Category: PostEvents

THE BASICS:  GRINDR MOM, a play by Ronnie Larsen, directed by Todd Fuller, starring Caitlin Coleman, presented by Plum Stab Productions, opened on Wednesday, May 25, and runs Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30, with two matinees: this Saturday, May 28 at 2:00, and next Sunday, June 5 (coinciding with Pride) at 2:00.  Alleyway Theatre Cabaret, One Curtain Up Alley (between Pearl and Main along the back wall of Shea’s) Buffalo NY 14202 alleyway.com 716.852.2600 or visit ci.ovationtix.com.

Runtime: 80 minutes without intermission (Alleyway bar open before and after the performances)

THUMBNAIL SKETCH:  A devout Mormon woman tells us that after her son came out to her (she always knew) and told her that he has a boyfriend, she asked all the usual mom questions including “where’d ya meet?” to which the answer was “Grindr.”  He tells her that it’s a phone app, you know, like Candy Crush which she loves to play, and it’s social, you know, kind of like Facebook.  Intrigued, she secretly downloads Grindr, the gay dating/hookup app, creates her profile as “PepsiGuzzler” and discovers many surprises along the way.  Some are kind of funny, some are poignant and some are, well… not.  No spoilers here.

THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION:  As I wrote back in my 2017 review of Donna Hoke’s play SONS AND LOVERS about a clueless mom with a gay son:

“I continue to be impressed by Caitlin Baeumler Coleman (Ellen), one of the finest actors we have in town.  She so completely inhabits her roles that I always double-check: is this the same actor who was ‘Carrie’ the cancer patient in last season’s outstanding BUA production of STEVE?  Is this the same woman who was Robert Shallow in SIDP’s THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR?  Not to mention other fine recent performances over at New Phoenix Theatre in HARVEY and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.  I swear it was five different people. How does she do that?

“Well, some credit goes to the director, Todd Fuller, who helped create a very realistic, very consistent character on the eve of some big changes.  Others might have taken this role too far.  Here, Coleman and Fuller have it just right.”

That play, SONS AND LOVERS, which was also at the Alleyway Cabaret (newly appointed by the way, with very comfortable chairs and attractive bistro tables) was about a mom of a gay son, so this is familiar territory for the Coleman/Fuller team.  And Fuller has had a string of successes directing for Buffalo United Artists in, for example, THE BOYS UPSTAIRS  (read my review here), as well as AFTERGLOW (read my review here) and, for The New Phoenix Theatre, THE SEAT NEXT TO THE KING (read my review here).

The run of GRINDR MOM is coordinated to end on June 5, the date of the Pride Parade down Elmwood (free, starting at 11 am) and the Pride Festival at Canalside (ticketed event, starting at 2 pm).  For more information on both the parade and festival, visit The Pride Center of WNY here.  

So what actually happens in the play?  I can’t tell you without spoiling the surprises, but in general, The Wife (as she is called in the script), outwardly embraced her 24 year-old-son after he came out to her, but they decided to keep this from dad, who has anger management issues. (She tells us on several occasions that she keeps secrets well, including her addiction to Diet Pepsi.)

Outwardly embraced?  She does share with us a secret that she keeps from her son, which is that after two miscarriages, when she prayed that she only wanted a healthy baby, she now tells us that “I guess I should have been more specific: ‘Dear Heavenly Father, please send me a Republican-leaning heterosexual baby with no birth defects and no lisp.’ And I’m sorry, I know that sounds awful, and yes, I’m strong, I could probably handle a baby with special needs — but please not a Democrat.”

The play is peppered with laugh lines just like that.  There’s a description of heaven, which she sees as having an upper level, kind of like a Ramada, and a lower level, more like a Day’s Inn or Motel 6.  

There is also an amusing routine where she asks Apple’s Digital Assistant Siri “What is Grindr?”  And Siri tells her that in hockey, a “grinder” is a player good at checking but not known for scoring.  That’s loaded with puns, because we find later that The Wife is good at checking her Grindr account, but terrible at “scoring.”  After several false starts, she turns to the Amazon Digital Assistant, Alexa, and after a bit, Siri and Alexa get into an argument.  Pretty funny.  Siri finally tells her that “Grindr is a location-based social networking and online dating application for gay, bi, trans, and queer people, and men who have sex with men.”  Oh.  And, along the way, with the help of Google, she learns what PnP means, about Tops and Bottoms, and what Verse means.

