WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23
Buju Banton Banton is back with a decidedly roots reggae record in Rasta Got Soul. The Jamaican star has tempered his oft-controversial dancehall of yore into Rastafarian ethos with sinewy riddims and tidy lyrics. The new album is styled in classic reggae with dashes of ska, but expect a hybrid of roots and dancehall when he makes his return to the Queen City. His voice has gotten gruffer but the beats are boisterous and vibe uplifting. With Gramps Morgan. Amos’ Southend (Samir Shukla)
The Books Rather than bristling against the information overload of modern life, The Books – guitarist Nick Zammuto and cellist Paul de Jong – embrace it and impose an accessible musical logic on it. Found sound (door squeaks, jackhammers, Churchill’s war-time radio transmissions, dialogue from Goddard films, etc.) gets sliced-and-diced through their computers along with all manner of instruments (cello, banjo, guitar, clarinet, etc.), creating a Gordian knot of digitized glitch and organic acoustics that doesn’t forsake melody or rhythm. They’re not the first to do it, but they’re quite good at it. Musique concrète for the indie set. With Lotus Plaza. Visulite Theatre (John Schacht)
THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
Holy Ghost Tent Revival The oft-missed Squirrel Nut Zippers may have sired this offspring. HGTR’s rollicking combo of bluegrass-induced ragtime, folk, New Orleans jazz and rickety Americana evokes that old Chapel Hill band, but this sextet has its own agenda. One soaked in harmony, drunk on banjo and assembled on a southern porch. Stomp your toes, grab a gal and rejoice. Double Door Inn (Shukla)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25
Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives Marty Stuart is loved in Nashville proper, and for good reason. The suits see him as a peacock with a direct line to country music’s golden age. And they are right. Americana fans love him because he’s a hotshit picker, and can Don Glidden-ize a fretboard quicker than you say the name of his whimsically-monikered backing band. They’re right, too. Finally, his fellow musicians like Stuart because A) he’s one of the most selfless folks in country music, always willing to lend a hand, whether for a benefit or backing track, and B) the fact that he’s considered by most in the industry to be one of the superior talents of his generation, whether or not Joe Q. CMTwatcher ever thinks to buy one of his records. Critically, at least, it would seem that the consensus is in. Neighborhood Theatre (Timothy C. Davis)
SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
Zac Brown Band You could be forgiven for thinking Zac Brown’s Ready-for-a-Wrangler-commercial anthems (“Just a little bit of chicken fried/cold beer on a Friday night/pair ‘a jeans that fit just right/turn the radio upppp”) are nothing more than the country version of a Shawn Mullins or Edwin McCain – toothless, light-beer odes for people who want to have a good time, but who’ve always been sort of afraid of having too good of a time. And you might be right. But the knit-cap-fond Brown does have a little something more up his sleeve – he allows his band to feel their way around a song, and he knows the strength of leaving a few rough edges about to better snag the listener used to the shaved-smooth stuff – and, what’s more, he can actually pen a moving song now and again. That said, if you ever see him trade in the skullcap for a Stetson, know it’s all over. Uptown Amphitheatre (Davis)
Gray Young When this Raleigh trio’s promising debut, Firmament, dropped earlier this year it had folks conjuring up the usual post-rock suspects (Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, et al.) to describe their melodic squall. None of them really suited, though. For one, the record’s 13 songs (with the title track exception) delivered their epic in short sprints rather than marathons. Then there’s the occasional vocals, the obvious debt owed to The Edge’s reverb-friendly guitar shards, and a pop vibe coursing beneath the melodies. So, post-rock, shmost-rock; just a modern power trio with a fondness for build and release. You could do plenty worse. Opening for The Noises 10. Snug Harbor (Schacht)
SUNDAY, SEPT. 27
The Disco Biscuits The trance jammers from Philadelphia set themselves apart from the vast array of other jam bands by incorporating more electronic elements. They’ve also been known to play songs backwards. Usually, their sets are just one long song as the seamlessly flow from one song to the next. Trippy stuff. The Fillmore (Jeff Hahne)
MONDAY, SEPT. 28
Subarachnoid Space The sky won’t fall but it will seem awful closer and the ground won’t shake but you’ll find yourself holding onto your barstools. Subarachnoid Space’s twirling guitars and swirling psychedelics and the adeptness of feedback control are firmly hewn in their new album, Eight Bells, which releases this week. The instrumental combo’s experimental improv is rooted in sound manipulation. With Ovo and Machete. Milestone (Shukla)
TUESDAY, SEPT. 29
Rob Thomas Thomas is out on tour in support of his sophomore solo album, Cradlesong. Though he’s faired well with the Top-40/VH1 watchers, I’m sure there are some people who just want him to continue doing stuff with Matchbox 20, while there are probably others who only know him from his collaboration with Santana. With OneRepublic and Carolina Liar. Uptown Amphitheatre (Hahne)
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2009.
