DELTA RAE with JEANNE JOLLY FRIDAY 12-2 @ THE LINCOLN THEATER

Durham's Delta Rae performs as a family unit (plus one) which offers a wide variety of musical flavors including gospel, folk, rock, and country.  Known for high energy instrumentation , infectious melodies, sincerely large vocals and an incomparable cohesiveness, Delta Rae is on it's way upward.  See what all the buzz is about at The Lincoln Theater in Raleigh this Friday night.

The incomparable Jeanne Jolly will open. 

BADMAN @ WHITE COLLAR CRIME FRIDAY 12-2

Come down to Raleigh's newest venue and hear some seriously intense Reggae infused Rock.

From their website:

"BADMAN can be best described in three words, "Rock, Reggae and Dance". The bands eclectic mix of roots drum and bass, hard driving vocal melodies, and smooth guitar tone gives the band an edge on todays now versatile music scene. Originating in St. Thomas Virgin Islands, BADMAN quickly rose to the top of the local music scene becoming the "islands mightiest band". Sharing the stage with such various reggae artists as Steel Pulse and Third World has not only shown that they are talented musicians, but are also dedicated professionals. Badman has shown there quality and are easily on the fast track to becoming one of the decades most original bands"

Michael Ian Black @ The Carolina Theater December 2

Comedian, actor, writer, and all around humorist Michael Ian Black is bringing his comical observations to the Carolina Theater in Durham December 2nd.  Many may remember Black from his days on MTV as a member of The State, one of the forerunners of alternative sketch comedy post SNL.   Black has remained in the comedy world as a member of Stella, a modern Three Stooges like troop which includes fellow State member Michael Showalter and David Wain.  All three have stuck together over the years creating some truly hilarious films such as Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter.   Black's stand up comedy routine doesn't come close to his talent as a comedic actor, but the show will be pleasing nonetheless. 

UPCOMING SHOWS!

Sam Prekop and his outfit The Sea and Cake are part of a movement from the 1990's which combined jazz improvisation with modern day electronics and synthesizers to add a certain element of modernism to an antiquated form of musicianship.  Within the records and live shows from the Sea and Cake, the jazz combo feel is ever present but stretches off into alternative dimensions with the new technology. See The Sea and Cake at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill this Friday November 11.



Australian indie synth pop outfit Architecture in Helsinki appeared on the radar in 2007 as part of a fresh musical genre which meshed an array of instruments, both musical and electronic, which provided a danceable form of pop music combined with strong songwriting, pushing them far above many other groups attempting to pull off the same magic.  AIH made a big splash in US putting them on tour with acts as big as Talking Heads front man David Byrne, Yo La Tango, and Belle and Sebastian.   Catch Architecture in Helsinki at Cat's Cradle Monday November 14.

Also at Cat's Cradle:

Thursday November 17: Manchester Orchestra White Denim, The Dear Hunter

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AT KINGS:

Saturday November 12:  Wooden Ships and Birds of Avalon 

Tuesday November 15: Designer Drugs with Black Matter, PLS DNT STP, Your Dirty Habit, Skytsnigg, and Nixxed.

Tuesday November 15: Gringo Starr with The Spacemen ( SHOW AT SLIMS!!!) 

BOMBADIL CD RELEASE PARTY NOVEMBER 12 @ CAT'S CRADLE

Several years ago I was  accidentally introduced to the delightfully geeky music of Wilson, NC's Bombadil and been fascinated since.  My plan was to check out The Old Ceremony for the first time at The Martin Street Music Hall ( now Kings) for a review. Walking into the club, I was immediately hypnotized  by the opening band, dressed in an unusually spectacular manner.  If memory serves, they were sporting marching band attire.  They Might Be Giants came to  mind, but the sound and vision provided was something refreshingly new and exciting to me. Bombadil played the catchy and adorable "Jellybean Wine" and I was hooked. I've watched them from a distance for the last  5 years and they've blossomed creatively and matured as a unit with 10 years of performing and recording under their collective belt.

Be there for the release of their 4th record, All That the Rain Promises, Saturday November 12 at Cat's Cradle.  

M83 at KINGS BARCADE SATURDAY NIGHT HALLOWEEN WEEKEND 2011

As much as I would like to dress up as Joan Cusack's character from sixteen candles, I don't think the seamstress in me could whip up a balarina sweater in time.   However, I may put on a leotard and go as the White Swan. Either way I will be a woman.



