These are exciting times for Buffalo's waterfront with Canalside and Habor Center taking shape at the foot of Main Street and big plans being contemplated for the Outer Harbor site off of Fuhrman Boulevard. There's been talk about a new stadium for the Bills, a park designed by some big time park architects, and a mystery third option yet to be determined. After a long period in limbo and  after an even longer period of neglect, a big decision with long-term ramifications for the area and our vastly underused waterfront is coming, and hot damn I want that park... just so long as we get to keep and develop the Outer Harbor Concert Series.

Now of course this isn't just because I'm a music fan. There's a lot of reasons why a well designed park is not only a great option, but rather it's really the only option. The stadium idea of course it's patently nonsensical, as anybody who sat in traffic for those Hip and Black Keys shows can attest. The two lanes of Fuhrman Boulevard can't cut it for 15,000 concert goers, so a modern football stadium that would hold 80,000 is utterly out of the question. As far as other uses for that patch of land, I just don't see any, considering it is waterfront property and we still have Buffalo winters (for now, global warming is sure to take care of those for us eventually).

But how about a mall? Or office park? Yes. Let's sell that land to somebody so they can develop it, and we can shop on the Buffalo waterfront. And go to work. On the waterfront. Because we can't do either of those anywhere else in Western New York. Yeah, let's not do that. We're pretty good for museums. Are there ideas for the Outer Harbor yet to be articulated? Sure, and I want to hear them, but we've had a few years to spitball ideas, and frankly it's time to move forward.

No, this park concept from the folks who designed Brooklyn's idyllic Brooklyn Bridge Park is something to really chew on and dream about. Looking at what's happening along the New York waterfront, and Brooklyn in particular, it's amazing the amount of park land there or going in there after post industrial reclamation. From the Brooklyn Heights Promenade overlooking the Piers 5 and 6 parks to Brooklyn Bridge Park itself, it's almost one big park system for the people of that proud borough, and where people gather, it's largely believed that economic development follows. And if this good enough for Brooklyn, the new center of the universe, and if NYC is getting in touch with it's Olmsted legacy, there's a good possibility that it might be good for Buffalo, with its own Olmsted pride. 

Just in case you happened to survive the Wrath of God rain last Friday down at the Outer Harbor, there is good news to be had. The Tragically Hip, maybe the most non-Buffalo, Buffalo band ever (fact: Buffalo loves Canadian bands) will make a hopefully dry return to the Harbor on Friday, August 2nd. Joining forces with the already booked Flogging Molly/Lowest of the Low show, the Harbor is turning into a semi-festival of sorts. All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the gates, just bring your old ticket or receipt and you are good to go. Also, if you have previously purchased a ticket to see Flogging Molly, you basically just got a free Tragically Hip show, so that's winning. Gates for the show will open at 5pm, with music kicking off at 6:45pm.

Pittsburgh born rapper Mac Miller has certainly come a long way since releasing his K.I.D.S mixtape on Rostrum Records back in 2010. The last few years have seen the 21 year old MC take a turn stylistically towards a more west coast, eclectic sound working with respected artists like Schoolboy Q, Ab-soul, Jay Electronica, Earl Sweatshirt, and Tyler, The Creator. His latest album, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, features the Flying Lotus produced single "S.D.S.," which has the rapper sounding comfortable delivering lines over the dizzying experimental beat.

Tonight, Los Angeles hip hop collective Odd Future will join Mac headlining an absolutely packed bill of emerging talent at Buffalo's Outer Harbor Concert site with support from Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, Chance The Rapper, and The Internet.

After returning from boarding school in Samoa last year, Earl Sweatshirt picked up right where he left off, making an appearance on "Super Rich Kids" from Frank Ocean's sublime Channel Orange and dropping a characteristically poetic verse on Captain Murphy's "Between Friends." His debut LP, Doris, is expected out August 20th on Columbia and features collaborations with RZA, BadBadNotGood, and Pharrell.

Chicago MC Chance The Rapper has been riding a wave of much deserved success after self releasing the year's most vibrant hip hop album, Acid rap, which effortlessly combined soulful hip hop and R&B to serve as the 20 year old's opening statement to the rap world. Along with Earl and Brooklyn's Joey Bada$$, Chance is part of the next wave of young rappers that are beginning to redefine the genre with their strong cultural identity that radiates from their tracks.

