RTP-area local music and culture

[grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>]

Thursday, June 24
Microcephalic Superintendent
Kamama
Renay Aumiller and Alexis Mastromichalis
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Nightlight says: "Experimental music / jazz / dance night!! featuring...
Microcephalic Superintendant (Crowmeat Bob, Carrie Shull, Craig Hilton
and George Lam) / 
Kamama (new project with Audrey Chen (Baltimore cellist) and Luca Marini
(drums/ percussions) / 
Renay Aumiller and Alexis Mastromichalis (dance/improvised duo) 



Thursday, June 24
Embarrassing Fruits    (http://www.myspace.com/embarrassingfruitsband)
Yardwork    (http://www.myspace.com/wetdigitalredstorm)
Whatever Brains    (http://www.myspace.com/whateverbrains)
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh

A nice little warmup for this year's TRKFest, which takes place on
Saturday at Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, and which features (among a
dozen or so acts) both Embarrassing Fruits and brilliant Charlotte freak
collective Yardwork.

Plus tonight you get the fuzzed-out spazz-punk-pop of Whatever Brains,
AND it's all for free.



Thursday, June 24
Cantwell, Gomez, Jordan    (http://www.cantwellgomezandjordan.com)
Sperm Count
Chapel Hill Underground, Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill Underground is apparently the new name of what used to be
known as Hell. I had no idea they were booking shows (and it may or may
not be a regular occurrence), but a dank basement on a hot summer night
is as good a place as any to check out the skewed majesty of Cantwell
Gomez & Jordan.



Thursday, June 24
Red Collar    (http://www.myspace.com/redcollarmusic)
Wood Ear    (http://www.myspace.com/woodear)
The Baker Family    (http://www.myspace.com/thebakersnc)
Local 506, Chapel Hill

Red Collar slowly emerge from the life-and-baby-and-whatever-induced
hiatus they've been under. Jay has been playing a ton of solo shows, and
I have to assume that's affected the band somehow, though it's
impossible to predict just how. 



Thursday, June 24
Pistil    (http://myspace.com/pistilband)
Up the Down Escalator    (http://www.myspace.com/upthedownescalatorband)
The Spring Collection
The Pinhook, Durham



Thursday, June 24
Blood Red River    (http://www.myspace.com/bloodredriver)
Lollipop Factory    (http://www.myspace.com/lollipopfactory)
Deluxe Handcuffs    (http://www.myspace.com/deluxehandcuffs)
Reservoir, Carrboro



Friday, June 25
New Pornographers    (http://www.thenewpornographers.com/)
UNC Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill



Friday, June 25
Jew(s) & Catholic(s)    (http://www.myspace.com/jewsandcatholics)
Beloved Binge    (http://www.myspace.com/belovedbinge)
Pink Flag    (http://www.myspace.com/pinkflagnc)
Broad Street Cafe, Durham

Two duos - the K-style gtr/drums indiepop of Beloved Binge & the darker,
almost post-industrial gtr/drum machine/upright bass of Jews and
Catholics - along with the squally ass-kick of Pink Flag.



Friday, June 25
Calico Haunts    (http://www.myspace.com/calicohaunts)
The Tomahawks    (http://www.myspace.com/jeffcrawfordmusic)
The Roadside Graves    (http://www.myspace.com/theroadsidegraves)
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

Calico Haunts made a record last year, "After All," that wound up in my
top-3 of 2009. It's spooky & kinda slow & majestic in a strange sort of
Leonard Cohen fronting Crazy Horse kind of way. 



Friday, June 25
North Elementary    (http://www.northelementary.com)
Michael Holland    (http://www.bigjohnsrecords.com)
Owl Laws    (http://www.myspace.com/owllaws)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, June 26
Midtown Dickens    (http://www.myspace.com/midtowndickens)
Megafaun    (http://www.myspace.com/megafaun)
Hammer No More the Fingers    (http://www.hnmtf.com)
Yardwork    (http://www.myspace.com/wetdigitalredstorm)
Ryan Gustafson    (http://www.myspace.com/ryangustafsonmusic)
Piedmont Biofuels, Pittsboro

This is the now-possibly-really-annual TRKFest, put on by the folks at
Trekky Records and featuring a full day of local-music fun in the sun of
central Chatham. Check out this complete lineup:

|MEGAFAUN|
|LOST IN THE TREES|
|HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS|
|EMBARRASSING FRUITS|
|MIDTOWN DICKENS|
|MOUNT MORIAH|
|VEELEE|
|BUTTERFLIES|
|RYAN GUSTAFSON|
|YARDWORK|
|EZEKIEL GRAVES|
|VIBRANT GREEN|


|OTHER ACTIVITIES|

Local art, crafts and clothing for sale
Local food and drinks for sale
Pants-off Dance-off
Coffee Sack Race
Cool Kids Yoga Session
Musical Chairs Cake Walk
Make Yr Own Tie-Dye TRKfest Shirt
Sprinklers and Water Things
Tour of Piedmont Biofuels
Free Haircuts
Shadow Puppets
Bliss Tent
...and probably more!

|VENDORS|

Carolina Brewery
OnlyBurger
Angelina's Kitchen
Locopops
Riverbasin Outfitters
Flytrap Studios

2pm start, $10



Saturday, June 26
Soul Rebels    (http://www.soulrebelsbrassband.com/)
Papa Mojo's Roadhouse, Durham



Saturday, June 26
Honored Guests    (http://www.thehonoredguests.com/)
Western Civ.    (http://westerncivrock.com)
Pros & Cons
Nightlight, Chapel Hill

The Honored Guests have a new EP out, "Into Nostalgia," and I've been
rocking track 3, "Jimmy's a Cop Now," on nonstop repeat in my car for 4
solid days now. As I half-crazedly tweeted the other day, it's a better
Spoon song than anything on Transference.

But don't just take my word for it; download it for free:
http://vrprsnts.com/



Saturday, June 26
Twilighter    (http://twilighter.net/)
Diamond Center    (http://www.diamondcentermusic.com/)
The Cave, Chapel Hill



Saturday, June 26
Cough    (http://www.myspace.com/cough666)
HOG
DIVEbar, Raleigh

Durham's HOG are embarking on a string of local dates to hone their
material before heading into the studio. In case you've been out of the
local-metal loop, HOG are the Nth-stage evolution of some of the dudes
who used to be in Tooth.



Saturday, June 26
The Invisible Hand    (http://www.myspace.com/adamsmith)
Naked Gods    (http://www.myspace.com/nakedgods)
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh



Sunday, June 27
HOG
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham

I suppose when you play a genre of music where most of the vocals are a
guttural growl or a yowling screech, playing 3 shows in one 28-hour span
might even be considered beneficial.

HOG have never played WXDU before, but their precursors Tooth did, and
it was one of the best shows of the year, despite the fact that their
drummer had the flu & nearly passed out between every song. So a little
show-overload (on a 95-degree weekend) is small potatoes.

4:00 p.m. at 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.



Sunday, June 27
Caltrop    (http://www.myspace.com/caltropband)
Black Skies    (http://blackskies.us/)
HOG
Local 506, Chapel Hill

In case you needed any more proof that HOG are hardcore motherfuckers,
this will be their third show of the weekend, following Saturday night's
DIVEbar show in Raleigh, and Sunday afternoon's appearance on WXDU. 

Also hardcore, for reasons which are hopefully obvious to all of you by
now: Caltrop.



Monday, June 28
My Majesty in Oxygen    (http://www.myspace.com/mymajestyinoxygen)
No Eyes    (http://www.myspace.com/noeyesband)
Local 506, Chapel Hill



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