RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Wednesday, November 22
Earl Greyhound    (http://www.myspace.com/earlgreyhound)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

NY trio compared by Sasha Frere-Jones to Led Zeppelin, a comparison even he
admits is kinda empty at this point. Nevertheless, the consensus (among
pantywaisted NY "rock" critics, that is) appears to be that they rock.



Wednesday, November 22
Volcano The Bear    (http://brainwashed.com/vtb)
Felt Battery
Feral Pony
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Nightlight says:

YAY! Volcano the Bear and then we eat marshmallow sweet potatoes with a
fried turkey injected with garlic balls. This show will rule forever. We are
but too lucky and must GIVE THANKS! Felt Battery and Feral Pony will provide
lead in power by summoning crystal energy from bacon wrapped shrimp dogs and
blue sparkle crest fighting cocks. Experimental Music, good times, and the
U.K.'s most amazing mongrel jazz ensemble ever.



Thursday, November 23
DMVB    (http://www.myspace.com/dmvb)
Kings, Raleigh

It's the annual Thanksgiving show, featuring DMVB, a supergroup including
Danny Vaughn (Mothlight, Noncanon), Viswas Chitnis (Pro-L), and I dunno who
else.



Sunday, November 26
The Hold Steady    (http://www.theholdsteady.com/)
The Big Sleep    (http://thebigsleep.net/)
Victory Factory
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

OK, I'll readily admit I enjoyed last year's Hold Steady album (haven't
heard this year's yet), and the cram-packed show at 506 was fairly amusing
for 15-20 minutes or so, until the 200+ fanboys in the room started to
become just a little too much to take, what with the singing along & the
yelling things and the one dude down front sprinkling beer on the lip of the
stage like holy water. We spent some time trying to distinguish the ironic
mullets from the unironic mullets, and then we split for fresh air &
freedom.

In case you missed it entirely: Springsteeny anthem-rock, ostensibly about
the street kids frontman Craig Finn grew up with/around/among; the
lyrics<http://www.theholdsteady.com/lyrics.php>[
http://www.theholdsteady.com/lyrics.php] are 88-miles-a-minute, and
delivered with a drawly sneer that makes Mike Ness sound like Alistair
Cooke.

Victory Factory are the brand-newish band from Ron Liberti (Pipe, Ghost of
Rock, Bringerer), Joe Romeo (Fake Swedish) and various other local
luminaries.



Tuesday, November 28
A/V Geeks    (http://www.avgeeks.com)
Kings, Raleigh

Please note/remember/rejoice that Kings is currently nonsmoking til
Midnight. Furthermore, Skip says: "When Mascots Attack! Given the success of
Smokey the Bear and Woodsy the Owl, a whole army of z-grade mascots appeared
on the school film scene. The AV Geeks are happy to present some of the most
ill-conceived they've found committed to film. Films include:Soapy the Germ
Fighter, Roscoe's Rules, Let's Find Something Better To Do and more.
Suggested Donation $5. 8:00pm"



Tuesday, November 28
Anathallo    (http://www.anathallo.com/)
Page France    (http://www.pagefrance.net)
Sweater Weather    (http://www.sweater-weather.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Tuesday, November 28
Amish Jihad    (http://www.myspace.com/amishjihad)
Cinemechanica    (http://www.cinemechanica.com/)
Alvarez Painting    (http://www.trekkyrecords.com/alva/index.html)
Wetlands, Chapel Hill



Wednesday, November 29
Project Bluebird
Kings, Raleigh

Project Bluebird is a mid-distance mail-trading composition/improv
collective which includes a couple of guys from the large Charlotte-based
drone-pop band Pyramid, plus other folks including Carrie Shull (oboist to
the stars) and Crowmeat Bob. There was a photo of Dr. Chadbourne in the Indy
this week, but he'll only be there in some abstract spiritual sense. The
actual lineup: Brent Bagwell - reeds; Ben Kennedy - cello; Ron Brendle -
double bass; Carrie Shull - oboe/english horn; Crowmeat Bob - reeds



Wednesday, November 29
DAT Politics    (http://www.datpolitics.com/)
DJ Maerkus Mark
Kevin Blechdom    (http://www.kevyb.com/)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Nightlight sez:

This is loony tunes craZY midweek dance night. We seem to have a lot of
these these days. DAT Politics is one of the world's foremost laptop
computer music groups ever in the world, especially from France AND when it
comes to weird dance music infected with rhythm and blues plus overly active
sing-a-longs. When I first heard them it was all weirdo laptop noise slapped
together and taffy pulled into hyperactivity, somewhere between nerdy dance
music and straight up martian babble. Now the band seems to have coalesced
into some kind of Bionic Peaches on Soy. Fascinating. Kevin Blechdom is an
enigma of androgenous pop power, and both DP and KB have records out on
Chicks on Speed. Of course, Maerkus Mark would like to send you off to Space
Camp wearing nothing but a Speedo and crazy X-Ray glasses, but you're
getting his sick Euro-styled party in a box.



Wednesday, November 29
Black Socks    (http://www.myspace.com/blacksocks)
Heads on Sticks    (http://www.thisisstrange.org/)
Alphas Wear Grey    (http://www.alphasweargrey.com/)
Bickett Gallery, Raleigh



Thursday, November 30
Conceptual    (http://www.myspace.com/conceptualnc)
Marvell Building, Durham



Thursday, November 30
Hearts and Daggers    (http://www.heartsanddaggers.com/ )
Raleigh Music Hall, Raleigh

Back before we invented alt-country, they just called it Cowpunk.



