This cat was saved by City Kitty.
It may not be “kitten season” yet, but it’s definitely time for last season’s batch of cuties to get spayed or neutered, in order to ward off an even bigger kitty explosion come spring. This semi-annual fundraiser helps “build the kitty for the kitties,” meaning proceeds benefit City Kitty, basically a one-woman cat rescue mission in the form of Robin Johnson. Vilardo Printing, Johnson’s business, is located at 326 Connecticut St., where she has has been tending to neighborhood strays since 2001. While the cats/kittens come in various stages of disease or neglect, at about six or seven months old, nearly all of them need to be spayed or neutered, which is the biggest cost of care for these “outdoor pets,” far surpassing medicine and flea control in expense. With approximately five cats that need “fixing” at any given time, it’s time for a fundraiser to help with costs. This one is at Nietzsche’s on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 8), from 2-8pm. Music provided by All of Them Witches, Bev Beverly, Fouren, Odiorne, and Wooden Waves on the front stage; on the back stage we’ll get Rose Bond, Susan Peters, Kathy Puleo, and Liz Abbott.
2-7pm. Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St. $10 donation plus cat food appreciated.
The Scorpio Ball is a costume party. You could, for example, dress as Tom Golisano.
On Saturday night, the Coalition for Economic Justice is hosting the second ever Scorpio Ball, celebrating Scorpios and the Halloween season, the end of the year’s elections, and another year of promoting workers rights, a living wage, accountable economic development, health are for all, and justice in general. (CEJ’s Micaela Shapiro-Shellaby writes: “Years back, the awesome leadership at the Coalition for Economic Justice had a vision. A vision of social and economic equality for all zodiac signs. Starting with Scorpio.) A good cause, a good time.
It’s a costume party. Live music by Blood Thirsty Vegans, FudgyChewy, the Gilded Masters of Club/Dance (previously known as Fashion Expo), and Dubby Gibbons on the decks.
Doors open at 10:30pm. 700 Main Street. $8 to get in/$6 with a student ID. $2 suggested donation for wine and beer.
Looks like those backward downstate New Yorkers are at it again. First, there was the successful High Line that reused a defunct Manhattan rail line as a public park, and now the Walkway Over the Hudson, the newest NYS park, which opened to the public on October 3. They even got Empire State Development grant money to help make it a reality.
A New York Times editorial describes it as “the latest example of the new kinds of infrastructure- for tourism and recreation- that are reshaping the Hudson Valley.”
Could something similar be done with the Skyway, if it’s ever decommissioned as a vehicular roadway? I’ve wondered about it. Some local folks think it’s worth considering, before spending tens of millions of dollars to tear it down and stuff all the scrap into our already bulging landfills.
And besides, the Skyway is part of our history.
Then again, maybe it’s just that people from downstate aren’t as afraid of heights as we are.
WBFO’s Wednesday night concert series continues at Allen Hall on UB’s South Campus with Buffalo-born folk troubadour Greg Klyma. Although Klyma now spends most of his time on the road touring, and he did relocate to Austin, Texas in 2004, Klyma is still considered a hometowner by his fans and the local media (he continues to get votes in Artvoice’s annual Best of Buffalo polls, having already won the honor of best folk/acoustic performer in the past), and he considers himself the same. This is where he comes “home,” to visit his family and to record his albums. Although a description of this singer/songwriter/storyteller almost invariably includes the word “troubadour” (that adjective appears everywhere—except Klyma’s own website), he prefers to describe himself by the title of his fifth album: as a “Rust Belt Vagabond.” He’ll make his way to Vermont right after Wednesday’s (Oct. 4) gig, then tour around the northeast until he returns for a show at the Sportsmen’s on Dec. 2. We’re always glad when he wanders back through our neck of the woods.
—k. o’day
UB Allen Hall, UB’s South Campus 3435 Main St. / 8pm / free / 829-6000 / wbfo.org
A good idea for a poor city: Tomorrow evening, Buffalo Councilman Mike LoCurto is introducing a program that provides free prescription drug discount cards, sponsored by the National League of Cities. LoCurto will explain the program at 5pm at the North Buffalo Community Center (203 Sanders Road). The discount cards offer average savings of 20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs at more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies across the country. There are no restrictions based on age, income level, or existing health coverage. There are no membership fees, no enrollment forms.
“In the current economic climate, where many people are watching what they spend, the NLC prescription discount card will offer significant savings on the purchase of prescription medications for our residents,” LoCurto said in his press arlease. “Whether or not an individual has prescription coverage, this program can make it easier for our residents to afford the drugs they need to deal with a short-term illness or stay healthy by managing a chronic condition.”
