Music Menu 

WEDNESDAY 2.18
Songwriter's Night -- Nice cross-pollination show here, featuring Mt. Holly's David Childers, Charlotte's Randolph Lewis and John Dungan, and Nicole Atkins, a New Jersey-based songwriter with a lot of Carolina ties. Childers, of course, is the road-hog troubadour of the bunch, playing copious shows all around the region (as well as places like Ohio, and even Scotland). Randolph Lewis' sound with a full band often seems to suggest a '70s influence, but he might be as good an acoustified songwriter as we have in town when the amps are turned off. John Dungan's folk-blues have enough panache and soul to make you forget he's just up there playing with nothing but a guitar for accompaniment. Nicole Atkins has played around these parts for years. A small woman, she quickly commands attention on stage once her weary, soulful voice wraps its way around a song. Nice chance here for fans of one artist to check out someone new, with the added advantage of knowing whoever your favorite, they probably dig all the others. The Evening Muse (Davis)

THURSDAY 2.19
Old Crow Medicine Show -- A killer Tennessee band cranking out old-timey tunes rigged with tinny blues, screechy bluegrass and washboard country. It's like hearing old 78" LPs on an A.M. radio station, but recorded on modern equipment so as to eliminate the hiss. They wander back-country roads while dust kicks up behind the beat-up pickup truck hauling their musical muse, heading in no particular direction except some place called American music. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)

Two Cow Garage/Dawn Kinnard -- This baby faced trio from the Midwest owe a debt to another trio of Midwesterners -- Uncle Tupelo -- who first forged this punk-country sound (if you can't hear the difference between, say, Green on Red and UT, then go listen to Still Feel Gone). But 2CG incorporate enough Drive By Truckers/Replacements elements to keep from sounding wholly derivative. And they do not disappoint live, combining passion with enough youthful exuberance to rattle the rafters. / Kinnard, who impressed a Muse crowd a month ago with a tight set of something-extra Lucinda-like tunes, does a repeat performance as the opener; see her now because the Nashville sharks are circling this talented and photogenic singer-songwriter. The Evening Muse (Schacht)

FRIDAY 2.20
Cari Clara / Malcolm Holcombe -- Cari Clara is essentially a one-man project of Eric Diedrichs, better known for fronting the now-defunct pop combo, The Simpletons. In Cari Clara, Diedrichs takes on all the duties -- vocals, instrumentation, and programming -- compiling the parts into the new recording Miniature American Model Society (Tiberius Records). The record is a nice effort in eclectic playing and studio experimentation. Cari Clara, however, will be a full-fledged band on the road as Diedrichs rightly recognizes that the record sounds great, but the material wouldn't go over well if performed live solo. In the end, the modus operandi is a dense, atmospheric sound. Opening for Django Haskins. (Shukla) / Holcombe's one of those songwriters you always get your money's worth with, one way or another. A commanding stage presence, he also has the songs to back it up, and a quick wit to quiet the drunks. He plays a sort of Southern gothic version of the diner blues here, and the result is no less authentic. He was signed to Geffen for awhile, but the suits thought he was a liability and dropped him. In other news, the 10th-place runner-up on American Idol just got a record deal. Another Wisdom, his newest, is indeed a "wise" purchase -- gritty, authentic (whatever that is), and full of the rough-hewn lyricism he's justifiably becoming known for. With R. B. Morris. The Evening Muse (Davis)

Dave Seaman -- This British-born producer, re-mixer and DJ also put the periodical Mixmag on the map, and was a co-founder of Stress Records. He's part of the award-winning production team, Brothers In Rhythm, too, having re-mixed tracks by folks like Garbage, Placebo and even the ironic one, Alanis Morissette. His mixing also appears on the no-longer-hip-but-still-popular Global Underground series (Melbourne, 2002 edition), and he should keep the progressives -- trance and house beats, that is -- rumbling deep into the night from behind the platters. Tonic (Schacht)

Scapegoat -- Charlotte punk/hardcore meisters turn up the heat with the CD Release show for their third full-length record, These Cards We're Dealt. Expect plenty of guitar abuse as the musically maturing quartet lay down their take on hard music. This all-ages gig also features Swift and Hell or High Water. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)

The Scrubbies -- Guitar fans won't want to miss this show. I mean, Steve Vai fans might want to look elsewhere, but people who like that big, feeding-back, wall of noise thing will feel right at home with the Scrubbies. A heaping helping of that good 'ol punk-and-Pixies sound, it's not overly concerned with being "art" -- themes seem to be chicks, getting out, and getting off -- but it's tailor-made for singing along (which is probably the whole point anyway). With Gonzalez. The Steeple Lounge (Davis)

TUESDAY 2.24
Hank III -- The third generation crooner's voice lies smack dab in the middle of Hank Sr. and Hank Williams Jr. Hank III's musical reach straddles the lonesome highways and fractured hearts sung about so brilliantly by Hank Sr., but doesn't forget the party-boogie of his pappy, Hank Jr. Hank III also took his punches playing in several punk bands, adding an extra flair to his country demeanor. Hank III's gigs abound with plenty of solid originals, including cuts like "Whiskey, Weed and Women," which would be right out of the book of Hank Sr.'s lost songs dropped along the highway somewhere. Also on the bill are Antiseen and Scott Biram. Visulite Theatre (Shukla)

WEDNESDAY 2.25
Richie Havens -- Havens has never been an ordinary folkie. He uses his soulful voice, open guitar tunings and other techniques to fill in the sound with shades of jazz and blues, in a personal musical history going back to the mid-60s. Havens' musical progressiveness has bypassed all trends during those four decades. So, how does he fit into the contemporary scene? Quite snuggly, as a matter of fact, as he continues moody expressions of original tales while adding the Havens' treatment to covers. Sylvia Theater, York (Shukla)

Robert Walter's 20th Congress -- Funk/jazz keyboardist Walter was smart enough to take a page from jazzbo compatriots John Scofield and John Medeski a few years back, and he's now reaping the benefits of expanding his audience. As more and more jazz musicians are learning, the jam-band circuit is a nice fit: the audience is appreciative and loyal, knowledgeable about music, and willing to spend money. Walter's playing -- smoky, spiked 60s soul/jazz -- is a perfect fit in such digs, equally able to free the mind and the ass, which, to hear George Clinton tell it, inevitably follows. Visulite Theatre (Davis)