The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 12
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- Gratitude for engagement here
- Musings on Music: Whose music moves you?
- Featured Events: 20 is the new norm, submissions welcome!
- Listening Links: Today, Explained
- Reading Rundown: long list this week
Welcome to the Buffalodown, thank you for your attention!
Always welcoming submissions.
’m so grateful that so many people are opening this and clicking through the links below!
Looking back, much interest in Trimania last week, such a brilliant spectacle of art and community in Buffalo, so happy to see so many familiar faces there! Here’s a review from The Buffalo Hive by editor Elmer Ploetz, complete with photos and videos.
Looking ahead, noting the presence in this week’s event listing of multiple public protests over the coming days, which appear to me to be organized in the spirit of nonviolent free speech that this space will maintain. There are also a handful of events submitted by subscribers – please keep those coming!
Another submission over the past week was a question of when will be the next Buffalodown event – appreciate that interest, too, planning for the fall for more time to line up sponsors and supporters, all ideas welcome!
Become a paying member to support social connection!
Musings on Music
Which Buffalo bands get you out of the house?
As the longtime curator of live music in Larkin Square, I have a challenge for which I’m seeking your help, dear reader – which Buffalo bands get you out of the house? Whose music do you enjoy so much that you make plans and invite friends to go with you?
Turnout seems harder than ever since the pandemic shutdowns, when folks found other ways to be entertained, from baking bread to binging shows – as one friend put it in declining my invitation to a Buffalodown event last year, “Staying in is having a moment.”
Another rising trend is the tribute concert – clearly, nostalgia sells, as seen in the bar receipts and subsequent live music lineups at local venues. While these often fun and meaningful shows do less for me than they do for the masses, I’ve experienced that whenever and wherever the bottom line is a central concern, tribute acts become more desirable. Still, I’ve organized my share of tributes and intend to do so again in connection with kindred artists and causes
I say all that for the purpose of clarifying this question – who in Western New York is making music in their own style that moves you, both into your soul and out of the house? I’ve repeatedly waxed poetic in this space about artists such as Curtis Lovell and Grosh – who you can count on being in the Larkin lineup this year – still I stay seeking new and exciting music, always lookin for bookin, please share your favorites!
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
Visit and subscribe to The Buffalo Hive for the comprehensive community events calendar we’ve been calling for!
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Listening Links
What are you listening to? Please send links!
Shouting out Vox’s “Today Explained” for its ~30-minute dives into news of the day
Not Coming to America – “Traveling to the United States is getting tricky, but there are ways to be careful.”
Fear is the economy killer – “The biggest threat to the American economy might be the American consumer’s sour mood.”
The “Joe Rogan of the left” – “Data on who didn’t vote for the Dems is finally coming in and it’s clear that they have a problem. Can Hasan Piker be the solution?”
In the Flamingo Lounge with Rockabilly Greg, episode 150: Seamus Gallivan – who wants to listen to a whole hour of me rambling?! Seriously grateful for Greg and this historical document of Buffalo’s music scene, now 150 episodes of open-ended stories behind the scenes – hopefully you’ll find this episode enjoyable, especially if you’ve bothered to subscribe to Reconnecter and read this far into it.
Reading Rundown
Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.
Common Council Urged to Take Stand on Kensington Expressway Project – WGRZ – “Those who are looking to fill in the Kensington Expressway, filled Common Council chambers on Tuesday.”
Feds locking up families, children at Canadian border – Investigative Post – “U.S. Customs officials are holding detainees, including young children, in cells at local bridge crossings for days and weeks at a time, advocates and officials say — a new practice under the second Trump administration.”
D.J. Granville and the “blue wall of silence” – Investigative Post – “Cops seldom tattle on one another. The Erie County narcotics chief has been a beneficiary and a practitioner of that code of silence.”
The Editorial Board: It’s past time to subject Pointer and Sostre convictions to legal review – The Buffalo News – “Geraldine Robinson Pointer’s adult granddaughter wonders how her family’s lives would be different had her grandmother never been incarcerated back in the late 1960s..”
Letter: Stories of heroes are being removed from government websites – The Buffalo News – “Recently, an article detailing the military achievements of Ely S. Parker – the highest-ranking Native American in the Union Army during the Civil War – was removed from the website of the Department of Defense. I find this erasure troubling. Parker’s story is one of resilience and service. A Seneca, Parker is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery near his ancestor, the Seneca orator Red Jacket.”
Buffalo Toy Library opens above Seven Hearts Coffee – Buffalo Rising – “The initiator behind this intriguing non-profit organization, Hannah Flynn Bogdan, realized that there was an opportunity for this sort of community resource when she considered the sustainability of toys.”
Musk Targeted FEMA. Storm-Battered Communities Are Paying a Price. – The New York Times – “…if Mr. Musk’s goal was to funnel more FEMA money to disaster aid, the fallout from his declaration had the opposite effect.”
The Virtue of Making Noise – Robert Reich – “Silence suggests acquiescence — which is an abominable signal to send out in this national emergency.
“Silence is also demoralizing to tens of millions of Americans, if not the majority, who are deeply shaken by what’s happening and bewildered by the lack of a strong counteroffensive.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next Tuesday’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!
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