Prevue in NoDA will be hosting a Michael Jackson Tribute this Wednesday. Door proceeds will go to Angel Food, a MJ Charity. Also please bring a canned good to donate. Music will include Michael Jackson classics, remixes and mash-ups. Doors open at 9 pm.
*Disclaimer: We don’t care about his sexuality and we are aware that he has been involved in theater, but these were too entertaining not to share. Enjoy!!
Check out this pic we took of him.
(We got a few new pets at the CL office. Our four new goldfish are all living in their own tanks and apparently have names tags too.)
TUESDAY, FEB. 3
Wayne “The Train” Hancock Step up to the juke box in an old-time honky tonk in the middle of rural Texas circa 1950s. The juke contains usual suspects, Hank Sr., Bob Wills and Wayne Hancock. What? Hancock? Wayne Hancock is a Texas country crooner who sounds so authentically old-school and twangy that you wanna buy the dude a beer. This is unslick country, twilight twang, Western swing and vintage country-blues that happily flips the finger to contemporary Nashville. Snug Harbor (Shukla)
SATURDAY, JAN. 31
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 new Acoustic Tapes Vol. 1, a record that manages, despite its sonambulant title, to do a fair enough job of engaging the head and hooves equally. Neighborhood Theatre (Timothy C. Davis)
Snagglepuss w/ Bruce Hazel and Some Volunteers Most regular readers (irregular readers, eat more fiber!) likely know the origin stories of these two titans of Q.C. rock ‘n’ roll. Snagglepuss (not to be confused with the shitty Florida metal band of the same name) is led by the husband/wife team of Hope Nicholls and Aaron Pitkin, two folks who’ve helped guide and nurture local music for decades now. Along with a crack band also featuring Scott Weaver, Amy Kennemore, Darrin Gray and Michael Anderson, the pair’s brass-spiked punk punch tastes extra good in this buttoned-down era of bearded acousto-mumbling. Meanwhile, Hazel and his merry mob recently made the finals of a contest run by Little Steven of E-Street fame (the winner got a record deal) but ultimately fell a few votes short. Regardless, someone needs to get this man – sonically, a mix of The Boss, Mike Ness, and not a little Howlin’ Wolf – signed soon: His mixing of moods, way with melody, and meat-and-potatoes writing chops deserves more ears. Snug Harbor (Davis)
Otis Gibbs According to lore, this gruff-voiced Indiana native spent part of his youth singing in a bar for his caretaker uncle’s beer money, worked all manner of menial jobs until discovering Henry Miller and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, then slept in hobo jungles, walked with nomadic shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, played labor rallies and anti-war protests, and (surprise!) earned an FBI file. His peripatetic life also includes a catalog of honest-to-goodness country-folk songs, like his brand-new Chris Stamey-produced Grandpa Walked a Picketline, highlighted by the legendary Al Perkins’ gorgeous pedal steel. With Death on Two Wheels and Lollipop Factory. The Evening Muse (John Schacht)
FRIDAY, JAN. 30
Prabir and the Substitutes Among the FAQs on this Richmond, Va., band’s Web site you’ll find the following: Q: “Do you sound like the Killers or the Strokes? A: “Yes, and you are a dumbass.” You are a dumbass because Prabir Mehta’s outfit roots firmly in the infinitely less-derivative rock ‘n’ roll songwriting of the Kinks, Beatles, Zombies, etc., only cranked up to 11, handsomely adorned with skilled harmony singing, and spiced up with a hair-afire live show that makes the Strokes and Killers look like the model-courting poseurs they are. Still touring behind last year’s little gem, Five Little Pieces. Opening for rural pop icons Lou Ford. Snug Harbor (John Schacht)
Starling Electric Flip the CD booklet. Starling Electric’s Clouded Staircase was recorded a couple of years ago, not in the ’60s. This quartet makes period music, circa mid-’60s-mid-’70s, that’s smashingly psychedelic and stitched with paisley melody and prog-rock guitar work that harks back to the classic hippie era, yet sounds damn fresh. Formed by singer/songwriter Caleb Dillon, they’ve fused into this quaintly eclectic combo. With Foxchase, Naked Gods and Ultimate Optimist. Milestone (Samir Shukla)
The Benjy Davis Project Folk rocker Davis and crew play solidly written rock tunes. The Louisiana quintet isn’t flashy, or even innovative, but its songs swirl around in the head long after they’ve stopped playing. The band’s on the road plugging the new album Dust, which is stacked with cohesive pop and electric rock. RIYL: Dave Matthews Band, 3 Doors Down, John Mayer. With Milhouse. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
