CLAIRE WOODCOCK
Staff Writer
Buffalo was bursting with ‘Buffalove’ as over one hundred local bands and artists performed and showcased their work this past Saturday. On the west side of Delaware Park, locals celebrated the 12th annual Music is Art festival, originally founded by the Goo Goo Dolls’ Robby Takac over a decade ago.
Every city has its scene. On Saturday, I came back from the festival with a little taste of Buffalo’s.
Not being from Buffalo, or being too familiar with the city’s music scene, I didn’t know what the vibes would be like. So I made the trek from Fredonia to Buffalo, expecting to find: music, art, people, beer and fried dough.
I wandered around casually and aimlessly through crowds of onlookers, beet-people and skeletal puppeteers. I followed some semblance of a path past the various stages scattered around the park, faintly listening to the blending and fading of the DJ and live bands.
As an outsider weighing in, Buffalo is relatively known for its music scene. There are some gems embedded in the Buffalo music scene. One of them is Mr. Boneless, a four piece band that formed in Fredonia, NY four years ago. I watched as they drew a timid but sizeable array of long-time fans and curious folk, like myself, to the Americana Stage.
Sitting on a hay bale in front of the stage, I took comfort in my setting as I thought about the quality of their sound and rapport — acoustic finger picking adjacent to electric decrees, the band wavers between spastic folk and contained rock. The band told me they take cues from bands such as Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Tom Waits and the Pixies.
Mr. Boneless infuses classic blues with ‘70s psychedelia and ‘90s alternative punk, creating a unique and dynamic listening experience, especially live. The band’s use of abrupt but seamless transitions adds a complexity to their sound that’s masterful. Their repertoire is skillfully crafted with evident attention to detail that sets them apart.
Since the festival, I’ve listened to their latest album, “Cutting Teeth,” which was released in July, a handful of times. But listening to the band recorded isn’t the same as the live experience. In concert, the band picks up the tempo and engages in a noticeably cathartic experience. Before each sharp hook in “Skull Kid,” singer Elliott Darling would grin, as if he were anticipating the intense vocal dynamics he was about to serve up.
On Saturday, you could just simply feel the band’s spastic energy radiating from the stage.
Mr. Boneless has a “band vacation” in the works for this winter, when they will be hitting the main spots along the east coast. But they also have upcoming shows in Fredonia.
On Sept. 26, they’ll be playing at The Jungle and they’ll be back at BJ’s on Oct. 8. Their latest album, “Cutting Teeth,” is out now and available on Spotify.