AviBuff

With the sun hardly dimming down its heat rays these past few days, the last thing people want to do is stay inside a room along with other strangers and without proper air conditioning. 

Last night was clearly the exception with roughly 40 to 50 people in attendance at Fingerprints’ makeshift venue for a homecoming gig with Long Beach native Avi Buffalo. After the notice of Avi’s arrival, the record shop quickly became inundated with eager fans who had his latest release in hand. 

Fingerprints owner Rand Foster introduced the musician before he took stage. Foster said he was surprised to learn that Avi, who spent majority of his time hanging out in the record store, also created his own music. Since then Foster said he made it a point to keep his records in stock and support Avi Buffalo. 

When the singer/songwriter/producer/brainchild of Avi Buffalo stepped onstage along with his support bandmates, the lights dimmed, and the body heat only continued to rise within the tiny room. 

Without missing a beat, Avi Buffalo kicked off the 10-track set list with “So What” off his latest LP At Best Cuckold.

The venue was quickly transformed into a psychedelic ambience with Avi’s croons, the song’s melodic bass licks and punchy percussion beat. At that moment, fans became immersed within the music and the stuffy heat was no longer a pressing issue.

While Avi Buffalo is a solo act, his support musicians exuded a quiet presence that allowed Avi flexibility and enhancement. 

Sheridan Riley (drums) performed powerfully yet gracefully all while accompanying Avi in vocal harmonies. Doug Brown’s (bass) bass licks and riffs were infectious, causing fans to slowly groove along to soothing tracks. With all musicians feeling the music, Anthony Vezirian (keys) rocked out on keys.

There was little to no banter from either musician, and instead let the music engulf the room and create a hypnotic atmosphere.

Although Avi hardly spoke to the crowd, watching him perform was a feat in itself. His submissive stance was misleading as he broke into screams, shrills and violently shredded on his guitar during tracks like “Memories of You.” 

Avi Buffalo’s set list was a mix of new tracks and songs off his past catalogue. The highlight of the night was, without a doubt, when Avi stood on the stage alone and performed “Summer Cum.” It was powerful to watch the musician grace the stage armed with only his guitar and vocal chords to perform a diverse track with a tempo that varied throughout.

At the end of Avi Buffalo’s performance, fans cheered and clapped while one screamed for an encore. Friends and family congraulated the band, while fans stood in line to get merchandise signed and snap photos with Avi.

It wasn’t until fans trickled out into the muggy night that the weather was yet again a problem.  

{FG_GEOMAP [33.7716936,-118.1870083] FG_GEOMAP}