So, when she was using her Grindr account to get more acquainted with her beloved son’s lifestyle, I thought that this play was very funny and at times touching and bittersweet.  But when she becomes obsessed with checking her Grindr account constantly, it wasn’t so funny.  

And some of the material seems a little dated, as when the mom refers to “THE Grindr” which I take to be a reference to George W. Bush referring to “THE Google;” there’s a bit about Prop 8, the 2008 California ballot proposition to ban same-sex marriage; and the mention of the 2009 app “Words With Friends;” and more contemporary, but still dated, a reference to Donald Trump’s Tweets.

So how to assign Buffalos?  The production is great.  Coleman and Fuller have, as expected, done a good job, and if you’ve read this far, you should go.  It’s the play itself that’s problematic.  I found it just took on too much; it wandered, and at times was just too mean for a comedy.  The opening night audience was small, but I imagine that when the theater has more people in it, all attuned to gay issues, all responding to the insider jokes and flush with recognition, they will help provide a really fun-filled experience.  Hopefully, this review will help to generate awareness and create that bigger audience.  And, Todd Warfield, if you don’t stock Diet Pepsi at the bar, you really should.  (Caitlin makes drinking it through a straw seem somewhere between a religious and a PnP experience.)

*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)

ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.

TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.

THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.

FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.

FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb–a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!

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Western New York has done a tremendous job supporting the loved ones of the victims as well as the Jefferson Avenue community at large over the past ten days. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about this community. We have a long history here of coming together during times of need. After all, we are the “City of Good Neighbors,” right? The need this time, however, is different. Sadly, it is not new either.

This wasn’t a snowstorm. This wasn’t some generalized process that broadly affected the people of our region. This wasn’t really even an attack on Buffalo per se. This was an attack on black people that happened in Buffalo because 80 plus years of systemic racism in this region created a profoundly segregated city that availed itself to an evil person looking to kill as many people as possible based on the color of their skin.

The need here is not attainable through donations or wearing t-shirts. Although these are a nice start, what we really need is policy change and organized investment on the part of our local and state government focused on ending racial residential segregation in Buffalo. To get there, our politicians will need to see said policy changes and investment as being the will of the people at large, which will require a change in the way many people think around here. That is the challenge.

Certainly, we need to be loud and emphatic in exposing, denouncing, and holding accountable anyone with openly hateful words or actions. Hate is alive and well in WNY, and any long-term more profound goal for an equitable Buffalo can never be realized if we can’t at the bare minimum agree that white supremacy is a grotesque and perverse ideology with no place in this community. 

To get the policy change and investment required for a more equitable Buffalo, however, we are going to need change the perception that many white people-consciously or unconsciously- have about black people in Buffalo. As a white male that grew up in suburban Buffalo, I feel I can speak to the way many white people in this region think and act. I have seen it and heard it first-hand. 

In the Buffalo-Niagara region 64% of black people live in areas of concentrated poverty compared to only 14% of white people. 

Why is this the case? 

My challenge to white people in Buffalo is to open their minds and hearts as to why this disparity exists. Don’t fall victim to a convenient rationalization that attempts to simply explain such a complex disparity away by attributing it to work ethic or some other non-sensical characteristic. The answer to the question is messy, but it is foundationally important if we are serious about “choosing love” in Western New York.

There is perhaps no better resource for making sense of the inequity in Buffalo than the work of Dr. Henry Louis Taylor. I encourage everyone to watch with the video above that was featured on CBS last week, and read at least the “Executive Summary” and “Recommendations” portions of the The Harder We Run, a report that was issued last year by Dr. Taylor and his colleagues with the University at Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies, Community Health Equity Institute, and School of Architecture and Planning that details the root causes and potential solutions to the inequity that plagues our city. 

We must open our hearts and minds to the idea that poverty is not a choice.

We must open our hearts and minds to the idea that poverty is not a choice. Rather, it is the very likely result of being born into a divested environment devoid of stable jobs that pay a living wage, with deep-seated barriers to homeownership (the primary way of achieving wealth in the US), and severe limitations in terms of access to jobs, education, healthy food, and healthcare due to a woefully inadequate public transportation system and an avoidance on the part of many local businesses and corporations to open stores and offices in said environment. We must consider that higher crime rates in impoverished neighborhoods are a consequence of poverty and despair, not a reflection of the moral character of people that live there. 

