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Subject: RTP-area local music and culture

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  • From: grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: RTP-area local music and culture <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: stuff to do, week of March 21, 2009
  • Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:22:28 -0400

Saturday, March 21
UNC vs Duke Battle of the Bands
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham

This gets underway at 7:00 p.m, with a ridiculous number of bands:

Playing for UNC:

The Huguenots
Lake Inferior
The Nomad Kings
D.LIV(E)
Apollo
Lafcadio

Playing for DUKE:

Cool Ethan
Panda Force
Soulless Dogs
David Eisenband
Tauri Wind
Hopus

Each of the 6 bands will be performing a short set at the Coffeehouse and a jury and the audience will decide the final 2 bands from each school. The 2 remaining bands will be performing a longer set and a winner will be chosen based on audience response and the jury's marks. THE WINNER, may they be from Duke or UNC, WILL BE PERFORMING AT DUKE'S LDOC AND WILL RECEIVE A CASH PRIZE!



Saturday, March 21
The Carolina Heartbreakers (http://www.myspace.com/carolinaheartbreakers)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

The Carolina Heartbreakers are not a rockband, but are rather a fairly recently assembled local burlesque troupe. Or, more properly, a supertroupe, as some-or-all of them have been plying their trade separately for a while now.



Saturday, March 21
Bull City (http://www.bullcitytheband.com/)
Gambling the Muse (http://www.myspace.com/gamblingthemuse)
Pneurotics (http://www.myspace.com/pneurotics)
The Tender Fruit (http://www.myspace.com/thetenderfruit)
The Pinhook, Durham

This is billed as a Johnny Cash Birthday Bash.



Saturday, March 21
Stratocruiser (http://www.stratocruisermusic.com/)
The Stars Explode (http://www.myspace.com/thestarsexplode)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, March 21
919Noise Showcase
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

This month's lineup: Clang Quartet / Yanni Eham / Joe Hendrix / LuvJax / Ghost Hand / CheezFace



Saturday, March 21
Harmute (http://www.myspace.com/harmute)
Cinemasophia (http://www.myspace.com/cinemasophia)
Jack Sprat Cafe, Chapel Hill



Sunday, March 22
From the Depths
Deathrat
Remainder (http://remaindermusic.net)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

From the Depths are a Carrboro-based hardcore/crust/whatever band whose new album, Germinate, shows a definite Fucked Up influence, though the ratio of gruff-dude to semi-operatic-female vox skews more towards the female.



Monday, March 23
Dry Heathens (http://www.myspace.com/dryheathens)
River City Ransom
Dark Knights of Camelot (http://www.myspace.com/darkknightsofcamelot)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Tuesday, March 24
Titus Andronicus (http://www.myspace.com/titusandronicus)
Here We Go Magic (http://www.myspace.com/herewegomagic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

[smoking show]

The SXSW begins to turn, and those bands who didn't flow through on their way down to Austin begin to ebb through on their ways back home.

I still haven't seen Titus Andronicus, but was surprised to finally hear their much-lauded "The Airing of Grievances," and hear in it shades of both Celt-punk and Conor Oberst-style vocal quaver, along with all the over-the-top uncontrolled anthemic fervor I'd been led to expect.



Tuesday, March 24
A is Jump (http://www.myspace.com/aisjump2)
Bad Credit No Credit (http://www.myspace.com/bathtimemusic)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, March 24
Justin Jones & the Driving Rain
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Wednesday, March 25
Sgt. Dunbar & The Hobo Banned (http://www.myspace.com/thehobobanned)
Robobilly (http://www.myspace.com/robobilly)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Wednesday, March 25
Lost in the Trees (http://www.lostinthetrees.com)
Efterklang (http://www.myspace.com/efterklang)
Canon Blue (http://www.myspace.com/canonblue)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Lost in the Trees are the emo/chamber-pop band fronted by local orch/pop fusionist Ari Picker.



Wednesday, March 25
Instant Jones (http://www.myspace.com/instantjonesrocks)
The Alcazar Hotel (http://www.myspace.com/thealcazarhotel)
Death to the Details (http://www.reverbnation.com/deathtothedetails)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Thursday, March 26
Phosphorescent
Deer Tick (http://www.myspace.com/deertick)
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham



Thursday, March 26
USA Baby
These Are Powers (http://www.myspace.com/thesearepowers)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Thursday, March 26
Proof (http://www.prooftheband.org)
Medications (http://www.myspace.com/medications)
Edie Sedgwick (http://www.ediesedgwick.biz/)
Berkeley Cafe, Raleigh



Thursday, March 26
Asobi Seksu (http://www.asobiseksu.com/)
Tyvek (http://www.myspace.com/tyvekmusic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is a non-smoking show.



