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COMMENTARY: BUFFALO NEWS AND THE POLICING CRISIS

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LOOKING BACKWARD Kensington Expressway and New York State Thruway.

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FILM: The Wall, David Lynch: The Art Life, Norman, Alien: Covenant.

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LETTER WE HAVE A MADMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE The firing of James Comey is the most recent fact that leads to an unavoidable conclusion: Our country is being led by a madman. This would be a cause of laughter if it wasn’t so serious. The decisions made by the president of the United States have consequences well beyond the borders of the country. It is no exaggeration to state that Donald Trump is the greatest threat to world peace and stability since World War II ended. He made the decision to fire the FBI director for at least two reasons. First and foremost it became clear that far from disappearing, the investigation into the Trump campaign and the interference in the 2016 election is continuing and expanding. Trump clearly expected Comey to give up the investigation and turn to the issue of official leaks instead. Secondly, Trump went into a rage at the quote from Comey that he was “nauseous ” at the thought he had contributed to Trump’s victory in November by speaking to the media about Clinton’s emails on October 28. The effect of these two facts apparently sent Trump into a sleep-deprived frenzy which led to the decision to fire Comey. Now, we are in the midsts of a ful-blown Constitutional crisis, which if not resolved properly could very well lead to the downfall of American democracy, and the establishment of a Trumpian fascist regime. The stakes are just that high. This begs the question: How should the working people respond? We have a severely disturbed person as the principle officer of the most powerful economic and military nation on earth. This in itself is a very sobering thought. The threat of a war started because of decisions made by this man should shake any thinking person to their core. This is not hyperbole. He really can begin a war without giving it a second thought. Further, his first reaction on any economic or financial question is to make sure that the rich will benefit. The best and most recent example is the American Healthcare Act. This is nothing but a tax giveaway to the rich at the expense of as many as 24 million ordinary people.

stitution upon which it exists, no matter how flawed, is an essential activity to keep our society from falling into the nightmare of fascism, hunger and war. Trump is on a path which will, if taken to its logical conclusion; end in a dictatorship. He has taken the first step: beginning a purge of the so-called “deep administrative state”. This concept of the “deep administrative state” comes right from the fevered minds of Steve Bannon and his gang and is nothing but a fig leave to disguise the substitution of the current career government personnel with those had picked and loyal to Donald Trump. In particular, Trump is moving to purge the Department of State, the CIA, and, clearly, the FBI.

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The choice is clear: the defense of democracy or the path to dictatorship. All democratic forces in our society must be united on this issue. Rally in the streets, call your Congress representatives, write letters, talk to your friends and co-workers. The time is now! -LEWUGA BENSON, ALEXANDRIA MERANTO, LEE SWAYDIS

JOIN ME IN REVOLUTION, RSVP I am a Buffalonian writing to express my grave concern about President Donald J. Trump and his extensive ties to Russia. Most recently, those ties led to his firing James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reportedly because Comey was investigating those ties himself and had requested additional resources for this investigation. If true, this is tantamount to our president, and possibly members of the GOP Congress, committing treason and aiding Russia in a coup to take “the People’s House.” With Republicans in the House and Senate unwilling to put country before party, I urge every Buffalonian to contact the Department of Justice to urge Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint an independent, special prosecutor to investigate this matter once and for all.

THE NAMING OF BEERS IS A DIFFICULT MATTER

IT ISN’T JUST ONE OF

YOUR HOLIDAY GAMES YOU MAY THINK AT FIRST

I’M MAD AS A HATTER

WHEN I TELL YOU A BEER

MUST HAVE THREE DIFFERENT NAMES

For good measure, contact your Congresspeople, our governor, Andrew Cuomo, and our state AG, Eric Schneiderman, too. We are truly in a Constitutional crisis now. Will you join me in the resistance?

So, again, what should we do, how should we respond?

-STACEY BOWERS

Now is the time to step up the anti-Trump resistance. This is not the time for hesitation. The defense of political democracy and the Con-

Have you got something to say and you just can’t let it go? Email info@dailypublic.com. P We might just print it. DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC

NEWS LOCAL • City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Mark Schroeder will be following the news in the Second District very closely, given that a Grant-for-Mayor campaign would provide him some assistance in his Democratic primary against Mayor Brown. • Lancaster County Legislator Ted Morton’s seat will again this year be a focal point in the campaign to flip the Legislature from Republican to Democratic control. One name mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate is John Bruso, who has been active in community organizations. Jonathan Gorski, an attorney with Dolce Panepinto and one of Cheektowaga Town Justice Dennis Gorski’s sons, has also been mentioned for the race. • Speaking of control of the Legislature, rumors are flying about Democratic efforts to find an appointed political position for County Legislator Lynn Dixon. If Dixon were to pass on a run for another legislative term her district, which is better than twoto-one Democratic by party registration, would be a prime pickup opportunity for the Democrats.

April Baskin won the Democratic Party’s endorsement to succeed Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, who must resign her seat if she intends to run for mayor in this September’s primary.

POLITICS & STUFF

SMALL THINGS FORGOTTEN BY KEN KRULY

A SMALL COLLECTION OF POLITICAL ITEMS, BOTH FACTS AND HEARD-ON-THE-STREETS • DEMOCRATIC PARTY COMMITTEE members in the Erie County Legislature’s Second District, currently represented by Betty Jean Grant, met two weeks ago to endorse a candidate in this year’s election. Grant evidently did not contest the endorsement, which seems to confirm that she is a “go” in the Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo. Legislator Grant, however, could still carry two sets of petitions in June, one for mayor and the other for legislator, and defer her political decision until petitions must be filed in July.

• Going into that legislative endorsement meeting the candidates included former Buffalo Councilman Charley Fisher; James Blackwell, son of former Erie County Legislature Chairman Roger Blackwell; and Duncan Kirkwood, an advocacy manager for the Northeast Charter School Network. Coming out of the meeting with the endorsement, however, was a political newcomer, April Baskin, whose LinkedIn profile identifies her as the executive director of the College Simulation Experience. How Baskin pulled off the endorsement is a bit of a mystery, although she reportedly has a connection with Deputy County Executive Maria Whyte, which may suggest that the Poloncarz political team had something to do with the endorsement coup.

• And will Republican Legislator Kevin Hardwick get no Democratic opponent this year? Hardwick was denied the Conservative Party line that he carried in past elections because of his legislative vote concerning ECMC bonding. • The entry of Erin Baker, wife of Republican County Chairman Nick Langworthy and Assemblyman Ray Walter’s chief of staff, into Amherst politics as a candidate for member of the Town Council, raises interesting questions about the Council candidacy of current Supervisor Barry Weinstein. Weinstein will need Wilson-Pakula permission from Langworthy to run as a Republican this year. • And here’s a bit of campaign news from Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, where a special election will be held on June 20 to replace now Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Polling indicates a very close race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. Handel sends out frequent emails soliciting donations and attempting to work up her party base. There has still been no appeal in those emails to Republicans suggesting that Handel is supporting Donald Trump or Trumpcare. In one of her recent email blasts she raises the possibility that Democrats are trying to rig the election by encouraging more people to vote. Handel writes: Just a warning — this is going to boil your blood. Just hours ago, the Democrats won their lawsuit to extend voter registration in Georgia before our election. This lawsuit should be seen for exactly what it is: A partisan attempt to change the rules in the middle of an election for a nakedly partisan outcome. I need your immediate support to fight back against the Democrat’s latest trick to deceive this election.”

“Extend voter registration”—how dare they! Ken Kruly writes about politics and stuff at politicsandstuff.com.

LOOKING BACKWARD: KENSINGTON EXPRESSWAY & NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf.- Lewis Mumford The Kensington Expressway began construction in 1957, one year after the completion of the New York State Thruway. The Kensington’s planners commissioned artists to depict the expressway from the only vantage point at which it can likely be appreciated: from the air. Illustrated here at its proposed interchange with the Thruway, the Kensington is seen looking west from Cheektowaga toward Buffalo. To illustrate how the view from an aircraft mattered much, and how people on the ground mattered little, the illustration absurdly depicts seven orphaned single-family homes (now demolished) on Maryvale Drive in the middle of a cloverleaf. The interchange, like all such cloverleaf interchanges, is huge: consuming about 3,296,000 square feet of space, or enough to fit 66 Ellicott Square P Buildings. -THE PUBLIC STAFF

THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

LOCAL NEWS which Buffalo Police Officer Justin Tedesco shot and killed the apparently unarmed Jose Hernandez-Rossy in the back as he ran away, the News again relied solely on Burton’s biased legal expertise: “The officer needed a reasonable grounds to believe his partner was shot and if that exists, which it obviously does, the shooting officer did not commit a crime and has a defense under New York law,” Burton said.

Demonstration outside Mayor Byron Brown’s annual State of the City speech on February 17, where former BPD officer Cariole Horn was arrested protesting the death of Wardel “Meech” Davis.

BUFFALO’S POLICING CRISIS AND ITS REPORTERS BY AARON LOWINGER

HOW YOUR DAILY NEWSPAPER PRIVILEGES POLICE SOURCES AND POLICE VERSIONS OF EVENTS OVER THE VERSIONS OFFERED BY THE COMMUNITY

BUFFALO IS INCHING CLOSER to a crisis in relations between law enforcement and the community, according to local activists, a situation made more precarious by the deaths of two young men at police hands in recent months. Both deaths are currently being investigated by the office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. In the meantime, the Buffalo News offers police reporting that evinces a bias, sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, that privileges police sources and police versions of events over the versions offered by the community and by those who find themselves on the wrong end of aggressive policing. Possible bias in the newsroom has been on our radar since at least early February, when News reporter Lou Michel wrote a story about rising violence against police officers in Buffalo. The story failed to contextualize the data with trends elsewhere in the country, failed to provide any description as to the nature of the injuries officers sustained, and failed to mention how the reporting of injuries could impact the renegotiation of the police contract set to expire in 2019. A week after that story ran, after Wardel “Meech” Davis died during an incident with police that has since been ruled a homicide by the Erie County medical examiner, News reporter Sue Schulman reported that former Buffalo cop Cariol Horne had been arrested protesting police brutality during a demonstration prompted by Davis’s death. The News mentioned Horne’s history as an officer, and that she had been dismissed in 2008 following her altercation with fellow officer Gregory Kwiatkowski, who she claimed was choking a suspect. Never did Schulman mention that Kwiatkowski pled guilty last December in federal court to police

brutality charges stemming from a separate incident. Twice in the past month the Buffalo News has interviewed Police Benevolent Association attorney Thomas H. Burton on controversial legal matters without providing a counterbalancing opinion from any other legal expert. In late April, the Buffalo News broke a story that Meech Davis’s death had been ruled a homicide. While the News printed quotes from the opposing side’s attorney, Steve Cohen, expressing frustration that the autopsy hadn’t yet been released to the family but was already in the hands of the News, the News offered Burton the sole legal opinion on the most important matter at hand: A forensic determination of ‘homicide’ does not equal murder, Burton said. “There’s a fundamental difference between the strict, forensic definition of a homicide — a death with the involvement of another human being — versus a penal law homicide where there is wrongful or evil intent,” Burton said. “Those two terms are different depending on the context.”

At the time Davis was killed, he was suffering from asthma and bronchitis, according to news reports. Cohen does not share Burton’s nuanced view of the language. “The truth is simple,” he said. “The facts are the facts.” Local attorney Parker MacKay, whose practice includes criminal defense and civil rights law, says that Burton’s assertion is incomplete. “The forensic definition can only be taken so far,” MacKay told The Public. “The legal definition of homicide covers a variety of crimes ranging up to murder, all with different intent elements.” In other words, it matters what the AG’s investigation turns up. “A full investigation should be expected to uncover what information the officers had once Mr. Davis was in custody that indicated he had health problems, and what, if any, steps were taken in response—with an ultimate conclusion of whether those facts support the mental element for a sustainable charge of any degree of homicide,” MacKay said. In describing the incident earlier this month in Black Rock, in

MacKay agrees that officers are given deference in split-second decisions they encounter on the job, based on the standard of what a “reasonable officer would do under the circumstances.” But because the community has more questions than answers in this case, “a determination of what is reasonable should come after the attorney general has collected all the facts,” MacKay said. But accountability doesn’t end there, according to MacKay. Municipalities are responsible for safeguarding civil rights and properly training their officers in citizen engagement. “Under federal law, a municipality can be held liable where, for instance, it fails to properly train officers because pervasive failure to train is thought of as an official ‘policy,’” MacKay said. “Even if the officers acted reasonably so as not to support criminal charges or individual civil liability in this instance (if the facts ultimately show that the officer’s belief was reasonable under the circumstances), there could still be an open question as to whether the incident arose as the product of something larger and more structural—such as whether officers are taught adequate and appropriate de-escalation procedures, or whether officers are routinely complying with the legal standards needed to initiate police-citizen encounters in the first place.” We asked the News about Burton’s elevation to expert status, with no conflicting or unbiased legal opinions offered. News editor Mike Connelly made the following statement: “Thomas Burton isn’t an expert; he is an advocate for his client. We interview him to get one side of a story, just as we interview others to get other sides of the story.” To Syracuse University journalism professor Roy S. Gutterman, the Buffalo News’s practice of using Burton’s definitions of homicide and use of force standards appear “balanced and clear.” “As long as everyone is identified so his or her interests or agendas can be clearly understood by the readers,” Gutterman, who also holds a law degree, told The Public, “it seems like reasonable use of quotes.” Last week, the News editorial board wrote an opinion expressing optimism over the state attorney general’s office becoming involved in the Hernandez-Rossy case. The editorial included this assertion: “Certainly, Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda has over the years made clear his intolerance for police misconduct.” That assertion was made the same week that the News reported on a guilty plea entered by a towing company that operated a bribery scheme with the Buffalo police—a case in which not a single officer was charged. The News reported on another guilty plea last week, too, in a case where an unprovoked cellblock beatdown was witnessed by two Buffalo officers who did nothing to prevent or report the abuse. Neither police officer has been charged, though both were suspended without pay. Last December, Investigative Post’s Daniela Porat ran a series of articles highlighting the BPD’s inadequate training, pointedly asking city officials whether Buffalo was “tempting a Ferguson.” At the time, Masten District Councilman Ulysses Wingo told her: “Clearly we must be training our officers pretty well in those areas in those few hours that they’re being trained in order for them not to have had the occurrences that are happening across the country. For all the people who have experienced police brutality, there are countless others who have not experienced police brutality.” Mayor Byron Brown was also unconcerned: “We have very welltrained police officers. I believe we have one of the best police departments in the country.” “We are at a moment of crisis in Buffalo around policing,” John Washington, organizer with PUSH Buffalo, told the Common Council this month, three days before Hernandez-Rossy was shot P by police.

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Activists gather outside Buffalo Police Department’s B District asking for answers in the February 7 death of Wardel “Meech” Davis. PHOTO BY DANIELA PORAT

ACTIVISTS SEEK POLICE REFORM

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COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS, echoing community

distrust of law enforcement, have been advocating for change in the Buffalo Police Department. Better training to avoid situations like police using a patrol car to strike a suspect. Answers about the recent deaths of Wardel Davis and Jose Hernandez-Rossy during encounters with police. And more oversight of a department that clears officers of wrongdoing almost every time they are accused of using excessive force against civilians. The change activists are seeing involves not reform, but rifles. And they’re alarmed by it. Buffalo police are buying approximately 115 semi-automatic rifles and 450 protective vests through a state grant meant to help local law enforcement agencies prepare for mass shootings or terrorist events. “God forbid, an event occurs, I would think the community wants the best equipment possible in the hands of the officers that are responding to it,” said Buffalo Police Lieutenant Jeffrey Rinaldo. The way in which the department and Common Council have gone about the purchase underscores the disconnect between local authorities and activists, who have given voice to community concerns about police. Part of the problem comes down to the lack of communication between city officials and the public. The Council, for example, dismissed a request for a public hearing to discuss the rifle purchase. And some activists express fears the rifles might be used against community members on routine patrols, although plans call for the weapons to be secured with supervising lieutenants and distributed only when a mass shooting or terrorist-type event occurs. The disconnect leaves Desmond Abrams, a labor activist, feeling the public has no“decision-making power” because city officials have “insulated themselves from the people.” Activists see a department that’s in need of more

accountability before being given more firepower. Officers do not get performance evaluations, and the department does not have professional accreditation from the state, unlike 150 other law enforcement agencies in New York. James Lopez, a criminal justice community organizer, said he thought the way the Common Council handled the vote authorizing the purchase of the rifles was “super-alarming” given the fact that many issues remain unresolved. “I think that’s just a clear sign that they’re not necessarily viewing the concerns of the public as legitimate,” he said. Buffalo police have takens steps in recent months to improve training programs in firearms, de-escalation, and the use of force, following a report by Investigative Post in the fall that exposed deficiencies. Until now, the police brass has bucked the need for scenario-based training, limiting use of force practice to a multiple choice test with 10 questions, for example. Captain James McNamara, who runs training for the Amherst Police Department, said it’s imperative to place officers in adrenaline-inducing situations where they have to attempt to de-escalate and decide whether to use force. “It’s about being able to cope with those feelings and think through them.” he said. “When they experience this for real, they’ll have gone through this thought process, they’ll at least have done it in training.” Fillmore District Councilman David Franczyk said the concerns of community members are valid but, in the meantime, the police “have to be given the equipment to perform their duty in a lawful and efficient manner.”

