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  • From: grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: RTP-area local music and culture <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Stuff to Do, Week of August 23, 2005
  • Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 19:12:28 -0400

Troika Music Festival, natch, but a few other things tossed in here-and-there as well. There is also a show at Wetlands on Sunday that I forgot to list, with Torch Marauder, Renelvis the Filipino Elvis Impersonator, and a band from the northeast called Guaranteed Katch. Onward:


Tuesday, August 23
Viva La Venus, The Quarantines [http://www.thequarantines.com],
Lactose Quervo [http://myspace.com/lactosequervo], Red Collar Company
[http://www.redcollarcompany.com], The Standbys
[http://www.thestandbys.com]
Joe & Jo's, Durham

This is Night One of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. Lineup as follows:

7:45 The Standbys
8:35 Red Collar Company
9:25 Lactose Quervo
10:15 The Quarantines
11:05 Viva La Venus

Cantwell Gomez & Jordan had to cancel.



Tuesday, August 23
Feeding the Fire [http://www.feedingthefire.com/], Veronique
Diabolique [http://www.veroniquediabolique.com/], Eyes to Space
[http://www.eyestospace.net/], Fashion Design
[http://fashiondesignband.com/], Jett Rink
[http://www.jett-rink.com/]
Wetlands, Chapel Hill

This is Night One of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. More info on passes & etc can be had at their website.
The lineup is as follows:

8:00 Feeding the Fire
8:50 Veronique Diabolique
9:40 Eyes to Space
10:30 Fashion Design
11:20 Jett Rink

Briefly: Feeding the Fire may or may not be some sort of
indie-alt-prog-rock. Veronique Diabolique are definitely French Goths
from Durham. Eyes to Space are nerd-pop--nerdier than Weezer but not
as nerdy (or as subversive) as, say, Devo. Fashion Design are neo-80s
Brit-swirl-pop-rock revivalists--think Siouxie, 4AD, maybe a tiny
touch of Joy Division. Jett Rink are the Triangle's own frenetic
new-wave-surf-indie-dance-rock sensations.



Tuesday, August 23
Of Montreal [http://www.angelfire.com/ga/ofmontreal/], The Management
[http://www.gamil.com/management.html]
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Wednesday, August 24
Art Lord and the Self Portraits [http://www.ideasforhousecrafts.com],
Spader, The Port Huron Statement [http://www.porthuronstatement.com/],
Blackstrap [http://blackstrap.org], Lud
[http://www.smithlevelrecords.com]
Kings, Raleigh

This is Night Two of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. Lineup as follows:

7:45 Sold
8:35 Lud
9:25 Blackstrap
10:15 Port Huron Statement
11:05 Spader
11:55 Art Lord and the Self Portraits

Lud have been around for at least a decade, and consistently make some
of the most beautiful vast sweeping "rock" music in the Triangle,
while simultaneously being about as modest & self-effacing as is
humanly possible.

Port Huron Statement make skewed pop/rock that's "glam" in the
early-70s-Bowie sense of the word.

Blackstrap are from Durham & they make bratty falling-apart punkrock
late-70s-California style. Last I heard their bassist had up & quit
again, so who knows what that means.

Art Lord & his Self-Portraits have an elaborate back-story involving
cloning. Dunno how the sideburns & the cheap keyboards fit into it,
though.



Wednesday, August 24
Jaguaro, Hotel Motel [http://www.hot-mot.com], Maple Stave
[http://www.maplestave.com], Phon, Spacelab
Joe & Jo's, Durham

This is Night Two of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. Lineup as follows:

7:30 Jaguaro
8:15 Hotel Motel
9:00 Maple Stave
- - - - - - - - - -
9:45 D. Cantwell's Pocketful of Experimental Delights
> Phon
> Clang Quartet
> SpaceLab
> Data Hata
> Glockenspiel
> Jazz Brunch

Jaguaro are a rabid ravenous insanely low-tech gtr/drums duo with Jon
E. Walker on guitar & snarling, and Maria Brubeck on playing drums &
looking as happy as any human being ever has. They do a slowed-down
cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" that's just sick.

Hotel Motel make "pop" songs that slide right along the narrowest edge
of what might still be called "pop." They veer all over & usually
finish in under two minutes. Call it "pop" as played by jazzbos &
avant-garde rock weirdos.