We cannot in good faith continue to call ourselves the “City of Good Neighbors” if we continue to turn a blind eye to the systemic problems that disproportionately hold our black friends and neighbors back. To deserve that moniker, we must continue to come together in the coming months and years by choosing love with our actions, not just our words.

Additional Resources:

Anna Blatto: A City Divided: A Brief History of Segregation in BuffaloJim Heaney: Buffalo is Segregation CityRod Watson: Shooter Pulled The Trigger, But Others Share the Blame for Poisonous Racial ClimateKeeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: American Racism and the Buffalo ShootingPoverty in Buffalo: Causes, Impacts, and SolutionsAdvancing Healthy Equity and Inclusive Growth in Buffalo

Lead image courtesy Derek Neuland

“I captured the “heart” photo on Friday, May 13th downtown at Central Library while I was photographing the monthly creative networking event Creative Mornings Buffalo. After the horrific events that occurred the day after, this photo has taken on new meaning to me. And I wanted to share it in hopes it can help anyone else heal during this incredibly hard time for so many in our city.” – Derek

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This coming weekend is the plant sale that we’ve all been waiting for. Starting on Friday, CCE Erie Master Gardener Program’s 2022 Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale will get underway at First Presbyterian Church, One Symphony Circle.

The CCE Erie Master Gardener Annual Plant Sale is a perfect opportunity to buy great plants at great prices.

If this show is anything like previous years, it’s going to be epic. Not only is the plant selection varied and affordable, CCE Erie Master Gardener volunteers are on-hand to answer any questions about the plants, the ideal growing conditions, and some tricks of the trade. Not to mention that there could be no better backdrop that the exquisite church.

Photo of the inside of the church filled with plants

Aside from offering up this incredible plant sale, CCE Erie provides educational programming to county residents pertaining to:

4-H Youth DevelopmentNutrition and Community HealthAgriculture and Food SystemsEnvironment, and Natural ResourcesSustainable Energy, and Climate ChangeConsumer and Economic Vitality

The sale includes a choice selection of sun and shade perennials, natives, herbs, annuals, shrubs, and vegetables from the gardens of CCE Erie Master Gardener volunteers, as well as plants donated from area horticultural businesses: annuals, hanging baskets, and houseplants.

CCE Erie Master Gardener Program’s 2022 Master Gardeners’ Plant Sale

Friday, May 27, 8:30am – 3pm and Saturday, May 28, 8:30am – 2pm

First Presbyterian Church, One Symphony Circle

A fundraiser to support the educational and outreach programs of the CCE Erie Master Gardener

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One of downtown’s most anticipated live music series is kicking off on June 9 (5pm-8pm). Thursday & Main – the Buffalo Place-produced free outdoor summer series at Fountain Plaza will be exceptionally terrific this year, not only because of the band line-up, but also because Flint Kitchen + Bar is now open.

This relatively new weekly concert series – presented by M&T Bank – is Buffalo Place’s answer to the beloved Thursday at the Square series, which relocated to the waterfront.

Per usual, the “free and open-to-the-public happy hour” music series features a great cross-sections of music acts, starting with Ron Hawkins (of Lowest of the Low) as the season opener. The entire line-up is just as strong, with tons of crowd pleasers.

Aside from the selection of music acts, and the happy hour atmosphere, the setting is second to none. It’s a slice of downtown life, with water features, seating arrangements, and a wonderful Main Street vibe. This is definitely something that we can all look forward to.

Here’s the lineup of bands to check off on your calendar:

Thursday, June 9: Ron Hawkins (of Lowest of the Low) special guests Geno McManus & Zak WardThursday, June 16: The Strictly Hip with special guest 77 StoneThursday, June 23: Handsome Jack with special guest Matt Smith’s Nervous SystemThursday, June 30: Willie Nile with special guest Leroy TownesThursday, July 7: Farrow with special guest David Jonathan & the Inner City BedlamThursday, July 14: The Sheila Divine with special guest Potter’s FieldThursday, July 21: Harvest SUMmer Jamfest: Johnny Nobody with special guest Roger Bryan & The Orphans, and TVMTNThursday, July 28: GROSH with special guest Erin Hoyle & The Constellations

Thursday & Main is made possible with the generous support of our official sponsor family. The series is presented by M&T Bank and supported by Crowley Webb, Try-It Distributing, Big Ditch Brewing Company, The Buffalo News, National Grid, Lawley, Uber, Katz Americas, and Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

Details on the season, may be found online at www.buffaloplace.com.

