THE HOT 5
An opinionated to-do list
By Christopher Schobert

September in WNY is event-crazed—see the calendar. Plus, there’s plenty to do just outside of the area. As in the past few years, look for Toronto International Film Festival coverage from Spree colleague Jared Mobarak and me on buffalospree.com.
1. Anne Frank Project 2010
Since the publication of her diary in 1947, the story of Anne Frank has captivated readers of all ages. It’s a stunningly powerful work that easily ranks among the twentieth century’s most important books, period. And we keep learning more about the girl whose words reverberated around the world; several months ago, the Anne Frank Museum uploaded the only existing film footage of the teenager to its YouTube channel. Her spirit lives on from September 15 to 17 as Buffalo State College presents the Anne Frank Project 2010, a gathering of speakers, artists, scientists, and writers who comment on and artistically interpret genocide as a recurring global tragedy. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the life and wisdom of Anne Frank with events like hands-on workshops, presentations, panel discussions, and theater and dance performances. 
Wednesday, September 15 through Friday, September 17 at Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Ave.; www.theannefrankproject.com.
2. Allentown comes alive
Get ready to walk the streets of Allentown. With First Friday on September 3 and Secrets of Allentown on September 11, the historic neighborhood will be hopping this month. The popular Allentown gallery walk features open galleries, usually from 5 to 9 p.m., on the first Friday evening of each month. On September 3 it includes the usual diverse array of shows, including Mark Lavatelli's one-man exhibition of encaustic/mixed media artworks (Tree Glyph #21 shown above) at Indigo, at 74 Allen. Lavatelli is a distinguished local artist and Medaille professor whose paintings have been exhibited nationwide. Secrets of Allentown has been reinvigorated this year to include only properties that have never appeared on the tour before—ever. With the exception of the tour’s starting point, the magnificent Birge Mansion at 3 Symphony Circle (now owned by law firm Spadafora & Verrasto), even repeat participants on the tour will be touring houses they’ve never seen before. Secrets is one of Buffalo’s few tours that takes you inside private homes. This year, it's not to be missed.
First Friday: September 3 on Allen St.; Secrets of Allentown: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on September 11 at Birge Mansion, 2 Symphony Circle (starting point); tickets available at Quaker Bonnet on Allen Street, www.tickets.com, and Tops markets; www.allentown.org.
3. Connections: Kenan Center Art Committee Invitational
The Kenan Center in Lockport can always be counted on for unique events and shows. Case in point: this group-curated exhibition, for which each working artist on the gallery’s committee invited one artist of his or her choice to take part, and the non-artist members each invited two. Interestingly, regular Spree contributor Gerald Mead chose his mother Margaret, who was an artist in her own right. A total of twenty-two participants will be featured, and you can experience their works at a free opening reception from 2 to 5 p.m. on September 12.
September 12 through October 3 at the Kenan Center House Gallery, 433 Locust St., Lockport; 433-2617 or www.kenancenter.org.

4. The Black Keys at Town Ballroom
Black Keys photo by John Peets.

The summer 2010 concert lineup was clearly the finest in several years, but happily, the killer shows are extending past August. Okay, so September does bring us Rascal Flatts, but it also includes stops from such disparate folks as dreamboat Jared Leto, with his band 30 Seconds to Mars (September 13 at the Rapids Theatre), System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian (September 28 at UB’s CFA), and the ramshackle-awesome Canadian collective Broken Social Scene (September 25 at Town Ballroom). Show of the month? Easily, the Black Keys, visiting Town on September 2. This has been the year when the Akron, Ohio duo truly blew up, as the bluesy rock stomp of Brothers nearly hit number one on album charts. This is a group near its peak, and a concert that is not to be missed. Joining the Keys are the Whigs, whose song “Kill Me Carolyne” is one of the year’s catchiest to-date.
7 p.m. doors on Thursday, September 2 at Town Ballroom, 681 Main St.; 888-223-6000 or www.townballroom.com.

5. Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers at Squeaky Wheel
You can accuse Kids screenwriter turned offbeat auteur Harmony Korine of purposely courting controversy with his films, yet I’m not sure that’s much of a criticism. In fact, he would likely take it as a compliment. What cannot be denied is that the director of Gummo is a bracing, uncompromising artist. His latest, Trash Humpers, has not received much of a release, but in fantastic news for cinema freaks, it will screen at Squeaky Wheel on September 4 and 5. Like much of Korine’s work, it’s a bit hard to explain. The press notes give some idea of that: “A film unearthed from the landscape of the Ameriacn [sic] Nightmare, TRASH HUMPERS follows a small group of elderly ‘Peeping Toms’ through the shadows and margins of an unfamiliar world. Crudely documented by the participants themselves [sic] we follow the debased and shocking actions of a group of true sociopaths the likesof [sic] which have never been seen before.” And interestingly, VHS—not digital, or film—is the medium. Apparently, there is a chance that Korine will do a Skype presentation on one or both nights if he is free, so perhaps he will expound on why he chose VHS over Beta.
9 p.m. on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5 at Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St.; 884-7172 or www.squeaky.org.

Christopher Schobert would like to use this bio to give a shout-out to his son, Evan Thomas Schobert, born on June 23. He’s a bit young to attend these Hot 5 picks, though; give him a year or so.


SUBSCRIBE NOW

Back to the Table of Contents

Back to Top