Sunday, June 28, 2009
Jazz funeral for MJ
OK, I thought about writing that headline "Jazz funeral for Jacko," but I've always hated that nickname. Anyway, my former colleague Ryan Beckwith has a good article in today's N&O about local tribute band Who's Bad which is suddenly in demand following Michael Jackson's death. Ryan compared their Friday show at the 9:30 club to a jazz funeral.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Triangle Music posts Merge video retrospectives
Triangle Music is posting a series of video retrospectives in advance of XXMerge. The most recent one, published yesterday, is Lambchop's "Is a Woman." Check it out!
After all that talk about seeing Holy Ghost Tent Revival ...
(House of Fools)
... I didn't even end up seeing them. I did go to the show, and I did see the openers, House of Fools, who I liked a lot. But a series of unrelated events conspired to suck the live-music spirit out of me and had me leaving the Pour House earlier than I anticipated.
First was Michael Jackson's death. Talk about a shock. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was talking about it. Every TV downtown was tuned to the CNN coverage, which included the disturbing shot of his body being loaded off the helicopter and into the coroner's office. My two companions for the evening both admitted to crying when they heard the news. So basically there was just a damper on the evening that wasn't going to lift no matter what happened.
Second was dinner at Gravy. I'll admit that as I write this I'm eating the leftovers that one of my companions left in my car. And I'm having the same reaction tonight that I had last night: After two bites I feel like I've consumed an entire bottle of olive oil and I'm imagining that someone has injected my veins with lead. I advise anyone who wants to go to dinner downtown then go out to stay away from Gravy. After eating there I just wanted to go home and sleep. I will say the service is impeccable.
Thirdly, I underestimated the hippie element that would be at the HGTR show. Personally I don't have a problem with hippies. I've been accused of being a hippie myself because of my love of comfortable footwear and natural remedies. By and large, they're just really happy people who really FEEL the music, who love to dance and don't give a damn that everyone else is laughing at them. And yes, I know that happy feeling usually has to do with the amount of drugs consumed. But by and large, I'd rather hang out with a group of happy people than the average jaded hipster. But my companion (only one went to the show with me) was freaked OUT by it all. Toward the end of House of Fools' set, I got a call that she was at Tir na Nog, so I went over to calm her down.
"I just couldn't take it anymore!" she said, on the verge of hyperventilating. "there were too damn many hippies and I just can't handle jam bands! I just had to get the hell out of there."
I kept telling her that House of Fools weren't really a jam band. If anything, they're straight up Southern rock/Classic rock with a little big of glam thrown in here and there. They reminded me of a mix of Atlanta Rhythm Section, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Kansas and My Morning Jacket. So, for me anyway, the evening was a good one, even if I didn't see the band I originally intended to see.
Check out the video of House of Fools. And see more photos here.
House of Fools from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Triangle bands team up on their own
Not sure how long this has been around, but I just got an invite to the Team Triangle Reverbnation Sponsored Songs Program on Facebook. Here's how group founders Adam Eckhardt (A Rooster for the Masses) and James Hepler (IWTDI, Sorry About Dresden) describe it:
On June 24, 2009, reverbnation teamed up with Microsoft Windows and scores of bands to launch a new musical/promotion experiment. Bands help promote Windows, Windows helps promote bands.
It is a decent enough idea, and many bands from Central NC chose to participate. The only downside is this. For some reason, Reverbnation and Windows decided they would promote bands that are already popular over bands that aren't so much.
Several members of bands from the Triangle region of North Carolina decided that we don't have to be discouraged by the fact that we're somewhere in the middle or at the bottom of a mix of thousands of bands. If we team up we can promote ourselves AND each other.
This is the place where you can see many of the local participants of the Reverbnation/Windows song sponsorship program, listen to their songs, and pass them on. Every band listed here gets 50 cents for every unique download of their song. So listen, and if you like it, download it and tell your friends.
On June 24, 2009, reverbnation teamed up with Microsoft Windows and scores of bands to launch a new musical/promotion experiment. Bands help promote Windows, Windows helps promote bands.
