Local punk rock marching band

My former bandmate Amy Wilkinson alerted me to this. The Scene of the Crime Rovers

The way metal ought to be

Loud, sludgy and brutal. That about sums up The Sword (Myspace), who played Kings last night with Savannah, Ga., band Kylesa and Wilmington's own Thunderlip. Actually, their Myspace describes them as sounding like "a bunch of bison being pushed over a cliff," which is pretty damn accurate. (Video removed) Unfortunately I missed Thunerlip, who, for some reason, played at 9:30. Kings needs to either start all their shows early, or start them all late. I can't handle this back-and-forth. It seems like every time I go there I either miss one of the bands I want to see, or the band I want to see isn't going to start for another two hours. Kylesa (Myspace) was cool -- a good deal more brutal than The Sword, but with the type of throat-shredding vocals I don't normally go for. But I was really excited to see that they had a female guitarist/vocalist who was totally awesome. Here's their video: (Video removed) See more pics here.

Laid Out Level at Slim's

Last night I caught a couple of songs from this Raleigh power-pop band at Slim's. They sounded good, and had a talented guitar player -- though I'll admit the one I taped wasn't one of my favorites. They gave a way copies of their CD, which is now out on Radical 9 Records. Here's the video.

Guaranteed to be one of the best shows all year

That is, if you love metal. Wilmington's great Thunderlip with the legendary THE SWORD from Austin. Monday night at Kings.

Kenny Roby at Slim's

OK, I've been really slack lately. Work has been killing me, and my personal life has been busy too. However, I did manage to go out to Slim's for my 40th birthday on Saturday and catch a show by Kenny Roby (Myspace), a great local singer-songwriter who used to be in one of my all-time favorite alt-country bands, Six String Drag. One day I'll resurrect the podcast and do one on them. I also got to eat at a brand new German/Austrian/Polish place in town that's a little pricey but worth it. Here's the video with Kenny Roby.