CHANGE IN TACTICS The 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado changed the way law enforcement agencies respond to mass shootings. Instead of waiting for a SWAT team to arrive to stop an attack, police recognized that patrol officers, usually the first on scene, are best positioned to stop a shooting rampage. “Every second you delay, whatever person is attacking is going to be killing people,” said Pete Blair, executive director of ALERRT, a training center at Texas State University that the FBI has recognized as a model program. For a patrol officer to quickly stop a mass shooting, law enforcement experts agree, they should use rifles because they are more accurate than the handguns officers carry. Attackers are also often armed with multiple weapons, or even with rifles themselves. “If we’re going to ask [patrol officers] to assume that risk, we want them to have the best tools possible,” Blair said.

INVESTIGATIVE POST NEWS Until now, the Buffalo patrol officers have not had rifles to respond to a Columbine-type situation. Added to that, the SWAT team is manned by officers assigned to other units within the department and assembled on the fly when an emergency arises. The type of rifle selected by Buffalo police has stirred debate. The Police Benevolent Association advocated for the purchase of AR-15s, which fire a more powerful bullet, but management decided to buy a rifle that uses the same .40 caliber bullet as the handguns officers use already. Amherst, the Town of Tonawanda, and Rochester all use rifles with higher-powered bullets, like the ones used in AR-15s. Rinaldo said the decision to purchases these rifles with a lower caliber bullet was to minimize the possibility of a bullet going through buildings or homes—or even multiple people—and hurting bystanders.

TRAINING CONCERNS BEING ADDRESSED The Common Council made the acceptance of the grant “conditioned on additional training for de-escalation techniques.” But the department had already committed to the two programs cited in the resolution. One 40-hour course teaches officers how to handle potentially volatile encounters with people suffering from mental illness. The other involves 16 hours of instruction in ethics and mindfulness, and coping with the psychological toll of police work. In addition to these two programs, the department will improve several aspects of its training that experts told Investigative Post last fall fell short of national best practices. The Buffalo police’s main shortcoming was its lack of scenario-based training, in which officers are placed in high-stress situations and have to make decisions about when and whether to use force. As Investigative Post reported, the police’s use of force training involved only a written multiple choice test and its firearms training was limited to shooting at a target, neither of which, experts say, adequately prepare officers for encounters they’ll face on the street. A sample question from the test: “The use of pepper spray should be considered before the use of physical force, true or false.” This curriculum will start to change later this year. Buffalo police will reinstate training on verbal and physical techniques to execute an arrest or de-escalate a situation with the least amount of force. Multiple sources told Investigative Post this kind of training had not been done in years. Police will also start training on the department’s firearms simulator, which places officers in real-life situations where they have to determine whether or not to shoot at a suspect. Even though the department currently owns a firearms simulator, Rinaldo said that officers will only train on it once the department moves to new headquarters. Rinaldo said officers will also receive training in the use of their new rifles and will undergo a mass shooting simulation, though the specifics of the training have not been fully determined. These developments, however, have not helped improve uneasy police-community relations.

LIMITED PUBLIC INPUT At community meeting after community meeting, protest after protest, people have expressed frustration at the state of policing in Buffalo and what they describe as a failure of Mayor Byron Brown and the Common Council to enact change. Last week, activists attended a Council budget meeting to protest steady increases in the police budget. Discussion on the matter ended when North District Council Member Joseph Golombek and members of the public in attendance engaged in a shouting match. Drew Ludwig, a pastor at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, said while it’s encouraging that officers will undergo additional training, community-police relations won’t get better if other issues are not addressed. “There’s a tremendous deficit in trust for the department in general,” said Ludwig, who is also a member of Showing Up For Racial Justice, an organization geared toward engaging white people in addressing racism. “Before we increase

firepower, before we invest in more weapons, why don’t we create systems of accountability?” A 2016 survey on community-police relations by Open Buffalo, a local social justice advocacy group, found that only 44 percent of black people in Buffalo would trust the police in an emergency. By contrast, 72 percent of white people said they could trust the police when in need. “A significant part of the community does not trust the police department because they only encounter them in enforcement circumstances,” said Steve Peraza, co-author of a report on local police-community relations published by the Partnership for the Public Good, a research group focused on social justice issues and civic engagement. “Until we can get the community to feel like the police is not just targeting them, the relationship will remain the way it is.” On March 6, activists voiced their concerns about the grant for rifles by calling Council members and attending a caucus meeting to urge legislators to send the item back to committee to allow for a public hearing. Any grant awarded to a city agency is subject to discussion by the appropriate Council committee and approval by the Council as a whole. While public hearings on committee items are not required, committee chairs are authorized to call such hearings. Richard Fontana, Lovejoy District Council member, said the Council could have done a better job “getting the word out.” Prior to the vote, he talked to constituents on the phone and through e-mail about their concerns and his positions. “A public hearing could have helped get the story straight,” said Fontana, who is the chair of the Finance Committee, where the grant was discussed. But he said he didn’t feel one was necessary before a vote. In an e-mailed statement, Sean Mulligan, legislative assistant to Niagara Council Member David Rivera, noted that the Council “would have been within their right” to accept the grant without getting public input. Rivera declined to answer questions when approached by an Investigative Post reporter after a recent Council meeting. Lopez said he felt more public input was merited. “The only thing we asked from the caucus was, ‘Give us more time, send it back to committee,’” he said. “’We will bring you the public if you give us more time.’” Instead of sending the resolution back to committee, the Council voted on it the next day. University District Council Member Rasheed Wyatt said he believes the department is “moving in the right direction.” “They are sensitive to what the Council has brought, to what citizens have brought forth,” Wyatt said. Council members often point to their Police Oversight Committee as a proof of public engagement. But Lopez and other activists see an inadequate body. At the January meeting of the committee, with police management in attendance, Lopez, along with colleagues from various community and health organizations, advocated for better civilian oversight of the department and for the implementation of programs that offer alternatives to arrest and incarceration for low-level offenses. Lopez said people left the meeting “with worse perceptions of upper brass and police than they did beforehand.” “They feel like they’ve gone there and that their concerns and voices were totally unheard,” he said. “It’s actually damaging the relationship between the public and police.” Council members see it differently. “I’m glad they have a Police Oversight Committee to be disappointed about,” said Council President Darius Pridgen. “Although it may not be perfect, in some people’s perception, it’s moving a better direction than being dormant.” Right before the Council unanimously voted in favor of the grant, Pridgen said, “We have addressed the concerns, though, I want to be clear, of the public that came to us.” When asked whether the Council listens to public concerns on policing issues, Lopez responded: “Absolutely not.” Daniela Porat is a reporter for Investigative Post, a nonprofit investigative journalism center focused on issues of importance to residents of Buffalo and Western New York. Listen to her companion stories on WBFO. P

(716) 885 5000 bpo.org

SWINGIN’ STARS AND STRIPES Fri. May 26, 10:30am | Sat. May 27, 8pm Anita Hall, vocalist Conductor Matt Catingub lends his inimitable flair to popular patriotic tunes and swing-era hits in this concert paying tribute to the American spirit.

T he Coffee Concert series is presented by

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with your BPO Wed. June 7, 8pm The “world’s greatest party band” joins the BPO to create a symphonic party for a new generation! Join us before the concert for Happy Hour drink specials from Buffalo Distilling Co. and Labatt USA. M172569c

P E T C

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tastings . flights . crafts pints . specials giveaways

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88 W. Chippewa St . Buffalo, NY 14202 . 716.849.1000 . buffalocateringservices.com DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC

NEWS COMMENTARY

THE WILMERS EPIPHANY TWO LOCATIONS! N. BUFFALO @ THE FOUNDRY 1738 Elmwood Avenue . Buffalo

ALLENTOWN 166 Allen Street . Buffalo . 716.866.8200 BOOK CLASSES ONLINE AT

thepilatesloftbuffalo.com

BY BRUCE FISHER

WHAT M&T’S ANNUAL REPORT SAYS ABOUT THE BANK’S POLITICAL PRIORITIES ONCE AGAIN, there’s

been talk of a new downtown convention center to replace the brown corrugated-concrete box that preservationists and city planners have decried and denounced since the day it blocked off the epic spoke-and-wheel street pattern of Joseph Ellicott’s 1804 design.

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There is precisely no rationale for Buffalo, or any other medium-sized city, to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a new convention center. In 2001, Erie County spent $500,000 on a full Environmental Impact Study that concluded—much to the consternation of advocates in the Buffalo Niagara Partnership—that there was nothing at all to be gained by building a new box because the convention business had radically changed, leaving medium-sized markets behind in favor of mega-destinations Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, and New York. Better, the report concluded, would be for the community to develop itself as a unique destination with unique amenities. Report in hand, Erie County embarked on a campaign to build cultural tourism, develop Erie Canal Harbor, promote waterfront habitat restoration, pump public money into architecture, and generally stay away from one-size-fits-all solutions that involved building big boxes that can be found in any downtown. Yet the demand for public spending on big projects has been a permanent theme in Buffalo’s business melody, at least for the past 35 years—along with a relentless bass line of antipathy to taxes, regulation, unions, regional land-use planning, and to public spending on projects that have no particular relevance to whatever it is that the Buffalo Niagara Partnership happens to be advocating at any particular time. What we’ve come to expect is coordinated messaging from three voices: the Buffalo News, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and the annual reports of the M&T Bank Corporation. There’s nothing about a new convention center in the latest annual report from the region’s biggest bank. What’s new in this year’s 256page tome is something else altogether.

BUFFALO’S BIG BOOK

EVENTS@DAILYPUBLIC.COM 8

In this year’s report, M&T Bank chairman and CEO Bob Wilmers complained that government spending is too low to help drive economic growth. He also complained that the American middle class, especially in Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland communities served by his bank, has too little income for consuming, college, investing, or even leisure. Rust Belt communities (he cites an M&T study of Syracuse) are losing jobs as big private-equity firms rush in and scoop up local firms, and then do what private-equity firms do—lay off workers, sell off assets, and leave town. Wilmers is happy to report strong results for his own bank (a Wall Street Journal profile calculates that he owns six percent of the $132 billion corporation), but he repeatedly expresses dismay that Washington won’t spend money on infrastructure, won’t invest in the workforce, won’t engage in what he calls “traditional fiscal stimulus,” and instead engages in “negative fiscal policy.”

THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

M&T Bank chairman Bob Wilmers.

What his audiences are used to hearing at his meetings and reading in his annual report is complaints about regulation—especially the one-size-fitsall regulations put forth after the crash of 2008, regulations that were supposed to save America from the depredations of the toobig-to-fail banks of Wall Street but which instead are eating middle-sized, middle-market, regional banks like M & T Bank alive. In particular, Wilmers blames the annual “stress test” for keeping medium-sized regional banks from making loans to small and medium-sized businesses, even while big corporations have unlimited access to financing—which they’re using, by the way, not for innovation, but instead for pumping up payouts to their shareholders (who are already rich) in the form of fatter dividends and share buybacks. Billionaire Bob Wilmers, who spends a couple of days a week in Buffalo when he’s not at his Manhattan office, his Paris apartment, or his vineyard in Bordeaux, withal presents an analysis that one would expect from a progressive think-tank, or from a liberal economist, or from Democrats like Sherrod Brown (OH), Bernie Sanders (VT), Elizabeth Warren (MA), or Ron Wyden (OR). Those senators have all thrashed the Big Five banks, which since 2008 have together had to pay the US Treasury over $185 billion in fines and penalties for various acts of malfeasance, fraud, and consumer exploitation of the kind that would destroy lesser entities. (These same giants are now prowling local markets, gobbling up customers even in Buffalo.)

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION? The cover of M&T Bank’s 2016 annual report is graced by Bernd and Hilla Becher’s 1982 photograph of the H-O Oats grain elevator, which was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. The photograph is in the collection of the Albright-Knox-Gundlach Museum, where Bob Wilmers has been board chairman during its unprecedentedly successful capital campaign. The essayist who bemoans the fate of the Western New York middle class, and who demonstrates his erudition by bemoaning the “Procrustean” onesize-fits-all federal banking regulation that hits M&T but spares hedge funds, last fall welcomed the $42.5 million gift of hedge fund manager Jeff Gundlach of Double Line Capital, a local boy made very, very good. Here’s why Bob Wilmers’s report to shareholders should cause shudders: The government spending (otherwise known as fiscal stimulus) that Wilmers says is lacking is probably never going to come from the Trump-Pence White House or from the Ryan-McConnell Congress. There’s nothing in the national news indicating that Republicans acknowledge or will address the stress on median-income households that Wilmers (and every other economist) counts as the drivers of our consumption-driven economy. And most curiously for such a capably-composed Annual Report (except for unfortunate use of the term “impact” as a transitive verb), Wilmers has precisely zero to say about the fiscal stimulus that New York State (and the other Blue States in which M&T operates) provides, year after year, to make up for the national policy of domestic austerity.

In the days before other voices were heard, the problems that Wilmers describes—slow growth, big capital riding in to raid small communities, disincentives for small-business lending—would be the whole story. Luckily for Upstate New York, they’re not the whole story. Buffalo is still over-focused on real estate development (witness the praise for new construction of $1,500-a-month apartments on Grant Street, new $2,000-a-month apartments on Elmwood, new condos coming soon to Niagara Street, and the red-hot Delaware District housing market) even while the retail economy restructures and the new manufacturing economy is not yet born. But notice that the voice that for 35 years has been criticizing government for spending too much is now demanding that government spend more. This is a turnaround. This is a notable turnaround. Coming from a billionaire who has preached austerity and tax relief, who has built a bank in a region that has had zero population growth in all the years he’s been here, whose firm has participated in financing epic over-building of both housing and commercial real estate, and yet who has quietly endorsed (and had surrogates like the Buffalo News promote) massive public spending on profoundly unnecessary projects—for Bob Wilmers to call for public spending to stimulate economic growth should be a wake-up call. Even without a new $500 million convention center, which is just the sort of municipal Stalinism that Wilmers has historically endorsed, Buffalo continually enjoys precisely the fiscal stimulus that Wilmers says is lacking. And yet, he complains, we have slow growth.

THE USES OF IRONY Buffalo’s future as a distinctive, culturally competent, price-competitive venue for both households and firms will be shaped by local decisions—but also by big forces that local leaders barely acknowledge and only rarely address. Bob Wilmers, in his concluding comments, shoos away any notion that automation or robots could be anything but the usual sort of technological innovation—like the arrival of ATM machines. Other voices, notably researchers at the Brookings Institution and at Bloomberg, point out that Buffalo and other Rust Belt regions stand to lose many more human employees to robots than do other areas of the country that aren’t so deeply invested in the automobile industry. Wilmers didn’t address Buffalo with much specificity in his comments on the crisis of workforce readiness, but he and others acknowledge that there’s a mismatch between skills and available jobs, and that, at every level, our education system is failing to close the gap. One wonders, as this 83-year-old public intellectual concludes his report to shareholders, if he had his way, what then? After having reorganized banking regulation, and having reorganized national spending priorities, and having instructed the Federal Reserve to allow interest rates to rise just enough so that a banker could make a few bucks lending to a few more businesses on the basis of a few more deposits from middle-class savers—what then? We won’t know, of course, because one banker can’t control all that. Measuring this banker’s enduring influence in Buffalo will not, evidently, involve counting up the investments in human capital that Harvard economist Edward Glaeser recommended in his provocative 2007 essay “Can Buffalo Ever Come Back?” in which Glaeser concluded that “government should stop bribing people to stay there.” One wonders why it took so very long for Wilmers to finally get around to saying that he disagrees. Bruce Fisher is visiting professor at SUNY Buffalo State.

ON STAGES THEATER WICKED: The Broadway sensation plays through June 4 at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main Street, 716-847-1410, sheas.org.

Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda and Jessica Vosk as Elphaba.

