With two of the four bands scheduled to perform canceling at the last minute, Friday night was nearly immersed in disappointment. Yet, the Thieves Guild Productions successfully hosted their weekly showcase of local Buffalo music at Maggie's Night Club in Kenmore.
Luckily, J. Ryan K., lead singer of The Gravity Thieves, the creators and core organizers of the Thieves Guild, was prepared and took the stage to open the show up with a solo.
While sparse in nature, J. Ryan K. performed softer, more relaxed renditions of The Gravity Thieves' tracks "Backwoods" and "The General," sufficiently setting the mood for what would turn out to be a very rousing night of music.
"I sucked singing and playing tonight, well actually just playing, I sang pretty well," J. Ryan K. said jokingly. "I'm going to redeem myself later tonight with some solos. (I'll) show The Magic Tonez what a f**kin' guitar solo's supposed to sound like."
Next to take the stage was the band The Magic Tonez, sans lead singer Andy Herman and their signature promotional Magic Tonez spatulas. To fill the spot, J. Ryan K. got on stage to provide backup vocals and guitar solos.
"It's very open minded," said Maggie's first timer Hank Williams. "Definitely new, I like what they got going on over here."
Despite an inspired performance, including a rendition of their song "Funeral Home" with some help from a couple of audience members, The Magic Tonez seemed lost on stage without their front man Andy Herman.
"I missed Andy," said Magic Tonez fan Tony Balestrieri. "(He) usually brings so much humor and energy to the stage, but J. Ryan K. was pretty sweet on the solos. (I also) thought it was cool when they did that one song with Scott and that other girl singing backup, they really got the crowd involved."
Finally, jam band Huemonxu took the stage to close up with a long set of sensual instrumental textures. With Adam Bronstein on lead guitar, Scott Martin on keyboards, Diesel on bass guitar and Mike Fleischman on the drums, Huemonxu gave a performance reminiscent of the classic jam bands of the early seventies with a touch of funk.
"Huemonxu was awesome," said Mike Eronica. "It was dope how they kind of had a little bit of Earth Wind and Fire sound in there. I can vibe to these tunes."
Overall, Maggie's Rockin' Fridays turned out to be a great time. The music was excellent, but it was the overall atmosphere of the bar that made the evening special. Maggie's Lounge, located at 715 Military Road in Kenmore, has a very relaxed atmosphere, not to mention some dead-on chicken wings.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
