The GOOD Kinda MOAB (Mother of All Bills) - Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, Lonnie Walker - Nightlight, Sat, 4/22/17

I don't usually promote a show beforehand other than to fire off a quick facebook post, linking to the event.  But this one merits more.  To Be Heard booking have put together numerous great shows since their inception earlier this year.  But this one tops them all.  And by "all", I mean all local shows.  Ever.

Okay, maybe that's hyperbolic.  Musical taste is subjective.  But these three bands are all right in my sweet spot, and in my mind, may just be the three best bands in North Carolina:  Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, and Lonnie Walker.

If you read my blog at all, you know I'm in LOVE with Outer Banks' own Zack Mexico.  ZM is my crush... if I weren't too old to crush, and if I were gay, and if he were a person.  He's HAWT!  Just Google How Strange... and Zack Mexico and you'll see some overlap.  I hate long jams, but I can sit and watch these guys extend a song over 10 minutes and love it.  Hell, I can and often have watched them build a long set out of 4 or 5 songs, and left completely satisfied and musically satiated.  I can't count the number of times I've heard newbies gush after one of their shows, and with a series of opening dates with Future Islands, they'll be making a lot more fans soon.

Here's a vid I took of them at Hopscotch a couple of years back, doing an older song that appears on their latest album, Get Rich and Liver Forever:


Then there's Naked Gods, from Boone.  I kind of consider them to be the mountain equivalent to the beach's Zack Mex... similar mindset, slightly more rootsy vibe.  But they got that indie-psychedelic jam thing going.  Their self-titled album is one of the best by an NC band in years.  Frontman Seth Sullivan is a force of nature onstage.  Expect bear hugs.

Here's them at Hopscotch a couple of years back with a great song from the afore-mentioned album:


Then Raleigh's Lonnie Walker.  They laid off for a while, but are back, and the recent Earth Canals was another one of the best local albums in years.   They lean even a bit rootsier (maybe twangier, really), but really it's just Brian Corum's unique style.  I link them with some of the great Ghostmeat records bands from that Athens GA label in the '90s (Sunbrain, Drip, Tony Tidwell, Dave Dondero... particularly Dondero's band Flatwheelers that predated his solo stuff...damn they were great.).    I regret that I never had time to give ...Canals its due when it came out.  Teenage Poem is perfect pop.  Songs like All Bombs Away and Baby Man are downright incendiary.  And it's all punctuated by sublime slower tunes like No Pure Light and Seasons.

Here's Lonnie Walker doing Summertime at the very same venue where this show of shows will be tomorrow night:


Any one of these bands blows up the stage.  All three, and it might just change your life.  Do not miss this show.  Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, and Lonnie Walker, Saturday, 4/22/17, Nightlight in Chapel Hill.  Mother of all Bills.

North Elementary - And Every Color You Have Ever Seen (Potluck)

North Elementary’s new LP, And Every Color You Have Ever Seen, opens with staccato guitar lines and words of encouragement and optimism:  “I know you’re dreaming of something / well I don’t care what it is / as long as you’re dreaming of something.”  I’m not great at interpreting (even hearing, really) lyrics, but I'd translate that as:  DO something, MAKE art, MAKE the world a better place.  It’s up to you!

…Color has lotsa psych-y vibes and straight-ahead power pop, and even swerves into southern rock territory at times.  As in earlier albums, North Elementary’s music is laced with ‘80s Brit & ‘90s American indie (I hear Versus and Built to Spill this time ‘round, especially the latter in Dems Da Breaks).  They pull all this diversity together into what is really a cohesive and non-derivative sound.

This collection makes for a really great (if a bit early) summer album, especially cuts like the jumpy Slippin’ Into the Sun and the stoner haze of Waste a Day.  What the hell, start your summer early.  

North Elementary celebrate this release with a great line-up at the Cat's Cradle Backroom, tonight, 4/7/14.  The Wyrms, S.E. Ward, and Reflex Arc open.  