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Nancy Drew Takes on the Mafia

Chiara, a 15-year-old in a Southern Italian family of girls, is about to celebrate her older sister’s entrance into adulthood, at Giulia’s lavish 18th birthday party. There is almost an hour of shaky, close-up, on-the-verge of nauseating, hand-held camera tracking of intimate family play and birthday festivities. Then, in the middle of the night, Chiara sees her father’s car set afire. And he disappears. 

Persistent in asking her family questions about these events, Chiara is treated as too young to know. But the teenager is a no-nonsense, highly motivated, fiercely independent young woman. That description may sound familiar. It’s taken directly from our last review, “Happening,” the French film about a similarly strong young woman, who was determined to obtain an abortion in 1963 France. Both are coming-of-age films, pitting the protagonists against friends and family in their quests, in one case of an abortion, in this one of the truth about her family.

Coming-of-age films are powerful in their focus on one of life’s pivotal times, when a person comes into knowledge and adulthood; innocence lost. But they need to do more than that, especially given their proliferation in our media. Jonas Carpignano, an Italian-American whose films reveal and valorize the desperate lives in Italy’s South, passes the test in this, the last of his award-winning trilogy set in Reggio Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot. The first, “Mediterranea” (2015) tells the story of two Africans immigrating to the town; the second, “A Ciambra” (2017), features a boy coming of age in the Roma (“gypsy”) section (called “Ciambra”); and this, the third, focuses on the Mafia’s grip on the presumably non-marginalized Italian community of Gioia Tauro. (The ‘Ndrangheta—the name of the Mafia in Southern Italy—in fact does control the town, a port on the Tyrrhenian Sea.) All three films won major prizes at Cannes.

Family man Dad, Claudio (Claudio Rotolo), dancing with his middle daughter, Chiara (Swamy Rotolo).​

As in “A Ciambra,” “A Chiara” succeeds in part because of the strength of its non-professional cast, here the improbably named Swamy Rotolo as Chiara, and the Rotolo family. Her father, Claudio (Claudio Rotolo) may be portrayed as too much of a good guy. He’s the family man who engages in loving horseplay with his three daughters; a shy presence who can’t bring himself to offer a public toast at his eldest’s 18th birthday party; a father who cries as he tells Giulia (Grecia Rotolo) she is the joy of his life. He has much in common with the comforting, caring, avuncular Harry Dean Stanton, the father (Jack) of Molly Ringwald (Andie) in the iconic 1986 coming-of-age film, “Pretty in Pink.”

“A Chiara” succeeds in part because of the strength of its non-professional cast. Here, Carmela Fumo Rotolo, Grecia Rotolo (as Giulia), and Claudio Rotolo – mother, daughter, and father, as they are in life.

“They think we’re all alike,” Claudio says, explaining his version of the Mafia to Chiara, his middle daughter, as he hands her a cigarette, signifying she’s ready to be an adult and to understand the family business. “But we’re not.” In describing what he does and who he is, Claudio says simply, “we call it survival.”

Carpignano centers his film on Chiara, on her precocious inner consciousness and unblinking eyes. There’s little sexuality in the film, no boyfriends to distract her, exert power over her, or to challenge the Mafia’s “rules” governing dating and marriage. Like Anne in “Happening,” she’s a feminist in a world that wouldn’t know that term. A Mafia story without much being said about the men who dominate it and the women who go along, “A Chiara” is not “The Godfather.” No horse’s head in the bed, no throats slit. Fear is not the motivating emotion. What Chiara knows of the local Mafia comes from her father—a sympathetic yet unreliable narrator—and a social worker, whom one instinctively distrusts.

Chiara has difficult choices to make. She doesn’t deliberate over them verbally; she doesn’t discuss her future with her friends or family. She’s a young woman whose will translates into a form of power, but first she must know the facts. The narrative Carpignano draws, from the fun-loving, sometimes mean-girl teen to a sadly wise adult, who celebrates her own 18th birthday as the film closes, is one of mystery, tenderness, and ambiguity.

Date: 2021

Stars: 3 (out of 4)

Director: Jonas Carpignano

Starring: Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Grecia Rotolo, and 5 other Rotolo family members; Pio Amato (from “A Ciambra”)

Country: Italy, France

Languages: Italian, subtitled in English

Runtime: 121 minutes

Other Awards: 9 wins, including Label Europa Cinema at Cannes, and 20 nominations.