Maple Stave are a mathy three-piece whose songs build and build around
the crashing drums of Evan Rowe.
D. Cantwell likely won't be present, due to a death in his family, but
he's nevertheless assembled a showcase of a half-dozen of his favorite
local avant/noise / improv/something-else outfits, including the
one-man percussion band Clang Quartet, the blips-and-drones of
Spacelab, and the massed pedal army called Glockenspiel.



Wednesday, August 24
The Quarantines [http://www.thequarantines.com], Monsonia
[http://www.monsonia.com], The Narrator
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Wednesday, August 24
Jule Brown [http://www.julebrown.org], The Balance
[http://www.thebalanceband.com/]
Fuse, Chapel Hill



Wednesday, August 24
Mowing Lawns [http://www.dyss.net/mlawns.html], Mike Tamburo
[http://www.miketamburo.com]
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, August 25
The Mountain Goats [http://www.themountaingoats.net/], The Prayers and
Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers [http://www.prayersandtears.com/], Wigg
Report, David Karsten Daniels [http://www.davidkarstendaniels.com/],
Billy Sugarfix [http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/billysugarfix.htm]
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham

This is Night Three of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. Lineup as follows:

7:45 Billy Sugarfix
8:15 Schwervon
8:40 David Karsten Daniels
9:20 Alina Simone
10:00 The Wigg Report
10:45 Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers
11:30 The Mountain Goats

Mountain Goats you know about, right? Usedta be ultra-low-fi, all
adenoids and hiss and fantastical tales of myth & tragedy. Now hi-fi
and autobiographical.

Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers seem to really enchant the
serious-into-music undergrads, with their intensely personal lyrics
and their turn-on-a-dime transitions from quiet intimacy to
blow-down-the-walls bombast.

Wigg Report are Durham summertime anti-folk with pleasantly off-kilter
reeds.

Billy Sugarfix: love, good rhymes, and theremin.



Thursday, August 25
Ricky Dollars [http://homepages.nyu.edu/%7Erda211/], Fluff Chick
[http://www.duke.edu/~alangley/fluffchick2.htm], Junior Varsity
Superheroes [http://myspace.com/juniorvarsitysuperheroes], Opening
Flower Happy Bird [http://www.myspace.com/openingflowerhappybird], Dom
Casual
Joe & Jo's, Durham

Night Three of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music
Festival. Lineup as follows:

8:00 Ricky Dollars
8:50 Fluff Chick
9:40 Junior Varsity Superheroes
10:30 Opening Flower Happy Bird
11:20 Dom Casual

Ricky Dollars is the current performing alter-ego of one Richard
Allen, who recently pendulumed back to the Triangle. Fluff Chick
formed many years ago out of the skeleton of a Rock Lotto band; they
feature Wusses trumpeter Jeff Herrick. Junior Varsity Superheroes are
like that 80s metal band Europe, only with harmonica. Opening Flower
Happy Bird's 5-song EP is my favorite local release of the past 3
months, all dorky beats and spazzy acoustic guitars and two guys
singing unintelligible nonsense in unison. Beautiful. Dom Casual make
vintage garage-rock showcasing the wry lyrical sensibility of Jamie
McLendon.



Thursday, August 25
The Experts [http://www.expertsrock.com], The People Under the Bridge
[http://www.duckonbike.com/artistinfo.asp?artistid=378], Ticonderoga
[http://www.ticonderobics.com/], North Elementary
[http://www.northelementary.com], Strange
[http://www.thisisstrange.org]
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Night Three of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music
Festival. Lineup as follows:

8:25 The Experts
9:15 People Under the Bridge
10:05 Ticonderoga
10:55 North Elementary
11:45 Strange

Ticonderoga are from Raleigh & their debut self-titled CD (did that
come out earlier this year or last year? The months just blur
together) is one of the most auspicious indie-rock debuts of the past
year. Wee bit Pavementy, but with strings and a sort of breathy
quietness that Malkmus never could get into.

Strange are also from Raleigh & they make crazy echoey kinda
Birthday-Partyish rock with doses of trumpet & weird keyboard things.



