THURSDAY 12.2
Jump/David Mead — An acoustic set from the North Carolina School of the Arts alums formerly known as Jump Little Children, who are on a brief acoustic fling across the Southeast, trading in the electricity and amps for an accompanying string quartet. You can still expect to hear plenty from their JLC days, though the focus may be on their latest, Between the Dim & the Dark, released in April. / David Mead made some noise with RCA a few years ago, and won praise for his debut, The Luxury of Time — which was precisely what the New York-based singer-songwriter didn’t have much of with RCA. He was dropped after his 2001 follow up, Mine and Yours, and it wasn’t until this year that he released his third, Indiana, a collection of (too?) mellow singer-songwriter fare. Neighborhood Theatre (Schacht)
Snatches of Pink — If there is cyclical resurgence in garage/glamish rock, SOP would be the wise old men of the genre, not Johnny-Come-Latelies. Frontman Michael Rank’s almost two decades of guitar slinging is further enhanced by his adept songcraft. The current lineup recently finished recording Stag, their second impending release for Charlotte’s MoRisen Records. This band is one of those “must see live” units. The Room (Shukla)
FRIDAY 12.3
Baleen — Baleen’s take on Can’s “Vitamin C” proves they know their way around a top-notch cover. Their spin on the Kraut-rock classic is a live-show highlight, so why not an entire show of covers? This night promises 30 of them, from, among others, Queen, Outkast, Prince, Metallica, the Beatles and Radiohead, all filtered through Baleen’s unique multi-influence aesthetic. These guys have the chops to make this night a memorable one. The Room (Schacht)
Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers — Lil’ Brian, leader of the Zydeco Travelers, is not the newest signee to Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def empire, so don’t let the name fool you. Comprised of equal doses accordion-driven Zydeco, Famous Flames-style guitar pyrotechnics and heady funk, Lil’ Brian plays Zydeco of the crunk variety: Loud, proud, and with no standing around allowed. To me, it works better in smaller doses, but then again, I feel the same way about gumbo. Double Door Inn (Davis)
Scapegoat — Charlotte-based punk/hardcore posse can turn up the heat, bring it down with harmony-infused tunes, and are, incidentally, filming a live DVD with pro-tools audio at this show. Help add flailing hair and skyward punching fists in front of the stage to the DVD. The young band is maturing musically rather quickly and lay down a potent take on hard music. Also on the bill are Swift, Sever the Tie, and Idea of Beauty. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)
SATURDAY 12.4
Bullship — Lo-fi, hi-fi, math book, matchbook. Atmosphere, hemisphere, stratosphere. Sunlight, dust bunnies, day job, found money. Feedback mini-kit drum machine house clean. Short hair, don’t care. Laptop, Casio, late night all right. Angular, chimy, dirty, grimy. (Sorry, had that damn “It’s The End of the World as We Know It” song in my head again. Been there all month, incidentally. Go figure. And go check out Bullship while you’re at it.) With IYF Pork, Newgenics, and Vinyl Are My Pants. Also at The Steeple Lounge later that same evening with Unalaska. Milestone (Davis)
Chris Duarte — This blues gun slinger, er, I mean guitar slinger, adds just the right elements of rock and psychedelic flourishes to give a scorching edge to his blues. Duarte is not bashful about unleashing riffs and feedback, and converses just as forcefully through his fretboard as his vocals, but he also never strays far from the blues. A respectful comparison would be Hendrix, albeit just up to a certain point, though Duarte does do justice to some mean Hendrix covers. Double Door Inn (Shukla)
Citizen Cope — Clarence Greenwood, the estimable “Citizen Cope,” was a former DJ and keyboardist with the underrated folk/rap/rock/industrial complex Basehead. Sort of like G. Love with a little less Philly and a little more chili, Cope does a fair enough job at masking his record spinning and genre-blending on the newish The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, which, aside from continuing an unfortunate trend of releasing an album under one’s “real name,” does a fair enough job of engaging the head and hooves equally. Tremont Music Hall (Davis)
Jeff Black — Black released the Wilco-minus-Jeff-Tweedy backed Birmingham Road in 1998, garnering praise for his straightforward, unsentimental depictions of average Americans’ lives. The follow-ups, Honey & Salt and B-sides and Confessions, Vol. 1, seemed somewhat bland in comparison, though in the interim Black has cemented his reputation as a strong live performer. Sylvia Theater, York (Schacht)
SUNDAY 12.5
Baroness/Horse Thief — Stimulating otherwise dormant parts of your brain, Baroness skillfully perform complex chord progressions, a la Fucking Champs. Maintaining steadfast levels of heaviness through throaty hardcore vocals and aggressive rhythmic patterns, the Savannah, GA, band mix it up seamlessly./Horsethief makes noise; there is nowhere to hide. According to Gus Engstrom (guitar), “We want to create music that doesn’t just appeal to the auditory senses — we are striving to change the pressure in the room.” Wear earplugs or die. With The Disease, Ctrl Alt Del & White Collar Massacre. The Milestone (Lydia Marlon). Milestone
Regatta 69 — The progressive ska band Regatta 69 hail from Chapel Hill, and are likely the most active and well-known contemporary ska band out of the Carolinas. It’s gonna be a night of high-energy ska, as well as different shades this perky music has to offer, and features all Carolina-based bands including Rudy, Fletcher, Murphy’s Kids and The Defeated. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)
TUESDAY 12.7
Melissa Ferrick — She got a big hand from the Moz early in her career when the ex-Smiths’ singer chose her to open a handful of his solo shows, but Ferrick’s been doing it her way ever since. See our See & Do section in this issue for more information. The Evening Muse (Schacht)
WEDNESDAY 12.8
Jake Armerding — Jake’s currently garnering loads of favorable press for his Boston-meets-bluegrass take on traditional coffeehouse folk. The sound recalls Del McCoury and Ricky Skaggs as much as it does, say, Richard Shindell, but Armerding’s smooth-as-latte voice still places it firmly in the percolated vein of the Massachusetts strum-and-sing set. To continue this goofy coffee analogy to the breaking point, it’s not a triple espresso (you may need a coffee after two hours or so of Armerding’s tender emoting), but something more akin to a creamy cappuccino: sweet, warm, and with just enough froth bubbling over from time to time to keep you interested. The Evening Muse (Davis)
This article appears in Dec 1-7, 2004.