Availability: Opening in theaters in North America May 27; widely available streaming in Europe. For future North American streaming availability, see JustWatch here.

Lead image: Director Jonas Carpignano centers his film on Chiara, on her precocious inner consciousness and unblinking eyes. Here, Swamy Rotolo as Chiara, with those eyes.

See all Five Cent Cine reviews by 2 Film Critics

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An industrial property at the corner of Tonawanda and Rano streets has an industrial future. Cedarland Development Group, which has recently been focused on residential development, is planning an industrial complex at 25 Rano Street straddling the Riverside and Black Rock neighborhoods.  The developer purchased the 8.5-acre site yesterday for $1.06 million from Rano Development LLC.

With a lack of industrial space in the region, Cedarland believes its “Rano Park” project will fill a brownfield site and bring hundreds of jobs to the northwest Buffalo community once a tenant is secured.  Plans will be tenant-driven.  The building size is flexible but the developers envision a large industrial building that can be  up to 250,000 square feet.  There will also be a separate office building on site that will be a minimum of 8,500 square feet. Project cost is expected to be up to $60 million.

“We are planning to be a key player in the pivotal transformation of this North Buffalo community as we bring top of the line jobs, design, and technology to our city.” said Dr. F Dagher, President of Cedarland Development Group.

Marlette Plating Co. Inc., a metal finisher, operated at the site from at least 1985 through 2008 in a 312,760 sq.ft. building. Former site uses included a planing mill, lumber yard, radiator manufacturer, along with various commercial activities.  A brownfield cleanup was completed by the prior owner and the site is certified and approved in the NYS Brownfield Opportunity Area.

Cedarland is taking a sensitive approach to the surrounding neighbors. State-of-the-art design will be paired with on site energy generation and urban green spaces. The project will work to help achieve NYS sustainable energy goals by being a net zero site. The goal will be to produce all the required energy needs on site with a separate green energy production facility.

Some site features include a ¼ mile loop with a  water feature for tenants to enjoy (above), EV charging stations, new sidewalks, green spaces along both Tonawanda Street and Rano Street, 127 parking spaces, separate truck entrance with seven loading docks, and a building design with natural light.

Dr. Dagher has already spoken to Councilman Golombek to gather community input on this important project.

“With an increased demand for industrial space in the city and little supply we jumped on the opportunity to be proactive about bringing economic growth to this Buffalo community” said Kevin Dagher, Vice President of Cedarland Development Group.

Cedarland recently completed The Grid residential project near the Medical Campus, has the 38-unit Michigan Place development underway nearby, is renovating 507 Niagara Street into 16 apartments, and is finalizing plans to renovate the Eckhardt Building at 950 Broadway into 18 affordable apartments plus commercial space and possibly a child care facility.

The company is not standing still.  Cedarland has four other projects under contract with announcements coming soon.

Get Connected: Cedarland Development Group, 716.217.9105

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Anthony LoRusso wants to construct a three-story, 66-unit apartment building on a vacant 1.7-acre site at 127 Clayton Street.  But first he needs a rezoning of the North Buffalo property to allow for the project as designed. 

The project site is east of Military Road and north of the Rebecca Park neighborhood, a detached single-family and multi-family residential development built in the 1980s.  A rezoning of the site from N-4-30 to D-R is required. The D-R District allows for three-story buildings with no lot width maximums or density limits.

From the project application:

The proposed three-story building is designed to meet the applicable Buffalo Green Code standards for the requested D-M zoning classification without the need for area variances. The approximately 85,000 square foot facility will offer 66 loft-style apartments with on-site fitness, laundry, community and storage facilities. The three floors above will have 22 units per floor with a central lobby area. Critically, in meetings with representatives from the neighborhood, off-street parking was a significant concern and the Project will provide 67 parking spaces which is well above what the Traffic Demand Management Report expects will be necessary for the project.

Aesthetically, the design team has proposed a modern and inviting design that will bring vibrancy to the neighborhood. Significant transparency levels, balconies and a grand entrance will make this a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The project will include significant plantings to replace the existing vegetation and aid in developing that park-like feel. Further, with parking behind the building, a single drive at the north edge of the site and screening to the south side, vehicle access and parking will be screened from view from adjacent properties.

