If you’re over 21 years of age and love hearing great live music, you’ll want to get off your ass tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 27) and head over to Nietzsche’s on Allen Street. Three genre-breaking Western New York bands will be laying down their finest musical chops for what is expected to be a large, festive crowd at one of Buffalo’s most intimate settings to see live shows. Plus the price is right, with tickets only costing $8 and reasonably priced draughts of Bass, Killian’s, Guinness, Rolling Rock, and Saranac Pale Ale flowing all night.
If you haven’t seen Thought, a talented acid jazz five piece, then this will be your last chance to catch a glimpse of this dynamic rock band before they hit the road for a few months in New York City. Consisting of five young and gifted professionally trained jazz musicians, Thought brings a unique sound and vibe to their stage performance. Having played with the likes of Mike Gordon (Phish), and Jerseyband, Thought’s musical styling ranges from shades of blues, to funk, to rock, to downright jazz.
During a Thought show you are likely to hear phenomenal guitarist Tim Allen rip a couple of heart tugging blues solos and then fall back into a syncopated ska rift behind the horns of the band. Lead singer and brass player Mike Williams switches between trumpet and trombone, providing a lush fullness to Thought’s sound; and not only does Mike look like Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, but his smooth and soulful voice sounds a bit like that of the dreadlocked front man as well. Leading the brass attack is the beautiful and talented Lynn Ligammari who absolutely wails away on lead saxophone. This graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester will blow you away with her animated, dizzying solos.
Headlining the show will be a group consisting of many of UB’s own talented musicians and alumni performing in a project called the Genkin Philharmonic West. This electro-acoustic nine piece, originally formed at UB in 2000 by director/trumpeter/vocalist Jon Nelson, sounds like a spacey, jazz-rock symphonic. Consisting of UB’s brightest musicians, the Genkin is a truly diverse group that covers the likes of various contemporary composers, Frank Zappa, Jimmy Hendrix, Bobby Previte, and Radiohead, mixed in with a few of their own originals.
Consisting of a deep brass section, a few percussionists, and also graced by the guitar mastery of Thought’s Tim Allen, the Genkin Philharmonic is unlike anything you have heard before. Their original combination of jazz, funk and rock blended with the dynamics of a full orchestra sound is experimental and invigorating.
As a bonus, talented musician Eric Biondo will be bringing his funky jazz-fusion group called Beyondo to Nietzsche’s as well. Biondo, who toured playing trumpet, percussions, and beat box for acts such as The Monkees and Antibalas, has now formed his own band, which he describes as playing avant-garde underground pop music. This eight-piece power house is sure to have the crowd on their feet tomorrow night.
Doors will open at 9 p.m. for this $8 triple-threat jazz show that guarantees not to disappoint. Genkin, Thought, and Beyondo are three of the most original acts playing in the Western New York region, and since this concert will be Thought’s last in Buffalo for some time, these three bands will definitely be laying it all on the line for the audience to enjoy. For more information on the show, check out www.nietzsches.com.
