“We fucked that up,” said bassist Kim Deal as the first song of their set fumbled to a halt at their sold out Disco Rodeo show in Raleigh Sunday night. “We’re gonna start with something simpler,” Frank Black said after abandoning “Bone Machine.” Black and company promptly re-arranged the set list, pulling tunes apparently at […]
Grant Britt
Posted inMusic
Nightcats’ nine lives
“I make the distinction between a player and a Hohner owner,” Little Charlie and the Nightcats harpist Rick Estrin says of his instrument. “I feel like you probably should need to apply for a license for one.” Estrin got his learner’s permit by correspondence, courtesy of Little Walter. “My main influences on harmonica were guys […]
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On the side
You saved your money, bought your ticket, braved the traffic, survived the tailgate party, stood in line and now you’re finally inside. But it’s still an hour or so before show time on the main stage at Alltel Pavilion. You can squirm in your seat, schmooze with your friends or shop for beverages or even […]
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The Raveonettes resurrect retro
The Raveonettes like dead people–not all of them, though. It’s just dead rockers like Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and Richie Valens that the Danish duo of Sharin Foo and Sune Wagner have a fondness for. While most people of her generation think that the ’70s is retro and the ’50s is prehistoric, 29-year-old Foo […]
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Raleigh readies for Artsplosure
It should be called Adventures in Diversity. Raleigh’s Artsplosure has a wide variety of musical styles on tap for its two-day stand Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22. Saturday, Foundation Stone (noon-1 p.m.) rolls up jazz, hip hop and reggae into one spunky spliff. They’re followed by Django Haskins’ latest incarnation as The Old […]
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Sugarfest dissolves
It was the festival that wasn’t. The first annual Sugarfest dissolved two weeks before its birth date, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of those involved. The festival was scheduled to kick off Friday, May 20 under the water tower at the American Tobacco Amphitheater in downtown Durham. The lineup represented the best of […]
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in keen country
His music has been described as country music for people who hate country music. Robert Earl Keen takes out the hate part by cutting back on the schmaltz. “I don’t sing 90 percent love songs,” he says. “And the songs that I do sing about love, they’re not about how over the top I’m in […]
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Knock down theory of relativity
“When you electrify country music, you end up sounding like the Stones,” says Jimbo Mathus. But even though some critics have said that some cuts on Mathus’ latest release, Knockdown South, sound like ’70s Mick and the boys, Mathus didn’t set out to sound like the Stones. The former Squirrel Nut Zip is now back […]
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MaQ attack
The banner in front of the speakers proclaims him the R. Kelly of the next generation. But the crowd shuffling restlessly in front of the stage at Shakori Hills doesn’t look like R&B fans, and after nearly two hours of rain delay they’re getting restless. Some have started a ragged chant for the act they’ve […]
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In hybridization
Although they’re a roots-based band, The Avett Brothers–brothers Seth and Scott and bassist Bob Crawford–have a streak of grunge in them. “We don’t deny it,” says Seth. “;We love Soundgarden. We love Alice In Chains. We love Nirvana. We’re big fans of a lot of stuff that came out of Seattle in the early ’90s.” […]