PLUS, AT THE SHAW FESTIVAL: 1837: THE FARMERS’ REVOLT: A play about the Rebellions of 1837, which led eventually to Canadian nationhood. 1979: More Canadian history, this one a comedy about former Joe Clark, prime minister for just 10 months. DANCING AT LUGHNASA: 1990 memory play by Irishman Brian Friel. THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III: Alan Bennett play about the monarch’s struggles with mental illness. ME AND MY GIRL: Musical comedy from the 1930s, revised by Stephen Fry in the 1980s. SAINT JOAN: Shaw’s study of the sainted French military hero and martyr. Playing now at the Shaw Festival, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagaraon-the-Lake, Ontario, 1-800-511-7429, shawfest.com.

PLUS, AT THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL:

PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS

PLAYBILL CEMETERY CLUB: Three Jewish widows, united by mourning and ritual, whose unity is disrupted by the arrival of a man. It’s a comedy. Through May 21 at O’Connell & Company’s theater at the Park School, 4625 Harlem Road, Snyder, 716-848-0800, oconnellandcompany.com. THE COUNTRY HOUSE: Donald Margulies’s play about the theater, theater people, and the people who love both. Through May 21 at Road Less Traveled Theater, 500 Pearl Street, 716-629-3069, roadlesstraveledproductions.org. ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE’S “WE ARE IN A PLAY!”: Based on Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie books and sure to delight children age four and up. And their parents. Through June 3 at Theatre of Youth, 203 Allen Street, 716-884-4400, theatreofyouth.org. THE GREAT GOD PAN: The Jewish Repertory Theatre’s season of plays by Amy Herzog continues with The Great God Pan, about a journalist whose friend accuses the journalist’s father

of sexually abusing him as a child—and suspects the journalist was abused, too. Through May 21 at the Jewish Repertory Theatre, 2640 North Forest Road, Getzville, 716-688-4033, jewishrepertorytheatre.com. KALAMAZOO: The adventures of a pair of baby boomers re-entering the word of dating. Through May 27 at New Phoenix Theatre in the Park, 95 Johnson Park, 716-853-1334, newphoenixtheatre.org. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET: The story of the 1956 Memphis jam session between Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley. Through May 28 at MusicalFare, 4380 Main Street, Amherst, 716-839-8540, musicalfare.com. THE OLD SETTLER: John Henry Redwood’s play unravels tension between two sisters living in Harlem during World War II, as revealed by the arrival of a handsome young boarder from the South. Through May 28 at the Paul Robeson Theatre, 350 Masten Avenue, 716-884-2013, aaccbuffalo.org. RUN FOR YOUR WIFE: A farce about a British cab driver juggling two lives, two wives. Through May 21 at Lancaster Opera House, 21 Central Avenue, Lancaster, 716-683-1776, lancopera.org.

GUYS AND DOLLS: Frank Loesser’s classic musical. HMS PINAFORE: Gilbert and Sullivan’s high-seas operetta. ROMEO AND JULIET: Shakespeare’s second-most frustrating tragedy. THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL: Witty society comedy by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. TIMON OF ATHENS: How not to succeed in business, win friends, and influence people? TREASURE ISLAND: Adapted for the stage by Nicolas Billon. TWELFTH NIGHT: A comedy with everything: a shipwreck, sassy servants, cross-dressing, a dissolute uncle. Season previews opening this week at the Stratford Festival, 55 Queen Street, Stratford, Ontario, 1-800-567-1600, stratfordfestival.ca. Playbill is presented by:

Information (title, dates, venue) subject to change based on the presenters’ privilege. Email production information to: theaterlistings@dailypublic.com

FeaturingOur Lady Peace and Collective Soul with special guest, Tonic JUNE 29, 2017 6 PM RAIN OR SHINE

Photograph of Collective Soul courtesy of the artists. Photograph of Our Lady Peace by Ashley Osborn.

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$45 GENERAL ADMISSION $42 FOR ALBRIGHT-KNOX MEMBERS

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Albright-Knox Art Gallery DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC

ARTS REVIEW

Painting by Julia Bottoms-Douglas.

A still from Van Tran Nguyen’s exhibit.

JULIA BOTTOMS-DOUGLAS & VAN TRAN NGUYEN BY JACK FORAN

AT BUFFALO ART STUDIOS, TWO ARTISTS OFFER DIFFERENT TAKES ON THE IMPERIAL LEGACY A SCORE OR SO of excellent portrait paintings by Julia Bottoms-Douglas and a mixed media installation on the aftermath experience of the Vietnam War by ethnic Vietnamese young American artist Van Tran Nguyen are currently on view at Buffalo Art Studios.

The Nguyen installation centerpiece includes a video, a constructed wood wall, plumbing hardware, and water. On one gallery wall, what looks at first like a mirror-image movie on two screens that turns out to be an actual mirror image of the artist in a kind of personal public service project, washing down the Maya Lin Vietnam Veterans memorial wall in Washington, DC, with wash rag and water—the camera looking down the length of the wall, so that the wall wash and other activities—people milling around, looking for names of loved ones, reaching up and touching names, moments of quiet recollection and meditation—are double-imaged in the shiny black wall marble. And on each side of the wall wash and other activities—in the video still—buckets of water into which from time to time the artist dips and re-wets the wash rag. While below and in front of the video, a constructed wood wall with projecting faucet spigots, and water dripping from the spigots that we are informed in a flyer accompanying

IN GALLERIES NOW = ART OPENING

Albright-Knox Art Gallery (1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, 882-8700, albrightknox. org): Menagerie: Animals on View, through Jun 4. Shantell Martin: Someday We Can, on view through Jun 25. Tamar Guimarães and Kasper Akhøj: Studies for A Minor History of Trembling Matter; Jacob Kassay: OTNY; Eric Mack: Vogue

the exhibit is the same water—somehow collected and saved— that was used to wash down the Maya Lin wall. While elsewhere around the gallery, some shallow aquaria water pools with floating mixtures of fruits and vegetables, whole and in chunk bits. Of ambivalent effect, it could be said. A little like the punch bowl at a wedding or graduation. A little like the extension segment of Scajaquada Creek under Delaware Avenue into the park. With all the Cheektowaga garbage in it. The flyer suggests reference to the Mekong Delta—the environmental damage done to those waters—and to Vietnamese waters and lands in general—owing to the war. (But we do much the same sort of damage to our own natural environment, war or no war.) Other videos are also done in doubles. One of the artist—it looks like—and a woman who might be her mother, facing off silently. With what might be a tear dropping. Two ultimately incommunicable experiences of one and the same traumatic event. And one of North Vietnamese war posters onto which the artist superimposes her own image. How is the artist like and unlike the strong revolutionary women on the posters? And what to make of it all in all? Not a particularly well-articulated response on the war and aftermath, but not meant to be articulate, it would seem. More about the difficulty or impossibility of articulation in this case. (As in cases in general regarding personal impacts of traumatic events). Art about ever unfinished business.

Fabrics; Willa Nasatir, photographs, all on view through Jun 18. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, open late First Fridays (free) until 10pm. Amy’s Place Restaurant (University Heights Arts Association) (3234 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, 716-833-6260, uhartsgroup.com/amysplace): Every day: 7am-9pm. Art Dialogue Gallery (5 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209 wnyag.com): Joseph Miller, Paintings and Drawings. On view through May 26. Tue-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-3pm.

10 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

JULIA DOUGLAS, TINTED: A VISUAL STATEMENT ON COLOR, IDENTITY, AND REPRESENTATION + VAN TRAN NGUYEN, STRANGE AGENCY BUFFALO ARTS STUDIO, TRI MAIN BUILDING 5TH FLOOR, 2495 MAIN ST, BUFFALO 833-4450 / BUFFALOARTSSTUDIO.ORG

The Bottoms-Douglass works are beautiful paintings of beautiful people. All blacks, and all young. That is, young adult, except for one depiction of a baby. The flyer notes the artist’s purpose— part of her purpose anyway—in making the work “as a response to the media’s repetition of racially biased imagery…” The rest of that sentence in the flyer is “in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case.” But the bias in the media and elsewhere hardly began with the Trayvon Martin case. Nor is the bias in the media—excepting the racist right media—from Fox to Breitbart—anything like the worst of it. You look at these pictures and think, these beautiful people—decent, gracious, benevolent—for we have no reason to think otherwise, but from the open and honest, straightforward look of these subjects, every reason to think so—these are some of the principal objects of the hate and fear of the people who elected the clown cretin president primarily out of motives of hate and fear—not for economic reasons—that theory doesn’t bear out—that the media prefer to talk about rather than talk about the hate and fear—which are so difficult to talk about—more difficult than economics even—not so much because the media are biased but because they are so often lazy and so often cowardly. The two artists exhibit continues through June 2.

Artists Group Gallery (Western New York Artists Group) (1 Linwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209, 716885-2251, wnyag.com): Buffalo Niagara Art Association Spring Exhibition, through May 26. Tue-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11am-3pm. Artspace Buffalo Gallery (1219 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209): The Future of Something, works by Pat Pendleton and J. Tim Raymond. Through May 21, with a closing reception May 20, 4-7pm. Gallery open Friday, May 5, 5-8pm and Saturday, May 13, 1-4pm.

Ashker’s on Elmwood (1002 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222, 716-886-2233, ashkersbuffalo.com): Ashley Kay: This Realm: Ladies of Night, through Jun 4. Mon-Sat 7am-10pm, Sun 9am-5pm. Betty’s Restaurant (370 Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 362-0633, bettysbuffalo.com): ITCHING: New Work by Kate Simonds through Jul 24. Opening reception, Mon, May 22, 6-8:30 p. Tue-Thu, 8am-9pm, Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 9am10pm, Sun 9am-2pm.

PREVIEW ARTS

BUFFALO BENCHES PROJECT

John Jiang’s Silo Bench.

THURSDAY, MAY 18 / 6-9PM / 500 SENECA ST ATRIUM

More students joined in the project as the semesters changed; in the end, 40 students have had a hand in the Buffalo Benches Project. The resulting designs are inspired, incorporating salvaged materials in some cases and in others abstracting themes and materials without sacrificing practicality. They beautifully inhabit the intersection of form and function. And soon, with some luck, hard work, and community support, they will inhabit the intersections of the First Ward. The fabricated benches were exhibited last December at Gallery 164, Wales’s art space on Allen Street. With the project approaching fruition, they will be exhibited again this Thursday, May 18, 6-9pm, in the atrium at 500 Seneca Street. You should come see them. You should ask how you can help support their installation. You should buttonhole Wales and tell him where he should direct the energies of his next crop of students.

BUFFALO BENCHES PROJECT BY GEOFF KELLY

BUFFALO BENCHES PROJECT NEARS COMPLETION A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, a group of UB architecture stu-

dents and their professor launched a small public works project that seemed simple but, like all such projects, proved somewhat more complicated than the students might have expected. What are the design and fabrication challenges? How about long-term maintenance? What permitting issues need to be navigated? How do you rally support from the community? But introducing students to the complex realities of working in the public realm is part of the curriculum in the Small Built Works Program, created 15 years ago by architect Brad Wales, a clinical assistant professor at UB. Conceived by Wales as a conduit for direct interaction between students in UB’s School

Benjaman Gallery (419 Elmwood Avenue Buffalo, NY 14222, thebenjamangallery.com): Toma Yovanovich: Tongues of Flame, on view through Jun 3. Thu-Sat 11am-5pm. The Blue Plate Studio (69 Keil Street, North Tonawanda, NY 14120, 725-2054): Work by Alicia Malik. Box Gallery (Buffalo Niagara Hostel, 667 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14203): Remnants, an installation by Jodi Lynn Maracle on view through May 31. Every day 4-10pm. BT&C Gallery (1250 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213, 604-6183, btandcgallery.com): Stitch, work by Jack Drummer on view through Jun 10. Opening reception Thu, May 18 6-9pm Fri 12-7pm, Saturdays 12-4pm (during exhibitions), and by appointment. ¡Buen Vivir! (148 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201, photolangelle.org): Are Humans Disappearing? Photography by Orin Langelle on view through May 26. Tue-Fri 1:30-4:30pm, Fri 6-8pm, Sat 1-3pm. Big Orbit (30d Essex Street, Buffalo, NY 14222, cepagallery.org/about-big-orbit): Eric Evinczik: The Long Afternoon. Opening reception Sat, May 20, 7-10pm. Fri-Sun 12-6pm. Buffalo Arts Studio (Tri Main Building 5th Floor, 2495 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, 8334450, buffaloartsstudio.org): Julia Douglas, Tinted: A Visual Statement on Color, Identity, and Representation. Van Tran Nguyen, Strange Agency (University at Buffalo MFA Thesis Exhibition). Both shows on view through Jun 2. Tue-Fri 10am5pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Fourth Fridays till 8pm. Buffalo Big Print (78 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 716-884-1777, buffalobigprint.com): Buffalo Artists: Recent Works. Featuring photography, pastels, paintings, and more from several talented local artists. On view through May 31. MonFri 9am-5:30pm. Buffalo & Erie County Central Library (1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203, 858-8900, buffalolib. org): Celebrating 400 Years of Shakespeare: Reflecting on the Life of the Bard. Milestones on Science: Books That Shook the World! 35 rare books from the history of science, on second floor. MonSat 8:30am-6pm, Sun 12-5pm.Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Fourth Fridays till 8pm Burchfield Penney Art Center (1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, 878-6011, burchfieldpenney. org): Robert L. Flock: Color as Energy, through May 21. Artists Living in Other Worlds, through May 21. The Interior World of Roland Wise, through May 21. Mabel Dodge Luhan & Company: American Moderns & the West, on view through May 28. Reunion: Chess, through Jun 25. Artists Seen, photographs of contemporary artists by David Moog. The First Exhibition: 50 Years with Charles E. Burchfield, on view through Mar

of Architecture and Planning and city neighborhoods, over the years the program has resulted in real physical enhancements: His students have populated Allentown with elegant bus shelters and bike racks, renovated El Museo Gallery, built the Burchfield Penney’s Front Yard installation, built a granite monument to Frederick Law Olmsted, and much more. The current project, launched in the winter of 2015 by 16 students, is called the Buffalo Benches Project. The aim of the project is to design, fabricate, and install more than 20 public benches the the city’s First Ward neighborhood. The students were charged with creating designs inspired by the neighborhood’s history and physical environment—the Buffalo River, the grain silos, the railroads, the factories and rowing clubs and housing stock. The designs needed to be useful, too, and durable.

26. Charles Cary Rumsey: Success in the Gatsby Era, through Jun 25. 10am-5pm & Sun 1-5pm. Admission $5-$10, children 10 and under free. Canvas Salon & Gallery (9520 Main Street, Clarence, NY 14031, STE 400): Work by Anne Valby, on view through June 30. Cass Project (500 Seneca Street, Buffalo, NY 14204): Charcoal works by Tricia Butski, through May 19. Castellani Art Museum (5795 Lewiston Road, Niagara University, NY 14109, 286-8200, castellaniartmuseum.org): Ebru: Floating Emotions featuring ebru by İpek, Ali Burak, and Musa Saraçoğlu, on view through Jul 9. Chinese Folk Pottery: The Art of the Everyday through Jul 2. Painting Niagara, Thomas Kegler, on view through Jan 21, 2018. Tue-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm. CEPA (617 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, 8562717, cepagallery.org): Karsten Krejcarek: (However) the Owner of the Living (Death) May Pierce (an Abscess) and Spread Ruin, Babalú-Ayé through May 21. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 12-4pm. Dana Tillou Fine Arts (1478 Hertel Avenue Buffalo, NY 14216, 716-854-5285, danatilloufinearts. com): Contemporary collection including Hans Moller, Edith Geiger, Lee Adler, Claire Burch, and more. Wed-Fri 10:30am-5pm, Sat 10:30am-4pm. Dreamland (387 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, facebook.com/dreamlandarts.buffalo/ timeline): Open by event. Eleven Twenty Projects (1120 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209, 882-8100, eleventwentyprojects.com): Brendan Fernandes: From Hiz Hands. On view through Jul 30. El Museo (91 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 4644692, elmuseobuffalo.org): Phyllis Thompson: Memories of Making Special. Wed-Sat 12-6pm. Enjoy the Journey Art Gallery (1168 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca, NY 14224, 675-0204, etjgallery.com): C.Mari, Grace Wilding and Serena Way. Tue & Wed 11-6pm, Thu & Fri 2-6pm, Sat 11-4pm . Fox Run Gyda Higgins Art Gallery (One Fox Run Lane, Orchard Park, NY 14127): Hometowns of WNY by Linda Hall. Hallwalls (341 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, 854-1694, hallwalls.org): There’s More To Explore: Up Close and Personal With Ryder Henry, on view through Jun 30. Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-2pm. Indigo Art Gallery (47 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14202, 984-9572, indigoartbuffalo.com): Entwined, Jesse Walp and Bethany Krull. On view through May 27. Wed & Fri 12-6pm, Thu 12-7pm, Sat 12-3pm, and by appointment Sun & Mon. Jewish Community Center of Buffalo, Bunis Family Art Gallery (2640 North Forest Road, Getzville, NY 14068 jccbuffalo.org): Exhibit by Jerry Birzon.

