RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Friday, August 24
Monsonia    (http://www.monsonia.com)
Hazerai    (http://www.myspace.com/hazerai)
Rapid Cities    (http://www.myspace.com/rapidcities)
Know-Think    (http://www.myspace.com/knowthink)
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

It's not unusual for me to receive emails from people in bands about 
upcoming shows. It *is* unusual when the emailer isn't even in a band 
that's playing the show. I got this from Evan Rowe (The Maple Stave, 
Grappling Hook):

"Hazerai and Monsonia you probably already know...local boys making the 
big loud rock...spraying all over the place, 
you-can-almost-hear-the-spit-hit-the-mic in the case of the former, and 
tightly wound, burrowing into yr forehead in the latter.

Rapid Cities and Know-Think are from New Brunswick, NJ--Maple Stave 
played with Rapid Cities on tour, and I can attest to their 
rad-super-downstroke awesomeness and energy that could power much of 
Downtown Durham that night should the grid go down. Really--I thought 
their singer was going to pull down the first floor of the house we were 
playing. Strong stuff. And I met the drummer from Know-Think playing in 
an other band, and he's got some chops, people.

We're not even playing and I demand you come out. I feel this strongly."



Friday, August 24
8 Eyes    (http://www.eight-eyes.com)
Dr. Powerful    (http://drpowerful.googlepages.com)
Arma Secreta    (http://armasecreta.com)
Broad Street Cafe, Durham



Friday, August 24
The Cartridge Family    (http://www.cartridge-family.com/)
Sadlack's Heroes, Raleigh

The Cartridge Family are a bar-rocking band from Raleigh with electric 
piano right out front; they sound as though they hold 
Blonde-on-Blonde-era Dylan and the New York Dolls in equally high esteem.



Friday, August 24
In the Year of the Pig    (http://www.southernloveprod.com/ityotp.htm)
Felt Battery
Horseback    (http://www.myspace.com/horsebacknoise)
Rahdunes    (http://www.myspace.com/mindzoo666)
Lakes
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Sweet blessed 200-decibel drone.



Friday, August 24
Alina Simone    (http://www.girlwithguitar.net/)
Jennifer Gentle    (http://www.myspace.com/jennifergentle)
The Dodos    (http://www.myspace.com/mericlong)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Jennifer Gentle is a band, not a woman; they're a psych-rock outfit from 
Italy, in fact.

Alina Simone is a woman; she's just released an album on 54-40 or Fight 
that will inevitably draw comparisons to Cat Power, albeit to the 
earlier, somewhat-more-paranoid Cat Power circa What Would the Community 
Think.



Friday, August 24
The Loners    (http://www.demonbeachrecords.com/loners.html)
Chest Pains    (http://www.myspace.com/thechestpains)
Tooth
The Cave, Chapel Hill

Last week I went to a show at the Cave and there was some guy standing 
out in the alley giving away BBQ'd chicken legs. I have no plan to tie 
that story in to this blurb about the Chest Pains; I just felt like I 
had to tell somebody.

The Chest Pains are three gnarly dudes--Tim Ristau (ex-Jett Rink), Eric 
Hermann (ex-Pleasant) and Greg Barbera (ex-Spectator rockcrit)--who 
probably used to think, back when they were kids, that guys in their 
mid-late 30s shouldn't play punkrock. Nowadays they'd likely take great 
pleasure in either kicking those kids' asses, or promising to buy 'em 
beer and then drinking it all themselves.

This is their CD-release party.



Friday, August 24
Colossus    (http://www.myspace.com/thecolossuswillcrushyou)
Downtown Event Center, Raleigh



Saturday, August 25
Erie Choir    (http://www.eriechoir.com)
North Elementary    (http://www.northelementary.com)
Schooner    (http://www.schoonermusic.com)
The Strugglers    (http://www.thestrugglers.org/)
Wes Phillips    (http://www.myspace.com/wesleydongeroga)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

This is a CD-release party for the great new Schooner album, "Hold On 
Too Tight," and they've invited a bunch of their friends, who happen to 
be some of the best songwriter-led bands in the Triangle, to join them.



Saturday, August 25
Alvarez Painting    (http://www.trekkyrecords.com/alva/index.html)
Straight No Chaser    (http://trekkyrecords.com/snc.html)
Ender    (http://www.myspace.com/6188953)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

It's a Trekky Records showcase of sorts. Alvarez Painting are fast 
becoming the old men of the label; their yelpy-voiced indie-rock is the 
missing link between 90s-style Chapel Hill indie-rock, and the 
21st-century large-ensemble artpop that the label is fast becoming known 
for.



Sunday, August 26
Bull City    (http://www.bullcitytheband.com/)
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham

Bull City put out a great record, "Guns and Butter," earlier this year. 
Soundwise it falls somewhere between Alex Chilton, Jeff Tweedy and Neil 
Young; we'll see where it lands when it's played live on the air. 5:00 
p.m. at 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.



Sunday, August 26
Midtown Dickens    (http://www.myspace.com/midtowndickens)
Screaming Females    (http://www.screamingfemales.com)
The Drowsies    (http://www.drowsies.com/)
Bull City Headquarters, Durham



Wednesday, August 29
DJ Nasty Boots
Robo Sapien    (http://www.gorobosapien.com/)
Nicky Click    (http://www.nickyclick.com)
Diamond Beats    (http://www.myspace.com/diamondbeatsmusic)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, August 30
Clang Quartet    (http://www.myspace.com/clangquartet)
The Whole World Laughing    (http://www.myspace.com/twwl)
Double Muslims    (http://www.doublemuslims.com/)
Diagram A
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Clang Quartet is Scotty Irving, making noise about Jesus. Scotty also 
plays drums in The Whole World Laughing, accompanied by Dave Cantwell on 
the basstar.



