Thursday at the Square Report Card

By now you’ve probably already have seen the line-up for the 25th year of Thursday in the Square. Some of you are probably ecstatic with the results while others couldn't care any less. So instead of just reporting the schedule verbatim, we here at buffaBLOG have decided to throw our own two cents into the conversation by giving Buffalo Place a report card. We gave each week of the free concert series a grade based on a number of different factors (national relevance, blog hype, stage presence, etc) but most importantly, our own opinion. We also took a step back and gave the entire schedule an overall grade. The stakes were high for Buffalo Place to provide a great line-up for the 25th year. Lets see how they did

At Lafayette Square

6/2 - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - What a fantastic selection to kick start the 25th year of Thursday in the Square. Its hard not to love those infectious, sing-a-long, whistle friendly songs of Alexander Ebert and his hippie entourage. Seriously, this band was made to play outside in the summer with a cold beverage in your hand. A+

6/9 - Morris Day & The Time - It goes without saying that there was no way on earth Buffalo Place could get Prince. So what would be the next best thing? Morris Day & The Time of course! younger fans might recognize this group as the band that performed during the final scene of the Kevin Smith movie ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’! B

6/16 - Blues Traveler with special Guest Willie Nile - This is the type of band we’ve come to expect seeing at Thursday in the Square. A couple big hits a few decades ago and a guy who plays harmonica. It’s something everyone in the family can enjoy. Low risk, low reward. Since we’ll still probably be singing every lyric to ‘Run Around’ they get a C.

6/23 - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals with special guest, Fitz & the Tantrums - This one automatically gets bonus points since female performers are kind of a rare thing at The Square. Grace Potter isn’t just a babe, she honestly can rock harder than any dude on this list. If it’s anything like her last show at the Town Ballroom, she’s going to leave you wanting more. A-

At the Erie Canal Harbor

6/30 - Lowest of the Low, Hey Rosetta - like Blues Traveler, Lowest of the Low bring us back to 1995. A time when MTV still played music videos and ipods didn’t exist. For fans of alternative rock (like your uncle) this one’s for you. Hey Rossetta bumps this weeks grade up a tad, but only just a tad. C

7/7 - Sloan - another week, another Toronto band that formed in the 90’s and never made it big in the US. Sloan’s garage pop rock isn’t terrible per se, its just nothing to get excited over. This is another show where your uncle will be front row. C

7/14 - Court Yard Hounds - This folk-rock country duo is a side project of Dixie Chick members Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. If anything else, this group offers a different musical vibe to the free concert series. Its acoustic storytelling that's good for those who like that sort of thing. C

7/21 - Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes - probably our least favorite band performing this year, this group of Bruce Springsteen super fans are most likely unknown to anyone under the age of 40. It is kinda cool that their constantly rotating line-up had once included the likes of Max Weinberg, La Bomba and even Bon Jovi. C

7/28 - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic - Apparently George Clinton didn’t give us enough funk the last time he played here because the man with the crazy colored hair is back. Its hard to not move those feet once you heard the first notes of ‘Atomic Dog’. B

8/4 - Tokyo Police Club with special guest, the Sheila Divine - These kids from Canada have grown quite a following the last few years. Their indie-electro-pop-punk is so catchy, so modern, we’ll gladly see every time they play The Nickle City. In fact, we loved last years album ‘Champ’ so much we listed their song Bambi in our top 25 songs of 2010. A-

Overall - Buffalo Place pulled through with a better line-up then we expected. Sure, every week isn't exactly a barn burner, but the good ones definitely outweigh the bad ones. There is a diverse schedule that hits almost every genre, and every age group will find something here to get excited for. Plus we also like the idea that half of the the concerts will be held at the waterfront. Gotta support that. Good job Buffalo Place, you passed.

B

Home by EdwardSharpe

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - "Paris (Ooh La La)" by artistsden