WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3
Tab Benoit I have a thing for the blues, and some theories, too. I think the blues, being a color, doesn't see any others. I believe it's not so much what's being said as much as it is the depth of emotion in which it's delivered. I believe it's usually only white folk (critics, most often) that have a problem with the blues, or, moreover, with white people, like Mr. Benoit, playing the blues. "Authenticity!" they scream. Old black men playing old beat-up guitars – that's the blues! Robert Johnson! Lightnin' Hopkins! Whoever Fat Possum's dredged up lately! My, but that Mississip' Delta's still fertile! I believe some folks know that the blues are what you make of them, and that just because a man's whistling a jaunty tune, it doesn't mean the underlying melody is one of harmony. I believe some folks sing the blues because if they don't, the blues will sing them. I believe Mr. Benoit here's worth your time. But then again, I'm just a white critic. THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. Double Door Inn (Timothy C. Davis)
THURSDAY, FEB. 4
Jay Garrigan Garrigan (Poprocket, The Garrigan Brothers, Transmission Fields) has been a fixture on the Charlotte music scene for years. And not just a static, lamp post-like fixture, mind you – he's had his hands in any number of good bands over the years, and takes more creative chances than most. This show will feature some new songs from his upcoming solo disc, and will be performed all semi-acoustic-like, with a possible assist from members of the band he's assembling to flesh out the songs live. A good song, of course, can stand up to this stripped-down treatment, and Garrigan's never given us any reason to doubt him in that department. With Amelia White. The Evening Muse (Davis)
FRIDAY, FEB. 5
Sol Driven Train Charleston's jam rockers play pop that's custom-made for lazing on a beachfront bar, colorful beverage in hand, sun sinking into the horizon. Sol Driven Train's cocktail of Southern rock, swamp boogie, and Americana tinged with horns, is presented in neatly written pop-rock numbers. With three albums under their belt, including a children's record, the gents have released a new DVD, Live at the Windjammer, and are at work on a new studio record for release in spring. Double Door Inn (Samir Shukla)
SATURDAY, FEB. 6
Motion City Soundtrack Scrappy punk-pop quintet's signature is crisp guitar riffs and a happy-go-lucky vocalist. Their freshly-released disc, My Dinosaur Life, salutes the band's beloved influences, including Sunny Day Real Estate and Superchunk, while evolving over the past several years into something pretty darn original. Also on the bill are Set Your Goals, This Providence and The Swellers. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)
Between the Buried and Me The torn-throat vocals are still pervasive in their grinding metal, but of late Between the Buried and Me have taken a liking to a more progressive, epic rock approach. The machine gun drums and guitars leave more space between the bombast where jazzy forays and long guitar solos meet prog rock's eccentric mores. Their most recent recording, The Great Misdirect, has six rumbling tracks that showcase this directional change. The Fillmore (Shukla)
Perpetual Groove The band's newly released CD, Heal, brews neo-psychedelia, progressive rock, R&B and jazz together producing a suggestive Coldplay quality. While holding onto their rock persona, which magnetized many of their fans, they have tweaked their sound in order to grow as musicians. Fun fact for all pro-environment supporters – Heal was produced with renewable energy compliments of their partnership with Tree Studios. In other words, the music is coming to you clean. Perpetual Groove started off the new year with a sold-out performance and once you hear them you'll understand why. Neighborhood Theatre (Nicole Pietrantonio)
SUNDAY, FEB. 7
.357 String Band Assuming the .357 in the moniker is a nod to the firearm and not some extra-hefty guitar-string gauge, this self-styled "streetgrass" band from Milwaukee best pack the heat – and they do. Drawing on murder ballads, Outlaw Country and dark-hearted Gospel, the band's drum-free, banjo-powered sounds are fermented in punk and rockabilly. Of course, they're playing on the home-turf of America's best-known punkgrass act, so comparisons with the Avetts are only natural, but in this case pretty misguided. These boys eschew the sweet for the sour, and pretty girls for naughty ones. Don't expect to remain sober. With Bob Wayne, the Trouble Walkers and KpSoloMan5000. Snug Harbor (John Schacht)
TUESDAY, FEb. 9
Evan Dando For those of us old enough to know better, Evan Dando will probably be linked with Kurt Cobain in perpetuity. Though Cobain was always considered The More Serious Artist, both were reluctant MTV poster boys in the early '90s, scruffily-dressed Flannel Idols with sculpted good looks chiseled at the same granite factory. They both had healthy drug habits, too, which suffused their music. Drugs killed Cobain, of course, and when you're hanging out and recording with Rick James and his crack pipe between sex slave kidnappings in the mid-'90s, it's a good bet they nearly killed Dando, too. But he survived, and the weird thing is that, as I do the fine-wine maturing thing, I find those nifty little Lemonheads ditties have more staying power. With Kachina and The Activity. Tremont Music Hall (Schacht)