RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

I'm finishing up my best-local-music-of-2007 countdown this Sunday on 
WXDU from 5 - 7 -- doing the top 30. Not my selections, but rather those 
of the WXDU DJ community as a whole, based on airplay throughout the 
year. If'n you're interested. Until Sunday, #s 87-31 are here: 
http://www.trianglerock.com/audio/trianglerock-oggcast.rss


Friday, January 4
Double Negative    (http://www.myspace.com/thedoublenegative)
Government Warning    (http://www.myspace.com/governmentwarningrva)
Socialcide    (http://www.myspace.com/socialcide)
Born Bad    (http://www.myspace.com/bornxbad)
Devour
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

Hardcore. Double Negative's debut, "The Wonderful and Frightening World 
of Double Negative," was in my top-10 of 2007, and I'm not even one of 
those hardcore obsessives. They just freaking rule.



Friday, January 4
Dexter Romweber and the New Romans 
(http://www.myspace.com/dexterromweber)
Max Indian    (http://www.myspace.com/maxindian)
Nightstick    (http://www.myspace.com/nightstickband)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Dexter Romweber's New Romans are his large band (2 drummers, horns, 
guitars, keys, etc). Lately they're performing with bellydance troupe 
the Caligulettes.

Nightstick used to have a somewhat different lineup & were called On 
Three; they're fronted by Eric Haugen (ex-Fake Swedish).



Friday, January 4
Amps Do Furnish a Room    (http://www.myspace.com/ampsdofurnisharoom)
Heart of Glass
Guitars in the Sky
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Amps Do Furnish a Room are a Durham project-band whose annual project is 
to learn an album straight-through and then play a couple of shows. This 
year's project was Marquee Moon.

Heart of Glass are a Blondie tribute featuring a buncha Durhamites, 
including some of the same folks who brought you last year's Smiths/Cure 
tributes.

Guitars in the Sky is Shalini Chatterjee & Mitch Easter's Records tribute.



Friday, January 4
Hundred Air    (http://www.myspace.com/hundredair)
Buddhacat
The Cave, Chapel Hill

Hundred Air are the countryish-rock pop band fronted by Adam Price, who 
used to be in the Mayflies USA as well as the first weird incarnation of 
The Comas. He's joined onstage lately by an all-star lineup including 
John Harrison (North Elementary), Jeff Clarke (Cub Country), Tony 
Stiglitz (Jett Rink) and Stephen Murtaugh (Transportation). They're 
freaking tight as a tick.



Friday, January 4
Fighting Poseidon    (http://www.myspace.com/fightingposeidon)
Transit Union    (http://www.myspace.com/transitunion)
Wheatie Mattiasich
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Fighting Poseidon are a post-punk, post-Kudzu Wish two-guitar rockband. 
Transit Union are 3/4ths of that amazing Durham band of a few years 
back, Strunken White.



Friday, January 4
Joe Swank and the Zen Pirates 
(http://www.myspace.com/joeswankandthezenpirates)
Sadlack's Heroes, Raleigh



Saturday, January 5
The Cartridge Family    (http://www.cartridge-family.com/)
Sadlack's Heroes, Raleigh

Cartridge Family released their 2nd album at the tail end of 2007, and I 
still haven't heard it (it's a long damn way from Raleigh to Chapel 
Hill, I guess), which peeves me, since their debut, "Here Come the Rock 
Stars," was one of my faves of 2006. Total Blonde on Blonde - meets New 
York Dolls - meets Exile on Main Street rocknroll.



Saturday, January 5
Pykrete    (http://www.bullfightparty.org/cirox/pykrete)
The Sumpbucket Ticklers
Dom Flemons
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

It's FrequeNC Records night at Nightlight, and they're back with perhaps 
their most weirdly varied lineup to date:

9:00 - party starts - DJ NASTY BOOTS - blues/old-time
9:30 - THE SUMPBUCKET TICKLERS** - (Phil Blank and friends) - Old time 
music, Tri-ethnic Neolithic Ecstatic Technology and Forgotten Songs.
10:30 - DOM FLEMONS** - (of the amazing CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS) - solo 
set of blues/old-time/etc.
11:30 - DJ JASON PERLMUTTER - plays rare funk and soul 45s from the 
Carolinas and Beyond.
12:30 - PYKRETE (AND GUEST ROBERT BIGGERS???) experimental electronic 
music from Chuck Johnson after his first semester in the MFA program at 
Mills College.
1:00 - DJ NASTY BOOTS - deep disco !!!



