THURSDAY, FEB. 5
Larry Keel & Natural Bridge Flat-picking guitar maestro Keel and his posse Natural Bridge are on the road working the new release Backwoods. Born and raised in the Virginia neck of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Keel is an American roots music troubadour who knows the Appalachian musical traditions. His music is rootsy, yet innovative, traditional yet progressive and the harmony-drenched lyrics pretty much seal the deal. Asheville bluegrass outfit Town Mountain will open. Visulite Theatre (Samir Shukla)
Brit Price Davidson College graduate and current Charlotte resident releases her debut disc, Move Me. Her voice has a hint of Gwen Stefani’s tone to it, and the music is piano-based pop in the vein of Sara Bareilles – there’s a hint of soul mixed in, too. Her song “Whoville” has plenty of Dr. Seuss references – nothing wrong with that! Amos’ Southend (Jeff Hahne)
FRIDAY, FEB. 6
Annuals There was a great article about Annuals in a recent issue of the great Oxford American (go to oxfordamericanmag.com, punch in “Annuals” in the search box), which concerns itself mainly with how a band gains that ever-more-important “buzz” in the indie rock world (hint: have pitchfork.com give you an eight or higher). A six-piece from Raleigh and Chapel Hill, Annuals did indeed get plenty of buzz a year or two ago, before giving way to the Vampire Weekends of the Month. There’s two ways to go after such attention – make the same record again (see The Strokes), or take a different tact and make a sharp-ass left turn. Annuals took the road rarely traveled at all – make a slight left, and drive in the median (see the band’s still-quite-good Such Fun, released last October). In horticulture terms, they seem, although still budding, like a future perennial. Visulite Theatre (Timothy C. Davis)
Jessica Lee Mayfield The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach produced this 19-year-old’s debut, no doubt because the fellow Ohioan heard straight away that Mayfield’s laconic vocals and old soul lyrics far transcended her years. With Auerbach and Dr. Dog guitarist Scott McMicken providing gothic-twang textures, Mayfield’s stark, sepia-toned debut, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, garnered much critic love last year, even earning the top spot on Blurt‘s year-end list. Opening for Raleigh’s orchestral popsters Annuals. Visulite Theatre (John Schacht)
Jim Weider’s Project Percolator Sure, Weider’s tenure as the lead axeman (replacing Robbie Robertson) in The Band lasted some 15 odd years. But before, during and after that coveted gig, Weider has been writing, performing and lending his chops on numerous sessions for the past three decades. The Telecaster master’s guitar work is splashed with blues, funk, jazz and jam-laden grooves. The band can crank out short rockers or boogie on well into the night. Double Door Inn (Shukla)
SATURDAY, FEB. 7
Goblin Cock Despite publicized protestations to the contrary, much of what you need to know about this San Diego quintet’s proggy sludge metal is right there in the name. Taking the piss out of a genre that often desperately needs it (their debut’s liner notes were written in Runes), Pinback’s Rob Crow – er, sorry, Lord Phallus – and company nevertheless headbang with the best of ’em on their new one Come With Me If You Want to Live. That’s because, like all quality piss-taking, there’s also underlying respect for the mocked. With Warship, Poontanglers. Milestone (Schacht)
Toubab Krewe The Asheville band’s blend of African and American rhythms and influences combine for one heck of a melting pot. They don’t just make this crap up, either. The band has seriously studied its instruments on a number of trips to African nations and stay true to the traditions. The current tour is in support of a new live album, Live at the Orange Peel, which was recorded in the Asheville hotspot. It was digitally released this month and will be in stores in March. Neighborhood Theatre (Hahne)
TUESDAY, FEB. 10
Coheed and Cambria Whither NuProg? (Some would say “Wither, NuProg!”) Every few years, there comes along a band (or bands: see also the Mars Volta, to name another big-name example) to unite that faction of us who get off equally on the stylings of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis (Steve Hackett totally did the tapping thing before Ed Van Halen, let it be said), Mike Patton-era Faith No More, Queensryche (circa Operation: Mindcrime) and, er, Slipknot, the exceedingly awful band they’re sharing the stage with tonight (I’d wear masks, too). Whoda thunk such a faction exists? Something of the Mark Z. Danielewski of the metal world (sells a lot of books, few actually read him), this C&C music factory aren’t just content to make you sweat with a concept album – all their concept albums are part of a larger-reaching concept called The Amory Wars, which are being set for posterity in series of comic books, written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez. Seems like an apt medium. With Slipknot, Trivium. Bojangles Coliseum (Davis)
Girls Guns and Glory The Boston band’s recent disc, Inverted Valentine, is country-caressed rock where the twangy honky-tonk cruises right along with moody rock. There’s the Bakersfield, Cali., Buck-Owens vibe. Then the band gets moody and that’s when the Chris Isaak and Lyle Lovett party takes over. These Beantown lads sound more Southern than a lot of the crud coming out of Nashville. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
This article appears in Feb 3-10, 2009.
