For those of us who have a worry free life, a perfect relationship, and a stellar group of friends who have never wronged you, my suggestion would be to look the other way...  But fans of loud, angry, emotion-packed music should definitely not miss this one - Balance and Composure will be hitting the Waiting Room tonight in all their alternative glory. Between the angry, sneering vocals and unreasonably huge guitar-driven choruses, listening to them is kind of like getting punched in the face while simultaneously punching someone else in the face... In other words, tonight is sure to be one of the sweatiest (in a good way) nights the venue has seen thus far.

Joining B&C are local favs Cedar Kites and Real People. Hit them up for tickets if you can - it's $12 with doors at 6:30pm. Don't miss the openers - I promise they are just as angry and sweaty as the headliner.

Cedar Kites has just released a new song from their upcoming EP, Framework, due out in 2014. Cedar Kites' crisp punk attack comes complete with a gravely vocalist and tinges of delay, cultivating a sound that falls somewhere on the punk spectrum between The Gaslight Anthem and local punk heroes Pentimento. Oh yeah, and there's also a cameo from The Traditional frontman Anthony Musior... These guys must all be one big happy family or something.  Either way, the aforementioned song is called "Listener." Take a minute and listen below.

Yes everyone, feel free to say it out loud... 2004 was almost 10 years ago. That means a bunch of our favorite emo bands are now old enough to be doing tours in honor of a decade in the cutthroat music biz. Case in point, Story of the Year. 2003/2004 was a big year for them - ten years later, they have decided to tour in celebration of their landmark album, Page Avenue. They will be playing it start to finish tonight. I'm sure some diehard fans will remember this show until the day they die (see what I did there?).

Joining SOTY will be Red Letter Statement, along with local support from Cedar Kites and Venona. Tickets are $18 at the door. Doors are at 6. 16+.

Punk is not dead... Well, pop-punk at least. Real Friends' emotive pop-punk assault is coming through tonight, featuring support from Candy Hearts (who just released a QCA session), and Stickup Kid. Rounding out tonight's lineup is local support from Head North and Cedar Kites. I'm pretty sure these dudes are all about eating pizza and singing about their feelings, so if that sounds like something you're into, you know where to be tonight (count me in).


Doors to the show open at 6:00pm.  If you can find one of the local bands, it's $10 presale, otherwise $13 at the door.  This one's at the Waiting Room.

Get your champagne bottles ready, tonight marks the maiden voyage of the Waiting Room, Buffalo's brand new live music venue situated on Delaware near West Tupper. The brain child of Donny Kurzbach (Funtime Presents) and Chris Ring (After Dark Entertainment), the newly renovated 450 person venue is a lifeline to a music scene that has seen one too many venues join that great gig in the sky. One of those venues, Mohawk Place, will experience an afterlife of sorts as their PA system will be the one pumping sound into the new venue, with the help of a brand new digital soundboard. A number of local musicians had their hand in the renovations, including Keith Szczygiel of Canary Girls and Justin Tartick of I Can See Mountains.

Rochester punk outfit Polar Bear Club will headline the inaugural show, a suitably loud choice to test just what this sound system is made of. Joining them will be NYC based band Outernational, with local openers Anchor Me Down and Cedar Kites rounding out the bill. Tickets are still available at the door for $16, and there is parking available behind the club. I can't remember the last time I've been to a show and parked my car in a legit parking spot. What is this world coming to?



photo courtesy of Buffalo.com