Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Stream mewithoutYou music here

Watch | Official mewithoutYou video

Bio | MewithoutYou, stylized as mewithoutYou and abbreviated as mwY, is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consists of vocalist Aaron Weiss, guitarist Michael Weiss, bassist Greg Jehanian and drummer Rickie Mazzotta. The band's music is generally dominated by spoken-word vocals and free-ranging drums, bass, and guitar.

The band was originally conceived as a side project. The Weiss brothers and former guitarist Christopher Kleinberg were playing together in another band called The Operation with current bassist Greg Jehanian (who released one album and one EP, 2001's There Is Hope for a Tree Cut Down & 1999's Invisible Man EP, on Takehold Records), but Aaron wanted to start another band to experiment with new sounds. With the help of Ricky Mazzotta, Ray Taddeo, and his brother Mike, Aaron formed what is now formally known as mewithoutYou. At first the band was a four piece, with Aaron Weiss on both bass and vocals. However, in only a few months Chris Klienberg joined to play third guitar. The band released their first EP (I Never Said That I Was Brave) in 2001 and shortly thereafter signed to Tooth & Nail Records after a show at Cornerstone Festival the same year. Around this time Taddeo had moved on, and Daniel Pishock was recruited to be the first official and permanent bass player of the band. The Operation disbanded soon afterward, and mewithoutYou's debut full-length album, [A→B] Life, was released in 2002. The band garnered more attention for their second release, 2004's Catch for Us the Foxes, which was produced by Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate). In December 2004 Pishock had made the decision to retire as the bassist to pursue a career in teaching and explore other musical ventures, and former Operation frontman, Greg Jehanian, was selected to replace him. In 2005, mewithoutYou won mtvU's "Left Field" award for most original artist for their song "January 1979." Their third album, Brother, Sister, again produced by Wood, was released on September 26, 2006. In late 2007, guitarist Christopher Kleinberg left the band, to pursue a degree in medicine. Pete Syoum filled in for guitar in the fall of 2007, but later Kleinberg returned to play with the band on their 2008 Summer tour since school was not in session. Kleinberg also played some shows on their, It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, tour in June 2009.

Aaron Weiss provides narration for the Forgive Durden album entitled, "Razia's Shadow: A Musical" which was released October 28, 2008. He also provides vocals for Norma Jean's "Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste" and Indie/Hip Hop project Bella Futuro's "70 X 7".

As of September 2008 the band has finished recording the follow-up to Brother, Sister titled, It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright. The title of the album is taken from parable 518 in the book 'The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh" by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. In this he writes, "It's all false, It's all a dream, It's all crazy, It's all over, It's all right, Let's see what's next".The latest album is a departure from Weiss' trademark shouting and the band's raucous grooves. The mile-a-minute rants, thick with lyrical angst, are traded for simpler melodies with lyrics about anthropomorphic food and animals. Similarly, the band has scaled back their edgier post-hardcore sound, at times trading riffs for chords and guitars for pianos and harp. Even a classical composer was called into their Fishtown, Philadelphia studio for various arrangements on several tracks. The album was produced by Dan Smith (Danielson, Sufjan Stevens) and Brian McTear and was mixed by Brad Wood.

They tour in a 42-foot 1976 MC8 Charter bus that runs on vegetable oil. Before July 2009 the side of the bus read "Altus Bulldogs." The bus has since been painted in a light beige and marked with paintings of flowers and vines by artist Salihah Moore.

In a June 2011 interview with Kick/Snare/Hat, drummer Rickie Mazzotta stated that mewithoutYou were writing for their fifth studio album. The band booked studio time at the end of July and through August. They also added Brandon Beaver of Buried Beds to play second guitar, as stated on their blog by Rickie Mazzotta. On August 10, 2011, Chris Kleinberg and wife Nikki had a baby girl, Jubilee Kleinberg. Because of this, the August 13 show in Philadelphia, PA was one of the first local shows where Kleinberg did not join the band on stage since his departure in 2007.

Later in August, Mazzotta stated in an interview that the band has parted ways with Tooth & Nail Records due to perceived restrictions placed on them by the label. They hinted at starting their own label as they prepared to release their fifth album.Other band members, however, expressed satisfaction with and gratitude and affection toward their old label, citing different reasons for ceasing to work with them: namely, having completed their contract, the declining relevance of record labels in the current music world, and simply the excitement to try something new.

In February 2011, Alternative Press announced that the band's fifth album is due spring 2012, and will be produced by Daniel Smith. Thirteen songs were recorded in the studio sessions with eleven planned for the album plus one or two b-sides.On March 1, 2012 the band announced that their new album titled Ten Stories would be released on May 15, 2012. One fan has reported that through conversation with Greg Jehanian and Mike Weiss, it was revealed that Hayley Williams of Paramore provides guest vocals on one new track, rumored to be "Fox's Dream of the Log Flume." The album art, created by Vasily Kafanov, is to be revealed as a series of puzzle pieces through the band's Facebook page.--Wikipedia

Event Description

Ages 21+ admitted with ID. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm
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Listen | Kid Gorgeous

Watch | Official Kid Gorgeous Video

Bio | "Kid Gorgeous was conceived in 1999 in Buffalo, NY. The quintet featured ex. members of Buffalo legends Buried Alive, Despair & Every Time I Die as well as current members of Anterrabae & Ghosts of War. Along side completing numerous U.S. tours, KG also released two full length albums with Uprising Records (Friday Night Knife Fight - 2001 & This Feeling Gets Old - 2003) as well as an EP on Redstar Records in 2000. Kid Gorgeous played it’s final show in November of 2003 before returning in September of 2006 for a one-time reunion." -lastfm.com

Event Description

18+ admitted with NEW YORK STATE I.D. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-888-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Wallpaper. Music

Watch | Official Wallpaper. video

Bio | Wallpaper. is, in many ways, Ricky Reed. The indulgent and ever-stylish frontman is more than just a sweet pair of shades and a gold-plated microphone. He’s a bona fide viral hustler, a disco ball-busting showman and an extremely gifted producer expertly blurring the lines between glitzy pop, raunchy rap, anthemic rock and electronic funk. And as of late last year, he's also the latest signing to Epic Records, hand-picked by CEO L.A. Reid to join his legendary ranks. But Wallpaper. is other things too: a raging four-piece in the arena, for one, but most importantly, Wallpaper. is you—you and me and everyone we know on our best night ever, positively #STUPiDFACEDD, champagnin’ with no plans in the morning.