(500 Seneca’s developer, Sam Savarino, is on a long list of the project’s material and moral supporters. Because do-gooders never get half the credit they deserve, here’s that list: the Department of Architecture & Planning at UB, especially Dean Robert Shibley and Architecture Chair Omar Khan; Councilman Christopher Scanlon; Councilman David Franczyk; Rick Smith and Rigidized Metals; Tom Saia and Iroquois Concrete; Savarino Construction; the Barrel Factory; the family of Evan Glickman; the family of Sara Heidinger; Racquel Ananiadis; Laura Kelly; Wade Georgi; Chris Kameck; and Tim and Emily Lowrey, among others.) Installation of the benches in the neighborhood will take place this spring and summer. (Wales’s students frequently find that the projects engendered in his class stretch beyond the semester, often beyond their matriculation. This, too, is a practical lesson.) Thus will their evolution complete itself: from proposition to conceptual and eventually concrete solution, from gallery exhibition to fixture in a living city. “We are honored to be working to provide public amenities in the Old First Ward, a venerable working-class neighborhood,” Wales says. ”The benches are all inspired by themes in the Old First Ward, but they are also meant to be durable and comfortable.”P

Karpeles Manuscript Library (North Hall) (220 North St., Buffalo, NY 14201): The Young Abraham Lincoln, the drawings of Lloyd Ostendorf. On view through Apr 26. Tue-Sun 11am-4pm. Karpeles Manuscript Museum (Porter Hall) (453 Porter Ave, Buffalo, NY 14201): Maps of the United States. Tue-Sun 11am-4pm. Kenan Center House Gallery (433 Locust Street, Lockport, NY 14094, 433-2617, kenancenter.org): Three Generations of Burchfields: Works from the Schoene Collection, on view through June 16. Mon-Fri 12-5pm & Sun 2-5pm. Meibohm Fine Arts (478 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052, 652-0940, meibohmfinearts.com): Sean Witucki: Kindred Spirits, on view through May 27. Tue-Sat 9:30am-5:30pm. Niagara Arts and Cultural Center (1201 Pine Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14301, 282-7530, thenacc.org): NF125. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 12-4pm. Nina Freudenheim Gallery (140 North Street, Lenox Hotel, Buffalo, NY 14201, 716-882-5777, ninafreudenheimgallery.com): Roil, new work by Kyle Butler through Jun 14. Tue-Fri 10am–5pm Norberg’s Art & Frame Shop (37 South Grove Street, East Aurora, NY 14052, 716-652-3270, norbergsartandframe.com): Local artists: Kathleen West, Bradley Widman, Peter Potter, and Miranda Roth. Tue-Sat 10am–5pm. Parables Gallery & Gifts (1027 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY, parablesgalleryandgifts.com): Group 263: Kathleen Corff Rogers, Karima Bondi, Rick Steinberg, Brian Boutin, and Gethryn Soderman through May 30. Wed-Fri, 12-7pm (until 9pm on first Fridays), Sat & Sun 12-5pm. Pausa Art House (19 Wadsworth Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 697-9069 pausaarthouse.com): Tropicals, watercolors by Rita Argen Auerbach on view through Jun 17. Live music Thu-Sat. Pine Apple Company (224 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201, 716-275-3648, squareup.com/store/ pine-apple-company): Unicorns! LGBTQ Invitational.Wed & Thu 11am-6pm, Fri & Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Queen City Gallery (617 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, 868-8183, queencitygallery.tripod.com): Art by Neil Mahar, David Pierro, Candace Keegan, John Farallo, Chris McGee,Tim Raymond, Eileen Pleasure, Eric Evinczik, Barbara Crocker, Thomas Bittner, Susan Leibel, Barbara Lynch Johnt, Kisha Patterson, Lindsay Strong, Frank Russo, Michael Mulley. Tue-Fri 11am-4pm and by appointment. Resource:Art (Various locations, resourceartny. com, 249-1320): Community, Milton Rogovin photographs, in conjunction with Max Collins public art project at the Buffalo Center for Art and Technology (1221 Main Street in Buffalo). By appointment.

Revolution Gallery (1419 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14216, revolutionartgallery.com): Sonic Splendor, group show with work by Adam Weekley, Annette Hassell, Craig LaRotonda, Dan Barry, David Brinley, Greg Kuppinger, Hope Kroll, Maria Pabico LaRotonda, Mark Rogers, Matt Duquette, Matthew Dutton, Paul Neberra, Stephanie Henderson—each artist interpreting one song. Through June 10. Ró Home Shop (732 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, 240-9387, rohomeshop.com): Somatic Color, Kyla Avery Kegler. Tue-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 11am-4pm, closed Mondays. Rust Belt Books (415 Grant Street): Recent works on paper by Hetta and Esther Gardner through Jun 30. Sports Focus Physical Therapy (531 Virginia Street, Buffalo, NY, 14202, 332-4838, sportsfocuspt. com): Photography by Joe George through May 30. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, 6-9pm on first Fridays. Squeaky Wheel (617 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, squeaky.org): Sondra Perry: flesh out. On view through May 6. Tue-Sat, 12pm-5pm. Starlight Studio and Art Gallery (340 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14202, starlightstudio.org): Ann Moody, Kelly Evans, Shamika Long, Debbie Medwin, Sonya Lewis, Lisa Kobis, Rosita Scott, on view through Jul 16. Mon-Fri 9-4pm. Sugar City (1239 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213, buffalosugarcity.org): Graphic Nature: Comic Art from Western New York on view through May 30. Tom Van Deusen, Emily Churco, Kevin Delgado, Bobby Griffiths, Max Weiss, Caitlin Cass, Luckyanson Prak, Autumn McGee, Andie Jairam, and Salvatore Sciandra. Opening reception Thu, May 18 6-9pm. Open by event and on Fri 5:30-7:30. UB Anderson Gallery (1 Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo, NY 14214, 829-3754, ubartgalleries.org): The Human Aesthetic, Cravens World. The Language of Objects on view through Jul 30. Wed-Sat 11am5pm, Sun 1-5pm. UB Art Galleries (North Campus, Lower Art Gallery) (201 Center for the Arts, Room B45, Buffalo, NY, 14260, 645-6913, ubartgalleries.org): Ill at Ease: Dis-ease in Art, curated by Conor Moynihan. Ebony G. Patterson: Dead Treez through May 13. Tue-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 1-5pm. Villa Maria College Paul William Beltz Family Art Gallery (240 Pine Ridge Terrace, Cheektowaga, NY 14225, 961-1833): Fine Arts Program Student Exhibit, open Apr 25-May 5. Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 10am5pm. Western New York Book Arts Center (468 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, 348-1430, wnybookarts.org): Wed-Sat 12-6pm.

To add your gallery’s information to the list, please contact us at info@dailypublic.com

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC

12 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC 13

TYLER HARRINGTON was greatly loved, greatly talented. The guitarist, songwriter, and local rock star died last week, to the great dismay of family, friends, and Buffaloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already reeling music scene. Rob Lynch made this portrait of him. A memorial show is in the works.

EVENTS CALENDAR PUBLIC APPROVED

WEDNESDAY MAY 17 Seether 6:30pm Rapids Theatre, 1711 Main St. $32-$295

[ROCK] Hailing from South Africa, Seether is one of the most well known hard rock bands in the world. The band is on tour now in support for their latest album, Poison the Parish, released earlier this year. The record, a driving guitar focused rock record, features their latest single “Let You Down.” Seether comes to the Rapids Theatre for a concert on Wednesday, May 17, presented by 103.3 The Edge. -TPS

THURSDAY MAY 18 Kyle Kinane 8pm Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St. $17-$21

COVE “Fingerling Potato Suite [b-boy edit]” video Recommended if you like: Madlib, J Dilla, Karriem Riggins As part of a series of videos that will make up a “video mixtape,” Buffalo-based producer Cove has just released his latest, “Fingerling potato suite [b-boy edit]” The video features vintage footage of a b-boy contest collaged over Cove’s vintage-tinged hip hop beats. For authenticity’s sake, the hip hop producer has even recorded the videos to VHS.

THE PUBLIC PRESENTS: WAX MELTDOWN THURSDAY MAY 18 8:30PM / NIETZSCHE'S, 248 ALLEN ST. / $5 [DISCO] “Disco music is for dancing and people will always want to dance,” said famous disco producer Giorgio Moroder. Sometimes you get the urge to dance on a weeknight, or maybe have a beer and then dance, or maybe just have a beer and listen to some cosmic disco music. That’s what we’ll be doing at the next The Public Presents at Nietzsche’s on Thursday, May 18. We’re going to keep it a little weird but still pretty relaxed for this one—expect some left-field disco from Arthur Russell, krautrock from Kraftwerk, some classic but maybe forgotten disco records—GQ, KC and the Sunshine Band—and who knows, maybe some new age yoga music or something. We’ll have DJs Icky Reels, Alex Morrison, and DJ Trashcan & Friends spinning some records on wax for a low key dance party in the front room that’ll go until it’s time to go bed—maybe some of us earlier than others—though it seems quite possible that some of you never go to bed. You’re the ones we’re looking for. -CORY PERLA

“That’s a Fact” video Recommended if you like: Freddie Gibbs, Dipset, Danny Brown Niagara Falls-based rapper BronxBoi Sean Stylez dropped his latest single “That’s a Fact” earlier this week. An unfiltered gangster rap track, “That’s A Fact” is a straightforward street-hard banger. Fans of Freddie Gibbs and Danny Brown line up. The single is streamable now on Spotify and Apple Music.

DO YOU MAKE MUSIC? HAVE A RECOMMENDATION? CONTACT CORY@DAILYPUBLIC.COM TO BE CONSIDERED IN OUR WEEKLY PUBLIC PICKS.

FRIDAY MAY 19 Whitehorse 7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. $17-$19

[ROCK] Guitarist/songwriter Luke Doucet may have lost out on the Canadian Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album twice, in 2006 and 2011, but it was to none other than Neil Young both times—a hard act to beat. He finally snagged the award in 2015 as half of Whitehorse for Leave No Bridge Unburned (Six Shooter). The duo, which he formed with wife Melissa McClelland, has agreed to put their respective solo careers on hold to concentrate on making music together. The pair’s latest, The Northern South, Vol. 1, out this time last year, finds them revisiting a mid-century, retro-bluesy groove that fits their blend of co-ed harmonies and Doucet’s edgy guitar work like a well oiled mitt. They’re at the Leopard Lounge inside Town Ballroom on Friday, May 19, with special guest John Moore (53 Days). -CJT

WAX WAX MELTDOWN MELTDO

PUBLIC APPROVED

BRONXBOI SEAN STYLEZ

[COMEDY] Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably heard comedian Kyle Kinane’s voice. He’s the “voice of Comedy Central,” who introduces each ridiculous new episode of South Park or the Daily Show in between commercials on the comedy network. He’s also known for his “scumbag stories” approach to comedy, and he’s a master of it. Seedy motel rooms, various forms of self-pleasuring, weird eating habits, and butt stuff are among his favorite topics. Basically all of the things a normal person would hope nobody would ever find out about them are the things Kinane talks about, so if that sounds even remotely funny to you— and trust us, it is—then check out Kinane at Helium Comedy Club this Thursday, May 18 through Saturday, May 20. -CP

ICKY REELS ALEX MORRISON DJ TRASHCAN & FRIENDS COSMIC DISCO, RARE FUNK, WEIRD STUFF

PUP THURSDAY MAY 18

THU MAY 18 / 8:30PM $5 / NIETZSCHE’S 248 ALLEN ST

7PM / THE WAITING ROOM, 334 DELAWARE AVE. / $16-$18

[PUNK] Vancouver, British Columbia-based Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard apparently knows quality modern punk when he hears it. He also seems to know how to suss out a good opportunity (with a little help from his dad). One thing leads to another and, voila, Wolfhard found himself starring in Toronto quartet PUP's 2014 video for “Guilt Trip” (pre-Stranger Things), portraying a younger version of the band’s front man, Stefan Babcock. More recently, he reprised that role in PUP’s tear-jerking clip for “Sleep in the Heat,” off last year’s full length The Dream is Over. Watching the delightfully noisy band’s video vignettes is refreshing since they bother to work with tangible (albeit dark) narratives that hit home—poignantly. The music is no different. PUP may subscribe to the modern, anthemic punk aesthetic, shout-along choruses and all, but the anarchic spirit at the root is palpable, as are some proggy tangents that show off their musicianly chops. It sounds like pitch control is used sparingly on PUP’s recorded music, which is as it should be for any band that considers itself even remotely punk…perfection was never the goal. Hear them throw it down live at the Waiting Room on Thursday, May 18, with as-yet-unannounced special guests. -CHRISTOPHER JOHN TREACY

DAILYPUBLIC.COM @PUBLICBFLO #THEPUBLICPRESENTS

14 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

Kevin Devine

8pm The 9th Ward, 341 Delaware Ave $16-$19

ICKY REELS ALEX MORRISON DJ TRASHCAN & F

[INDIE] What kind of artist does a recorded cover of an entire Nirvana album? An artist like Kevin Devine who has such a strong back catalog as to feel safe to pursue something that’s purely a passion. Devine put out a full Nevermind cover album in 2011—since then he’s released three records, including his latest, 2016’s Instigator—so don’t be surprised if the Brooklyn-based artist dips into some Nirvana among his many solo cuts. Devine comes to Babeville’s 9th Ward on Friday, May 19 with support from Buffalo singer/songwriter Sonny Baker. -TPS

COSMIC DISCO, RARE FUNK, WEIRD S

David Lynchfest

9:30pm North Park Theatre, 1428 Hertel Avenue $10.50

THU MAY 18 / 8:30PM $5 / NIETZSCHE’S 248 ALLEN ST

[SCREENING] If you’re like most David Lynch fans, rabid or casual, you’ve probably already binged on the 30 original episodes of his 1990-91 series Twin Peaks in preparation for Twin Peaks: The Return, premiering this Sunday on Showtime. If you need more, the North Park is offering a week of big screen Lynch to whet your appetites. The main feature is David Lynch: The Art Life, a new documentary consisting of interviews with the filmmaker discussing his upbringing and how it influenced his work. (You’ll be surprised at what scene from Blue Velvet was lifted almost intact from a childhood experience.) Late evening shows throughout the week showcase three of his most celebrated features. If

DAILYPUBLIC.COM @PUBLICBFLO

s ’ e i ge n k l u i o M ood L

CALENDAR EVENTS PUBLIC APPROVED

Elmw

ASBURY HALL

its, &

spir food,

ment

tain enter

WEEKLY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

PAULA POUNDSTONE

May 17

THE MEAT WHISTLES

FRI 6/30 $35 ADV / RESERVED SEATING / 6PM DOORS / 7PM SHOW

@ 9pm / $5

May 18

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS W/ CLOUD NOTHINGS

TUES 7/25 $30 ADVANCE / GA STANDING

CEE-GEE’S THE RESEARCH ALBUM RELEASE PARTY @ 8pm / $5

UNA NOCHE LATINA

May 26

@ 9pm / $5

THE STRUTS THURSDAY MAY 18

May 27

[ROCK] There’s a reason why glam rock comes back again and again—it’s about androgyny. As long as male rockers who are mostly straight and comfortable in their sexuality continue playing the makeup-and-glitter card, boys and girls will continue to flock. It’s part and parcel to rock and roll: a daring sensibility that squeals “I’m breaking all the rules” on the most basic level, and it still speaks to us loud and clear. Struts front man Luke Spiller knew he wanted to be a star at age nine when he performed in a school production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, so it isn’t surprising that he commands the stage with the sort of magnetism and presence of a dude in platforms and a feathered boa—even if he hasn’t gone for broke like that quite yet (just give it time—Zandra Rhodes, who dressed Freddie Mercury, has been designing his stage clothes). Though Interscope released the Struts’ full length debut, Everybody Wants, only just last year, a slightly different version of it was out overseas in 2014, the buzz from which helped them score a slot opening for the Rolling Stones in Paris, where the UK four-piece performed in front of 80,000 people. Then they opened the last four shows of Motley Crue’s career. The album’s lead single, “Could Have Been Me” sounds vaguely like Slade, but Everybody Wants drags the net deeper than merely ripping on any one band in particular, instead offering a less specific amalgam of glam and hair metal nostalgia dipped in rock-charged r-’n’-b with a modern production twist. It’s the sort of debut that careers are made from, but time will tell if Spiller and company can sustain the momentum (and the debauchery that comes with fast fame). Best to strike now, while the iron’s hot, when the Struts play at the Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls on Thursday, May 18.-CHRISTOPHER JOHN TREACY

