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KRIS HARRIS
Staff Writer
Everyone was in good spirits this past Wednesday at BJ’s — everything seemed to line up perfectly. Mason jars full of PBR were flowing, the Buffalo Sabres had just beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Kill the Clock and Super American provided the entertainment.
First up to the stage was Kill the Clock, an alt rock band native to Buffalo. Formed in 2012, the band has played in several venues in Buffalo such as the Waiting Room and Mohawk Place.
The band introduced itself with “In the Street,” better known as the theme song of “That ‘70s Show.” Cheering “Hello Fredonia!” the band brought frenzied riffs and gritty rhythms to the bar.
Members of the band included Joe Morganti, a freshman journalism major at Buffalo State, on lead guitar; Dan McCormick on bass and vocals; Brendan Hoare, a senior video production major on rhythm guitar and lead vocals; and Mike Tomasulo, a sophomore music industry major on drums and backing vocals.
The four-piece played many songs from its eponymously titled debut EP, which sounds similar to other alternative rock bands such as Foo Fighters and Radiohead. The EP can be found on the group’s website and Bandcamp. The band was “stoked,” according to Hoare, to be playing back in Fredonia, due to the fact that the band spends most of their time in Buffalo.
“We have been seeing the crowd that comes to BJ’s, and we are excited for people to hear our music,” added Hoare.
Nostalgia was at an all-time high during Kill the Clock’s set as the band played several throwback covers through its set, alongside its original material, such as The Strokes’ “Reptilia” and Good Charlotte’s “The Anthem.”
Since the concert was on “Back to the Future Day,” the band played an awesome cover of Bowling for Soup’s “1985,” the year the film came out. It gave chance for Tomasulo to take a chance on lead vocals, while also keeping the beat. While this is no easy feat, Tomasulo executed it flawlessly.
Near the end of the performance, McCormick’s bass guitar strap began giving him trouble. A friend from the audience came up to help him out, but after several more incidents, McCormick rested the guitar on his knee and powered through the performance.
Up next was the indie rock band Super American hailing from Buffalo. Junior music industry major Kenny Budziszewski was beyond excited for the concert.
“I’m mad pumped for this show,” said Budziszewski. “Kill the Clock was a mad solid alt rock band, and I just can’t wait to see Super American because I love ‘I Can See Mountains.’”
“I Can See Mountains” is a project that several of the band members of Super American have worked on before.
The band contains Derek Paradowski on guitar, Rob Grabowski on drums, Christian Adams on bass and vocals, and Matt Cox on guitar and lead vocals. The band is fresh and new, or as Cox said, “deodorized” — formed only this past June. This is its second show. However, the group put on a high energy show.
The crowd went wild for Super American, jumping up and down to its upbeat tunes. Showgoers were piggy-backing on top of one another, charging around the foot of the stage. There was plenty of moshing and crowd surfing, which got so intense at point that bouncers of the bar started to intervene, bringing them back down to ground.
The band seemed to enjoy the craziness; the members were all smiles throughout their songs, egging on the antics.
The group played all the material off its upcoming EP named “Golf Pop.” Songs for the EP were recorded during this past summer while lead singer Cox was attending St. Bonaventure University. Ideas for songwriting were thrown around Monday through Thursday, while Cox was off of school. Tracks were laid out throughout the rest of the week.
“Throughout the week we would take memos on our cell phones and kind of listen — more kind of dissect the song of interest.,” said Cox on the band’s songwriting process.
By the end of the night, most members of the audience were smiling while dripping with sweat and panting.
The next show at BJ’s will be Aircraft, a psych-pop outfit coming through from Buffalo and Fredonia blues rockers Buxom, on Nov. 4.