There's something incredibly infectious about Made Violent's approach to rock'n'roll. Part Strokes-swagger, part downstroke pummel, their songs have a melodic bite to them; A special kind of thing that you don't find every day. Attitude, fun, and energy have always embodied this kind of spirit and Made Violent seem to have tapped into the main vein.

Check out their new video for the track "Dirty" for further proof. It's bombastic, unhinged, yet frenetically tight and it won't leave your brain for days. With some killer sessions at Quiet Country Audio in the pipe, as well as love from NME, this is a band that's clearly going places. Watch the video below and you'll see why.

If I had to describe White Lies in just a few words, I think I'd use the terms "city indie" (registered trademark). Downtrodden, dark, indie music that feels like its place is the bowels of the late-seventies bowery, even though their from the UK, this is music not for the faint of heart. Comparisons to Interpol and Joy Division make sense because the band's songs are both danceable and fun whilst still maintaining depraved, sinister overtones. If you like to dance, like good pop music, and like to think about that pop music, White Lies may be your thing.

Tonight, they play at Town Ballroom with local support from Made Violent. Tickets are still available for $23. 

Love Scenes, Buffalo's favorite dream pop duo, will be playing at Duke's tonight alongside Made Violent and The Revenge Therapists. Leah Loefke and T.J Grace started making hypnotic electronic songs together back in 2010, and since then, their impressive output includes 2 full albums: Classy Excuse for a Trashy Experience and Blissed Out Youth and a label signing. For those who are unfamiliar with the duo, Grace supplies the crafty synthwork and drum-machine sequences  and Loefke's airy vocals further embellish the instrumentals by tying them up to create a cohesive melody while supplying them with the kind of heart-felt content that allows the music speak to listeners on a more deeply personal level. It's some of the finest original music that Buffalo has to offer and you can check it out tonight.   The show starts at 9PM - see ya there.

Chicago's Archie Powell and the Exports are making a stop at DBGB's tonight.  Full of frantic verses and melodic choruses, these guys craft smart and cynical songs that represent the new age of garage rock - led by the unfortunately unemployed rather than the unemployable slackers of the early 2000's.  Local support comes from The Screaming Jeans and Made Violent.

DBGB's is hosting this one at 9:00pm.  They didn't specify a price, but it can't be THAT expensive.

April 2013 marks a new chapter in the Buffalo music scene and it's long and influential history. This is the month of the Waiting Room, Buffalo's newest venue, which opened with its first show on April 1st (Polar Bear Club). Many future shows are scheduled on the horizon and us locals are hopeful that this spot will reinvigorate the Buffalo scene and take it to new heights.

Tonight, we celebrate the Waiting Room's official grand opening party (even if it's not their first show) with some of Buffalo's best. You've got the Clash-worshipping Wolf Tickets, Lockport's answer to southern rock - Handsome Jack, the glossy indie-sheen of Voices, and Brit-pop influenced Made Violent, with  DJ Sets by Transmission. The show is absolutely free, drinks are cheap ($2 until 7pm) and Amy's food truck will be parked right outside. What more could you ask for? Great music, great food and it starts early enough (5pm) so you won't have to worry about an all nighter messing with your work plans.

The music scene is what you make it. This is a historic event. Be a part of it.

I've been an anglophile for as long as I can remember. Whether it's music, TV, literature, slang, etc, if it's from the United Kingdom I'm almost certainly partial to it. Simultaneously I've always been a huge Buffalo booster, and along with that I've also been obsessed with British analogs for our fair city. Yes, even though my heart belongs to the Arsenal (based in North London), my soul is a northern soul, and it's to the north of England that my soul is drawn. Post industrial, proudly working class, hard done by, and seemingly light years from the capital... sound familiar? Oh yeah, Buffalo's UK sister city is definitely a northern city. But which one? Newcastle is the UK's northernmost city, but I can't get excited for it. Liverpool? I've heard that it does indeed feel like our Buffalo, but the Liverpool music scene's been beat since the early 60's. No, I've always been attracted to Manchester, probably more due to wishful thinking than reality, but that's what I'm going with.

Manchester. An Industrial Age city that got kicked in the teeth when the post industrial age rolled around, a solidly working class town that's more than a little bit hardscrabble and rough... a city that's also had a killer music scene for more than 30 years. OK, Buffalo is not Manchester, but I've always wanted Buffalo to be like Manchester, a city that's embraced it's past but not at the expense of the present and future. Which brings me at last to Buffalo's own Made Violent. I wasn't expecting them when I saw them opening for Young Empires at the Town Ballroom a few weeks back, but I instantly fell for them as they unloaded a set heavy with tasteful riffs, heavy grooves, and a sweet sound that synched up with my northern soul. My dreams had come true! At last, somebody in Buffalo was channeling Oasis; not aping or riffing on them necessarily, but rather playing in that Mahn-chest-ah sandbox, and it was GOOD.

It's a beautiful thing, hearing local fellas blending Rust Belt rock honesty and earnestness with sweet, tuneful northern Brit pop, and speaking for myself I'm very keen to hear what's next for this local band to watch. Made Violent is Buffalo, through and through, and Buffalo's got to check them out because Made Violent is good for our soul.

As Mohawk Place winds down to it's final days, more and more bands and promoters are saying their final goodbyes. Tonight brings the final Mohawk show from After Dark Entertainment, but it also marks the debut of Buffalo's own Made Violent. I'd like to say something about Made Violent, but I have no idea what they sound like. The "listen" link on After Dark's website takes me to Brother Keep's facebook page (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, Brother Keep is good). Speaking of which, tonight is the official CD release for Brother Keep, whose terrific Face Like a Map made our Album of the Week. The show is also being co-sponsored by Quiet Country Audio, who have been producing some quality work for a number of bands both local and national, including Sleepy Hahas, who are also on tonight's bill. I couldn't find anything on Crooks, due to them being another in a long line of impossible-to-google-band-names (I'm looking at you, Love Scenes). I guess you'll just have to stop pretending to be bothered by all this snow and go find out for yourself. Tickets are $8 and doors are at 10.