Thanks to MNM Presents, I had a pretty wild and awesome music fueled weekend. To start with, Brillz on Thursday night at Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar was a killer show. It was refreshing to see the dance floor at Duke's so packed throughout the entire night. Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin, from duo team SwaggleRock, opened for Brillz with a ghetto sexy set. With spikes lining the rim of his flat brim hat, Brillz transitioned smoothly from track to track.

"I dedicate this song to you four girls," he said as each of them twerked themselves into a frenzy in front of the DJ booth as he drops "Big Booty Bitches." 

A Duke's employee sneaked swiftly on stage with a roll of masking tape, to which someone behind the table of equipment then helped tape Brillz's laptop to the stand. In addition to the girls grinding and twerking on the speakers in front of the decks, the packed dance floor jumping up and down, and the crew and myself dancing on stage behind him, the laptop began to violently shake and flop. The masking tape worked as a perfect straight-jacket restraint for the crazed laptop.


I have two main reasons why I love going to a show on a Sunday night. First, it keeps me motivated to do things all day long instead of turning into a Lazy Sunday; I went on a cleaning frenzy, did every single bit of laundry, finished all of my work, rearranged furniture and ran errands yet was still amped enough to doll myself up and head downtown. Secondly, it makes Monday that much more exciting as I walk around doing my usual routine thinking about what happened the night before.

Sunday night, MNM Presents brought a great show to Soundlab. Surprisingly, I believe this was the first time I ever saw Rochester's Papi Chulo perform, and I was quite impressed. It was space groove and even for how early in the night it was, I was pleased to see that people were already dancing so early at a Sunday evening show. Following him was Samo Sound Boy; the visual projection and screen that were brought along for the "Magical Properties Tour" were highly appropriate for the name. A grid of colors projected on him and he was camouflaged with the background when suddenly the dimension changed and behind him was a dark silhouette followed by a gridded silhouette encompassed by a dark screen. It was entrancing. Even with relatively simple transitions between tracks, his set was very up and flawless.



To be completely honest I was most looking forward to Ryan Hemsworth's set. His track selection was totally on point. His performance was mostly trap vibes and the occasional slow jam (I laughed when Usher's "Let It Burn" came blasting through the speakers, but I'm also not going to lie. I was loving it.) The visual projections became even more intense as a cartoon sea took over the screen while little cartoon hands holding cartoon guns stuck themselves surrealistically out of the cresting waves.


Daedelus, the headlining act, followed. I was looking forward to this since I have never seen him perform before and after making the stupid decision of not going to see Yeasayer last year, I continue to hear through friends and my fellow buffaBLOGGERS how incredible the entire show was. However, I was not as totally blown away as I thought I would. Now don't get me wrong, I think that he played a helluva set and he definitely was giving off a lot of energy for the tiny basement venue. My major critiques were the difficulties with the sound; I'm not totally positive what was happening but something was off and the leveling was not as clear as it should have been which to be quite honest was distracting. Also, I was hoping to hear more of the romantic down tempo tunes that seemed to be his M.O.

All in all, shout out to MNM Presents for providing a damn good weekend for Buffalo. 

I have a feeling tonight is going to be a beautiful memory to add to the Soundlab collection. MNM Presents a top of the line bill of musicians: Daedelus, Ryan Hemsworth, and Samo Sound Boy. Opening the night will be Rochester's Papi Chulo.

Self-acclaimed "full time musician, part time Dandy," Los Angeles based Daedelus will be headlining the show tonight. A blend of romance and electronic, his music has an after-hours feel. It's the feeling of holding someone close and walking down rain covered streets with only the hazy street lights to glow a path, or that instantaneous feeling you get when you see the moon on a night when it is so close in the sky you feel like you could run after it and touch it. Then he can flip the switch and has some tracks that have a darker feel, and some that are the downward fall into the rabbit hole.




