WEDNESDAY 11.20
Dr. Didg — Dr. Didg (aka Graham Wiggins) got his name because of his fascination with the didgeridoo and because he’s really a doctor — he earned his PhD at Oxford University. And what this educated fella has done with the traditional wind instrument is truly interesting. He’s blended a primitive sound with modern dance music to make a multi-layered, hypnotic, psychedelia groove. Before becoming Didg, Wiggins spent time in London in the band Outback, who he released two albums with. Didg also gigged with the Grateful Dead and appeared on two solo albums from the Dead’s Mickey Hart. Mojo Restaurant & Spirits (Lynn Farris)
Paul Thorn — Weaned on gospel, country and blues, Thorn has provided the backdrops for many recordings and shows off his thick voice and storytelling abilities best on his solo records. His voice initially comes across dry, but repeat listens bear resemblance to an itchy shirt mellowing into a comfy garment over time. His deep timbre and hooky compositions take shape in hometown Tupelo and then rumble across the rest of Americana. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)
THURSDAY 11.21</b.
Eyes Adrift — They put on a fine show last time around on their maiden touring voyage, and have returned to the Queen City with a number of shows under their belt, as well as a fine new self-titled album, much of which was produced and mixed in North Carolina. As one might expect, the psychedelic guitar wash of Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) predominates, but the bass playing of Krist Novoselic (ex- Sweet 75) keeps the songs buoyant, and even downright sing-able. With apologies to Jimmie Dale Gilmore, this is real cosmic country. See our interview in this issue. Amos’ Southend (Davis)
FRIDAY 11.22
Black Lagoon / Polyplush Cats — Black Lagoon’s newest, Laguna Negra, is out now, after a long delay. It’s worth the wait if only for the sheer successful audacity of the whole thing, a musical sweet-and-sour dish that’s as intriguing as it is tasty. The Polyplush Cats, a DC area trio, might look like Dave Wyndorf’s siblings, but they know their way around a heavy pop song even better than the Monster Magnet madman. Good heavy rock with enough sugar around the edges — both lyrically and musically — to make it go down easy. With Atlanta’s own glorious Ghost Story, as well as Mad Happy. Fat City (Davis)
Bob Margolin Blues Band — Ex-Muddy Waters sideman Margolin, the Steady Rollin one, has been bringing his authentic Greensboro by way of Chicago grit blues to our fair city for some time now. Let’s hope he continues his jaunts down I-85, as the unassuming Margolin packs more of a lesson in blues-flavored rock in two hours than most players do in a year. If you like your music straight no chaser, you could do a lot worse. Double Door Inn (Davis)
Cabaret Diosa — This is big lounge music for contemporary tiki bars. Cabaret Diosa create a warm, tropical lounge aura, maybe induced in part by cabin fever of long winters in their hometown of Boulder, CO. They play mambo-pop, rousing rumba, Latin lounge and spy movie psychedelia that’s at once cheesy, cool and hedonistic. The bottom line is it’s a hoot and a ton of fun, not to mention the musicianship goes beyond the heaps of onstage posturing and shenanigans. The 10-piece mambo-exotica outfit is revivalism of the hippest order. Visulite Theatre (Shukla)
Drivin ‘N’ Cryin — Word is that this will be a “full on” rock show, which means all the camp and big Georgia sledgehammer riffs and Kevn Kinney wailing like a stuck pig. That said, it’ll likely also be a great deal of fun, provided you ever sang along to NuClassic Rock nuggets like “Fly Me Courageous,” “To Build a Fire,” or “Straight To Hell.” I did, though I also still want a Trans Am. Amos’ Southend (Davis)
Renelvis — The one and only Renelvis is accompanied this night by two snappy rock and roll bands. The Alternative Champs are wackos who borrow liberally from the Ween and Frank Zappa textbooks with country, funk, rock and everything else they can scrape up and toss into their musical sack. Their irreverence is downright in your face, but if taken with a grain of salt, quite illuminating. Les Dirt Clods rock your socks with a bent on the Stones and cosmic grooves chiseled out for a contemporary marmalade. Both bands will back up the incomparable Elvis impressionist from the sunny Philippines. It sure sounds like a party to me. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)
SATURDAY 11.23
Garth — No hat country here. House music maven Garth, a Frisco mainstay for almost a decade, brings his own when he hits the road, making his house, if you will, a home. A textured mix of blips and heavy loops, slapped into submission with a good club wallop. With Mikey Mike and Bob Shaffer. Tonic (Davis)
Shiver / Mindspill — Here’s a triple bill gathering a posse of NC headbangers. Shiver cite Pantera and Sevendust as influences and they’re right on the money with a dual guitar attack and sung/screamed vocals alternating in a rapid-fire motion. / Mindspill stake out their turf of evil metal and metal-core with a vengeance. Also on the tap are up and coming emo-goth rockers 3 Quarters Dead. These outfits aren’t breaking any new ground, just giving like minded mofos a piece of their minds. Fat City (Shukla)
SUNDAY 11.24
Delbert McClinton — Grammy winner Delbert (“Best Contemporary Blues Album” for his Nothing Personal) is back again. The man who inspired John Lennon to play harmonica (see “Love Me Do”) is enjoying one of the most productive and successful parts of his career right now, at least since 80s hit “Giving It Up For Your Love.” Nothing Personal was recorded with vocalist Bekka Bramlett and Iris DeMent and members of Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty’s bands, and is a fine document of the older/wiser aesthetic McClinton now purveys. Amos’ Southend (Davis)
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2002.
