What’s Good – May 11-17, 2023
Our weekly guide to what’s going on around Buffalo and in the world of pop culture. There’s literally nothing going on on Thursday.
Friday, 5/12
Kevin Devine w/The New Amsterdams (Rec Room, 79 W. Chippewa St, 6:30pm, $19)
Emo/folkie Devine will be playing his albums Make the Clocks Move and Worse For Wear in their entirety. The New Amsterdams are a new band from Matt Pryor, formerly of the Get Up Kids.
Jess Hilarious (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St, 7:30 & 10pm, Fri & Sat, $42)
Baltimore comic Hilarious has appeared on Rel, Wild N’ Out, and All Def Comedy, and has more than 5 million followers on Instagram.
Hundred Plus Club EP Release (Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St, 7:00pm, $12)
Hundred Plus Club celebrate the release of their latest EP alongside openers Canetis Elemantra, Ben Alessi, and live visuals by Silas.
City on Fire (Apple TV+)
The first three episodes of this crime drama drop today, in which the murder of a college student (Chase Sui Wonders) seems to have a connection to a string of fires set around New York City.
Black Knight (Netflix)
Air pollution has wiped out most of the population, who rely on a group of daring delivery drivers for survival, in this South Korean dystopian drama.
New Movies This Week
Fool’s Paradise (Elmwood Center, Market Arcade, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
Always Sunny’s Charlie Day writes, directs, and stars in this film, in which a mute mental patient gets hired as a stand-in for a difficult method actor, and a melange of Hollywood characters project whatever they want to see onto Day’s innocent naif. A killer supporting cast includes Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Common, Edie Falco, Ken Jeong, John Malkovich, Jason Sudekis, and Ray Liotta in one of his final roles.
Knights of the Zodiac (Elmwood Center, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
A goddess of war reincarnates into the body of a young girl, and a street orphan discovers he was destined to protect her. Based on the manga Saint Seiya.
Book Club: The Next Chapter (in wide release)
This sequel to 2018’s Book Club stars a who’s who of Boomer actresses (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen), and may have been greenlit solely on having the perfect subtitle.
Hypnotic (Elmwood Center, Maple Ridge, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
Ben Affleck plays a detective who thinks a bank robber who seems to be able to control people with his mind may have a connection to his missing daughter, in the latest from Robert Rodriguez.
The Mother (Netflix)
J. Lo returns to action movies, playing an assassin who comes out of retirement to protect her estranged daughter, in an attempt to hit the sweet spot between Taken and John Wick.
Saturday 5/13
ESW Brawlfest 2023 (RiverWorks, 359 Ganson St., 5:30pm, $20)
Matt Cardona (aka WWE grappler Zach Ryder) joins Empire State Wrestling, headlining an afternoon of mayhem.
Native Nations at Niagara (Old Fort Niagara, 102 Morrow Place, Youngstown, noon-4pm, $7)
Old Fort Niagara holds its first Smoke Dance competition, based on a traditional Haudenosaunee war dance.
Brown/Hawkins/Stanley (Town Ballroom, 681 Main St, 7pm, $35)
Former Bourbon Tabernacle Choir frontman Hugh Christopher Brown, Ron Hawkins from Lowest of the Low, and Georgia singer-songwriter Stephen Stanley join forces to play through the best music from all three artists’ catalogues.
Classical Jazz Day (Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, 7:30pm, $32-101)
Violinist Regina Carter performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige Suite, and Schiff’s Four Sisters concerto, which pays homage to Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan.
Tonawanda Harbor Walking Tour (Canal Club 62, 62 Webster St, North Tonawanda, 10-11:30am, $7)
Explore the waterfront along Tonawanda Creek and the Erie Canal, and learn about how the latter helped Tonawanda and Buffalo thrive in the bygone era of Great Lakes shipping.
Hispanic Heritage District Walking Tour (SW corner of Porter & Niagara, 11am-12:30pm, FREE)
Take a walk down Avenida San Juan, and learn about the long history of Buffalo’s Hispanic community. The tour is free, but you must make reservations in advance on Explore Buffalo’s web site.
Sunday 5/14
Kreator & Sepultura (The Rapids Theater, 1711 Main St, Niagara Falls, 5:30pm, $30)
Celebrate Mother’s Day right, with these two hard rock legends, squaring off on their Klash Of the Titans Tour. With opener Death Angel Spiritworld.
Richard Thompson (Town Ballroom, 681 Main St, 7pm, $42.50)
Legendary singer-songwriter Thompson plays music from a decades long career that started with folk rock group Fairport Convention, and included a stretch of critically acclaimed albums as a duo with his ex wife Linda.
Fear the Walking Dead (AMC, 9pm)
AMC’s unkillable franchise shambles on, as this zombie spinoff returns for its seventh season.
Monday 5/15
Truth and Reconciliation Ride (Em Tea Coffee Cup Cafe, 80 Oakgrove, 6:30pm, FREE)
A day after the anniversary of the white supremacist Tops shooting, Buffalo comes together to celebrate community with a 10-mile group bike ride. The ride starts at Em Tea Coffee Cup Cafe, a pop-up community food pantry, goes to the Tops on Jefferson for a speech from UB Center for Urban Studies director Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, in remembrance of the victims of the attack, and returns to Em for a celebration with food, drinks, and live music.
Like Pacific (Rec Room, 79 Chippewa St, 6pm, $22)
This Toronto pop-punk band lives by the motto, “stay pissed”.
Tuesday 5/16
Mikaela Davis (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave, 8pm, $18)
Singer-songwriter Davis plays originals and Grateful Dead covers.
Wednesday 5/17
Choir! Choir! Choir! (Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, 7:30-10pm, $40)
This interactive performance makes the audience the choir, teaching a group of strangers to come together and harmonize. Wednesday’s show has an ’80s theme, with a singalong to “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the agenda.
Kepi Ghoulie w/Daze Ago, Shambles (Mohawk Place, 47 E. Mohawk St, 7pm, $15)
Kepi was the very energetic frontman of horror-themed punk band the Groovie Ghoules, and and has not slowed down as a solo artist.
Shamarr Allen (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave, 8pm, $15)
Hailing from the 9th Ward of New Oreleans, trumpeter Allen embraces that city’s musical melting pot of jazz, blues, funk, hip-hop, country, and rock.
Anisha Ram (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St, 7:15pm, $27)
Anisha Ramakrishna is the star of Bravo’s Family Karma, hosts the podcast Currently Cringing, and still finds time to go on tour delivering sharp one-liners.
High Desert (Apple TV+)
Patricia Arquette stars as an addict who decides to get her life together by becoming a private detective, in this new comedy series from Jay Roach. With Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Brad Garrett, and Weruchie Opia.
Subject Board of Directors Meeting (5:15pm, 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.
