BURNING BRIGHT AT WHITE COLLAR CRIME TONIGHT 1-27

Happy New Year! TRIBUTE BANDS!

Tis the season for a serious lack of attendance-worthy original music in the area, hence the tribute bands such as Led Zeppelin copycats, Zoso -  performing January 13 and 14 atThe Lincoln Theater in Raleigh - and  Abbey Road (take a wild guess who they parrot)  are simultaneously performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.   So, basically you can tell yourself The Beatles and Led Zeppelin are playing the same two nights in your town. And deciding which one to go see will be a decision made based solely on the deepest and most serious meditation.  Beatles or Zep?  Beatles or Zep?  Maybe I could make it to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin in the same night! Why not?

I had the pleasure of catching ZOSO several years ago at a private party and noted the Robert Plant playing front man behaved as if he were actually the man himself; demanding drink, drugs and women to be delivered to him at once!  As if he and Jimmy, Bonzo, and the boys had just skidded down the runway in their private 747.  Sorry pal,  there might be some left over Cheeto Dust in the van next to the Bush Lite and sleeping bags.  

It's not that I don't appreciate the value of a band thriving on the creativity and art of others artists.  Music is something of a shared endeavor anyway. And, if these tribute or cover bands make people jump for joy in nostalgic ecstasy, more power to them.  I just feel that the characters being played should simply be left on stage with the memories. 

Humorist, music journalist and Author Chuck Klosterman does a bang up job describing tribute bands in an essay included in Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.  I highly recommed reading this essay, if not all of his work

ORGANOS with BOYKILLER and THE BIG PICTURE Friday 12-16 at WHITE COLLAR CRIME

All together, the music of Carboro's Organos creates a sparse landscape with each note of each instrument and vocal separate  from each other.  Singer Maria Albani's deadpan delivery blends well with the minimal selection of accompanying sounds and tastefully puts her "ha's"  and "huff's" in the right spot.  It all comes together as a tightly woven blanket of low key, high impact alternative rock.  Catch them with Boykiller and THE BIG PICTURE this Friday night at White Collar Crime on East Davie Street.

WOODS with MMOSS and PHIL COOK and his FEAT @ KINGS BARCADE 12-15

Brooklyn based lo-fi folk rock band, Woods will make their Raleigh debut at Kings Barcade tomorrow night.  Out supporting their fifth record, Sun and Shade, Woods is a band which brings it all to the table.  Melodically enticing in all their offerings, the back drop to some of their frenzied foreground is reminiscent of The Brain Jonestown Massacre but stands on it's own with tough originality.

MMOSS and PHIL COOK and his FEAT will open. 

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!