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.