Thursday, March 26
Whatever Brains (http://www.myspace.com/whateverbrains)
Pink Flag (http://www.myspace.com/pinkflagnc)
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh

The latest in the series of Local Bands, Local Beers nights at Tir Na nOg. Pink Flag are a sorta-punk, sorta-riot, sorta-avant trio from Durham. Whatever Brains are somewhere between the fuzzed-out power of the Buzzcocks and the collapse-into-chaos of The Fall; they're awesome.



Friday, March 27
Wigg Report (http://www.synchronizedswim.org)
Embarrassing Fruits (http://www.myspace.com/embarrassingfruitsband)
Butterflies (http://www.myspace.com/butterfliesnc)
Luego (http://luegomusic.com/)
Panda Force (http://www.myspace.com/pandaforceband)
Alivia's Durham Bistro, Durham

This is actually a whole Brightleaf-area mini-festival, hosted by Duke-student-run recording studio & sorta-label Small Town Records. The complete lowdown is as follows:

THREE VENUES w/ THREE GENRES.

**Alivia's for indie rock featuring Trekky Records bands and Duke students/alums (music @ 9pm).
Luego
Butterflies
Panda force
Embarrassing fruits
Tauri wind
Wigg report

**1013 Main for jazz/blues (local and Duke artists) (music @ 9pm)
John Brown Jazz Quintet
The Swamp Doctors
The Soulless Dogs

**Mt. Fuji for Dance/hip-hop! ( Duke and local artists) (music at 9pm)
Inflowential (Hip-hop collective)
Stella by Starlight (DJ)

FREE SHIRTS. FREE CDS of Duke Music. DRINK/APP SPECIALS! NO COVER!



Friday, March 27
Sublime Frequencies Film Screening (http://www.sublimefrequencies.com)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Sublime Frequencies is the radical/freaky west-coast ethnographic label that puts out a ton of African & Southeast Asian indigenous & pop music, but also stuff like radio-dial scans from Thailand & Burma. They also occasionally produce/release films, and this is a tour featuring some of those. It's hosted (and intermission-DJed) by Robert Mills of Climax Golden Twins. (I slept on the earlier/different SF screening of 2 weeks ago -- sorry!). Here's the lowdown:

MY FRIEND RAIN
Sublime Frequencies
(35 minutes/color)
A collage of musical segments, tropical backdrops and mysterious celebratory events from rainy mornings in the lowlands of the Ayerwaddy river to the humid nights of Java's Dangdut scene. Decay and rebirth through the endless Asian monsoon cycle. Captured live and in the moment by Robert Millis and Alan Bishop on location in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian locations.

PHI TA KHON: Ghosts of Isan
(45 minutes/Color)
SublimeFrequencies
Masks and outfits made of coconut husks, rice steamers, shredded rags and clanging bells transform participants of Thailand’s Phi Ta Khon festival into ghosts, devils, demons, and spirits unleashed for a bacchanal. Outrageous wooden phalluses and plenty of rice whiskey heighten licentious behavior as Mo Lam — Thai country groove music — blasts from makeshift bands in the back of pickup trucks. Described as “The Mardi Gras from Hell” and “Thai Halloween,” Phi Ta Khon is a ghost festival that takes place every year in the ISAN province of Northern Thailand. Meaning “ghosts with human eyes” or “ghosts follow people,” Phi Ta Khon features magnificent costumes, ornate masks, decorative phallic icons, strange ceremonies, drinking, dancing, and endless addictive Mo Lam music in higher doses than most souls can process. A mind-blowing and obscure tradition hidden within the Indochine peninsula. Filmed on location by Robert Millis and Richard Bishop in June 2004, Ghosts of ISAN is shot from the perspective of a participant, ensuring an intense and immersive experience for the viewer.

Also a selection of short, experimental films and/or works in progress....material from Niger, India, and work concentrating on music from the 78rpm era. Just depends on time.

Intermission will be DJ Victrola Favorites...international 78s and crackly sounds from the dawn of recording.



