With the March Madness excitement over in Buffalo, the city can be proud of the show it put on. The fun things to do keep coming this week with national acts, legendary musicians, prominent speakers, and award-winning theatre.
Here are 13 Editor's Picks of cool and interesting events going on in the area for the week of March 24 - March 30, 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.
Fifth Harmony
Town Ballroom
Mon Mar 24
The X Factor sensations come to town for one night only with their brand of Pop! Official site.
Once
Shea’s Performing Arts Center
Tue Mar 25 – Sun Mar 30
Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including BEST MUSICAL, ONCE is a truly original Broadway experience. Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments onstage, ONCE tells the enchanting tale of a Dublin street musician who's about to give up on his dream when a beautiful young woman takes a sudden interest in his haunting love songs. As the chemistry between them grows, his music soars to powerful new heights... but their unlikely connection turns out to be deeper and more complex than your everyday romance. Emotionally captivating and theatrically breathtaking, ONCE draws you in from the very first note and never lets go. It's an unforgettable story about going for your dreams... not living in fear... and the power of music to connect all of us. Official site and showtimes here.
Cut Copy
Town Ballroom
Tue Mar 25
Australian electronic band formed in 2001 by DJ Dan Whitford (vocals, keyboards and guitar). Initially a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning (bass guitar) and Mitchell Scott (drums). So far they have released four studio albums, an EP and a number of singles and remixes, all on Modular Recordings. They achieved breakthrough success with their second album, In Ghost Colours, while their most recent album Free Your Mind was released 5 November 2013. More info here.
TAO: Phoenix Rising
UB Center for the Arts
Tue Mar 25
Athletic bodies and innovative costumes meet explosive Taiko drumming and pioneering choreography in this spectacular expression of the power of rhythm. TAO: Phoenix Rising features a number of expert musicians who play with acrobat-like grace, demonstrating extreme precision, energy, and stamina. TAO melds modern entertainment with the traditional art of Japanese percussion for a show that has massive international appeal.
The stars of the show live and train at a compound in the mountains of Japan. Only after years of intensive study will they reach the highest level of virtuosity. Many of the performers in TAO help to bring a nontraditional flair to the group by drawing on their diverse backgrounds: one as a gymnast, another a composer, and yet another as a hard rock musician. Official site.
UB Distinguished Speaker Series Presents Sanjay Gupta
Alumni Arena
Wed Mar 26
Neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr Gupta comes to Buffalo for one night only as part of the UB Distinguished speaker series. Official site.
Rob Delaney
Tralf Music Hall
Wed Mar 26
Comedian Rob Delaney performs his mix of observational humor, political satire, scatological jokes, personality-shaping events and sheer nonsense stand-up. Official site.
103.3 The Edge Comedy Night
Helium Comedy Club
Wed Mar 26
103.3 The Edge Presents Edge Comedy Night at Helium Comedy Club! Comedians Greg Bauch and Headliner James Kurdziel perform, Hosted By Josh Potter. More info here.
The Creepshow
Waiting Room
Wed Mar 26
It's true what they say. You can't keep a good band down. For the past 8 years The Creepshow have been smashing the whole world in the face with their brutaltastic mélange of punk, country, psychobilly and good old fashioned rock n' roll. They've toured the world, sold a metric shit-ton of records and blown the faces off a ga-zillion fans…But the road to punkrock infamy hasn't all been paved with rainbows, unicorns and gum drops. Over the years, the band has been fraught with innumerable hardships along the way. From robberies and wrecks to line-up changes and countless personal obstacles, this band has lived through it all. And you know what? Instead of crying in their beers and whining like assholes, they got more strongerer, more awesomer, more determinated and a whole hell of a lot angrier. Official site.
Heart
Senecal Niagara Casino & Hotel
Thu Mar 27
With more than $30 million in record sales throughout the world, Heart is one of history’s most enduring rock bands. First finding fame in the mid 1970s, Heart is a true pioneer of hard rock, influencing some of today’s biggest bands. Headed by sisters Ann Wilson (lead singer) and Nancy Wilson (guitarist), Heart recorded albums that landed on the Billboard Top 10 Album Charts in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. And in 2013, they were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Official site.
Bobby Bradford / Frode Gjerstad Quartet
Hallwalls
Thu Mar 27
One of the best trumpeters to emerge from the avant-garde, Bobby Bradford grew up in Dallas, playing trumpet locally with such local players as Cedar Walton and David Newman. In 1953, he moved to Los Angeles where he met and played with Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. Bradford spent time in the military and in school before becoming Don Cherry's replacement with the Ornette Coleman Quartet in 1961-1963, a period when the group unfortunately rarely worked. After moving to Los Angeles, Bradford became a school teacher and also began a longtime association with clarinetist John Carter; his mellow trumpet blended in well with Carter's dissonant flights. He recorded with Ornette Coleman in 1971, but otherwise is best known for his playing and recordings with Carter. Since the clarinetist's death, Bradford frequently led a quintet (the Mo'tet) featuring Vinny Golia and occasionally Marty Ehrlich. In the '90s, he also performed with John Stevens' Freebop, the David Murray Octet, and Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra. Official site.
Sonic Garden
Tralf Music Hall
Fri Mar 28
25th Anniversary Show of THE MUSIC OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD, with SONIC GARDEN Alumni & ACOUSTIC FORUM. Official site.
Tony Bennett
The Avalon Ballroom @ Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
Fri Mar 28 – Sat Mar 29
"The Best Is Yet To Come" with 17-time Grammy Award winner Tony Bennett and his legendary catalogue of momentous singles such as "I Left My Heart In San Francisco", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Because Of You", "Blue Velvet", "The Shadow Of Your Smile" and "The Good Life". Official site.
East Meets West
Kleinhans Music Hall
Sat Mar 29 – Sun Mar 30
It's a BPO first! From China to Buffalo, Silk Road Project artist Wu Man brings the sounds of the traditional Chinese pipa to the concert hall in this concerto written expressly for her by Zhao Jiping, noted for his film scores. Official site.
