I'm not defending this town, I'm not making excuses, but I've lived here long enough to know she's a fickle gal. You've gotta repeatedly ply her with bon bons and flowers and reassurances that you won't split after she puts out. And last night...

Josh Netsky was dealt a less-than-sizeable crowd for his show Downstairs at the German House on the opening night of the Rochester Indie Fest. As the set carried on into the evening, Netsky gently pleaded for a little crowd participation with a...

Most of us in Rochester have been getting a heavy dose of Swati's oft-requested tune on WBER, "2 a.m." It's near tranquilizing; penetratingly poetic, it draws you in.But if you came to check her out on Friday evening downstairs at the German...

Over the rest of the weekend-long fest I caught more primo sounds. I'd heard some of Dan Eaton's stuff before, and my wife always comes running to the TV for new recipes whenever he's on, but I'd always pegged him as a mellow rocker. That's not...

Let me just begin by saying, "Holy shit." I've seen the Israeli rock trio Monotonix before, I've interviewed them, I think I know what they're about. But last night's show at the Bug Jar was a cross between Caligula and the ball pit at Chuck E....

Last night the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, with the help of the Rochester Oratorio Society, officially re-opened the Eastman Theatre, and rechristened it Kodak Hall. The program lived up to the momentous occasion, with the debut of a...

The original bill for the Boulder Coffee show Thursday night took a few turns throughout the week. Initially, I walked in the venue expecting the indie/folk-rock six-piece Baby Shiver's Boutique alongside the much-hyped Golden Ghost.The set...

It's not easy being the foreplay act for a headliner with fans that have been waiting for many, many years. Even harder is walking out on that great big stage with just you and an acoustic guitar. I imagine a lot of thought goes into the set...

There are few musicians who can reach back into their repertoire 60 years to find the right tune. But, about two-thirds of the way through his wonderful concert with at the Eastman School of Music's filled-to-capacity Kilbourn Hall Monday...

Playing straight-up, straight-ahead, straightened-out garage rock, Phoenix quartet The Love Me Nots knocked out a super-catchy set to a modest but super enthusiastic crowd Thursday night at the Bug Jar. The two-guy, two-gal line-up was tight...

I spent the entirety of the Loveful Heights show Friday night at Starry Nites with my jaw dropped, eyes glued, in awe. These two ladies have an aura about them. They possess a striking confidence and a beauty that is few and far between....

Pushing a mix of cuts off the new "Crash Love" CD and older stuff, AFI rocked Water Street Music Hall Friday night with a full-throttle set and a lightshow that would give the planetarium penis envy.
Singer Davey Havok has changed since I saw...

Emmylou Harris' name was written in the big letters on the marquee, but it was Buddy Miller's show Wednesday night at The Auditorium Theatre. It isn't just the fact that I root for the underdog, spin the B-side, constantly look below the radar,...

Arrived at the Main Street Armory Friday night as Aussie duo An Horse pumped out a big sound a la Sleater-Kinney. Cage The Elephant followed with a frenetic strain of Kentucky-fried indie rock set to a kind of accelerated funk groove. Singer...

It was a picture-perfect scene at Abilene Bar and Lounge Sunday night: five or six chairs inched up close to the performers in a circle, with some eerie candlelight, a packed house, and some gritty, straight-up folk coming from the stage. Real...

Good jazz often hits me like a cool blast of eucalyptus: it gets the flow flowing, the go going, and the going gone. Drummer Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day served up a slinky, sultry groove in the Bop Shop Atrium last night. It was just the...