Well the three headed monster that was the Sabres goalie situation has been settled. 1997 draft pick and two time “Top prospect of the year” Mika Noronen was dealt to Vancouver for a 2nd round pick in next year’s draft.
And that was that for the Sabres at the 2pm deadline. Regier likes his roster as is. So do we.

Uniland is going after M&T Bank big-time for their new Delaware Ave building, according to the Buffalo News. Since M&T is at full capacity with their two magnificent buildings on Main Street,

it seems as if this will be the most logical place for expansion based on the circumstances. Which is too bad since there is a huge parking lot behind the newer M&T building off Ellicott St. That would be a nice location for M&T to add a bit to the Buffalo skyline which hasn’t been touched much since the 70’s. Not to mention that Ellicott Street could use a little boost. It’s too bad that Uniland couldn’t get the AM&A’s building since M&T was supposedly the big company interested in moving in there. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a new office building on Main Street in place of a hopelessly abandoned department store. In fact it would be perfect-the older and taller M&T building could literally connect to the AM&A’s.

The old AM&A’s building does have its’ charms with its 1930’s post-modern design but overall its kind of a monolith downtown-especially when abandoned. (We’ll do more of a report on this building later this month). So those are my two cents about M&T’s expansion in Buffalo. And here are my two predictions for M&T’s future…
1. M&T will move into the Uniland building
2. M&T will build an office tower in Baltimore or DC within the next 10yrs.

**Uniland photo courtesy of “westcoastperspective”

A favorite amongst the locals, This Day and Age came to the Icon last night after a few months of writing their new album. It was a very short set (About 8 or 9 songs) but it got the job done as they played some of the favorites from their 1st album “Always Leave the Ground” as well as two new songs-the first one sounds absolutley amazing but its too bad I couldn’t get the song title.
There were three opening acts. The 1st one was “Standard of Living” which put together a very solid set. They were going to play a track called “Audobon Amherst” (which obviously got me excited) but then decided not too. Overall they were extremely catchy and fit the mold of a band like TDA
“New Atlantic” was the next band to take the stage, the vocals were alright but the drums and guitars in the set more than made up for it…a mellow-emo-rock sound that kept the concert going.
“Sherwood” was next up with a lead singer who looked eerily similar to the lead singer of “Switchfoot”. An interesting band-not so much in sound. The backup vocalist looked like he was hitting on the lead singer of TDA earlier in the concert (and the lead singer returned the favor by dedicating a song to him so who knows what that was about) but the best was the keyboard player who looked and acted like Andy Dick on speed.

It was absolutley astonishing-you had to be there to see it. He would randomly break into spontaneous fidgeting, jumping, and screaming that captivated the audience. (More on him later)
“Walking Ashland” was the last act to take the stage-a band that the ladies absolutley loved. The lead singer played keyboard and sang a good set of catchy radio-style songs that should be heard in time. He was very interactive with the crowd during and after the performance. Overall, a very good performance.

So after all those opening acts, TDA took the stage to a anxious local crowd. The set list out of order was…
Long Walk Home, Tomorrow is Waiting, Second Place, Slideshow, History is Falling for Science, The Day We Started, I Remember me, Untitled Track 1, Untitled Track 2
For the last song everything was going as planned until the Andy Dick look-alike charged the stage in a tiny pink tee and short-shorts with a tamborine and lite-sabre in hand. As he danced around stage uncontrollably and took over the crowd (deservedly so) it was impossible to focus on the music. But TDA left the stage with its fans satisfied and excited about their new album due out in August. Until then. they won’t be touring much at all.
Overall, an awesome night at the Icon and it made up for the Gza show big time.

WB49 10PM NEWS HAS BEEN CANCELLED EFFECTIVE MARCH 31
THIS MEANS…
NO
MORE
SARAH BISHOP!

she needs to be hired by ch2, 4 or 7 immediately.
thats all.

but in all seriousness, I really like the 10pm news, it was different from the rest of the newscasts and they did some stories the others never talked about. The only problem I had was the “NewsCentral” crap feed from Baltimore. It will be missed. BUt most importantly, Sarah Bishop will be missed.

First of all, my Saturday night, Sunday night was a night only Buffalo could provide…but this is for a later post.
Wu-Tang’s GZA (Genius) performed infront of a decent Saturday night crowd at the Icon last night. The gates opened late with dozens of people complaining of hypothermia and the possible freezing of their balls. Eventually the masses were allowed in and the crowd slowly filled in to be entertained first by two men from local record label “Deep Thinka Records” (Based on Hertel Ave). It was decent, but then again, Buffalo lacks in homegrown talent when it comes to rap and hip-hop. After that ADM a group similar to The Roots took the stage for about 40 minutes for a pretty amazing set. An eclectic mix of artsy white musicians and angry, socially conscious black men combined for an addictive combination. The guitar player from ADM was absoultley incredible, it was pretty easy to get lost in his rediculous licks and solos. The drummer was also incredible, toward the end doing a 3 minute solo. Unfournately, their sound doesn’t quite transfer onto their recorded tracks but you can check them out on their myspace

Following them was “Hangar 18″. A rap duo of your typical young black rapper with an overweight white man who looks like he’s 10 years removed from his frat days-but wishes he was still there. Basically their 40 minute set sounded like the same song the entire time with the same words over and over. The obese white man known as “Alaska” was insulted that the crowd was bored to tears with this joke of an act and was anxious for Gza-so he decided to “diss” us by referring to all the guys up front as virgins…we were all very hurt and gathered in each others arms.