When first we met Ricky, he was crushing Oakland house parties and selling CD-Rs out the trunk of his car. He’d called up his earliest influences—P-Funk, Afrobeat, Bay Area rap, Prince—and come away with sweaty, swaggerful beats imbued with real musicality. He'd earned out-of-town props via his bizarre video blogs and inventive remixes—that sax-blaring remake of Das Racist’s “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” didn't hurt—and the debut Wallpaper. LP, Doodoo Face, a vibrant collision of wild percussion, synth blurt, heavy bass and unchecked narcissism. Since, the live show has evolved into a visceral thing with double drummers thundering behind Ricky and his partner, the sassy and stunning Novena Carmel.

Ricky initially self-released Wallpaper.’s breakout single, “#STUPiDFACEDD,” dubbed an “awesomely doltish ode to Saturday-night oblivion” by EW, and the resulting video has racked up over two million views since being featured during MTV’s Indie Music Month. The song infiltrated several episodes of Jersey Shore too, and inspired MTV and Extreme’s HYPE Music to team up with Evan Bogart’s freshly launched Boardwalk Records for an innovative release partnership. Enter the #STUPiDFACEDD EP, a genre-bending, thump-addled set featuring a guest turn from rap legend Too $hort as well as the anthemic "FUCKING BEST SONG EVERRR," recently animated for Liquid Television by Christy Karacas.

Now, as radio stations fight over which format has dibs on him—Top 40, Alternative, Rhythmic—Ricky continues to do what he does best: put in work, create, tour, entertain. He collaborated with Rivers Cuomo on Cee-Lo Green's new single "Anyway," recently completed a song with funk godfather George Clinton, and covered Adele with a little help from raunchy rising Detroit emcee Danny Brown. He’s an in-demand remixer, working with artists as diverse as Britney Spears and Local Natives, and a beast on the road with a band whose sound is always busting at its well-tailored seams. Ladies and gentlemen, look outside—and if it’s the weekend, just check the mirror—Wallpaper. has arrived.

Event Description

18+ admitted with New York State I.D. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-888-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Just Ending Now

Watch | Just Ending Now Official Video

Bio | "Last month, we tipped you off to a new local underground rapper called Jeremy Jermaine Jerome, whose music is as catchy and interesting as it is weird. His debut album NAN is available at his website, and his music video "Integrate" depicts the mullet-clad JJJ gallivanting around some of the less aesthetically pleasing areas of Buffalo. Now, there is a new single available at the front page of his website, called "Gangster of Hysteria." The song's beat sounds like what you would get if you took the music from one of the creepy temples from The Legend of Zelda and put it underneath some overdriven boom-bap drums. Confused? JJJ's lyrics would tell you that "confusion is contagious" and "the stranger that it gets, it feels more familiar." Enough of me trying to describe it. It's definitely worthy of three minutes of your time." -buffablog.com

Event Description

All ages welcome. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Between Glass Walls

Listen | Fictitious Ray

Listen | Forget Me In Vegas

Listen | Faith And Fiction

Listen | The Ways Of Tom

Event Description

16+ admitted with I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619 or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Marie Antoinette

Listen | Searching For Dinosaurs

Listen | The Travel Agency

Listen | Sara Elizabeth

Event Description

18+ admitted with I.D. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619 or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Red Sky Fallen

Listen | Queen City Renaissance

Listen | Crashfuse

Listen | Blueshift

Event Description

All ages welcome. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Sheltered By Skies

Listen | The Donner Party

Listen | Don\'t Be A Hero

Listen | Currents

Listen | The Scarlet Masquerade

Listen | Scenery With Solace

Event Description

All ages welcome. Tickets on sale now at www.tickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-223-6000 or at our low service fee outlets including the Town Ballroom box office and the After Dark box office | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30 pm.
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Listen | Reel Big Fish

Watch | Official Reel Big Fish video

Bio | "Reel Big Fish was one of the legions of Southern California ska-punk bands to edge into the mainstream following the mid-’90s success of No Doubt and Sublime. Like most of their peers, the band was distinguished by their hyperkinetic stage shows, juvenile humor, ironic covers of new wave pop songs, and metallic shards of ska. The group cultivated an underground following that broke into the mainstream in summer 1997, when their single “Sell Out” became a modern rock radio and MTV favorite. Their appearance in the movie “Baseketball” as the halftime band also gained them more fans and helped the bands popularity to grow. Still fronted by original lead singer and song writer Aaron Barrett, they continue releasing albums and touring relentlessly, playing more and more countries and bigger venues all over the world."

Listen | Goldfinger

Watch | Official Goldfinger video

Bio | "Goldfinger formed with it's original line-up in 1994. John and Simon worked together at NaNa's shoe store in California. They decided to form a band and needed a drummer, so they asked Darrin who was working at the local Starbucks to listen to a tape they had made. The day he heard it he was air drumming along with it all day, he loved it! At this time, Goldfinger's original guitarist left to the band to become a pro surfer in Costa Rica, where he still lives. John had a good friend named Charlie who played guitar and he thought he would be a great replacement on guitar.