See Gulls - Curtain Call EP (Potluck)

See Gulls have had enough, and they’re fed up.  Their frustration is mostly apparent in the push-pull relationship dynamic of the songs penned by front-gull Sarah Fuller… tales of overbearing exes and sleazy broheems.  But Curtain Call, the excellent follow-up EP to You Can’t See Me, opens with bassist Leah Gibson venting workplace anxieties on Boss Hogg (which she penned).  It’s a crunchy, grinding number that’s musically perfect for the topic:  a boring job and a boorish boss; See Gulls’ own Slack Motherfucker (“I’ll go fetch some coffees while you sit and take a rest / let me guess / at your desk”).

When …Hogg premiered as a single a few weeks back, I thought it marked somewhat of a departure from band’s sound.  But upon hearing the entire record, it actually sets a tone for and completely meshes with the overall vibe of this collection.

Curtain Call is certainly less angular, more curvy, than the debut.  But it does hop on and continue down the same road traveled by Long Gone (perhaps the best cut off that record).   While the themes here are often of defiance and strength, there’s also a soft, bittersweet side.

The second entry, Where Are We Going, exemplifies this.  See Gulls have always been great at incorporating a kind of heart-achy, ‘50s-‘60s vibe into a more contemporary style.  That’s perhaps realized better than ever in this song.  From the “ba da da da dom” intro whispering up from somewhere deep in the past, to the archetypal setting of driving down a lonely road.  Reflecting on the past, with the ghost of a long gone significant other riding shotgun, Fuller sings “It’s an older tune your Daddy played for you.”  This song sounds and feels like it might actually be one of those tunes.

Kidding Me shelves the tenderness, though.  Can’t a lady have a beer to herself without being harassed by her ex?!  He whispering “not-so-sweet nothings” in her ear (to more crunchy guitar and sick, funky little organ bloops), she telling him to “hush your mouth” like the petulant child he is.

I Want It also visits the “so familiar” (as Kidding Me put it) chore of trying to get rid of a guy.  Hard shots of reverb, and again that ‘50s vibe, back this one. “I wanted you to have me, ‘til I found him” / “I wanted him to have me, ‘til I found you.”  Here, it seems conflicted, like being caught in an endless cycle, obsessed again.  Despite the doubts, there are great lyrics of reclamation and control.  “Could you see that I am not / just the thought you have of me!”

I Wrote It is maybe the most musically upbeat song.  While the title and lyrics revolve around intra-band dynamics and coming out of the shadow of a boorsish frontman, they could just as easily refer to any relationship one’s seen before and is -- simply -- tired of. “You will never see what becomes of me / and you’re blowin’ it.”

You’re Here returns to the bittersweet vibe of Where Are We Going.  It’s the slowest cut, and filled with more cool echoes and reverb.  But despite feelings of reminiscence and loss, the closing statement is another of control, relegating the memory to being that, and only that, repeating “You’re here / in my song.”

Besides great songs and wonderful all-around musicianship and production, one thing that can’t be understated on Curtain Call is Fuller’s voice.  She’s honed into a finely tuned instrument; little changes in tone alone evoke different, even conflicting, emotions, sometimes within the same line.  It’s been fun to watch her stage presence blossom from the band’s first gigs… a little hesitant at the beginning, now fully in control.  Appropriate, then, that I Want It ends with a twist on the earlier line:  “You will never see what becomes of me / and I’m runnin’ it!”  She sure is.

I’m hesitant to say any song here is the “best.”  I DO like the quieter, soulful vibe of …Going and You’re Here.  But this is an extraordinarily consistent EP.  Every song is a gem.  All I really want out of it is, maybe, 2 or 3 more.  Please?

Curtain Call proves that See Gulls early splash was totally deserved.  While it may be right up my (admittedly subjective) alley of musical preference, I’d still say by any standard, it’s one of the best local releases this year.

