RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Thursday, March 4
Ben Davis + The Jetts    (http://www.lovitt.com/artists/bendavis.html)
Inspector 22
Gross Ghost    (http://www.myspace.com/grossghost)
The Smokey Littles    (http://www.youtube.com/user/smokeylittles)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

The Smokey Littles are Ben Davis's son Rick's band, and yes, Ben is 
younger than me, and I can remember first meeting Rick when he wasn't 
yet a year old. Sigh. The kids nowadays. Anyway, they'll be playing 
early, as Ping Pong Thursday is winding down.

Later in the evening you've got the taut, ever-more-danceable postpunk 
of Ben Davis & the Jetts, as well as the power-trio indierock of Gross 
Ghost and the damaged/demented folk-blooz-noise of Inspector 22.



Thursday, March 4
The Loners    (http://www.demonbeachrecords.com/loners.html)
The Demon Beat
The Royal Nites
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh

This is the weekly Local Bands, Local Beers. Hammer No More the Fingers 
have toured with The Demon Beat & they've been sending out a stream of 
enthusiastic tweets about how great they are.

It's unclear to me whether there is any connection between The Royal 
Nites & the slightly-earlier Raleigh band Sir Arthur & His Royal Knights.



Thursday, March 4
Feeding the Fire    (http://www.feedingthefire.com/)
Big Fat Gap    (http://www.bigfatgap.com/)
Rocket Surgeon
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Thursday, March 4
The Alcazar Hotel    (http://www.myspace.com/thealcazarhotel)
Graveyard Fields
Come Hell or High Water    (http://www.myspace.com/suzaandsheets)
The Pinhook, Durham

11 - The Graveyard Fields
10 - Alcazar Hotel
9 - Come Hell or High Water



Friday, March 5
North Elementary    (http://www.northelementary.com)
Aminal    (http://www.myspace.com/theaminalmusic)
Caustic Casanova    (http://www.myspace.com/causticcasanova)
The Pinhook, Durham

12 - North Elementary
11 - Aminal
10 - Caustic Casanova

North Elementary will be heavily augmented by a new multi-screen visual 
setup provided by local filmmaker (and frequent local-music-videomaker) 
Matt Hedt, who says "Hey all y'all, I've got a pretty sweet video show 
worked out for North Elementary, based on old video games. We did the 
first run at 506 a few weeks back and, if you saw that, it will be 
similar but even better. They sound really quite amazing these days, 
great new songs and phenomenal live show."



Friday, March 5
A Rooster for the Masses    (http://www.myspace.com/aroosterforthemasses)
Free Electric State    (http://www.myspace.com/freeelectricstate)
Decoration Ghost
Pour House, Raleigh

Free Electric State have an album coming out in late April that sets a 
new standard for guitar-heavy radio-friendly Brit-influenced 
postpunkpop. Decoration Ghost have a new album out now, but it was so 
popular in Greensboro that it never made it over our way before selling 
out. They're a Greensboro supergroup of sorts, featuring ex-members of 
Kudzu Wish, Taija Rae & Manamid, among others.



Friday, March 5
John Howie, Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff 
(http://www.myspace.com/rosewoodbluff)
Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed 
(http://www.myspace.com/mcgeehollowspeed)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Friday, March 5
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
Ryan Gustafson    (http://www.myspace.com/ryangustafsonmusic)
Look Mexico
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh

Red Collar have been taking it easy this winter, for various reasons 
(recuperation from tragic shopping-cart accidents; impending 
parenthood), so any chance you get to see them, you should probably take.



Friday, March 5
Kingsbury Manx    (http://www.thekingsburymanx.com/)
Inspector 22
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh

The Kingsbury Manx are celebrating an anniversary of sorts (their debut 
CD was released in January of 2000 -- here's the first thread about them 
on alt.music.chapel-hill: 
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.music.chapel-hill/browse_thread/thread/cb3fcc6664ba41af/695ab6fda8389d0c 
), so original member Kenneth Stephenson is in town & playing with them.



Saturday, March 6
The Dynamite Brothers    (http://www.dynamitebrothers.com/)
Magic Babies    (http://www.myspace.com/themagicbabies)
Static Minds
Berkeley Cafe, Raleigh

This is a record-release party for the new Static Minds 7", which was 
reviewed in this week's Indy. 
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:411961



Saturday, March 6
Jeff Hart & The Ruins    (http://www.jeffhartweb.com/)
Sea Cow
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, March 6
Slugnut    (http://www.slugnut.com)
Double Negative    (http://www.myspace.com/thedoublenegative)
Plague    (http://www.myspace.com/plaguenc)
DRI    (http://www.dirtyrottenimbeciles.com/)
Volume 11 Tavern, Raleigh

Yes, *that* DRI, aka Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, aka the band whose logo was 
on everybody's skateboard in 1984. I don't want to talk trash about 
hardcore bands who're still together after 27+ years (and in the case of 
DRI, they've pretty much been at it throughout that whole time, albeit 
with a variety of lineup changes).