Charlie's first show with Goldfinger was a little hectic, he was given a tape of the songs on Friday night, practiced with the band on Saturday and played a show that night. Goldfinger were now recording their Demo EP called "richter", it was given amazing reviews and they were getting good indie/college radio airplay. Goldfinger were now given the oppurtunity to record the S/T debut LP. They recorded the cd in 1995 and it was released in spring on 1996, their first single/video "Here in your Bedroom" was played at a high rate and they gained in popularity. Goldfinger also released videos for "Mable" and "Only a Day".

In 1996 Goldfinger played more shows than there are days...they toured with such bands as the Sex Pistols, No Doubt, Vans Warped Tour, and Reel Big Fish."

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Motion City Soundtrack

Watch | Official Motion City Soundtrack Video

Bio | "As the New Year approaches, Motion City Soundtrack is about to embark on one of their most exciting and unprecedented musical adventures to date. On January 19, 2010, the band will release their long-awaited fourth album, My Dinosaur Life, for Columbia Records. When it came time for Motion City Soundtrack to record their major-label debut, the band called upon Blink-182 bassist/producer/friend Mark Hoppus, who first worked with the group on their breakthrough album Commit This To Memory. “We weren’t looking for someone to change us into something we aren’t,” explains Cain. “We just wanted to be free to make a darker, rock record. With Mark, he’s such a champion of what we do.”

With Hoppus in their corner and a stockpile of songs that had been demoed in Minneapolis during the fall of 2008, the band was all set to relocate to Los Angeles in the New Year to start work on production for My Dinosaur Life—that is, until 1 a.m. on January 1, 2009, when Thaxton took a spill and broke his right arm. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t doing anything cool,” admits Thaxton, slightly embarrassed. “I was leaving a New Year’s Eve party and I slipped off the curb when we were walking to the car. I didn’t think anything about the fall until I tried to get up and then knew something was very wrong.”

Thaxton was immediately rushed to the emergency room where, unfortunately, his injuries were misdiagnosed. (“[The doctors] missed the giant break that was in my arm. They X-rayed the wrong part.”) It was another four days until he received an MRI and Thaxton learned the extent of the damage. It would take one operation and nearly four months of physical therapy to regain the movement and strength in his arm. “Me not being able to play on the record was definitely a huge fear, especially because it was our first album for Columbia,” says Thaxton, still working hard towards a full recovery. “The thought of me not being on it made me sick. I was very glad we were able to work it out and make that possible.” In fact, the band took the mishap as an opportunity to challenge their typical songwriting process and keep the creative energy flowing up until they entered the studio in May. “[If not for the situation with Tony’s arm] there are some songs that wouldn’t have come out the way they did,” says Cain. “What this process allowed [us] to do was flesh my ideas out as much as possible. [For example, I was able to give my songs] to Matt to get his thoughts and then have Justin sing to it. Tony was then delivered a song that contained everything.”

Songs like the foul-mouthed, tongue-in-cheek romp “@!#?@!” and spazzy sing-along “Hysteria,” which were products of this extended songwriting period, were then added to other tunes that the band had already fleshed out and were eager to finish in the studio. The result is My Dinosaur Life, a collection of 12 songs that push the limits of power-pop and challenge the ideals of the boombox generation. For example, the album’s first single, “Disappear,” is reminiscent of ’90s-era angst rock (a la The Pixies and The Replacements), with its muffled guitars and cautionary vocals. “Pulp Fiction,” which was written during a break in songwriting when Pierre vacationed in Japan, is a piano-driven rock overture that frames the rousing adventures of a stranger in a strange land, all while name-checking everything—and everyone—from Miami Vice to Seabury Quinn. Finally, “A Lifeless Ordinary” is a perky yet pensive romp that ponders themes of escapism and displacement—emotions that are felt and expressed throughout the lyrics of My Dinosaur Life.

“I think I’m much more of myself than I’ve ever been,” admits Pierre, who still battles his demons of indecision and insecurity but more now than ever before, he has hope that a resolution is soon within his grasp. “What does that mean? I’m not sure. I don’t think I’m any one thing. All you can do is be responsible for your words and your actions. I don’t think I’m there yet, but I have my moments. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

It’s this predilection for organized upheaval that further explains why Motion City Soundtrack—and their new album My Dinosaur Life, which was mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Kaiser Chiefs)—is a study of musical contradictions because without the chaos, there wouldn’t be the calm and without the pain, there wouldn’t be the pop. “We’ve battled for every one of our fans,” says Cain. “With Commit This To Memory, the snowball started rolling hard and fast. We went from playing in front of 150-200 kids to 1,500-2,000 kids without an issue. I think with Even If It Kills Me, that snowball definitely started melting and it was harder to push that ball down the hill. I understand because it was a different record—but we’ve always made different records.” For better or worse, it’s Motion City Soundtrack’s constant quest to evolve and challenge themselves as musicians—and people—that keeps fans coming back for more. After all, as the saying goes, to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." --motioncitysoundtrack.com

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. On sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW, or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Stream Anthony Green Music Here

Watch | Official Anthony Green Music Video

Bio | "Anthony Green, born April 15, 1982 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is the lead vocalist for the band Circa Survive. His first solo album, Avalon, was released on Photo Finish Records in 2008. A follow-up entitled Beautiful Things is planned for later this year.

Anthony is well known for his impressively high vocal range. In addition to his position in Circa Survive, he is the former lead vocalist of Saosin and member of The Sound of Animals Fighting, a experimental rock band featuring members of RX Bandits and Finch. Other projects he has been involved in throughout his career include High and Driving, Audience of One, Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer and Jeer At Rome. He has been featured as a guest vocalist or backup vocalist in many bands, such as Fear Before The March Of Flames, The Receiving End of Sirens, Envy on the Coast, The Spill Canvas, Say Anything, Good Old War, A Trunk Full of Dead Bodies, and Like Lions. Green also played four acoustic sets opening for The Color Fred in late December 2005, as well as two benefit shows in December 2006.