Entertainment of the musical variety this weekend is abundant, with one show really worth talking about.  M83, named after a galaxy or something, come from France and fall under the "Shoegaze" genre  which stems from bands who gaze at their shoes while playing. It also describes lightly sung lyrics over brash instrumentation.  These Frenchman have gained alarming success in the past five years or so in the US appealing to the younger indie rock crowd who now prefer a little techno in their rock.   As much as I despise the word "Indie", M83 can be described as such.   But, they put on one hell of a show, perfect for a Halloween weekend.

Also performing this weekend in downtown Raleigh is a truly original local outfit called Strange Lady.  Catch them at White Collar Crime Saturday night!

TURN IT UP FOR TEMPIE AT SOUTHLAND BALLROOM SAT. 10-22

An event in memory of Tempie Kitchin, a true ray of light who was taken from this world to early.  Acoustic performances from Indecision and Machine Funk last form 6-7:30 pm(for sponsors) and will be followed by a set from Machine Funk, a Widespread Panic tribute band. At 10:00 Charlottesville's   Indecision take the stage for a full set.   The musical acts and coming together of friends for Tempie is sure to be the right recipe for a marvelous night.   All proceeds go to Down East Animal Refuge ( DEAR) in Scotland Neck, NC.  Come down to the Soutland Ballroom this Saturday for an evening of friends, fun, and a great cause near and dear to the heart of the girl for whom we are celebrating.  

PSEUDO BLUE and THE MAJESTICS with DELTA 88 @ WHITE COLLAR CRIME FRIDAY 10-14

Get down to White Collar Crime in Raleigh tomorrow night for some funkdified jazz rock with Psuedo Blue and The Majestics.  Highly influenced by improvisational rock and jam bands such as Phish and The Grateful Dead, this young group of Raleigh rockers put on one hell of show.  Delta 88 opens.

ARCTIC MONKEYS @ DISCO RODEO TONIGHT

British indie rock outfit  Arctic Monkeys formed in 2002 and by 2006 were on a meteoric rise to fame.  The release of Whatever People Say I am I'm Not garnered record breaking sales in Great Britain and quickly thrust the band into the stratosphere somewhere between The Strokes and Cold Play.  An appearance on Saturday Night Live was their high water mark as the rest of the indie culture exploded with bands forming exponentially all over the US and Britain.  Not to say The Arctic Monkeys are any better or worse for the ware, but their popularity has evened out to a level manageable enough to have them on stage at The Disco Rodeo as apposed to say the RBC Center.

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at The Haw River Ballroom Saturday October 1 Reveiw

Stephen Malkmus, founder of the exalted and highly influential band Pavement - and an equally deified solo artist - came to visit our corner of the world last Saturday night for a show at The Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC, just 10 minutes away from Chapel Hill.   Originally the dye house in historic Saxapahaw’s cotton mill, the venue is part of an elegant structure which also features a restaurant and coffee bar on other levels.  As far as sound and structure, the first floor was perfect for Stephen Malkmus, The Jicks, and almost any other act they choose to host down the line.

 

The always sarcastic and borderline smarmy Malkmus and his band The Jicks ran through a good deal of tracks from their latest record Mirror Traffic.  Displaying precision and the correct dose of improvisation, the talents of each band member were nicely drawn. But the hold on the audience was cast from the lofty heights of the man singing the songs.  He’s a brilliant person and a fine musician - and he knows it.   

Fans were exhilarated (myself included) for rousing renditions of older tunes such as “Real Emotional Trash”, from the album of the same name, the raucous “Baby C’mon’ and the upbeat adventurous groove of “The Hook”.  Trading sarcastic chatter with blonde bassist Johanna Bolme, and ripping solos with guitarist and keyboardist Mike Clark, the connectivity of The Jicks surrounded him like a suit of armor.  Stephen Malkmus can wax smart ass and dodge a bullet while playing a song.  And The Jicks could too.  Moments of improvisation, such as bits from “Deal” by The Grateful Dead and the Doors’ “Mojo Risin” popped in during Real Emotional Trash, dramatized the group’s ever-present solidarity in the face of Steve’s whimsy.   

All bands have that, I suppose, but to stay on point with Malkmus takes guts.  They encored with a cover of the 1970’s classic “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass, which had the crowd going nuts, but then brought it down for a heart wrenching “Trojan Curfew”, an adored song from his first album sans Pavement. The show concluded with Jimmy Hendrix’s rock anthem “Wild Thing” retooled with lyrical changes from Malkmus and teases of Simon and Garfunkle’s “Feelin’ Groovy”-another homerun return from a Steven Malkmus curveball.