By: Sarah Ruth

I felt a bit like an inexperienced gambler when I bought tickets to Wednesday night's Public Enemy show at Town Ballroom. I could easily imagine the winner's payout--a surreal and exhilarating experience involving one of the most influential and groundbreaking hip hop acts touring today. I wasn't entirely confident about my odds, however. The group has been together since the early 1980s, and hadn't been through Buffalo yet this century. Would the show end up being some clunky, depressing display of

By: Mackenzie Lambert

The headlining performance of The Fabulous Thunderbirds signaled the end of the 2010 Thursday at the Square. It had its share of ups and downs, surprises and disappointments. All of which are subjective to each member of the audience. August 12th's line-up included the top-billed Fabulous Thunderbirds with Hit N Run and Will Holton. This probably marked the most diverse night of music of this summer's concert series.

Opening was Buffalo saxophonist Will Holton with his jazz funk instrumental band. Only

We've all seen what Cheryl Gorski and her team has done to showcase premier fashion on BRO. Now Cheryl is putting on a live Fashion Maniac performance and she wants you to come check out the models, the clothing, the photos and the entire Fashion Maniac team at one of the best atmospheric venues around. "Fashion Maniac is a multi-media presentation launch," said Cheryl. "It's also a huge school supply drive for the kids @ Gateway Longview. Please find it in your heart to remember them by bringing a school supply item! Essex Street is around the corner from Essex Street Pub & Left Bank Restaurant."
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With mixed feelings, I say that Buffalo is catching on to the Rockabilly craze. For years, rockabilly bobs and babes have enjoyed private garage parties, low-key hot rod shows held in fields and the stares of conservative neighbors admiring their tattoos and slicked hair. The underground style is a three-way marriage of rock'n'roll, country and punk; it's markers are flames, cherries and pinstripes. Here in Buffalo, local legend and rockabilly hottie Dungaree Dolly has been running a successful business, filling the Rockabilly accessory niche since 2005.

Like any website with a comment button, we battle our fair share of trolls. But rather than run away from the challenges of commenting, we engage in the battle. Well, the folks behind the soon-to-be-launched BuffaloComedy.com are taking the battle to an entirely new level. /lifestyle/index.html

Tonight one of Buffalo's coolest shows welcomes one of Buffalo's newest, coolest bands. The Dykes of Hazard Variety Hour, Volume VII welcomes special musical guest, Storyville Players! A ticket to tonight's performance will not only get you stand up and sketch comedy, but you will also enjoy live music. Did I mention this all takes place in Buffalo's coolest venue, the Ninth Ward? In addition, there will be mad A/C cranking. Making all aforementioned statements true in both the figurative

We have a number of unanswered questions in our new Buffalo Rising Forums that we wanted to highlight.  If you have any insight, feel free to comment here or comment directly in the forums to the specific questions that have been posed.

First, we have a question about local host providers.  From Dan:

Are there any Web hosts that have their server farms in the

We're in the midst of a tremendous summer with high temperatures and lots of sunshine.  To celebrate our good fortune, we're offering a $5 discount on all Buffalo Rising t-shirts.  Just use discount code BASSPRO and you'll save $5 off any of the Buffalo Rising t-shirts.  Order soon as quantities are limited.  

By: Mackenzie Lambert

If you know Tom Waits as a singer, songwriter, and musician who dabbled in blues, jazz, rock, and folk, then you likely already know about the upcoming performance by the Tom Waits tribute band, B1g T1me (aka Big Time). Waits' songs like "Cold Cold Ground," "Downtown Train," Whistlin' Past the Graveyard," "Hold On," and "Just the Right Bullets" show his poetic penchant for humor, heart, and humanity.

Big Time gives a Waits-worthy performance, incorporating unusual

Audio By: Joseph DiDomizio & Mackenzie Lambert

Creating a piece of art is not an easy task. The process is filled with tension and upset, false starts, dead ends, speed bumps, pot holes and--now that I've run out of highway metaphors--failure. What an artist does after a failure--a vision not successfully carried out, let's say--is what makes the art important. As I'm sure most Buffalonians can sympathize with--getting down on yourself in the face of failure doesn't bring you out of the funk. Changing the perspective, and finding the worthwhile and positive aspects of your work,

You don't need BR to tell you that The Black Eyed Peas are coming to town this week. The Peas are one of the few musical groups today that possess both tons of street cred and mass appeal. I think even card carrying AARP members could identify at least a single band member, and perhaps even hum along to one of their tunes.

