Sunday, July 26, 2009

Scene Report: Day three

Saturday was one of those days that makes WNY such a special place to live; in addition to Infringement, I spent some time on the outskirts of both the Canal Fest (still probably my fave of all the area's many small-town summer festivals) and Garden Walk. Between those two and Infringement alone, there must have been at least 400 things to see and do yesterday, even with the crappy weather, so at this point in my life, I'm pretty much convinced that anyone who claims Buffalo is boring is too stupid/boring to waste my time on. If you don't get what's remarkable about the place you live, don't bitch to me about it! So here--on my way out of the house and back into GardenFringementLand for another day, is a quick recap of just the Infringey things on my itinerary yesterday:

First up was Nobody's Estro-Acoustic Showcase and Potluck, where my husband and I saw most of Lara Buckley's set and the first three songs from Erin Sydney Welsh before the ticking clock sent us to our next few non-festival stops. I know Buckley mainly from her always-memorable guest appearances with the Real Dream Cabaret, but this was my first chance to experience a fuller set (and from the audience instead of backstage), and I loved what I saw and heard. In this incarnation, she was performing songs that reminded me of Phil Ochs's material in the way that her lyrics invest topical subject matter with heartfelt ultra-personal meaning--only with a voice far more acrobatic than Ochs's, and accompanied by loops of nature sounds. The terms "freak folk" and "psych-folk" get bandied about a lot these past few years, but they seem to really fit Buckley's work almost literally. Undercutting the acoustic prettiness of the music is the sense that the singer (or at least her songwriting persona) is a woman on the edge. Highly recommended. So is Welsh--at the tender age of 13, she's got the confidence and stage savvy of a far more experienced performer. If you've ever wondered what it must have felt like to catch Ani DiFranco as an unknown teenager in a Buffalo bar, this may be the closest you'll ever come:



I often assume music scheduler Curt Rotterdam's titles for showcases are tongue-in-cheek, but this really was a potluck, and the pulled pork was particularly yummy. This was my first time to Nobody's, and the venue encapsulates much of what thrills me, as well as much that annoys me, about Buffalo's ongoing DIY art scene--it's clearly a labor of genuine love, absolutely in line with a rich tradition of artist-run live/work spaces in this town, deliberately beneath the radar but radiating a passion for art. At the same it's not exactly what I would call inviting to a first-time visitor: intimidating entrance, pitch-black interior, no ventilation (until I stumbled upon an ancient air conditioner in the back), almost no seating, and just plain dirty in that punk-rock way that gets a little old as one reaches a certain age. I was originally planning to head back after midnight for Nobody's Electronic Showcase" but the thought of hanging out with total strangers in total darkness in somebody's (er, nobody's) living room made me opt for my own home instead. I'm sure if I was in a different mood, or 20 years younger, or both, I would have gone back, and probably loved the show. (Call me bourgeois, but I've got my own Autechre albums to listen to, and A/C to boot!)

After a few detours, it was off to an opening at the WNY Book Arts Center. 'Twas my first time there after reading and hearing a lot about the place, and it's safe to say I was blown away by the joint: street-level gallery and gift shop, incredible collection of (working!) vintage printing equipment in the basement, future home of Just Buffalo on the second floor. There is a lot I want to say about this place and my maiden voyage to it, but in the interest of time I will vow to post those remarks elsewhere, later. Just go check it out, pronto--and tell 'em Infringement sent ya.



We headed next to Gateway Gallery (yet another first visit--does Buffalo know how to crank out new spaces, or what?) for Walri but they were still setting up when we got there, so we braved the rain for a quick bite at Sample (this was exactly the kind of situation Sample was born to address!) and then caught a good chunk of Phó Malpica: The Last White Elephant in the alley next to La Tee Da. This butoh-influenced site-specific dance/audio/video piece is the first example I've seen this year of the kind of work that suits Infringement best. Sure, it could be performed at any time in any location, but it fits its impromptu venue like a teeny-tiny glove and uses the festival setting to generate critical mass. Being a bit of a butoh-phobe myself, my favorite thing about the performance is the way it creates an audience for itself, and then inadvertently makes them part of the spectacle. Every time someone walked out of LTD or simply headed down Allen, they came across an oddly configured clump of onlookers staring at ... something, but what? How could you resist the temptation to investigate for yourself, in the process discovering a delicate, moving piece with both aesthetic and (subtle) eco-political impact? Don't miss this one.




We nearly missed all of Walri's set as a result, returning to Gateway just in time to hear the Rochester-based band play "Ziggy Stardust." Taken out of context, it was hard to tell at first whether this was that indie-rock staple, the Ironic Classic Rock Cover, or we'd stumbled upon a Monroe County cover band. (Spoiler: it was option A.) There were only two songs after that, and I loved 'em both enough to buy a CD on the spot and to mark my calendar for their next BIF show, this Wednesday.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

bourgeois.
1.)Nobody's has lights.
2.) It's... a building. with... steps.. it's not intimidating.

