Stuff to do, week of November 4, 2010
Ross Grady
grady at ibiblio.org
Wed Nov 3 22:36:21 EDT 2010
Thursday, November 4
Mosadi Music (http://www.mosadimusic.com/)
Birds & Arrows (http://www.myspace.com/birdsandarrows)
Central Park, Durham
Troika 2010 kicks off at 7:00 p.m. in the park with Mosadi Music and
Birds & Arrows.
Thursday, November 4
Midtown Dickens (http://www.myspace.com/midtowndickens)
Wood Ear (http://www.myspace.com/woodear)
Justin Robinson & the Mary Annettes
Fullsteam Brewery, Durham
I've seen Justin Robinson's "main" band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops,
plenty of times, but I’ve never seen his side project the Mary Annettes.
In the Chocolate Drops he's pretty well satisfied to let Rhiannon & Dom
do most of the cutting up & talking, so I’m curious to see & hear what
he’s like as a bandleader.
Thursday, November 4
I Was Totally Destroying It
(http://www.reverbnation.com/iwastotallydestroyingit)
Veelee (http://www.myspace.com/seeveelee)
Old Bricks
The Pinhook, Durham
I wrote a little custom itinerary for the Troika website, so I figure I
get to crib from it extensively here.
http://troikamusicfestival.org/2010/11/01/itinerary-wxdus-ross-grady/
Like so:
Veelee are restless creatures, as their new album, Future Sight,
demonstrates: The pulsing mid-fi pop of their debut EP makes an
appearance, but so do Stereolab drones & even a Spatula-style
guitar/drums workout. One of my top-10 records of the year, and what’s
more remarkable is that Matt & Ginger manage to pull it all off live.
Thursday, November 4
Ra Ra Riot (http://www.myspace.com/rarariot)
Givers
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
Thursday, November 4
Dexter Romweber (http://www.dexterromweber.com)
Django Haskins (http://www.djangohaskins.com/)
Snuzz (http://www.snuzz.com/)
307 Knox HQ, Durham
307 Knox HQ is at 618 Foster Street, which is how it's listed on the
Troika Schedule. Snuzz is from Greensboro, where he's considered a bona
fide Triad musical treasure. Django fronts The Old Ceremony. And here's
what I wrote about Dex for the Troika site:
Dex Romweber is both an American pop historian, and a little bit of
rock-n-roll history himself. He grew up playing rockabilly, most notably
with the Flat Duo Jets, but he could just as easily bust out some
vintage Tin Pan Alley croon, or sit down at the piano for a little bit
of Chopin.
Thursday, November 4
The Beast
Carlitta Durand (http://www.myspace.com/missdurand)
King Mez
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh
It's Local Band, Local Beers night at Tir na nOg.
Thursday, November 4
Valient Thorr (http://www.valientthorr.com/)
Double Negative (http://www.myspace.com/thedoublenegative)
HOG
Motorco Music Hall, Durham
Nowadays, when I go out, I tend to focus on the loud/fast/heavy shows,
because there's nothing like being pummelled in the face to get the old
adrenalin flowing (which is what I need to keep me awake past 10pm). And
nobody pummels harder than Double Negative.
Thursday, November 4
919Noise Showcase
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
It's an extra-special 919Noise Showcase this month, with Kranky Records'
Benoit Pioulard, along with Nik Woondt, CJ Boyd, and Treeclimber.
http://www.myspace.com/pioulard
http://www.myspace.com/nikwoondtsound
http://www.cjboyd.com/
http://www.myspace.com/treeclmbrnc
Thursday, November 4
The Felice Brothers (http://www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers)
Adam Haworth Stephens
Kings, Raleigh
Friday, November 5
Jason Kutchma
Sean Thomas Gerard
Nate Tarr
West End Wine Bar, Durham
Dinnertime solo sets from the frontmen of three Troika bands (Onward
Soldiers, Red Collar, and Wood Ear).
Friday, November 5
The Jackets (http://www.reverbnation.com/TheJackets)
Mandolin Orange (http://www.myspace.com/mandolinorange)
The Small Ponds
Onward Soldiers (http://www.myspace.com/onwardsoldiers)
Fullsteam Brewery, Durham
The perfect antidote to all the rawk happening elsewhere in Durham: a
Troika lineup of the slightly twangier variety. I shot some video of The
Jackets back when Fullsteam had just opened: http://vimeo.com/12532505
Friday, November 5
Dillon Fence (http://www.dillonfence.com)
The Sames (http://www.thesames.com)
North Elementary (http://www.northelementary.com)
Wesley Wolfe
Motorco Music Hall, Durham
Once again I dig into the itinerary I wrote for the Troika website:
Motorco Music Hall – 7:00 – Wesley Wolfe
Wesley Wolfe's songs are sometimes bitter, sometimes self-deprecatingly
funny, and always catchy as heck.
