After lengthy planning and a week of previews of participating musicians, the day of the Summer Party has arrived. Our blog parties have always been my favorite part of running buffaBLOG. They are opportunities to introduce someone to their new favorite local act, catch up with old friends, and for our writers to enjoy something other than my pestering text messages. I don't expect tonight at Duke's to be any different. Whether you have been following all week or are new to this and missed any of our party artist spotlights, take a minute to look over tonight's bill and read up on the acts below:

Go Exploring
Jack Topht
The Demos
The Malones
I Can See Mountains
Spooky Business

Music begins tonight at 10pm SHARP and runs til close so there is no need to go anywhere else to get your music fix this evening. We have you covered. $5 at the door and you are good to go.

So who really needs a beach to have a good summer party anyways? On Saturday, August 10th, we will be returning to the friendly confines of Duke's (253 Allen Street) for our 2nd annual Summer Party with stacked bill of the best acts that Buffalo (and Rochester too) has to offer. Taking the stage this August will be Go Exploring, Jack Toft, Sports (Rochester), The Malones, and I Can See Mountains, along with Spooky Business, our house DJs for the evening, who were recently named Best DJ Crew in Artvoice's Best of Buffalo. As always, music kicks off at 10pm sharp and $5 is all it will take to be a part of the fun.

ESI Events and The Tralf have been putting together some great shows lately, tonight being no exception. Connecticut two piece Mates of State stop through Buffalo tonight on their Northeast mini tour. The duo have been hard at work on their new album, the follow up to 2011's Mountaintops, as well as a soundtrack to a feature film that the two will star in, shooting later this year. All of these new developments mean you'll likely be hearing some new material tonight. Joining them will be buffaBLOG favorites Brother Keep and Go Exploring, both of whom released stellar albums this past year. Doors are at 7pm and tickets are $17.

If you want to get a sneak peek at Buffalo's newest venue, The Waiting Room, before their Grand Opening Party tomorrow, tonight is your chance. Los Angeles based four piece Mansions on the Moon will be performing, along with electro pop duo Carousel, at the newly christened club at Delaware and West Tupper. Formed in 2011, Mansions consists of former Pnuma Trio members Lane Shaw and Ben Hazlegrove, with the addition of vocalist Tom Wendler and bassist Jeff Maccora. No strangers to Buffalo's music scene, both Mansions and Pnuma Trio have made stops at Soundlab in the past (a venue whose future is uncertain). Combining Pnuma's rock steady rhythm section with Tom's breezy vocals, the sound falls somewhere near M83 circa Saturdays=Youth, yet with more rhythmic playfulness due to Lane Shaw's inventive drumming.

Opening the show will be Buffalo's own Go Exploring, whose Adventures I count among my favorite recent local releases, and minimal synth pop artist Brat'ya.  Doors are at 7, with tickets at the door for $12. Buffalo doesn't put together a synth heavy lineup of this quality very often, so you owe it to yourself to check it out. I for one am excited to peek up The Waiting Room's skirt before her big reveal. (I felt like Harry Crane writing that sentence...)

2012 has been an excellent year for the Buffalo music scene. We've seen a rise of legitimately talented rappers, tight indie rock bands, and quality electronic acts all actively releasing some great tunes.

Beginning this Thursday, we will be revealing the first half of our top 20 tracks from Buffalo in 2012, with the second half coming on Friday.  If you can't wait til then though, then tune into the WBNY Local Show tomorrow night at 7pm for the full list

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  There was just too much good music released this year to fit into our Top 20, so we wanted to give some credit where credit is due to a few songs that just missed the cut.  Here are some of the close calls to our top 20 tracks from Buffalo in 2012. 



Jack Toft - "Beef on Weck" 

If you've been paying attention to the local scene,  you'd notice that Jack Toft has been on it lately. There has been a burst of creativity on his soundcloud page within the past month. His recent partnership with electro producer TEEN WOLF (of NINJASONIK fame), has invigorated his musical output, strengthening both his lyrics and flows. This highly observant punk rock rapper's track "Beef on Weck" drops nods to Buffalo's culture, women, and landmarks. Buffalo's tourism industry may want to get in contact with this emcee because in the end Jack Toft is Buffalo and Buffalo is Jack Toft. 



Victory For Poland - "A Man Who Suddenly Realizes He is Not Alone"

All Blondes Go To Heaven - "Magdalena, Queen of the World"  

Remember in 2003 when the whole new phase of "emo" came along? Bands such as Brand New and Taking Back Sunday influenced thousands of impressionable fifteen years olds to start their own usually shitty emo band for the next five years until "indie" became cool. Fast forward to today. This genre of emo phase II/pop punk is emerging in Buffalo, and All Blondes Go To Heaven is a good example of how to do it right. All Blondes have mastered the art of shout-singing in unison, pumping out songs about the glory days of high school, and delivering catchy-ass choruses. Their single "Magdalena, Queen of the World" is a testament to the band's potential and ability to write a great pop-punk song. 

Applennium - "Swing-jump"

Applennium is one of those great bands that gets taken for granted in Buffalo.  They don't play live all that often, and release new music even less.  But when they do, they sure make it count.  During the sweltering summer we had this past season, the sort of local super group (lineup includes members of Bearhunter and Fourem) released "Swing-jump," a summer tune if there was one.  Full of sunny melodies and gorgeous harmonies, the tune could easily fit in with Woods at their most restrained or Yo La Tengo at their sunniest of times.  

Go Exploring - "Today" 

Not much is known about Go Exploring except he is a talented one man band with the ability to craft a catchy tune. Go Exploring's "Today" starts a laid back indie pop tune similar to that of The Radio Dept that goes straight disco in the last two minutes. We at buffaBLOG are looking forward to hearing more from Go Exploring and seeing them live as soon as they put together a full band. So yeah, get on that.