It is a decent enough idea, and many bands from Central NC chose to participate. The only downside is this. For some reason, Reverbnation and Windows decided they would promote bands that are already popular over bands that aren't so much.
Several members of bands from the Triangle region of North Carolina decided that we don't have to be discouraged by the fact that we're somewhere in the middle or at the bottom of a mix of thousands of bands. If we team up we can promote ourselves AND each other.
This is the place where you can see many of the local participants of the Reverbnation/Windows song sponsorship program, listen to their songs, and pass them on. Every band listed here gets 50 cents for every unique download of their song. So listen, and if you like it, download it and tell your friends.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Roundup: Lots of .mp3s and a Pipe warm-up show
Music.mync.com has oodles of local music .mp3s for download, including an exclusive HNMTF track and a new one by Dan Bryk, the brains behind the "Cherie Berrie" tune.
Grayson reports that Pipe will play a pre-XXMerge warm-up show July 17 at the Cave. I can tell you that Greg Adams is not playing bass, but so far I don't know who is. If someone does know, please tell me!
Spinner.com has a download of the new Avetts' track, "I and Love and You."
Grayson reports that Pipe will play a pre-XXMerge warm-up show July 17 at the Cave. I can tell you that Greg Adams is not playing bass, but so far I don't know who is. If someone does know, please tell me!
Spinner.com has a download of the new Avetts' track, "I and Love and You."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
This week's cool shows: Holy Ghost Tent Revival and more!
(Holy Ghost Tent Revival by flyingrooster.net)
THIS WEEK'S SHOWS
Wednesday, June 24:
Thursday, June 25:
I haven't seen HGTR yet, but here's what I had to say about them back in January based on what I've heard so far.
Greensboro's Holy Ghost Tent Revival sound about like you'd expect a band with that name to sound: joyous, rollicking, antique and kind of mysterious.
If you love Bombadil or the Avetts, you need to check out HGTR. I'm planning to make up for lost time and record this show.
* Black Hollies with Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies and The Huguenots,Local 506
* Steve Jack Project, ArtsCenter
Cats Cradle, The ArtsCenter and Musical Roots Productions are teaming up to present the 300 East Main Summer Concert Series on the asphalt at 300 East Main Street, Carrboro every fourth Thursday, June though September. Gates open at 4:30. All ages. Admission is free but a $5 donation to The ArtsCenter buys a reusable wristband, which lets you purchase beer all Summer. Vendors include Q Shack, Amante Gourmet Pizza, and Carolina Brewery.
* The Beast, SoloS Unit, and GDP, Tir na Nog
All-star local metal show. This is also a CD-release show for Here Lies
I liked Sons of Bill when I saw them open for Shooter Jennings last year. The Shucks are apparently from Raleigh, but I don't know anything about them. Here's the Facebook event page description for Sons of Bill:
It starts with the music. A sound that's all too familiar, yet somehow resists an easy definition. Too edgy for Nashville, but too earnest for New York. Drawing comparisons to artists ranging from George Jones to the Gin Blossoms – Gram Parsons to Guns and Roses – Sons of Bill have been called "equal parts raucous and reflective." A sound which is revolutionary only in its simplicity.
Saturday, June 27:
* Raleigh Downtown Live with The Tubes, Moore Squre
Also playing:Cracker, The Loners, Mosadi Music, Balsa Gliders, Acella Vega, Do It To Julia
Left Outlet is apparently playing a bunch of covers in place of a cover band that cancelled. That might not sound appealing on the face of it, but these guys killed it as Queen for Raleigh Undercover, so this should be a really fun show.
Tuesday, June 30
NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS
Marianne's birthday celebration. Here's her description of Town Mountain:
Friday - Sunday, July 3 - 5
There are so many bands on this bill that I can't list them all here. Take a look at the festival schedule to learn about The Never, American Aquarium, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Holsapple & Stamey and much more.