Skylar Gudasz, "Oleander" Record Release Show, Cat's Cradle, 4/1/16 - "I'll Be Your Man" and "Wildflower Perfume" (videos)

Skylar Gudasz's Oleander.  Wow, what a debut, and what a release show for it!  I wish I had time to write a full review of this record.  Just too busy of late with real life to give it a thorough and thoughtful write-up, which I want to do when there's a record I really enjoy.  It's full of songs of beautiful sparseness and impermanence, with a few kickers thrown in (okay, a one-sentence review).  You'll just have to get it yourself, and watch the two videos from the show below.  The first is from the album, and the second is a Dead Tongues cover.

Gudasz plays April 15th at the always great Phuzz Phest in Winston-Salem.  One of many reasons to head west next weekend (I believe her set is Friday night at Krankie's).

Body Games - Damager

Chapel Hill’s Body Games release their debut LP, Damager, this week.  I’ll admit from the start that I buy & listen to very little of the type of electronic pop mixes that Body Games creates.  If you couldn’t already tell reading this blog, I’m generally a guitar, indie, indie-pop guy.  Hell, I may not have even gone to see Body Games my first time were it not for a friend being in the band.  But immediately upon seeing them live, Body Games won me over (for me to say that about an electronic-heavy band means something). 

And it wasn’t just the stunning, synchronized visuals, courtesy band member Adam Graetz (thefacesblur).  They’re always a treat.  But it takes more than fireworks to impress this jaded soul (after all, my old zine was called “It’s the music, Stupid!).  Body Games’ live production is amazing.  Dense and melodic, the music radiates a hypnotic atmosphere, and you submit to a dark undercurrent.  Listening to the new album, I’m even more impressed by the layering and complexity brought to the live set.  But it’s not just layers for layers’ sake.  Its interesting mixes, and the catchy melodies of Dax Beaton’s songwriting.  Original, catchy melodies are all-too-rare in this genre (they’re usually sampled from some other, better songwriter). 

Right from Sunny Day, the first cut, we get the unexpected… South African vocals (Ladysmith Black Mambazo?) put through a deep filter, sounding as though they’re gurgling up from a deep ocean trench.  This jumps suddenly into a slow beat and a mellow-staccato verse from Beaton, and eventually morphs into grinding synth and a sinister-sounding refrain (“Come on, BOY!”). 

The entire record inhabits this shadowy-sexy groove.  On WMN, rhymes by local rapper WELL$ contrast with band member Kate Thompson’s heavenly vocals for a nice edge.  Body Games always shines when Thompson sings (she’s since moved, but hopefully, can telecommute her voice from South Korea!).  Matchstick is pure slow-groove, lover-boy pop, with Beaton auto-tuning “Every king needs a queen” to soft keys.  It’s probably the most straight-forward ballad on the record, and likely to be a crowd favorite.  Outdone treads similar slow-dance territory. 

After Matchstick, Damager returns to the mysterious, with the title song’s dreamy (nightmarish, really) intro.  It’s a heavier tune, but still one with a hefty dose of melody.  Gossip has similar dense vibe… distorted, wasp-like, voices humming in and out between more standard vocals.  Special gets very dark indeed.  Musings on an old relationship segue into heart-wrenching voicemails from a jilted lover.  A warped sample turns the Beach Boys' Nobody Knows What I'd Be Without You on its head, meshing with Special’s exploration of how complicated and hurtful relationships can be.

The last two songs, the quietly upbeat Silent Movie and the sadder Perfume, creatively incorporate more sampling... South African, again, and Blondie’s Heart of Glass, respectively.   But Body Games never relies on these samples; they’re always accents on already-fleshed-out songs.  Truth in any genre (whether a loner on a laptop or a baker’s dozen with horns, strings, and backup singers):  start with good songs, and the rest will take care of itself.   Body Games starts with good songs.

Body Games’ next show is at the always-great Phuzz Phest in Winston Salem, Saturday, April 16^th.  While the LP is out March 15^th, a second version called Damager+, including bonus tracks, will also be available.  Extra proceeds from that version will be donated to Janice O'Leary's recovery fund (she designed the artwork for the record, and was recently in a serious car accident).

