The Buffalodown, Volume 40
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- There Comes a Time for Taking Sides
- Musings on Music – Looking back at New World Record, forward to The Caz
- Featured Events – 50+ this week, most yet!
- Listening Links – digging deeper into featured stories and events
- Reading Rundown – local, national, global
Welcome to the Buffalodown! Formerly called the Reconnecter Roundup, this free weekly email offers stories and events for social connection.
Happy Tuesday, y’all! Committing to consistently delivering this on Tuesdays, now the 40th straight week!
Repeating from last week: for anyone interested in helping with hurricane recovery, recommending two organizations committed to disaster response that I can vouch for first-hand: Reach Out Worldwide for relief and rebuilding, and World Central Kitchen for food and water to communities in crisis.
And a new note for this week: keen readers will notice more electoral events in the listing below as we’re now just a few weeks from a momentous Election Day, and so a disclaimer – while I respect that we live within a spectrum of political views, and increased polarization causes some people to turn away from politics, I believe we can state our sides and still maintain inclusive vibes. One needn’t proclaim their politics to attend most of the community events listed below; that said, I believe we’re on the brink of falling into fascism through the rise of the MAGA movement, therefore this space will represent the resistance.
On that note: anyone interested in joining me in a weekend trip to Pennsylvania to volunteer door-to-door in possibly the most pivotal swing state – just an hour-plus from us – please reach out!
Another timely note, speaking of taking sides in elections – on this historic day in Buffalo when our five-term mayor finally, officially, resigned to run a government gambling ring, I’ll repeat what I said simply here weeks ago – Byron Brown asked Buffalonians to write him down, then promptly wrote us off. Let’s make that a lesson about maintaining the status quo in Buffalo…
…ultimately, my choice to engage in partisan politics in this space is the realization that in order to build the beloved community through social connection, we must pay attention to politics and sometimes take sides. From headline news like highway removal to appointed positions of power such as the U.S. Surgeon General – both of which being founding forces behind the creation and direction of Reconnecter – elections are too important to ignore. Repeating the old saying – whether or not you choose to do politics, politicians are gonna do you.
Support social connection with a Reconnecter membership!
Musings on Music
New World Record reunion; The Caz set to open
While we’re enjoying a recent revival of local record stores, such a critical third space for music lovers and makers to connect, learn, and listen – shout out to Black Dots on Grant Street for expanding to host live shows regularly listed here – there was a time not long ago that they seemed to be a dying breed. Dark was the 2008 closing day of Buffalo’s beloved New World Record after a 24-year run, “in part because of the dramatic changes in the music industry with the advent of the internet and the downloading phenomenon,” explains documentarian Yuichiro Yamada in the short film below.
For those who made it rock, we salute you – New World was truly all about our shared love of music, a bond still so strong that the band’s getting back together this Friday at Babeville for “The World’s Largest In-Store: Celebrating New World Record’s 40th Anniversary.” Showing how true that love is, they’re donating proceeds from the event to Roswell Park and Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology.
“Join your friends and a killer lineup of artists that have been important players in the New World story: Michael Oliver and the Sacred Band; the Alison Pipitone Band; and Ron Hawkins (Lowest of the Low, Do Good Assassins, Rusty Nails). Each band will perform a short set, leaving plenty of time for socializing with former New World staff and friends and enjoying memorabilia.
“There’ll even be a pop-up shop featuring buttons, posters, stickers, t-shirts, framed art, vinyl, CDs, and unique, exclusive artifacts from New World’s history for sale.”
That’ll be a blast from the past; and now for a look into the future, also this weekend is a new dawn down in South Buffalo with the grand opening of The Caz, turning a century-old Seneca Street eyesore into a live music destination with an eclectic mix of Buffalo music.
The calendar at The Caz is currently listed into December, starting this Thursday with South Buffalo staples Johnny Hart & the Mess along with the Brass Machine, followed by shows listed as either general admission, “dinner and a show,” cabaret or brunch buffet.
Bound to be wild is the debut of The Caz house band next Saturday, with a slew of guests fronting formidable anchors including Grosh founding duo Grace Lougen and Josh English.
Count on listings here weekly – here’s to celebrating the sounds of our city both old and new!
Become a paying member to help us present and promote Buffalo music and art!
Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all submitting their events – click on each image for more info! Welcoming event submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
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Listening Links
Please reach out with your own suggestions!
- 10,000 Maniacs: 40 Years of Indie Excellence – Why Music Matters – “Over the past few years, 10,000 Maniacs have been touring, playing a setlist that covers 40 years of material to an audience composed of many people who have been following the band from the beginning. These days, some of those people are attending these concerts with their children, signifying the band’s cross generational appeal.”
- A hurricane of misinformation – Today, Explained – “Lies about disaster relief are spreading like never before this hurricane season, and it’s making FEMA’s job harder.”
- Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest – WBFO What’s Next – Leaving this link up for a while, as I’m honored to have been invited onto this profound program – this went real deep from the jump, please listen! Here’s how they described it: “Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a ‘social connection space’ that aims to bring people together in person and online ‘by illuminating the ties that bind us.’ That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.”
Reading Rundown
With intent to connect, inform, and inspire action, every edition of the Buffalodown closes with links to other sources and stories that deserve more attention. Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.
- Brown resigns: Addition by subtraction – Investigative Post – “Buffalo’s mayor leaves behind a mess that been nearly 19 years in the making.“
- Brown issues executive order for new office of gun violence prevention in Buffalo – WBFO – “Brown states in the order that the office sits within the Division of Citizen Services and is intended to work in tandem with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. That national office was established in 2023 after White House officials visited the site of 5/14 in the days following the shooting.”
- Bangladeshi community grieves shooting death of 20-year-old in Cheektowaga, demands justice – The Buffalo News – “Ratin’s family, friends and neighbors question why police have not arrested the person, especially since he told law enforcement he fired the gun.”
- Buffalo cops rarely disciplined – Investigative Post – “Analysis of misconduct complaints shows the department found fault with officers only 9% of the time.”
- “Union”: New Film Looks at Worker Organizers Who Took On Jeff Bezos & Unionized First Amazon Warehouse – Democracy Now – “…the film follows “the invisible working class” as they face an uphill battle against the notoriously anti-labor corporation…”
- Israel threatens to starve out northern Gaza, U.N. aid agencies say – NPR – “Israel has blocked nearly all food aid from entering northern Gaza for the past two weeks, leaving some 400,000 Palestinians there with no good option, United Nations aid agencies say.”
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 Monday’s Reconnecter Roundup, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome – we’re just getting started!
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