Friday, July 3:
* Weese Fest, The Pour House
With American Aquarium, The T's, Birds of Avalon, Left Outlet, Skullbuckle
* Tin Star with Birds and Arrows and Gray Young, Pinhook
1:30 - Spy Satellite (Asheville)
2:00 - Once and Future Kings (Raleigh)
3:00 - Blag'ard (Chapel Hill)
4:00 - the Virgo Nine (Durham)
5:00 - Battle Rockets (Raleigh/Pittsboro)
6:00 - Free Electric State (Durham)
7:00 - the White Cascade (Raleigh)
8:00 - Irata (Greensboro)
9:00 - Goodbye, Titan (Raleigh)
2:00 - Once and Future Kings (Raleigh)
3:00 - Blag'ard (Chapel Hill)
4:00 - the Virgo Nine (Durham)
5:00 - Battle Rockets (Raleigh/Pittsboro)
6:00 - Free Electric State (Durham)
7:00 - the White Cascade (Raleigh)
8:00 - Irata (Greensboro)
9:00 - Goodbye, Titan (Raleigh)
Sunday, July 5:
* Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls, Slim's
* Curtains of Night with Invisible and Trophy Wife, Local 506
* Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls, Slim's
* Curtains of Night with Invisible and Trophy Wife, Local 506
UPCOMING IN GENERAL
Wednesday, July 8
* Butterflies with Morrow, Birds & Arrows, and Permanent Waves, Local 506
From promoter Marianne Taylor: Jeanne Jolly has taken her golden voice down a road to a sound we haven’t heard yet - country. A Master of Vocal Performance in opera from the New England Conservatory in Boston and known to the public as a jazz artist, Jolly has taken a new and different direction entirely with her new EP – to us at least. Her performances as a guest singer with highly regarded trumpeter Chris Botti a few years ago proved that in a virtual sea of singers, she is more than a catch. But that was just jazz. .
* The Club is Open Festival, various clubs
Friday, July 10:
* Filmore Valley Boys, Seaboard Music on the Porch
* The Club is Open Festival, various clubs
Local 506: Red Collar, The Loners, Rat Jackson, A Rooster for the Masses, Magician Michael Casey
* The Club is Open Festival, various clubs
Local 506: Red Collar, The Loners, Rat Jackson, A Rooster for the Masses, Magician Michael Casey
Saturday, July 11:
* Raleigh Downtown Live with Joan Jett, Moore Square
Also playing: The T's, Violet Vector, The Beast, Schooner, Panyelo, The Bleeding Hearts
* The Club is Open Festival, various clubs
Cat's Cradle
With American Aquarium
Bombadil won't be playing, but Luego and Tender Fruit will. There will also be an art show with art from the album, food and ping pong.
Sunday, July 12
Friday, June 19, 2009
Catching up with Gray Young and Citified
(Gray Young)
I could have sworn that I had never seen Gray Young, but yesterday when I was updating a few videos (a process that should be completely done soon!) I found an old video I shot of them at the Troika Festival in Nov. 2007. I guess they didn't make much of an impression on me back then because I didn't say much about them. Regardless, last night I was VERY impressed, so much so that I bought their CD and have been listening to it all day. Reminds me of a Ride and Block Party, if either band were mostly instrumental.
Gray Young from Mann's World on Vimeo.
(Citified)
The headliner for the evening was Greensboro's Citified, who are quite the buzz band these days. I shot video for "Secret Knock," which is my favorite song by them.
Citified - "Secret Knock" from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Pitchfork posts new Polvo
Pitchfork has posted a preview .mp3 from Polvo's upcoming CD and it ROCKS. I think Steve and Dave's time in Black Taj was a very good influence on them. That's a serious stomping rhythm Steve and BQ have going on.
Check it out!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
This week's cool shows: IWTD U2 and more!