Mac McCaughan + The Non-Believers w/ Blackball (Nightlight, Chapel Hill, NC, 12/11/15)

Mac McCaughan's new album, Non-Believers, to me sounds closer to his Portastatic catalogue than his Superchunk one.  It's (usually) somewhat mellower, even atmospheric at moments.  Fine by me, as I've been a fan of Portastatic almost as much as 'Chunk over the years.

But knowing his backing band are the members of primordial garage rockers Flesh Wounds, I was curious how they would manage to, well, frankly... rein themselves in.  Flesh Wounds as a band simply explodes on stage.  That kind of energy could simply swamp McCaughan's finely crafted pop tunes.

Short answer:  they do just fine.  And so does Mac.  Restraint by good players really goes a long way, and can be as important as balls-to-the-wall punk. They played 2 sets, the first of which was mostly stuff from the new album, and a few Portastatic tunes.  I LOVED the amped up version of Angels of Sleep.  The second set was, I think, mostly covers (Iggy Pop, Tall Dwarves, Superchunk... would that count as a cover?).  It gave them all a chance to cut loose a little more, and Mac was clearly having fun with the covers. Dan McGee from Spider Bags got up to sing along on one tune.

Speaking of balls-to-the-wall, openers Blackball (from Raleigh, NC & Richmond, VA) brought the primal energy.  Their singer Ericka screams vocals as if her lungs were twice their size... she is pure id.  Intense hardcore from a very tight band.

Some photos, and a couple of videos of Mac's band, follow (yeah yeah another version of Slack Motherfucker).  As you can see, fog machine was stuck in overdrive.

Blackball...

  Mac McCaughan + The Non-Believers...

Dexter Romweber and Crash LaResh at the Kraken (Chapel Hill, NC, 10/3/15)

Driving west from Chapel Hill, halfway to Saxapahaw, if you haven't been there yet, is the wonderful little institution that is The Kraken.  Last Friday night, the punk show I went up to Chapel Hill to see ended early, so I was able to be two places at once.  I head down Highway 54 to check out the other show I had wanted to -- but didn't think I'd be able to -- check out.  And that night, the Kraken and it's small crowd was lucky enough to host the great Dexter Romweber, playing with original Dex Romweber Duo drummer Crash LaResh.

Not from around here, I'd seen Dex play live only once or twice, and only in recent years.  I listened plenty back in the early days of Flat Duo Jets, but was somewhat embarrassed when he told me they had put out something like 17 albums since the first.  Upon moving to the region, I'd heard he was still active locally with the Dex Romweber Duo, but I had no idea!  So on his recommendation, I promptly logged on and got one of his "Duo" albums, "Ruins of Berlin", which I'm listening to as we speak.

The guy's a genius on guitar, burning it up most of the time, or turning it to a slow simmer when needed.  And he still makes a great team with LaResh.  Crash had come down from Norfolk just for the show, and it was the first time they'd played together in a while.  Two guys just bangin' out the rock, and a few standards, with equal aplomb.  Exene Cervenka (X) once said Dexter's music was "hardcore Americana".  Yeah, this show was in its own way as hardcore as the punk/hardcore show (No Love, Mannequin Pussy) I had just come from.

If you're lookin' for an evening of great music in an intimate surrounding, head on down to the Kraken.  Without fail, every show I've seen there has been a down-home good old time.  Photos and a couple of videos below...

 

SOON (Local 506, Chapel Hill, 7/10/15)

So I snuck away from the Jphono1/Lakes&Woods 12"release show at the Cradle Backroom (more on that later) to finally see SOON.  Being a fan of the soaring pop of the Love Language, I was always intrigued to see what a band made half from them (Stu McLamb and drummer Thomas Simpson), and half from vets of local metal bands GROHG (Mark Connor) and Bitter Resolve (Robert Walsh), sounded like.  Short of some old hardcore, my tastes don't usually run metallic, or especially heavy.  But within the 3 songs I managed to catch, SOON won me over. 

