RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Friday, September 7
Chatham County Line    (http://www.chathamcountyline.com/)
Lincoln Theater, Raleigh



Friday, September 7
North Elementary    (http://www.northelementary.com)
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
The Heist and the Accomplice
(http://www.myspace.com/theheistandtheaccomplice)
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham

Red Collar are an intense, politically-outspoken bar-rock band, which in
some senses makes them more "punk" than a lot of punk bands. They don't
really sound "punk," though.

The Heist and the Accomplice are from Columbia, South Carolina, which
explains why they play around here so much. Anything to escape Cola.



Friday, September 7
The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers
(http://www.prayersandtears.com/)
Kapow! Music    (http://kapowmusic.net)
Sweater Weather    (http://www.sweater-weather.com)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

If you want to see Local 506 packed to the gills with the music-lovers
among the current undergrad population, go to this show. Both Prayers
and Tears and Sweater Weather make big orchestrated emotional artpop
(and yes, they're both fronted by cute boys). It can get overwrought,
and if you're a cynic, you might wanna argue that the subject matter
maybe doesn't merit the level of agitation.

But it's hard to deny the emotive impact, and the sheer pop songcraft of it.

This is a CD-release show for Sweater Weather.



Saturday, September 8
Shakermaker    (http://shakermaker.org/)
Naked Gods    (http://www.myspace.com/nakedgods)
The Placeholders
Piedmont Biofuels, Pittsboro

Lately the folks at Piedmont Biofuels have been having shows on a stage
they built in the middle of their compound/production facility there in
Pittsboro. Sure, it's weird, but that's kind of par for the course in
Chatham. See some bands, learn all about biodiesel, enjoy the
hopefully-slightly-cooler evening.



Saturday, September 8
The Sammies    (http://www.myspace.com/thesammies)
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
The Houstons
The Modern Skirts    (http://www.myspace.com/themodernskirts)
Downtown Event Center, Raleigh

The Sammies are from Charlotte, and they make a sort of redneck
britrock, like Oasis meets the Allmans. It's fun stuff, in an
over-the-top kind of way.

Red Collar are big and loud and tight, and they've got backing vocals in
all the right places (um, except for that one song where the guy goes
"c'mon let's go-go-go," which is exactly the wrong thing for him to be
saying at that moment in that song), and I haven't seen 'em in a club in
a while, but I'm told that they've developed quite a following.



Saturday, September 8
Portastatic    (http://www.portastatic.com)
Oakley Hall    (http://www.oakleyhall.net/)
Rat Jackson    (http://www.myspace.com/ratjacksonmusic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Oakley Hall had their genesis in the mass migration of a bunch of Triad
folks up to Brooklyn, ages and ages ago. I have the impression that the
lineup has evolved a few times since then, but they've managed to
maintain/renew their NC ties by signing to Merge.

Portastatic music almost immediately outgrew its
Mac-with-acoustic-guitar beginnings, which is why I like it better
nowadays when it's a band than when it's just Mac-with-acoustic-guitar.
And we're in luck; according to the Portastatic blog, "we'll be in
4-piece rock band mode." Whoo-hoo!



Saturday, September 8
Stratocruiser    (http://www.stratocruisermusic.com/)
Hundred Air    (http://www.myspace.com/hundredair)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Sunday, September 9
Clang Quartet    (http://www.myspace.com/clangquartet)
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham

Clang Quartet is Scotty Irving, who also plays drums for The Whole World
Laughing, and used to drum for Geezer Lake. Clang Quartet is Scotty's
long-running (10+ years) solo noise/percussion tribute to Jesus Christ.
Although it's primarily a noise performance, there is a visual aspect to
it as well, so I'm curious to see what methods Scotty has chosen to
compensate for the lack of visuals.

Tune in and find out: 5:00 p.m, 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.



Sunday, September 9
Jeffrey Dean Foster    (http://www.jeffreydeanfoster.com/)
Don Dixon    (http://www.myspace.com/dondixonsmusic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Monday, September 10
The Comas    (http://www.thecomas.com)
Meat Puppets    (http://www.themeatpuppets.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

So apparently Cris is clean again, giving the Puppets at least one more
chance to find out whether Frat America still remembers "Backwater."
Somebody write in & tell us whether they play "Up on the Sun."



Tuesday, September 11
The Clientele    (http://www.mergerecords.com)
Peter Bjorn and John    (http://www.peterbjornandjohn.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Tuesday, September 11
Bill Taylor
Inspector 22 & The Bramble Ramblers
Baby Robots    (http://www.myspace.com/babyrobots)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

I believe Baby Robots are some more of Clarque's extended
Screwmusicforever homies from FLA, though they're living in Austin now.
Inspector 22 and the Bramble Ramblers is the unholy alliance of Todd
Emmert (Mowing Lawns) and Clarque Blomquist (Waumiss, Kingsbury Manx)
plus others, I guess. Bill Taylor is also of The Manx.