Everyone thought Gza was goin to take the stage after the painless and rediculously long set but no…it was time for “Self Scientific” He was actually pretty good but it was getting late and I was getting antsy as well as tired for standing for so long. He peaced out-literally and DJ Muggs got on stage
Muggs worked up the crowd for a bit then Gza took the stage, only to delay more since he needed a handful of towels for the set-not just one so he could wipe down the mic since apparently he has caught colds in the past from so many MCs using the same mic. Since Gza was in the same position as the rest of the crowd-standing around for hours waiting for him he decided to inform us that the wait for the towel was nothing since we had to wait for so long already
Gza worked the crowd well and did a lot of favorites as well as a tribute to late Wu, “Ol’ Dirty Bastard”. He kept complaining about how quiet the mic was and how loud the music was-it eventually reached the point when he decided to just end it and so Gza dipped out and so did the hundreds of followers into the late night Buffalo chill.

Other things of note:

Typically, white people in Buffalo who get up front for hip hop concerts are the most obnoxious people I have ever met. This crowd was particularly annoying. A crew of absolutley trashed obnoxious white guys (some of them apparently served time) felt the need to drag friends from seven feet away through the crowd towards them as well. Three black kids up front were trying to just vibe out to the music but every 2 minutes they got shoved up against the stage.
From now on buffalo+rap show=me standing towards the back.
The Icon is a stickler about underage drinking…that is unless you’re backstage…lots of underage girls absolutley HAMMERED backstage and one of them was the prize of “So Scientific”’s eye.
If you’re a big fan of any artist that performs at the Icon, it’s extremely easy to meet them…extremely. You’ll just need a little patience as well as willingness to see the artist in a not so flattering manner (A bit drunk and on the way into the car of what looks like a lady of the night)

I’m a sucker for humor relating to sterotypes of different Buffalonians…therefore this amused me to no end…

PS…possibly the nicest looking Buffalo Blog?Possibly.
Apparently the link doesn’t work…not sure why since the html code is correct…well-its on the sidebar: “the716″

Tonight at 8 the Sabres take on their uber-rival, the Maple Leafs who are fighting to the death for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference while the Sabres cruise into the postseason comfortably for the 1st time since 1996-97. As entertaining as the match-up is, the pre-game festivities are much more important to the average Sabres fan. Former captain, Pat LaFontaine is getting his #16 hung up in the rafters with Gare, Horton, and the French Connection. As someone who started following the Sabres as a 7 year-old when LaFontaine was on the same popularity level with Jim Kelly-I know I won’t let myself miss this…its great to see the Sabres honor their past and heal some old wounds with such a great player, and overall person who devoted more time to Buffalo hospitals than possibly any non-hospital employee when he played here.

…last I checked some $120.00 seats are still availible but chances are some Leaf fans already took those.

My friend takes a “Hip-Hop History” class and today they looked at some NFTA document from 1989 (so apparently they go a little beyond hip-hop) I thought it was some interesting stuff so let me share it with you…

Here is what it says…

3. Status of No Service
Galleria Mall: There ar eno plans to go into the mall because mall owners do not want Route 6, which is the most effective route to use. The y feel that it will not bring in the type of people they want to come to the mall. G.Foster suggested other options included using Route 30 from the Airport in off-peak hours or the use of Route 4 from the Thruway Mall, but it will be a long walk for passengers and also a hazardous one across Walden Avenue if the busees cannot go into Galleria. D.Hanratty will contact the owners to see if they still feel the same way about the use of ROute 6, and if so, what will she tell the press when they question why Metro has no service to the Galleria Mall.

…wait, why do the mall owners have authority over this? Couldn’t the NFTA be like “Um, no…we are going to have the 6 stop at the mall”. Instead, they covered the owners’ asses.
FYI…a Galleria employee died crossing the street on her way to work in 1995…she used the bus everyday to get to work. All because some owners shuddered at the thought of seeing black people shopping.
Here’s some links to stories involving the case

Now the release has been pushed back to April 25 and if you go to googoodolls.com you’ll get a bunch of different pictures and messages from the band members and here is what is believed to be the album cover…

According to this article
“Among the tracks expected to make the final cut are “Give a Little Bit,” “Feel the Silence,” “Tuesday,” “Strange Love,” “Stay With You” and “I Can’t Let Go.”

Rumor also has it that 2nd single should be comin out in a month

PS…apparently i decided to play around with the mouse and have the arrow goin in the woman’s mouth…dont’ worry-thats not part of the album art.

This is a UB student and JFK HS grad my friends and I refer to as “Fresh 2 Death”. He wears his aviators at ALL times…including events that are indoors and in the dark. He also wears a HUGE gold encrusted belt with his name on it. Anyways…he’s really chill, real fly…nothing can phase him.
So on Monday I went to Student Union for dinner and awaited my order, next to me was Mr.Fresh, dancing…the chef came to the front and the next thing I see is Mr.Fresh taking out a toy gun and saying “Gimme my food!” The chef jumped back and the manager came running in to yell at Mr.Fresh for his actions…

…his case will be heard infront of the Student Judiciary Committee.

Sorry for the random stories about random people in the Buffalo area, just though I’d share.