What stood out from the first song I saw were the multiple vocals... downright operatic (or at least dramatic).  A thunderous kind of melody.  The penultimate cover of Pink Floyd's the Nile Song showcased the vocals even more.  Their last tune (don't know the name) began as a thudding crawl, and was taking so long to build I was wondering when the pay off would come.  Starting very low and slow, teasingly... almost torturously... building gradually, into a long, slow explosion.  But it didn't stop there.  It ramped up to a cathartic barrage of guitar, bass, drums, & voices.  Sometimes ya gotta hold back before the payoff.  Yeah, this one definitely paid off. 

I'll have to catch a full set by these guys soon (no pun... well okay, pun intended).  

Okay, So I Took One Photo of Neutral Milk Hotel

At last weekend's Merge 25 festival, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Merge Records, Neutral Milk Hotel closed the big concert on Saturday outside the legendary Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.   Many may know that it's a standing request of Jeff Mangum's and Neutral Milk Hotel's that their shows not be photographed or videotaped.  One can debate whether that's a cynical move with capitalist motives, an attempt at stemming the sometimes obscene reliance on technology that we've developed, or a heartfelt plea from an individual who grapples with legitimate anxiety issues.

But this is not the place for that debate.  This is my confessional.

I tried to respect those wishes.  I really did.  But about three songs in -- right about when Mangum began to strum the opening notes of King of Carrot Flowers Part 1 -- I just couldn't.  The lighting was just so... so... perfect.  Pale blue spotlights, dimmed at the band's request, illuminated Scott Spillane's beard like an inverted phoenix.  They cast a cobalt halo over Mangum, setting him aglow, making him seem almost angelic.  As if that wasn't enough temptation, the sunset began to paint the sky behind this scene with a turquoise hue that could only be described as surreal, a perfect natural complement to the artifice of the stage lights.

So I stole my way to the back bleachers.  And yes, I discreetly pulled the Nikon D3100 out of my backpack.  I removed the lens cap.  I checked my settings.  And then I snuck this one, quick, guilty homage.  I can't say that I regret it.  I won't.

Scroll down to see the photo...













It's one of the best photos I've ever taken, if I do say so myself.

Also, below are a couple of close-ups cropped from the original (since I didn't want to risk more than one shot).

Julian Kostner and Jeff Mangum...

Scott Spillane and Jeremy Barnes...

Forgive me, Jeff.

North Elementary - Honcho Poncho (and "Albums Release" Show with Lud)

North Elementary and Lud held a sort of joint "albums release" show for their respective new releases, Honcho Poncho and Defenestration Boulevard, last Friday.  Lakes&Woods opened, but I missed them (sorry!).

It was kind of an early show, which promted Lud frontman Kirk Ross to wonder why the fuck they ever went on at 1:00am back in the day?  Maybe starting relatively early was more conducive to the slow build of this night.  Lud's first few numbers were a kind of mellow-but-intense brand of Americana, and it was a nice way to begin. Then, gradually, the intensity turned less mellow, and by the end, they were burning down the newly-constructed Cat's Cradle Back Room (shame on them).  Not being from these parts, I'd only seen Lud, I think, once before.  I remember that entire show being heavy and fast... but it was the Cave, and I'd had a few.  The slow-to-fast burn of this show, however, really worked.

I'd also only seen North Elementary once or twice, and a while ago.  Listening to Honcho Poncho, I'm starting to realize how much variety they have within their sound.  This is a trait shared by frontman John Harrison's solo music (as Jphono1).  On it's face, their sound is your basic, mid-tempo indie-pop-rock.  But as you listen, all manner of detail reveals itself.  Mid-90's (Sebadoh-esque?) guitars are complemented by rolling organ, and sometimes a quieter, more pleasantly tinkling piano.  Male/female vocal harmonies courtesy Harrison and keyboardist Betty Rupp give the crunchier songs a soft edge.  While there isn't as much of the technology-assisted trickery and layering providing the variety as on a Jphono1 record, the guitars and rhythm section pull from the styles of decades ranging from the 60's until now (Decade Styling, I guess, to lift a song title from one of their earlier releases). The farfisa of Way Out (Happy Here) sounds almost Mersey, while the House Your Home could be a Pink Floyd/midnight movie soundtrack.  Then there are the songs by (new?) member Sean Parker:  Hi-Lo and Left Doubt.  These are unmistakably cut from 80s cloth... I personally hear Modern English in both Parker's vocals and the meld of new (but not too) wave and harder post-punk, and the keyboards.