Gates for tonight's show open at 6pm, tickets are $40 and can be purchased at the gate or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Well, The Hip tried. After rain forced most of the band off stage, leaving Gord Downie alone to kill time by gleefully talking about Rod Stewart's semen (yep), they tried to get it back going. They tried "Wheat Kings," but it sounded exactly as warped as you'd expect after sheets of rain pounded the equipment for a good 20 minutes. The announcement that they were done was met with silence but the announcement that they would reschedule was met with a roar and down the path we went, where we found an open field, where we urinated in the tall grass like we owned the place. We were all wheat kings, for a moment.

It was a very Buffalo moment after a very Buffalo concert. Even though initial excitement brought forth by the rain quickly turned into uncomfortable standing around when we realized we were cold and soaked, the crowd was still much thicker than it was two weeks ago at The Black Keys show. And what could have been a long, wet, miserable walk to our cars was instead a parade; yes, the alcohol and the fact that this worked out to basically be a free Grace Potter show MAY have played a factor, but statements like "Well, at least they are rescheduling," made by people carrying their dripping wet shirts on their back served as a reminder of how much people in Buffalo love The Tragically Hip.

And now they love Grace Potter, too. Playing mostly newer songs, they won over a crowd who seemingly went into the show thinking of them as an afterthought. Five songs into the set, we were able to waltz right down to the front, just off to the side, getting about five rows back from the stage without disturbing anyone. After the roar that followed their announcement of an upcoming show at Town Ballroom on September 11, a show that will test the sonic capacity of the facility, they went into "Joey," one of their older songs that they've successfully turned into a lengthy blues jam. If that didn't completely get the crowd going their tribute to the Canadian contingent did, as they played an impressive cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" two songs later. It was at this point when the gentleman behind us started to repeat the phrase "She's so fucking hot" over and over, which is both entirely accurate and completely misses the point: Yes, she was channeling her inner Stevie Nicks with that dress and turned every male and some females in attendance into drooling dogs, but focusing on her looks kind of devalues her scratchy, soulful voice and songwriting talent.

"The Lion The Beast The Beat," was the penultimate song and the first physical sensation of the evening: that heavy intro with the rhythmic, pounding drums and thumping bass line served as a heads-up of sorts for the thunder that would soon follow. They closed with the requisite "Paris," their signature song, and found a way to incorporate some pretty epic group drumming at the end, epic group drumming which was captured on video and subsequently ruined in the torrential downpour.

So if you missed last night you missed a very special, very wet evening. But you will be okay. Grace Potter is coming back on September 11 for a show that will surely sell out, and The Hip will be rescheduled sometime in the near future. We'll have details here as soon as they are available.

Tickets are still available for $50, which might sound steep but you'd be a fool to not pay $25 to see either of these bands. So think about it like that, if it helps. The gates open at 6 and the show will probably start around 7.

Tonight, The Black Keys are playing at the Outer Harbor. At the risk of overselling it and with apologies to Guns n’ Roses 2.0, this show is easily the concert of the summer and probably the biggest thing to happen at our waterfront in recent memory. Last year, we were all getting used to the idea that there were actually going to be concerts at the Outer Harbor; if I remember correctly, Girl Talk, Dropkick Murphy’s and Chevelle were the “big names." I’ll pause here to give you a minute to catch your breath before I continue. This year’s lineup is considerably better: The Black Keys are arguably the biggest band in Rock right now, and The Tragically Hip with Grace Potter and Mac Miller & Odd Future are coming later in the year.

But about tonight: The Black Keys are quite good. Dan Auerbach’s got a voice that was tailor-made to sing the blues and he can seriously shred. Meanwhile, Pat Carney – when not engaged in immature Twitter beefs with Justin Bieber – is a pretty ridiculous drummer and while he may not be the heart and soul of the band, he’s at least the heart, responsible for keeping the rhythm pumping. If you haven’t had a chance to see them, their setup on stage is unique: Carney’s drum kit is featured prominently stage right, sometimes tilted sideways so the audience can see him beat the crap out of it. Auerbach often plays right next to him, offering an insight into how these two got their start, letting you marvel at the enormous sound two human beings can create.

This is the show of the summer, and you absolutely shouldn’t miss it. Doors open at 6, and The Joy Formidable should start somewhere around 7:30. Tickets are $48 plus surcharges, and are still available at Outer Harbor's website and the Town Ballroom box office.