Doesn't matter either way, as the 20 minutes of Double Negative you'll 
get will be the best thing you'll hear all month; everything else is gravy.



Saturday, March 6
The Ghost of Saturday Nite 
(http://www.myspace.com/theghostofsaturdaynite)
Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls 
(http://www.myspace.com/richardbacchus)
Pink Flag    (http://www.myspace.com/pinkflagnc)
Broad Street Cafe, Durham

The Ghost of Saturday Nite is a little bit punkrock, a little bit 
powerpop, which isn't so surprising when you learn that their drummer is 
Ethan Smith (frontman for the brilliant art-damaged rockband Orifice in 
the early 90s) & their bassist is Eric West, of an endless series of 
jangle- and then power-pop bands over the past 15 years.

Richard Bacchus is your best entertainment value, if you like jean 
jackets & charismatic frontmen. I know I do.

Pink Flag are young & mean & ready to mess you up!



Saturday, March 6
DJs Mothersbrothers
Future Islands    (http://www.myspace.com/futureislands)
DJ Family Vacation    (http://1200problems.org)
Wizzerds of Rhyme
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

It's a 7th-anniversary party for Nightlight! The featured entertainment 
is Future Islands, a weird, funny, hardworking (and hirstute) 
synthpop/dance band who used to be called Art Lord & His Self-Portraits 
& used to live in Greenville. Now they live in Baltimore & have a new 
record out on Thrill Jockey. Time flies in all directions.



Saturday, March 6
Django Haskins    (http://www.djangohaskins.com/)
Mary Johnson Rockers    (http://www.myspace.com/maryjohnsonrockers)
Austin Lucas    (http://www.myspace.com/austinlucas1)
The Pinhook, Durham



Saturday, March 6
Straight 8s    (http://www.straight8s.com)
The Tremors    (http://www.tremorsrockabilly.com/)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Sunday, March 7
Bear in Heaven    (http://www.myspace.com/bearinheaven)
Cymbals Eat Guitars    (http://www.myspace.com/cymbalseatguitars)
Freelance Whales    (http://www.myspace.com/freelancewhales)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Blog Sensation Show of the Week (it's early March, so we're getting the 
annual SXSW-travel fallout shows).



Sunday, March 7
Kittie    (http://www.myspace.com/officialkittie)
God Forbid    (http://www.myspace.com/godforbid)
Periphery    (http://www.myspace.com/periphery)
Age of Despair    (http://myspace.com/ageofdespairband)
Volume 11 Tavern, Raleigh

Kittie are one of the first post-Title 9 metal bands -- they're all 
women (they formed the band when they were still in high school, in 
1997, an eternity ago by metal standards), but there's a big 
thrash/death influence in the music, all double-kick blastbeats and 
classic guttural death-metal growl-vocals. They don't play down their 
gender, but they don't feel overly obligated to play it up either, or at 
least not to the extent that earlier generations of all-woman metal 
bands had to.



Monday, March 8
Goes Cube    (http://www.myspace.com/goescube)
The AAs
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Tuesday, March 9
Filthybird    (http://www.myspace.com/filthybird)
Mount Moriah    (http://www.myspace.com/mountmoriah)
The Sandwitches    (http://www.myspace.com/thesandwitches)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Mount Moriah started quite a few years ago as an outlet for Jenks 
Miller's quieter/folkier material. It went dormant while Jenks focused 
on Horseback, until his partner in Holidays for Quince Records Heather 
McEntire started writing country-er songs (too country for her band 
Bellafea) and resurrected the band. They have a new album in the works 
for later this year.



Tuesday, March 9
Slow Death    (http://www.myspace.com/prettyboythorson)
Mikey Erg    (http://www.myspace.com/mikeyerg)
The Pinhook, Durham

The Slow Death is a couple of dudes who used to be in Chaz's favorite 
band of all time, Pretty Boy Thorson.



Tuesday, March 9
Awesome Color    (http://awesomecolor.net)
Tyvek    (http://www.myspace.com/tyvekmusic)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



Tuesday, March 9
Pegasus
Death Came Down the Mountain 
(http://www.myspace.com/deathcamedownthemountain)
Music Hates You    (http://www.musichatesyou.com)
Reservoir, Carrboro



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