WEDNESDAY 9.29
Brand Nubian — The original members of this late 80s/early 90s quasi-militant rap ensemble have reunited for a new album and tour. Fire in the Hole is a return to the beats and poetic prowess that made them critical darlings. They imploded after early success and the members, including Grand Puba and Sadat X, went on to solo recording careers. The crew hasn’t lost much of its fire and the posturing remains intact. The new record includes the track “Young Son,” where a chorus of urban mothers plead, “don’t let me down.” It’s a bright example of mature writing evolved from years of bumpy lifestyle experiences. Amos’ Southend (Shukla)
Little Brother — The Durham, NC-based Brothers — Phonte, Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder — have been opening shows for their big brothers in The Roots for some time now. Their bio describes them as being somewhere between A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast. That’s a little overly simplistic — frankly, they sound most like The Roots — but the skills are certainly there, both in the deceptively minimalist musical attack and in the dense wordplay that’s had the band listed in every other “new artists to watch” magazine listing in recent memory. Neighborhood Theatre (Davis)
THURSDAY 9.30
Ian Moore — The blues-rocker has changed his skin on the latest recording, Luminaria, which was released on Chapel Hill-based Yep Roc records. Moore takes a reflective and textured approach over his old guitar chops. This doesn’t mean the hefty guitar work ain’t there, but the cohesive batch of songs are a nice change of pace. Moore also picks up the acoustic guitar more on what his self-termed current muse calls “Goth-spel”. With Adrianne. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
Jazz Mandolin Project — Jamie Masefield’s eclectic/electric jazz mandolin playing, equal parts structured suites and free-for-all soloing, defines this most unlikely of jam-band-associated trios. Like genre icon David Grisman, Masefield’s deep, collector-like fascination with world musics leads to a few dry riverbeds encountered along the way, but more often than not the listener’s ears are quenched by Masefield’s inventive eight-string oases of sound. Neighborhood Theatre (Davis)
Semi-Pro — Semi-Pro’s trademark good acid/bad acid sound — equal parts sky-opening revelation and fevered, knuckle-scraping riffage — might not yet have set the world on fire commercially, but don’t make the mistake of giving up on them just yet. Tony James still has one of the most distinctive voices around, the band writes new material constantly, and their mix of Mudhoney, Misfits and Mott the Hoople still sounds immediately familiar and like nothing you’ve ever heard all at the same time. With Hungry Ghost, Calabi Yau and Minority Party. The Room (Davis)
FRIDAY 10.1
Green Goblyn Project — A hardcore punk band with no qualms about challenging the prevailing punk rock idiom (always the real punk rock, it says here), The Goblyn play a muddy brand of swamp goth that makes people like A Fire Inside look like makeup-wearing dandy posers. It’s not just the clothing, however: see the acoustic sections, tricky changes, and a willingness to ride a riff into ambient terrain if the situation calls for it. Probably not a favorite of the hard-liners at Maximumrocknroll, but then again, no one over 25 probably reads them anyway. SK Netcafe (Davis)
La Rúa — Charlotte’s premier Latin rock band gets to impress a new audience at this free (tip lustily, please) Gallery Crawl gig, headlining a show that also features Jennifer Licko, Johnny Keener, Mike Strauss and Dave Childers & the Modern Don Juans. And if you’re not fluent in foreign languages, don’t worry – you don’t need a Spanish/English dictionary to figure out they rock. The Evening Muse (Schacht)
The Strawbs — Still cooking after their debut 35 years ago, Dave Cousins and the crew reclaim their prog-rock, Brit-folk roots with the new release, Deja Fu. The Strawbs’ music has always been more song driven as compared to some of their prog-rock contemporaries, where elongated jams and solos were the norm. The new tunes hold up pretty well against most of their better material, too. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)
Tony Furtado Band — Furtado is a guitarist/ banjoist ably combining rock, bluegrass and even acoustic blues, and is on the road plugging his latest, These Chains. See our story in this issue. Visulite Theatre (Shukla)
Velvet / The Never — With their sophomore album (recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium) and follow-up to Where Are the People? due out early next year, Chapel Hill’s Velvet comes for a weekend visit bearing new songs with familiar influences — everyone from Aimee Mann to Television. It’s muscular, sugar-coated pop with a nice thick backbeat./Pittsboro’s The Never is still pushing their eponymous debut on Charlotte’s MoRisen records, channeling everyone from Weezer to Wilson (Brian) with groovy four-part harmonies and caterwauling guitars. Mmmmmm, caterwauling guitars. The Room (Schacht)
SATURDAY 10.2
The Allman Brothers Band/Lynyrd Skynyrd — Two Southern rock titans join forces in a mega-gig that should feature, in a mere four-to-six hours, more string-bending solos than a Guitar Center showroom floor during a year-full of clearance sales. See our story in this issue. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Schacht)
Jason Scavone and the Noises Ten CD Release — Scavone is a regional musical catalyst, leader of the power pop band The Noises Ten and organizer of the Six Points Showcases featuring artists and musicians. The band has readied It All Belongs, which is reminiscent of 70s rock when well-conceived tunes ruled the cooler airwaves. Ben Folds writing tunes with Radiohead wouldn’t be too far off base as a contemporary reference. With The Mersey Sound. Visulite Theatre (Shukla)
Jess Klein — The Boston denizen has a captivating voice that sounds like a cross between the Bangles’ Susannah Hoffs and Americana artist Julie Miller, so you know she’s got pipes. Her 2000 disc, Draw Them Near, featured a strong back-up band of ex-Wilco drummer Ken Coomer, bassist Brad Jones (Ron Sexsmith, Matthew Sweet), and guitarist Will Kimbrough (Kim Richey, Josh Rouse). It garnered her much praise at the time, but it’s been crickets chirping-quiet since then. The Evening Muse (Schacht)
Mindy Smith / Garrison Starr — A pair of intriguing up-and-coming singer-songwriters here. Smith writes gently of life’s ups and downs. Her take brings out the mellow glow of folk-country tunes. Starr is more like the musical kid sister of Sheryl Crow. She’s definitely country, especially with that exuberant Southern vocal twang, but tends to rock out a bit more. Both ladies have recent releases on Vanguard. Charlie Mars is also on the bill. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2004.
