These holidays are heady days for the Sportsmens Tavern - after 27 humble years as a tiny tavern in the heart of Black Rock that's hosted some of the biggest touring acts in Americana music, their ship is coming in. Major renovations are more than doubling their capacity, and the progress is visible almost daily, as they work tirelessly 'til 3 o'clock every day and cover up the dust to open the bar at 4. That may seem crazy, but it's the daily drill at the Honkiest, Tonkiest Beer Joint in Town - there are big shows on the books and thirsty regulars at the door.
The next week is a wild one on the new two-tiered stage now set in the front corner. This afternoon at 3:30, one of our scene's go-to ringers, Jim Whitford, leads his own band in a Food Bank benefit. Endlessly self-deprecating, Whitford refers to his own band's exploits as "rock jackassery," and has promised for today "a couple new original tunes which involve missing persons and secrets so unspeakable that no redemption is possible."
Whitford will stay on stage and saddle up to his pedal steel guitar for tonight's Lo Blue Flame "Red Hot Christmas," anchored by Doug Yeomans and featuring Willie Schoellkopf on guitar/vocals, Jim Ehinger on keys, Steve Sadoff on bass, and robe 'n' slipper lover Rob Lynch on drums.
Sunday starts a stellar string of touring acts as Chip Taylor, known to many as the guy who wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning," others as Jon Voight's brother and an ace better of horses, brings his expansive songbook to their stage for the first time. Part of the Sportsmens' never-ending "Private Party Series," the $18 entry earns you a souvenir ticket to a show that may be a bit less intimate that the Sportsmens used to be, as there's room for about 50 more people at the current state of expansion.
Monday brings an old friend in Telecaster titan Bill Kirchen, still famous for his hot licks in Commander Cody's "Hot Rod Lincoln," who brings his Too Much Fun band and "Honky Tonk Holiday" revue back to one of his favorite places to play. 7pm showtime, $20 ticket.
Come Wednesday, a budding underground legend in Chicago in Adreas Kapsalis and his trio make their Sportsmens debut, bringing in eight-string guitar virtuosity and a worldwide swath of influence on an adamant recommendation from Babik's Josh Assad. 7pm, $10.
And as long as her tour bus doesn't get stopped by the sheriffs like her daddy Willie's recently did, Paula Nelson and her Guilty Pleasures will roll in from Austin on Friday for their first visit to Buffalo. The Good Neighborhood and Paula are old pals as she played the inaugural Reckless Kelly's Celebrity Softball Jam in at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas, back in '09. Paula's got a good pen of her own and an easy-going sass befitting her hometown, and she gives the Guilty Pleasures plenty of space to cook behind her. A 9:30 show with a $20 ticket, Patriot Energy Services has stepped up to turn it into a benefit for Mercy Flight of Western New York, making for a Good Neighborly bookend to a busy week that's basically business as usual at the reigning Grant-Amherst Association Business of the Year.
See y'all at the Sportsmens!
Photo: Paula and Willie Nelson
The Sportsmen's Tavern
326 Amherst Street
Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 874-7734
About writer Seamus Gallivan and The Good Neighborhood: The Good Neighborhood is a Buffalo-based company that pairs performers with common causes to create Gatherings for the Common Good.
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The next week is a wild one on the new two-tiered stage now set in the front corner. This afternoon at 3:30, one of our scene's go-to ringers, Jim Whitford, leads his own band in a Food Bank benefit. Endlessly self-deprecating, Whitford refers to his own band's exploits as "rock jackassery," and has promised for today "a couple new original tunes which involve missing persons and secrets so unspeakable that no redemption is possible."
Whitford will stay on stage and saddle up to his pedal steel guitar for tonight's Lo Blue Flame "Red Hot Christmas," anchored by Doug Yeomans and featuring Willie Schoellkopf on guitar/vocals, Jim Ehinger on keys, Steve Sadoff on bass, and robe 'n' slipper lover Rob Lynch on drums.
Sunday starts a stellar string of touring acts as Chip Taylor, known to many as the guy who wrote "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning," others as Jon Voight's brother and an ace better of horses, brings his expansive songbook to their stage for the first time. Part of the Sportsmens' never-ending "Private Party Series," the $18 entry earns you a souvenir ticket to a show that may be a bit less intimate that the Sportsmens used to be, as there's room for about 50 more people at the current state of expansion.
Monday brings an old friend in Telecaster titan Bill Kirchen, still famous for his hot licks in Commander Cody's "Hot Rod Lincoln," who brings his Too Much Fun band and "Honky Tonk Holiday" revue back to one of his favorite places to play. 7pm showtime, $20 ticket.
Come Wednesday, a budding underground legend in Chicago in Adreas Kapsalis and his trio make their Sportsmens debut, bringing in eight-string guitar virtuosity and a worldwide swath of influence on an adamant recommendation from Babik's Josh Assad. 7pm, $10.
And as long as her tour bus doesn't get stopped by the sheriffs like her daddy Willie's recently did, Paula Nelson and her Guilty Pleasures will roll in from Austin on Friday for their first visit to Buffalo. The Good Neighborhood and Paula are old pals as she played the inaugural Reckless Kelly's Celebrity Softball Jam in at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas, back in '09. Paula's got a good pen of her own and an easy-going sass befitting her hometown, and she gives the Guilty Pleasures plenty of space to cook behind her. A 9:30 show with a $20 ticket, Patriot Energy Services has stepped up to turn it into a benefit for Mercy Flight of Western New York, making for a Good Neighborly bookend to a busy week that's basically business as usual at the reigning Grant-Amherst Association Business of the Year.
See y'all at the Sportsmens!
Photo: Paula and Willie Nelson
The Sportsmen's Tavern
326 Amherst Street
Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 874-7734
About writer Seamus Gallivan and The Good Neighborhood: The Good Neighborhood is a Buffalo-based company that pairs performers with common causes to create Gatherings for the Common Good.
Willie put together a pretty nice looking daughter. Way to go.
Is there any updates with the Tavern? The article mentions work being done; but I don't remember any talk since the initial announcement that there would be work done, ie. the balcony, sidewalk cover, etc.