Wednesday, after the big show at HSBC, you can be sure that Buffalonians will tweet, text message or update their Facebook status with notes about where the band's various members can be (or have been) spotted throughout the city. It happens every time someone "big"

Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Becky Pieszala

I don't like vampires.  I don't like books about them.  I don't like movies about them. And I don't like girls who love them.  So, when I first saw the cover of Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Hunter - Abe with an axe... and an unconnected head, I thought "EW!"... but then it piqued my interest......LINCOLN?....and VAMPIRES?  This I HAD to see.
 
As I started reading, the history drew me in.  This mix of horror and history is absolutely riveting. Seth Grahame-Smith

This Sunday, grab the kids and head on over to BECHS for some summer fun. A host of family-oriented activities await you and your munchkins. The day's schedule includes activities, mini-tours, crafts, games, and of course, a little elbow-rubbing with some history. The standard price of admission is all that's required, and members and children under 7 are free!

The current Hands on History exhibit is up and running through the end of Sunday, so take advantage of  the opportunity to see a pint-sized Pan-Am Expo, examine different types of writing tools, wind-up some mechanical toys

By: Mackenzie Lambert

For the second year in a row, the weather had threatened to prevent Los Lobos from taking the stage. Rain clouds loomed over downtown Buffalo. Before JJ Grey & Mofro took to the stage, it poured down. Unfortunately, in the event of a cancellation from the TatS stage there would be no Lafayette Tap Room to come to the rescue. Los Lobos made mention of the Tap Room when they took the stage and the chatter from surrounding people echoed how much it was a crowd favorite as both a bar,

This Thursday and Saturday, the WNY Book Arts Center we will be offering two unique workshops with guest instructors from Starshaped Press in Chicago.  

Starshaped Press is a letterpress studio committed to keeping their work as authentic to the old ways as possible, meaning that all projects are printed using hand-set antique metal and wood type. In holding to the belief that there is no digital equivalent to the inherent beauty and imperfection of type that is sometimes 100 years old, Starshaped has adopted the motto: "All Metal, All the Time

This just in from Michael King of Frozen Buffalo Films:

"This weekend, amateur film-makers will be traipsing across Buffalo, capturing art on-screen and competing in the 4th annual 48 Hour Film Project held in Buffalo. The 48HFP is an international contest that challenges entrants to create a short film, from concept to can, in forty-eight hours. Competing for the first time is Frozen Buffalo Films, a production company based in downtown Buffalo that is focused on celebrating the great art that the city has to offer.

While

By: Mackenzie Lambert

The South Campus of UB will have free outdoor screenings of two summer films as part of the Cinema Under the Stars series. August 11th will have the screening of the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy, Date Night, August 18th will have the screening of the first blockbuster of the 2010 summer movie season, Iron Man 2.

If you missed these movies earlier in the summer, do take advantage of seeing them on the big screen. Offering an alternative to the "McPlexes" and the claustrophobia-inducing position of watching a movie from within a car, /lifestyle/index.html

The Buffalo music scene is as diverse and fragmented as any major American city. People speak of local legends who have made it in the big time (ie commercial success) and when rattling off names associated with Buffalo, the range of styles is staggering: Ani DiFranco, Spyro Gyra, Cannibal Corpse, Mercury Rev, Moe, Goo Goo Dolls, Harold Arlen?

One local band worthy of a larger audience but seemingly destined for mythical status only is Bobo . The cognoscenti of the Buffalo bar band scene seldom have an indifferent reaction to Bobo and

By: Simon Husted

A light evening rain shower didn't stop many Buffalonians from gathering down at Days Park on Saturday in order to witness the film-making community's love for ice cream on wheels.

By 8:40 p.m., the event organizers were ready to showcase the video entries from two finalists to a crowd of over 100 people in the first ever Ice Cream Cycle Film Contest.

The competition, which is hosted by Squeaky Wheel, a non-profit media resource

By: Ann Marie Awad & Joseph DiDomizio

The Setlist podcast returns with hosts Ann and Joseph discussing upcoming concerts in Buffalo.

Each podcast features recommendations for various local and national acts to see over the course of the month. Naturally, each Set List has its own local flavor, be it the local music, the recording location, or the Un-Celebrity Guest. The Un-Celebrity Guest is a local music savant in a particular niche, who illuminates the hosts--and the audience--on an event or genre they may not otherwise be familiar with.

This month, Jonathan