Roger Daltry at DPAC 10-28-09

Roger Daltry of The Who is coming to The Durham Performing Arts Center October 28th. What else needs to be said? The frontman from one of the most important rock bands in history is performing near you. Buy tickets here.

Remember Soul Coughing?

Mike Doughty, former captain of 1990's sugar free jazz ensemble Soul Coughing is bringing his solo show to The Arts Center in Carrboro Tuesday night. If anyone remembers Soul Coughing for anything, it should be its masterpiece Ruby Vroom. Mixing up hip hop, cool beats, jazz-rock, and clever samples, Vroom is still one of my favorite albums to play in the car. Doughty is out supporting his latest record, Sad Man Happy Man.

GALACTIC @ Cat's Cradle 10-25

Funk merchants Galactic are performing this Sunday at Cat's Cradle. While they've always been a mainstay on the college/ funk / jam band scene, the New Orleans based ensemble has , in recent years, broken the restraints of its apparent life sentence in that world. The introduction of electronic experimentation and taking notes from DJ's and other performers in that medium have lifted them to a loftier height. In the beginning Galactic was glued down to a certain pace by a front-man, who in many ways gave the group an inborn N'awlin's flavor, but also restricted a powerful troop of musicians from cultivating their sound to its full potential. Nowadays it’s a whole new ballgame. Drummer Stanton Moore is typically the highlight of the show banging on his customized kit unlike any others out there. It's full on funk and jazz with just the right touch of DJ beats, electro-pulse, and good ole fashion rock

Dr. Dog at Cat's Cradle 10 - 21

Many bands today attempt to create a passable mixture of psychedelic rock and a sound of their own that separates them from the rest of the gang. Dr. Dog is the leading contender in this race to be passable and respectable in a world of carbon copies and reruns. For about five years the Philly based quintet has collected a devoted fan base and made a name for themselves on the independent rock scene. The Beach Boys and The Beatles are obvious influences along with 90's alternative outfits like Guided by Voices. See them this Wednesday night at Cat's Cradle.

This Weekend

The Moderate will be performing at the Pour House this Saturday night in support of their debut album, The Rest is Up to You. Singer / songwriter Jim Dempsey and drummer Drew Marks grew up together in the great city of Raleigh and attended UNC-Chapel Hill together. The Moderate was born and continues to grow in our nation's capitol where they both reside today.

You can purchase The Rest is Up to You on I-Tunes. Read praise for The Moderate and The Rest is Up to You from Washington's DCist Magazine.

Lucero

Cat's Cradle welcomes Lucero to the stage Saturday Oct. 13th. Some say they fall into the Alternative Country genre, but I disagree. Lucero is Lucero. I advise anyone who enjoys the sounds of hard drinking, southern road warriors to check out their live show.

Cowboy Junkies At Carolina Theater

Cowboy Junkies are playing at The Carolina Theater this Friday and Saturday night. The name of the band frightens people. Always has. For the record, they are not cowboys. There has been a major cowboy problem lately and really all we can do is hope they get the help and rehabilitation they need. It's unfortunate that a band of such importance has been stigmatized by the behavior of certain horse-backed trouble makers.

You might remember the Junkies cover of The Velvet Underground classic "Sweet Jane" or their own "Misguided Angel" and "Murder Tonight in the Trailer Park." If you can't make it but want to hear their finest work, pick up The Trinity Sessions or Trinity Session Revisited which features the likes of Ryan Adams and Natalie Merchant among others.

Ken Burns Reminds Me

Every evening this week Ken Burns' mini-series on PBS, "The National Parks - America's Best Idea" has given me a sweet reminder of just how stunningly beautiful this country is - and hopefully always will be. It documents the pioneers who, instead of destroying the natural beauty of the west, did everything possible to protect it. The discovery and eventual protection of natural wonders from the Rocky Mountains and Pueblo dwellings of Colorado, the hot springs and geysers in what is now Yellowstone National Park, to the mighty Redwoods of California (and much much more) is beautifully presented in 30 to 50 year increments. The mini-series also tells of the federal government’s idiotic attitude toward the protection of wilderness back then, and how damaging tourism became later. It is a remarkable series and I think every American should be required to watch it.


I can testify to how moronic tourists can be. Believe it or not I lived and worked in the Del Norte Redwoods in Northern California. My job was to show visitors the most spectacular trails that would lead them to the biggest and most majestic old-growth Redwoods throughout the park. Sadly, a large percentage of the tourists had one question, and one question only (which I quickly grew to despise): "Where is that big ole tree you can driiiive a car through?!"





If they appeared and acted extra tacky and uninterested in seeing the hundreds of treasures right under their noses, I would happily direct them to the famous tree - which is actually dead because some ass cut a whole in it to make a couple of bucks.





