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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