RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Saturday, June 27
Malebolgia    (http://malebolgia.com)
Worse Than Birth    (http://myspace.com/worsethanbirth)
Arbitrary    (http://myspace.com/arbitrarync)
Marvell Building, Durham

This is a 4:00 p.m. matinee show celebrating Emma Goldman's birthday. I 
want to assume it's all-ages (it's a freaking anarchist hardcore 
matinee, for fucksake) but the listing on MySpace says 18+. Surely 
that's just to throw The Man off the scent (though it'll be pretty hard 
to avoid the scent of a buncha crusty anarchists at 4:00 on a late June 
afternoon).



Saturday, June 27
American Aquarium    (http://www.americanaquarium.com/)
Luego    (http://luegomusic.com/)
Holsapple and Stamey    (http://www.holsapplestamey.com)
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro

Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey, and their compadres in The dBs altered 
the face of Southern Pop music forever in the 1980s (though most of the 
altering took place after their relocation from NC to NYC). Holsapple & 
Stamey renewed their collaboration briefly in the '90s with the album 
Mavericks, and have now come together once again to release hERE aND nOw.



Saturday, June 27
The Ex-Monkeys    (http://www.myspace.com/theexmonkeys)
Ear Pwr    (http://www.myspace.com/earpwr)
Adventure    (http://www.myspace.com/adventuresound)
The Pinhook, Durham

12:00 - Ear Pwr
11:00 - Adventure
10:00 - The Ex-Monkeys

Ex-Ashevillians Ear Pwr have up & moved to Baltimore, but they're still 
the same crazed lovable dorky sing-song electrofreaks they always were.



Saturday, June 27
The Houstons
Mark Holland's Rhythm Force    (http://www.myspace.com/mhollandsrhythmforce)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, June 27
Fake Problems    (http://www.fakeproblems.com)
Kiss Kiss
Resist Not    (http://www.resistnot.net)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Sunday, June 28
Wooden Birds
Other Lives
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

The one Wooden Birds song I've heard, "False Alarm," has a bit of the 
easy loping pleasure of Facebook-era Yo La Tengo, or Neil Young's more 
pastoral moments.



Sunday, June 28
Conshafter    (http://www.conshafter.com/)
100 Yorktown    (http://www.geocities.com/onehundredyorktown/)
The Groves
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Monday, June 29
The Winter Sounds    (http://www.thewintersounds.com)
Pneurotics    (http://www.myspace.com/pneurotics)
Gift Horse
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Monday, June 29
Anniversary Club    (http://www.myspace.com/anniversaryclub)
Weekends    (http://www.myspace.com/weekendsmusic)
Christopher Jones    (http://www.myspace.com/devilsridinghorse)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, June 30
Embarrassing Fruits    (http://www.myspace.com/embarrassingfruitsband)
Wild Fictions    (http://www.myspace.com/wildfictions)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

90s-vintage indie-rock from gtr/bass/drums power trio Embarrassing Fruits.



Tuesday, June 30
Trio Slicnaton    (http://www.slicnaton.com)
The Pinhook, Durham



Tuesday, June 30
Tiny Vipers
Balmorhea    (http://balmorheamusic.com/)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

One song apiece by each of these bands has me thinking that Balmorhea 
are a mid-sized instrumental band who mesh banjo, guitar, piano, drums, 
bass & violin in a manner reminiscent of Shark Quest; and that Tiny 
Vipers are one of those minimal arpeggiated-guitar and voice outfits.



Tuesday, June 30
Jokes & Jokes & Jokes    (http://www.myspace.com/jokesjokesjokes)
The Additives    (http://www.myspace.com/joeryanmrbridgeport)
Slow Lane    (http://www.myspace.com/slowlanerock)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Wednesday, July 1
The Dex Romweber Duo 
(http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/dex-romweber-duo)
Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham

Another in Duke Performances' excellent Music in the Gardens series. Dex 
Romweber should require no introduction, but briefly: Flat Duo Jets. The 
best gtr/drums rock-n-roll duo I have ever seen. Scratch that: the best 
rock-n-roll band I ever saw, period.

Cut to now: FDJ have been gone for a decade or so, but Dex soldiers on. 
A year or two ago he persuaded his sister Sara (Let's Active, Snatches 
of Pink) to play drums with him, and the result approaches the majesty 
of what they were both doing 20+ years ago, but with all the wisdom that 
comes with age.

Show starts at 7:00 p.m., outside, under the blue blue summer sky. BYO 
picnic (and beverages, though they have 'em for sale as well).



Wednesday, July 1
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone 
(http://www.tomlab.com/front/index.php?action=artist_detail&artist_id=4)
Veelee    (http://www.myspace.com/seeveelee)
Cryptacize    (http://www.myspace.com/cryptacize)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

The more I hear Veelee's debut EP, "Three Sides," the more I find it 
percolating through my brain at times when I'm not listening to it.



