This week's cool shows: Valient Thorr and Caltrop!

THIS WEEK'S SHOWS Thursday, Feb. 26: Raised by Wolves with Animal, Tir na Nog Thursday, Feb. 26: Western Civ CD-release party with Mitch Easter and Embarrassing Fruits, Local 506 Western Civ's new CD was produced by the legendary Mitch Easter, and his influence can be heard all over their new tracks, so it's fitting that he is playing their release party. But it is a little strange to see him opening for a much lesser-known band. Friday, Feb. 27: Harvey Milk with Black Skies and Pontiak, Local 506 True story: For the longest time I had no idea that Harvey Milk was an actual person. I just thought it was the name of a band. Now that I know a little something about the man, maybe I'll check out the movie before hitting up this show. Black Skies are the heaviest band in Chapel Hill, and one of the heaviest in the Triangle. Virginia's Pontiak were angry, bluesy and swampy last time I heard them. I've yet to check out their new CD. Friday, Feb. 27: Pomegranates with Polynya and Corey Hart, Nightlight Pomegranates are cute, infectious pop from Cincinnati. Polynya is cute, infectious pop from Chapel Hill. Corey Hart is not the Sunglasses at Night guy. Friday, Feb. 27: Old Habits with Shotgun Romance, Pour House Both these bands are bluegrass, though Shotgun Romance is a bit more on the traditional side. Saturday, Feb. 28: North Elementary CD-release party with The Whalewatchers, Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights and The Popular Kids, Pour House I'm seriously wondering how many CD-relase parties North Elementary is going to have. Not that I'm complaining; they keep having good bands back them up at each of their shows. This one features Nuggets-era rockers Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights and Raleigh comedy troupe the Popular Kids, which acutally features Arthur & Trent from Sir Arthur. The Whalewatchers are similar to North Elementary in that they play some seriously edgy, slightly sloppy pop. Sunday, March 1: Des Ark with Yardwork, Nightlight From Triangle Rock via the Nightlight site: Show of the month. des_ark you know about, although if you haven't seen them lately, you might *not* know that they're a monster three-piece, featuring Durham drummer Evan Rowe (Maple Stave, Grappling Hook) and Greensboro guitarist Noah Howard (Strunken White, TigerBearWolf) in addition to Aimee Argote. Yardwork are from Charlotte; they're an 8-piece (or so) band of freaks who put out my favorite release of 2008. Multiple drummers, glorious chiming guitars, glockenspiel, banjo, anything else they can find lying around, and everyone in the band singing at the top of their lungs. Their show at BCHQ was phenomenal. SHOW OF THE WEEK Sunday, March 1: Valient Thorr with Caltrop, Tir na Nog Valient Thorr totally stole the show at Raleigh Undercover with their version of Funkadelic -- featuring Caltrop bass player Murat Dirlik on background vocals. They also packed the place way beyond what I thought it could ever hold, so be prepared to squeeze your way through if need to go to the bathroom or, more importantly, the bar. Caltrop rarely plays in Raleigh, so this is an extra treat. NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Thursday, March 5: The T's with Static Minds, Tir na Nog Friday, March 6: The Loners, Tir na Nog CD-release party Friday, March 6: Night Prowler with Judas Rising, Lincoln Theatre Friday, March 6: Strange Faces, The Pour House Friday, March 6: Thad Cockrell with Caitlin Cary, Pour House Old friends and collaborators Caitlin and Thad have been busier with other projects in the past couple of years, so it's good to see them back together again. Saturday, March 7: Hank Sinatra, Slim's Saturday, March 7: Bain Fundraising Concert, 313 Martin St., Raleigh THE LINEUP THUS FAR (subject to change): 12:00-Razor Wire Safety Net 1:00-Tomas Phillips 2:00-Subscape Annex 3:00-Craig Hilton 4:00-Benito Crawford there will be a 1 hour break from 5-6 6:00-MG3+One 7:00-The Tender Fruit 8:00-Old Bricks 9:00-Ivan Rosebud 10:00-Mount Weather Dj FTB to provide interlude music throughout the night. Space provided and concert sponsored by Clearscapes. Saturday, March 7: Curtains of Night, Reservoir Saturday, March 7: Nathan Oliver with Schooner and The Proclivities, Local 506 Saturay, March 7: Cool John Ferguson and the Swingin' Johnsons, The Pour House Saturay, March 7: The Virgo 9 with The Wigg Report and Blood Red River The Pinhook Saturday, March 7: Nathan Oliver, with Schooner and The Proclivities, Local 506 Sunday, March 8: Future Islands with Lonnie Walker, Nightlight Sunday, March 8: Hymns with Death on Two Wheels and The Bridges, Slim's Sunday, March 8: Future Islands Nightlight UPCOMING IN GENERAL Wednesday, March 11: Red Fang with Early Man, The Pour House Thursday, March 12: Vetiver, Cat's Cradle San Francisco freak-folkies with roots in Greensboro's early '90s pop-genius group Raymond Brake. Thursday, March 12: Lonnie Walker with Lake Inferior, Tir na Nog Friday, March 13: Colossus, Reservoir Friday, March 13: In the Year of the Pig, Nightlight There will also be an early event from 6-9 p.m.: NL Collective Art Show- check out North Carolina artists during Chapel Thrill's Second Friday Art Walk 6PM-9PM walk, bike, booze around Friday, March 13: Hellrazor, Dive Bar Friday, March 13: Whatever Brains, Slim's Friday, March 13: American Aquarium, Lincoln Theatre Friday, March 13: Olympic Ass-Kicking Team with Chip Robinson & the Heavy Beat Outfit, The Pour House Saturday, March 14: The Proclivities with The Moderate, Pour House Saturday, March 14: Automag, The Brewery Saturay, March 14: Maple Stave with Tiger Bear Wolf and Actual Persons Living or Dead The Pinhook