Our weekly guide to what’s going on around Buffalo and in the world of pop culture.
Thurday, 1/12
Greensky Bluegrass (Town Ballroom, 681 Main St., doors 7pm)
These rootsy throwbacks update timeless bluegrass music for the present day.
Vikings: Valhalla (Netflix)
This Vikings spinoff, set a century after the original, at the end of the Viking era, returns for a second season. The bloody first-season finale dispatched with much of the supporting cast, as the Vikings’ fights against each other and the English came to a head. But Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett) survives to fight another day, and presumably sail to Canada, eh?
Friday, 1/13
Amateur Hockey Club (Rec Room, 79 W. Chippewa St., doors 6pm, $12)
We’re a little worried this ’90s-emo-inspired band is going to bring in a few confused fans with skates and sticks at the ready.
Get a Clue: Challenge Edition (Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Pkwy, 6-9 pm, $35, Ages 21+)
The museum stays open late for an adults-only murder mystery game, where teams follow clues, win prizes, and enjoy the rare chance to visit a science museum with a cash bar.
New Movies This Week:
House Party (Elmwood Center, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
Atlanta writer Stephen Glover updates the ’90s classic and throws a ton of celebrity cameos into the fun, including Lil’ Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Bill Bellamy, Lena Waithe, Tinashe, Anthony Davis, and the movie’s producer, LeBron James.
Plane (in wide release)
If a movie’s getting released in mid-january, you know it’s not Oscar bait, and if a movie’s got Gerard Butler in it, you know it’s going to be gloriously dumb, and well, this is both. Mike Colter (Luke Cage) costars, as they team up to fight their way off a remote Philippine island controlled by a militia group after they crash their… plane. That’s the name of this movie!
Sick (Peacock)
We guess it was inevitable that we got a Covid horror movie, but the pandemic is just an excuse to have two friends quarantine in a remote lake house, only to find out they’re not as socially distant as they thought. The scariest thing about this? You have to sign up for Peacock to watch it.
Sunday 1/15
The Last of Us (HBO)
Early word on this series is that someone has finally cracked the video-game adaptation, as the series is written by the creator of the PlayStation bestseller and is already receiving “universal acclaim,” per Metacritic. Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) finally gets to show his face as a post-apocalyptic survivor who has to escort a teenage girl (Game of Thrones charmer Bella Ramsey) across the wasteland.
Wednesday 1/18
Plastic Picnic w/Johnny and the Man Kids (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave., doors 8pm, $15-18)
These Brooklyn indie rockers use ’80s-style synths to produce what one review calls, “a sort of melancholy happiness.” They’re playing their first show in Buffalo Friday night.
Thursday 1/19
The Disco Biscuits (Town Ballroom, 681 Main St, doors 6:30)
This Philadelphia quartet sets themselves apart from the jam band crowd by incorporating electronica into their sound. They haven’t put out a new album since 2011’s Otherwise Law Abiding Citizens, but they’ve been touring steadily ever since.
Chris Porter (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St, 8pm, $20)
This stand-up was a finalist on season 4 of Last Comic Standing, and has a new one-hour special, Ugly & Angry.
That ’90s Show (Netflix)
The nostalgia ouroboros has finally swallowed itself, as the latest sitcom reboot asks, “remember the late ’90s, when we watched a show about the late ’70s?” At least Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith are as winning as ever as over- and under-enthused parents Kitty and Red, as a new cast of pot-smoking teens have to establish themselves in the brief gaps between cameos from the original cast.
Friday 1/20
Empire State Wrestling (Frontier Fire Hall, 2176 Liberty Drive, Niagara Falls, NY, $20 adv/$25, doors 6pm)
Our local pro wrestling league’s All I Do Is Win event’s seven title cards include ESW Heavyweight Champion Kevin “The Remix” Bennett defending his title against Big Time Bill Collier, several one-on-one bouts and a six-person tag team match.
The Eaves (Mohawk Place, 47 East Mohawk St, doors 7pm, $10)
An album release party for this local indie rock group’s latest, Lately I Don’t Have a God.