In 2003, Anthony Green moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Southern California in order to pursue a future with Saosin. Saosin would release only one EP with Green, Translating the Name, before he departed to form Circa Survive. The band immediately gained the support of Equal Vision and within a year had released a limited edition tour EP entitled The Inuit Sessions. They went on to release two full-length albums, Juturna and On Letting Go, before moving on to Atlantic and releasing a third, Blue Sky Noise, and another EP, Appendage. Anthony Green considers Circa Survive his only band, and has labeled his other ventures, including his solo career, as “projects.”

*** A portion of proceeds from this event will be donated to charity ***

Event Description

16+ admitted with I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619 or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Emily\'s Army

Watch | Emily\'s Army

Bio | "The debut’s album of the band is called “Don’t Be a Dick”. Words of wisdom from the mouth of new teenage pop punk band Emily’s Army. Influenced by the rich East Bay music scene, Gilman Street, classic power pop, and garage rock, Emily’s Army craft heartfelt teenage anthems dealing in cautionary tales, politics, and the pressures of adolescence.

The band members have known each other for most of their lives and discovered their passion for music together. From four-year olds hitting piñatas to little league baseball to surfing to collecting punk rock records; Max, Cole, and Joey formed the band in 2004 as Raining Souls. The name didn’t stick but it wasn’t long before inspiration arrived for one that would. Brothers Max and Cole’s 15-year-old cousin Emily was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1998 and has suffered from the disease her entire life. In tribute, the band adopted the name Emily’s Army, which also happens to be the moniker for a fundraising organization in their cousin’s honor.

The prolific song-writing brothers Max and Cole Becker write songs and play guitar as if it was attached to them at birth. Travis, who joined the band in 2009, brings forth a guitar swagger that compliments the Becker boys and can serve as an anchor to the tumultuous brotherhood of the band. Joey hammers the drums with such energy; you’ll rarely find him sitting on his drum stool.

Teenage anger bleeds through the album in songs like “Broadcast This” and “Gutter”. Injustice is tackled in the track “Bad Cop” which sheds light on corrupt BART police. Max wears his heart on his sleeve with songs like “Strictly For The Birds” (an ode to Catcher in the Rye), “I Wanna Be Remembered” (dedicated to his cousin Emily) and “Burn Apollo” which resonates with pure honesty. The songs overflow with angst and sincerity, but they’re also catchy – sure to leave a memorable impact on any listener. The dynamics of the brother’s songwriting allow them to distinguish themselves – but this also compliments and adds to the chemistry of their sound.

The band has been playing clubs and all ages shows up and down the California coast for 2 years—even getting a chance to open a gig at the infamous Bowery Electric in New York City.

The boys hit the studio in November 2010 at Jingletown Recordings in Oakland, with engineer Chris Dugan and producer Billie Joe Armstrong. The entire album was recorded and mixed in 4 days…capturing the spirit and passion of a teenage rock n roll machine!

At a time when young bands are homogenized and tailor made for consumption and eventual regurgitation, Emily’s Army is a breath of fresh air – rocking out together for the pure fact that they love playing music and they love playing together. From piñatas to punk rock, Don’t Be A Dick by Emily’s Army is the sound of the torchbearers to come." --last.fm.com

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Melvins

Watch | Official Melvins Video

Bio | "The Melvins were the first post-punk band to revel in the slow, sludgy sounds of Black Sabbath. Their music is oppressively slow and heavy, only without any of the silly mystical lyrics or the indulgent guitar solos; it's just one massive, oozing pile of dark slime. The Melvins' first record was released in 1987; they've released many albums since then, but it wasn't until 1993 that they went to a major label, thanks to their protégé, Kurt Cobain. While some may find the Melvins to be dull and repetitious, their place in rock history is interesting, even if considered to be just a footnote.

The band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, the same town that produced Nirvana's Cobain and Krist Novoselic. For Nirvana and many other Seattle-area bands, the Melvins' sludge was inspirational; the younger bands took the Sabbath-styled heaviness of the Melvins, while adding an equally important pop song structure, which the group tended to lack. While all of their disciples became famous after Nirvana broke big in 1991 (including Mudhoney, which featured former Melvins bassist Matt Lukin), the Melvins only expanded their cult slightly. They did earn a major-label contract with Atlantic, but after releasing three records for the label, they were dropped in late 1996 and the group returned to indie status, landing with Amphetamine Reptile for 1998's Alive at the F*cker Club. The late '90s and early 21st century saw a flurry of releases by the band: The Maggot, The Bootlicker, The Crybaby, Electroretard, The Colossus of Destiny, Hostile Ambient Takeover, Pigs of the Roman Empire, Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony and Lust, all of which (except for the fourth one) were issued on Mike Patton's Ipecac label.

In addition to their Melvins activities, singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne joined Patton (and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn) for the experimental outfit Fantômas, resulting in a number of releases (1999's self-titled debut, 2001's The Director's Cut, 2002's Millennium Monsterwork by "the Fantômas Melvins Big Band" (recorded live in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 2000 but not released until two years later), 2004's Delirium Cordia, and 2005's Suspended Animation), while the Melvins' latest bassist, Kevin Rutmanis, joined Patton in another side project, Tomahawk. In 2006, Big Business bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis joined the Melvins, appearing on that year's Senile Animal album. The follow-ups, 2008's Nude with Boots, 2010's The Bride Screamed Murder, and a live album titled Sugar Daddy Live, were recorded with the same lineup and released by Ipecac. Melvins Lite is the latest incarnation with King Buzzo, Dale Crover, and Trevor Dunn." --starpulse.com

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY | Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | As I Lay Dying

Watch | As I Lay Dying Official Video

Bio | "As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by Tim Lambesis and having completed their first Line-up in 2001, the band consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh Gilbert, all of whom are Christians. Signed to Metal Blade Records, As I Lay Dying has released four studio albums, one split album, and one compilation album.

