Archival Buffalo News feature articles

  Peter Gabriel’s departure from Genesis in 1975 right after “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” shook up fans. Would they still love him as a solo act? March 17, 1977 Never Know What’s Up When Gabriel Blows In             Peter Gabriel’s reputation for transmogrifying himself is such that nobody in the nearly sold-out Century Theater Wednesday night is sure what form he would assume to make his entrance.           Would he show up as a monster with a skin problem, as he did when he sang with Genesis? Or might he lurk in the shadows, waiting to zap you with his reflectorized contact lenses, as on his new solo LP?           When the lights dimmed, the answer was neither of the above. His fans rose to see a figure not much different from Paul Simon at the piano. A robust, athletic Paul Simon in sneakers and a gray warm-up suit accented i...

Not all of my reviews involved music 45 years ago. This assignment to me as a reporter working Sundays appeared on the front page of the local section.   March 14, 1977 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Mild Weather Make Big Hit With ‘Best Crowd Ever’             For more than two hours Sunday, lower Main Street was Mardi Gras, Independence Day and college week in Fort Lauderdale all thrown together as 150,000 Buffalonians celebrated the memory of the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland .           They cheered, they smiled at each other and they all agreed that it was a great day for a St. Patrick’s Day Parade.           “This is unbelievable,” said a former Canisius College ROTC marcher standing coat open in front of Buffalo Savings Bank. “The two years I was in it, it was a blizzard.”           Un...

  Remember what happened with Peter Frampton in 1976 – first a little show as an opening act in Memorial Auditorium, then a return as a headliner at Rich Stadium. Déjà vu with Bob Seger in ’77 – here’s that first date in Kleinhans Music Hall .   March 9, 1977 Seger Keeps Rock Fans Rolling             “Rock and roll all night long,” Bob Seger shouted at the end of his second encore, and as far as the kids in Kleinhans Music Hall were concerned Tuesday night, that seemed like a good idea.           The near sell-out crowd, which filled all but two dozen seats, was reluctant to stop clapping. It was even more reluctant to hold back shouting in the lobby and horn-honking in the parking lot. Seger left them that charged up.           Unlike the opening group, Starz, he didn’t have to resort to trickery to do it. All he needed was mus...

  A look at one of Buffalo ’s most successful musical exports while they were still playing the clubs.   March 5, 1977 Spyro Gyra, UB Artists in Residence, Like Jazz – Also Play Rhythm ‘n Blues   OTHER BANDS MIGHT PANIC at the sight of Jack Daniels tavern this tranquil Tuesday night. No standees to incite to boogie, just a polite sit-down crowd at the tables. But Jay Beckenstein’s not alarmed. A mellow mood works just as well as a hot one for Spyro Gyra.           Spyro Gyra disproves the axiom that jazz has to be angular and unsettling to be serious.           Their melodic themes and floating solos are creative choices, not commercial cop-outs. For them, beauty and integrity stand side by side.           “I think we’re pretty tasteful people,” Jay says. “Of course it’s good material. It’s adult music. I don’t think of it a...

  Harvey & Corky import a blast of Southern rock to help melt the snow still around from the blizzard.   Feb. 24, 1977 Allman Heirs Sound A Bit Tuckered Out             Live music seeps out onto freezing East Huron Street and reminds all these fans jamming the sidewalk outside the Century Theater Wednesday night that they’ve lost that little bet they’ve made.           It’s gotten risky to second guess Harvey & Corky on a starting time. Arrive 10 minutes late and here’s the Winters Brothers band advancing on a big one – “Shotgun Rider,” an outlaw tune that puts them firmly in the Allman Brothers camp.           They’re like aliens, these Texas brothers, Donnie and Dennis Winters. Their accents are all but incomprehensible, as ours must be to them. Four of them – all but the drummer – have beards and shoulder-length ...

  Another one of my longtime favorites. Feb. 19, 1977 This Band’s in it for the Music The David Bromberg Band has probably played 500 shows like the one Friday night before 1,100 Buffalo State College students sitting packed on the floor of the Student Union Social Hall. But they still give it the old school try.           That’s what they’re there for. The tall, curly-haired guitarist and his six-man group could be tearing down twice as much money for half the hassle as session musicians, but that’s not where their ambitions lie. They’re in it for the music.           “The basis of everything we do with this band is enjoyment,” Bromberg said earlier.           Like Ry Cooder and Leon Redbone, some of Bromberg’s most enjoyable moments are with old blues tunes, but unlike them, his versions are pretty free and loose. * * * HE’LL HINT ...

  Everybody in Buffalo in 1977 had a Blizzard story. Feb. 12, 1977 Crowds Love Freeze’s Music – Catchy Rock Standards, Originals THE BAND’S NAME IS FREEZE , but they’ve been having just as much trouble with this freezing season as anyone else. Even getting together for an interview is full of complications.           “Think you can make it to Delaware and Kenmore ?” booking agent Fred Casserta asks this carless reporter. “I’d come down and get you, but I’m afraid I’ll get caught in the traffic ban.”           The idea behind meeting in the suburbs is that everybody can drive there. Everybody, that is, except Freeze front man Howie Bartolo. Howie lives in North Buffalo .           “They towed my car away, man,” he exclaims as he arrives late. “I had it parked on a side street while we were workin’ out of town. The car’s gone, Fred. Sh...