Vibes blog

Gavin Degraw with honeyhoney
Neighborhood Theatre
May 3, 2009

The Deal: Gavin Degraw performs a sold-out show at Neighborhood Theatre with honeyhoney opening. (more…)

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Black Label Society with Sevendust and Dope
Amos’ Southend
April 19, 2009

The Deal: Heavy metal band Black Label Society — headed by front man and metal guitarist extraordinaire Zakk Wylde — visit Charlotte for a sold-out performance at Amos’ Southend, along with Sevendust and Dope. (more…)

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Ben Folds is set to release a new greatest-hits album, titled Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella on April 28. It was recorded with college a capella groups. Read more in the Paste Magazine article below.

A new kind of greatest-hits record

Ben Folds returns with an entourage—they intonate their voices at breathtaking levels, overlapping in a seamless harmony throughout the album. The singer/songwriter takes the back seat and lets the college kids channel their inner Folds, and they successfully do so—often stealing the spotlight away from Folds.

The groups incorporate their own sound and reinvent the tracks. The Ohio University’s Leading Tones added some Blues and R&B on “Brick,” and the University of Georgia’s With Someone Else’s Money brought some much needed angst to “You Don’t Know Me.” The University of Colorado’s Buffoons lose some of their identity in “Landed,” sounding eerily like Folds himself at times.

The instrument-free, re-vamped “Effington,” a single from his 2008 album Way to Normal, is Folds’ best moment. One of the two tracks he recorded for this album, the song sounds more like a party than the tormented track it’s supposed to be.

Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella! shows once again Folds’ need to live outside his own artistic margins and celebrate talent, as well as others’ appreciation for his songwriting.

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Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot
Belk Arena at Davidson College
April 9, 2009

The Deal: Washington-based indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie drew a sold-out crowd to Davidson College’s Belk Area for its performance. Opening acts included indie bands, the New York-based Ra Ra Riot and California-based group Cold War Kids. (more…)

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15 years ago yesterday, Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home. Ironically, in today’s news, Courtney Love - who was married to Cobain and who has been targeted by some folks at possibly having something to do with his death - is claiming that she has lost millions of dollars, left to her by the late Nirvana front man. Read more in The Guardian article below.

Courtney Love is claiming that the money she inherited from her late husband Kurt Cobain after his death in 1994 has been stolen. According to Love’s lawyer, Rhonda J Holmes, as much as $530m (£360m) may have been looted by unscrupulous investors acting on the singer’s behalf.

“I have never seen such greed and moral turpitude. This case is going to make Bernard Madoff look warm and fuzzy,” Holmes told the New York Post. “We will be filing civil cases … within the next 30 days. There are many, many millions missing. We’ve only been able to track down $30m, but there is more.” (more…)

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Digitally remastered versions of The Beatles’ studio albums are set for release on Sept. 9, 2009. Read more  in the Rolling Stone magazine article below.

On September 9, 2009, after a nearly 22-year wait, digitally remastered versions of all of the Beatles studio albums will be released, a press release has confirmed. Each album will feature the track listings and artwork as it was originally released in the U.K. and come with expanded booklets including original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited time, each of the Fab Four’s 12 proper albums will be “embedded” with a brief documentary about its making. The rereleases will include the Beatles’ 12 studio albums and Magical Mystery Tour as well as Past Masters Vol. I and II, which will be packaged as one collection. All 14 discs will be available with DVDs of the documentaries in a stereo box set, and a set titled The Beatles in Mono featuring 10 discs will also be released. Read more here.

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Musicians do a lot to get their name out to an audience these days, sometimes a little too much. Florida rapper Flo Rida has made a desperate attempt to really reach his fans. He’s made his cell phone number (305-528-2786) public, so they can give him a jingle.

Read more about it in the CNN article below. (more…)

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To mark its anniversary of 20 years in the music biz, the Chapel Hill-based Merge Records is doin’ it big with XX MERGE, a five-day music festival from July 22-26, to be held for four nights at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC and for one night at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, NC on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus. Keep in mind, it’s not that far of a drive! Among the many musicians to perform is Conor Oberst, the front man of Bright Eyes (who has gone solo and is scheduled to release a new album on May 5th via Merge Records) and Spoon. Read more in the announcement from Paste Magazine below.

A few months back, we made a promise that we’d dole out more information on the super-promising XX Merge Festival as soon as we got it. Well, it’s three months later and we’re finally delivering.

Five-day passes run at $150 and will grant you access to all XX Merge festivities. Passes go on sale April 8th. You can buy them here.

Merge announced the initial lineup for the five-day festival, which features Merge alumni and currents including Superchunk, Spoon, Conor Oberst, Spent, M. Ward, The Rosebuds, Destroyer, Guv’ner, Polvo and Pipe & The Broken West (with many more to come if the label owns up to its promise of more than 25 bands).

The fest, which is happening July 22-26 in Merge’s hometown of Chapel Hill, N.C., is a celebration of the label’s 20th year in the music biz.

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Tonight local Charlotte indie experimental rockers Flagship Brigade will perform with The Influence at The Evening Muse. Expect to hear spacey sounds from Flagship Brigade, reminiscent of Icelandic experimental music pioneers, Sigur Ros. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.

Flagship Brigade

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Yes. Indie rock act Eels will release a new album, titled Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire on June 2, 2009. Check out the album cover below. For a full album track list, click here.

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