As I Lay Dying’s fourth studio album, An Ocean Between Us peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Top Rock chart. The band has performed at Wacken Open Air, With Full Force, Soundwave Festival, Sounds of the Underground, Warped Tour, and Taste of Chaos. In 2007, As I Lay Dying won the “Ultimate Metal God” award from MTV2 at the first annual “All That Rocks” special, was named “Artist of the Year” at the San Diego Music Awards in 2008 and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for the song “Nothing Left”. The band wrote and recorded their latest album, The Powerless Rise on the course of a three year process and was released in May 2010. It has been considered by many to be their best work yet." -lastfm.com

Event Description

All ages show. Tickets on sale now at www.tickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-223-6000 or at our low service fee outlets including the Town Ballroom box office and the After Dark box office | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | First Aid Kit

Watch | First Aid Kit Official Video

Bio | "Prodigious Swedish teenagers Klara (17) and Johanna Söderberg (19), AKA First Aid Kit, have been gathering fans apace since the release of their 'Drunken Trees' EP in February 2009. They are proud to have since released their glorious debut full length, The Big Black and The Blue.

Spending their formative years drinking from the fountain of American classics – everything from Buffy Sainte-Marie (you can hear FAK's revamped version of her 1964 protest classic 'Universal Soldier' here, to the likes of Conor Oberst – it shaped their way with song writing, arrangements and even the use of a second language. Audiences have been falling at their feet, enraptured by their pure, shimmering voices in harmony.

Until now they have been rightfully praised for their astonishing cover versions, such as their infamous YouTube phenomenon of Fleet Foxes' 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song', but First Aid Kit are now unveiling some remarkable songs of their own. The first flourishes can be heard on this masterly debut album, built around the sweeping majesty and almost telekinetic, intricate weaving of their voices. Sounding like the dreamy and spectral nieces of the Indigo Girls or Michelle Shocked coming in from the campfire to settle at the Stockholm kitchen table, the Söderberg's distil all of their collective influences and make them their own.

Whereas Wendy and Bonnie made a play for tripped-out girl-pop many moons ago, FAK are staking out the ground for wise-beyond-their-years, country-tinged pop. The songs seep under the skin and claw at you. Surface playfulness is deceiving as the tracks take on a darker hue in places, but both elements work perfectly together to create a trance-like quality. This is very special, indeed. Recorded by the band and their father at "Cellar Door" (their house in Stockholm), with small yet purposeful flashes of drumming from friend Charlie Smoliansky, the sisters wrote all the songs, and also designed all the complementary, sepia-toned artwork." --artists.letssingit.com

Event Description

16+ admitted with I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619 or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Milo Greene

Watch | Official Milo Greene Video

Bio | Hailing from Southern California, MILO GREENE brings their live show to Buffalo August 1st. Their freshman EP, recorded in the homes of friends and family around Los Angeles, has garnered admiration from critics and bloggers and gained them prime spots at this year's SXSW and Lollapalooza festivals, as well as tour dates with The Civil Wars. Their debut LP is available July 17th on Atlantic Records. For fans of: Young The Giant, Of Monsters and Men, Local Natives, and Good Old War.

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY | Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Toadies

Watch | Official Toadies Video

Bio | Todd Lewis (Vocals, Guitar) Mark Reznicek (Drums) Clark Vogeler (Guitar) Doni Blair (Bass) "“There’s a certain uneasiness to the Toadies,” says Vaden Todd Lewis, succinctly and accurately describing his band—quite a trick. The Texas band is, at its core, just a raw, commanding rock band. Imagine an ebony sphere with a corona that radiates impossibly darker, and a brilliant circular sliver of light around that. It’s nebulous, but strangely distinct—and, shall we say incorrect. Or, as Lewis says, “wrong.”

“Things are done a little askew [in the Toadies],” he says, searching for the right words. “There’s just something wrong with it that’s just really cool… and unique in a slightly uncomfortable way.”

This sick, twisted essence was first exemplified on the band’s 1994 debut, Rubberneck (Interscope). An intense, swirling vortex of guitar rock built around Lewis’s “wrong” songs and abstract lyrics—like the smash single “Possum Kingdom,” subject to as much speculation as what’s in the Pulp Fiction briefcase, it rocketed to platinum status on the strength of that and two other singles, “Tyler” and “Away.”

Perhaps in keeping with the uneasy vibe, that success didn’t translate to label support when the Toadies submitted their second album, Feeler. Perhaps aptly, things in general just went wrong. “We got approval for a record,” says Lewis, “and somewhere in the process of handing over the masters to get mixed, it got unapproved. So we went back to the drawing board.”

Eventually some of the Feeler tracks made it onto Hell Below/Stars Above—a sophomore offering that came seven years after Rubberneck. “It was a very weird, trying time,” says Lewis, who didn’t see the next blow—the sudden departure of bassist Lisa Umbarger—coming. “We went out on tour, and immediately the band split up,” he laughs sardonically. “We kinda shot ourselves in the foot.” They released a live album, Best of Toadies: Live from Paradise, and it was over.

Coming out of the Toadies, Lewis, guitarist Clark Vogeler and drummer Mark Reznicek were disillusioned. Vogeler went to work as a film editor, Rez hooked up with the country-western band Eleven Hundred Springs. Lewis initially thought, “Fuck this whole business. I’m gettin’ out. I just wanted to do anything else.”

