What’s Good – June 20-26, 2024

Our weekly guide to what’s going on around Buffalo and in the world of pop culture.

Thursday, 6/20

Yoonmi Nam: Among Other Things (UB Center For the Arts Gallery, first floor, through 6/21)
Nam deconstructs everyday objects and reconsiders them as scupture.

Wuon-Gean Ho: The Heart’s Sight (UB Center For the Arts Gallery, second floor, through 6/21)
A broad selection of Ho’s work from the past 15 years, including prints, books, and short films.

K. Trevor Wilson (Helium, 30 Mississippi St, 8pm, Fri/Sat 7:30/10pm, $13-28)
Wilson won a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for his role on Letterkenny, won two different Canadian Comedian of the Year awards in 2015, and has appeared on Last One Laughing, Billable Hours, Darcy’ Wildlife, and Breakout Kings.

Mdou Moctar (Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave, 7pm, $20adv/$25)
High-energy Nigerian punk band. w/J.R.C.G.

Guardin (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 7pm, $22, 16+)
w/Sewerperson, Eric Godlow, XY Softshade

Choro-Samba (Duende, 85 Silo City Row, 6-8pm)
Brazilian instrumental music.

Ian Liedke Jazz Quartet (PAUSA Art House, 19 Wadsowrth St, 7pm, $15-$17.50)

Improv Mixer (Amy’s Place, 3234 Main St, 7:30pm, $5 suggested)
Buffalo Improv House hosts this informal meetup, where everyone’s invited to join in the performance alongside veteran improv comics.

Poetry Open Mic & Game Night (26 Allen St, 6pm)
Co-hosted by Sara Ali and Meg Specksgoor

Karaoke Night (Milkie’s, 522 Elmwood Ave, 9pm)

Friday, 6/21

Future Dance Center Spring Recital (Mainstage Theater, UB Center For the Arts, 7pm, Sat 3pm, $21.50)
Future Dance Center presents Thriller.

Queer Carnival (Silo City, 85 Silo City Row, 7pm-midnight, $20)
The Glam Vamps present an adults-only carnival featuring drag, burlesque, aerialists, fire performers, tarot readings, face painting and more.

Three Decembers (Shea’s Smith Theater, 658 Main St, 7:30pm, Sun 2:30pm, $42/$17 students)
A modern opera about a dysfunctional family grappling with secrets, lies, and longing for connection.

Mo Lowda & the Humble (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St, 7pm, $20adv/$25, 18+)
Indie rock from Philly. w/The Thing

Joe Barna & Sketches of Influence (PAUSA Art House, 19 Wadsowrth St, 6:30pm, $16-$19)
Barna won the Listen Up Award for 2022 Jazz Artist of the Year, and the Eddie Award for 2023 Jazz Artist of the Year.

Dare 2 Repair (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwod Ave, 5-7:30pm)
Bring small appliances in need of repair to Wilson Town Square!

Geezer (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 7pm, $14)
Tribute to both Green Day and Weezer.

Live Band Karaoke (Rec Room, 79 W. Chippewa St, 10pm, $8)
Belt out your favorites in front of a live band.

New Movies This Week

Kinds of Kindness (in wide release)
Yorgos Lanthimos reteams with his The Favourite and Poor Things star Emma Stone for three loosely connected stories whose casts also includes Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley.

The Bikeriders (in wide release)
Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, and Michael Shannon play a 1960s motorcycle club based on the real-life Outlaws MC.

The Exorcism (in wide release)
Russell Crowe plays a horror movie actor whose daughter suspects his deteriorating mental state might have a sinister origin. (Not to be confused with The Pope’s Exorcist, also starring Crowe)

Thelma (Market Arcade, North Park)
A 93-year-old (June Squibb) vows revenge after being taken in by a phone scammer. With Nicole Byer, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell, Parker Posey, and Richard Roundtree in his final role.

Fancy Dance (Apple TV)
Lily Gladstone and her niece leave the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation to try and track down the girl’s missing mother, in Native documentary filmmaker Erica Tremblay’s first narrative film.

Trigger Warning (Netflix)
A Special Forces vet inherits her grandfather’s bar and clashes with the violent gang in her hometown.

