As Buffalo charges up for this Saturday's Elmwood Village Pub Crawl, Roaming Buffaloes, the organization behind the mayhem, has decided to announce yet another fun filled event that is sure to get the crowds-a-jumpin'. On July 9th, Tower Jam (see first show wrap-up) will draw a second regional act to One HSBC Tower in the form of Buffalo's own (and always missed) Soulive. When RB's Jeff Empric called me to pass along the news I was immediately transported to a time when the group was first let loose in Buffalo.
An account on a Soulive FB page explains that, "Soulive's roots trace back to 1993, in Buffalo, NY, where Neal and Alan Evans decided to "bug out" after the Bills had lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. The result was their first recorded tune "Soulive". It was a simple jam session composed of Alan's funky jazz rhythms accompanied by Neal on the organ."
I guess if anything good came from that Superbowl loss, it was the successful launch of another hometown hero. Which brings me back to Jeff Empric, a guy who has taken the name Roaming Buffaloes and raised it to en entirely different level. Now the guy is lassoing stray Buffalo bands and bringing them back to reintroduce them to new audiences, while at the same time reintroducing the bands to a city that will hopefully really digg. Soulive playing at One HSBC Tower? That's about as different as it gets. From Jeff Empric:
"I'm extremely excited to bring a few truly talented roaming Buffalonians back here for a 'coming home' concert. It's been a long time since this funk-jazz band has played at home. Two of the brothers were born in Buffalo, and have done so well as to open for bands like The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. We wanted to keep the true-Buffalo feel going with an incredible hometown draw. The band has even decided to make a Buffalo video because they are so happy to be coming back to play at such a unique venue. We're bringing great music and talent to the city, but remembering our roots and the band's roots is the most important thing."
Opening for Soulive will be Free Henry! and Jony James. Hula hoopers and Hacky (footbag) Sackers are not only welcome, but encouraged to attend. The idea is to create a merchant area on the far side of the plaza, with artists and t-shirt makers - with daylong events, food and a real festival atmosphere. I'd say that the team is off to a good start!
The free July 9th show starts at 4:30 and ends at 8:30.
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An account on a Soulive FB page explains that, "Soulive's roots trace back to 1993, in Buffalo, NY, where Neal and Alan Evans decided to "bug out" after the Bills had lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. The result was their first recorded tune "Soulive". It was a simple jam session composed of Alan's funky jazz rhythms accompanied by Neal on the organ."
I guess if anything good came from that Superbowl loss, it was the successful launch of another hometown hero. Which brings me back to Jeff Empric, a guy who has taken the name Roaming Buffaloes and raised it to en entirely different level. Now the guy is lassoing stray Buffalo bands and bringing them back to reintroduce them to new audiences, while at the same time reintroducing the bands to a city that will hopefully really digg. Soulive playing at One HSBC Tower? That's about as different as it gets. From Jeff Empric:
"I'm extremely excited to bring a few truly talented roaming Buffalonians back here for a 'coming home' concert. It's been a long time since this funk-jazz band has played at home. Two of the brothers were born in Buffalo, and have done so well as to open for bands like The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. We wanted to keep the true-Buffalo feel going with an incredible hometown draw. The band has even decided to make a Buffalo video because they are so happy to be coming back to play at such a unique venue. We're bringing great music and talent to the city, but remembering our roots and the band's roots is the most important thing."
Opening for Soulive will be Free Henry! and Jony James. Hula hoopers and Hacky (footbag) Sackers are not only welcome, but encouraged to attend. The idea is to create a merchant area on the far side of the plaza, with artists and t-shirt makers - with daylong events, food and a real festival atmosphere. I'd say that the team is off to a good start!
The free July 9th show starts at 4:30 and ends at 8:30.
Soulive's last visit may have been Thursday at the Square a couple of years back. They're hot!