RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Friday, July 20
Arrogance    (http://www.arrogance.us/)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

They started out as a sort of gothic metal outfit in 1969 (their first 
single was "Black Death,") but soon enough evolved into a tight & by all 
accounts impressive bar-rock band whose chief flaws, such as they were, 
were a tendency to wuss out on their records, and a persecution complex 
that resulted in a few too many songs about how unappreciated they all 
were, by audiences and clubowners.

Then they broke up, and Don Dixon went on to produce REM records. All 
the 40-ish rockers who grew up around North Carolina still idolize them 
as the gods they surely were, back in the 70s. Hence the periodic 
reunion shows, of which this is one.



Friday, July 20
Jimmy & The Teasers    (http://www.geocities.com/booze1031/teasers.html)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Friday, July 20
The Dynamite Brothers    (http://www.dynamitebrothers.com/)
The Needles    (http://www.moonrockneedles.com/)
Rod Wallace & the Mess
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Dynamite Brothers are a kinda crazed blues-boogie gtr/drums/organ trio; 
they've been playing in one incarnation or another for 7+ years, but 
lately they've been obliged to take it easy while drummer Scott Nurkin 
jets all over the country with the Birds of Avalon. Catch 'em as you 
can, then.



Friday, July 20
Betty and the Boys    (http://www.myspace.com/bettyandtheboys)
Dropsonic    (http://www.myspace.com/dropsonic)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Saturday, July 21
snmnmnm    (http://www.snmnmnm.com/)
New Town Drunks    (http://www.newtowndrunks.com/)
Pneurotics    (http://www.myspace.com/pneurotics)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, July 21
Robo Sapien    (http://www.gorobosapien.com/)
The Ex-Members    (http://www.myspace.com/theexmembers)
Gravy Train    (http://www.gimmegravytrain.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Ex-Members have just released a new 3-song EP that's the best 
representation yet of their New Wave dance-pop. Singer Shirle 
Hale-Koslowski's voice is rich & supple & flat-out demands that they be 
taken more seriously than your average revivalist electroclash band.

Robo Sapien = Queer dance-party hip-hop to the maxxx.



Saturday, July 21
Vibrant Green    (http://vibrantgreen.iuma.com)
Essie Jain    (http://www.essiejain.com/)
Lost in the Trees    (http://www.lostinthetrees.com)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Lost in the Trees is the art-pop side-project of The Never's Ari Picker, 
for which he drafted a bunch of his Berklee College classmates.



Saturday, July 21
Spider Bags    (http://www.myspace.com/spiderbags)
Ostracon
Wake Up Dead    (http://www.myspace.com/wakeupdead00)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Spider Bags are a drunken, vaguely countryish bar-rock band, who sound 
like their favorite album is probably "The Shit Hits the Fans." Wake Up 
Dead are friends of theirs from Jersey who sound kinda like the earliest 
rockabilly Misfits, or rather like that's what they're trying to sound like.



Saturday, July 21
Ear Pwr    (http://www.myspace.com/earpwr)
Pink Motor Monsters    (http://www.myspace.com/pinkmotormonsters)
Culture Prophet    (http://www.myspace.com/cultureprophet)
Blend, Chapel Hill



Saturday, July 21
Olympic Ass Kicking Team    (http://www.terryandersonrocks.com/)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Sunday, July 22
Monologue Bombs    (http://www.myspace.com/themonologuebombs)
Sara Bell
The Cave, Chapel Hill

This is the early show. Sara Bell has been in the following bands, among 
others: Angels of Epistemology, Dish, Shark Quest, Regina Hexaphone. 
Monologue Bombs is Scott Phillips, who also plays keyboards and sings in 
Goner. In the Bombs, he plays mostly accordion & sings.



Sunday, July 22
Caltrop    (http://www.myspace.com/caltropband)
Black Skies    (http://www.myspace.com/losblackskies)
Big Business    (http://www.bigbigbusiness.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

I heard Black Skies on WXYC the other day; they sounded freaking huge. 
They've got a new-ish drummer who claims he's never played metal before; 
maybe that makes him try extra-hard, I dunno. Whatever it is, they were 
ginormous (it's a word now! Look it up!).