Tropic Culture The last time the band performed at the Visulite, the place was packed with people shaking their collective asses off to the funky, tropical, groovy, rockin’, Latin beats. This time around, they’re even supplying some Latin food. Good food, good music. What else do you need? With Solos Unit and DJ Nelson. Visulite Theatre (Jeff Hahne)
THURSDAY, JAN. 29
Von Iva The all-girl electro punk trio may be well known to you if you’ve seen the latest Jim Carrey movie, Yes Man. They were the backing band for Zooey Deschanel – Munchausen by Proxy. They performed here last November, but they’re back again as part of the Hell on Heels tour with Semi Precious Weapons and Nico Vega. Milestone (Jeff Hahne)
David Bromberg Bromberg’s American songbook style of pickin’ – bluegrass, blues, country/western, folk, jazz and rock all get chapters – got an early boost from none other than Piedmont blues artist (and North Carolinian) Rev. Gary Davis during the mid-’60s, when the latter was giving lessons. Since that time, Bromberg, despite having played with the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan and George Harrison (the latter of which he co-wrote the song “The Holdup” with), can’t seem to get arrested in most burghs. Bromberg’s first new studio album in 17 years (that might have something to do with it), Try Me One More Time was released in February of 2007 on Appleseed Records, and includes string-supercharged versions of Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” and Elizabeth Cotten’s “Shake Sugaree.” Pick it up when you see it – no telling when dude’s putting out another one. Neighborhood Theatre (Timothy C. Davis)
The Eagles After a 14-year breakup, many fans thought the group would never get back together. Next thing you know, Hell Freezes Over and the band goes on tour back in 1994. Well, Ol’ Scratch must be wearing a scarf and earmuffs by now as The Eagles breakup went the way of Brett Favre’s retirement and Kiss’ farewell tour. The band’s last album, Long Road Out of Eden, was released exclusively at Wal-Mart. If you’ve seen four guys sitting on bar stools before with Eagles’ music playing, you’ve pretty much seen the live show here. Time Warner Cable Arena (Jeff Hahne)
SATURDAY, JAN. 3
The Hot House Hefftones The N.C. quintet swings, does the samba, dabbles in tango and takes the listener back to a simpler era of Dixieland jazz and lounge music. The dry and wry female vocals, brushed percussion, horns and strings run the gamut of American music – New Orleans brass, porchfront sing-a-longs and smoky jazz bar piano jazz. Quite an intriguing regional band. The Evening Muse (Shukla)
Order of Chaos The Charlotte metal quartet has been making rounds of local and regional gin joints with their melodic, hard groove metal. The blokes have tightened the wares over the last couple of years and are ready to pounce with the release and celebration of the new recording tonight. The double bass drums and guitars oughta keep the party hoppings. With Wicked Jones and Claiming Redemption. Tremont Music Hall (Shukla)
Nicolette Emanuelle A gifted pianist and cellist (most notably in Buschovski), Emmanuelle’s ASC grant-funded debut, Pinafore, dropped earlier this year, and resides between PJ Harvey’s smoldering heat and Kate Bush’s (early) off-kilter cool. You’ll hear Tori Amos’ and Fionna Apple’s names tossed around as influences, too, but there’s a good dose of Nick Cave’s ethos in Emmanuelle’s darker songs and literate narratives. With the Hothouse Heftones at the early show. The Evening Muse (Schacht)
FRIDAY, JAN. 2
Lil Wayne You have to hand it to Lil Wayne. When he was in the Hot Boys (kind of an iffy name in retrospect, no?), I never even thought him the best rapper in the band (see Juvenile and B.G.). Now, of course, he’s arguably the biggest (and best) rapper in the world, excluding perhaps Kanye West, whose most recent album notably features, well, not much rapping. Thing is, he’s got the talent to match his million-dollar personality, even if he does seem to go on cruise control from time to time in order to better collect a quick check. Some would even argue he belongs in the pantheon of Big and Tupac – I say, let’s let him release a couple more (actual, non-mixtape) records first. Let’s also hope he keeps his nose clean – dude’s recorded enough over the past year to release about 37 records, and it’d be a shame for them to come out posthumously. Time Warner Cable Arena (Davis)
Mego Dirge Who says the Charlotte music scene doesn’t rock? The trio formerly known as simply Mego, combine a variety of styles – Taproot, Nirvana, Helmet – into something of their own that isn’t afraid to get heavy and rock your collective socks off. It’s not the straight chord rock you might expect, these guys kick up the complexity a notch with riffs and something a bit funkier. Snug Harbor (Jeff Hahne)
