Videos of Monotonix, Sir Arthur & Polar Bear Polar Bear

I've had two friends tell me that I steered them wrong by telling them to go see Monotonix, who put on a typical crazy show to a packed house Monday night at Pour House. Both of them told me explicitly they thought the band sucked. I guess I hadn't done a good job of explaining Monotonix to them. Monotonix isn't about good music, though their recorded output can be entertaining. Monotonix live is purely and simply about watching three Borat-looking dudes break stuff and abuse each other (and sometimes the audience). If you're not into that, you won't be into Monotonix. Here's some video of them breaking stuff and abusing each other from the other night. (VIDEO DELETED) Before Monotonix were Sir Arthur, who are quickly becoming my favorite band in the area, though I really prefer it when they wear the '70s party suits. Finally, Polar Bear Polar Bear opened up, and I'm really no more enlightened as to who they are than I was last week. They sound a little like Interpol, and they like to dress up in Arctic wear and play surrounded by clouds of smoke-machine smoke. I think they're off to a good start, and I'd like to hear them again, though it honestly was a little gloomier than I wanted to hear while waiting for Monotonix.

This week's cool shows: Billy Bragg and Superchunk rock for Obama!

(Billy Bragg, Saturday, Nov. 1) THIS WEEK'S SHOWS Friday, Oct. 31: Halloween Party with Straight 8's, Tremors and Killer Filler, Slim's Straight 8's and Killer Filler are both rockabilly/surf bands from Hillsborough. The Tremors are from Greensboro. Friday, Oct. 31: The Avett Brothers, War Memorial Auditorium, Greensboro Once again, the Avetts are putting on a sold out show. Next thing you know, they'll be in the actual Greensboro Coliseum, not the auditorium beside it. SHOW OF THE WEEK! Nov. 1: HUGE Obama rally in Chapel Hill If you can handle getting up early after partying it down on Halloween, you'll get to experience one of the most amazing concerts all year. Personally I'd be most excited to see Billy Bragg, but since yours truly will be working, one of my spies will have to go and report on this show for me: From Merge Records: With help from the Obama Campaign and a bunch of great North Carolina musicians, we've set up two concerts to promote voting and more specfically voting EARLY to help turn NC blue for Barack Obama. The Asheville show was last night - thanks to everyone who came out! NC ROCKS FOR CHANGE free concert during the last week of EARLY VOTING in NC! Chapel Hill, NC 11/1 @ Graham Terrace at UNC (Adjacent to the Morehead Planetarium Early Voting Site) VOTE on the LAST DAY OF EARLY VOTING! 9 AM until 1 PM Enjoy Coffee, Doughnuts and Rock while you vote! The dBs Superchunk (acoustic) Ivan Rosebud Megafaun I Was Totally Destroying It Bowerbirds Greg Humphreys Regina Hexaphone Portastatic Billy Bragg Check www.NCForChange.com for updates and information. Nov. 1: Bowerbirds, Slim's Raleigh acoustic folkies return to Slim's after an extended European tour. Saturday, Nov. 1: Chip Robinson & the Heavy Outfit with The T's and The Loners the Pour House Singer/songwriter and former Backslider Robinson returns with two of the rockinest bands in Raleigh opening. Sunday, Nov. 2: Leadfoot with Bad Checks, The Pour House Straight up rock. Bad Checks are one of my long-time favorite local bands (and no, I'm not related to members Robin and Cliff Mann), and they are responsible for one of THE classic local records, "Graveyard Tramp," which was re-released a while back on CD. Mon, Nov. 3: Drive By Truckers and The Hold Steady, Lincoln Theatre NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Wednesday, Nov. 5: the Mountain Goats, and Kaki King Cat's Cradle "Present: the last happy hour of your life." Saturday, Nov. 8: the Black Crowes, Lincoln Theatre Apparently this is an outdoor show, so bundle up. Nov. 8: The T's Slim's Party for bass player Lutie Cain's sister, Lisa. Tuesday, Nov. 11: Diplo with Abe Vigoda, Cat's Cradle Diplo is the DJ/boyfriend of MIA, and is also responsible for bringing Brazilian baile funk to the hipster masses with his "Favela on Blast" CD. UPCOMING IN GENERAL Nov. 21: Double Negative with Rocket Cottage Slim's Raleigh's hardcore kings, soon to be heading to Europe and playing ATP. Nov. 23: Karen Mann's Birthday Bash with Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights and Dirty Little Heaters Slim's Come out and help yours truly celebrate the fine, Nuggets-style rock of Sir Arthur, and the angry-female rawk of Dirty Little Heaters. Nov. 29: The Loners with Pinche Gringo, Slim's Dec. 6: Death Metal Fest, Volume 11

Huge concert for Obama this weekend

Just got this from the folks at Merge:

Please help us get the word out!

With help from the Obama Campaign and a bunch of great North Carolina
musicians, we've set up two concerts to promote voting and more
specfically voting EARLY to help turn NC blue for Barack Obama. The
Asheville show was last night - thanks to everyone who came out!

NC ROCKS FOR CHANGE free concert during the last week of EARLY VOTING in NC!

Chapel Hill, NC
11/1 @ Graham Terrace at UNC
(Adjacent to the Morehead Planetarium Early Voting Site)
VOTE on the LAST DAY OF EARLY VOTING!
9 AM until 1 PM
Enjoy Coffee, Doughnuts and Rock while you vote!

The dBs
Superchunk (acoustic)
Ivan Rosebud
Megafaun
I Was Totally Destroying It
Bowerbirds
Greg Humphreys
Regina Hexaphone
Portastatic
Billy Bragg

Check www.NCForChange.com for updates and information.

Video from last night's Rosebuds show

Yes, Slim's was packed for last night's last-minute Rosebuds show, though not as packed as I assumed it would be. Since I haven't heard the new CD, I can't tell you what new songs they played. I was in the back of the club for most of the show because I just can't stand being in a crush of people in a small club. I did manage to get up front to capture "Get Up, Get Out," and as you can see from the video, I was practically onstage with the band. In fact, I was worried a couple of times that the bass player was going to accidentally whack me with his headstock! My favorite part of this video is when Kelly goes out into the crowd. I'm not sure who I like more: The dude with the amazing stache in the front row, or the dude with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth just clapping away to the song. The show didn't start getting crowded until after opening band The Shame Club (from St. Louis) played, which actually IS a shame because they were great -- though probably not exactly what many Rosebuds fans would have been into. Ricky Bacchus compared them to BTO, with a bit of Queen thrown in. I thought they sounded a lot like the Hellacopters, which is one of my all-time favorite bands. I hope they swing back through here again.

The Rosebuds TONIGHT at Slim's

OK, this one slipped up on me a little too quickly to get into the weekly update (or, once again, maybe I'm too late with the weekly update). But this is, by far, the show of the week.

The Rosebuds, tonight (Oct. 22) at Slim's, $5. Get there early because it will be packed.

Cy Rawls passes away

The details are on the Cy Rawls blog: http://cyrawls.blogspot.com/

and David Menconi has a piece on his blog:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat/cy-rawls

My personal condolences to Cy's family and friends. If there's
anything good that came out of this sad situation, it's that Cy's
illness has shown how a community can truly come together to help one
of its own.