THIS WEEK'S SHOWS
John Dee Holman, Sertoma Amphitheatre, Bond Park, Cary
Saturday, June 27:
Raleigh Downtown Live with The Tubes, Moore Squre
Also playing:Cracker, The Loners, Mosadi Music, Balsa Gliders, Acella Vega, Do It To Julia
Friday, July 3:
Weese Fest, The Pour House
With Patty Hurst Shifter, The T's, Birds of Avalon, Left Outlet, Skullbuckle
After living in Los Angeles for a few years, Jolly has chosen to make the music she adores the most. Growing up cultivating her voice she says she “always loved country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, honky tonk, rock, and roots music”. Within her initial five country songs - now accessible online but later part of an album - Jolly shares a piece of her conscience and the experience of a broken heart, maybe a heart that was smashed to smithereens, and quite possibly a reawakening into a fulfilling existence. “Desert of my Mind” draws from a truly solemn and forlorn place in her memory, while “Don’t Say I’m Sorry” assures us that she won’t be licking her wounds for long. But, it’s not Hank Williams. It has a rock likeability which certainly leans toward the alternative country genre.
Jeanne will be backed an all-star band of Greg Humphreys, John Teer, Roger Gupton, and David Burke.
Saturday, July 11:
Raleigh Downtown Live with Joan Jett, Moore Square
Also playing: The T's, Violet Vector, The Beast, Schooner, Panyelo, The Bleeding Hearts
SHOW OF THE WEEK!
Sourwood Mountain, Seaboard Music on the Porch
Friday, June 19:
Yes, you read that right. They're doing all U2 covers for the evening. Read my interview with the band for New Raleigh.
Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20:
1st Annual Mountain Aid, Shakori Hills
"A concert to end mountaintop removal and create a clean energy future." With Kathy Mattea and more.
Saturday, June 20:
From the organizers: 1-5pm at the Tir Na Nog in Downtown Raleigh. Bright Young Things and Wembley will be playing live plus over 30 emerging & local vendors will be selling their wares: silk-screened apparel, band posters, handbags, jewelry, dog collars and more. This is the 9th biannual Rock & Shop Market and is produced by indieNC a hip online boutique & blog that features North Carolina designers & doers (www.indieNC.com & www.blog.indieNC.com). Admission is $3, first 50 attendees get a free tote.
John Dee Holman, Sertoma Amphitheatre, Bond Park, Cary
3 p.m. show, Free!
From the PineCone press release
Born in Orange County, North Carolina in 1929 and celebrating his 80th birthday this year, John Dee Holeman grew up on a small farm and began playing the blues at the age of 14. Though he never met Blind Boy Fuller, Holeman credits Fuller with teaching him to play guitar. He says he learned to play by listening to Fuller's records and by playing with musicians who had learned directly from Fuller. Holeman uses both the Piedmont and Texas guitar styles in his playing.
Sunday, June 21:
The Duhks w/ Sam & Ruby, Berkeley Cafe
Wednesday, June 24:
Alina Simone, Duke Gardens
Friday, June 26:
All-star local metal show.
Saturday, June 27:
Raleigh Downtown Live with The Tubes, Moore Squre
Also playing:Cracker, The Loners, Mosadi Music, Balsa Gliders, Acella Vega, Do It To Julia
UPCOMING IN GENERAL
Thursday, July 2:
Marianne's birthday celebration
Friday, July 3:
Weese Fest, The Pour House
With Patty Hurst Shifter, The T's, Birds of Avalon, Left Outlet, Skullbuckle
Saturday, July 4:
Let Feedback Ring, Sadlack's
1:30 - Spy Satellite (Asheville)
2:00 - Once and Future Kings (Raleigh)
3:00 - Blag'ard (Chapel Hill)
4:00 - the Virgo Nine (Durham)
5:00 - Battle Rockets (Raleigh/Pittsboro)
6:00 - Free Electric State (Durham)
7:00 - the White Cascade (Raleigh)
8:00 - Irata (Greensboro)
9:00 - Goodbye, Titan (Raleigh)
2:00 - Once and Future Kings (Raleigh)
3:00 - Blag'ard (Chapel Hill)
4:00 - the Virgo Nine (Durham)
5:00 - Battle Rockets (Raleigh/Pittsboro)
6:00 - Free Electric State (Durham)
7:00 - the White Cascade (Raleigh)
8:00 - Irata (Greensboro)
9:00 - Goodbye, Titan (Raleigh)
Sunday, July 5:
Jeanne Jolly, Berkeley Cafe
From promoter Marianne Taylor: Jeanne Jolly has taken her golden voice down a road to a sound we haven’t heard yet - country. A Master of Vocal Performance in opera from the New England Conservatory in Boston and known to the public as a jazz artist, Jolly has taken a new and different direction entirely with her new EP – to us at least. Her performances as a guest singer with highly regarded trumpeter Chris Botti a few years ago proved that in a virtual sea of singers, she is more than a catch. But that was just jazz.