Anyway, spending an extended period of time amongst these ancient giants had a profound effect on me and the way I look at things. I hope everyone gets a chance to see them up close. If not, at least watch the Ken Burns documentary

Upcoming This Month

October is a big month for music in the Triangle. Irish juggernauts U2 are bringing their massive 360° Tour to Carter Finley Stadium this coming Saturday. This is quite a special event for Raleigh, as bands like U2 and Radiohead or even Madonna usually play in Charlotte. U2 hasn't played here since 1983. Bono and the crew intend to amaze their fans with something equal to or more incredible than past tours such as Zoo TV, Pop Mart, Vertigo , and Elevation. These tours have all been phenomenal, unprecedented creations. If you go to a U2 concert, prepare for a complete sensory overload. Of that you can be sure. The amount of creative strength that goes into a U2 tour is nothing to sneeze at. The stage production and lights alone are enough to make your head spin. And, of course the music is fantastic, save the political rants which tend to happen. I wish I could go, but tickets are ridiculously expensive, which is common with monster touring acts like U2.

Crispy fried jam bands Widespread Panic and musical elders The Allman Brothers Band are coming to the Creek October 11th. All that can be said about this show is that the music will be hot and the jams will be oh so nasty. Ever since Widespread recruited guitar virtuoso Jimmy Herring, following a disappointing lag in the quality of their performances due to the untimely death of original lead guitarist Michael Houser, they resumed their spot at the tip top of the Jam Band circuit (until Phish came back.) The Allmans are sharing the bill, so be prepared for an evening of your favorite originals and covers as both bands share players throughout the night. I really hope Anne Marie Calhoun returns this year to play fiddle with Widespread Panic.


Bitter, bald, and sardonic comedian David Cross is performing at The Carolina Theater Wednesday October 7th. He is funny for the most part, but can be quite tasteless at times. I just wish Mr. Show with Bob and David was still on HBO.


The same evening Andrew Bird is performing at Cat's Cradle. Instead of listening to David Cross bitch all night, I would much rather be amazed by wonderboy, multi intrumentalist Bird in an intimate setting.

Steely Dan -Durham Perfroming Arts Center 6-9-09

The ever elusive ingenious twosome that is Steely Dan graced the Triangle with their presence last week at the impressive Durham Performing Arts Center - or the DPAC if you’re into the whole brevity thing. Most of you know that Steely Dan isn’t a guy you can talk to or ask for an autograph. It’s actually an ever-changing cadre of incredible musicians handpicked (or should I say cherry picked ) by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, the founders and wizards behind the curtain of the whole operation. I assume everyone knows that, but someone the other day did ask me “what does he look like?”



I was undoubtedly one of the youngest Steely fans in the room, proving that “all those day glow freaks who used to paint their face have joined the human race.” The entire venue was packed with couples from their mid- forties through to their sixties who left behind their Blackberries and thoughts of the suffering economy to hear The Dan perform hits such as “Reeling in the Years,” “Peg,” and “Hey Nineteen.”



Fortunately, everyone in attendance got plenty more than they thought for their dollar. Throughout the show Becker and Fagan drew from a well stirred cocktail of songs dusted off from late 70’s albums “Aja”, and “Katie Lied” with a few others from 1981’s “Gaucho” (not to mention a fan favorite “Kid Charlemagne” from 1976’s “The Royal Scam.”) The romantic and sinister “Babylon Sisters” was a crowd pleaser, to say the very least. Fagan handed over the mic to Becker to handle vocals for a rousing rendition of “Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More.”



Each tune was plain perfect and only made incredibly more vibrant by the five-piece horn section, John Herrington covering rhythm and some scorching lead guitar work. The siren like back up singers swung their arms in harmony just like their soul-sister vocals. Donald Fagan hunched over his keyboard, standing occasionally to rock the not often seen or heard instrument--the Meldodica--while Walter Becker ripped through each song on guitar with quicksilver perfection, joking with the crowd about the landscape of our great state, verifying that these real deals had a sense of humor and humanity.



In a live setting Steely Dan is a dispensary of jazz, rock, funk and some things in between. Within the lyrics of all Steely albums Becker and Fagan create an alternate universe of late nights, beautiful women, classy affairs and shady activities. It may not be for everyone, but if you look beyond the accusations that Steely Dan is nothing but elevator music, you will find a forbidden city of musical gold and literary brilliance matched by no one else in the world of music. Who else put out albums throughout the 1970’s, steadily winning Grammy awards and other accolades, and then abruptly stopping in 1980 with a multi-Grammy winning record (Gaucho) - only to return some twenty odd years later with a new album (Two Against Nature) which sweeps the Grammy Awards? Steely Dan.



To try and sum up what Steely is all about I’ll take a line from Gaucho’s “Time out of Mind” (which they played early in the show): “It’s perfection and grace. It’s the smile on your face.”



-Dan Reeves