good stuff this week
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Sunday
October
12
Goner
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham
Goner are from Raleigh, and they've been together in one form or another for nearly as long as I've lived here. They've just released a new album, "Rock and Roll Always Forgets," and it's their best yet: bitter, passionate, detailed songs about getting old in a college town while all the kids stay the same age.

4:00 p.m. at 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.


photo: Goner - Boylan Heights - 2007


Sunday
October
12
The Wedding Present, The Jealous Girlfriends
Local 506, Chapel Hill


Sunday
October
12
Teh Vodak, Can Kickers
The Cave, Chapel Hill
Teh Vodak are a new band with Ben Donnelly (ex-Blackstrap) and Betsy-Shane (Lam! Lam!, Pink Flag). Can Kickers are a raggedy doubletime bluegrass/oldtime band (kin to the Avetts, I guess) from up north; one of their members moved to the Triangle earlier this year to work for the Music Maker Relief Foundation, so welcome.


Monday
October
13
The Magnolia Mountains, Drew Danburry, Shawn Deena
Marvell Building, Durham


Monday
October
13
Girl Talk, Grand Buffet, Hearts of Darknesses
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
Superhyped celebrity copyright-violator Gregg Gillis brings his hi-energy Girl Talk show (Gregg, his laptop, and half the audience, onstage dancing) to Cat's Cradle. You've read about him in every mainstream publication around, so it's a miracle he hasn't been sued out of existence yet.
music in the groovo.org player: Girl Talk


Monday
October
13
Ironing, Boyzone, Hal McGee
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
music in the groovo.org player: Ironing


Monday
October
13
Talkdemonic, Thomas Kieffer
Local 506, Chapel Hill


Tuesday
October
14
The Heartless Bastards, Dead Confederate
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro


Tuesday
October
14
Delta Spirit, Pattern is Movement
Local 506, Chapel Hill
The first time I saw South Philly's Pattern Is Movement, I found them incredibly annoying. The second time I saw them, I found them both annoying and really compelling. Then I met their irritating singer/bass player, and learned that he's a genuine weirdo (and elementary-school gym teacher), not just onstage. Now I'm quite fond of them. RIYL strange stories, weird falsetto singing, and prog.


Tuesday
October
14
Jordan
Reservoir, Carrboro


Wednesday
October
15
Death to the Details
Marvell Building, Durham


Wednesday
October
15
The Sea, GST Cardinals
Local 506, Chapel Hill


Wednesday
October
15
I Was Totally Destroying It, Huzzah! The Informants, Sinister Archetype
Reservoir, Carrboro
It's Hep!ler's birthday, so be prepared for frivolity . . . though it's hard to imagine him behaving any goofier than he already does, so nevermind, just go kiss him.
music in the groovo.org player: I Was Totally Destroying It
video(s) on their page(s): I Was Totally Destroying It


Thursday
October
16
Le Weekend, Cantwell, Gomez, Jordan, Minchia
Bull City Headquarters, Durham
At least two of these bands are big Steely Dan fans, but unless yr wavelength is pretty dang advanced, you might be hard-pressed to pick up on it. Although the other day I was watching this live Steely Dan video of "Black Friday" and Le Weekend actually did start making a bit more sense to me.

photo: Le Weekend - debut show - Duke Coffeehouse - Nov. 11, 2006
music in the groovo.org player: Le Weekend, Cantwell, Gomez, Jordan
video(s) on their page(s): Le Weekend, Cantwell, Gomez, Jordan


Thursday
October
16
The Homewreckers, Resist Not, Blood on the Wall
Broad Street Cafe, Durham
music in the groovo.org player: Resist Not, Blood on the Wall


Thursday
October
16
Max Indian, Cary Ann Hearst, Justin Williams
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
This is part of the "Club is Open" free local show series.
music in the groovo.org player: Max Indian


Thursday
October
16
Magic Babies, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies
Tir Na Nog, Raleigh
Pop with teeth. Magic Babies contain a couple of ex-members of The Weather, and they bring the Badfingery rock-with-vocal-harmonies (and guitar solos). Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies take a pretty serious shot at recreating the [studio-only] Spectorian wall-of-sound in a live setting. Bells!

photo: Charles & Galen, Magic Babies, Cat's Cradle, August 17, 2008
music in the groovo.org player: Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies


Thursday
October
16
Auxes, Hammer No More the Fingers
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
Hammer No More the Fingers are one of those bands who, had they been playing these songs in '94, would've been the subject of a bidding war. Do they even *have* those anymore?

photo: Hammer No More the Fingers - Cat's Cradle - October 6, 2007
music in the groovo.org player: Hammer No More the Fingers
video(s) on their page(s): Hammer No More the Fingers


Thursday
October
16
Nathan Oliver, Brass Bed
The Cave, Chapel Hill
music in the groovo.org player: Nathan Oliver
video(s) on their page(s): Nathan Oliver


Thursday
October
16
Magnetic Morning, Springhouse, Julie Ocean
Local 506, Chapel Hill
Springhouse are from NYC, and they've got Jack Rabid, longtime editor/publisher of venerable zine The Big Takeover. The song I heard on MySpace sounded like west-coast psych-pop, like, I dunno, Flop.


