WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11
Dex Romweber Duo Musical trends be damned. Dex Romweber doesn’t give a hoot. The guitar slinger for Flat Duo Jets is currently tearing up stages with his sister Sara Romweber (Let’s Active and Snatches of Pink) on drums as the Dex Romweber Duo. Dex’s battered guitar is schooled in rockabilly, country, primal rock and garage punk. The siblings are N.C. music legends. The duo’s new record, Ruins of Berlin, is stacked with reverb-laden rockers, twangers and ballads with Cat Power and Neko Case checking in on a couple of tunes. With 2013 Wolves and JB Beverley & the Wayward Drifters. Snug Harbor (Samir Shukla)
THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Brandy Robinson It’s easy to lump together most “girl with acoustic guitar” performers, but Robinson sets herself apart with a smoky, sultry vocals, poetic lyrics and funky, jazzy riffs. Her music can sprint between elements of blues and jazz while sticking with a folk overtone. Having chatted with her after her last Charlotte appearance, it’s easy to tell that there’s music running through her veins that’s bound to captivate an audience within moments. The Evening Muse (Jeff Hahne)
These Arms Are Snakes Playing a lit-from-within, animatronic brand of hardcore that never forgets the ever-important melodic undercurrent that drives the best of that music, TAAS have more in common with bands like Helmet and Television than they do many of the bands with whom they’re often grouped. They favor angular guitar lines to angular hairstyles, and further favor riding those same guitar lines into droning oblivion. Singer Steve Snere’s vocals are from the shouted school, and as such border on banal on occasion, but as a sonic whole (which is the way they’re appearing, of course), These Snakes Are Rad. With All the Saints, The Coathangers, Grids. The Milestone (Timothy C. Davis)
FRIDAY, MARCH 13
Marnie Stern Two things tend to hold true with the dreaded “shredder” tag: First, you’re probably male, and second, you probably noodle too much. Marnie Stern puts the lie to both stereotypes, explaining to Guitar Player magazine that “I’ve never done a solo in my life. Everything I do is fully composed and layered to go with the song.” And while her finger-tapped, mile-a-minute riffs look like shredding, Stern’s two full-length records show a wide – and welcome – chasm between her spiky pop-colored rock (think an early Modest Mouse and Hella mix) and the average Phygian Dominant wank-off. With Des Ark and The Flying Eyes. Snug Harbor (John Schacht)
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
Malcolm Holcombe The country-fried 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 these days, and the result is no less authentic than his early, twangier work. He was signed to Geffen for awhile, but the suits there thought he was a liability and dropped him. In other news, the 10th-place runner-up on American Idol just got a record deal. With Gareth Asher, Jackson County Line. The Evening Muse (Davis)
Vetiver Tight Knit, the brand-new – and superb – release from former Greensboro music maker Andy Cabic, is being hailed for the nuanced textures that so suit its title. Cabic and company – including recently departed Vetiverian bassist and Charlottean Brent Dunn – elaborate on the warm acoustic echoes and gentle drones of 2008’s Thing of the Past covers disc, but you come away here with the same sunny day buzz you get from the gentle stuff on VU’s Loaded. That’s not just high praise, it’s freakin’ bliss. This excellent triple-bill also features the Sian Alice Group and local two-piece The Houstons. Snug Harbor (Schacht)
Peelander-z While this Japanese action-comic punk band claims to be from the Z-Area of “Planet Peelander,” the group was actually formed in N.Y.C. by an animated trio of punk rockers. Peelander Yellow, Blue and Red have since been entertaining the crap out of crowds, not only with their music but with performances guaranteed to be out of this world. With songs like “Steak” and “Go Ape Go,” it may not be the deepest music, but watching them do kung-fu moves on stage definitely makes the show worth your while. The Milestone (Jill Jacobs)
The Slackers The rock steady riddims, ’60s soul, dub, reggae, rural blues and of course ska, marks The Slackers among the finest ska-influenced outfits around. They’ve been kicking up a horns-fueled dance storm since the early ’90s. Of course, there’s a touch of itchy punk in the mix, but it’s mostly about island vibes with horns and drums and bass rocking steady. Its recent recording Self Medication is oh so old-school reggae. With Bums Lie. Visulite (Shukla)
SUNDAY, MARCH 15
Caltrop These Chapel Hill sludge-meisters lay on thick, bottom-heavy dollops of psychedelic stoner rock and metal. You know the kind, where Sleep, Melvins and other sludgecore six-string abusers march in a slow motion, layered ride into the dark depths where the guitars chisel off shards of rock from shuddering amps while the percussion and bass round out the edges. With Hull, Sons of Tonatiuh and Reverser. The Milestone (Shukla)
This article appears in Mar 10-17, 2009.
