5/28: Khruangbin at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum
The rain did not stop the best party for Buffalo in May.
I am beyond excited for this concert. It's the first concert at the AKG after their renovation. There's rain in the forecast, so I strap on my Chacos to avoid dealing with wet shoes, put on my tan bell bottoms, don my groovy 70s Wrangler ranch-style shirt with white opal buttons, and a raincoat. Caine comes over before the show. I cook him some spaghetti with a veggie protein crumble. Honestly, it's the best al dente pasta I've ever cooked, but the sauce could have used some work. I make it just a tad spicy because I know Caine can't handle spice like I can. It matches his tolerance perfectly. We rush to drink some drinks and wolf down our food so we can get there when the doors open because we want to get close spots to the stage. Luckily, I live just a fifteen-minute walk away.
Doors open at 6:00 pm, and we make it over there in time to hop in line as doors open. We make it inside at 6:17 pm and are some of the first few people in there. The woman checking us into the show likes my nail polish. I say, "Thanks," then tell her, "It's shit" because it is. Then, I show her while walking past, and we laugh because it is, and then she says, "It matches your shirt!" Which it does, so I tell her, "That's crazy. I painted them for Chappell Roan. Enjoy your night!" I love small little interactions like that with humanity.
I start to scope out their setup, curious as to how the AKG would host a concert. They have a lovely setup on the front lawn with the stage at the northwest corner, back against the Gundlach building. They're doing tickets for concessions, so they better have the menus at the front when you get tickets so you know how much it costs. I say this because you never know how many tickets to get for what you want, leading you to overspend on tickets and then do weird ticket juggling to pay for what you want. It's a money grab tactic but also eases use for volunteers who don't have to handle money, so there are trade-offs. I'm just critical of these systems. I honestly do prefer the growing movement of cashless venues.
I know Caine likes wine, so during my roundabout, I pay attention to the wine tent, and they do have heavy wine pours. Score! We grab our drinks and head up to the stage to grab our spots and are able to get 2nd row, basically front and center, right in front of the drum kit. I see my friend Andy up past the marble steps underneath the VIP tent. He doesn't immediately recognize me from way up there, tucked away under the rain because of the rain gear I'm wearing. It wasn't until I pulled my hood back and flashed my hair that he recognized me. I then got a blown kiss from him with his ever-classic beaming smile.
Caine ponders with me, "What's the green room for the band at the AKG?" I respond, "Probably where the cafe/bar is in the Gundlach building because they have the shades drawn in that area. Or it's just the fucking art gallery, which would be so cool." I hop on Instagram and see Laura Leezy's post of her in front of the famed neon rectangle piece of art in the museum.
I run to the bathroom, and there is no hand sanitizer in the porta-potties. The music hasn't even started, so venues, you really gotta have hand sanitizer in your porta-potties. I'm looking at you, Terminal B.
If I'm walking around in public and someone screams "Timmy Madden" to get my attention in a crowd, I do have to stop and say "Hello." People only say that if they've known me 20+ years, and I love to hear it when it happens. I know I'm going to see someone I love.
Just before the show starts, Thurman Thomas and his wife come out on stage to introduce tonight’s concert. They promote the fundraiser for Rocking at the AKG. Thankfully, plastic sleeves are available for the posters tonight, especially due to the rain. I chatted with a couple by the rails who purchased the poster for tonight’s show—it looks stunning. Unfortunately, not all bands provide tubes or plastic sleeves for their posters, which is disappointing because I consider it essential. With rain in the forecast, these folks will be able to protect their poster.
There’s a guy wearing a black raincoat with the WBFO the bridge logo in front of me, to the left of the poster couple. I ask him, ‘Do you work for WBFO?’ He responds, ‘Yeah! This logo is my handwriting. I’m a graphic designer for them!’ I find it awesome—I see that logo everywhere in Buffalo, and now I finally know who created it.
‘Caine, you have an Irish whisper like my mom,’ I say. He retorts, ‘You have a mumble I can’t even hear. Give me an Irish whisper like your mom. My hair in my raincoat serves as earplugs.’ We both laugh as we stand in the drizzle of rain. I hope the rain holds off for the show. The clouds are clearing up now, and smiling people are filling the space. It’s 7:22 PM, and the crowd close to the stage still has plenty of room.
Christopher, the graphic designer, has seen Khruangbin four times before even saw them as opener for Tyco in 2017. It’s amazing to hear about someone experiencing an incredible act when they were still small enough to be an opener. He learned a valuable lesson from that show: paying attention to the opening act can be worthwhile. Caine and I are excited for tonight’s opener, John Carroll Kirby.
