Music
Listening Post /Brief reviews of select releases
Folk (Updated: 07/05/09 7:21 AM )
Despite deluge, fans embrace own Woodstock at Varysburg Jam
When fans who were at the Big & Rich/Gretchen Wilson show Friday night look back in a few years, they may regard the concert as their “Woodstock” moment. (Updated: 07/05/09 7:20 AM )
‘Idol’ contestants hit the road for tour
BURBANK, Calif. –Face to face at twin pianos, Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre strike the opening chords of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and playing in unison the two “American Idol” finalists start to sing the Journey classic. (Updated: 07/04/09 8:26 AM )
Quincy Jones recalls musical memories with Michael Jackson
Like the world, last week I was devastated by the news that Michael Jackson had suddenly left the room. This blessed artist commanded the stage with the grace of an antelope, shattered recording industry records and broke down cultural boundaries around the world; yet he remained the gentlest of souls. (Updated: 07/02/09 9:03 AM )
Jackson was a victim of his own genius
He was a performing genius. Clearly. And you’d be amazed at those who resist that judgment, still, about Michael Jackson. To them, throwing the “G-word” around indiscriminately is one of culture’s seven deadly sins. “Genius,” for them, is how you describe what people do when they’re sitting down—write like Goethe or Shakespeare, or think like Einstein and Isaac Newton. Maybe you can let in the painters and sculptors but only if they promise to be very quiet while they work on their feet. (Updated: 06/30/09 8:30 AM )
Listening Post /Brief reviews of select releases
Rock (Updated: 06/28/09 9:59 AM )
Def Leppard dominates Darien
The guy in the Cheap Trick T-shirt standing near the box office just prior to the commencement of Friday’s Def Leppard show at Darien Lake did not look happy. Matter of fact, he appeared to be crying. (Updated: 06/28/09 7:06 AM )
Osborne, Yonder Mountain make Harbor rock to summer perfection
Oh so sweet, on a gorgeous evening, to hear and feel such beautiful music. Soul, pop, country, gospel, bluegrass — if it’s all good, what difference does it make what it’s called? (Updated: 06/28/09 7:05 AM )
Nickel City Opera's 'Barber of Seville' deserving of accolades
Want some popcorn with your opera? You can have it at the Riviera Theatre, where the new Nickel City Opera is in residence this weekend doing a bang-up job with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” (Updated: 06/29/09 8:49 AM )
Def Leppard dominates Darien stage; Cheap Trick is grounded
The guy in the Cheap Trick T-shirt standing near the box office just prior to the commencement of Friday’s Def Leppard show at Darien Lake did not look happy. (Updated: 06/27/09 8:22 AM )
Throwback jam bands offer different flavors
Friday started out warm and humid (100 percent humidity at times) but by the evening things were drier and the outdoor concert put on by “Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor” didn’t suffer the same wet fate doled out by the elements the night before, when Los Lobos was scheduled to play “Thursday at the Square” and ended up transferring to themore intimate venue/bar known as the Lafayette Tap Room. (Updated: 06/27/09 7:00 AM )
New day
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Holly Williams had one of those days recently. Her iPhone fell in the toilet, her air conditioner broke and her thermostat soared. (Updated: 06/26/09 7:16 AM )
Despite the rain, ‘the show must go on’ for Los Lobos
If folks thought the past four weeks of bad weather at Thursday at the Square was anything to complain about, they were in for a whole new experience Thursday night. What began as the aftereffects of a sudden midday storm turned into a torrential downpour that gave way to flashes of lightning. Thursday at the Square, for only the second time in 12 years, was officially canceled. (Updated: 06/26/09 7:46 AM )
Michael Jackson: An appreciation of a musical genius
The King of Pop is dead. (Updated: 06/26/09 9:32 AM )
'Starry Night' is a garden delight at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens
Come for the music, stay for the food. (Updated: 06/25/09 9:06 AM )
