Brandtson The Brewery, Raleigh with Lovedrug and The Myriad Thursday, Nov. 30, 9 p.m. Sashaying with purpose beneath an infectious vocal melody, Brandtson’s “Earthquakes and Sharks” seizes like paranoia, selling with “don’t think, be happy” insistence: “There ain’t no shade, there ain’t no trees/ Hot desert heat, polluted air/ And traffic jams beyond compare.” Those […]
Chris Parker
Bio: After a fond stint in the Triangle, Chris Parker lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he writes about music and politics for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has written about music for INDY Week since 2002.
Posted inNews
Spencer Dickinson
“He who fucks nuns later joins the church,” The Clash once opined. It’s certainly applicable to Jon Spencer. His musicparticularly with Pussy Galore and, to a lesser extent, Blues Explosionfucked with traditional blues and rock entirely. But he’s come to embrace the idiom. “I get older, and I find my way back through these traces, […]
Posted inMusic
Static cling
You didn’t like the last Portastatic album? Sit tight: There’ll be another soon. Of late, there almost always is. That singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan can find time between his duties running Merge Records and being a father to put out and tour behind three Portastatic albums in just over a year’s time bears witness to his […]
Posted inMusic
The sun will come up…
An African-American fellow asks the Lord a number of questions related to his color, hair and physical characteristics, and is essentially told by a booming, disembodied voice that these things would help him survive in an equatorial clime. The man offers one last query: “What the hell am I doing in Cleveland?” Elsewhere, a musician […]
Posted inMusic
Second Hood
It takes time to find your audience, and vice versa. Ten years ago, Patterson Hood formed the Drive-By Truckers with college buddy Mike Cooley, exploring the intersection of country, punk and rock with real abandon and incisive wit. Despite their ample skills, it took time–until 2000’s Southern Rock Opera (which was picked up and re-released […]
Posted inNews
in shakin’ & shinin’
Riding fat guitar riffs and a funky little shimmy-shay, Raleigh locals LOVEHEAD & THE REAL give a soulful edge to their chunky bar rock. Fronted by former Veldt guitarist Chris Wells, backed by Mike Davis (The Amateurs) and John McClain (Leadfoot), they’ve got a plat-wearing, glam rock vibe that puts the booty into gear and […]
Posted inNews
Elvisfest
They don’t make music stars like Elvis anymore. Sure, we can always hope Madonna gets fat, addicted and dies on a toilet, but we all know it’s more likely to happen to Kirstie Alley. The King’s entire rags-to-riches-to-dissipation saga offers the proper closing to the Horatio Alger story and a lesson worthy of TLC in […]
Posted inMusic
McGuinn again
Old rock stars don’t fade away like old generals. A contemporary and friend of Dylan and the Stones, legendary Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn recently paid a visit to Chapel Hill. Though in town mainly for a conference on creativity, innovation and intellectual property, he also gave a spellbinding talk and performance for Jocelyn Neal’s class […]
Posted inMusic
Just two young kids
If you’ve been to the Orange County Social Club, a place heavily peopled with those who have carved out a niche in the local art or music scene, chances are you’ve met Jenny and Lee Waters, two of your friendly bartenders, and, when they can find the time, the catalysts behind Work Clothes. The band […]
Posted inMusic
This milepost says home
Whether it be the stars, magnetism or the circles we move in, things have a tendency to return from whence they came. Thursday’s Milemarker show at Wetlands will be a homecoming of sorts for the former Chapel Hill act who moved to Chicago in 2000. Former residents Dave Laney and Al Burian took a break […]