, why should anyone have to wait to feel nostalgic? Truly, this creative, present-tense approach has come to full fruition with television viewers now longing for a decade that’s not even over! Imagine the possibilities when these network execs find out a way to make us miss the good ol’ days of the future!

Ironically, all of VH-1’s nostalgia shows make me feel nostalgic for the days when they actually played music videos. You know, video hits. One. Remember when it was the music channel for the stodgy old parents of the hip kids who watched MTV? Well, as I’ve officially become a stodgy old parent, I feel like my needs are not currently being met. I’ve tried watching the fresh new, young bands on Fuse or MTV2, and I’m always left with the same thought: Who gave these teabags money to make a video? And it’s not that I don’t think good music is being made these days; I’m just too lazy and stubborn to seek it out. I guess my complaint boils down to what all my complaints boil down to. The world doesn’t do enough to tailor itself to fit my wants.

--A.L. Cerda

Thurrrsday at the --- bleccch

Independence Day week seems like a good time for a good ol' American rant about how things got ruined, more specifically Thursday at the Square.

Local bar owners seem nonplussed at the recent developments surrounding the square. The spate of "jam" bands leads less of a bar/ drinking crowd, they say. Also, extending hours of the Square to 10pm keep people from coming in and spending money, preferring to go home in an attempt to drag themselves into work on Friday. Owners Silo3 spoke to however were quick to point out the crowd they get, which also depends on the weather, is better than none at all.

Some people have been saying for years that the crop of Square talent has been steadily declining for years. They make the case Buffalo Place knows; people are there to see the sides of beer trucks not live music.



Here's some highlights from 2001, what some would say was a high-watermark:

5/24 - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mexican Cession
5/31 - The Steam Donkeys
6/21 - moe., DJ Logic
6/28 - English Beat
7/19 - Bo Diddley
7/26 - Crash Test Dummies
8/02 - Eddie Money
8/09 - Pat Benatar
8/16 - Great Big Sea, Jackdaw
8/23 - Lance Diamond
8/30 - Donna the Buffalo, The Waz, Soulive

Compare to entire '08 lineup:
5/29 - Galactic, The New Deal
6/05 - The Disco Biscuits
6/12 - Yonder Mountain String Band
6/19 - David Sanborn Group,
6/26 - Martin Sexton, Mike Doughty Duo
7/03 - Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels
7/10 - Jimmie Vaughan, JJ Grey & MOFRO
7/17 - Mickey Hart Band, Tea Leaf Green
7/24 - The Gin Blossoms
7/31 - Spirit of the West,
8/07 - Zappa plays Zappa, The Whigs
8/14 - Mike Gordon, Samantha Stollenwerck
8/21 - Saliva
8/28 - Candlebox, Agent Me
9/04 - Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Rumors have it that changes at Buffalo Place's TATS management team are afoot. Is a better lineup possible for '09? Will they book more classic/ contemporary rock in an attempt to bring out more of a bar crowd?