Still weren't as huge as Caltrop, though. Caltrop are like if someone 
very gently snatched the moon out of the sky and placed it on your head, 
where it rested for a millisecond before utterly destroying you.

Big Business are two guys, one from Karp and one from Murder City 
Devils. Somewhat mysteriously, they were also briefly half of the 
Melvins last year.



Monday, July 23
Bishop Allen    (http://www.bishopallen.com/)
The Teeth    (http://www.myspace.com/teeth)
Page France    (http://www.pagefrance.net)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Monday, July 23
Colossus    (http://www.myspace.com/thecolossuswillcrushyou)
The Fury Collective    (http://www.myspace.com/thefurycollective)
Towers of Hanoi    (http://www.towersofhanoi.org)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Tuesday, July 24
Detroit Cobras    (http://www.motorcityrocks.com/cobras.htm)
Willowz    (http://www.thewillowz.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Tuesday, July 24
Hope and Anchor    (http://www.hopeandanchormusic.com/)
Anaturale    (http://www.myspace.com/anaturale)
Arms and Sleepers    (http://www.myspace.com/armsandsleepers)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Hope and Anchor are from Asheville; they make raw/stripped-down folk-core.



Tuesday, July 24
New Brutalism 
(http://www.musical-adventures.com/band_pages/newb/newbrutalism.htm)
Dr. Powerful    (http://drpowerful.googlepages.com)
Hazerai    (http://www.myspace.com/hazerai)
Soldat Brut    (http://myspace.com/soldatbrut)
Reservoir, Carrboro

Hazerai are a loud, slashing post-Fugazi postpunk band. Dr. Powerful 
make indie-space-rock, from Sanford.



Wednesday, July 25
Tennis and the Mennonites    (http://www.tennisandthemennonites.com)
Creeping Weeds    (http://www.myspace.com/creepingweeds)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

This is the late (10:00 p.m.) show. Tennis & the Mennonites write weird 
nervous catchy pop songs, with a little debt to folks like the Feelies & 
Jonathan Richman.



Wednesday, July 25
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies 
(http://www.myspace.com/violetvectorandthelovelylovelies)
Marnie Stern    (http://www.marniestern.com)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies are a bona-fide 60s-style Girl 
Group--big echo, harmonies & Laugh-In trapeze dresses & all.



Wednesday, July 25
Boyzone    (http://www.myspace.com/boyszone)
Eagle Ager    (http://www.eagleager.com)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, July 26
Shadow Play
The Foundry Field Recordings    (http://www.battlebrigades.com/)
Un Deux Trois    (http://www.undeuxtroisband.com/)
Barghest    (http://www.myspace.com/jesseainslie)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Un Deux Trois is the new main thing of Bellfea frontwoman Heather 
McEntire. She's joined by Jenks Miller (In The Year of the Pig, 
Horseback, Mount Moriah) on drums, and Maria Albani (Pleasant) on bass.



Thursday, July 26
Blag'ard    (http://www.blagard.com/)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

Joe Taylor used to be in Capsize 7, back in the '90s. They had the 
screwy guitars that characterized the era, but bigger & more-bombastic 
song stylings.

His new band is just Joe on guitar (with extra whammy bar) & vocals, and 
someone else on drums.



Thursday, July 26
Marah    (http://www.marah-usa.com/)
Willis Breeding
Local 506, Chapel Hill

If you want it in seven words: Marah are Philly's answer to Bruce 
Springsteen. And by that I mean mostly the outsize E Street Band 
exuberance, the love of melding too-many-words with Phil Spector-size 
walls of rock-n-roll.



Friday, July 27
Future Islands    (http://www.myspace.com/futureislands)
Ear Pwr    (http://www.myspace.com/earpwr)
Eagle Ager    (http://www.eagleager.com)
The Werehouse, Winston-Salem



Friday, July 27
Hwyl    (http://www.myspace.com/hwylmusic)
The Drownout    (http://thedrownout.com)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Friday, July 27
Eyes to Space    (http://www.eyestospace.net/)
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
Sleepsound    (http://www.sleepsound.org/)
Pneurotics    (http://www.myspace.com/pneurotics)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



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