With respect to infrastructure, the project will rely on existing utilities and sewer connections but will also be supplemented with solar power from the adjacent solar farm that is being constructed at 2030 Elmwood Avenue.

LoRusso recently completed two apartment buildings on West Street with a total of 106 apartments.  Stieglitz Snyder Architecture designed the new $10 million project that will be reviewed by the Planning Board on Monday.

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Where do I want to go in my Afro future? If I could (and I can), I’d travel to the Black Whole, and go on a sonic journey into the unknown. And that unknown is Black Whole, a five-piece, Afro-futuristic ensemble led by pianist Walter Kemp 3. Unlike his father’s classically-gospel Carnegie Hall acclaim, Kemp unleashes the same instrument and leads an equally creative cadre of music-making marvels; namely GRAMMY Award-winning improvisational violinist Scott Tixier, multi-reed maverick Brent Birckhead, bass phenom Rishon Odel, and Allan Mednard, a rock-solid percussive fixture with a keen ear for giving this music just what it needs at any given moment. 

The ensemble’s rawness and ingenuity of sound has me replaying the ebb and flow of the evening– spinning back like a scratch on my most-loved cd. The ensemble got its start as a curated artist collaboration to celebrate the life and works of the late Reynold “Rey” Scott, acclaimed improvisational woodwind artist, composer, and long-time member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. The playlist is an amalgamation of the familiar, the foreign, and the freewheeling. But instead of the ever-popular Stella by Starlight, you’ll hear its lovesick paramour…”Interstellar,” and be transported to an unidentified planet of your own choosing. 

Imagine waiting to hear what jazz was, is, or will be, and emerging with the sense of needing none of that. Just Blackness.

The first song of the evening is Walter Kemp 3’s “Good Morning.” As the title suggests, this song forces your arousal from a blissful fog. Imagine waiting to hear what jazz was, is, or will be, and emerging with the sense of needing none of that. Just Blackness. Kemp executes piano beats like a drummer and a harpist, laying sound templates like twinkling constellations in the dark, and mapping it out for me on an organ-laced triptych.

A selection called CO2, a duo written and performed by violinist Scott Tixier and NYC-based woodwind maverick Brent Birckhead, is an intense sound exchange. Reminiscent of a gut-wrenching zombie spacewalk, the sheer creativity makes you excited to hold your breath until the last note. This isn’t by any means a new exercise for the duo–but the combination is brilliant; fresh because we can never accurately predict where the music is going. I had to be content with hanging on for the ride. 

Kemp leads “De Facto” in no uncertain terms. The 5-person unit locks tight, grabbing at the soulful fertility of the Earth below them, pretty much building their way from the sea floor to the ether– in a series of synchronized tonal movements. “Go-to” drummer Allan Mednard is a sonic boom of rhythmic syncopation, skillful stretch, and awesome. Wherever he’s taking me (and I’d go anywhere with him… yes, even there), I’m going. It’s no wonder why the composition was selected to premiere award-winning journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates’ literary debut at BABEL for The Water Dancer. I literally just did a flip, and landed mid- air.

Along with all of this, there are equally grounding moments. Bassist Rishon Odel, when not smooth sailing with Brian Culbertson, is doing the best/most with Black Whole, moving from double bass, to electric, to keybass with precision and purpose. Happy Ending, composed by New York City’s Gerry Eastman, and originally recorded by Eastman and Rey Scott, showcases Odel’s playful restraint. His incredible facility and command of the strings provide ocular proof of this precision, even when my ears are in denial. Hold on to the rocks, the weeds, and the misty air. Birckhead on flute is the perfect complement, so keep your ears peeled. If not, you’ll miss the flying diamonds. Just sayin.

Engaging with the music becomes a familiar process– grounding, muddy, dirty, spontaneous and internally rehearsed.

There’s a special place in a performance like this for the audience, and that special place is right there in the thick of things; sorting out songs, and making connections. I felt like a kid helping to make mud pies to heaven. Engaging with the music becomes a familiar process– grounding, muddy, dirty, spontaneous and internally rehearsed. At this point, we’re enveloped in the velveteen mudcloth blackness of what we think we heard and what we wanted to hear, and finally arriving at the fact that we’re not exactly sure, and it never really mattered anyway.

So, this June, where will I be in my Afro-future? I’ll be at these concerts. And your Afro-future should be there, too.

