The Buffalo Ballet Review - 15th March 2012

It was a terrific night, by all accounts... Guests grazing on free whiskey, sifting through impressive artwork and eventually receiving a welcomed bombardment from our acts. All the senior ranchers from 'The Buffalo Ballet' were enthused by the reception - sighting the rosie-faced guests as a testament to our success. There's a real grit and determination to make this night something special for the second city, so we're boorishly putting ideas together for our Sophomore night. We'd like to say thank you to everybody who was involved and who attended...

Art Preview for The Buffalo Ballet - 15/03/12

+.++ Art Preview for Buffalo Ballet 15/03/12+.+.+ Come along tomorrow night to discover some local art, including paintings, illustrations and prints of an array of styles. All art is also for sale. A few of the artists who will be exhibiting their work at thenight tomorrow are: Alexander Colin Usher A half Canadian half British illustrator, living in London. His pen and ink illustrations are bold, simplistic, thought-provoking and slightly comical. Some including non-sensical captions or short stories, such as “the man who had an office for a face”, that are reminiscient of Nedko Solakov’s style, who recently exhibited in the Ikon. http://www.alexusher.co.uk/ Charles Gershkovich (Matt Weir) His projects involve photography, sound experiments, moving images and text based works. The projects often deal with the idea of time and location and their different combinations are a way of navigating the viewer through them. The work displayed tomorrow is a sequence of “text pieces from a series of letters sent by [the artist’s] Grandmother whilst she spent the summer of 1955 in Berlin. They are part of a larger work titled ‘Letters from Berlin’.” http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/gershkovich John Butler A talented artist from Feckenham, Butler experiments with various mediums for his work, ranging from film to photos, to oil paintings, to ink illustrations, to lithography to animation artwork. His pieces are colourful, with an ominous ambience, allowing the viewer to reflect on their beautifully superfluous surrealist nature. He's yet to reveal what will be on display this week. Written by Sivan Lavie.

The Shins perform 'Simple Song' on SNL.

A trim 'Jonah Hill' presented a trimmed 'Shins' line-up performing 'Simple Song'. Unfortunately, we're not Colonials and don't have access to the video on this continent (yet), so here's Bradford Cox performing 'My Sharona' for an hour. Thanks- Oobah.

So, it's come to this...

Yep, it's a gig of our very own! Me and Oobah have been taking it in turns to sit on this little egg of ours and it is so close to finally hatching in the glorious Spring sunshine. In terms of details: that's what the poster is for, dummy! There will be whiskey tasting thanks to our generous sponsors at Jamesons Whiskey and fun is absolutely, most definitely guaranteed. 

-Tim

The Shins - Bait And Switch

The Shins are releasing a new record soon, beautiful world isn't it? Y'know, it's hard not to think that we should savour the delicious 'Chutes Too Narrow' and 'Oh! Inverted World' now, because surely the sold out upcoming Kentish Town shows are a symptom of the 'Oh-look-I've-shared-this-topper-cool-band-on-my-social-network(I'd heard of them years ago)' Virus; deadly.

Sure, the recently debuted 'Simple Song' sounded 'produced', but 'Bait And Switch' sings a terrific melody as rhythmical interaction ensues. The video is bereft of a poorly executed narrative, and shows images of the band performing through shards of 'mumblecore' camera style. Without sounding as sincere as an 1980s shark - 'this is much more like it.'

Long may this be their direction.

-Oobah

Deer Chicago - Lantern Collapse

Deer Chicago have been earnestly beavering away for a year or so in their native Oxford and their hard work and resolve appears to have placed them in a strong position for a busy 2012. 

Bridging the gap into the new year is a video to accompany 2011's single The Lantern Collapse. It is a visual that, similarly to Deer Chicago's music, is punctuated by subtlety manipulating light and dark elements before finally giving way to a seizure-inducing and euphoric climax. 

Jonny Payne is a sincere and thoughtful frontman who is particularly accomplished in leading the charge without demanding the spotlight. The simple and honest imagery used in his lyrics allows his vocals to really command this powerhouse of a track as "the lantern burns". Underneath all this Biffy-esque bluster there is a delicate centre to Deer Chicago that is well worth sticking around for.

-Tim

Spring Offensive - Carrier

While Spring Offensive already seem a far more exciting prospect than your average 'best local band in Oxford' affair they do still feel, to an extent, an undiscovered gem. A selfish part of me would like them to stay that way as they appear to have turned the everyday boredom and dissatisfaction of part-time employment for the aimless graduate into music that is cutting, artful and ultimately stands head and shoulders above the rest of the indie pile.

Here is Carrier, the B-side to upcoming single: Worry, Fill My Heart. It is by no means a stretch for a band with such effortless ambition, but that won't stop it from being on repeat for weeks to come.

You can catch Spring Offensive on their imminent UK tour on March 16th at The Ballroom. See you there!

-Tim