Vibes blog

Jewel w/ Meiko
The Knight Theater
Oct. 28, 2009

The Deal: Folker gone country artist Jewel brings along new sensation Meiko for acoustic/vocal showcase. (more…)

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The Mars Volta
Oct. 22, 2009
The Fillmore

The Deal: Progressive rockers perform energetic hour-and-45-minute set for a crowd of roughly 700.

The Good: The band hit the stage and opened with “Inertiatic” and what seemed to be one never-ending song for nearly two hours after that. The music was fast, furious and non-stop for the duration as guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López picked, strummed and riffed his ass off.

Singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala hit every note and danced his ass off — kicking the microphone around, flipping the stand in the air, giving James Brown’s footwork a run for its money and simply being one of the most entertaining frontmen in music these days.

The band seemed to hit its peak with the mellow “The Widow” toward the end of its set, as most in the crowd sang along. Bixler-Zavala only addressed the crowd once, mentioning the band’s origins in At the Drive-In. “A lot of people weren’t happy when we started this band,” he told the crowd. “But life is about creating visions between the faithful and the morons.”

The Bad: The small crowd.

The Verdict: A visual and sonic experience that’s hard to describe, and a definite “must see.”

Setlist
Inertiatic
Goliath
Cotopaxi
Roulette
Viscera
Halo
Eunuchs
Ilvana
Teflon
Drunkship
Luciforms
The Widow
Wax Simulacra

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Social Distortion
Amos’ Southend
Oct. 21, 2009

The Deal: So Cal rockers make long-awaited return to the Carolinas. (more…)

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Metallica
Time Warner Cable Arena
Oct. 18, 2009

The Deal: Metal veterans Metallica hit “The Cable Box” for a couple hours of mayhem. (more…)

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Blues Traveler with Simplified
The Fillmore
Oct. 15, 2009

The Deal: Blues Traveler, celebrating its 22nd year in existence, hits The Fillmore with local band, Simplified, in the opening spot. (more…)

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Needtobreathe w/ Serena Ryder, Matthew Mayfield
Visulite Theatre
Oct. 8, 2009

The Deal: South Carolina rockers perform sold-out all-ages show at the Visulite, bring along label mate Serena Ryder and Alabama-based singer-songwriter Matthew Mayfield. (more…)

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The Deal: The Brooklyn-born soul crooner Maxwell put on a big-budget concert at Time Warner Cable last night (Tuesday, Oct. 6). Vocalist Chrisette Michele and acclaimed rapper Common served as the opening acts.

The Bad: It was pretty obvious from watching Michele and Common perform that the two artists were not used to playing arena-sized rooms; both of them seemed to struggle to make contact with an audience that was far removed from their sight and touch. Michele strained at times in order to belt out tunes at a higher volume, perhaps psychologically trying to compensate for the distance from the fans. And Common, in at least one instance, was forced to lean off the large, V-shaped stage to hold a concertgoers hand for a bit that usually calls for him to make face-to-face contact with one lucky female ticket holder.

The Good: Although, Michele and Common struggled, Maxwell seemed right at home on the massive set, which was rigged with giant, moving video screens and several secret trap doors. And the audience made no bones about its love for the dude, throwing panties at, grabbing the legs of and handing flowers to him as he dashed, dived and danced dramatically around the stage. Truth be told, the dude displayed a ton of charisma. Hell, I even spotted a few seemingly straight guys (they were paired-up with women) who looked like they wanted to give old Maxie a tug job. Anyway, in terms of his setlist, most of the material he sang was from his new disc, but he did a ton of old stuff and saved probably his biggest hit, “Ascension,” for the encore.

Cameos: Underground soul singer Bilal (of “Soul Sista” fame) served as a background singer for Common — but the vocalist seemed a bit more subdued than usual. He’s known for running around the stage like a madman, but last night, he either stood in place and sang or slowly shuffled backstage between songs. Weird. Also, another underground soul star by the name of Muhsinah worked the background for Common, punching beats on a laptop-like machine and providing supporting vocals. When she was done performing, she sat in the audience and watched Maxwell … and no one, it appeared, knew who she was. Cool.

The Verdict: Common and Chrisette Michelle struggled, but Maxwell killed it.

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Blink-182
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Oct. 6, 2009

The Deal: Reunited punk-pop rockers tear through a whole bunch of songs in quick time. (more…)

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A great night last night at the Neighborhood Theatre, as we passed out more than 350 CDs to people supporting local music.

Thanks go out to the Neighborhood Theatre, Ansley and Eric-Scott and all the staff for helping us put the event on and get everything running so smoothly.

Thanks to Dolph Ramseur, Divakar, Gina Stewart, Brian Reed, Micah Davidson and Hugh Southard for being a part of the panel that discussed the local music scene and what we can do to make sure people know it’s alive and well.

Thanks to the bands — Bums Lie, Actual Proof, Scoot Pittman Trio, Pradigy GT, Raised by Wolves, Evelynn Rose and Heywire — for their great performances.

CDs will be put in stores — still for free! — starting early next week.

Support local music!

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Black Crowes w/ Truth & Salvage Co.
The Fillmore Charlotte
Sept. 30, 2009

The Deal: Black Crowes bring along Truth & Salvage Co. for a show at The Fillmore. (more…)

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