After living in Los Angeles for a few years, Jolly has chosen to make the music she adores the most. Growing up cultivating her voice she says she “always loved country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, honky tonk, rock, and roots music”. Within her initial five country songs - now accessible online but later part of an album - Jolly shares a piece of her conscience and the experience of a broken heart, maybe a heart that was smashed to smithereens, and quite possibly a reawakening into a fulfilling existence. “Desert of my Mind” draws from a truly solemn and forlorn place in her memory, while “Don’t Say I’m Sorry” assures us that she won’t be licking her wounds for long. But, it’s not Hank Williams. It has a rock likeability which certainly leans toward the alternative country genre.
Jeanne will be backed an all-star band of Greg Humphreys, John Teer, Roger Gupton, and David Burke.
Friday, July 10:
Saturday, July 11:
Raleigh Downtown Live with Joan Jett, Moore Square
Also playing: The T's, Violet Vector, The Beast, Schooner, Panyelo, The Bleeding Hearts
With American Aquarium
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Check it out
Check out my interview with I Was Totally Destroying It, who will be performing a set of U2 covers this Friday at Tir na Nog.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Algonquin to release Merge book
From the folks at Merge:
OUR NOISE
The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small
by John Cook with Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance
Introduction by Ryan Adams
Includes extensive profiles of:
Arcade Fire * Spoon * Magnetic Fields * Superchunk
Neutral Milk Hotel * Lambchop * Butterglory
During an age when big music labels call the shots, and when iTunes and pirated music have nearly rendered vinyl records and CDs obsolete, one independent label has beaten the odds and held its own as a veritable force in the music industry. Merge Records, a small, independent label stationed in Durham, NC, remains in the forefront of the indie music scene. And this fall, to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, Algonquin Books chronicles their achievements by releasing OUR NOISE: THE STORY OF MERGE RECORDS, THE INDIE LABEL THAT GOT BIG AND STAYED SMALL (pub. date: September 15, 2009).
Launched by two 20-year-olds, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, in a rented home in the late 1980s, Merge Records had the humble beginnings of a great success story. Hand-labeling and shipping each record themselves, Mac and Laura started to make their mark on the independent music scene. They gained popularity by fronting the popular pop-punk band Superchunk, one of Merge’s first bands, in the mid-90s. Over time, the label has become known for discovering some of the best indie bands in the country.
Twenty years later, with just thirteen employees—and a real office—the label boasts some of the biggest bands on the independent music scene, including Arcade Fire, Spoon, Magnetic Fields, M. Ward, Neutral Milk Hotel, She & Him, and more. But Merge still maintains its small-label mindset by producing good music they have faith in—not only what they think will sell the most copies.
Author John Cook traces the growth of Merge along the bumpy roads that led to its success and importance today, through first-hand interviews with Mac, Laura, their friends, and band mates, and other key players in the formation and growth of the label. Featuring photographs the life and times of the label and its bands, as well as concert memorabilia, record label art, and a link to a streaming Internet soundtrack for the book, OUR NOISE tells Merge’s story in an intimate and entertaining package.
John Cook is a freelance reporter who has worked for Radar magazine and the Chicago Tribune. He first fell in love with the music of Merge Records at a Superchunk show in 1994 and has been a devoted fan ever since.