There are a lot of songs that grow on you in this collection:  the 80's vibe of those two, the summer breeziness of Eventually Everything Connects and the opener, Return to Couches, and the barroom rocker Undressed and a Place to Go.  Again with the variety.

So good album, and good show.  Oh, and, um, not to take anything away from the band -- but if they had pulled the plug on the music when the cat videos started playing, I would have still been plenty entertained.

Buy one (or both!) of these bands' new CDs:  North Elementary's Honcho Poncho and Lud's Defenestration Boulevard.

Rogue Band of Youth - "Our Hunter" (Nightlight, Chapel Hill, NC, 3/29/14)

Here we have Chapel Hill's new-ish Rogue Band of Youth performing the song "Our Hunter", from their eponymous debut long-player.  This was from their record release show at Nighlight in Chapel Hill, NC.  The song was apparently Grateful Dead-inspired.  Lately, I've been having my musical tastes challenged quite a bit, which is a good thing.  At recent shows, it's been the dance-y vibe of T0W3RS, Body Games and the like.  Now, it's the opposite extreme: the Deadhead vibe of RBOY (at least on this song).  I thought I hated these things!  Turns out, even my jaded ol' musical ears have room for expansion.

Anyway, this is a beautiful song, and it was a great show... I'll try to post photos later.  Apologies if the distortion provided courtesy the "great" audio of my DSLR takes away from the wonderful harmonies.  If you want to hear the original in its pristine state, buy the album at their bandcamp page.

The Human Eyes / T0W3RS / thefacesblur (Nightlight, 1/24/14)

Great show at Nightlight the other night (they've had quite a few great shows lately).  Since this blog's been asleep for awhile, let's start with impressions...

The Human Eyes make leaps and bounds fleshing out their 80s-heavy pop...
T0W3RS slowly (but surely) perfects their solo (but bigger than a full-band sounding) vibe... thefacesblur carefully stakes out a claim in our growing dance-pop-indie scene...
incidental smoke and mirrors...
soundz by D. Starport...
etc

Adam Graetz has put on some incredible backing graphics for live shows by T0W3RS, Lilac Shadows, and others around the Triangle for some time.  As thefacesblur, it's impressive that he can do the same thing while playing music.  Cool, mellow, dancey, electronic music with a slight international vibe.  Great overall début.

thefacesblur (no pun intended)...

Artist Barbara Barnes (Art Images Live) sketching thefacesblur...

T0W3RS is now solidly progressing as a solo act.  But with the energy and songwriting Derek Torres brings to the stage, I don't know if there's room for anyone else up there anymore.  Few local artists can hold a room rapt as well as T0W3RS (and still make them dance).  I once said that walking around taking photos in my hometown New Orleans is, for a photographer, like cheating.  Shooting Derek onstage is like that, too.  But doing so with a cool lightshow is downright criminal.  Can't wait to hear the record he's finishing up.

T0W3RS...

The Human Eyes are really coming into their own.  Thomas Costello's synth-laden pop-rock is still referenced to New Order, et al, for sure.  But he's bringing a live performance that's thicker with guitar-jangles, and tangles... probably not unlike a lot of bands back then if you were lucky enough to have seen them live.  A breezy, bitterwseet, rolling twang also underscores the electric edge of some numbers, like Another World, Let Me In, and Alex.

The Human Eyes...

T0W3RS play on a bill with The Love Language, GHOSTTE BLLONDE, and Hammer No More the Fingers at Cat's Cradle Friday, February 7, for WKNC's Double Barrell Benefit 11.  Soon after, the Human Eyes open for Merge artists Hospitality at the excellent new Cradle Back Room (Saturday, February 22).  Both promise to be great shows.