Black Whole

Tuesday, June 14th, 5:30pm | Richmond, VA RVA Tobacco LoungeWednesday, June 15th, 7:00pm | New York, NY Zürcher Gallery (during TRIBECA Film Fest)Friday & Saturday, June 17-18th, 7:00pm | Buffalo, NY PAUSA Art House Wednesday, June 22, 7:00pm | West Falls, NY West Falls Center for the Arts Thursday, June 23, 7:00pm | Cleveland, OH Bopstop (during TRI-C Jazz Fest)Friday, June 24, 8:30 & 10:00pm | Toronto, ON The Rex (during Toronto Jazz Fest)

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What started off in a flowery VW van, is now a full fledge flower boutique studio in Allentown. Samantha Reidy, owner of Petal Pusher, has pulled off a major victory for Allen Street, by creating a sensational new business that incorporates flower bouquets, a beer-wine-cider bar, and an inspirational family-friendly setting that is the perfect place to relax, socialize, and ponder the vibrant world of flower décor.

I stopped into the shop for a soft opening ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday, and was completely taken with the voluminous space (see backstory). The shop features a grab ‘n’ go cooler with pre-assembled bouquets, racks of vases, an arrangement workshop counter, a kid-friendly lounge area, and an impressive bar. It’s the perfect place to unwind with friends, in a flowery setting.

I asked Samantha how she got her start in the flower business, and what she had to say did not surprise me one bit. Like so many other fledgling entrepreneurs that I have interviewed, Samantha found herself working the daily grind in a bigger city – she lived in NYC in her early 20’s. She knew that her best shot of escaping that grind was to move back to Buffalo, which she did. But instead of doing anything corporate, she signed up to work at a local florist.

“I wanted to try something fun first,” she told me. “Then I saw a flower truck on Pinterest, and started searching online for a truck. I found exactly what I was looking for – a rust bucket VW van in Kentucky. That’s how the mobile flower business began in 2019.

Samantha already has a built-in clientele thanks to here VW flower van

“But it was seasonal, so I worked another job off-season. Then covid hit, and I began to dream of where I could take my love of flowers. Last summer I was let go from a job for the first time – they said that my heart wasn’t in it, and they were right. It was the best thing that ever happened. That’s when I decided to focus on a storefront. I have put everything that I have into this space. And I could only do this in Buffalo – everyone wanted to help… people want businesses to thrive here. I’ve met so many other small business owners who all help to promote each other. That’s what I love about Buffalo – I could never have done this in NYC.”

When I asked Samantha how she was faring, with her new storefront opening, she said, “I’m feeling confident, but a little scared. I wanted to create a very positive space, and flowers are like therapy. Everyone loves flowers. They were here before us, and they will be here after us. I don’t consider flowers to be a luxury item. They are a necessity. In the shop, they are available at various price points. People can pre-order a bouquet online, grab a bouquet on the fly, assemble a bouquet at the shop, or even attend a workshop (like a mommy & me, or flower crown class). The shop is available for private parties on the weekends, such as bridal parties, where we have charcuterie boxes (all the time). There’s plenty of seating, and there’s even a patio made with flower boxes, where people can sip a summer beer or wine (or cider/Prosecco).”

A satisfied customer (Jordan Pursel) selects an arrangement

Samantha has been pretty much running the show solo, with her mobile flower van, up until this point. Now she’s teaching her employees the business.

“It takes a while to find your groove,” she said. “People say that I have a style and an eye for this. I can do whimsical, classic, or tropical arrangements. The color red is not allowed in the store [laughing]. This is not a traditional store – the flower van is the perfect example of what I want to do. I can’t wait to plant the flower beds out on the sidewalk. I want the storefront to be another calling card for Petal Pusher, along with the van. We’re going to have great curb appeal.”

To pull off the interior design job, Samantha enlisted the help of her OP friend, Maddie McCauley of McQ Interiors. Together, the two did a bang-up job with the space.

Now, it’s all about sipping drinks, hanging with friends, and making flower arrangements – designer’s choice, customer’s selection, simple or sophisticated, in a base container or wrapped in paper… the options are endless… as long as it’s not red.

Petal Pusher officially opens on June 1, 2022.

Petal Pusher | 15 Allen Street, Buffalo NY | Instagram: @petalpusherwny | petalpusherwny@gmail.com | See website for days and hours

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