Be on time to the show to catch Ryan Hemsworth. Canadian DJ and producer, Hemworth puts out tracks that I wish I had back in high-school when we'd cruise around listening to mixtapes from Datpiff.com. It's well-crafted and lustrous trap. He cranks hip-hop and brings about a nodding vibe. In addition to being dear to my heart for putting out amazing music, Hemsworth is also a journalist.





Also based out of Los Angeles, Samo Sound Boy, has a very interesting sound. Upbeat and bouncy it's club music, but there are different characteristics that make it so much more unique than limiting it to be considered just "club." Alongside with Jerome LOL, Samo Sound Boy is the founder of Body High recording label. "It's one of the most influential labels in the U.S. right now...some of it's really soul, disco, future club music, and everything in between," BBC Radio 1 introduces their mix for Diplo and Friends.

Before I start this review, I have to do a little bit of scolding. In one sentence, this was the best bill of music I've seen all year and I am still gushing about it two days later. Why then, was the venue so criminally underattended? It might be understandable, considering it was Yeasayer's first time in Buffalo, evidenced from singer Chris Keating's awkward Buffalo 66 shoutout. Opener Daedelus, however, is no stranger to Buffalo's music scene, having played to packed houses at Soundlab on several occasions. I entered during his set about 10 minutes in or so and was shocked at how empty the room was. I won't dwell on it for long because I have nothing but nice things to say about the show, but if Buffalo doesn't turn up to see acts of this caliber, we'll cease to seem attractive as a music market, and that's not something we want. (is it?)

As for Deadelus, I couldn't have imagined a better opener for a band as eclectic as Yeasayer. Dressed to the nine's in an all black shirt, tie, vest and napoleanic sideburns, Deadelus is a rare DJ who's fun to watch perform. Instead of a mousehead mask, insane lighting rig, or bizarre pointless miming, you just saw a guy performing on his monome. That's all he needed, as the small crowd was still an enthusiastic one, giving a loud applause as he exited the stage. As always, the set was different than the last one of his that I saw (April 6, 2011 at Soundlab), but I enjoyed seeing him embrace some more downtempo sounds. Deadelus always manages to give his sets the feel of pop music without sounding pandering or pretentious, this is mostly due to the great vocal sampling he does. Vocal heavy sets can often be tiresome and cheesy but Deadelus mixes his vocals with staggering tastefulness, never distracting from the other elements but still existing on their own.

After a lengthy breakdown, Yeasayer took the stage and opened with new single "Henrietta".  The crowd had filled out a little better by this point, and most of them seemed to be familiar with the song. The production heavy studio track was served nicely by the more live feel, giving prominence to the great three part harmonies that ride out the song. The band was flanked on all sides of the stage what appeared to be circular glass mirrors. Colored lights lit them up, giving the background lighting a unique and steady movement. I enjoy unique light shows, so this was a treat. It wasn't until the band broke into Odd Blood favorite "One", that the light show took a step up.  White beams filled the room from the floor of the stage, giving the appearance that the entire stage was a giant disco ball. This was somewhat nostalgic as I remember the days when Town Ballroom would unleash it's own giant disco ball from the ceiling, which was always a show highlight, but more on that later.

I feel like I've said the words "Town Ballroom has been kicking ass" a little too much lately. A lot of great bands have come through the past few months, but they're about to get a run for their money. Through two full length albums (and hints of their third), Yeasayer have remained delightfully unclassifiable, making it a pain in the ass for someone like me to sum up their music in a short paragraph. The tighter, poppier approach of Odd Blood seems to have given way to a more droning, electronic sound on new singles "Henrietta" and "Longevity", taken from their upcoming album Fragrant World. The former taking the A and B approach, switching gears halfway through from dub basslines to a wall of layered ambience, the latter maintaining that vibe throughout, albeit a bit more sparce. The variety makes for a dynamic live show, high on energy but never letting a particular rhythm get stale.

A midweek bill with Yeasayer should be enough to get you out of the house, but electronic producer and sideburns aficionado Daedelus will be opening the show, making this in the running for show of the year. Slide those dancing socks into your sandals and get there early.  Doors are at 7 and this is an all ages show, so beware the little buggers with blown minds.