Junior Brown @ Cat's Cradle Thursday Night

If you've ever seen Junior Brown live you know that what he does is not far off from incredible. His country twanged style performed on his custom built "guit - steel", half Fender electric guitar and half lap steel, is unusual and amazing. Brown has topped the Billboard country hit list twice before in his three decades of touring and still making records and touring to this day; thrilling old school country fans and wowing guitar picking youngsters alike. Come out to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro Thursday to see the living legend perform.

Powerful words from Steve Hobbs.

Steve Hobbs was kind enough to write in to Metro in regards to the piece I published last month about his new album Vibes Straight Up.

Dan’s Gift

I usually don’t do interviews because writers always twist what I say to make a point that they — the writer — want to make. I have to say, of any interview I have done in my career, Dan Reeves did an incredible job of writing straight to the points I was trying to make in his interview with me for Metro Magazine (“Raleigh Vibraphonist Hits Top of Jazz Charts With New CD” — March 2010).

I had four hours of sleep the night before my interview with Dan, and was speaking all around my points, which he amazingly figured out — and put on paper so eloquently.

And in addition to representing me the musician, Dan grasped what I said about being a teacher at Powell Elementary Magnet School and tied it in with the entire article. Helping children is just as important as playing music, any day of the week.

Dan is one hell of a writer. Tell him never to stop writing. He has a gift.

Steve Hobbs

Raleigh

Band of Horses releases long awaited new record, opens for Widespread Panic

It wasn't so long ago when Band of Horses was a fresh discovery. A new sound stuffed with potent lyrics and a vocal resonance unlike anything else around. Everything All The Time was outstanding for a debut album from a band so young. Song by song, the entire album was simply amazing; seeking and skipping was completely unnecessary.

Remarkably, Cease To Begin was equally if not more entrancing than Everything All The Time. All of the sudden everyone and their brother was a fan of BOH. We have anxiously awaited the release of album number three for quite a while and have memorized every song Band of Horses has recorded frontwards and backwards.

This weekend BOH is opening for Widespread Panic at Walnut Creek in support of their new record Infinite Arms available May 18th. I think opening for the gig is a smart move for the Horses since fans of jam bands like Widespread Panic are starting to explore other types of music. Usually, the opening band is ignored. This time everyone should get their early and open their eyes and ears to one of the undisputed best bands of the past 5 years.

Recommended listening:

The Funeral

No One's Gonna Love You

Ode to LRC

Mama's Love Tonight at The Pour House

Raleigh's own Whit Murray and his band of young jamsters are performing this evening at the Pour House in Raleigh. Based out of Athens, GA , Mama's Love mixes improvisational rock and roll with tinges of funk and blues. Grateful Deadesque adventures into cosmic melodies and original songwriting makes up a large portion of what Mama's Love has to offer. Everything else comes from the spirit of these young guys taking the college jam band scene by storm.

Panic

You know spring has sprung and summertime is not to far off when Widespread Panic comes to Walnut Creek. The Athens born jam band is giving Raleigh the usual two night stand over the weekend of April

23^th and 24^th and will, as always, draw a huge crowd of youngsters, hippies, lovers of music and a lot of

people who just wanna party.

That is the leading reason I avoid attending Panic shows. Too many kids on to many drugs who really don’t care about anything except being seen at the show pumping their fists, screaming the words, hitting all the right lines from all the big songs and wearing really unoriginal t-shirts.

For instance, my personal favorite is the Fed EX take off which says “SPREAD EX” on the front and “SEND YOUR MIND” on the back. This leads me to my next point, Panic is truly a great band. I have a special place in my heart for their music and I always will. But, they cover a lot of songs written by a lot of important song writers and their audience hasn’t the slightest clue.

“Send Your Mind” is a Van Morrison Song, but ask almost anyone at the shows and they will say it’s an original. In fact “Satisfied” was and still is the most popular slogan for the band on stickers, t-shirts, hats - you name it. And lead singer John Bell does a terrific cover of the song and even goes off on tangents and raps of his own design much like the original writer of the song – Van Morrison.

I guess what I am trying to get across here is that Widespread Panic is good, great even sometimes. They are clearly influenced by some of the greatest musicians and bands of all time : Warren Zevon, Talking Heads, Van Morrison, Neal Young, Joe Strummer, Frank Zappa, JJ Cale, and so forth and so on. I just wish more of the fans knew that.

Coming Soon

Todd Snider - April 14th @ The Arts Center in Carborro

Roman Candle - April 15th @ Cat's Cradle with The Ravenna Colt and the Parson Red Heads

The New Mastersounds - April 20th @ Cat's Cradle

Arctic Monkey's @ Disco Rodeo April 6th

Since the debut of Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not , England's Arctic Monkeys have ripped their way to the tip top of the indie rock totem pole. Catch these young lads at The Disco Rodeo in Raleigh on Tuesday April 6th.

Kings on Martin Street!

According to NewRaleigh.com , Raleigh's now defunct and sorely missed rock club Kings Barcade is reopening this summer where the Martin Street Music Hall (and a few other short lived venues) once stood. This is wonderful news for anyone who ever saw a show at Kings. Let's hope the resurrection of Raleigh's finest rock venue is a huge success and we can cut down on trips to Carborro. Full story here.

Wilco, Ween, King Kahn, Midlake and more...

If you want to see one of the most important bands of our time, get to the DPAC Saturday night for Wilco - even if they say it's sold out.

On a another similar note, a very different but equally important and much more mesmerizing act is coming to Winston Salem April 7th. If you know what Ween is and who they are then by all means stop reading, because you know what I'm about to say.

From a small town in Pennsylvania, friends Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo formed a bond in middle school which still stands strong today, iron-clad even. They adopted the monikers Dean and Gene Ween and have since been on a journey together creating and performing their acid soaked all genre encompassing brand of rock and roll. Bang your head, slow dance with the one you love, laugh your ass off, and feast your eyes and ears on the musical oddity that is Ween.

Coming up at the Cat's Cradle:

King Kahn and the Shines with The Fresh and Only's -Monday March 29th

Midlake with John Grant - Saturday April 3rd

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - with Screaming Females and Pink Flag - Monday April 5th

Rogue Wave @ Cat's Cradle Saturday March 6th

Rogue Wave came splashing onto the indie rock scene back in 2002 when front man Zack Rogue put his day job behind him and started recording music with fellow bay area musicians Pat Spurgeon, Sonya Scott, and Gram Lebron. Rogue Wave quickly gained popularity and fans all over the country, sweating it out in tiny rock clubs and eventually appearing on movie soundtracks and teen angst driven televisi0n shows such as The O.C. and One Tree Hill. Fortunately their music was above the mindless indie rock craze of the early 200o's which ended up putting a stain on plenty of solid bands a la Death Cab for Cutie. Since their formation, Rogue Wave has released three strong albums, all likable and distinctly their own including 2004's Out of the Shadow, 2005's Descended Like Vultures, and 2007's critically adored Asleep at Heavens Gate. Rogue Wave is performing Saturday March 6th at the Cat's Cradle in support of their latest studio effort Permalight.

recommended listening:

Eyes

California

Chicago