Wednesday, September 12
Juan Huevos    (http://www.myspace.com/juanhuevos)
Popnoname    (http://popnoname.de/)
Johnny Corndawg    (http://www.myspace.com/TheCorndawg)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, September 13
Dan Bryk    (http://www.bryk.com/)
Michael Holt    (http://www.mommyheads.com/holt.html)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

This is the early show. Mike Holt was in the 2nd, somewhat-more-famous
incarnation of The Mommyheads. Dan Bryk is currently in his own,
somewhat-more-famous incarnation, as a Southern American Political Satirist.



Thursday, September 13
Double Negative    (http://www.myspace.com/thedoublenegative)
American Cheeseburger    (http://www.myspace.com/cheeseburgersrule)
Civic Progress
Socialcide    (http://www.myspace.com/socialcide)
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

Outtatown hardcore (from GA, MS, and VA), plus Raleigh's own Double
Negative, whose "The Wonderful and Frightening World of Double Negative"
LP is most likely the best local hardcore album ever released. I may
need to spend the weekend listening to all the other ones, just to be
sure, but I can't think of another (yes, including Eye for an Eye)
that's near as sick, angry *and* well-played/recorded.



Thursday, September 13
The Black Lips    (http://www.bomp.com/BlackLips.html)
The Gondoliers    (http://www.myspace.com/comeseethegondoliers)
The Selmanaires    (http://www.myspace.com/theselmanaires)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro



Thursday, September 13
Opening Flower Happy Bird    (http://www.myspace.com/openingflowerhappybird)
The Empties    (http://theempties.com)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

This is the late show. Opening Flower Happy Bird make bedroom synth-pop
that started out all spazzy and low-fi, but has lately turned
cold/clinical & kinda mournful, in a good-but-bummery (but still
danceable) kind of way.



Thursday, September 13
Clang Quartet    (http://www.myspace.com/clangquartet)
Ironing    (http://www.myspace.com/ironing)
AM Salad    (http://www.amsalad.com/)
Hal McGee    (http://www.halmcgee.com)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Is the Noise the kids are into now fundamentally different from the
Noise the kids were into back in the day, and is that more or less-so
than the indie-rock? Certainly there are a damnsight *more* Noise shows
now than there were in '97, but once you've passed through the doors
into the club, do you know what year it is?



Friday, September 14
Fontana    (http://www.myspace.com/fontana1)
Overhead Projector    (http://www.myspace.com/overheadprojectorusa)
Tenderhooks    (http://www.myspace.com/tenderhooks)
Broad Street Cafe, Durham



Friday, September 14
Hundred Air    (http://www.myspace.com/hundredair)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is a CD-release party for Hundred Air, which is the new/current
band of Adam Price, formerly of the Mayflies USA.



Saturday, September 15
Johnny Irion
Jule Brown    (http://www.julebrown.org)
Bull City    (http://www.bullcitytheband.com/)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Johnny Irion is surely best-known for his work in the fake-blues band
Blueshammer in the movie "Ghost World." OK, and for being a member of
Durham's Queen Sarah Saturday lo these many years ago. OK, and for his
well-received recent work, solo and with his wife Sarah Lee Guthrie, of
*those* Guthries.

Bull City *really* like Crazy Horse, which is, as far as I'm concerned,
not a bad thing at all. If more people really liked Crazy Horse, things
would be different 'round here.



Saturday, September 15
Big Bear
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Saturday, September 15
Lud    (http://www.ludland.com/)
Regina Hexaphone    (http://www.reginahexaphone.com)
Monologue Bombs    (http://www.myspace.com/themonologuebombs)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is a CD-release party for the new Regina Hexaphone album. They're
joined by their labelmates Monologue Bombs, which is the solo project of
Goner frontman Scott Phillips, as well as by Lud, who are the best
two-guitar rockband in the Triangle.



Saturday, September 15
Olympic Ass Kicking Team    (http://www.terryandersonrocks.com/)
The Ts    (http://www.myspace.com/thettttt)
Pour House, Raleigh



Sunday, September 16
The Bleeding Hearts    (http://www.thebleedinghearts.net/home.html)
Richard Bacchus    (http://www.richardbacchus.com/)
The Soda Pop Kids    (http://www.myspace.com/thesodapopkids)
Downtown Event Center, Raleigh



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