Thursday, August 30
Transistor Sun    (http://www.transistorsun.net/)
The Ts    (http://www.myspace.com/thettttt)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

The Ts are a Raleigh rock-n-roll band. Karen Mann always says good 
things about them, and I get the impression from her that they're a 
straight-up rock-n-roll band, as opposed to all that metal that she also 
likes.

Transistor Sun are the current outlet of one Mr. Eric West, who has been 
slaving away in the trenches of alt-rock for the past 15 years or so. I 
first met him when he was playing guitar in a jangly little Connells-ish 
outfit called The Fishermen, 'round about '93 or so. Since then he's had 
any number of other bands, all loosely affiliated with the 
power-pop/alt-rock nation. Transistor Sun is his heaviest yet; they've 
got more than a little Motley Crue peeking through the pop hooks.



Friday, August 31 - Sunday September 2
Local Wildlife Weekend    (http://myspace.com/localwildlifeweekend)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

This is a big three-night festival/benefit put together primarily by 
Frank Heath and Ben Davis. Monetary proceeds go to the Piedmont Wildlife 
Center; less-tangible benefits accrue to *you* as you get caught up on a 
broad array of what's been happening in local music over the past few years.

Little bit of everything here, from the indie-pop/rock of Shakermaker, 
Butterflies, Embarrassing Fruits, Fin Fang Foom, Red Collar and the 
Never; to the hip-hop of Dirty5Thirty; the country/americana of The 
Strugglers, Big Fat Gap, and Roman Candle; and the blue-eyed soul of 
Hobex and Transportation.

Here's a tentative lineup:

FRIDAY, AUG 31

* SHAKERMAKER
* BUTTERFLIES
* THE STRUGGLERS
* DIRTY5THIRTY

SATURDAY, SEPT 1

* EMBARRASSING FRUITS
* BIG FAT GAP
* HOBEX
* TRANSPORTATION
* FIN FANG FOOM

SUNDAY, SEPT 2

* SHIPS
* DROWSIES
* RED COLLAR
* BOXBOMB
* NEVER
* ROMAN CANDLE



Friday, August 31
Blag'ard    (http://www.blagard.com/)
Hazerai    (http://www.myspace.com/hazerai)
Fighting Poseidon    (http://www.myspace.com/fightingposeidon)
Laserhead    (http://myspace.com/laserhead)
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

If you're curious about the current state of the art in local 
punk-derived indierock, this is the show for you. Blag'ard are the 
traditionalists; despite being a gtr/drums duo, they come out sounding a 
lot like '90s local-heroes Capsize 7 (no surprise really, since 
guitarist Joe Taylor was in Capsize 7).

Fighting Poseidon guitarist Eric Mann was in the supertight Greensboro 
postpunk/hardrock band Kudzu Wish, and the new band doesn't stray far 
from that formula; think Les Savy Fav if they paid attention to song 
structure, and practiced more.

Hazerai sprung from the ashes of the short-lived Country Bears, and 
they're doing that post-Fugazi/screamo thing.



Friday, August 31
The Busy World    (http://www.myspace.com/thebusyworld)
The Nothing Noise    (http://www.myspace.com/thenothingnoise)
Hello Bright Futures    (http://www.myspace.com/hellobrightfutures)
Harmute    (http://www.myspace.com/harmute)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Saturday, September 1
Direct Control    (http://www.deepfrybonanza.com/directcontrol/)
Double Negative    (http://www.myspace.com/thedoublenegative)
Wasted Time    (http://www.myspace.com/wastedtimesucks)
Cross Laws    (http://www.myspace.com/crosslaws)
Life Trap
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

This is being billed as Dennisfest. What it is, is hardcore, and if 
Double Negative actually show up & play, it'll be about the best damn 
hardcore you're going to see all year.



Saturday, September 1
The Rosebuds    (http://www.therosebuds.com/)
Downtown Event Center, Raleigh

The Downtown Event Center used to be the Martin St/Raleigh Music Hall. 
It's being booked nowadays by Mike Dillon, who used to work the door at 
Kings, which explains why the schedule finally contains something other 
than the occasional open mic and/or freestyle contest.

I don't have to tell you about the Rosebuds, I assume.



Saturday, September 1
Weedeater    (http://www.berserkerrecords.com)
Caltrop    (http://www.myspace.com/caltropband)
The Curtains of Night    (http://myspace.com/thecurtainsofnight)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Heaviosity abounds. Weedeater are from Wilmington & you get three 
guesses what they sound like. Caltrop are from here, and they make huge 
lumbering metallo-stoner anthems. Curtains of Night are a new-ish Chapel 
Hill gtr/drums duo; I haven't seen 'em, but the song I heard contained 
an impressive amount of racket to have come from just 2 people.



Sunday, September 2
Numbers
Eberhardt    (http://www.myspace.com/eberhardtnc)
Rahdunes    (http://www.myspace.com/mindzoo666)
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham

Whoo-hoo, the Coffeehouse is back & ready for bidness! Is it perhaps the 
only good thing about the students returning? Certainly possibly the 
only thing directly causally related to the students returning, anyway. 
The cooler weather, I'm told, happens regardless. At least it will if it 
does.



Sunday, September 2
Hammer No More the Fingers    (http://www.hnmtf.com)
The Cinematics    (http://www.myspace.com/thecinematics)
Carina Round    (http://www.myspace.com/carinaround)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



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