Artist: Beady Eye Album: Different Gear, Still Speeding Label: Dangerbird Records Release Date: March 1 Grade: B+ When a band titles its album Different Gear, Still Speeding, it might be assumed that it has recorded before.
Artist: Paris Suit Yourself Album: My Main S***stain Release: Feb. 23 Label: Big Dada Grade: D With atrocious vocals and musicality ever present, Paris Suit Yourself's ironically named album, My Main S***stain, proves to have the perfect title. The songs on this album are not catchy, nor do the words match with the rhythm.
Grade: B Fight Night Champion's added story and expansive online mode should be the one-two punch from Electronic Arts, but in more than a few respects, the game has missed its mark. Fans of the previous Fight Night installment will find little to complain about, as Champion will let players jump back in the ring and get into the fray. The controls are just as tight as Round 4, but the players will find that the essential function of the block button has been completely changed.
The delicately trained toes of young and ambitious dancers kissed the stage and delighted audiences this past weekend in a performance enjoyed by all ages. The Classical Ballet of Western New York paired with talents of the Lockport Classical Ballet to present From Glazunov to Gershwin at the Center for the Arts, a set of three dances featuring music from composers Alexander Glazunov and George Gershwin. Friday night's performance opened with "Pas de Dix," a variation extracted from the last act of the three-act story ballet Raymonda.
Artist: Ron Sexsmith Album: Long Player Late Bloomer Label: Ronboy Rhymes Release Date: March 1 Grade: C He's 47 years old, on his 12th album, and almost unheard of.
Artist: Middle Brother Album: Middle Brother Label: Partisan Records Release Date: March 1 Grade: C- There's an old clich
Chicken wings, losing sport franchises, and music are all things Buffalo can be proud of, and local up-and-comers The Boy and His Machine are continuing the proud musical tradition of Buffalo. The Boy and His Machine is a four-piece pop-punk outfit that first came together in Buffalo nearly six years ago.
Before the last notes of music had left the air, the relatively small audience at Wednesday night's premiere of A Little Night Music spilled forth with thunderous applause and screams of encouragement that filled the Center for the Arts' Black Box Theatre to the bursting point. UB's department of theater and dance has once again outdone itself, performing a rendition of A Little Night Music that would make Stephen Sondheim proud. First premiering on Broadway in 1973, A Little Night Music is a story of love and frustration in turn-of-the-century Sweden.
Artist: Red City Radio Album: The Dangers of Standing Still Label: Paper + Plastick Release Date: Feb.
Artist: Acrylics Album: Lives and Treasure Label: Friendly Fire/Hot Sand Release Date: March 1 Grade: C+ Just about everything to do with Acrylics' debut album, Lives and Treasure, can be described with various interpretations of the phrase "a mixed bag." The Brooklyn-based band draws heavily from a number of different influences.
Gotham City Sirens No. 20 Harley Quinn may best be known for her unfathomable love of "Mr. J.," but this issue explores the lesser-known trait of the Joker's right-hand woman: her temper. In "Gotham City Sirens No.
Russian spies, the geocentric theory, and music have converged in an unlikely partnership under the auspices of local rock outfit Venona. Cobbled together by Western New Yorkers Michael Donovan (vocals, drums), Lance Camann (vocals, guitar), Al Portera (guitar), Bill Sager (bass), and Long Island transplant Justin Gammella (vocals, keys, guitar), Venona has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Originally formed under the banner of A Room With a View by Portera and Camann during high school, the band changed its name as it grew to include Sager, Donovan, and Gammella. After bringing on Michigan vocalist Breanna Broghamer in 2008, parting ways with her several months later, and turning down an unsavory record deal, Venona found itself still searching for that elusive vocalist. "We kind of joked around with the idea of ?Hey, why don't we get vocal lessons and sing,'" Portera said. When Gammella and Camann came forward with a new song, "Carry Me," they made the decision to keep working amongst themselves. "It's always been like us five against the world.
Artist: Chamberlain Album: Bitter Blood Label: The Musebox Distribution Release Date: March 1 Grade: A+ After nearly 12 years of lineup changes, solo projects, and collaborations, the guys from Chamberlain have stepped back into the studio, releasing their first album in over a decade. For those unfamiliar with the band, Chamberlain is an Americana-esque rock band formed in the mid '90s.
Artist: Bayside Album: Killing Time Release: Feb. 22 Label: Wind-up Records Grade: A The punk rockers of Bayside are back with their signature mix of aggression and melodious musicality. "Already Gone" provides an energetic, upbeat start to their fifth studio album, Killing Time.
It's brash, it's lewd and, most likely, it's not appropriate for nearly any age. EPIC Games' latest work, Bulletstorm, truly gives the ?Mature' rating a new meaning. With it's over-the-top violence and extremity related mutilations that designers artfully slipped in to every level, Bulletstorm raises the bar on how graphic a first-person shooter can be, but, overall, it does little to improve on the genre. The story follows a group of renegade space pirates named ?Dead Echo,' a once-upon-a-time group of confederate soldiers now seeking revenge on a general who has wronged them.
Grade: B- Everyone gets stuck in a rut once in a while. Unfortunately for viewers, so did the movie Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids plays upon the seemingly unexciting lives of insurance agents, taking the audience through the middle-class existence of a core group of characters as they all compete for the Two Diamonds award.
The Visual Studies Gallery buzzed with admiration last Thursday as the opening of the Rumsey Scholarship Competition Gallery welcomed the competing works of seven talented UB art students. The annual competition occurs during the early months of the spring semester, giving ambitious art students in their junior year a chance to apply for the opportunity to earn funding for a travel of their choice the summer preceding their senior year. Students are required to submit their work with a proposal describing the overarching concepts behind their entries, along with a brief explanation of their desired destination.
Whoever says punk is dead is a heretic and clearly was not at Rapids Theatre Wednesday night. Two of the biggest names in punk music, Dropkick Murphys and Against Me!, shared the stage and provided a night full of pints of Guinness and circle pits to a handful of lucky fans who got tickets before they sold out. Dropkick and Against Me!
Through energetic acting, lively choreography, and beautiful sets, Shrek the Musical took members of the audience at Shea's Performing Arts Center out of their seats Tuesday night and brought them to a land far, far away. Directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, scored by Jeanine Tesori, and written by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsey-Abaire, Shrek the Musical is an adventure of fun.
Grade: B+ In a universe where comic book heroes battle against video game juggernauts, the one true winner is the player. It's been 11 years since Capcom last voyaged into the crossover universe of Marvel vs.
Solutions by The State News