Thursday, July 2
The Ginger Envelope    (http://www.myspace.com/thegingerenvelope)
Madeline and the White Flag Band    (http://www.myspace.com/madelinesongs)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Thursday, July 2
Princess and the Criminals    (http://myspace.com/princessandthecriminals)
Pistil    (http://myspace.com/pistilband)
The Bitterman    (http://www.myspace.com/thebitterman)
The Pinhook, Durham



Thursday, July 2
Monsonia    (http://www.monsonia.com)
Verso    (http://www.myspace.com/VERSOVERSO)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Monsonia make taut, mathy, pissed-off power-trio postpunk.



Friday, July 3
Birds of Avalon    (http://www.myspace.com/birdsofavalon)
American Aquarium    (http://www.americanaquarium.com/)
Skull Buckle
Left Outlet    (http://www.myspace.com/leftoutlet)
The Ts    (http://www.myspace.com/thettttt)
Pour House, Raleigh

Birds of Avalon just released their second full-length, Uncanny Valley, 
and the one song I've heard, "Your Downtime Is Up," moves them even more 
in the spacey-swirly-psych direction hinted at by the Outer Upper Inner 
EP of last year. Given what monster guitarists Paul & Cheetie are, I'm 
guessing the live show is still massive.



Friday, July 3
Gray Young    (http://www.myspace.com/grayyoung)
Birds & Arrows    (http://www.myspace.com/birdsandarrows)
Tin Star
The Pinhook, Durham

12:00 - Tin Star
11:00 - Birds and Arrows
10:00 - Gray Young

Tin Star are about to release an EP, Bettie Lane, which is an 
interesting mix of Louis Botta's chiming, arpeggiated guitar & Jamie 
Miyares's piano and high, precise vocals. They navigate (and master) the 
usually-deadly midtempo, by leaving just the right amount of space 
between the notes.



Saturday, July 4
Blag'ard    (http://www.blagard.com/)
Virgo 9    (http://www.myspace.com/thevirgonine)
Battle Rockets    (http://www.myspace.com/battlerockets)
Goodbye, Titan    (http://www.myspace.com/loudestsilenceever)
Free Electric State    (http://www.myspace.com/freeelectricstate)
Sadlack's Heroes, Raleigh

This is the Let Feedback Ring festival, an all-afternoon affair put 
together by the gtr/drums instrumental duo Battle Rockets. The complete 
lineup (probably not in order, but I'm unsure):

Goodbye, Titan
Irata
The White Cascade
Free Electric State
Battle Rockets
The Virgo 9
Blag’ard
Once and Future Kings
Spy Satellite

Starts around 1:30; should be over in time to make it to the Red Collar 
show at Tir Na nOg.



Saturday, July 4
Evil Wiener    (http://www.evilwienerworld.com/)
The Cave, Chapel Hill

It's the 8th Annual Evil Weiner Roast hosted by Evil Wiener (only 8th? 
seems like longer). There is nowhere I'd rather be on a July 4th than at 
the Cave, listening to Evil Wiener's skewed takes on all the patriotic 
classics, plus more.



Saturday, July 4
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
Caverns    (http://www.myspace.com/caverns)
The Demon Beat
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh

Red Collar are a leaner, meaner rock&roll machine, thanks to a few 
months of near-nonstop touring. They are an American success story, 
regardless of how much "success" they actually attain.



Sunday, July 5
The Curtains of Night    (http://myspace.com/thecurtainsofnight)
Invisible    (http://www.myspace.com/invisiblesounds)
Trophy Wife    (http://trophywifetheband.blogspot.com/)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill's Curtains of Night & DC's Trophy Wife are kindred spirits, 
for sure (or twins separated at birth): big screamy all-women 
guitar-drums duos. They're joined here by the bizarre/wonderful 
Greensboro band Invisible, whose homebrew instruments are equal parts 
musical instruments & art-objects. Here's a great flash slideshow from 
the N&O. http://blogs.newsobserver.com/multi/creators-invisible



Sunday, July 5
Clang Quartet    (http://www.myspace.com/clangquartet)
Peter Woods
Instinct Control
Nightlight, Chapel Hill



Sunday, July 5
Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls 
(http://www.myspace.com/richardbacchus)
The Cheats
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh

Richard Bacchus is a wicked elf, a denim-clad rock-n-roll showman, the 
kind of man who might just comb his hair with beer even when he's *not* 
onstage.



Monday, July 6
Mount Weather
Japandroids    (http://www.myspace.com/japandroids)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Show of the week: Japandroids are from Vancouver. Yes, they're yet 
another gtr/drums duo, but you wouldn't know it from the great washes of 
guitar (and huge tom-heavy drum sounds) coming off their debut, 
Post-Nothing. It's summertime music (lotta songs about girls) but 
fuzzed-out, exploded, pushed through a filter of Vancouver drizzle and 
Sonic Youth crackle.

Check out Heart Sweats for a taste of their more beat-heavy/aggro side 
(but note the strategic "oooh"s as well). 
http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/12641-heart-sweats/



Tuesday, July 7
Middle Distance Runner    (http://www.myspace.com/middledistancerunner)
Drink Up Buttercup    (http://www.myspace.com/drinkupbuttercupband)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



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