Ween – 7/25/08 – Brooklyn, NY

Ween – 7/25/08 – McCarren Pool – Brooklyn, NY
Photos here
Don’t forget to check out the past Ween shows I’ve shot here.

Green Jellÿ – 7/3/08 – Williamsville, NY

Drats!  Forgot to add these too.  Whoopsy daisy…

Green Jellÿ Huffs and Puffs back to Buffalo

Contributed by: buffalo.com/yourhub Andrew Blake on 7/8/2008

Somewhere after the giant foam head of Barney Rubble finished smoking a mock joint on the stage at Club Infinity, I contemplated whether or not I could be doing anything better with my life at that very moment.

Unfortunately, the show in front of me was moving too fast to come to a proper conclusion. Before I could settle on whether or not I was amused or baffled, there was a superhero adorned in a papier-mâché vest of feces .

At times like these, it’s often best to go with the flow.

When Green Jellÿ formed in Kenmore, NY in the early ’80s, no one thought anything would become of the group, let alone heavy MTV airplay a decade later or appearances on big name movie soundtracks and video games. Seventeen years since a few slackers from Ken-West picked up their instruments, a revived formation of the band, consisting of founding member and singer Bill Manspeaker and a slew of others, are still making music together under the old name. Manspeaker brought his group back to Western New York last week, the first hometown show in years, for a packed show at Club Infinity.

Being the first local show in ages, Manspeaker and his band didn’t disappoint the hundreds that crammed into club on Thursday. The band delivered over two hours of sophomoric potty jokes and skits (and music, of course), which as entertaining as it was, didn’t exactly demonstrate that the band has come along way since regularly packing The Continental on Franklin street. Then again, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

The band played over half of the tunes from their 1993 breakthrough Cereal Killer Soundtrack, including “Electric Harley House (Of Love)” and “Obey the Cowgod,” with each song showcasing props and costumes bordering on ingenious and pathetic, while albeit grossly entertaining.

After 90 minutes of trashing the stage with oversized chicken heads and battle axes, Manspeaker stripped out of his pants and began pilfering beers from those in the front row, which he promptly holstered snuggly in his underpants. Drenched in overpriced Blue, Manspeaker jokingly warned the crowd, many too young to even remember the days when their “Three Little Pigs” video dominated MTV, that “This is what happens if you don’t go to school.”

When Green Jellÿ did launch into their big hit, Manspeaker invited the crowd onto the stage, which was mobbed with nearly one hundred additional bodies before even the second verse of the song came around.

The show was over two hours of goofy, dirty, rock and roll fun, something that the Buffalo scene hasn’t seen since, well, the last time Green Jellÿ came around. And then, just as quickly as Manspeaker tore into each song, he took the stage for another encore, and seamlessly transformed himself into a salesman; he hawked $20 DVDs from the stage, and for nearly fifteen minutes barked out sales pitches. When the product was gone, that was it, and the show fizzled in perhaps the most anticlimactic conclusion ever.

At least Manspeaker knows that Buffalo hasn’t forgotten Green Jellÿ. As cheesy as it is, it’s one gimmick that still clearly sells.

Photos from Green Jellÿ’s hometown show right here.

Stone Temple Pilots – 7/12/08 – Toronto, Ontario

Stone Temple Pilots – 7/12/08 – Downsview Park (edgefest) – Toronto, Ontario

Photos here

Ween – 7/7/08 – Millvale, PA

Sorry for the delay, but here they are.

Ween – July 7, 2008 – Mr Smalls, Millvale, PA

Don’t forget to check out my old Ween photos here and a shitty story about last year’s tour I wrote

Sloan – 6/21/08 – North Tonawanda, NY

Whoa, forgot to post this…

Sloan Reigns Over North Tonawanda

Sloan – 6/21/08 – North Tonawanda, NY
Provided by: Andrew Blake – apblake.com

Contributed by: buffalo.com/yourhub Andrew Blake on 6/24/2008

When Sloan took the stage for the premiere performance of this year’s Gateway Park Concert Series on Saturday, the crowd already knew what they were getting themselves into. It only took a slight twist of the neck to see that foul weather was heading toward North Tonawanda, and the historic Erie Canal unfortunately offered little protection from the lightning storm approaching from the south.

On the other hand, those willing to brave the weather acknowledged that a soaked shirt and sneakers would be worthy trade-off for an up-close performance by alternative icons Sloan, whose acclamation in Canada over nearly the last two decades has trickled over the border album by album, establishing a hefty fan-base in Western New York.

It was not until an hour into the band’s set that the downpour leaked into Niagara County, and while the crowd certainly did dwindle, as lead singer Chris Murphy put it, those that left were simply “not cool.”

As winds picked up and the rain made its way stage-side, it noticeably took its toll on Sloan. While they kept the songs coming through the storm, chugging out 90 minutes of music, judging by the grinned teeth of Murphy and company it was hard to imagine that this was the group’s idea of stellar show conditions.

“It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans,” reprised Murphy as the group performed their 1994 single “Coax Me.” In North Tonawanda on Saturday, Murphy crooned it with a smirk and nod, perhaps ironically acknowledging the persistent crowd, who continued to shout requests and sing-along, despite the lackluster conditions.

While many of Sloan’s songs sound typical of Canadian alternative rock, not that it’s a bad thing, the group has been making music together since 1991, making them not just purveyors of the genre, but practically the inventers.

“Everything You’ve Done Wrong,” ushered in the first of many crowd sing alongs just four songs into the set. As the group exchanged instruments traded lead vocal duties throughout the show, the echoing accompaniment of the crowd often competed with the PA.

As the rain continued to splash down during the encore, those that stayed caught the decade-old alternative anthem “The Good in Everyone.” The two-minute tune is one of the best recognized numbers of the Sloan repertoire, and those “cool” enough to brave the rain sang along as lead guitarist Patrick Pentland assumed the role as lead singer.

Before the last chord could fade out, most of what was left of the crowd was already on their way to their cars, drenched. You don’t have to be fanatical to defy an early-summer shower in Buffalo, but it certainly does help.