Unofficial shows offer an alternative

By Benjamin Joe
(Photos by Benjamin Joe)

Instagram scrollers and other word-of-mouth followers were notified earlier this year of another summer of “Guerilla Showfare” in Buffalo.

On Saturday, May 3, over 50 people gathered at an undisclosed outdoor location to listen to some bands, hone a couple dance moves and enjoy each other as hopeful reports of warm weather started being heard.

Last year, the hardcore scene in the city started to gravitate to such excursions, spearheaded by a couple of friends who booked the bands, plotted out the location and spread the word on social media. They asked for interested parties to contact them through messenger apps for more information.

The bands on Saturday night came as far away as Syracuse and as close as next door. The fans were asked to dance, and dance they did.

The organizers, who will not be identified here, talked about how-and-why the phenomenon got started in the first place.

“We drink here a lot, I don’t know,” said one. “Last year at this time there was a whole thing where the only venue was Amy’s Place. … We love Amy’s Place, but we wanted to spice things up a little bit.”

“We were at the point where we were playing there every single week,” said the other. “We just figured, ‘y’know, f*** it. We’ve got all these spaces out here, let’s just generate it and do our own thing.’”

The effect was instantaneous. The first show was plotted out, promoted and implemented and after that the two were off scouting new possible locales for punk shows.

As guitarists were tuning up and lights were turned on Saturday, several more partiers, most of them young, many with long hair — made-up to the hilt from hair to boots — arrived. The first band’s vocalist roared into the microphone which seemed to have problems getting power. It didn’t matter.

The vocalist talked about the hard times the country was going through as it headed, in his opinion, to fascism and tossed in his retort.

“We’ve just got to f***in’ get up, keep going,” he said before the drummer hit the opening beats. “Keep marching because it’s all up to us.”

The organizers of this spectacle were not coy about what they were doing.

“We’ve been lucky. This is all illegal and it could be shut down any time,” said the first organizer, though the second was quick to note that the scene didn’t make a mess. No neighborhoods were being terrorized, they both said. They stay in line.

“We’re mindful of the spots we choose,” the first concluded. “We use safe areas where people are able to congregate.”

The show went on until 11 p.m. and many stayed the night. More shows are planned and can be found through some (mostly privage) social media, messenger apps and other connections.

Benjamin Joe writes about music and the arts – particularly hardcore punk – for The Buffalo Hive.