CONOR OBERST THU 9/14 $30 FLOOR GA STANDING / $35 BALCONY GA SEATED

@ 9pm / $5

Every Tuesday Every Wednesday

Open Comedy Mic Night

6PM / RAPIDS THEATRE, 1711 MAIN ST. / $18-$22

NYLON OTTERS

@ 8 PM

@ 8 PM Free

e.coma g n u oodlove @ Utic w m l dA 81 iese milk2 Elmwoo 8 82.58 6. 52 Free

AN INTIMATE EVENING OF SONGS & STORIES W/

GRAHAM NASH

SUN 10/1 $61 ADVANCE / VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE

9TH WARD Buffalo’s Premier Live Music Club ◆ FRIDAY, MAY 19 ◆

Mr. Conrad’s Rock’n’Roll Happy Hour 5PM ◆ FREE

Post-rock from the North Shore, Massachusetts

you’ve never seen Eraserhead (1977), Lynch’s infamous “dream of dark and troubling things,” or if you’ve only seen it in your living room, here’s your chance to experience it in a theater. Wild At Heart (1990) is Lynch at his kitchiest, but the one you don’t want to miss is Lost Highway (1997), his most sustained and successful film. David Lynch: The Art Life: Fri-Thurs 2, 4:30, 7pm. Eraserhead: FriSat 9:30pm, Wild At Heart: Sun-Mon 9:30pm, Lost Highway: Tues-Weds, 9:30pm -M. FAUST

SATURDAY MAY 20 Intersection Identities 2pm Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave

[DISCUSSION] File this intriguing Saturday afternoon forum under the kind of conversations we should be having more, about race, gender, class and the heavy weight of identity in a world not yet equipped for social liberty. The Intersection Identities panel at Burchfield Penney Art Center is hosted by recent high school graduate Jayden McClam, a nonbinary, black activist, witch, and prison abolitionist set to enter Howard University in the fall; Gysai Curry, a recent Buff State communications grad by way of Long Beach, California by way of Jamaica who identifies as both gay and bisexual, and Open Buffalo’s economic and climate justice coordinator Harper Bishop, who has been organizing around gender and race issues for close to 10 years. McClam, Curry, and Bishop will share their experiences and philosophies on navigating a world that is not yet ready to hold them, and what can be done about it going forward. -AARON LOWINGER

Golf Calp

4pm Preservation Pub, 948 Main St. $10-$15

[HOUSE] A pretty large contingent of Buffalo folks have made the habit of making the fivehour drive to Detroit for the annual house and techno festival Movement in recent years. The guys from Eyes Everywhere have also made a habit of throwing an annual (official) pre-Movement party here in Buffalo, and this year’s party features the Detroit-based house duo Golf Clap. The Country Club Disco label-duo will be joined by Eyes Everywhere, Chad Lock B2B Dave Sif, and Travis Poling for an afternoon outdoor summer-kick party at Preservation Pub this Saturday, May 20. This should be a great opportunity to meet some Buffalo-folks who you might see in Detroit this Memorial Day weekend. -CP

HarborLights

+ Orations, Pieces

TRIPI

8PM ◆ $5

◆ SATURDAY, MAY 20 ◆

WED 5/17 $15

Michigan ska-punk legends

Mustard Plug

From The Suicide Machines

J Navarro & the Traitors

+ The Abruptors, Inherent Vice,

The Buffalo Brass Machine

7PM DOORS/8PM SHOW◆ $10 ADV/$12 DOS

◆ SUNDAY, MAY 21 ◆

KEVIN DEVINE

From Atlanta Whores From Miami WRONG From Kansas City, Mo Bummer

W/ SONNY BAKER

7PM DOORS/8PM SHOW◆ $12 ADV/$15 DOS

FRI 5/19 $16 ADVANCE / $19 DAY OF

◆ MONDAY, MAY 22 ◆

Sludge/doom duo

Jucifer + Nine Layers Deep From Roc Saints & Winos

Volbeat 5pm Artpark, 450 South 4th St. $42

[HARD ROCK] If Johnny Cash started a heavy metal band, he’d probably end up with something like Volbeat. Of course, that’s taking the easy way out to describe these guys. These Danish rockers (Michael Poulson on vocals and guitar, Jon Larsen on drums, Kaspar Boye Larsen on bass) assisted by Rob Caggiano of Anthrax on guitar, are hook masters. Their last two albums in particular, the dark western themed Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies, and the boisterous and spooky Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie has riff after riff that will not only get your head banging, but also melodies that you’ll be singing at the top of your lungs. Poulsen is a powerful singer and a gifted storyteller, and Volbeat has been steadily climbing the ladder of hard rock for years because of it. It’s infectious as all hell, so if you call yourself an old fashioned rock and roll fan you won’t want to miss their headlining show at Artpark on Saturday, May 20. -KRIS KIELICH

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

7PM DOORS/8PM SHOW◆ $10 ADV/$12 DOS

◆ TUESDAY, MAY 23 ◆

LAUGH & OTHER DRUGS

Florida thrash metal

Rhythm Of Fear

Long Island doom DMP + One Way Terror, Juggernaut

THU 5/25 $8 ADVANCE / GA SEATED

7PM DOORS/8PM SHOW◆ $8 21+/$10 18-20

◆ WEDNESDAY, MAY 24 ◆

DOORS 7PM / SHOW TIME 8PM VISIT BABEVILLEBUFFALO.COM FOR COMPLETE EVENT LISTINGS TICKETS: TICKETWEB.COM / BABEVILLE BOX OFFICE (M-F 11AM-5PM) RUST BELT BOOKS (415 GRANT) / TERRAPIN STATION (1172 HERTEL AVE) OR CHARGE BY PHONE 866.777.8932

Black X, Chicago hardcore, Dead Split Egos, Social Divorce 8PM ◆ $5

◆ THURSDAY, MAY 25 ◆

Got Beats5:

Cufx (of EKL), Angelo Luciano (Third), Shane and Tone; hosted by Program 9PM ◆ $5

341 DELAWARE AVE (AT W. TUPPER) BUFFALO, NY 14202 716.852.3835

47 East Mohawk St. 716.312.9279

BUFFALOSMOHAWKPLACE.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MOHAWKPLACE

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC 15

EVENTS CALENDAR

STAY IN THE

PUBLIC APPROVED

INTERVIEW: BILLY DEE WILLIAMS FRIDAY MAY 19 - SUNDAY MAY 21 3PM / BUFFALO NIAGARA CONVENTION CENTER, 153 FRANKLIN ST / $15-$70

THIS WEEK'S LGBT AGENDA WEDNESDAY, MAY 17 OUT FOR BUSINESS 5-7pm, at Big Ditch Brewing Company, 55 E. Huron St.

It’s that time of the month! Join organizers the Pride Center of WNY and host Roberta O’Toole, Esq. for this ongoing LGBTQ mixer focused on local business networking. Come have a drink or a bite or just to introduce yourself. Business cards encouraged.

SATURDAY, MAY 20

[COMICS] In the hallowed halls of the comic and pop culture convention circuit, there are few performers with a resume that stacks up to Billy Dee Williams. A career spanning eight decades (Williams first appeared on Broadway in 1945)? Check. Arguably the most charismatic role in the biggest movie series of all-time Star Wars? Check. A legendary endorsement campaign with with malt liquor brand Colt 45? That’s Billy Dee Williams. Williams will be a featured guest at the Nickel City Con, which will take place at the Buffalo-Niagara Events Center this Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21. He will be joined by a massive cast of celebrities, including fellow sci-fi royalty William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols of Star Trek, Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp, and Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. Williams, 80, took some time to discuss his career with The Public. He will be on hand Saturday and Sunday only. You’re bound to see many Star Wars fans at Nickel City Con. What are your thoughts on the latest Star Wars movies, and what’s your overall impression of where the franchise is headed? They are

entertaining movies. They are very good, entertaining movies. I, however, am much more partial to the original movies. I think, to me, the characters are much more memorable. And there was a really bigger than life quality to those movies.

INTERSECTING IDENTITIES 2-5pm at Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave.

Join the Burchfield Penney Art Center for a panel discussion as LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, + beyond) individuals in Buffalo talk about their experiences with forming identity— what shifts, what remains constant, and how external and internal identity influences one’s conception of self. As an offshoot of the current Mabel Dodge Luhan & Company: American Moderns and the West exhibit, which remains open until 5/28, join host and moderator Ruth Goldman with panelists Jayden McClam, Gyasi Curry, and Harper Bishop for this event, which is free with paid gallery admission.

SATURDAY, MAY 20

Daniel Glover has been tapped to play Lando Calrissian in an upcoming Star Wars film. I understand you had a chance to meet with him. He was a very nice kid. He’s very talented. Talented musician,

writer and actor, and I wish him well. It’s very difficult seeing anyone else play Lando since I created that character.

What do you think it is about you, Billy Dee Williams, that is most intrinsically tied to the Lando character? It’s very difficult to talk

about myself, but I have a very special quality as a performer, and I’ve proven that in every character I’ve played. You do have a distinct charisma that’s hard to characterize. Certainly in Lady Sings The Blues, certainly in Mahogany, certainly in Brian’s Song. Most characters I play, they are very special because I approach it in a particular, special way. You made a brief appearance on Dynasty as the character Brady Lloyd. What are your reflections from working on Dynasty? I had a lot of fun. I loved working with Diahann Carroll. She and I went to high school together. She’s a wonderful person, she’s extraordinary. What were your plans for Two Face character when originally cast as Harvey Dent for Batman (1989)? The irony is I got to play Two

Face in the Lego Movie (The Lego Batman Movie). When I played Har-

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

IN TOWN SHOW: CORONATION WEEK KICK OFF 7-10pm, at Q, 44 Allen St.

Join Their Majesties Emperor 26 Thomas Branscum Carrington Sugarbaker and Regent Empress to Reign 26 CoCo LaTique (Michael Wah) as they kick off Coronation week events. The evening will have a free Pot-Luck Buffet and feature the Step Downs of: Imperial Princess Royale to Reign 26 Connie James Concepcion (Michael Maciejewski) and Imperial Prince Royale to Reign 26 Douglas W Card II.

MONDAY, MAY 22 BUFFALO DYKE MARCH MEETING 5:30-8:30pm, at Pride Center of WNY, 200 S. Elmwood Ave.

The Dyke March is the Saturday centerpiece of Pride weekend this year—wanna be involved? This is the last meeting before the march on June 3. Volunteer training and sign making will be in full swing, in addition to reviewing final details. Volunteer training starts at 5:30pm, immediately followed at 6pm by the meeting and sign making. Sign making supplies provided, but feel free to bring your own as well.

LOOPMAGAZINEBUFFALO.COM

Blitz vs Chiefs featuring Sabu Halftime Show

vey Dent, the hope was to end up playing Two Face, but it didn’t work out. Can we read into your Lego Batman performance as an indication of what a live action Two Face would have been like played by Billy Dee Williams? Certainly if I had done it in the flesh, it would be a whole

different situation, probably. You win some, you lose some.

The comic convention scene has grown a lot over the past few decades. What do you enjoy most about coming to these events?

I’ve been doing it for awhile now, and I really enjoy it. It’s an opportunity for me to meet with the people who have given me a great deal of support over the years. So, I really enjoy it from that perspective. Do your fans ever bring you interesting items to sign? Oh, yes. They bring me Colt 45 bottles, they give me gifts. It’s really an enjoyable experience. The second edition of the Nickel City Con takes place at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center May 19-21. Other celebrity guests include Erin Grey, Diamond Dallas Page, Sam Jones and a host of renowned comic book artists. Tickets and more info are available at NickelCityCon.com. -KIP DOYLE

SUNDAY MAY 21 Vinyl Mania

6:30pm Buffalo RiverWorks, 359 Ganson St.

12pm Sugar City, 1239 Niagara St. $2-$5

[FUN] Closing the first season of the CanAm Indoor Football League on Saturday, the Buffalo Blitz welcome wrestling legend Sabu to meet with fans as the Blitz look for a win against the Connecticut Chiefs. Sabu’s innovative, hard hitting style has taken him from the hardcore wrestling rings in Japan and ESW to main event matches with the WWE over his 30-plus year career. Sabu and his manager “Super Genie” Melissa Coats will be on hand at the game for autographs and photos. The Blitz take on the Chiefs at Buffalo Riverworks on Saturday, May 20 at 6:30pm. The Blitz could return to Riverworks for a league championship game on June 10 if they advance in their June 3 playoff game. -KD

[VINYL] The next edition of Vinyl Mania, the semi-regular record convention, happens this Sunday, May 21 at Sugar City. Expect a boat load of vinyl records from a variety of vendors, as well as CDs, cassettes, DVDs, books, and other memorabilia and collectables. $2 gets you in the door, but for an extra $3 you can have first crack at the collection from 12pm-1pm. -TPS

Mustard Plug 7pm Mohawk Place, 47 E Mohawk St. $10-$12

[SKA] Mohawk Place is keeping the ska scene alive. The classic ska band Mustard Plug is coming through the famous downtown Buffalo venue this Saturday, May 20. Formed in 1991, the band is surprisingly still pretty well intact, as they’ve been touring with essentially the same line up for more than a decade. Band founders Dave Kirchgessner and Colin Clive still lead the way, though the band is due for some new music—they released their last full length album, Can’t Contain It on No Idea Records in 2014—which means we might be privy to some unreleased music when the band comes through town, but at the very least, all of the classics. -CP

16 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

MONDAY MAY 22 Oh Wonder

7pm Town Ballroom, 681 Main St. $20-$24

[POP] UK alt-pop duo Oh Wonder (Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West) turned heads with their prolific song-a-month project, which they launched online in September 2014. The 12 tracks eventually found a proper release as a self-titled debut exactly one year later. The joint creativity continues on Ultralife, a major label release out next month on Island/Republic, featuring the spirited, infectious title track and advance single "Lifetimes." It's electronic pop confection at its best, featuring Vander Gucht's breathy warble set against West's more stately croon, and proof that the pair knows how to write catchy tunes that transcend the urban trend toward formulaic crap. Quebec's Charlotte Cardin opens at Town Ballroom on Tuesday, May 23. -CJT

Ana Popovic 7pm Tralf Music Hall, 622 Main St. $19-$22

[BLUES] Ana Popovic may be from Belgrade, Serbia, but her musical affinity is for American blues, something handed down early in life by her dad. Before going solo, she fronted the band Hush, melding a blues sensibility with funk grooves that proved to be a hot European touring commodity until disbanding in 1998. She then recorded her solo debut over here in Memphis, a place she eventually decided to call home. Her ambitious latest, a triple album called Trilogy (ArtisteXclusive), is divided among three genres—funk, bluesrock, and jazz—and features Joe Bonamassa and Robert Randolph among other big name guests. Hear what the new material sounds like on Monday, May 22 at the Tralf Music Hall. -CJT

TUESDAY MAY 23 Bread and Puppet 7pm Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Ave. $10-$20

[THEATRE] As the German playwright Bertholt Brecht said, "First comes the feeding, then the morality." Bread and Puppet began in the 1960s with a communal breaking of bread followed by dramatic skits with politically radical over and undertones, often personified in the troupe's choice of costumes and puppets themselves. A self-contained communism of sorts, B&P touches down next Tuesday, May 23 inside Buffalo State College's Donald Savage Building. Bring some dough to help them keep their show going, only bad news is that the bread will come AFTER the "morality" this time 'round. -AL

CALENDAR EVENTS PUBLIC APPROVED

PRESENTS

PEACH PICKS

LIVEMUSICEVERYNIGHTFOROVER30YEARS! WEDNESDAY

MAY 17

ON PEACH: Irene Doukas Behrman featured three short prose pieces on Peach Mag last Friday. Behrman’s prose is quick and to the point. Using only a paragraph, and sometimes even less, she is able to paint scenes of quiet discomfort, simmering jealousy, and low-key humiliation. Acne cover-up is dispensed, group dynamics are thoughtlessly laid bare, and in the end, the true winners of the daily social deathmatch effortlessly glide past the broken-hearted: “The contest winner has never won a contest before. She didn’t expect to win — actually, she’d forgotten that she’d even entered her work. She discovers that she’s won first place right after her boyfriend proposes to her.” And yes, in their own very quiet, sadistic way, these micro-stories from Behrman are in fact very funny. Also working masterfully in the vein of tragicomedy, Bree Jo’ann published two poems on Peach yesterday. In “Bildungsroman is One of My Favorite Words,” Jo’Ann conveys what it’s like to be a young woman listlessly trapped in a sense of extended scholastic ennui typically only typified through the fictional literary voices of spoiled white boys, “I attempted vague campaigns of Self destruction. / I watched sad movies, / read Jean Paul Sartre on weekend nights, / attempted to eat only Lucky Charms and salad / but I just ended up hungry sitting in my big ten dorm room.” Jo’Ann paints empty and awkward time spent in bedrooms and classrooms in the middle of nowhere with her poetry, and they’re all built upon a bedrock of little true-tolife details that lend each of them unlimited authenticity, “I didn’t kick it as an adolescent in Gary, IN. / I sat in my basement until the wee hours, alternating between cable television and Dance / Dance Revolution.”