Karl Blau
Influential indie label K Records (former home of Modest Mouse, Built to Spill) is coming through town on Monday (Oct. 26) with a cast of underground innovators hand-plucked from the rich musical landscape of the Pacific Northwest. A new find—ear candy out of Olympia, Washington—called LAKE will be serving up songs from all over the musical map. Sometimes they sound like Sufjan Stevens covering Broken Social Scene; sometimes they sound like label-mates the Microphones; sometimes they just sing songs about sandwiches. LAKE is six-members—all of whom have side projects—and has released 12 full-length albums since 2005. Their latest effort, Let’s Build a Roof, was recorded by label-mate and tour-mate and visionary Karl Blau (pictured), who will be accompanying LAKE on this tour, performing songs from his new album, Zebra. Blau is equally eclectic, choosing for this album to integrate elements of African music into his signature style. And as if enough weird ground hasn’t been covered, Seattle’s the Curious Mystery will be providing bluesy, drug-soaked psychedelia.
Oh, the beautiful unevenness of it all.
—sal viglietta
LAKE, Karl Blau, the Curious Mystery
Sugar City, 19 Wadsworth | 7pm | $6/donation
It seems as though a year cannot pass in WNY without the weather claiming some victims. Back in August, the first victim of the season was Griffis Sculpture Park. Due to a series of heavy wind storms the park suffered approximately $50,000 in damage; many of their trails either destroyed or rendered a danger to hikers. The park was closed down because it was deemed a danger to visitors, and there is still work to be done to reopen it. The band 10,000 Maniacs has decided to hold a benefit concert to raise funds for the park, on Saturday (Oct. 24) at Essex Art Center. The Maniacs, along with A Potter’s Field and Red Window, will be hosting the event. With over 250 sculptures located in the park’s fields, ponds, and forests, Sculpture Park is considered to be the United States’ first and largest of its kind. The Ashford Hollow organization that owns and operates the park subsists on grants and donations, providing arts and education programming to over 4,000 area students each year. This will be the second benefit held for the park by 10,000 Maniacs The first—back in 1991 when the band was fronted by Natalie Merchant—attracted over 5,000 fans. Hopefully we no longer need the star power to make a difference.
—ann marie awad
Essex Arts Center, 30 Essex St. | Doors at 7pm | $40/presale | Available at TerrapinStation, 1172 Hertel Ave.; Urban Threads, 736 Elmwoood Ave.; Queen City Gallery, 617 Main St./Market Arcade, or $45/at door.
Yuichiro Yamada
Everyone in this community has some opinion on our local businesses. Some of us do everything in our power to support them. To these people, local businesses might as well be a part of the family. So for these people, Yuichiro Yamada, a documentary filmmaker and graduate student at UB, made two documentaries to follow the life and times of these businesses that color our streets, speak up in our communities and act as the familiar placeholders in our routines about the city.
Just Browsing takes a look at our local bookstores such as Talking Leaves, Rust Belt Books and Second Reader, and how they do business as a small, endangered enclave of independent booksellers. Yamada’s other feature, Irreplaceable, was shot during the last days of New World Records and focuses on the loss to the Buffalo community caused by its closing. A loss that some may argue was like…well, losing one of the family.
They will be screened to the public as a part of collaboration between Hallwalls and Talking Leaves at Hallwalls Cinema, after which Yamada will be on hand to answer questions. Wednesday, September 30, 7-9pm. Hallwalls Cinema @ Babeville, 341 Delaware Avenue.
Yamada’s work focuses on local and independent businesses as members of the city landscape and how they are impacted by events in the city, the economy and the country. His films focus on these businesses both here in the US and in his native Japan.
Yamada couldn’t have picked a better place to film these documentaries seeing as how the landscape of Buffalo’s independent businesses is a sore spot for some, a pride and joy for others, but certainly a point of discussion for everyone.
—ann marie awad
We can’t seem to locate Arseno, the artist who made this gum wrapper portrait of Barack Obama:
The Wrigley people want to get a hold of you. Hopefully to make you some money, not to sue you. To be safe, het a hold of us here at Artvoice: editorial@artvoice.com.
Got this press release today from the Common Council, concerning a resolution demanding more transparency from the city’s semi-autonomous agencies and boards:
Council Members Kearns and LoCurto and their co-sponsors, Council Members Rivera, Fontana, and Franczyk, are introducing two resolutions for consideration by the Full Common Council, that would increase the transparency of operations of all City Boards, Agencies and Authorities codified in the City of Buffalo Charter and Code as well as any Not-for-Profit organization receiving city taxpayer dollars.
These resolutions would impose new requirements on entities, many of which yield considerable power and have been criticized and referred to as “shadow governments”, to provide city officials and taxpayers with the opportunity to gain greater insight into their operations.
In the first resolution, the governing bodies all City Boards, Agencies and Authorities, are being called upon to hold their meetings in Council Chambers and utilize existing recording equipment and allow for meetings playback on the City’s CATV government channel, for viewing by individuals who are unable to attend such meetings. This would also enable meetings to be held in a geographically centralized, uniform location that is well serviced by public transportation and which nearly all Buffalonian’s are familiar with.
The second Resolution directs the Acting Corporation Counsel to prepare a Local Law requiring that all Not-for-Profit organizations that contract with the City and receive taxpayer dollars to file on an on-going basis with the City Clerk, their meeting schedules, by-laws/rules of operation, the composition and membership of their governing boards, approved minutes of meetings, and any report, study, review and audit, financial or otherwise, prepared by, performed on or for, the respective organization.
Good idea.
