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PrintOctober 2012: Hot 5
An opinionated to-do list
September was busy, but October is packed. Ron Ehmke has some of the best stuff in his Sounds of the City column—Fiona Apple, Morrissey, Tony Bennett, and our calendar of events has many more, including the Amherst Symphony Orchestra’s 2012 season kick-off on October 21 with flutists Carol Wincenc and Christine Bailey Davis. Lots of music and performance this month, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
LehrerDance at UB’s CFA
One of the world’s most acclaimed and respected dance companies is based right here in Buffalo: LehrerDance. Jon Lehrer’s company kicks off its season on October 6 at University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts, and, as anyone who has had the chance to experience its artistry can attest, it’s sure to be an awe-inspiring experience. Since beginning in Buffalo in June 2007, LehrerDance has toured the world and, today, its company of eight professional dancers is in partnership with the UB Department of Theatre and Dance.
8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at UB’s Center for the Arts, UB North Campus, Amherst; 716-645-ARTS or ubcfa.org.
Sloan at the Tralf
I feel like I grew up with Sloan, I guess because I kind of did. I first heard the Halifax power-pop foursome on Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge radio station back in the mid-’90s, and instantly fell in love. Since then, I’ve seen them multiple times, and that’s easy to do—they come here often. In fact, they just played Niagara Falls over the summer. I had the chance to interview guitarist Patrick Pentland for Spree back in 2007, and he discussed the band’s Queen City fame: “We’ve been popular in Buffalo since the beginning. I think that Canadian bands do better in Buffalo because Canadian bands play Buffalo.” That they do, especially Sloan. But this particular show is a special one, since the band will play its classic Twice Removed in full. The album, recently released in a deluxe edition, was voted best Canadian album of all-time in 1996 by Chart magazine, and it lives up to the hype.
7 p.m. doors on Friday, Oct. 19, Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St.; 716-852-2860 or tralfmusichall.com.
A Well-Crafted Weekend/Roycroft Arts and Crafts Conference
We’re cheating a bit here, since these are two separate events, but they both take place in East Aurora, and they both look to be October treats. A Well-Crafted Weekend, a celebration of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is one of E.A.’s newest events. Highlights include the Fall Art Walk featuring ten local galleries, scheduled for October 19. Meanwhile, on the Roycroft Campus, Laura Wilder, Roycroft master artisan in printmaking, will display her work and discuss her process. And on October 20 and 21, the Roycrofters At Large Association Artisans will give demonstrations in a variety of techniques in the newly reconstructed Power House. Wine and food events are also on tap. The Well-Crafted event coincides with the 2012 Roycroft Campus Arts and Crafts Conference, featuring artisan demonstrations, speakers, presenters, workshops, tours, wine tasting, campus tours, ghost walks, and more. For updated information on the conference, visit the RCC website at roycroftcampuscorporation.com.
Events run Thursday, Oct. 18–Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Roycroft Campus, 31 S. Grove St., East Aurora; 716-655-0261 or roycroftcampuscorporation.com.
Fall Orchid Show at the Gardens
You probably don’t need any new reasons to visit the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens—who doesn’t love the Gardens? But the Niagara Frontier Orchid Society’s annual Fall Orchid Show is special. The show features orchid displays, a judged competition, orchid growing demonstrations, and vendors. If you’ve ever longed to enter the world of orchid growing, here’s your chance.
10 a.m.–4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 14, at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 S. Park Ave.; 716-835-2132, 716-827-1584, or buffalogardens.com.
Opera Week
Each year, Opera America organizes Opera Week, with nearly 100 organizations across the country presenting a variety of activities—concerts, lectures, flash mobs, and more. Opera Week in Buffalo, running from October 26 through November 4, is coordinated by the Erwin H. Johnson Memorial Fund, Inc., and they’ll start the celebration with an Opera-Lytes production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Sorcerer at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda on October 27. Additional events throughout the week include concerts, lectures, and celebrations in Buffalo, East Aurora, Orchard Park, and beyond,
From Friday, Oct. 26, through Sunday, Nov. 4; celebrateoperawny.org or ehjfund.org.
Associate editor Christopher Schobert’s first purchase of music by a Canadian artist was the cassette single of Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway.” He was eleven, okay?