Right on time at 7:30 PM, John Carrol Kirby and his band are ready to go, removing the plastic protecting their instruments from the rain. Let’s goooo! Kirby starts off by saying, ‘This is called “Butterfly” by Herbie Hancock.’ Wonderful—I love Herbie Hancock. As they begin playing, I open my plastic earplug case, only to find it empty. Damn. I check all my pockets, even my shirt pockets. Nothing. Looks like I’ll be experiencing this show without ear protection. I’m slightly disappointed because I want to enjoy live music forever without tinnitus, but I’m still excited to hear everything the show has to offer, no matter how loud it gets.
Jazz fascinates me, especially watching someone lead a jazz group how they hold command over the band, the cues they give and the conversation on stage between them all. ‘You guys doing alright out there!’ shouts Kirby after a particularly funky moment. Their second song is ‘Tong Poo’ by the great Japanese electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra, which Kirby introduces. People immediately start dancing to this song, and the guy who was playing saxophone earlier now has a flute. The transition to an original song for their third piece is amazing—it locks in the whole crowd to their sound. Listening to their groove, funk, and mastery, it’s a fantastic start to an incredible show.
The drummer is locked in, watching Kirby go off on the keys, waiting for the next cue to transition the song after his solo. This allows him to make the fills that are needed until Kirby is done with his thing, and then Kirby gives the cut at the neck to end it. Kirby raises his hands to clap, inviting the crowd to join along. The song ends with claps to the beat from the crowd, led by him. The mic captures the sound, sending it through some amplified reverb, where he phantom-plays the keys, giving us the space to imagine what melody would be on top. Then, he cues us to end it, and we all follow perfectly. Listen to your conductor—it’s a great crowd, as you can tell.
At 7:53 PM, they saw lightning, which forced them to stop the show. A stage tech came out, saying, ‘The show is canceled,’ as the crew worked to clean up the opener’s instruments to protect them from the rain. I think he means the opener is canceled, not the entire show, so we stay put, as does everyone else. There’s growing concern about whether the show will go on. My guess is they’ll follow lifeguard rules, resulting in a 30-minute delay. Knowing I have time, I run to the bathroom and grab drinks for Caine and me. Walking through a concert crowd feels like dancing with strangers—bobbing and weaving. If there’s music playing, I’ll definitely be dancing as I walk too.
I make it back to our spot, and our buddy Ale joins us, looking like Indiana Jones with his suede hat, brown leather vest, and patterned button-up shirt underneath. Caine and I end up trading stories about Outside Lands Friday night in 2021—crazy stuff. The headlining acts are all good, with The Strokes and Tyler, The Creator, but Tyler’s performance was the greatest party. Caine shared his regret at seeing me run back, beaming high on life after that set, as I met up with him and Chris after we split up for our different shows. It has been raining so hard that Ale’s empty cup, which he has been holding throughout this conversation, is already filled with at least two shots of water. This means a crazy amount of rain has been pouring down. My raincoat has stopped being useful; I have puddles in the elbows of my sleeves, my pants are soaked to the bone, and there are puddles underneath my feet in the footbed of my Chacos.
The Doppler radar doesn’t look good. The crowd waits intensely, eager to know if the show will go on. Since we were told it might be over, we tune in to the DJ’s drum kit, still covered in plastic. If they touch his set to break it down, then we’ll know it’s over. It’s 8:25 PM, and they touch his drums, so I start thinking it’s over. However, it seems I was a little too eager to capture the scene as it happened. They simply removed the plastic and adjusted his set, but his kit is now back without any real worry of getting wet. At 8:34 PM, a stage tech brings out Mark Speer’s pedal board and plugs it in. He returns several minutes later to test if it still works despite the slight drizzle hitting it.
Their stage manager, with a bald head and bushy beard, shakes his head as he mops up the massive puddles on stage. Multiple people squeegee the water off the stage, battling the constant downpour. After setting up the pedal board, the final test to determine if the show will go on is the stage lights. They’re still covered in plastic, so if that gets pulled off and they don’t start breaking them down, we’ll know the show is on. At 8:42 PM, they remove the plastic from the lights and leave them be, confirming that the show is definitely on. I’m so confident that I even texted my mom—who was questioning whether to attend the show—that it’s on.