Friday, August 26
The Rosebuds [http://www.therosebuds.com/], I Am the World Trade
Center [http://www.iamluxe.com/worldtrade/], The Sames
[http://www.thesames.com], Gerty [http://www.gerty.org], Tennis and
the Mennonites [http://www.tennisandthemennonites.com]
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham

This is Night Four of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika
Music Festival. One program note: The Whole World Laughing, a duo
consisting of Clang Quartet's Scotty Irving on drums &
CantwellGomezJordan's Dave Cantwell on bass, were booked to play this
show but may be unable to perform due to a death in Dave Cantwell's
family. The rest of the lineup:

7:45 The Whole World Laughing
8:35 Tennis and the Mennonites
9:25 Gerty!
10:15 The Sames
11:05 I Am the World Trade Center
11:55 The Rosebuds

I don't know whether, if TWWL can't make it, the whole lineup will be
moved up by 50 minutes or what. Use your discretion.

Tennis & the Mennonites make hiccuppy stutter-stepping gtr-bass-drums
indierock that channels some of the most appealing aspects of all yr
favorite nervous-art-student bands (Feelies, T. Heads). They're young
& at-times sloppy & that's good.

Gerty! recently snapped up ex-Butchies drummer Melissa York, who seems
like she'll be a perfect fit for their brand of quirky 80s-revivalist
nerd-pop. Her glasses even match.

The Sames are loud and blurry and blissful, and the Rosebuds are
adorable, and I don't need to tell you either of those things.



Friday, August 26
The Physics of Meaning [http://www.thephysicsofmeaning.com/], Regina
Hexaphone [http://www.reginahexaphone.com], The Winter Blanket
[http://www.blanketmusic.com/], Erie Choir, The Strugglers
[http://www.thestrugglers.org/]
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Night Four of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music
Festival; call it "serious indie-songwriter night" or something.
Lineup:

8:25 Physics of Meaning
9:15 Regina Hexaphone
10:05 Winter Blanket
10:55 Erie Choir
11:45 The Strugglers

Physics of Meaning feature 2/3ds of Ticonderoga, plus Daniel Hart
(ex-Go Machine) and Ann Polesnak of Utah!.

Regina Hexaphone is the countryishrockish outfit of Shark Quest's Sara
Bell, who actually sings! (She's done it before, with Angels of
Epistemology, Dish, and sitting in with Lud, but rarely more than one
or two songs in a row)

Erie Choir is the Eliott-Smithish band of Eric Roehrig (Sorry About
Dresden); their "Bad Tsars is a Drag" EP was my fave release of last
year, I think.

The Strugglers have a new CD due out in October that isn't only their
best yet; it's a shoo-in for my top-5 of 2005.



Friday, August 26
Jack the Radio [http://www.purevolume.com/jacktheradio], Dirty Little
Heaters [http://www.myspace.com/thedirtylittleheaters], America's Next
Top Models [http://www.myspace.com/americasnexttopmodels], The
Moaners, Fontana
Joe & Jo's, Durham

Night Four of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music
Festival. The lineup:

8:25 Jack the Radio
9:15 Dirty Little Heaters
10:05 Americas Next Top Models
10:55 The Moaners
11:45 Fontana

Information is sketchy . . . America's Next Top Models are a Durham
supergroup, featuring members of CantwellGomezandJordan, Holy Roman
Empire, and Maple Stave; they have a song about Condoleezza Rice.

The Moaners are Melissa Swingle (ex-Trailer Bride) and Laura King
(ex-Grand National) doing swampy gtr-drums duo stuff; when they rock
it up & stomp it out, they're near-unbeatable.



Friday, August 26
Gabe Dixon Band [http://www.gabedixonband.com/], Jule Brown
[http://www.julebrown.org], Choosy Beggars
[http://www.thechoosybeggars.com]
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Saturday, August 27
Portastatic [http://www.portastatic.com], Work Clothes
[http://www.bullfightparty.org], Schooner
[http://www.schoonermusic.com], Audubon Park
[http://audubonpark.blogspot.com], Bellafea
[http://www.bellafea.com/]
305 South, Durham

Night Five & the Grand Finale of the
[http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music Festival, at the
brand-new 305 South in Durham, which is the new club opened by James &
Michelle from Ooh La Latte, presumably sans whatever mysterious
problems plagued their previous venture. Ooh La was such an excellent
place to see live music that I've got High Hopes for the new joint.
And what better way to inaugurate it:

11:30 Farmer Jason and Friends :: FREE!
4:20 Odd International
5:10 Polynya
6:00 The Balance
6:50 Goner
7:40 Audubon Park
8:30 Bellafea
9:20 Schooner
10:10 Work Clothes
11:00 Tenement Halls
12:00 Portastatic

Highlights: Farmer Jason is Jason Ringenberg of Jason & the Scorchers;
it's some kind of weird kid-friendly alter-ego. Odd Int'l is some
Raleigh jazz-funk weirdos. Polynya is member[s] of Roxxotica & Fashion
Design (and others) doing swirly murk-pop. The Balance is the band of
final Ashley Stove guitarist Jim Brantley. Goner are
bass-keyboards-drums and they make music that I'd like to call "emo"
if that term didn't have so many useless connotations nowadays.