Saturday 6/22

Horsegirl (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 6pm, $22, under 16 w/guardian)
w/Cindy & the Burkharts

Motion City Soundtrack (Town Ballroom, 681 S Main St, 7pm, SOLD OUT)

East Axis Trio (Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Ave, 7pm, $25/$20 students)
The piano-bass-drums jazz trio of Matthew Shipp, Kevin Ray and Eric McPherson

Tophouse (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St, 7pm, $18adv/$22, 18+)
Rock/bluegrass hybrid.

Hand-Building: Clay Planters (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwod Ave, 5-7:30pm, 16+)
Make and glaze your own ceramic planter, learn about plant care, and take home a newly potted houseplant.

Running On Faith: Freedom Seeker Stories (Paul Robeson Theater, 350 Masten Ave, 4pm, FREE)
This play tells three stories taken from William Still’s book The Underground Railroad, about people who escaped slavery via the network Still himself helped create.

Studio J Dance Recital (Shea’s 710, 710 Main St, 6pm, $32)

Midsommar Art Market (Silo City, 85 Silo City Row, noon-4pm, FREE)
40 local vendors feature and array of goods to help welcome the solstice.

Sam Marabella (Duende, 85 Silo City Row, 7-9pm)
Roots country, jazz, and blues.

Wordism: Jam Session (PAUSA Art House, 19 Wadsowrth St, 6:30pm, $19)
A non-competitive spoken word open mic, where each poet gets a live-band jazz accompaniment.

Celtic Sessions (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 4pm, FREE)

Sunday 6/23

T. Murph (Helium, 30 Mississippi St, 8pm, $13-33)
This Chicago comic stars on Hulu’s Woke, and was called “the most consistently funny aspect of the show” by The New York Times. He’s also appeared on Key & Peele, Get Shorty, and BET’s Comic View.

Drag Brunch (Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwod Ave, 5-7:30pm)
Celebrate Pride with a buffet brunch at Ralph Wilson Town Square at AKG, with performances by BeBe Bvlgari, Chyna Dior, Vanna Deux, Freddie Hercury, and kbod.

DJ Williams Band (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St, 7pm, $10adv/$15, 18+)
The ex lead guitarist of Karl Denson’s Tniy Universe. w/Electric Kif

Elliot Scozzaro Trio (Duende, 85 Silo City Row, 6-8pm)
The trio performs originals, standards, and bebop favorites.

Love Peace and Afrobeats (Riff City, 166 Chandler St, 6-10pm, $29)
DJs spinning afrobeat, amapiano, regga, soca, and afro house plus live music from The Foreign Fabric Collective.

Monday 6/24

Cthulhu: The Musical (Iron Works, 49 Illinois St, 7pm, $20adv/$25, All Ages)
Puppeteers For Fears performs original horror/sci-fi rock musials performed with a combination of puppets, video, and live music.

Tuesday 6/25

Melissa Ferrick (9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave, 7pm, $25adv/$30)
Ferrick has released 17 albums, starting at age 21, and teaches songwriting at Northeastern when she’s not performing. w/Gracie and Rachel

Gary Meikle (Helium, 30 Mississippi St, 8pm, $30)
This Scottish comic is a dark, punchy storyteller.

The Early November (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 7pm, $40, 16+)
w/Spitalfield, Cliffdiver

Solar Celebration (Duende, 85 Silo City Row, 5:30-8pm, $30 suggested donation)
A family-friendly evening to raise money to build solar power in off-the-grid areas across Africa.

Open Mic (Cucina @ Hotel Richardson, 444 Forest Ave, 6-8pm)
This weekly open mic features music, poetry, and comedy. Register at jkonze@douglasdev.com.

The Steam Donkeys (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 6-8:30pm)

Rustbelt Comedy Showcase (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 9pm, FREE)

Open Mic Night (Milkie’s, 522 Elmwood Ave, 6-9pm)

Dragula Viewing Party & Drag Show (Milkie’s, 522 Elmwood Ave, 9pm; $10)

Wednesday 6/26

The Arcadian Wild (Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave, 7pm, $15adv/$18)
Indie folk/pop quartet from Nashville. w/River and Rail

Buffalo’s Funniest (Helium, 30 Mississippi St, 7pm, $15, 18+)
The opening round of an annual tournament to find the funniest person in town. Your votes will send winners to the semifinals at the end of July.

Comedy Open Mic (Milkie’s, 522 Elmwood Ave, 9pm)