At 8:48 PM, music starts playing over the PA to warm up the crowd. The stage manager comes out and says, ‘Let’s go!’ with a hang loose sign; this is going to be a historic night. We’ve been very hopeful tonight—yes, hopeful that the rain would stop, that the show would go on, and that we’d dance to the groovy cosmic vibrations of the superstar trio, Khruangbin. Generally, but doubly so in this instance, the rain makes it incredibly hard to smoke a joint, but we’ll do it regardless.
It is always good to make friends with those around you at show. Which I love that Khruangbin included that bit of advice on their show pamphlet. “Please Take this Time To Introduce Yourself To Those Around You…” As I am surveying who is around me, I see a face I recognize from the climbing gym. I finally introduce myself and get his name, Mason. He is with this friend named Leah. They are both soaked to the bone but eager for the show with smiles ear to ear.
Right on time at 9:00pm the band walks on stage and it is still dark. DJ sits down on his kit, Mark takes his place and leans against the back, and then the comforting buzz of Laura Lee’s bass hits us. Hell yes! The much anticipated wait is no longer, the show is on despite it all. It is still raining which makes it infinitely hard to document the show as water droplets fill up my screen instantly. Holy fuck! This is amazing Mark is just ripping it right in front of me and his ability to play lead and rhythm guitar at the same time is physically present for my first time. It is hypnotic. My feet start to hurt and I realize I choked my ankles with tightening my Chacos too much.
At 9:15pm, I put my groovy red glasses on as a change of mood with the music. I would love to have a conversation about what they have to say about tension and resolution which is what I find as the basic principles of music. They are experts in building a groove and then releasing the tension built for a continuous dance party. That is the conversation I want with all musicians but especially them. The next song they go into is “Todavía Viva” one of my favorites off the new album.
The next song is “Petits Gris” which Laure Lee said is her favorite song from the new album. The mood of it is a single flower in a vase upon a window sill as the soft drizzle of rain pitter patters on the window pane. Knowing this and being able to experience it in a soft rain is a donut moment. A donut moment is when something finally comes back around for a nice complete return. A final moment of intersection of idea and experience with having rain being a critical part of this show.
It is still super wet as you can see. These guys are doing a killer job. Everyone is doing a killer job, all the fans that withstood the rain, the crew working that night, the volunteers, the musicians, the stage hands and everyone who picked up a mop to keep the show on. The stage is still so wet Leezy is kicking the puddles and splashing the crowd which they love with cheers. Everybody is wet, thank you Leezy! Stay dry Mark, your pedal board and everyone else at the show but good luck because that really isn’t possible.
Entering into the second set starting off with “Bin Bin”. It is about to get a whole lot more groovy. The bass line from “August 10” is iconic. It is just so damn catchy I will find myself singing it without even realizing it randomly throughout my days. I could have that playing behind me while I walk anywhere I go as the soundtrack to my life.
The rain played with the band for tonight adding an interesting voice to their conversation they invited us too in their living room. With the band swinging back and forth and us swinging back and forth getting into step with each other. Their stage setup is a living room. Their album they just released is called A La Sala which means “To The Room” which Leezy’s grandpa would yell to bring every family member in their house complex together when the man of few words had something to say. Their tour is them calling the people together to their living room on stage because they have something to say about international love."
It is a dance party! I locked eyes with Mark Speer as he comes front stage a few feet from me ripping the sickest guitar solo. The rain is making it hard to capture all the beautiful moments that occur on stage and within the crowd. The show is amazing it doesn’t even matter because I ran out of words a while ago to describe the beauty I was experiencing; it’s 10:30pm. I am awe struck. A performance hard to put in to words and that’s life if we had more time we could live forever. I really do love their song “People Everywhere (Still Alive)” especially how they incorporate that idea into their shows with their photography of the crowd on their Instagram. Be sure to check out People Everywhere in Buffalo, NY.
They walked off stage 10:39pm. You really hate to see them go despite knowing they’ll come back for an encore. They come back on to play “Maria También” a crowd favorite that leaves us all satisfied. They finish the show and walk off at 10:45PM. Holy shit, that was amazing! They did it despite the weather and they really killed it.
One of the best shows of my life and the closest I have been for one, pretty much right up against the rail. They played through their whole new album and then played all the hits for an unforgettable show. They are masters at building tension and delivering resolution. Which is a cornerstone of great music. They are all so good, the community they’ve created for their shows which you can see through their Instagram series of ‘People Everywhere in *fill in the city*”, and theirs shows heal the world by bringing all types of people together to share in beautiful music inspired by international love.
Photo Context: Taken 5/27 driving home from my cottage after Memorial day weekend. I’ve got my parents cat, Rosie, helping me with the drive.