By: Mackenzie Lambert
It was the perfect Thursday afternoon. Breezy. Sunny with minimal clouds. No imminent threat of rain in sight. Cool. Not humid. The gears of the venue were in motion. The Segway-mounted police were on patrol. Yellow shirt-clad volunteer security left no handbag unchecked, no cooler unreprimanded. All in the name of public safety. People were freak-dancing to a rendition of Jesus is Just Alright with Me. The trail dust from the white rhino stampede made its way through the crowd. Yes, Thursday at the Square was in full swing on June 17th.
Local artist Rob Falgiano took to the stage first. He was in the unenviable position of doing solo acoustic before the growing mass of people in Lafayette Square. In a way, he was both Simon and Garfunkel. His stature and guitar skills invoked the former while his vocals recalled the latter. He opened with the track, Break Those Chains. Another memorable track was Swimmer Girls off of the All Star Heart album. The audience wasn’t too big at this point, you could still hear him. Those who missed out will be able to catch him in the next few weeks when he opens for Three Dog Night.
After Falgiano, Alabama native A.A. Bondy took to the stage. During his warm-up, they had an almost Neil Young Powderfinger sound. When they took to playing their songs, they blended elements from Rogue Wave, The Feelies, and Ray LaMontagne. The hands-down favorite was Oh The Vampire. They offered a good folksy, blues style that served as a welcome alternative to the pop rock of Falgiano and Michaelson. At times, their sound was so overtaken by the audience that I didn’t know they were still playing their instruments. Then again, this was Thursday at the Square.
The audience was clearly pumped for the arrival of Ingrid Michaelson. With each announcement of her upcoming taking to the stage, the ovation grew each time. She opened her set with Soldier from the Everybody album. Afterward, she proceeded to play up the whole chicken wing sect of our city’s culture to segue into her next song, Die Alone. Had we not created a festival for chicken wings or had the recent visit by President Obama not started with a wing line, this would have been mildly amusing. Instead, it came off as just eye-rolling annoying. I would have been happier to take a joke at the expense of our sports teams or even snow.
Even if you haven’t seen her in concert or don’t listen to her music on a regular basis, you’ve likely heard her songs on such TV programs such as Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, and Ugly Betty. One thing to note was the surprising number of t-shirts for Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, and HIM among Square-dwellers. Either these people ended up at the wrong concert, or they deserve kudos for expanding their auditory palate.
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Mackenzie Lambert is a Buffalo-based columnist. He has been
featured in such publications as Penny Blood and Pantechnicon. He is
also a movie columnist for The Men’s Room Today (www.themensroomtoday.com).