Audubon Park are my favorite "indie-rock" (in the classic mid-90s
we-be-fukt-up sense of the term) band working 'round here. Bellafea
are a girl/boy gtr/drums duo and their 2nd-to-last-song last Saturday
at the Cat's Cradle was the best thing I've ever seen them do (and
I've seen them do some damnfine things in the past, too).

Schooner make swoony pop except for occasionally when they get all
frantic. Work Clothes are Lee & Jenny, except when they're more than
that. Whispery whispery quiet with singing & gently strumming, until
that moment halfway through "The New Pop Mafia" when the pickslide and
the dirty channel and the boom.

Tenement Halls is the new band of Chris (Rock*A*Teens) Lopez, and
while the songs I heard seem slightly more baroque/pop than the
R*A*Ts, and they don't sound like they were recorded at the bottom of
the world's largest well, still, I can hear the connection, in a good
way.

There is a new Portastatic album out. Jim Wilbur is their bass player.
Please begin rehearsing your heckles now. Suggested example: "Hey Jim,
glad to see you finally got a real job."



Saturday, August 27
April Crider, Destroyed By Kittens
[http://www.littlemissmessy.net/dbk/], Trip, Mogote
[http://www.mogotemusic.net/], Water Callers
Joe & Jo's, Durham

Night Five of the [http://www.troikamusicfestival.org] Troika Music
Festival. Lineup:

7:00 Shawn Deena
7:40 April Crider
8:20 Destroyed by Kittens
9:00 Trip
9:40 Mogote
10:20 Water Callers



Sunday, August 28
Maple Stave [http://www.maplestave.com]
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham

The Maple Stave are a Durham three-piece who keep drummer Evan Rowe at
the center of their pulsating, vaguely mathy songs; gtr and bass fly
around him like an electron cloud, or the rubber-band-ball model of an
electron cloud that your high-school Chem teacher had on his desk.
5:00 p.m. 88.7 FM or www.wxdu.org.



Sunday, August 28
The Crimson Spectre [http://www.slavemagazine.com/crimsonspectre/],
Boxcar Bertha, Mortar and Pestle, Warbomb!
[http://www.myspace.com/warbomb]
Greene Street, Greensboro

I dunno exactly where Greene Street is (well, it's 113 N. Greene St.
in Greensboro, but that's all I got) but this is a free all-ages show,
and it begins at 8:00 p.m.

Crimson Spectre play speedy chugga-chugga hardcore with smart leftist
political lyrics (and the occasional Misfits cover, natch). They rule.
Mortar and Pestle were from Chapel Hill when they were in high school;
now that they're in college, they're from Greensboro, and they make
sweet, nerdily-anthemic indie-rock with offkey boy/girl vocals.
Warbomb feature members of All Astronauts & Kudzu Wish.



Sunday, August 28
Pernice Brothers [http://www.pernicebrothers.com/], Cloud Room, Jose
Ayerve
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Monday, August 29
Flicker [http://www.chapel-hill.nc.us/flicker]
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Back-to-school edition of Flicker, which I don't know what that means
so I dunno why I said it. Flicker is a long-running (10yearsplus)
short-film screening series; everything originates on film & nothing's
longer than 20 minutes. There are prizes, and cookies, and since it's
at the Cradle, nosmoking and beer. Admission is like $3 and it starts
at 8:00, so you've got no possible reason not to go.



Monday, August 29
A Rooster for the Masses
[http://www.myspace.com/aroosterforthemasses], Tiger Bear Wolf
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is a free show. A Rooster For The Masses are from Raleigh, and
the one song I've heard (and played over-and-over) is kinda breezy &
percolating in a sorta europop-meets-LeeScratchPerry kind of way. OK,
not that dubby, but odd.

Tiger Bear Wolf are from Greensboro and at their best (on record, at
least) sound like Lemmy doing guest vocals for a good
postpunk/indierock/{emo} type band. Translation: they're from
Greensboro. I said that.



--------> http://www.trianglerock.com <--------




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