Well I am clearly a little late with this writeup. The 2012 Infringement Festival is already kicking my ass. Last night started with the quaint, cordial Love Scenes show at The Vault and quickly devolved into Allentown mayhem with Ronald Raygun performing both of their double booked sets at Nietzsche's and Duke's an hour apart from each other (with a chaotic caravan of musicians and fans hustling equipment across Allen Street so the band could make both shows).  Such is the nature of Buffalo's most frenetic and adventurous festival. Let's see what's in store for today.

buffaBLOG's Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza
This is going on right now (it started at 1), so stop reading this post and get your ass to the Broadway Market! From 1-7, festival goers will be treated to sets from Victory For Poland, Sleepy Haha's, Merchants, The Albrights, Handsome Jack and Trakbenders spinning in between sets.  This was a lot of fun last year, so don't miss your chance to catch it this time.  Bring a chair!

Merge Electronic Circus
Taking place in the parking lot next to Merge, this should be one of the more interesting concerts of the week.  A who's who list of Buffalo electronic artists will be playing from 9pm-1:30am, including Eppo, Bear Skin Rug, Medison, Mario Be, Trakbenders (busy day, guys!) Jeff Repeater, Ay Fast, Drop D and Nobez.  This is a rare chance to enjoy some of Buffalo's finest electronic artists in the great outdoors, so be sure to drop by.

Nietzsche's - Wham Bam Thank You Slam part deux
 Sort of the de facto nucleus of the Infringement Festival, Nietzsche's has a packed lineup tonight once again. Performances by DJ Soma, The Hell's Harlots, Wham Bam Poetry Troupe, The Buffalo Burlesque Collective, MC Vendetta, Lazyrus, Tim Sentman and the Essential Vitamins Crew.  Stop pretending like you're not going to go.


The Best of the Rest
Don't forget to drop into Duke's at 11 to catch Armageddon Party. Also, Slyboots, Broadway Joe's and Filigree's all have good music going on tonight if you're looking for something off the beaten Allentown path.  In the eternal words of 311, my favorite band from high school: "Don't Stay Home!"  (and you thought I couldn't work in a 311 reference)

The Merchants are one of the best bands you've probably never heard of. They don't have much of an internet presence and in this day and age that's everything. Nevertheless they are a real rust belt gem and I back em. 100%. And that's not just because buffaBLOG's own Steve Gordon is now a member of the band. Oh no! I've been a fan. I HAVE REAL STREET CRED PEOPLE! Anyways, they're playing our party on the Broadway Market rooftop this Saturday (1-7pm AND it's free). Just thought you might like to know.

This Saturday marks the second iteration of our Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza. Live music from an eclectic smattering of Buffalo bands and DJ's will be gracing the rooftop all afternoon as part of the Buffalo Infringement Festival. I couldn't make it to last year's Extravaganza, so I'm excited that I get to attend this year. One of the bands I'm most looking forward to catching is Victory For Poland. Mike Moretti turned me onto them a few months back and they are single handedly giving me hope for the future generation of Buffalo bands. Sunny, tight songwriting flanked by tasteful instrumentation, they have a remarkably focused sound for such a young band, which is probably why they've already been tapped to play in venues such as Broadway Joe's, Soundlab and The Town Ballroom. Come down to the Broadway Market this Saturday to see what all the fuss is about, then lament at how horrible your band was at that age in comparison.

Show from 1-7pm.  

This year for the Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza we got the bright idea to include local DJs in our lineup of live bands. It's worked for our past parties to keep the vibe going while the bands necessarily have to change over. We've got the perfect guys to do just that for what will hopefully be a sun-soaked afternoon of music and fun! TrakBenders are Dave Goldstein and Eric Fiebes, two Buffalo boys with a passion for House music. The two got together in early 2011 to form the duo, and they both have been spinning individually in Buffalo since 2002. They are adaptable when performing to galvanize the emotion of the crowd. They'll keep a good mix going of tunes that will provide the heartbeat for our afternoon, as they will play between each of the bands and then an extended set prior to the last band. Check our Facebook Event Page later this week for the full schedule with time-slots.