Kathryn Koch 9PM FREE

THURSDAY

MAY 18

Presents:

Icky Reels, Alex Morrion, DJ Trashcan & Friends 8:30PM PM $5

Happy Hour: jony James FRIDAY

WAVVES FRIDAY MAY 19

6PM FREE

MAY 19

Buffalo Afrobeat Orchestra, DJ Milk

7PM / TRALF MUSIC HALL, 622 MAIN ST. / $15 [POP PUNK] Just a warning to those planning to attend the Wavves show at the Tralf this Friday, May 19; maybe stay away from the balcony. Not because the Tralf is structurally unsound or anything like that, but because Wavves frontman Nathan Williams was recently videotaped doing a front flip swanton bomb into the crowd from the balcony of a New York City night club. It looked painful for him and the folks he landed on (though the band’s management maintains that there were no reported injuries), so who knows if he’s likely to try it again, especially if he’s looking forward to, you know, functioning on the band’s upcoming tour with Blink 182. He’s also got the release of Wavves’ next album, You’re Welcome to look forward to, which happens to come out on the very day of the band’s show in Buffalo, so he might not want to concuss those songs out of his brain before we all get a chance to hear them live. If you’re interested in getting a taste of the album before this Friday’s show, five of the 12 tracks are up for streaming on Apple Music right now, and rest assured, it’s full of the kind of noisey, metallic pop punk that we’ve all come to love from the San Diego-based band. -CORY PERLA

10PM $10

SATURDAY

MAY 20

WE THE PEOPLE:

A Night of Healing for the Disenfranchised w. BLACK, Tommy Too, Cammy Enaharo, Claude Bennington’s Fever Dream, K’Lee 9PM $5

SUNDAY

MAY 21

Nietzsche’s Ceiling Project 3PM

jazz Happy Hour w. Organzola (Rochester, NY) MONDAY

MAY 22

5:30PM FREE

Singer-Songwriter Showcase:

Christina Stock & Friends 8PM FREE

PUBLIC APPROVED

WEDNESDAY

MAY 24

Bob Dylan Birthday Bash

THURSDAY

Dreambeaches, Jack Topht Smokin’ Black Tar, Ithaca Bottom Boys,

MAY 25

IN PRINT: Things To Make and Break by May-Lan Tan

9PM $5

FRIDAY

MAY 26

CB Editions, 206 pages (short fiction)

Calling May-Lan Tan’s collection of short stories “dark” would be an apt description. However, that would dismiss the innate tenderness in these 11 works of fiction. In each of Tan’s stories, ordinary events walk a thin line between hope and despair. A dying woman looks for a suitable new love for her soon-tobe widower husband. Twin acts of sudden violence befall a pair of children both named Lauren. An exotic dancer agrees to take part in an otherworldly ritual. A young girl in Hong Kong anxiously awaits the return of her single mother from a date. The way mundane moments are infused with an eerie energy in Tan’s prose gives every moment the possibility of tragedy. Through all of this, Tan is able to weave the desperate human need for love, and that makes every moment of horror feel inevitable and earned. Human beings are able to put themselves through some truly awful things for a few fleeting moments of connection. “Later, I realized no one else understands what the story’s about. Everyone seems to think it’s about religion, but what it really means is she knows how to be alone.”

PEACHMGZN.COM

Happy Hour: the fibs 6PM FREE

Adam Bronstein’s Freehand Band, Pine Fever, Witty Tarbox, Jacob Peter Band 10PM $5

WEEKLY EVENTS EVERY SUNDAY FREE

3PM CATSKILL MOUNTAIN BOYS 6PM. ANN PHILIPPONE 8PM . DR JAZZ & THE JAZZ BUGS

BUFFALO TRAVELING ROADSHOW OPERA: THE IMPRESARIO TUESDAY MAY 23

(EXCEPT FIRST SUNDAYS)

EVERY MONDAY FREE

8PM. SONGWRITER SHOWCASE 9PM. OPEN MIC W. JOSH GAGE

EVERY TUESDAY 6PM. HAPPY HOUR W/

7PM / UB SLEE HALL, UB NORTH CAMPUS / $25 [OPERA] You may have heard that Nickel City Opera, the region’s only professional opera company, is looking for a new home venue. While they’re looking, they are also doing what artists without a home do: They’re taking the show on the road. The Buffalo Traveling Roadshow Opera kicks off this Tuesday, May 23 with a performance of Mozart’s one-act comedy, The Impresario, at UB’s Slee Hall. (In short: The impresario (Brian Cheverie) hires two women singers (Courtney Ross and Emily Yancey) into his company, and they argue over who will sing the leads. NCO founder and director Valerian Ruminski and David MacAdam co-star, with piano accompaniment by Maestro Matthias Manasi of Berlin.) The show then moves on to the Saturn Club (Wednesday, May 24), Villa Maria College (Thursday, May 25), and the USS Little Rock (Friday, May 26)—all of them terrific venues for this rollicking, modern dialogue production. In addition, on May 25, Manasi will conduct a master class at the Community Music School. And on Friday, June 3, Nickel City Opera returns to Silo City for Echoes of Opera III, a live performance by Ruminski and Manasi in the magnificently strange acoustics of the Marine A elevators. For tickets to any (or all!) events, and information about other events, visit nickelcityoperaco.com or call 716-861-3071. P -THE PUBLIC STAFF

THE STEAM DONKEYS FREE 8PM. RUSTBELT COMEDY 10PM. JOE DONOHUE 11PM. THE STRIPTEASERS $3

EVERY WEDNESDAY FREE

6PM. TYLER WESTCOTT & DR. JAZZ

EVERY THURSDAY FREE

5PM. BARTENDER BILL PLAYS THE ACCORDION, PAUL SCHMID ON BASS

EVERY SATURDAY FREE

4:30-7:30PM. CELTIC SEISIUNS

248 ALLEN STREET 716.886.8539

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DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC 17

PHOTO BY TOM SICKLER

NIGHTLIFE SPOTLIGHT

Joey Marcella is back in town and his club is born anew.

Welcome to The Public, Partner. Right now, locally and nationally, the independent, alternative press is more important than ever. Here at The Public, we aim to get BIGGER and BETTER. Subscribe to The Public at PATREON.COM/THE PUBLIC . Your pledge will help us to keep bringing you the work of some of the region’s best WRITERS, ARTISTS, and DESIGNERS. (It’ll also earn you some sweet rewards and our undying gratitude.) Visit our Patreon page today. You’re our public. We’re your Public. Let’s tell our stories together.

MARCELLA’S GRAND RE-OPENING BY THE PUBLIC STAFF

A NEW LOGO, A NEW LOOK—BUT STILL THE ONLY TRUE NIGHTCLUB IN TOWN, AND STILL A FRIDAY NIGHT DRAG SHOW

CLUB MARCELLA GRAND RE-OPENING

IN THE EARLY 1990S, when it first opened, Joe Marcella’s club was an island: It was the only nightclub downtown—the only nightclub in Western New York, really. It was the only place to dance late at night. It was one of the few places in town where straight and queer culture intersected every weekend night, late at night, with a chaser of drag queens and kings.

CLUBMARCELLA.COM

Marcella was also a forerunner of downtown’s renaissance, born when the Theater District was finding its feet and Chippewa was transitioning from red-light district to a bar-hop block for suburban dilettantes. Says impresario Joe Marcella, “I remember when we first opened and I paid the prostitutes to move down the block, not to hang out in front of our doorway. There was nothing here. Nothing.” That’s not wholly true, but close enough. The Irish Classical Theatre operated in the back of the Third Room. There were punk rock shows on the second floors of several buildings nearby. The lights were dark on most of the surrounding blocks by 1am. Marcella was reliably vibrant until 4am. Marcella’s club has been a going concern since the day it opened nearly 25 years ago, but he’s been splitting time between Buffalo and a club he owns in Miami for several years now. No more, starting this Friday, May 19, when the revamped Marcella enjoys a grand re-opening. Joey Marcella is back in town, and the club is born anew. “I want to bring back to Buffalo some of what I have been doing at my club in Miami,” says Marcella. “I love Buffalo, and I love its nightlife, but we just don’t have a real nightclub that offers a welcoming and lovely experience to anyone.”

18 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

FRIDAY, MAY 19 439 PEARL ST, BUFFALO

CLUBMARCELLA

Some things won’t change: Fridays will continue to host Life Is a Drag, the long-running and pioneering weekly drag show. Saturdays will be about DJs who will travel between Marcella’s Miami club and Buffalo. This is, in fact, not entirely new either: Marcella has always been a place to dance, to hear new sounds, to experience an atmosphere other clubs in town do not offer. “A club like this has to change,” says Marcella. “People want more. They want something nicer. I want something more; I want something nicer.” Lest you worry, DJ Lil Joe will be a regular. The bartenders you used to know will be slinging drinks. But look for new faces in the DJ booths, too, both out-of-towners and locals. There will be a coffee and dessert bar for designated drivers. Gone is the black paint, as are the dark corners for doing dark deeds. “We are the only nightclub in town,” Marcella says. “I guess we were before, too. Other places do what they do, and it’s great, it serves a purpose. But we are the place you come when you want a nice night out, to experience something new. To dance, to have a drink. It doesn’t matter gay or straight, and it never has. We have always been a place where everyone is welcome, everyone is comfortable, everyone can be who P they want to be.”

REVIEW FILM John Cena and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in The Wall.

JUST ANOTHER BRICK THE WALL / DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE BY M. FAUST IRAQ, 2007. The war is over—President Bush has declared victory and rebuilding is underway. This is not much comfort to Staff Sergeant Matthews ( John Cena) and Sergeant Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as we meet them, exhausted after having spent 20 hours in hiding at a construction site. Their mission is to wait for the sniper responsible for the corpses littering the area to come out so they can capture or kill him.

Eager to get back to base, Matthews gambles that the sniper has left the area—and loses. The sniper gets the upper hand, and all that lies between him and his chance to go home is a wall, the only structure standing in a sea of brown sand and scrub. It’s barely even a wall, more the remnants of one, maybe 30 feet long and six feet high at its highest, and likely to crumble if a stiff enough wind comes along. But it’s all that’s keeping the wounded soldiers from the way to dusty death. In 2014, screenwriter Dwain Worrell’s The Wall won a spot on the Blacklist, the annual list of screenplays that were admired in the industry but as yet unproduced. You can see where that admiration came from: the notion of a minimalist film taking place in the course of a single day, with dialogue limited to the gallows humor between the two soldiers and interaction with the sniper who makes contact by radio and plays psychological games to try to flush out his quarry. Director Doug Liman, who started out small with his debut Swingers but since graduated to blockbuster productions (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow), clearly relishes to opportunity to go small here. He maintains tension at an even level as we focus on one solder, wounded, fighting back panic and pain, talking to an adversary he can hear but not see. But as good as it is at what it does, The Wall in the end isn’t much more than a stunt. It doesn’t have anything new to say about war, either in general or in this example, and therefore doesn’t say much of anything at all. Unlike, say, American Sniper, it won’t polarize audiences because viewers of any perspective won’t be challenged by it. Is that a fair yardstick to measure the value of a film? Maybe not, but the situation is too fresh in our minds for us to look at it any other way.

David Lynch: The Art Life

••• It’s been more than 15 years since David Lynch began to fade from relevance in the cultural landscape. The release of Mulholland Drive (2001), one of his best films, was followed by little of interest to any but his most dedicated followers: short films made for his website, the endless and little-seen feature Inland Empire. But when it was announced a year ago that he would make a follow-up to his 1990 TV series Twin Peaks, fans began to look back on his career. So the new documentary David Lynch: The Art Life arrives in theaters at a perfect time, as audiences have been reappraising his distinctive oeuvre (and just as the new Twin Peaks begins its run on Showtime). Lynch has been the subject of more than a few documentaries prior to this, but to the best of my knowledge this is the first one in which he opens up about his early years, his childhood and college days. Lynch came to cinema by way of painting, the love to which he has returned in the past decade, and he is seen in the film silently working in his studio as we hear his voice recorded separately reminiscing. If in the past he seemed to be manufacturing his oddities for each new interviewer, what he reveals here is that those oddities are not a pose: he was as odd a kid as you might expect. There are memories of dark times (he describes his time living in Philadelphia as “thick fear in the air, corruption and hatred”), but as much in character are the happy memories, the earliest being allowed to play in a mud pit his father dug in their back yard. It screens this week at the North Park P along with a handful of his other films.

WAX MELTDOWN ICKY REELS ALEX MORRISON DJ TRASHCAN & FRIENDS COSMIC DISCO, RARE FUNK, WEIRD STUFF

THU MAY 18 / 8:30PM $5 / NIETZSCHE’S 248 ALLEN ST DAILYPUBLIC.COM @PUBLICBFLO #THEPUBLICPRESENTS P

DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC 19

FILM REVIEW

THE ART OF THE SEQUEL

Katherine Waterston in Alien: Covenant.

ALIEN: COVENANT BY GREGORY LAMBERSON IN THE LATE 1970S, USC film school grad Dan O’Bannon hit

pay dirt when he sold the screenplay for Alien, based on a story he co-wrote with Ronald Shusett, to 20th Century Fox. The script, heavily influenced by the 1950s sci-fi creature feature It! The Terror From Beyond Space, pitted a small crew of blue-collar space truckers against a shape-changing monster discovered on an alien world. Swiss surrealist H. R. Giger took O’Bannon’s concepts—the Egg, the Face Hugger, the Chest Burster, and the adult Xenomorph—and visualized them as the most frightening creatures in cinema history, slathered with sexual overtones. Ridley Scott, a director of TV commercials fresh off the art-house darling Duel, was charged with realizing these concepts on film. With the assistance of a large art team (including O’Bannon as “visual consultant”) and a first-rate crew, Alien became a summer blockbuster in 1979, combining science fiction and horror in a sophisticated manner that raised the bar for horror films. The film established Scott as a top-shelf director and turned Sigourney Weaver into an international icon, the first true warrior woman of the screen (in the original script, Ripley was a man). O’Bannon, whose life was plagued by poor health, wrote and directed the low-budget fan favorite Return of the Living Dead and reteamed with Shusett to write an early draft of Total Recall before dying in 2009.

Prometheus, released five years ago, was as visually striking as any of Scott’s best films (Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down). It was also one of the dumbest and most illogical big studio sci-fi films ever produced, failing to deliver the monsters people wanted in favor of presenting Erich von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods as something new and grand.

I cite this history to show that Alien, essentially a haunted house chiller set in space, was the perfect fusion of creative talent, with no single author. Studio president Alan Ladd Jr., who also championed Star Wars, saw the potential in O’Bannon’s story, and Fox ground out periodic sequels in an uneven franchise: James Cameron and David Fincher helmed sequels before the series devolved into desperate silliness and crossovers with another Fox alien, Predator.

Now 79, Scott is back with Alien: Covenant. The title tells us the director and studio are on a course correction, but the latest film, a fairly suspenseful effort in its second half, is still anchored to its immediate antecedent. The common (and correct) online description is “Prometheus with aliens.” The screenplay Scott ordered at the takeout window recycles ideas and scenes from most of the preceding entries, including his own, as if he is competing with all of those other directors as well as his younger self.

Scott eventually decided to claim possession of the franchise, and the only way to do so and avoid the spotty continuity of those who followed in his footsteps was to take the prequel route.