Toadies fans, though accepting, stuck with them, often inquiring as to the band’s activities. Says Lewis, “People just asked me “So, what are you doin’ now?” Although he’d been “foolin’ around” with Rev. Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley, he answered, “I don’t know. Nothin’. This, that and the other. Workin’ around the house, workin’ in the garage, just toolin’ around.” Soon it occurred to him that music was all he wanted to do. “I’m a musician. That’s what I do, and I’m not happy not doing it.” Eventually Lewis and Bentley formed the Burden Brothers in 2002 and released a slew of EPs, two albums and a DVD while touring profusely.

Meanwhile, “Possum Kingdom” never left the airwaves, enjoying constant rotation at major modern rock stations. Fans clamored for a Toadies reunion. “The band never went all the way away;” says Lewis. They regrouped in 2006 for a couple of sold-out shows around St. Patrick’s Day, and again the next year for the same thing. In August 2007, when personnel changes with the Burden Brothers resulted in that band going on hiatus, Lewis began writing.

“I was pissed off again and wanted to keep goin’,” he says. “I didn’t know what I was writing, right out of the gate, but… it was just coming out very “Toadies.” Lewis called Rez and Vogeler and asked if they were interested in making another record. They were—and the Toadies officially reconvened, signing with Kirtland and recording No Deliverance with David Castell (Burden Brothers, Blue October) at Fort Worth Sound in Fort Worth and Music Lane in Austin. Lewis says the band has gone for a “bare knuckle” sound, amping up the psychotic stomp heard on Rubberneck and Hell Below… on the grinding, relentless title track as well as the seething, death-of-a-romance gem “So Long Lovey Eyes” and the towering, sludgy “Man of Stone.” The upshot is a taut, exhilarating listen that is quintessentially Toadies.

Lewis is stoked on “the freshness of this new record. Getting back into this, back into the feel of the Toadies, is cool. Lewis, Rez, Vogeler and new bass player Doni Blair (Hagfish, Only Crime) are optimistic that their indie incarnation will succeed, thanks to the support of their devout fans—and equally supportive label. “The music industry has changed so much,” says Vogeler. “A band like us can be on an independent label and still get the music out to the people who want to hear it.”

The Toadies are now free to pursue success on their own merit and muscle. And things are starting off nicely: On August 2, The Toadies will play Lollapalooza and, following the album’s release, they’ll embark on a nationwide tour offering old fans and those to come—as he recently told SPIN, “Balls. A ton of balls.”

“Getting back to the bare knuckles element of the Toadies,” continues Lewis, “is what I really enjoy, after being away from it for so long.” Vogeler and Rez concur. “I’m here and still doin’ it,” furthers Vogeler, “because the music’s good.” And Rez proclaims in his thick Texas drawl, “The Toadies are back in business.”

And suddenly, everything wrong is right." --thetoadies.com

Listen | Helmet

Watch | Official Helmet Video

Bio | "Assembled in New York, USA, in 1989, this Alternative-Metal band initially consisted of frontman singer+guitarist Page Hamilton, guitarist Peter Mengede, bass player Henry Bogdan and drummer John Stanier.

Two years later the quartet released an independent album entitled "Strap It On", subsequently, the group, inked a deal with Interscope Records that re-released the debut disc. In the summer of 1992 the band issued "Meantime", which cracked The Billboard Top 200 chart reaching the #68 position, it included the Modern Rock top 30 hit single, "Unsung". The following year Helmet contributed the opening track, "Just Another Victim", to the "Judgment Night" soundtrack, a Rap-Metal duet with House Of Pain. After taking time out for themselves and after new guitarist Rob Echeverria joined to replace Mengede, the band set to work, recording their third effort, 1994's "Betty"; the album climbed into the top 50 of The Billboard Top 200 chart and generated the Mainstream Rock top 40 single "Milquetoast" plus the minor hits "Wilma's Rainbow" and "Biscuits For Smut".

A collection of early material and unreleased songs, called "Born Annoying", was released a year later, then Echeverria left the band, the remaining members decided to continue as a three-piece.

Helmet resurfaced in the spring 1997 with "Aftertaste"; the record peaked at #47 on The Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and the single, "Exactly What You Wanted", cracked the top 20 of The Active Rock chart; they toured for a bit and then in early 1999, the band decided to call it quits.

After a five-year hiatus, Hamilton reformed Helmet, with guitarist Chris Traynor, former Anthrax bassist Frank Bello and drummer John Tempesta; the band's come-back album, "Size Matters", was released in September 2004; it reached #121 on The Billboard 200 and yielded The Mainstream Rock top 30 hit "See You Dead".

The band, which now features Hamilton, Traynor and new members, bassist Jeremy Chatelain and drummer Mike Jost, returned in July 2006 with "Monochrome". Their first release on Warcon Records, which peaked at #11 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart, includes the single "Gone."" --100xr.com

Event Description

All ages welcome. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketweb.com, charge by phone at 1-866-468-7619, or at our low service fee outlet at the After Dark offices | 630 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY. Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | The Acacia Strain

Watch | The Acacia Strain Official video

Bio | "The Acacia Strain is a metalcore/hardcore band from Chicopee, Massachusetts, US that formed in 2001. The band have since undergone numerous changes in their lineup. To date, they have released five studio albums, as well as two split albums. The Acacia Strain have said they dislike genre labels, and instead describe themselves as “Heavy.” “You might hear other music that sounds like it, but those bands can’t touch what we have. We have heart. We mean it.” Lyrically, they base their music on “hatred, nihilism, humanity’s dependence on technology, and abhorrence for existence. ” Their sound has been compared to Whitechapel, Oceano, Recon, and Emmure." -lastfm.com

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | Band Of Skulls

Watch | Band Of Skulls Official Video

Bio | "When Southampton’s Band Of Skulls played a sold-out gig at London’s Forum in October 2010, it was a performance befitting a band honed by two years of constant touring, their sun-kissed melodies sweeter than ever, their riffs heavier and dirtier.. “In our minds, our first album [2009's debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey] was quite an intimate little record,” says singer/guitarist Russell Marsden from behind his trademark bug-eye shades, “But it turned into this huge rock thing in venues across the world.”

