Monday, May 28, 2007

Artists and Models 2007


This Saturday! Artists and Models has been the high point of many a Buffalo artists' spring for over 20 years. There is always a mix of the unusual art, the dark humor, the sweaty dancing, the fashion (both high and low), the drunkenness, the mystery and the who's who. And all for a good cause! This year, it will be held at the Central Terminal - one of my very favorite places in the city. One of the best things about Artists and Models is the way that the artists and organizers both take advantage of the vibe of the space that's being used and make it clearly their own, just for that night. This artist has had tons of fun at all I have attended (and I have only been to 6 or 7).
Buffalo Rising has posted a great podcast about the event. There is a guest appearance by David Butler (who I was specifically thinking of when I used the term "dark humor" above) who has been an artist in 18 of the 20 A&M events that Hallwalls has presented over the years. He not only describes his installation at this years party, but recalls some memorable A&Ms of years gone by.
See you at the Central Terminal this Saturday, June 9th!

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Friday, May 18, 2007

Nullstadt at Hallwalls

I just have to say WOW. Though I don't have my camera here with me this morning to upload the many photographs I took last night, I just have to put down some preliminary thoughts about last night. A full review will be on our music website, Buffaloroots, soon.
On the evening of May 17, there was a reading by Mark Nowak from his essay in the book "Goth-Undead Subculture". It is about the Buffalo music scene at The Continental in the early 80s. Specifically, the band Nullstadt.
On a previous post on Buffaloroots, I made no secret of the fact that I was a die hard fan of the band. I do feel a bit like an overzealous groupie, but as Mark read some snippets of his essay, I began to feel justification for my devotion. It started with the feeling in Buffalo at the time- the urban decay and the death of the steel industry. He spoke of the creation of art is such an atmosphere, which, as a photographer, makes complete sense.
He showed a video postcard of sorts from Steven Collins, which was great to see for band and crowd alike. SGC was deeply missed at this reunion, as he was a songwriter and his on-stage persona is unique among the other distinct personalities.
Then the band started. I'm not going in to much detail- Kevin was furiously taking notes as the show went on. The feeling was quite spectacular. I haven't heard the music in years (except watching the band's 2 videos on YouTube) and hearing it made the hair on my arms stand up; it made my palms sweat. Speaking with them later, we found out that they had limited rehearsal time, but they did not sound it. When I closed my eyes, I could almost smell that stinky old wonderful club. I guess this is what the grown-ups meant by reliving the past....
Big thanks to Donald Kinsman, David Kane, Kent Weber, Greg Gizzi, Darren Burns, and the absent yet present SG Collins for a memorable night (past) .

Past videos for your pleasure....


"A Similar Crisis" Nullstadt






"Mayday" Nullstadt


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