What’s Good 1/31-2/3
Our weekly guide to what’s going on around Buffalo and in the world of pop culture.
Thurday, 1/26
The Arcadian Wild w/Oshima Brothers (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave., 8pm, $15)
Two roots music outfits with a contemporary sound; the Arcadian Wild’s 2021 EP Principium hit #3 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart; Sean and Jamie Oshima are multi-instrumentalists who manage a big sound with just two of them on stage.
Poker Face (Peacock)
After subscribing to far too many streaming services, we were going to draw the line at Peacock, but they threw all their cards on the table by putting America’s sardonic sweetheart Natasha Lyonne in a Columbo-style mystery-of-the-week created by Knives Out mastermind Rian Johnson. As if that weren’t enough, an absurdly stacked cast includes Benjamin Bratt and a who’s who of guest stars including Ellen Barkin, Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Clea DuVall, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Luis Guzmán, Stephanie Hsu, Jameela Jamil, Tim Meadows, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte, Rhea Perlman, Ron Perlman (no relation), Lil’ Rel, Chloë Sevigny, and when they ran out of actors, also threw in John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats. Shut up and take our money, Peacock.
The 1619 Project (Hulu)
Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Pulitzer-winning investigation into the country’s legacy of racism launched a white supremacist backlash against “critical race theory,” yet remains an important and even-handed look into some of the ugliest parts of our history and the progress we’ve made towards living up to our founding ideals. Hannah-Jones hosts this six-part documentary, adapted from her writing, and broken into episodes titled “Democracy”, “Race”, “Capitalism”, “Music”, “Fear”, and “Justice”.
Friday, 1/27
Donnell Rawlings- CANCELLED (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St., 7:30pm, $28)
We listed this show in last week’s What’s Good, but it has since been canceled. Get your money back!
Farrow Album Release (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St., 7pm, $15)
This local soul outfit is releasing their second album, Educate, joined by a healthy contingent of the local soul scene: Curtis Lovell, Miller & the Other Sinners, and Dom Brown.
Stomp (Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St., 7pm Fri, 1pm/7pm Sat, $37)
This long-running show features eight drummers use ordinary objects — brooms, garbage cans, boxes, poles, lighters, basically anything except actual drums — to put on a crowd-pleasing flurry of percussion.
New Movies This Week:
Infinity Pool (in wide release)
Director Brandon Cronenberg follows in his father’s footsteps with a sci-fi horror with a vein of dark satire. Alexander Skarsgard and Cleopatra Coleman get away from it all on an island paradise, until Mia Goth lures them into the island’s lurid underbelly. They soon discover that despite the hedonistic and violent atmosphere, the punishment for most crimes is death, but with a uniquely Cronenbergian twist.
Fear (Regal Elmwood Center, Walden Galleria, Transit Center)
Meet the Blacks director Deon Taylor’s latest horror offering was shot a year into the pandemic, and follows a group of friends who retreat to a mountain lodge to escape a pandemic, only to find a nightmare waiting for them.
You People (Netflix)
Kenya Barris moves from TV to movies, but still stays well within his Black-ish wheelhouse with this comedy about a young upper-middle-class Black woman (Lauren London) who falls for a nice Jewish boy (Jonah Hill), leading to a culture clash between their families, led by Eddie Murphy and Nia Long, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny.
Shotgun Wedding (Amazon)
J.Lo and Josh Duhamel star in this action comedy, as a couple who fight back after their destination wedding is hijacked by criminals. With Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Lenny Kravitz, Cheech Marin, and D’Arcy Carden.
Saturday 1/28
Snow Roll (Imperial Pizza, 1035 Abbott Road, 1pm, FREE)
This group bike ride through South Buffalo is sponsored by Agents for Advocacy, who are supporting blizzard victims and pressuring city officials to implement a sidewalk snow removal program like the ones Rochester and Syracuse already have. The 10-mile ride is set up as three different loops, so anyone who needs to can come back to Imperial to warm up and grab a slice.
Sunday 1/29
The Dirty Show (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St., 7pm, $20)
See twelve comics get their minds into the gutter in this profane night of comedy.
Dan Bern (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave., 8pm, $15)
When Covid hit, veteran folkie Bern took his show online, with his “Hunkered in the Bunker” series, and now he’s back in the wild after a stint opening for — believe it or not – The Who.
Tuesday 1/31
Patty Griffin w/Raul Malo (Asbury Hall at Babeville, 341 Delaware Ave., 8pm, $48.50)
Singer-songwriter Griffin has won Grammys for both folk and gospel, and has written songs for everyone from Emmylou Harris to Kelly Clarkson.
Spafford (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St. 7pm, $20)
This jam band hews closer to Steely Dan than Phish or the Dead, but they still have in common extended improvisations and dedicated touring, including sets at Bonnaroo and Firefly.
Subject Board of Directors Meeting (5:45pm, Google Meet)
Subject is student-run and managed by a non-profit. Our board meetings are open to the public, in case you want to make suggestions or see how the sausage gets made. You can also join our Discord channel to learn more about the site and pitch an article, radio show, or podcast, or otherwise get involved.
The Flash (The CW, 8pm)
The big-screen DCU turned into a chaotic mess, but the small-screen “Arrowverse” was terrific. Alas, it comes to an end with the ninth and final season of The Flash, which producers say will be broken up into two major story arcs. We suspect neither will answer our biggest question: why can’t DC finally part ways with troubled Ezra Miller and just put Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen in the movies?
Friday 2/3
The Harlem Globetrotters (KeyBank Center, 1 Seymour H Knox Plaza., 7pm, $28)
For nearly 100 years, the Clown Princes of Basketball have been delighting audiences with a combination of jaw-dropping ballhandling skills and on-the-court tomfoolery. See if they can keep their win streak against the hapless Washington Generals alive!
