Cool shows this week: Birds of Avalon, The Trousers and more!

THIS WEEK'S SHOWS SHOW OF THE WEEK Part 1! Thursday, Aug. 21: Big outdoor show with Birds of Avalon and more! This is an early show, and free! It's taking place in front of the Progress Energy building downtown. BIRDS OF AVALON (9:30 PM) VIOLET VECTOR AND THE LOVELY LOVELIES (8:00 PM) (Who also play Slim's on Saturday) THE CARTRIDGE FAMILY (6:30 PM) THE HUGUENOTS (5:15 PM) And after BOA finishes their set, you need to head over to The Pour House for ... SHOW OF THE WEEK Part 2! Thursday, Aug. 21: Malarkeyfest with Red Collar,The Trousers, Left Outlet and Magic Mike, the Pour House British-blues-inspired Trousers are easily one of my favorite bands in this area, and rival Dynamite Brothers as my favorite musicians to watch. Guitarist/singer Jim Pendergast plays like he's taking a quiet walk in the park. No muss, no fuss. Just gets it done and does it really well. If you haven't had a chance to see them (and because they play so rarely, you probably haven't), you NEED to see this show. Here is some video from last year. Red Collar's frantic Jawbox-Fugazi-style punk is going to lead them out of the club circuit soon, so you need to catch them now. I have somehow managed to not see Left Outlet (not purposefully), and I don't know exactly who Magic Mike is. Thursday, Aug. 21: Colossus, with Tooth and Grappling Hook, Local 506 (Cy benefit) NWOBHM with an understanding of just how cheesy that genre really is. Friday, Aug. 22: Black River with The Ghost of Saturday Nite, Sadlack's Black River is Arkansas Bill, Ed Root and CJ from the Cartridge Family, and this is their first show. Someone whose opinion matters to me has heard them practice and can't stop raving about them. Here's what I had to say about Ghost of Saturday Nite back in April Friday, Aug. 22: The Ex-Monkeys, Pizza Palace The Ex-Monkeys are Ian and Eddie from Friend Side Monkey, an electronic group that was all the rage round these parts about 10 years ago. Hear what they've been up to recently. Dollface is a bad-ass female guitar player who loves Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. Saturday, Aug. 23: The Magic Babies with Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies, Slim's (Rawls benefit) Here's some video from The Magic Babies. Wednesday, Aug. 27: Secondhand Freespace: Local Music Networking Night, Local 506 Not a band, but good info if you are IN a band. Panel Discussion: Booking the Triangle & Beyond Moderated by Grayson Currin (The Independent, Pitchfork, etc) Panelists include local venue booking managers: Dayn Peters - Jack Sprat Glenn Boothe - Local 506 Jenks Miller - Nightlight Mouse Mock - The Cave NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS Friday, Aug. 29: Cy Rawls benefit with Superchunk, Birds of Avalon and The Rosebuds, Cat's Cradle An all-star local-music benefit for Cy Rawls. This will seriously be the show of the year. The following day, eat some steak for Cy with a benefit buffet at Outback. Go even if you're a vegetarian -- you can always load up on mashed potatoes and salad. Here are the details: ANYWAY, after "getting jiggy" with Birds of Avalon, Rosebuds and Superchunk Friday night, come out to a tasty and nutrient-rich buffet lunch at Outback Steakhouse at 3500 Mt. Moriah Rd., near New Hope Commons, at noon Saturday, Aug. 30. For $20, you get chicken AND steak, salad, mashed potatoes and a drink, with ALL PROCEEDS going to the cause. Pay by cash or check (made out to Cy Rawls Benevolence Fund) at the door. Eat in or take out, whatever. There are only 50 spots for this event, so please RSVP through the Evite posted below. Here's the link to RSVP: Friday, Aug. 29: Sir Arthur & the Royal Knights with Dirty Johnny & the Makebelieves, Slim's One of the first shows I documented for my blog was Dirty Johnny & the Makebelieves on Nov. 11, 2005, at Slim's. I remember that date because I also met my friend Flo, who would end up being very special to me, at that show. Unfortunately the video from that show was put on a server that no longer exists. I probably have the original video somewhere, but honestly am not going to look for it right now. Maybe I'll put it up before the show. In the meantime, you can see the original entry, and video from the second time I saw them, here. NOTE: Dirty Johnny will be at Reservoir in Carrboro with Dirty Little Heaters on Thursday, Aug. 28 Saturday, Aug. 30: Raleigh Rumble IV, Vintage Bikes & Rock, Slim's Saturday, Aug. 30: The Club is Open show with Filthybird and more,Cat's Cradle Here's what I had to say last year about the totally awesome and underrated Filthybird. UPCOMING IN GENERAL Friday, Sept. 5: The Old Ceremony, Cat's Cradle Friday, Sept. 5: Pine State, Local 506 Back in the day, no one, and I mean no one, put on a crazy tent-revival show, or tore up a club, like Pine State. I remember one show in which The Gimp allowed people (including me) to whip him, and another in which Charlie Speight walked around in a sparkly thong and some other guy whose name I forget ate brains out of a can and then threw up on stage. they also played my 1994 Christmas party when I lived in Boylan Heights and got mad when I told them they couldn't bring a gutted-out piano into the house. At some point, they also played music. I don't know who is in this line-up, but I would give anything if they would bring back the Yngwie-loving Japanese guitarist who was briefly in the band. Thursday, Sept. 11: The Bronzed Chorus, Tir na Nog I can truthfully say this band was one of the most surprising bands I've seen all year. I still don't know what to make of them except to say that they're amazing and that you need to go see them. See the video from the show in April. Sept. 19-21: Sparkcon, venues throughout downtown. I missed the last two Sparkcons because I was in Germany each year. This September I'll be in Raleigh, and I look forward to checking it out.