I'm not going to lie to you, this post was supposed to be all about the Radiohead show in Toronto Saturday night, but that show didn't happen so that got scotched. My backup plan for Saturday night and today's post was the NXNE Flaming Lips show with Of Montreal and Portugal. The Man, but James Wild beat me to the punch yesterday with his review of that evening's events. Bereft of ideas and pressed for time I have no choice to inflict an Odds and Sods on you. I'll try to make it worth your while...

• Here's that performance of Radiohead's "Knives Out" from The Flaming Lips show Saturday night at NXNE, along with Wayne Coyne's comments on the situation. For my part, I approved and appreciated Wayne's sentiments (and the dude who yells "show some respect @#$%ers!" at the :25 mark), and I thought that the Lips' set was much better than the rote Lips show I saw in Rochester last year. The band was feeling it Saturday night, and their performance wasn't phoned in at all, instead it was demonstrably heartfelt, and it gave songs like "Waiting For A Superman,""What Is The Light?","Is David Bowie Dying" and "Do You Realize?" even deeper resonance. There was indeed a somber element to Saturday's revelries at Yonge and Dundas Streets, but for the insane crowd that assembled (that was packed in from the stage right back to the Eaton Centre's doors), the Lips kind of made it alright. 

• Check out this preposterous, wonderful, and NSFW new video clip from Sigur Ros for "Fjogur Piano" off of their excellent current release Valtari. And yes, Shia Leboef is still a jackass.

• I'm really stoked about that Fleetwood Mac tribute album coming out in August featuring Best Coast, Lykke Li, St. Vincent, The New Pornographers, and MGMT based on this preview track featuring the Pornographers tastefully covering "Think About Me" (off of the Mac's underrated 1979 Tusk double album).

• The buffaBLOG Beach Party was great. Big ups to the folks who made it happen.

That's all I got for you folks. Stay cool. No really, it's going to be hot the next few days.

If you don't jam this while reading this post, you're doing it wrong.

Okay, we've really beat you over the head with this one.  Today is our first ever Beach Party at Sunset Bay Beach Club.  There will be live music all day starting at Noon for a measly $5.  Drink specials include a free drink with admission, as well as 2 for 1 drinks from 2-4pm.  In case you haven't heard the bands, check out the Artist Spotlights we've been doing on them all week:

12pm - Handsome Dan
1pm - AUTOPUNCH
2pm - Aircraft
3pm - The Tins
4pm - Canary Girls
5pm - Nelson-Type

It took a lot of backstabbing, blackmail, and prostitution to get this party off the ground... as well as favors from old friends and hard work from the people who make the wheels of this music scene turn.  I've met a lot of intelligent individuals while writing for this blog, and they do it tirelessly for no personal gain.  One of the perks is we get to throw parties with our favorite bands.  So put on your mankini and join us for some fun in the sun. We only get to enjoy it for a short time a year, like egg nog.

Nelson-Type is the perfect summer band. Swirling melodies, echo-laden reverberation, and dreamy indie rock with a nostalgic touch of melancholia make for the perfect warm weather experience. Just listen to "Our Summer" off their bandcamp page and you'll see what I mean. It's catchy, and beautiful; just a touch bit sad, but not wallowing in its sadness. When I listen to the band's EP, Grow Homeless, Grow Unbound, I hear a beautiful mix of Best Coast, blue-era Weezer and even some Cracker.

Nelson-Type is good. Real good. Tomorrow will be the first time I get to see the band live and I'm pretty damn stoked. As most of you know, we here at buffaBLOG will be hosting a beach party at Sunset Bay featuring the Type. The event goes all day long starting at noon and also features Canary Girls, the Tins, Aircraft, and AUTOPUNCH with set breaks by DJ Handsome Dan. $5 gets you great bands, drink specials ,and a day out to the beach What more could you ask for?

I don't know what to say about Canary Girls that this BLOG hasn't said already; we've covered them so often in the few months since they formed, that I half expect them to file an Order of Protection. But there's good reason for this: THEY ARE GOOD. Usually, we proffer perfunctory posts on just about anyone around town, trying to bolster the scene and get more people out of their homes and into venues, but when a group is really, really good, we'll hammer it into your head that you need to get the F out of your house and check them out. And there may be no better reason to get the F out of your house this weekend than to check them out at our Beach Party, where they'll be sharing the stage with The Tins, Aircraft, Nelson-Type, AUTOPUNCH, and DJ Handsome Dan. It's on Saturday at Sunset Bay, just a short drive south of Buffalo, and $5 gets you in.

Regarding Canary Girls, suffice it so say: "They Sound 80s." And that's not meant to be as dismissive as it may seem; I mean it in a good way. Check out our review of their debut album, or listen to it here:

We're coming down to the wire with just three days until the BuffaBLOG Beach Party (link updated with band schedule).  Up next on our Beach Party Artist Spotlight are local favorites The Tins.   It's been a busy year for the Buffalo trio, making a trip down to Austin's SXSW as well as recording their full length debut album Life's a Gas.  The latter was the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign the group launched last year, showing that Kickstarter is starting to become an indispensable resource for the underground music scene.  The Tins will be performing live at our beach party this Saturday at Sunset Bay amidst a wealth of local talent.  Don't miss out!

Check out other Beach Party Artist Spotlights:
Aircraft
AUTOPUNCH
Handsome Dan

The second spotlight for our beach party focuses on AUTOPUNCH. AUTOPUNCH is a Buffalo, N.Y. rock-and-roll band whose sound has been described by The Buffalo News as "a disarmingly inventive hybrid of soul, psychedelia, funk, alt-rock and good ol’ jamming."  Their music is heavy and it can kick you right in the teeth.  Many influences can be heard in their tunes, Umphrey's McGee drunk on Tom Waits comes to mind when Ive been asked for a comparison(thats an awesome thing.) Earlier this year, the band released its first full length album entitled, Songs.  AUTOPUNCH will be performing at our totally awesome beach party for only $5 while the sunshine and high fives are free!

Even though it is only Monday, it is never too early to begin thinking about your weekend, especially with our beach party taking this Saturday, June 16, at Sunset Bay. Now, no day at the beach is complete without some great songs. A mix of new live music and some classics can really set the mood (the mood being party, the partying mood). Luckily, for you, we took care of that by organizing this little shindig. Opening the day, and providing the recognizable classics will be a local DJ with a mug so legendary they had to call him Handsome Dan.