WEDNESDAY 8.11
Beijing — The quartet’s debut EP is a promising blend of breezy and slightly twangy UK-influenced rock — think Mojave3 without the fey and you’re in the general vicinity. The Athens band’s debut was mixed by Of Montreal’s Derek Almstead, and that’s your Elephant 6 collective mention of the day. Judging by the press and website, these kids are a cheeky lot, but quite serious when it comes to the music. With Esposito. The Room (Schacht)
THURSDAY 8.12
A Fir Ju Well — Syd Barrett fronts the Sadies. The Weens and Camper Van Beethoven play the prom. The Flaming Lips and Captain Beefheart make a musical lovechild. With no front man and a revolving group of multi-instrumentalists, this Atlanta quartet eschews structure for inspiration — resulting in a hallucinogenic listening experience. Call it Acid Americana. The Room (Schacht)
New Monsoon — There are clearly interesting effects when banjo is paired with tablas. New Monsoon, a California-based world-rock septet, ably combines varied rhythms with jazz-flavored rock. The key here is crafty improv, where the group separate themselves from other jam bands through a sweeping range of musical interludes interwoven into one. The multi-instrument ensemble prefers to take the long road over lazy short cuts for an enticing take on tunes flavored with Indian classical music to Latin jams. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)
FRIDAY 8.13
Clair De Lune — This Minneapolis band’s unpretentious, emotive rock is delivered through quiet moments and/or elated guitars where subtle piano rolls open the gates for amped feedback. Husker Du, another Minneapolis band, weighs in on the influence tag. Clair De Lune doesn’t stray too far from punk ethos and you’d be hard-pressed to find much fault in their new recording, Marionettes, on Charlotte-based label Deep Elm. Queen City Underground (Shukla)
Blues Traveler/Abe Reid and the Spikedrivers — The Traveler, like Popper himself, are now trimmed down and hungry, and once again…traveling. Popper’s voice was always pleasant enough to these ears, and while his harp playing was busy — “the bloke plays a lot of notes,” says Mick Jagger — it did have a certain down-home gumption and feel that managed to fill in most of the cracks in his songwriting. Awe-inspiring? Of course not. But decent enough, if in a sort of Canned Heat/Hot Tuna sort of way. With Ricky Fante. / After the show, Abe Reid and The Spikedrivers will host a CD Release Party for their new one, Caution: Falling Boogie on The Other Side. The Neighborhood Theatre (Davis)
Don Dixon/Shalini — NC legend Don Dixon’s work as both producer (REM, Smithereens, Guadalcanal Diary) and musician (Dixon wields a mean bass guitar) sometimes overshadows the fact that the man has a way with a hook on the level with another hat-fond chap, Bill Dance. / In their press release, Shalini — Shalini Chatterjee (bass, vocals), Mitch Easter (guitar, production) and Eric Marshall (drums) — respectfully ask reviewers to avoid “stale words” like “vintage, retro, psychedelic, jangly, pop, and Beatlesque” when describing the band’s latest, Metal Corner. There are other words that better describe their sound, it goes on to tell us. Words like “seasoned, rock, new wave, original, interesting,” and “different.” I’m not sure about those words, either, but it’s pretty catchy stuff, and well done in a hit-me-with-your-best-shot, Reaganomics-soaked kind of way. Walk like an Egyptian. The Room (Davis)
Jonathan Lisle/Jimmy Van M — A dynamic duo of turntablists, Lisle is a John Digweed “discovery” who plays a blend of intelligent/progressive breaks and house, and is a Bedrock regular. Van M, another champion of the progressive house school, is a graduate of the fertile Orlando scene who also got a boost from Sasha & Digweed when they chose him to open their Twilo residency in New York. Tonic (Schacht)
Matt Thackston — Thackston is a singer-songwriter originally from the foothills of North Carolina now making his home in Nashville. His voice is reminiscent of Chris Isaak and he plays music that is folky and country yet easily rests in between rock & roll bookends. Thackston doesn’t dig into but rather dives into matters of the heart and is able to engage the listener in his tales with poignant playing. With Lilley, Strauss & Schigoda. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue — A Truth In Advertising event, the sweet harmonies come courtesy of Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. See our story in this issue. Paramount’s Carowinds Paladium (Schacht)
SATURDAY 8.14
Antiseen — Sporting a new DVD and a freshly-finished new grinder of a record in Badwill Ambassadors (look for a late October release), ANTiSEEN show no signs of stopping their assault on eardrums and self-righteous political correctness anytime soon. Jeff Clayton, Mighty Joe Young, Doug Canipe and Sir Barry Hannibal (still one of the greatest names in local rock) have become the most stable lineup in the group’s 20+ year history, lending a rock-solid musicianship to the band’s already concrete catalog of three-and-four minute sonic blasts. If you’re lucky, they might even break out a Sun Ra (!) song or any number of idiosyncratic covers. With Drat and Empire Falls (also the name of a great book by Richard Russo). Tremont Music Hall (Davis)
SUNDAY 8.15
Lucinda Williams — This is a rescheduled show from March, when her mother’s death forced Lucinda to cancel. She’s back with the Bottle Rockets in tow, but the show is sold out. For more information, see our See & Do section. Visulite Theatre (Schacht)
TUESDAY 8.17
Norah Jones — Ravi Shankar’s daughter gave a platinum boost to the Blue Note label, and jazz in general, when her 2002 title Come Away With Me broke through in a ridiculously big way. See our See & Do section for more particulars. Ovens Auditorium (Schacht)
WEDNESDAY 8.18
2 Live Crew — Way back when, they were the frat boy’s dream, rapping in a mediocre fashion ripped straight from Penthouse Forum (albeit not as wittily). Luckily for them, nincompoops in their home state of Florida turned them into First Amendment poster children, and 2 Live shows were soon banned all across the US. They’re back on the road now, however, whether in an effort to find a few straggler groupies not already aligned with a rap act or in an effort to “further their art.” Not exactly message rap, unless you like your messages to begin with pornographic come-ons from three of the ugliest rappers in the history of The Game. Amos’ Southend (Davis)
This article appears in Aug 11-17, 2004.