Motorco – 9:00 – The Sames
The Sames were the best band in Durham for most of their tragically
short existence. Zeno Gill knows how to write a hook, and Marc Faris
knows how to hammer that hook into something else entirely. They
predated the current shoegaze revival by a half-decade or so, and they
wrote beautiful glorious clanging numbers about other bands, or
long-gone amusement parks, or golden summer moments frozen in time. This
reunion is the most exciting thing about Troika 2010.
Friday, November 5
In the Year of the Pig (http://www.southernloveprod.com/ityotp.htm)
Americans in France (http://www.myspace.com/americansinfrance)
Naked Gods (http://www.myspace.com/nakedgods)
Make (http://www.myspace.com/thebandmake)
The Pinhook, Durham
Troika gets simultaneously heavy & freaky, starting with the crystalline
psychedelic southern rock of Boone's Naked Gods, and ending with the
gtr/2-bass/2-drums massive groove mayhem of In the Year of the Pig.
Friday, November 5
Red Collar (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
Minor Stars (http://www.myspace.com/minorstars)
Free Electric State (http://www.myspace.com/freeelectricstate)
Decoration Ghost
Trotter Building, Durham
Troika's blowing up all over Durham tonight, and this is the epicenter
of a guitar-heavy night.
Friday, November 5
Whatever Brains (http://www.myspace.com/whateverbrains)
The Humms (http://www.myspace.com/thehumms)
The Beets (http://myspace.com/thebeetsbeat)
Los Naturales
307 Knox HQ, Durham
307 Knox HQ is at 618 Foster, which is how it's listed in the Troika
schedule. This bill was curated by Craig Powell, who both lives and
hosts shows at a house in Old West Durham he calls the Layabout.
Friday, November 5
Twelve Thousand Armies (http://www.myspace.com/12000armies)
The Light Pines (http://www.myspace.com/lightpines)
NUDEHUES
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh
It's a First Friday Drughorse revue at Tir na nOg, with the brilliant
psych-pop of the Light Pines, the very Harrisony Twelve Thousand Armies,
and the mysterious new Drughorse outfit NUDEHUES.
Friday, November 5
Jeffrey Dean Foster (http://www.jeffreydeanfoster.com/)
Brett Harris
Bustello (http://www.myspace.com/bustellomusic)
Patrick Phelan
Nick Jaeger
The Casbah, Durham
This show isn't part of Troika, but it's free, so what's the difference?
Bustello are one of the best new Durham bands around, in part because
the three members have about 70 years of playing in local rock bands
spread between them.
Friday, November 5
Future Islands (http://www.myspace.com/futureislands)
Lonnie Walker (http://www.myspace.com/lonniewalker)
Motor Skills
Local 506, Chapel Hill
Lonnie Walker & Future Islands are old old friends from the Greenville
scene, and they're currently on tour. Here's hoping that the
increasingly high profile of Future Islands will lead to some of that
attention rubbing off on the eminently worthy Lonnie Walker as well
(though I have my doubts about the crossover between Lonnie Walker's
skewed, at times Dylanesque indie-rock, and the hipsters-with-glowsticks
dancepop of Future Islands).
Friday, November 5
Soft Company (http://www.myspace.com/softcompany)
Bear Hands (http://www.myspace.com/bearhandsband)
Kings, Raleigh
Missy Thangs has been doing Soft Company since before she joined the
Love Language, but nowadays it's a pretty rare thing to actually get to
see them play.
Friday, November 5
The Tremors (http://www.tremorsrockabilly.com/)
John Howie, Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff
(http://www.myspace.com/rosewoodbluff)
The Cave, Chapel Hill
Friday, November 5
Black Skies (http://blackskies.us/)
Cough (http://www.myspace.com/cough666)
Resister (http://www.myspace.com/resisternc)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
Saturday, November 6
Organos
Phil Cook and his Feat
Trotter Building, Durham
This is an afternoon show that takes place during the 1-5pm CraftShow
that's part of Troika for the 2nd year now.
Saturday, November 6
Chatham County Line (http://www.chathamcountyline.com/)
Filthybird (http://www.myspace.com/filthybird)
Motorco Music Hall, Durham
This is an early set (Filthybird start at 7:00!), so plan accordingly.
