WEDNESDAY, AUG. 4
BLACK COBRA San Francisco dirge and doom rockers make a hell of a racket for a duo. The thickly rolling guitars and pounding drums slither along while effects and howled vocals load up on the bombast. Black Cobra tosses in psychedelic and spacey effects while taking Black Sabbath on a joyride. Also on the bill are Howl, Struck by Lightning and Machete! $10-$15, Tremont Music Hall, www.tremontmusichall.com (Samir Shukla)
R&B LIVE If there’s one thing Charlotte has managed to produce consistently, it’s singers. The return of this weekly open mic event gives you the chance to see what the city has to offer in the soul department and maybe even be the first to hear a diamond in the rough perform with a live band. $10, Sunset Club, www.sunsetclubcharlotte.com (Mike McCray)
THURSDAY, AUG. 5
PETER CASE Hugely underappreciated over his nearly four-decade career, songcraft specialist, singer and guitarist Case writes songs that will remain potent decades from now. No need to go into his history, checkmark of his early bands the Nerves and the Plimsouls, as Case strokes the guitar with his signature finger-picking style while meshing blues, folk and rock. There’s nada a weak track on his newest recording, Wig!. With Mary Gauthier. $18, The Evening Muse, www.theeveningmuse.com (Shukla)
FRIDAY, AUG. 6
GUTTERMOUTH Corky lyrics and good-time punk rock are the hallmarks of Southern Cali maniacs Guttermouth. Now marking a decade of touring and recording, the boys happily maintain their spastic punk shenanigans and itchy guitars with a sunny, tongue-in-cheek, we-don’t-take-ourselves-too-seriously persona. It’s a Friday night — put on your dancing shoes and get your ass out there. With the New Threat, Southside Punx, and The Not Likelys. $13-$15, The Milestone, www.themilestoneclub.com (Samir Shukla)
SATURDAY, AUG. 7
GROOVE MASTERS 2ND ANNUAL OLD SCHOOL JAZZ JAM Jazz is rapidly finding a steady audience in the Queen City and local jazz collective Groove Masters, 2009’s Charlotte Music Awards Best Jazz Artist, is combining two decades of experience, along with Reggie Calloway of Midnight Star, for a night of jazz and soul music. $25, Zion Renaissance Complex, www.wits2day.com (McCray)
POWER 98’S SUMMERFEST The annual summer rite of passage for teens in Charlotte’s black community returns with a handful of homegrown talent. Roc Nation star J Cole is headlining with N.C. products Ricco Barrino and Bettie Grind joining him. Singers Bobby Valentino and Lloyd, rappers Mystikal, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Dorrough are also on the ticket with more names TBA (another A or even B-lister would be nice). $20-$28, Bojangles’ Coliseum, www.bojanglescoliseum.com (McCray)
SUNDAY, AUG. 8
DYLAN GILBERT The local music machine known as Dylan Gilbert doesn’t find much time to take it easy. Seems like every time we look, there’s a new CD being released. His latest, Pangaea, came out on June 29. Gilbert’s known for poetic songwriting and fringe performing that takes his folk rock to the edge, sometimes playing the part of a mad scientist working the pedals with a frenzy. He’s got a new backing band, The Over Easy Breakfast Machine, which could help bring his songs into focus. With Lucky Five, The Have and the Have Nots, Linus van Pelt. Free for 21 and up, $3 for 18-20, Snug Harbor, www.snugrock.com (Jeff Hahne)
MONDAY, AUG. 9
ARCHEOLOGY Think radio-friendly pop songs with well-harmonized melodies where the chorus is repeated several times to sear it onto your brain so you don’t forget it anytime soon. A formula for success in today’s music market, that’s what the Portland, Ore., band has. Dare I say their cute little jingles are “Beatle-esque”, harking back sounds from the super-group in the early ’60s. The female demographic will certainly be entertained by their good looks and soft-spoken lines of love and togetherness. Interestingly enough, the band got its name from co-founders Jason Davis and Daniel Walker love for the science and actually met on an archaeological dig. With Standard Fare and The Flash Alchemy. Snug Harbor, www.snugrock.com (Chris Triplett)
TUESDAY, AUG. 10
GOO GOO DOLLS It’s always funny, when you look back at the Goo Goo Dolls career, that the band started out with some pretty strong hard rock and punk roots, yet still developed into a commercial rock juggernaut. The band has been around for 24 years now but is still known most readily by its super-single, “Iris.” Here’s to hoping they remember their punk beginnings and refuse to play the song live. Yeah … it’ll never happen. The band’s latest album, Something for the Rest of Us, is due in late August. With Switchfoot and Spill Canvas. $29.50-$55, Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre, www.livenation.com (Hahne)
This article appears in Best of Charlotte 2010.
Groove Masters is one of the best Jazz Bands I have heard in a long time!!!!