Thursday, November 30
The Psychic Paramount    (http://www.thepsychicparamount.com/)
In the Year of the Pig    (http://www.southernloveprod.com/ityotp.htm)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

In the Year of the Pig are a huge droning throbbing beast of sound; I
believe this show is gonna feature *two* drummers, one of them being usual
ITYOTP drummer Jenks Miller, and the other being David Cantwell (!). I think
they're my new favorite band. Nightlight says this about The Psychic
Paramount:

The out-of-towners from the Giant Red Storm of Jupiter are the trio called
The Psychic Paramount, whose last album Gamelan into the Mink Supernatural
is pretty fucking brilliant and certainly has helped some of us feeling the
ever-expanding personal need for insanely frenetic and heavy instrumental
rock that modern times dictates unfairly. Guitar Bass and Drums makes it
sound so droll, but that's all there is to it, even though you would swear
that sixteen twelve headed beasts were all simultaneously playing raw papaya
bombs with their steel teeth.



Thursday, November 30
Summer Sorcerer    (http://www.myspace.com/summersorcerer)
Blag'ard    (http://www.blagard.com/)
Bolo
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Summer Sorceror is Dave Laney from Milemarker, Eddie Sanchez from Fin Fang
Foom, one or more of the dudes from Kerbloki, and I'm not even sure who
else. Blag'ard is the solo indie-rock project of ex-Capsize 7/Lystra
guitarist Joe Taylor.



Thursday, November 30
Calico Haunts    (http://www.myspace.com/calicohaunts)
John Howie
Fuse, Chapel Hill

John Howie, Jr. is the longtime frontman of the Two Dollar Pistols, of
course, who're the finest country band to come from Chapel Hill since, well,
either Hege V or Pine State, depending on your tastes in country.



Thursday, November 30
Dr. Powerful    (http://drpowerful.googlepages.com)
Fistfight    (http://www.myspace.com/thisisfistfight)
Reservoir, Carrboro

Dr. Powerful are from Sanford & they've got ex-Polvo drummer Eddie Watkins,
although their new material is creeping in the direction of Roads to Space
Travel.



Friday, December 1
Joe G's Cover Band Explosion
The Flying Anvil, Greensboro

Recognizing that it's way too far to drive from Greensboro to Raleigh to see
the Kings Cover-Up, Joe Garrigan (Urinal, a shitload of other bands) has
assembled this tribute to the tributes. Partial "lineup" as follows:

The Cure
The Velvet Underground
The Rolling Stones
Whiskey Town
George Harrison
Ben Folds



Friday, December 1
Webb Wilder    (http://www.webbwilder.com/)
Hideaway BBQ, Raleigh

Hideaway BBQ is the new BBQ joint/country music emporium in Raleigh (on
Capital Blvd north of the Beltline). They appear to be serious about both
the BBQ and the country music, and you can apparently readily mix the two
via their dinner-and-a-show packages. I haven't been there yet, so I can't
comment on the execution of either, but I do know that they've booked an
ambitious slate of alt-country luminaries, including the first Triangle
appearance by Webb Wilder in I don't know how long.



Friday, December 1
S.C.O.T.S.    (http://www.scots.com/)
Jule Brown    (http://www.julebrown.org)
Lincoln Theater, Raleigh

In case you live in Raleigh, or can't wait until the December 16th SCOTS
show at the Cat's Cradle. Jule Brown has a new album out, recorded at least
in part by Dean Wareham.



Friday, December 1
Chest Pains    (http://www.myspace.com/thechestpains)
Victory Factory
The Cave, Chapel Hill

The Chest Pains are an old-man punkrock band featuring local
writer/stay-at-home dad Greg Barbera, ex-Jett Rink guitarist Tim Ristau, and
Pleasant drummer Eric Hermann. Victory Factory is are an old-man punkrock
band featuring Ron Liberti (Pipe, The Ghost of Rock), Joe Romeo (ex-Fake
Swedish) and I dunno whoall else.



Friday, December 1
Future Islands    (http://www.myspace.com/futureislands)
DJ Rodney French
Spanish Dancer    (http://www.myspace.com/spanishdancerrr)
Valid Core    (http://www.myspace.com/validcore)
The Worst    (http://www.myspace.com/wearetheworst)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Friday, December 1
Fin Fang Foom    (http://www.lovitt.com/artists/finfangfoom.html)
Transportation    (http://www.myspace.com/transportation)
Reservoir, Carrboro

It's the 2nd Anniversary of Reservoir, which also makes it some kind of
commemoration of the demise of Go Studios Room 4, the beloved rockclub that
used to occupy that space. So it's somehow fitting or at least logical that
the two bands playing tonight are the bands of Go prime movers Mike Triplett
(Fin Fang Foom) and Ben Dunlap (Transportation).



Saturday, December 2
Girl Talk    (http://girl-talk.net/)
Robo Sapien    (http://www.gorobosapien.com/)
Kerbloki    (http://www.kerbloki.com/)
Ricky Dollars    (http://www.myspace.com/rickydollars)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Tim Ross of Tuba Frenzy/all those Hell dance parties put this one together.
Girl Talk is from up north somewhere & leverages the awesome power of
cut-n-paste to assemble mega-funky dance jams from the tiny atomic bits of
1000s of other songs. More
here<http://www.tubafrenzy.org/weblog/archives/2006/11/girl_talk_at_lo.html>.
[http://www.tubafrenzy.org/weblog/archives/2006/11/girl_talk_at_lo.html]



Saturday, December 2
The Bravery    (http://www.thebravery.com/)
Radio 4    (http://www.gernblandsten.com)
Lincoln Theater, Raleigh



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