New Avetts -- a play by play of their new CD
The Indy and New Raleigh collaborate in a double tweet-fest as Grayson and Jed listened to an unfinished version of the Avett Brothers' "I and Love and You." Is it just me, or would an actual .mp3 from the album helped this narrative along?
This week's cool shows: TRK Fest and more!
THIS WEEK'S SHOWS
Ivan Rosebud
Embarrassing Fruits
Hammer No More The Fingers
Des Ark
Midtown Dickens
The Never
The Strugglers
Mount Moriah
Vibrant Green
Wednesday June 17:
Sourwood Mountain, Seaboard Music on the Porch
John Dee Holman, Sertoma Amphitheatre, Bond Park, Cary
Saturday, June 27:
Raleigh Downtown Live with The Tubes, Moore Squre
Also playing:Cracker, The Loners, Mosadi Music, Balsa Gliders, Acella Vega, Do It To Julia,
Urban Sophisticates, The Pour House
Friday, July 3:
Weese Fest, The Pour House
With Patty Hurst Shifter, The T's, Birds of Avalon, Left Outlet, Skullbuckle
Thursday, June 11
Friday, June 12:
Saturday June 13:
SHOW OF THE WEEK
Great local music fest way out in Pittsboro on the Piedmont Biofuels campus. Learn about converting your diesel engine in the process. Read my interview with Brad from Megafaun.
with: Megafaun
Lost in the TreesIvan Rosebud
Embarrassing Fruits
Hammer No More The Fingers
Des Ark
Midtown Dickens
The Never
The Strugglers
Mount Moriah
Vibrant Green
Crazy, shamanistic Athens, Ga., collective that has to be seen to be believed.
Kinks tribute band led by Jeff Hart
Wednesday June 17:
Megafaun, Duke Gardens
NEXT WEEK'S SHOWS
Friday, June 19:
I Was Totally Destroying It covers U2 at Tir na Nog
Yes, you read that right. They're doing all U2 covers for the evening.
Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20:
1st Annual Mountain Aid, Shakori Hills
"A concert to end mountaintop removal and create a clean energy future." With Kathy Mattea and more.
Saturday, June 20:
Rock & Shop with Bright Young Things and Wembly, Tir na Nog
From the organizers: 1-5pm at the Tir Na Nog in Downtown Raleigh. Bright Young Things and Wembley will be playing live plus over 30 emerging & local vendors will be selling their wares: silk-screened apparel, band posters, handbags, jewelry, dog collars and more. This is the 9th biannual Rock & Shop Market and is produced by indieNC a hip online boutique & blog that features North Carolina designers & doers (www.indieNC.com & www.blog.indieNC.com). Admission is $3, first 50 attendees get a free tote.
John Dee Holman, Sertoma Amphitheatre, Bond Park, Cary
3 p.m. show, Free!
From the PineCone press release
Born in Orange County, North Carolina in 1929 and celebrating his 80th birthday this year, John Dee Holeman grew up on a small farm and began playing the blues at the age of 14. Though he never met Blind Boy Fuller, Holeman credits Fuller with teaching him to play guitar. He says he learned to play by listening to Fuller's records and by playing with musicians who had learned directly from Fuller. Holeman uses both the Piedmont and Texas guitar styles in his playing.
Wednesday, June 24:
Alina Simone, Duke Gardens
Friday, June 26:
All-star local metal show.
Saturday, June 27:
Raleigh Downtown Live with The Tubes, Moore Squre
Also playing:Cracker, The Loners, Mosadi Music, Balsa Gliders, Acella Vega, Do It To Julia,
Urban Sophisticates, The Pour House
UPCOMING IN GENERAL
Thursday, July 2:
Marianne's birthday celebration
Friday, July 3:
Weese Fest, The Pour House
With Patty Hurst Shifter, The T's, Birds of Avalon, Left Outlet, Skullbuckle
Saturday, July 4:
4th of July Blowout w/ Red Collar, Caverns, & The Demon Beat, Tir na Nog
The Loners with Multiples and The Last TallboyTir na Nog
Multiples is a new band by Matt from Braille Party.
Friday, July 10:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)