Anonymous said...

Let me start of by saying that anyone who is involved in supporting the infringement festival in anyway ROCKS! I am not at all trying to demean the poster i am responding to in anyway. This is meant to be positive.

Since that's out of the way, i didn't think the festival was about sitting at home in A/C listing to Tri Repetae for the ???'th time. And i really didn't think it was about suggesting on the official website that sitting at home is a better alternative then going to a show.

I happen to find many places in buffalo that meet your criteria for staying at home in A/C. Buffalo has no shortage of dark, not so ventilated, not so clean places. For example Nietzsches (i love this place, not picking on them). They have live music every night of the week. How Awesome! I have seen so meny cool shows there, and its a far cry from a "under the radar" punk rock place. Also, i don't think I've ever seen an open window in there... no one will ever notice stains on my shirt since theres not enough light.. i kinda like to wash my hands when i get home from there, and the crowd there is many times older then my 27 yo ass.

The point I'm trying to make is we can only go to shows at the Town Ballroom or the Tralf, or we can explore, and incurage (at least not discourage) others to do the same. I'm thinking you should have "calibrated your words differently"...

Thanks for your time,
Ed (of evil)

C said...

Nobody's takes acoustic acts like me out of the coffee house and into...somewhere else, for which I will be eternally grateful.

I can understand being a little uneasy though. Sometimes the crowd can be a little intimidating, but I do disagree about the space. While perhaps this poster could do more to explore things outside of their comfort zone, we Nobody's regulars could do a bit more to be openly welcoming to those different than ourselves...

Laughing thinking about if you had actually gone to the electronic showcase...sometimes oddity can seem a bit confrontational, and sometimes it is...dude in the "hung like jesus shirt" (why?) but sometimes its worth confronting.

- Claire

Ron E. said...

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your opinions--that's truly exciting, and exactly what I wish would happen more often here.

And: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it people, I get it. Look, I've been going to venues like this in Buffalo for 25 years. I love them, as I pointed out. No, the festival is not about sitting at home in the A/C, it's about getting out and taking chances, exploring the unknown, maybe lucking into something amazing and maybe stumbling into something that you're not so crazy about.

I felt bad about writing anything that could be conceived as negative about any venue, since all of them open their doors to the festival with no charge and much tolerance, BUT on the other hand the point of these blog entries (which absolutely anyone can post, as I've taken pains to point out) is to write from a personal perspective. And I just described what I felt like when I walked into that particular building at that particular time.

Sometimes, when you are a regular of a given scene, you forget what the experience is like for anyone who is not. Believe me, I have spent many an hour in places far funkier than Nobody's in my day, so if it was "intimidating" to me, I can only imagine how welcome someone else entering the space for the first time would feel. As much as the festival is about audience members taking chances, if they don't feel comfortable, the majority of them who are not already insiders are not likely to dive any deeper. Which is also fine, but then what's the point of going to all the work of organizing such a gigantic multi-day/multi-site festival and publicizing it to the general public?

I love the fact that Buffalo has historically given birth to so many funky little DIY artist-run spaces (in addition to the current crop, there's been Kamikaze, the Institute, Cornershop, the Pipe Dragon, all the punk rock houses, and so on ... all the way back to the original Hallwalls on Essex). I've even considered writing a book about the phenomenon, I love it so much. But look at that list: if the names don't ring a bell, it's because you didn't happen to be in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time to experience them in their glory. You weren't a regular, an insider. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of collective energy, for a space (or a scene) to outlast the handful of people who start it. Part of that work entails welcoming new people in.

That's all I'm sayin'.

C said...

Ron, I think your comment was extremely well said. I'm glad you wrote back and I found myself muttering "yes!" every couple of seconds throughout your response.

There's no point in a festival of art that does not recognize the importance of the audience/acknowledge the need to reach out to new people.

That being said, I think Melissa does a great job of that. For me its more about those of us who are part of the nobody's "scene" - i think we could all do a better job of being welcoming. Like ron said, we are a scene out of coincidence, but we shouldn't stop there.

With THAT being said...well I kind of forget. Summary: I love nobody's, I think Ron has a point

Ron E. said...

Thanks for listening and understanding, Claire. It's funny--twice tonight I've written something for the blog, and in the time it's taken me to type and post it, you've written something else that basically suggests you get what I'm trying to say, even if no one else does. You have no idea how irksome it is to suddenly be branded as a mean-spirited close-minded hater, when I've pretty much spent my life encouraging as many people as will listen to try new things.

I'm totally open to Nobody's; it sounds like fun. Maybe I missed the welcome mat on my first trip, but I trust you that it's really there, and I applaud Melissa & co for adding to Buffalo's art scene.

PS. Those steps? Rusting away, and horrifying. Not the fault of anyone but the landlord, whom I assume is still the same guy who owned Mondo Video down the street when I worked there. Giant hole in the floor by the cash register. But I digress.