The Forum gig marked the end of one chapter in this young band’s life. Late in 2010, faced with the prospect of beginning work on their as-yet untitled second album, they stole away to a remote studio in rural Norfolk with nothing but each other, their instruments and some strong red wine for company. “It seemed like a good way of decompressing everything that had happened to us, all the adventures we’d had, but it was like a big, dramatic therapy session,” says Marsden. “It was desolate, lonely and bitterly cold. We were on our own in a room playing the same four chords at each other.” After weeks of isolation, heavy snow started falling. “We all had a massive panic attack about getting snowed in and so we bolted,” says Marsden. “It was like a prison break.”

January brought a new perspective and a new location – the trio returned to the cradle of their first album, their home studio in Southampton. “It’s a tiny little room, but there’s something about it,” says the drummer. ”If you can make something sound good in there, it’ll sound good anywhere.”

The creative juices soon started flowing, and the three songwriters – Marsden, Hayward and Richardson – were collaborating more fully than ever before. Scraps of melodies, lyrics and riffs fell into place, and complete songs began to emerge: the slow-burning album opener Sweet Sour, rockers Lies and The Devil Takes Care Of His Own. The results were designed for bigger crowds. “We wanted to write material that’s primed for where we’d got to,” says Marsden. “Beefier songs for bigger stages.”

By the time they reached Rockfield, the legendary residential studio in Wales, the band were primed to road-test the new material, playing a handful of US dates in a break from the album sessions. The response was electrifying: at the Beachside Festival in San Diego, one over-zealous fan rocked out so hard during new track You’re Not Pretty But You’ve Got It Going On he was Tasered by the police. “I guess he was having too much of a good time,” shrugs Richardson. “It felt like a real moment”.

Later, a performance at the Bonnaroo festival went on to shape the album’s character. “The new songs went down so well there we decided to incorporate some of the mistakes and mishaps into the studio versions,” says Marsden. “We had Ian [Davenport, returning Baby Darling… producer] jumping on top of our Fender amps to recreate one bit where the reverb was crackling and making weird noises. All the gear still had the dust and mud on it from the festival, so the dirt was there – a bit of filth from the road that made it onto the record.”

At the other end of the spectrum, tracks such as Hometowns, look closer to the band’s Southampton origins for inspiration. “A lot of the songs reference coming back home, realising how important it is to have that base,” says Richardson. Three years ago, they couldn’t wait to get away…

Marsden and Hayward have been making music together since the latter was 12. “When me and Russ started playing together, dad wouldn’t let us play a gig until we were good enough,” says Hayward. “By the time of our debut gig we were the most over-rehearsed school band in England.”

Richardson, who designs all of the band’s artwork, was drawn in after meeting Marsden at art college in Winchester, despite having never before picked up a bass. Naming themselves Fleeing New York, there followed a long period of frustratingly gradual progress, during which the threesome took jobs working in venues around Southampton. “We always had odd jobs, but always with the mentality that it was going to happen for us one day,” says Hayward. “Pulling pints in music venues was frustrating because you’d see these bands coming through and you’d be like, For fuck’s sake, I so badly want to do this.”

The band’s fortunes changed when they launched their own monthly shindig – Club Skull – at Southampton’s Talking Heads venue, where they hosted artists including Anna Calvi, Thomas Tantrum and Jim Jones Revue and saved the headline slot for themselves. “It ended up being the local hang for all the bands,” remembers Marsden. “People would make up there, break up there… get pregnant!” It gave the trio a platform and a name: it’s here that Band Of Skulls were born.

The feverish response to Band Of Skulls in America, Australia, across Europe and elsewhere has happened as a result of a few things. Getting a global iTunes Single Of The Week with I Know What I Am helped (and as a result, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey was rush-released to meet demand). Their appearance on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack in 2009 helped too, though the band claimed at the time to be oblivious to the phenomenon – they’d missed the first film and they’d not read the books, but if it was good enough for the quality of band’s included, it was good enough for them. The effect was short lived, they now say: “For a period of a couple of months we saw younger people turning up to shows in Edward Cullen T-shirts, but they sort of disappeared again,” says Richardson. The Mustang ad which ran across prime time US TV had more effect and elevated Light of The Morning into a stand out live track recognized by all the crowd.

With the attention afforded to them from audiences in far away places, the UK eventually caught up too. “You can do something so close up to the eyeball of England that you can be overlooked at first,” says Marsden. “It’s only when you go away and do something of note elsewhere that you’re given a hearing.” And that’s exactly what happened – they’re soon to headline Camden’s Roundhouse, where they’re set to unleash their fresh arsenal of songs. “That’s how we see it,” says Marsden. “Songs are your weapons. You might walk into somewhere and it’s got a barbed wire-fronted stage, so you hit the crowd with your heavy rock stuff. Sometimes the vibe is quite delicate, so you play the quiet stuff. We can do both. We’re the Swiss Army Knife of bands.”-bandofskulls.com

Event Description

All ages welcome. Tickets on sale now at www.ticketfly.com, AfterDarkPresents.com, Record Archive (33 Rockwood St, Rochester NY 14610), Needle Drop Records, House Of Guitars, Aaron's Alley, The Bop Shop, or charge by phone at 1-877-435-9849.
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Listen | Listen to Pat Metheny Unity Band Here

Watch | Pat Metheny Unity Band Video Here

Bio | Winner of 19 Grammy awards, including an unprecedented 7 in a row for 7 consecutive PMG recordings, The Pat Metheny Unity Band w/Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez & Ben William have 34 Grammy award nominations, 3 Gold Records (Secret Story, Still Live Talking, Letter From Home) and 37 recordings totaling about 20 million records sold worldwide.