Filthybird make gorgeous, beautifully off-kilter artpop. And Chatham
County Line are the tightest band, regardless of genre, in North Carolina.
Saturday, November 6
Datahata
Zeke Graves
The Loom
Junk Culture
Trotter Building, Durham
This Troika lineup was curated by Grayson & Greg from the Independent
Weekly's Hopscotch Festival.
Saturday, November 6
Billy Sugarfix (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/billysugarfix.htm)
Mount Moriah (http://www.myspace.com/mountmoriah)
Joe Romeo (http://www.myspace.com/joeromeomusic)
The Futurebirds (http://www.myspace.com/thefuturebirds)
Fullsteam Brewery, Durham
The not-yet-released Mount Moriah album contains a song, "Plane," that
will likely occupy the "Song of the Year" spot for me, whether or not it
actually ever gets released in 2010. They're more than likely to play it
live tonight; you'll know it when you hear it.
Saturday, November 6
Man . . . or Astro-man? (http://www.astroman.com)
Fiend Without a Face (http://www.myspace.com/fiendwithoutafaceband)
Nightmare Waterfall (http://www.myspace.com/nightmarewaterfall)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
Really? Man ... or Astroman? For real? And is this the original lineup,
or one of the three duplicate bands they put together to fulfill the
high demand, back when anybody gave a shit about surf bands with overly
elaborate narratives?
Saturday, November 6
Wigg Report (http://www.synchronizedswim.org)
Spider Bags (http://www.myspace.com/spiderbags)
Last Year's Men (http://www.myspace.com/lastyearsmenband)
The Pinhook, Durham
Ounce-for-ounce, the Troika show with the most ironclad guarantee to
satisfy back-to-front, end-to-end. All three of these bands play their
guts out. The new Last Year's Men record, "Sunny Down Snuff," is most
def in the running for #1 on my list.
I suppose if you need more persuading, there's always the Washington
Post.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/11/really_quick_spins_garage_rock.html
Saturday, November 6
Birds of Avalon (http://www.myspace.com/birdsofavalon)
Gray Young (http://www.myspace.com/grayyoung)
Shipwrecker (http://www.myspace.com/shipwreckermuzak)
Gross Ghost (http://www.myspace.com/grossghost)
The Casbah, Durham
The Birds of Avalon are making their second appearance in Durham in as
many months, after totally stunning the crowd at the MotorCo Music
Hall's grand opening. If you haven't seen them in a year or so, you
really haven't seen them at all.
Saturday, November 6
Damien Jurado (http://www.damienjurado.com/)
Shearwater (http://jound.com/shearwater/main.html)
Local 506, Chapel Hill
Saturday, November 6
Hammer No More the Fingers (http://www.hnmtf.com)
Pink Flag (http://www.myspace.com/pinkflagnc)
Cassis Orange
Motorco Music Hall, Durham
Troika closes out the weekend with this lineup of hometown heroes,
including the spunky keyboard pop of Autumn Ehinger's Cassis Orange, the
spiky artpunk of Pink Flag, and MotorCo house band Hammer No More the
Fingers.
Saturday, November 6
The Bleeding Hearts (http://www.thebleedinghearts.net/home.html)
The Royal Nites
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh
Saturday, November 6
Wizardry (http://www.myspace.com/wizardrylives)
HOG
Mortals (http://www.myspace.com/mortalstheband)
Reservoir, Carrboro
Sunday, November 7
North Elementary (http://www.northelementary.com)
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham
No rest for the weary *or* the wicked, whichever category we fall into.
North Elementary have just released a new CD, "Southern Rescue Trails,"
and have almost certainly completely revamped their lineup since the
last time they played for us. 4:00 p.m. at 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.
Sunday, November 7
Miniature Tigers (http://www.myspace.com/miniaturetigers)
Freelance Whales (http://www.myspace.com/freelancewhales)
Local 506, Chapel Hill
Monday, November 8
The Charming Youngsters (http://www.myspace.com/thecharmingyoungsters)
Grandchildren (http://www.myspace.com/grandchildren)
Local 506, Chapel Hill
Tuesday, November 9
Bright Young Things
Boy Without God
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
The Bright Young Things are members of a growing local contingent of
bands in love with the 70s pub-rock sounds of bands like Badfinger & the
Faces. But then who isn't in love with Badfinger & the Faces?
Tuesday, November 9
Land of Talk (http://www.myspace.com/landoftalk)
Suuns (http://www.myspace.com/suuns_)
Local 506, Chapel Hill
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