Quick notes before rushing out of town

I'm going to Montreal this week, and I have no idea what rock clubs I should go to, or what bands I should see. Any suggestions? I'm open to them all.

Now a note about last weekend. Caught Caltrop and Decoration Ghost at Slim's. Grappling Hook opened, but I didn't get there in time to catch them. Caltrop rocked as always, but since I've documented them many times, I decided to just enjoy them and record Greensboro's Decoration Ghost. They remind me a lot of Archers of Loaf with a little U2 thrown in.



Now, on to this weekend: Lots of great shows (check the calendar below), but two that you absolutely need to know about are the Music for Fences benefit with Superchunk at Durham Central Park and the Hear Here Compilation release party at Cat's Cradle, both on Saturday. The Music for Fences benefit begins at 4 p.m., so you might actually be able to do both, and I would encourage you to do so. Also, look for my interview with Amanda Arrington from the Coalition to Unchain Dogs tomorrow on New Raleigh and learn why chaining dogs is a really terrible thing.

Cool shows this week: Caltrop, Love Language, Bowerbirds/Megafaun

(Megafaun)

OK, this is going to be an amazing weekend for live, local music. Too amazing, unfortunately, particularly on Friday night when the calendar is just plain jammed up with great music.

Thursday's big show is an early, free show with The Love Language and Lost in the Trees at Wallace Plaza in Chapel Hill. Wallace Plaza is the amphitheater space on top of the parking deck off of Rosemary Street. Gates (so to speak) open at 6, and the music starts at 7.

Friday, as I've noted, is full of music, but if you're in Raleigh and you like your rock heavy, you need to see Caltrop and Decoration Ghost at Slim's. Decoration Ghost includes Scott Hicks who has been in a bunch of Greensboro bands, including Taija Rae. See my Five Questions interview with Caltrop here.

If you're in Chapel Hill on Friday, and your tastes run more toward alt-country, you should check out the Benefit for the Goathouse Cat Sanctuary, with Tres Chicas, Luego and Gambling the Muse at Cat's Cradle. It's for a great cause, and the music will be stellar.

Finally on Saturday, the big show (and in fact the show of the week) is Bowerbirds and Megafaun at the ArtsCenter. Check out stories and some really nice photos from the bands' co-tour here.

Polvo in Wired

Thanks to New Raleigh for posting this link to Wired's interview with Polvo's Dave Brylawski. But I'm really not sure where Wired got the idea that Polvo is math rock.

Also via New Raleigh, Flaming Lips have invited Birds of Avalon to play the All Tomorrow's Parties fest in New York in September.


From Away-Team comes news that Clutch will host the Planet Caravan festival with Pentagram, Wino, Kylesa and many more at the Orange Peel in Asheville Sept. 17 & 18.

Finally, news from Merge: If you pre-order September releases from The Clean, Polvo and/or Our Noise you can win a SCORE! box set. Polvo's In Prism, which is available for pre-order starting today.

Video of Erectus Monotone!

I spent too much time yapping at Raleigh Times last night, and ended up missing Rocket Cottage and much of The Loners at Tir na Nog. I did, however, purchase the new Rocket Cottage record and will report on it soon. And because it was a work night, I only stayed for a few Erectus Monotone songs. Supposedly this is their last show ever, but I get the feeling we'll be seeing them playing here and there. The crowd was so into them, and they were having too much fun to let this die completely. That's just me speculating, so don't take it for any sort of gospel.

Ear Farm's 10 N.C. Bands to Hear Right Now

Looks like this little post on Ear Farm has generated a little controversy. North Carolina native turned Brooklyn music blogger Matt Tyson listed 10 North Carolina bands you should hear right now on his influential blog. The problem for quite a few people is that the list is pretty Triangle-centric. A notable exception is The Bronzed Chorus (above) who are from Greensboro. The Triangle-centricity of the list doesn't bother me. My personal list would have been different, but all in all, I think he did a great job. But it did make me wonder: Who ARE the best non-Triangle North Carolina bands? I honestly don't know. And I also don't know who the most reliable and readable non-Triangle North Carolina music bloggers are. I bet if I figure out that last part, the first will follow. So, help a Triangle-centric out. Who, outside of the Triangle area, should I be listening to and reading. Please provide links and any pertinent info. And if you're affiliated with the bands or blogs you list, please also be up-front about it.