Saturday, January 5
Sweet By and By    (http://www.myspace.com/sweetbyby )
Peter Holsapple    (http://www.thedbs.com/)
Peter Lang
Broad Street Cafe, Durham



Saturday, January 5
Gray Young    (http://www.myspace.com/grayyoung)
Citified    (http://www.citifiedband.org/)
Hammer No More the Fingers    (http://www.hnmtf.com)
I Was Totally Destroying It 
(http://www.reverbnation.com/iwastotallydestroyingit)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

HNMTF, Gray Young & IWTDI are all three Class-of-2007 bands, so here's 
your chance to catch up before we're too far into 2008.



Saturday, January 5
Richard Bacchus    (http://www.richardbacchus.com/)
Rev. Timmy James
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Sunday, January 6
Dan Deacon    (http://www.dandeacon.com/)
Juan Huevos    (http://www.myspace.com/juanhuevos)
Ultimate Reality
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Sunday, January 6
Electric Bird Noise 
(http://www.epitonic.com/artists/electricbirdnoise.html)
Remora    (http://www.silbermedia.com/remora/)
Horseback    (http://www.myspace.com/horsebacknoise)
P. D. Wilder    (http://www.myspace.com/pdwilder)
Hell, Chapel Hill

Sweet drone coalescing slowly within the inevitable Hell-cloud of 
secondhand smoke.



Monday, January 7
Colossus    (http://www.myspace.com/thecolossuswillcrushyou)
Tooth
Battlemaster
Ramming Speed
Volume 11 Tavern, Raleigh

Tooth's "Animality" was pretty much the only metal release I heard in 
2007, so I can't necessarily compare it to its immediate contemporaries. 
But I'm pretty sure I've heard enough metal since '81 (ah, middle 
school) to be able to state with confidence that it's fucking awesome. 
Anybody who buries guitar solos that far down in the mix on a metal 
record deserves some kinda medal.



Tuesday, January 8
Sound of Singles    (http://myspace.com/soundofsingles)
Jeff Crawford
Amo Joy
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, January 8
Dead to Society    (http://www.myspace.com/deadtosociety101)
The Shotdowns    (http://www.myspace.com/theshotdowns)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, January 8
Vibrant Green    (http://vibrantgreen.iuma.com)
The 1900s    (http://www.myspace.com/1900s)
Wye Oak    (http://www.myspace.com/wyeoak)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Baltimore duo Wye Oak (nee Monarch) are the just-announced latest 
signing to our own Merge Records.



Wednesday, January 9
American Aquarium    (http://www.americanaquarium.com/)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Thursday, January 10
Yo La Tengo    (http://www.yolatengo.com/)
Kurt Wagner
ArtsCenter, Carrboro

Remember back in 1994, when Yo La Tengo played the Duke Coffeehouse and 
did a sort of semi-acoustic set with a lot of banter with the audience? 
(I seem to remember them challenging the crowd to name the songwriters 
of various tunes, but since the crowd was about 80% WXYC and WXDU DJs, 
it wasn't much of a challenge)

Anyhoo, the promo hoo-hah for this show suggests that it's gonna be a 
lot like that. Lot of covers, plus songs from the full width of their 
rather extensive catalog of originals.

So I suppose if you like Fakebook (and really, who doesn't?) then you'll 
love this.

If you're on the fence, you should know that Lambchop's Kurt Wagner will 
either be opening the show, or sitting in with YLT, or both.



