WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1
SICK PUPPIES The Australian rock trio plays some pretty generic, radio-friendly stuff, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold its own when it comes to putting on a show. Keep an eye on bassist Emma Anzai, too — not just because she’s attractive, but because she can hammer a mean bass riff with the best of ’em. With Terrible Things, Drop D. $15-$18, Amos’ Southend, www.amossouthend.com (Jeff Hahne)
THURSDAY, DEC. 2
EYEHATEGOD The rumbling guitars, like slow-moving tanks across scorched earth, are still disorienting. And while sludge rockers Eyehategod, lovingly know as EHG, have clocked detuned, off-tuned, slow mo’ guitars as their modus operandi for over two decades, there’s an unmistakable blues layer in the reverberations. They mark their signature with sustained chords, amps maxed, bass and drums marching in unison. Also on the bill are Crowbar, Black Tusk and Phobia. $14-$16, Tremont Music Hall, www.tremontmusichall.com (Samir Shukla)
TAB BENOIT Guitar man Benoit has always sprinkled his brand of blues with Cajun treatments. The sweet riffs, oft amplified with voluminous Texas blues, never blink when it comes to tipping hats to his Cajun and New Orleans roots. His lyrics are sometimes gospel-like, while others are about, well, partying. It’s organic and seamless, where blues that can be only born on the bayou linger. Benoit works as a preservationist for the much-beleaguered Louisiana wetlands, to boot. With Anders Osborne & Big Chief Monk Boudreaux. $20-$22. Visulite Theatre. www.visulite.com (Shukla)
FRIDAY, DEC. 3
SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS On its latest, The Kudzu Ranch, guitarist Rick Miller, bassist Mary Huff and drummer Dave Hartman chill out a bit with the hillbilly schtick in favor of laying waste to some more traditional-sounding tonk. And while the band’s shows’ inevitable antics are a bit more sterile now than in the past (throw fried chicken and ‘nanner pudding at an audience on a regular basis and you tend to get a reputation for it), the music certainly isn’t — it’s a solid shot of corn(y) liquor that won’t fail to loosen your inhibitions. $15-$18, Visulite Theatre, www.visulite.com (Timothy C. Davis)
JON LINDSAY There are a couple of different ways folk pen pop music. There’s the rah-rah, bobbysox school, wherein the hard rain a-never-falls and the milk never sours, and then there’s what the best of the breed do, and Jon Lindsay does: craft music of equal parts sweat and sweet, heart and hard times. His recent Escape From Plaza-Midwood is as intricately crafted as you’d expect from a long-promised release from a self-proclaimed studio rat, but never seems anything approaching overwrought: the harmonies swell where you’d expect, leaning sheets of beats and keys illuminate oaken acoustic guitar, and laugh lines miraculously appear on the face of things when the mood threatens to tilt into gameoversville. Lindsay, who is returning home from a tour that’s recently taken him to music centers New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, is an admirable chronicler of both characters and character, lending the whole production a bite-size Bloomsday feel. With Stephaniesid, The Tomahawks. $8, Snug Harbor, www.snugrock.com (Davis)
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY Sure he’s an oddball, but a mighty hip one at that. And Will Oldham, aka Bonnie Prince Billy, is more down to earth than his persona may appear. His muse has graced different monikers, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, et al, but it’s not all gloom, as the emotive songcrafter can also be downright corky. All eccentricities aside, Oldham/Billy is an American songwriting treasure. Find a more unnerving song than “I See a Darkness” at your own peril. With the Babblers. $20, Neighborhood Theatre, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com (Shukla)
SATURDAY, DEC. 4
EYES OF THE ELDERS This Charlotte rap outfit has seen its day of ever-changing lineups pass by and has settled into a creative, live collective behind emcees, Ricky Radar and Bearcat, that has other local hip-hop acts asking themselves if they too should transform their stage show and catalog into more than just beats and rhymes. Their first Charlotte show in months includes StereoFidelics and The Kharma Kids opening. $10, Neighborhood Theatre, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com (Mike McCray)
BREASTIVAL Snug Harbor will be the home of the 3rd Annual Breastival. The event is held as a benefit for the Keep a Breast Foundation, which promotes awareness and education for the prevention of breast cancer. The event will feature live music by Cement Stars, Fat Camp and Small Talk Industries, as well as performances by punk-dragsters Lilith DeVille and BethAnn Phetamine. DJ Scott Weaver will provide some extra tunes. There will also be donations of art and other items for a raffle. 9 p.m. $5. Snug Harbor. www.snugrock.com (Jeff Hahne)
TUESDAY, DEC. 7
MISFITS To call their fans a cult following would be an understatement Since reforming in the late ’90s, the band is more heavy metal than horror punk now but has worked around its shuffling lineup and continues to rock shows in a subgenre they thrust into the spotlight. Juicehead, Biggy Stardust & His Wretched Hive and Pen15 are also on the bill. $18-$22, Tremont Music Hall, www.tremontmusichall.com (McCray)
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2010.