Event Description

16+ admitted w/ I.D. Under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets on sale now at www.frontgatetickets.com, charge by phone at 1-888-512-SHOW or at our low service fee outlets including Record Archive and at the After Dark offices located at 630 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo NY | Monday - Friday 11am - 5:30pm.
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Listen | http://www.facebook.com/metric

Watch | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoK63Bk7pgw

Bio | "They say there’s no time like the present; what they really mean is there’s no such thing as the present. Five seconds into the future will be five seconds in the past once you finish reading this sentence. Life in the modern world so often boils down to taking comfort in the days of old or praying for some idealized future. Translated into rock ‘n’ roll, terms, it means you’re either ahead of your time or past your prime. And we’re cool with that.

But Metric don’t let you off that easy.

Their measures are decidedly cubist: eternal, multi-layered portraits of instantaneous moments, the luminous blur of street life rendered as a freeze-tableaux, daily rituals portrayed in a fantastical light. This is music born out of sly, considered observation instead of gratuitous introspection — which makes it refreshingly anomalous in an era when so much popular music fudges the line between self-absorption and self-parody.

Through their eight-year creative partnership, singer/synth specialist Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw have never settled long enough to be defined by any city, scene or style. Toronto made them friends, Montreal turned them into soulmates, London brought them songs, Brooklyn made them a band and, finally, their current tenure in L.A. has resulted in their debut album, OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, WHERE ARE YOU NOW?, produced by Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko soundtrack) and released late last year on Everloving Records. Truth be told, this is actually Metric’s second debut album. After moving from Montreal to Brooklyn in 1998, James and Emily formed Metric as a home-recording project in their Brooklyn loft. A publishing deal with Chrysalis UK brought Metric to London, where, with the assistance of New Order producer Stephen Hague, they recorded a batch of drum-machine-driven electro-pop songs that would form the basis of a debut album titled GROW UP AND BLOW AWAY.

Upon returning to Brooklyn in 2000, Metric experienced two major developments: a deal with L.A. indie Restless Records, and the recruitment of drummer Joules Scott-Key. However, 2001 would prove to be a year of waiting and stagnation, and while Restless perpetually delayed the release of the record, Metric grew, well, restless. In the meantime, the arrival of a live drummer had a serious transformative effect on the band’s sound: electronic experimentation, elaborate studio arrangements and stately stage presence gradually gave way to raw rock catharsis, dancefloor drive and increasingly uninhibited performances.

Feeling stifled by a combination of the Restless holdups, Metric would relocate to Toronto in the winter of 2001, performing club residencies and collaborating with old friends Broken Social Scene on their 2002 critical hit, YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE.

However, immediately after a star-making showcase at Toronto’s Canadian Music Week festival in March 2002, Metric packed up the van once more and set out for Los Angeles. Again, the move spurred a major development: i.e., the long-awaited dissolution of the band’s Restless deal. However, instead of trying to salvage an album of two-year-old songs that bore scant resemblance to the band’s current live configuration, Metric scrapped GROW UP AND BLOW AWAY for good and started over from scratch.

Almost immediately, the approach paid off: one of the band’s new demos, the punchy power-popper “Combat Baby,” became an instant staple on Nic Harcourt’s influential KCRW show Morning Becomes Eclectic in the spring of 2002. That summer, the band enlisted bassist Joshua Winstead (an old friend of Joules’) to shore up the rhythm section. By January 2003, Metric had completed an entire new record, OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, WHERE ARE YOU NOW? in mere weeks. “We banged this record out in 30 days, all live,” Haines says. “You always look back at your work and fuss over it, and we all agreed the fussing over it was kind of missing the point. We just pounded out the new music we wanted to make.” (However, the victory would prove somewhat bittersweet: on the final day of recording, Emily’s father Paul Haines – an acclaimed poet who had collaborated with the likes of Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt and Albert Ayler – passed away suddenly.)

Like all of Metric’s music to date, OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, WHERE ARE YOU NOW? isn’t so much a summation of influences as experiences. The album’s titular question speaks to old friends in a new city, trying to make sense of a world where war coverage feels like just another contrived reality TV show (“Succexxy”), where class lines are drawn with velvet ropes (“The List”), where propped-up fashion-mag rock stars retrace history’s steps under the delusion that they’re breaking new ground (“Dead Disco”). “It’s strange to think a lot of new music is modeled on the past already, and then people are modeling themselves on people who model themselves on the past,” Haines says. “I do think we’re in a recycling era, everything’s so retro. People should recycle more plastic and less culture.”

Stalking the urban catwalks, Haines keeps a detached distance, careful not to be seduced by the stimuli around her; while her voice has an alluringly sweet surface, it betrays the battle scars of disillusionment. Likewise, Shaw’s primal guitar spasms are seduced by a precise, disco-ball-busting rhythm section and swirling synth melodies that encourage Metric to take on their cultural targets with straight-on satire instead of seething contempt. “I think we’re all a little less reclusive than we were before,” Haines says. “I think it’s because the music I’ve always listened to has been the music my friends are making, and then a bunch of my friends started doing well, so I was forced into the broader climate of what’s going on. But I still feel like I’m drawn to the same themes as I’ve always written about — I’m still fucking wandering around.”

Where Metric’s next rent check will be cashed is a mystery, one the band is not too eager to solve, because doing so would mean succumbing to the great enemy of inspiration: premeditation. And while they may never find the comforting, enlightened Old World Underground they so romanticize; they’re not sure if it ever truly existed. But the world they’ve built for themselves on their new record will most definitely do. For now. “This band,” says Emily, “will always take new shapes.” - Stuart Berman --sing365.com