It's a big week in WNY, as the city puts its best foot forward with a host of people from around the country gathering for March Madness.
Here are 12 Editor's Picks of cool and interesting events going on in the area for the week of March 17 - March 23, 2014.
Be sure to check out our events calendar for much more of what's going on in WNY, and check back every Friday for a "Best Bets" for the weekend.
Johnny Winter Band
Tralf Music Hall
Tue Mar 18
Blues guitar legend and Grammy Award-Winning producer Johnny Winter returns to The Tralf! Johnny Winter's 70th Birthday Party! Blow out the candles with the legend! Official site.
BUFFALO STATE PHILHARMONIA
Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall
Tue Mar 18
Performing its inaugural concert season in fall 2009, the Buffalo State Philharmonia is under the direction of Paul Ferington. Maestro Ferington boasts an impressive list of accomplishments as a conductor, professor, and administrator. His tireless work as a staff conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra had delighted capacity audiences throughout Western New York for over 25 years.
The Philharmonia is composed of Buffalo State College faculty, music majors, non-music majors, area professional musicians, local music educators, and community enthusiasts who are committed to performing the symphonic repertoire at a high level. This concert is entitled "In Nature's Realm" and features works by Fuchs, Dvorak, Sibelius and Strauss, Joh. Jr. The concert is free and open. Everyone is welcome to attend. official site.
The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Waiting Room
Tue Mar 18
oaring out of the southern Indiana foothills comes Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band playing a brand of Americana and Blues that stands alone – Delta blues and hillbilly fervor combine with musical acuity sharp as razor wire – best know, this trio is a force to be reckoned with. The growl of a good truck engine, the fiercest passion for his country home and family and an uncanny ability to breathe new life into old forms of music give them a pedigree many Americana acts would kill for and an ironclad work ethic keeps them on the road 250 dates a year, playing for the people with hurricane force. Locked in with an audience, the band create their own community and welcome the crowd into it, transporting them away from their troubles to joyous release, the way great musicians have done for centuries. The Rev. J. Peyton, his wife Breezy and Ben "Bird Dog" Bussell are a living breathing embodiment of the traditions and hard work ethic native to their Brown County, Indiana home. Their new album Between The Ditches is a chronicle of this lifestyle. Official site.
Pat Metheny Unity Group
UB Center for the Arts
Wed Mar 19
Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 20 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award-winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases. Official site.
Hunks The Show
The Forvm
Thu Mar 20
HUNKS The Show is a live high-energy production that showcases creative choreography and extravagant costumes guaranteed to captivate women of all ages! HUNKS The Show has performed to sellout crowds around the world, with millions of enthusiastic ladies lining up to see these handsome HUNKS live on stage! These Hot Chiseled HUNKS have been seen on Reality TV, Vh1, Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Dancing with the Stars and have modeled for Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch Ads. This universally acclaimed male revue show has quickly become the hottest ticket on tour in the world. Official site.
Screening of CLIENT #9
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Thu Mar 20
Crisis! A Film Series
Using classic and contemporary films and expert commentators, Crisis! engages the community in a discussion about the global economic crisis. Each screening begins with a panel discussion which includes experts from Buffalo State’s faculty and the community. Audiences can expect a broad spectrum of views, lively discussion and debate. All screenings that are part of the Crisis! Film series are free and open to the public. Crisis! takes place on select Thursdays throughout the spring semester of 2014.
Client #9
Wall Street in the 1990s had grown so powerful that bankers, brokers and deal-makers were reshaping the laws that had reined them in since the days of the New Deal. The “revolving door” was turning fast, as yesterday’s regulators suddenly became today’s insiders. This documentary feature takes an in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who succeeded for a while in making himself "The Sheriff of Wall Street," when he – seemingly all by himself – was America’s chief prosecutor of crimes committed by America's largest financial institutions at the expense of the rest of us. Was Spitzer too much of a threat to the manipulators? Was he set up to fall? 1 hr. 57 min. Directed By: Alex Gibney. More details here.
The Jauntee
Nietzsche's
Thu Mar 20
Drawing influence from a wide variety of bands, The Jauntee’s improvisational landscape spans multiple genres, including: Funk/Rock/Jazz/Progressive/Bluegrass/Psychedelic and Ambient music. They aim to push the boundaries of improvisation, embrace the moment and create an engaging experience for everyone in attendance. With a large arsenal of covers, countless original tunes, and an inclination for open ended improvisation, every show promises to be a unique experience. Official site.
Iliza Shlesinger
Helium Comedy Club
Thur Mar 20 – Sat Mar 22
liza Shlesinger is the only female and youngest comedian to hold the title of NBC'S Last Comic Standing! Iliza's past TV credits include her own half hour special on Comedy Central Presents as well as NBC'S Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! More details here.
GIANTS of BUFFALO: Television
The Buffalo History Museum
Fri Mar 21
The first of two scheduled discussions, presented by M&T Third Fridays, GIANTS OF BUFFALO: Television. Honorees are the legendary WKBW Channel 7 TV news team: Irv Weinstein, Rick Azar, and Tom Jolls. Click here for more details.
T. Mills
Waiting Room
Fri Mar 21
T. Mills, is an American rapper and singer from Riverside, California. Mills has released one independent studio album Ready Fire Aim (2010) on Uprising. Then he signed to Columbia Records and has released two EPs Leaving Home EP and All I Wanna Do. T. Mills will release his major label debut in 2014 on Columbia Records. Official site.
Stones in his Pockets
Irish Classical Theatre Company
Thu Mar 20 – Sun Mar 23
Last weekend to see Stones in his Pockets, a truly hilarious comedy about two young men in a small village in the South of Ireland playing tiny roles in a major feature film which has come to town, but aspiring to stardom on the silver screen! One of the most popular plays to come out of Ireland in the last couple of decades, performed to universal acclaim around the globe, a comic tour-de-force for two actors, this is an absolute must-see! Curtain Times: Thursday through Saturday Evenings 7:30 p.m., Saturday Matinee 3:00 p.m., Sunday Matinee 2:00 p.m. More info here.
Ambrose Akinmusire
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
Sun Mar 23
Not since Wynton Marsalis has a trumpeter ascended to the top of the jazz world as rapidly as Ambrose Akinmusire. Voted the #1 trumpeter in both the 2012 JazzTimes and DownBeat critics’ polls on the strength of his Blue Note debut When the Heart Emerges Glistening, “Akinmusire sounds less like a rising star than one that [is] already at great heights” (Los Angeles Times). After touring extensively with Steve Coleman while still a teen, Akinmusire studied at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz with Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, and Wayne Shorter. With the formation of his current quintet, Akinmusire has found the perfect collaborators to present “limber, straight-ahead jazz with mystery and pop instincts that gets around most of the old, pervasive mainstream influences, both of trumpet playing and bandleading” (Ben Ratliff, The New York Times). Click here for more info.
