The grapevine

With the pressure of a new semester on the horizon, sometimes the only way to relieve that added stress is to go to a concert.

From metal to underground hip hop and even legends from the ‘80s, here is a list of some of the most anticipated upcoming shows in the Buffalo area.

Motionless in White with Beartooth - Rapids Theatre

Jan. 20

You may remember these bands as regulars at the legendary Warped Tour (R.I.P.). With the days of the infamous touring festival over, Motionless in White and Beartooth have teamed up for their new tour.

If you’re in the mood for a loud and aggressive night of intense headbanging, look no further than their Buffalo stop of the “Diseased and Disguised Tour.”

Both bands are known for their heavy-as-hell brand of Metalcore that is roughly associated with the Emo-movement of the early 2010s. But this isn’t a reunion tour; Motionless in White is hot on the heels of its 2019 record “Disguise” and Beartooth’s newest record “Disease” came out in 2018.

Warped Tour may be gone, but the Buffalo stop of this tour will prove two of its heaviest act’s energy certainly isn’t.

Atmosphere - Town Ballroom

Jan. 24

With it being only just over a month since the release of new album “Whatever,” conscious hip-hop veteran duo Atmosphere is bringing new tunes and its innovative style of rap to Buffalo.

Hailing from Minneapolis and consisting of MCs Slug and Ant, Atmosphere has been a staple of underground conscious hip-hop since the late 90s. They’ve never slowed down either, releasing 14 studio albums since 1997.

With a track record like that, the group has a long career of rhymes and beats to share with the Queen City along with their new output. Any fan of the more introspective side of hip-hop won’t want to miss this show.

Blockhead - Rec Room

Jan. 26

Blockhead has been in the underground East Coast hip-hop scene for roughly two and a half decades. He’s best known as the producer for abstract hip-hop legend Aesop Rock (not A$AP Rocky) since 1997. He’s since gone on to produce tracks for the 2000s’ and today’s brightest and most esoteric East Coast MCs like Billy Woods, Illogic and Elucid.

He may hail from Manhattan, but his grimy, dark and sometimes experimental brand of beats capture the atmosphere of Buffalo just as well. For his current tour, he’s bringing fellow producers Arms and Sleepers and il:lo, who are less known for their hip-hop beats and more for their relaxed electronica.

A Blockhead concert with these guests is the perfect pre-semester Sunday night to get you in the right headspace for the challenging 15 weeks to come.

Tauk - Buffalo Iron Works

Jan. 31

For the many fans of jam bands like The Grateful Dead, Phish and Umphrey’s McGee, make sure you catch Tauk on their local stop of the “Squad Tour 2020.”

With roughly 160 shows each year (one every two days on average), the four-piece from Oyster Bay, NY is one of the most dextrous and talented bands in the modern rock scene.

The band hasn’t released new music since 2018, but that won’t mean the upcoming performance will be stale -- in fact, expect quite the opposite. The band isn’t known for playing its songs as they sound on record. 

Instead, expect loads of mind-blowing improvisation from some of the most technically proficient musicians playing today.

Kiss & David Lee Roth - Keybank Center

Feb. 5

Who doesn’t “wanna Rock and Roll All Nite?” Who hasn’t dreamed of seeing the originator of the Kylie Jenner pout perform live 30 years after his prime? You can do just that when you see two of the most successful and flashy icons of 1980s America at Keybank Center.  Kiss is one of the most commercially successful and recognizable bands from the “hair metal” and “glam rock” movement of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Over the band’s career, it has sold 75 million records and played over 2,000 shows. The band’s live performances also have a reputation –– pyrotechnics, bright lights and even fake blood have become as infamous as the band’s music.

David Lee Roth, on the other hand, is best known for his years fronting one of the most successful rock bands of all time: Van Halen. From 1978-84 the group made six classic records that every American teenager simply could not escape.

For this show, David Lee Roth is not with Van Halen, so expect to hear some cuts from his solo career, but it is inevitable that Roth will perform some of Van Halen’s biggest hits that night.

You won’t want to miss the meeting of two of Classic Rock’s most legendary figures when they come to Buffalo.

Alex Whetham is the senior arts editor and can be reached at alex.whetham@ubspectrum.com and @alexo774

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