Ever the skilled craftsman, he measures up pretty well. The slow setup covers material similar to the recent Passengers, with the crew of a ship transporting more than 1,000 colonists to anoth-

AT THE MOVIES A selective guide to what’s opening and what’s playing in local moviehouses and other venues

BY M. FAUST & GEORGE SAX

OPENING THIS WEEK ALIEN: COVENANT—Ridley Scott continues to rework the sci-fi/horror franchise in this follow up to Prometheus. Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir. Reviewed this issue. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING—Drama based on a young adult novel about an allergic girl tempted to leave her house for the first time when she falls in love with the new boy next door. Starring Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson. Directed by Stella Meghie (Jean of the Joneses). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE—The filmmaker talks about his upbringing while working in his studio in this new documentary. Directed by Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm. Reviewed this issue. North Park NORMAN—Originally titled Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, which serves pretty well as a plot synopsis. Starring Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Steve Buscemi, Hank Azaria, and Harris Yulin. Directed by Joseph Cedar (Footnote). Reviewed this issue. Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills THE WALL—In Iraq in 2007, two American soldiers (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena) are pinned down by a sniper in a desolate area with only a small section of a ruined wall for protection. Directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity). Reviewed this issue. Dipson Amherst

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA CHASING TRANE—This lovingly crafted documentary about jazz saxophonist John Coltrane is short on musical performance but long on tracing the influences that shaped his career, especially the challenging later work before his death at 40. Directed by John Scheinfeld (Who is Harry Nilsson?) Tue 7:30pm. Hallwalls DON’T BOTHER TO KNOCK (1952)—Marilyn Monroe’s first substantial dramatic role, as an emotionally disturbed babysitter who arouses the suspicion of airline pilot Richard Widmark in a Manhattan hotel. With Anne Bancroft and Elisha Cook Jr. Directed by Roy Ward Baker. Fri, Tue, Wed 7:30pm. Screening Room DRAGONSLAYER (1981)—A young apprentice wizard is sent to kill the dragon that has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom in this early 80s fantasy that was Oscar nominated for best visual effects. Starring Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke and Ralph Richardson. Directed by Matthew Robbins (The Legend of Billie Jean). Sat-Sun 11:30am. North Park ERASERHEAD (1977)—Even by his standards, the first feature film by David Lynch is sui generis. For a description, you can’t beat his own phrase—“a dream of dark and troubling things. Starring Jack Nance and Charlotte Stewart, both later in the cast of Twin Peaks.” Fri-Sat 9:30pm. North Park FLASH GORDON (1980)—This campy update of the long-running comic strip was a flop when it was released to audiences who didn’t get the joke. (You’d think the songs by Queen would have tipped them off.) Star Sam J. Jones, in town for the Nickel City Comic Convention, will be present to introduce it. With Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol, Ornella Muti, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Mariangela Melato ,and Richard O’Brien. Directed by Mike Hodges (Croupier). Thu 7pm. North Park LOSING GROUND (1982)—Barely known until its recent restoration, this is the first American feature to have been directed by an African-American woman, Kathleen Collins (who died several years after it was made). Seret Scott stars as a prim philosophy professor who sets out on a search for an ecstatic experience when her husband, a painter (Bill Gunn), moves them to a country house for the summer. Presented with the 1984 animated short “Hair Piece: A Film for

20 THE PUBLIC / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / DAILYPUBLIC.COM

er planet awakened by a message beckoning them to a different one. Defying the laws of logic, the crew changes course and explores an earth-like planet in the clumsiest manner since… Scott’s last film. We’ve seen these people and situations before. The film is such a copy of what’s come before that the desired return of the aliens themselves feels like a mandatory side dish. The one interesting aspect is that the two main characters are androids, one of them returning from Prometheus (and both played by Michael Fassbender). Unfortunately, as fascinated as Scott is with questions of creation, he’s equally fixated on predictable B-movie twists and mustache twirlers. Alien never required a back story to begin with, and the one Scott has fashioned with these two films is convoluted and contradictory to O’Bannon’s original vision, which may be why he tackled it at all. Like Prometheus, Alien: Covenant ends with a cliffhanger and promise of another entry, P but this origin feels as told as it is old.

Nappyheaded People,” whose director, Ayoka Chenzira, will introduce it via Skype. Wed May 17, 7pm. Squeaky Wheel LOST HIGHWAY (1997)—David Lynch and Wild at Heart scripter Barry Gifford reteamed for this “21st century film noir.” Two separate but intersecting stories follow musician Fred Madison (Bill Pullman), tortured by the notion that his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette) is having an affair, who suddenly finds himself accused of her murder; and a young mechanic (Balthazar Getty) drawn into a web of deceit by a temptress who is cheating on her gangster boyfriend (Robert Loggia). Featuring Robert Blake, Richard Pryor, Henry Rollins and Jack Nance. Tues-Wed 9:30pm. North Park SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964)—If Ed Wood had made a holiday movie, it would have looked like this gloriously godawful no-budget Christmas-ploitation turkey. A camp classic even before we realized that the 9-year-old actress playing Martian child Girmar was the one and only Pia Zadora. Best seen at a venue that sells beer and wine. Thu 7:30pm. Screening Room WILD AT HEART (1990)—Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as young lovers on the run from the killer her mother has hired to kill him in David Lynch’s most self-indulgent movie, which is saying something. With Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, Harry Dean Stanton, John Lurie and, of course, Jack Nance. Sun-Mon 9:30pm. North Park

CONTINUING BORN IN CHINA—Nature documentary filmed over four years in remote regions of China. Released by Disney, so expect lots of anthropomorphized critters including panda bears, monkeys, and snow leopards. Narrated by John Krasinski. Directed by Chuan Lu. Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria THE BOSS BABY—Animated feature with Alec Baldwin as the voice of a power-hungry infant. It only sounds like an SNL skit. Other voices by Tobey Maguire, Steve Buscemi, Lisa Kudrow, and Jimmy Kimmel. Directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE CIRCLE—Would you agree to surround yourself with miniature camera and broadcast your entire life on social media? Of course not—you’re not a complete ninny. But then there’s Mae (Emma Watson, emoting ferociously), a new employee at a company that will variously remind you of Facebook, Google and Apple, who agrees to this for no reasons that make much sense. Dave Eggers scripted this adaptation of his novel in which the plot was the least interesting thing, though that’s all that makes it to screen. You’ll be at least two steps ahead of the characters at every point. With Patton Oswalt, Karen Gillan, John Boyega, Bill Paxton, and Tom Hanks as an avuncular bad guy. Directed by James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour). —MF Four Seasons, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY— This documentary by Matt Tynauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) about the great urban theorist and activist Jane Jacobs offers her activism as a model for contemporary resistance to oppressive governments. Jacobs’ seminal 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, proposed that great cities are built from the bottom up, by designs that respond often improvisationally, to the needs of the people who create them. Her antagonist was Robert Moses, embodiment of the destructive (but profitable) urban renewal mindset that reached its zenith in postwar America. Cities like Buffalo bear his legacy, and we still debate whether and how to undo the urban highways and housing projects created by Moses imitators that scar our city. -Geoff Kelly. Dipson Amherst THE DINNER—Remake of an Italian film that played at the North Park in 2015, about two respectable families confronting an ugly incident staged by their children. Starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, and Chloë Sevigny. Directed by Oren Moverman (The Messenger). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS—Umpteenth sequel in the Fast and Furious franchise. Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, and Michelle Rodriguez. Directed by F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria GET OUT—Key & Peele’s Jordan Peele wrote and directed this horror film about a young black man

AT THE MOVIES FILM

MACHER, SCHMACHER!

LOCAL THEATERS AMHERST THEATRE (DIPSON) 3500 Main St., Buffalo / 834-7655 amherst.dipsontheatres.com AURORA THEATRE 673 Main St., East Aurora / 652-1660 theauroratheatre.com

NORMAN

EASTERN HILLS CINEMA (DIPSON) 4545 Transit Rd., / Eastern Hills Mall Williamsville / 632-1080 easternhills.dipsontheatres.com

BY GEORGE SAX THE TITLE CHARACTER of Joseph Cedar’s surprisingly entertaining and

poignant film calls himself “a consultant” at one point. This isn’t so much a lie as a misleading statement. Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) is really an operator, a promoter of sometimes dubious financial or political deals, an arranger. One prominent reviewer has called him a macher—a big shot in Yiddish—but this is something of an exaggeration. He’s more a wanna-be macher.

FLIX STADIUM 10 (DIPSON) 4901 Transit Rd., Lancaster / 668-FLIX flix10.dipsontheatres.com FOUR SEASONS CINEMA 6 2429 Military Rd. (behind Big Lots), Niagara Falls / 297-1951 fourseasonscinema.com

He’s trying to operate in the milieu of important New York City Jewish financial types and politicos, but he’s mostly confined to its border regions, if he is lucky. He’s an influence peddler of little influence. Norman, you understand, lacks neither optimism nor chutzpah, complementary attitudes. Early on we find him stalking the aide to a big shot, intercepting the guy on his jog through Riverside Park to push some tricky proposal, and getting rebuked for his trouble. “You’re like a drowning man waving at an ocean liner,” the aide says in irritated wonder. “But I’m a good swimmer,” Norman cheerfully replies. One of the tools of his improvisatory trade is to offer to introduce someone to a personage he doesn’t even know. Well, it might work, you know?

HALLWALLS 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo / 854-1694 hallwalls.org HAMBURG PALACE 31 Buffalo St., Hamburg / 649-2295 hamburgpalace.com LOCKPORT PALACE 2 East Ave., Lockport / 438-1130 lockportpalacetheatre.org

Following habit and instinct, Norman inveigles his way into a friendly relationship with an idealistically ambitious Israeli politician (Lior Ash-

MAPLE RIDGE 8 (AMC) 4276 Maple Rd., Amherst / 833-9545 amctheatres.com

Richard Gere and Lior Ashkenazi in Norman.

kenazi), and succeeds beyond his over-optimistic expectations. “I picked the right horse!” he says in amazement. But it’s an accomplishment that leads to tragic consequences. This doesn’t mean that Cedar (an American-born Israeli) is after bleakness in his film. Norman is informed by a sympathetic, if sometimes ironical wit. At the end, he’s still interweaving these qualities. Cedar’s humor and empathy extend to his visual treatment. The photography is sometimes used to emphasize or underline Norman’s situation and point of view, especially in a kaleidoscope manipulation of the imagery in a big, crowded scene. Gere’s supple, piquant performance makes an improbable, shabby character into someone who elicits not just sympathy but understanding. Casting Steve Buscemi as the rabbi of a big New York synagogue was audacious, and successful. Cedar relies on some rather implausible devices for his plotting and denouement, but he nevertheless has fashioned a wryly bittersweet fable of P power and morality.

MCKINLEY 6 THEATRES (DIPSON) 3701 McKinley Pkwy. / McKinley Mall Hamburg / 824-3479 mckinley.dipsontheatres.com

whose discomfort when he goes to the home of KONG: SKULL ISLAND—The best King Kong since the his white girlfriend’s family proves to be all too 1933 original owes much to wrestling. It operates well justified. It’s better written than it is directmuch like a theme park ride, with dazzling special ed, and you can’t help but wish that Peele had effects delivered at a breathless pace and high turned the script over to someone who had a betdecibel level. Set near the end of the Vietnam ter idea of how to balance the absurdity of the war, the action is confined to the titular island, NORTH PARK THEATRE premise with the very real racial tensions with when survivors of a fleet of US Army helicopters 1428 Hertel Ave., Buffalo / 836-7411 which it is combined. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, who made the bad decision to invade Kong home northparktheatre.org Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, and Bradley turf battle the island’s other monstrosities in a Whitford. –MF Four Seasons, Regal Walden Gallebid to reunite and escape. The motion capture ria ENDS THURS effects are top-notch, superior to those in Peter REGAL ELMWOOD CENTER 16 Jackson’s more ambitious 2005 remake. Starring 2001 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo / 871–0722 GIFTED—A young math prodigy becomes the obTom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, ject of a struggle between her uncle, who promregmovies.com John C. Reilly, and John Goodman. Directed by ised her late mother that he would give her a Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer). “normal” childhood, and her grandmother, who REGAL NIAGARA FALLS STADIUM 12 –Gregory Lamberson Four Seasons wants to develop her talents. Starring Chris Ev720 Builders Way, Niagara Falls ans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, and OctaLA LA LAND—Heralded by some as a tribute to clas236–0146 via Spencer. Directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of sic Hollywood movie musicals, the new film by regmovies.com Summer). Dipson Eastern Hills Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) has more in common with Fame than anything starring Fred Astaire or GOING IN STYLE lacks almost all of what was memGene Kelly. Its story of an actress (Emma Stone, REGAL QUAKER CROSSING 18 orable about Martin Brest’s 1979 film about three Oscar winner for Best Actress) and a jazz pianist oldsters who decide to rob a bank. Screenwriter 3450 Amelia Dr., Orchard Park / 827–1109 (Ryan Gosling) looking for love and success in Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) reduces the aspects regmovies.com modern Los Angeles is more reliant on drama, of aging to generic financial problems. That the character, and emotion than traditional musicals. film has any charm is entirely due to stars Alan REGAL TRANSIT CENTER 18 It has its contrivances and arbitrary plotting, but Arkin, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, but Transit and Wehrle, Lancaster / 633–0859 the tone is more intimate (at least after the razthey’re given precious little to work with. The regmovies.com zle-dazzle of the opening number, set on a freesame goes for a wasted supporting cast that way ramp where stymied motorists burst from includes Ann-Margret, Matt Dillon, Christopher their cars to sing and dance). Neither Stone nor Lloyd, and Peter Serafinowicz. Blandly directed REGAL WALDEN GALLERIA STADIUM 16 Gosling is experienced at song and dance work, by Zach Braff (Garden State). —MF Dipson Flix, One Walden Galleria Dr., Cheektowaga Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, but it hardly matters. The movie doesn’t make 681-9414 / regmovies.com Regal Walden Galleria outsized demands on their proficiency, and the result seems integral to their performances, HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER—American vehicle for RIVIERA THEATRE which aren’t stylized or mannered. Their musiMexican comedy superstar Eugenio Derbez, who 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda cal numbers are really subsidiary to the film’s stars with Salma Hayek as siblings who must poignant, but charming and (mostly) hopeful 692-2413 / rivieratheatre.org move in together after his philandering leads to mood-making. With John Legend, Rosemarie the end of his marriage. With Rob Lowe, Kristen DeWitt, and J. K. Simmons. —GS Dipson McKinley Bell, Raquel Welch and Michael Cera. The feature THE SCREENING ROOM directing debut of “The State”’s Ken Marino. ReTHE LOST CITY OF Z—When you’re making a film in the Boulevard Mall, 880 Alberta Drive, gal Elmwood that is likely to remind viewers of Aguirre, Wrath Amherst 837-0376 /screeningroom.net of God or Fitzcarraldo or Apocalypse Now, you KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD— Guy Ritchie’s should realize that viewers are likely to assume hopped-up, hit-‘em-where-it-hurts take on the SQUEAKY WHEEL that the guy is a looney. Writer-director James perennially popular Arthurian legends is inter712 Main St., / 884-7172 Gray perspective on his real-life protagonist, a ested only in impact, and he’ll happily batter his VISIT DAILYPUBLIC.COM FOR MORE FILM LISTINGS & REVIEWS >> squeaky.org British officer who spent most of his life a cenaudiences into submission to get it. Familiarity tury ago trying to find the ruins of an ancient with the stories may not be of much help to the SUNSET DRIVE-IN civilization in South America, is vague until the viewer trying to make sense of what happening end of the film, a diffidence that makes it hard to 9950 Telegraph Rd., Middleport on screen, as Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smok735-7372 / sunset-drivein.com get involved with the story. It often feels like an ing Barrels) doesn’t seem to care about accessible eight-hour miniseries that has been clumsily cut storylines. He punches out jagged sequences like down to feature length, lurching ahead in time he’s making a batteringly propulsive music video. TJ’S THEATRE and seldom giving a clear picture of the scope of Characters come and go with little or no identifi72 North Main St., Angola / 549-4866 any of the expeditions. Kudos to Gray for wanting cation. The dialogue is flippantly, if banally, anachnewangolatheater.com VISIT DAILYPUBLIC.COM MORE FILM & REVIEWS >> that David Lean used to update the kind of epic ronistic. EvenFOR the big action set piecesLISTINGS are too to lavish Hollywood money on (as well as for filmuneven, resolved in confounding busyness and TRANSIT DRIVE-IN ing in 35 millimeter), but his film seems to prove overwrought, freakish imagery. Starring Charlie 6655 South Transit Rd., Lockport that a man’s reach should not exceed his grasp. Hunnam, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Starring Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienand Aidan Gillen. –GS AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson 625-8535 / transitdrivein.com na Miller, and Tom Holland. —MF Dipson Amherst, Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria Dipson Flix ENDS THURSDAY