Friday, March 27
John Howie, Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff (http://www.myspace.com/rosewoodbluff)
Mike Slaton (http://www.myspace.com/mikeslatonandthewheels)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Friday, March 27
A Rooster for the Masses (http://www.myspace.com/aroosterforthemasses)
Scary River
The Desmonds
Pour House, Raleigh



Friday, March 27
The Needles (http://www.moonrockneedles.com/)
Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls (http://www.myspace.com/richardbacchus)
The Dielectrics
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Saturday, March 28
Caltrop (http://www.myspace.com/caltropband)
The Curtains of Night (http://myspace.com/thecurtainsofnight)
Sled
The Pinhook, Durham

Maximum heaviosity from two of the Triangle's finest purveyors of the stuff. Caltrop crank out massive slabs of psych/metal, veering between optimism and despair, but always searching. Curtains of Night are more static, piling a single riff higher & higher til it collapses under its own weight, then starting over.



Saturday, March 28
The Love Language (http://www.myspace.com/thelovelanguage)
Max Indian (http://www.myspace.com/maxindian)
Oh Captain My Captain (http://www.myspace.com/ohcaptain)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

This is a CD-release party for the new-ish Love Language CD, their first. It's a great slice of mid-fi pop, with some of the catchy jangle+punch of frontman Stuart McLamb's old band, The Capulets, but also a nice dose of slower/spacier stuff.



Saturday, March 28
A Rooster for the Masses (http://www.myspace.com/aroosterforthemasses)
Death to the Details (http://www.reverbnation.com/deathtothedetails)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, March 28
Kennebec
Kenny Roby's Mercy Filter (http://www.kennyroby.com)
Rob Watson (http://www.robwatsonlive.com)
Mike Roy
Pour House, Raleigh



Sunday, March 29
Whatever Brains (http://www.myspace.com/whateverbrains)
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham

Whatever Brains' debut 7", "Mount Whatever," is far and away the brightest musical spot of 2009 thus far. On the surface it's just 3-chord Buzzcocksy punkrock, but it's chock full of awesome little touches, from the squealing fuzz that comes & goes at just the right moments, to the "ooooooooohs" that punctuate the title track, to the whistling that closes out "Summer Jammin". It'll take a pretty damn impressive contender (or another Whatever Brains release) to knock this one out of the top spot in my 2009 best-of list.

So you're saying to yourself "well, OK, but can they pull it off live?" And I'm pleased to report that I've seen 'em, and fuck yeah they can. Check it yourself: 4:00 p.m. 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.



Sunday, March 29
Amanda Palmer (http://www.amandapalmer.net)
ArtsCenter, Carrboro

For reasons unclear to me, Amanda Palmer (as well as her main non-solo project, Dresden Dolls) is signed to the mostly-metal label Roadrunner (and is thus, the Roadrunner roster being what it is, one of maybe 3 women out of a total of ~140 people on the label). This point became salient late last year, when she blogged about a meeting she had with her A&R guy:

"right before the european tour i went to the new york offices of roadrunner to say hi and check in. my a&r guy (my main contact at the label) sat me down in his office and said he wanted to discuss the "leeds united" video. he told me that there were certain shots that they wanted to either cut completely or digitally alter to "be more flattering". my favorite quote from that meeting: "i’m a guy, amanda. i understand what people like.""

http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/62721071/the-rebellyon-the-deal-with-roadrunner-records

This created a nice backlash/protest movement (primarily involving photos of peoples' bellies with angry messages to Roadrunner drawn on them).

Anyway, Amanda Palmer. Since we're talking about the Leeds United video, it's as good a place as any to get the deal on her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlJ9z_LowBI



Sunday, March 29
Dirty Little Heaters (http://www.myspace.com/thedirtylittleheaters)
Romanteek (http://www.romanteek.com/)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

Dirty Little Heaters make *way* too much awesome blues-garage-soul noise for The Cave, so wear yr crash-helmet.



Monday, March 30
Pistil (http://myspace.com/pistilband)
The Dogwood Deddy (http://www.reverbnation.com/thedogwooddeddy)
Cobalt and the Hired Guns (http://www.myspace.com/cobaltandthehiredguns)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, March 31
The Ex-Monkeys (http://www.myspace.com/theexmonkeys)
Many Birthdays (http://www.myspace.com/manybirthdays)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

The Ex-Monkeys make live trip-hop; they both used to be 2/3rds of the great 90s Raleigh band Friend Side Monkey.



Tuesday, March 31
Tin Star
Aminal (http://www.myspace.com/theaminalmusic)
The Deep Sea Goes (http://www.myspace.com/thedeepseagoes)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



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



  • stuff to do, week of March 21, 2009, grady, 03/21/2009

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