Friday
October
17
The If You Wannas, Veronique Diabolique, The Sammies
Armadillo Grill @ the Bryan Center, Duke W. Campus, Durham
These Campus Concert Series shows start around 5:00, so knock off work early. The Sammies are a kinda crazy rockband from Charlotte who seem equally enamored of the Allman Brothers and the Cure. Veronique Diabolique, of course, are French Goths from Durham, who never met a tempo they didn't like, as long as it was mid.

photo: Veronique Diabolique (rare daylight appearance), CCB Plaza, 9/11/2008
music in the groovo.org player: Veronique Diabolique, The Sammies


Friday
October
17
Chatham County Line, Thad Cockrell
Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
This is a party to celebrate the relaunch of the canonical alt-country magazine No Depression as a web-only concern. I believe it's also a benefit for MusiCares, which helps musicians with healthcare needs, since our government is apparenly way too fucked in the head to do that.


Friday
October
17
Rob the Throb, One Man Band, Los Rudos, Thee Crucials, Jimmy & The Teasers
The Cave, Chapel Hill
This is the 5th Annual Blackbeard's Lost Weekend, which was originally founded as a way for the [now-defunct] Spinns to showcase outta-town garage-rock bands they'd met on their travels around the country. That's still more or less the plan.
music in the groovo.org player: Thee Crucials


Friday
October
17
Transportation, Chrome Plated Apostles
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh
Transportation are a crazy 70s-influenced power trio from Chapel Hill -- they seem to steal equally from the bloodlines of Queen and Wings.

Chrome Plated Apostles are sort of a realignment of the Bad Checks -- Hunter stays on vocals, harmonica and falling down, Clif moves to guitar (after stints in Pipe & the Ghost of Rock, he's spent more time on guitar than bass at this point), Greg Adams (Pipe) steps in on bass, and a rotating who's-who of local drummers seal the deal. Dirty nasty raunchy rock n roll.


photo: Transportation - Go Studios - May 14, 2001
music in the groovo.org player: Transportation


Saturday
October
18
Lost in the Trees, Stella By Starlight, The Beast, Down River, Bull City
Duke Coffeehouse, Durham
This is a grand-reopening party for the Duke Coffeehouse, who've undergone some major renovations over the past few months. The show is free, and it runs from 2 til 7, so you can catch a wide range of local talent and still make it out to whatever else you wanna do later.
music in the groovo.org player: Bull City


Saturday
October
18
The Holy Ghosts, The Loners, The Barberries, Pinche Gringo
The Cave, Chapel Hill
This is night two of the 5th Annual Blackbeard's Lost Weekend, which was originally founded as a way for the [now-defunct] Spinns to showcase outta-town garage-rock bands they'd met on their travels around the country. Tonight includes the definitive Raleigh gtr/drums garage-stomp duo the Loners, and ex-Spinn Josh Johnson's one-man-band Pinche Gringo (who are now actually a two-piece, Pinche Gringo & the Lovely Sarita).

photo: The Loners - Local 506, Nov. 16, 2007
music in the groovo.org player: The Loners


Saturday
October
18
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Local 506, Chapel Hill


Saturday
October
18
The Shondes, Guitar Bomb, Sweet Ones
Nightlight, Chapel Hill
music in the groovo.org player: The Shondes


Sunday
October
19
Monsonia
WXDU 88.7 FM, Durham
Monsonia have been around for a few years now, during which time they've oscillated between 2- and 3-piece incarnations. They're currently a 3-piece, with Chapel Hill recordist Nick Petersen taking care of bass duties. Sound-wise, they're kinda Shellacky, with Carter Browning's abrasive tones (guitar *and* vocals) riding along atop Andy Willard's muscular drumming and Nick's taut low end..

4:00 p.m. @ 88.7 FM or wxdu.org.
music in the groovo.org player: Monsonia


Sunday
October
19
Awesome Color, Rongorongo
Local 506, Chapel Hill


Sunday
October
19
Richard Bacchus & the Luckiest Girls, GST Cardinals
Slim's Downtown, Raleigh


Not enough for you? There are fun interactive maps to the clubs via the Google Maps API. (Last time I checked, it worked everywhere except for IE. It even halfway works in IE, except for the really kewl "get directions" part, which is broken. Maybe one day I'll care enough to fix it. Until then, get a better browser.)

Other ways to get this info:

1) The handheld-optimized version of the site, or a new simplified text version of this page, for you lo-fi fans.

2) An RSS feed. AND! A weekly oggcast! (OK, it's just my WXDU radio show.)

3) NEW! An iCal feed of all the listed shows, updated nightly.

4) This listing is posted once or twice a week to ch-scene, the mailing list which is itself a mirror of alt.music.chapel-hill.
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