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A QUIET PASSION—Biographical drama about American poet Emily Dickinson, who lived as a recluse at her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts. The title of this film by the British director Terence Davies (The Deep Blue Sea, The House of Mirth) presumably means to convey a personal existence and temperament marked by intense but suppressed feeling, sublimated into artistic effort and an accommodation with the social conventions restricting women in the mid-nineteenth century. But he only very inconsistently communicates this concept. It’s too frequently obscure, sometimes inaccurate, and on occasion strangely digressive. Moments of the poetically evocative mood that are Davies’ specialty are separated by scenes that are of dubious dramatic and biographical value. Starring Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle, Duncan Duff, Keith Carradine and Jodhi May. -GS Dipson Eastern Hills SNATCHED— It really shouldn’t have been hard to concoct a serviceable summer comedy out of Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn (in her first film in 15 years) as a mother-daughter pair of tourists stuck in a South American jungle after a kidnapping. And to give writer Katie Dippold and director Jonathan Levine the benefit of the doubt, it looks like substantial chunks of the movie were hacked away before it got to theater screens. But given the lack of laughs in what remains, it’s hard to believe that more of this would have been an improvement. What few amusing moments the film offers come from the supporting cast: Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Bashir Salahuddin and Christopher Meloni. –MF AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria THEIR FINEST is the kind of exercise in World War II nostalgia that British filmmakers will apparently never grow tired of making, as long as they can find a slightly new take on the era. In this case, we follow a young secretary (Gemma Arterton) in the Ministry of Information who gets promoted to a job writing dialogue for “informationals,” short optimistic propaganda films shown in theaters to captive audiences as they wait for the Hollywood feature to start. Bill Nighy steals the show in a role that was probably tailored for him, as a washed-up actor who refuses to admit his career has declined. Starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Jack Huston, Richard E. Grant, and Jeremy Irons. Directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education). -MF Dipson Amherst, Dipson Eastern Hills ENDS THURS UNFORGETTABLE—Rosario Dawson as a newlywed whose biggest problem is her husband’s psychotic ex-wife (Katherine Heigl). With Geoff Stults, Whitney Cummings, and Cheryl Ladd. The directorial debut of veteran producer Denise Di Novi. P Four Seasons\

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FOR RENT ELMWOOD VILLAGE W. Ferry, large 1-BR, hdwd floors, appliances, no smoking, no pets, $670 includes hot water. 882-6934. ----------------------------------------------LAFAYETTE, 3 bdm, 2 bath, newly renovated, w/d hook-ups, steps to Elmwood $1195+, 984-7777, 812-4915 ----------------------------------------------BLACKROCK Grote St. 4+Bed. 2 Bath, Large Single Family Home. CLEAN> ALL NEW tiled Kit and baths. New rugs, Hardwood Flrs. no pets. Must see. 873-7097 leave message. $1500/mth. ------------------------------LG. APT FOR RENT, April , Upper

Rear 1 Bedroom, living room, Kitchen w /apls.$750 + Utl. 345 Richmond Ave. 553-4006

------------------------------ROOM FOR RENT $400 Per Mo. Incl. Util. / Kitchen Privileges Commonwealth Off Hertel-390-7543 ----------------------------------------------ELMWOOD VILLAGE Colonial Cir. Richmond AVE. lg, 2 bedroom, hardwood flrs. Appliances no smoking, no pets, must see. Call-912-2906. $1295.incl. all ----------------------------------------------BIDWELL PKWY 2200 SQFT, 3BR/2BA, W/D, HW, patio, no smkg, $1800/mo, incl. heat+H2O. 882-3292. ----------------------------------------------1001 LAFAYETTE Large 2BR, offst pkg, 3rd fl, elec. incl., no pets/ smkg, WD connect avail, clean, $760. 698-9581. ----------------------------------------------UB SOUTH ROOMS renovated & spacious, incl. util + wifi, W/D, pkg, .2 mi. to campus. $495 & $595. 236-8600

SERVICES GIBSON’S PAINTING SERVICE. Full Service Interior and Exterior Painting & Drywall/Plaster repair. Call Kevin 830-8478.

THE ARTS ARTISTS WANTED

Parables Gallery & Gifts 1027 Elmwood Ave. Buffalo Looking for ARTISTS & CRAFTS to show your work parablesgalleryandgifts.com LEARN AUTHENTIC GREEK FOLK DANCES in the Greek Orthodox Church

Community Center 146 West Utica, 7:00pm to 8:30pm on the following dates, April 17th and 24th, May 1st and 22nd, June 12th and 26th. $15.00 per class.

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Classes for adults and children at all levels. Try a class for free. 716-984-1586 festivalschoolofballet.com

----------------------------------------------FREE YOUTH WRITING WORKSHOPS Tues. and Thurs. 3:30-6pm. Open to writers between ages 12 and 18 at the Just Buffalo Writing Center. 468 Washington Street, 2nd floor, Buffalo 14203. Light snack provided. ----------------------------------------------POTTERY CLASSES: Introductory classes in pottery beginning Monday, April 3, 7-9:30pm, 6 consecutive weeks, $170 all inclusive. Buffalo Clayart 255 Great Arrow, Buffalo. 716.875.4108, ed.pottery@gmail.com.

HELP WANTED SWIATEK STUDIOS is looking for an experienced artist for painting and mural work, subcontracted or full time based on agreement. We are a family owned and operated architectural arts company, in

business for almost 50 years. We are known for our church and theater restorations and specialize in decorative and faux painting and stained glass and plaster restoration and fabrication. Please email resume and work samples/ portfolio to christina@ swiatekstudios.com. ----------------------------------------------EXPERIENCED ROOFER WANTED Transportation a plus. Great pay. Call Antonio 716-997-4680. ----------------------------------------------OPEN BUFFALO seeks an experienced advocate for social justice to be a community organizer. This person will conduct strategic planning and community organizing/ outreach activities including neighborhood canvassing and developing relationships with community groups, local businesses and other stakeholders. The organizer will identify ideal candidates (youth and adults) for Open Buffalo leadership trainings, and will work with partners to advance restorative justice practices in local institutions (education & law enforcement). Advance justice and equity in Buffalo. Bring about long-term systemic chances to improve Buffalo. This is a temporary position, running through Dec. 2017, with the possibility of transitioning to a permanent position. Full time with benefits. Accepting applications through May 12. Visit penbuffalo.org for details and/ or email resume & cover letter to jobs@openbuffalo.org. ----------------------------------------------COUPLES, AGES 21-35 THAT DRINK ALCOHOL, sought for confidential, paid study on daily interactions at the University at Buffalo. Earn up to $280 each. Call 887-3394 or email cdistudy@ria.buffalo.edu.

SSNY on 1/06/17. Office: Erie Co. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. desigated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process: New Standard Home, LLC, 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful purpose. NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: Name of LLC: Buffalo Properties, LLC. Date of filing of Articles of Organization with the NY Dept of State: February 28, 2017. Office of the LLC: Erie County The NY Secretary of State has been designated as the agent upon whom process may be served. NYSS may mail a copy of any process to the LLC at: 407 Norwood Avenue Buffalo, NY 14222, Purpose of LLC: Real Estate/ Property Managing. ----------------------------------------------PUBLIC NOTICE: AT&T proposes to modify an existing facility (new tip heights 156’, 158’, and 160’) on the building at 295 Main St, Buffalo, NY (20170213). Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-809-1202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

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PETER SMITH KEVIN PURDY PETER SMITH COLLEEN KENNEDY RACHEL CHROSTOWSKI NOTICE OF FORMATION OF TJ VITELLO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: The ROB GALBRAITH name of the LLC is SoapboxPSA LLC. USMAN HAQ Articles of Organization filed with CELIA WHITE the NY Dept of State on November STEVE 11, 2016. Located in Erie County. The HEATHER GRING NY Secretary of State has been JAMES LENKER designated as the agent upon CORY MUSCATO whom process may be served. NYSS ALAN FELLER may mail a copy of any process to TRE MARSH the LLC at 7864 Burr Rd, Colden, NY BRETT PERLA 14033. The purpose of the LLC is to ANTHONY PALUMBO engage in any lawful act or activity. NANCY HEIDINGER DOUG CROWELL ----------------------------------------------ALEJANDRO GUTIERREZ NOTICE OF FORMATION OF KRISTEN BOJKO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: KRISTEN BECKER Pursuant to NY LLC Law section CHRIS GALLANT 206(c). The name of the company is EKREM SERDAR Cora Door Properties, LLC. Articles MOLLIE RYDZYSNKI of organization were filed with SUZANNE STARR the NY Dept of State on 5/1/17. The CHARLES VON SIMSON company is located in Erie County. JOSHUA USEN The NY Secretary of State has been HOLLY GRAHAM designated as the agent upon whom PATRICIA MEYER-LEE process may be served, and he/she MARK GOLDEN shall mail a copy of process to 77 JOSEPH VU Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209. STEPHANIE PERRY The purpose of the LLC is to engage DAVID SHEFFIELD in any lawful act or activity. JOANNA ----------------------------------------------EVAN JAMES MESSAGE TO ADVERTISER NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A MARCIE MCNALLIE NEWThank YORK you LIMITED LIABILITY with KARA for advertising THE COMPANY: New Standard Home, ROBand MROWKA PUBLIC. Please review your ad AMBERlayout JOHN (EXTRA LOVE) LLC. check Arts offorOrg. with The the original anyfiled errors. instructions have been followed as closely as possible. THE PUBLIC offers design services with two proofs at no charge. THE PUBLIC is not responsible for any error if not notified within 24 hours of receipt. The production department must have a signed proof in order to print. Please sign and fax this back or approve by responding to this email.

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ACROSS 1 Iranian leader until 1979 5 Resort with hot springs 8 Wacky, as antics 14 “... stay ___, and Wheat Chex stay floaty” (Shel Silverstein’s “Cereal”) 15 Thermometer scale 17 “In ___ of gifts ...” 18 Visually controlled tennis move? [go the opposite direction] 19 Keeps from leaving the house, at times 21 “Texas tea” 22 Like England in the Middle Ages

58 Chevre source

33 Applied intense cold to

61 Like Consumer Electronics Show offerings

37 “Why don’t you make like a ___ and leave?”

62 “In the Blood” band Better Than ___

38 Some broadband connections

63 Absorb 64 Barrett who co-founded Pink Floyd 65 Doctor’s order for the overly active, perhaps

DOWN 1 La preceder 2 “Bali ___” (“South Pacific” song)

40 Jake Shimabukuro instrument 41 It may get covered in throw pillows 42 Pantry stock 43 Dr. ___ (sketchy scientist who’s a supporting character on “Archer”) 46 “___ With Flowers”

3 Had an evening repast

47 Kagan of the Supreme Court

4 Sonata automaker

24 2016 Justin Timberlake movie

48 Metal-on-metal sound

5 Pissed-off expression

27 Org. that awards Oscars

6 Energizes, with “up”

49 Attacked in the groin, maybe

28 Pageant contestants’ accessories

7 Dead set against

31 Suddenly shut up when collecting pollen? [tilt uppercase on its side]

9 Reno and Holder, briefly 10 Beats by ___

53 “Green-eyed monster”

34 Summer on the Seine

11 “Good King Wenceslas,” e.g.

55 Shad eggs

8 It may get dropped

PLEASE EXAMINE THIS PROOF CAREFULLY

35 Four-time Indy 500 winner Rick

36 Airport approximation, for short

12 Tylenol rival

13 Plantain coverings

51 “___ Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” 52 Hawaiian foods

56 2022’s Super Bowl 57 “___ Can Cook” (former cooking show)

16 Only three-letter 59 “___ Gratia Artis” (MGM chemical element 39 Actor/sportscaster motto) Bob Stretch IF and YOUfamily, APPROVE ERRORS WHICH ARE ON THIS PROOF, THE 20 Brewer’s equipment 60 Body art piece Armstrong-style? [flip over PUBLIC CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE. PLEASE EXAMINE THE AD lowercase] 22 Rattle

THOROUGHLY EVEN IF THE AD IS A PICK-UP.

44 It’s the “K” in K-Cups

23 Put forth LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS CHECK COPY CONTENT ADVERTISER 24�“One 45MESSAGE CosmeticsTO purveyor of ___ days ...” Thank you for advertising � CHECK IMPORTANT DATES Adrien with THE PUBLIC. Please 25 Civil War soldier, for 46review Drop out of the � CHECK NAME, ADDRESS, your ad union and check short for any errors. The original 49 Slashes PHONE #, & WEBSITE layout instructions have 26 Buckeyes’ initials 50been The whole thing followed as closely as 28�Rude PROOF OK (NO CHANGES) expression THEQueene” PUBLIC offers 51possible. “The Faerie � PROOF OK (WITH game CHANGES) design services with two 29 “Asteroids” poet Edmund company proofs at no charge. THE 54PUBLIC Annual reports, is not responsible 30 “I dunno” gesture completely vanished? for any error if not[turn notified Advertisers Signature towithin a positive] 24 hours of receipt. 32 Infuse (with) ____________________________ The production department must have a signed proof in Date _______________________ order to print. Please sign

FAMOUS LAST WORDS BACK PAGE

ZONING WATCH

STREET TREE KILLED TO MAKE ROOM FOR PARKING SPOT BY THE PUBLIC STAFF “I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.” —Joyce Kilmer, 1913

THIS IS WHY DECISIONS of the Zoning Board of Appeals mat-

ter. At its April 19 meeting, the ZBA approved the construction of a front yard parking pad at 470 West Delavan Avenue. During the public hearing, the ZBA never once brought up the street tree in front of the house. The Kentucky coffee tree—owned by you and me, Joe and Jane Taxpayer—is now gone. It will soon presumably be replaced with a driveway for a parking spot. Pictured at right shortly after the April 19 hearing, the Kentucky coffee tree was healthy and mature. It was 21 inches diameter at breast height (the tree diameter measured at 4.5 feet above the ground). It was a beautiful tree.

Few amenities offer more public benefits than mature, healthy street trees. They absorb rainwater, clean the air, reduce traffic speeds and noise, and increase property values. They even have been proven to improve the emotional and psychological health of residents. When the Zoning Board of Appeals hears a case for an area variance, the Board is required to undertake a balancing test—in making its decision, it must balance the benefit to the applicant against the detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. The street tree was clearly delineated in the site diagrams submitted with the application, though it was never once mentioned by the applicant or discussed by the Board during the hearing. It would be fair to say, since not all relevant information was discussed, that the Board did not adequately apply the balancing test. The ZBA made a bad decision, the consequence of which is the P destruction of a street tree that took a generation to grow.

Al Steele PHOTO BY DAVID TORKE

BUFFALO WORKS: PHOTOGRAPHY POP UP FRIDAY MAY 19 6PM / BUFFALO PAINT & WALLPAPER, 2917 BAILEY AVENUE [PHOTOGRAPHY] Buffalo Works: Photography Pop Up is slated as a one-night-only event at Buffalo Paint & Wallpaper, 2917 Bailey Avenue, on Friday, May 19, 6 pm to midnight.

Buffalo Works will direct the lenses of 10 photographers toward the people, places, and things that represent the city at work. Brendan Bannon, Joe George, Chris Hawley, Molly Jarboe, Dinesh Joseph, Lloyd Mitchell, Kate Stapleton Parzych, Laird Robertson, David Torke, and Katherine Whitefield are the participating photographers. While the pop-up will focus on Buffalo as a whole, Bailey Avenue was chosen as a location because it is often overlooked.

“Bailey Avenue is the longest street in Buffalo, and one of the least understood,” says Chris Hawley, a co-organizer. “The Buffalo resurgence narrative has rarely turned its attention toward places like Bailey Avenue, which is why Buffalo Paint & Wallpaper was chosen as the pop up location.”

Buffalo Works is the second in a series of photography pop ups held at Buffalo locations that are seldom seen. Buffalo East, the first photography pop up, took place on February 24 at Saddle Up Saloon, 55 Hubbard Street.

Buffalo Paint & Wallpaper, formerly known as Schnitter’s Paint & Wallpaper, is a family-owned and operated business serving the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood since 1983.

The work is designed to be affordable to all audiences. Each photographer is making available 10 unframed prints, all original and new work, each in editions of five, for only $25 apiece.

“Buffalo Works will employ photography to reveal what is new about the city’s economy, as well as the resilience of survivors of its economic transition,” says David Torke, a co-organizer. “The pop up will ask the question: What is Buffalo’s economy, and where might it be going?”

“The photography pop-up series is intended to exist outside of Buffalo’s mainstream art scene,” says Molly Jarboe, co-orP ganizer. -THE PUBLIC STAFF DAILYPUBLIC.COM / MAY 17 - 23, 2017 / THE PUBLIC 23