Thursday, January 10
Hard Luck Stories    (http://www.myspace.com/hardluckstoriesmusic)
Dickie Hayden
Lindsay Holler and the Dirty Kids
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, January 10
Stephanie's Id    (http://www.stephaniesid.com)
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies 
(http://www.myspace.com/violetvectorandthelovelylovelies)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies topped the year-end best-of list 
at Idolator. Tied, actually, with Nick Cave's Grinderman, despite their 
being pretty much diametrically opposed.

Stephanie's Id are from Asheville. That town gives me the heebie-jeebies.



Friday, January 11
Dirty Little Heaters    (http://www.thedirtylittleheaters.com)
Fey    (http://www.myspace.com/feymusic)
Virgo 9    (http://www.myspace.com/thevirgonine)
Broad Street Cafe, Durham

If you haven't seen the new 3-piece Dirty Little Heaters yet, then you 
haven't seen 'em at all. Rectify that.



Friday, January 11
Kerbloki    (http://www.kerbloki.com/)
Sexy Prime    (http://sexyprime.com)
Minnie Skirt and the Bootlegs 
(http://www.myspace.com/minnieskirtandthebootlegs)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Friday, January 11
Black Skies    (http://www.myspace.com/losblackskies)
The Curtains of Night    (http://myspace.com/thecurtainsofnight)
Howl    (http://www.myspace.com/howlheavymetal)
St. Jude    (http://www.myspace.com/saintjudegodfree)
Reservoir, Carrboro

Metal, of the heavy variety. Black Skies are Cradle doorman Kevin 
Clark's power-trio. Curtains of Night are a big hellacious 
wall-of-sludge gtr/drums duo. Howl are from Providence.



Saturday, January 12
Mark Kozelek    (http://www.sunkilmoon.com/)
Josh Nowlan    (http://www.citiesmusic.com/)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Josh Nowlan is in the local band Cities. Mark Kozelek is [in] Sun Kil 
Moon and Red House Painters.



Saturday, January 12
The Great White Jenkins    (http://www.tgwj.com/)
Megafaun    (http://www.myspace.com/megafaun)
Perry Wright
Bull City Headquarters, Durham

Perry Wright fronts the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers. 
Megafaun's 2007 CD Bury the Square is about to be properly-released by 
Table of the Elements imprint Radium, but you've got the handmade 
pleather cover on yours, so you're Aces, right?



Saturday, January 12
Maple Stave    (http://www.maplestave.com)
Monsonia    (http://www.monsonia.com)
Caverns    (http://www.myspace.com/caverns)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Maple Stave + Monsonia = more taut local mathy postpunk than you can 
handle, son.



Saturday, January 12
The Moaners    (http://www.themoaners.com/)
Robo Sapien    (http://www.gorobosapien.com/)
Miss Mary Wanna
Local 506, Chapel Hill

The Moaners were in fine form on New Years Eve. They still played 2 slow 
songs for every fast one, but the fast ones were so good I almost didn't 
mind.



Sunday, January 13
Worn in Red    (http://www.myspace.com/worninred)
Hazerai    (http://www.myspace.com/hazerai)
Brainworms    (http://www.myspace.com/brainwormsrva)
Bull City Headquarters, Durham



Sunday, January 13
The Busy World    (http://www.myspace.com/thebusyworld)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

For 2008, Local 506 have resurrected their periodic Free For All shows, 
which are, um, free. My reading of the Independent Weekly leads me to 
believe that they've got a smaller stage-mounted PA so they won't have 
to pay a soundman on these nights when they're not charging a cover. 
Most bands bring enough stage volume nowadays to only need vocal mics, 
at least in a room the size of 506, so unless the new PA is as pitifully 
underpowered as the BCHQ PA, this could be a plus.



Monday, January 14
A Contrail to Follow    (http://www.myspace.com/acontrailtofollow)
Unit Shifters    (http://www.myspace.com/unitshifters)
Wood Ear    (http://www.myspace.com/woodear)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Tuesday, January 15
Phillip Pledger    (http://s.lolsh.info)
Airspace    (http://www.myspace.com/airspacemusic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is another Free For All show. I'm led to believe that Airspace are 
half-Irish, half-Carolinian. Huh?



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