Dan Tyminski Band and Tony Rice Unit Meymandi Concert Hall, Raleigh Wednesday, March 11 The penultimate performance in Pinecone’s 2008-2009 Down Home Series was an evening of contrasts: Venerable flatpicker Tony Ricehis unit a seasoned quartet that included current IBMA guitarist of the year Josh Williams on mandolin and vocalsled with a terrific rendition of […]
Spencer Griffith
Bio: Spencer Griffith lives in Raleigh, where he teaches school and writes about bands.
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Double Negative, The Loners, Goner to play Manchild 4 Release
As reported last month, Raleigh drummer/illustrator extraordinaire Brian Walsby will soon deliver the fourth book in his Manchild series, Manchild 4: Riding Them Coat Tails, along with Pick Your Battles, a disc of live Melvins tracks. Thanks to an e-mail from Goner‘s Scott Phillips, we’ve got the line-up for the April 4 release party at […]
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American Aquarium
Forgive American Aquarium if they have been hard to track: In 2008, the band released The Bible & The Bottle LP and the Bones EP while playing more than 270 shows across the country. This year, American Aquarium plans to record another full-length and play even more shows. During a rare break in their touring […]
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Red Collar’s Pilgrim
⇒ Read our story about Red Collar On first listen, Pilgrim, the debut LP from Durham’s Red Collar, seems a major departure: After releasing The Hands Up EP two years ago, the Durham quintet (who’s since lost keyboardist Andrew Blass to become a quartet) has been winning fans over with the inimitable energy of its […]
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Nathan Oliver’s Cloud Animals
On its 2007 self-titled debut, Chapel Hill’s Nathan Oliverthe songs of Nathan White, plus violist Mark Lebetkinpainted itself like a chameleon, camouflaging modest hooks in an assortment of manifold, shifting indie pop backdrops. Lebetkin left the Triangle in August, and White and a revolving cast of sidemen now comprise Nathan Oliver. All the same, though, […]
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Western Civ’s Shower the People You Love With Gold
After releasing its debut LP, Remington Steel Magnolias, two years ago, Muscle Shoals, Ala., natives Western Civ headed north to Chapel Hill. The move was appropriate enough: Remington lunged at the legacies of Chapel Hill history, namely Superchunk and Archers of Loaf. Now, the three indie rockers with a penchant for squalor made their new […]
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Tir Na Nog scores Valient Thorr
The boys from Valient Thorr, some of whom were in attendance at last night’s killer Double Negative/ Birds of Avalon/ Whatever Brains house show, will kick-off their pre-SXSW tour a week from tonight (Sunday, March 1) at Tir Na Nog. It’s a major coup in bartender Chris Tamplin’s bid to position the Irish pub as […]
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Live: Friday Night Fix in Raleigh
Local music fans had tough choices in Raleigh Friday night: While The Pour House held a second release party for The Old Ceremony’s Walk on Thin Air, Slim’s hosted Gray Young’s Firmament release show. Though you couldn’t go wrongboth are fine CDsthose who decided to spend their whole night at only one of the venues […]
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Gray Young
Gathered together on a early Friday evening in the scant time between guitarist/ vocalist Chas McKeown’s nightshift and bassist Dan Grinder and drummer Jeff Dopko’s day jobs, Gray Young is enjoying itself. “This is really fun,” McKeown declares between arguing with Grinder the merits of Meg White’s drumming and prodding the reticent Dopko to dish […]
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Boxbomb’s Run Rabbit Run; Silver’s +/-
Boxbomb Run Rabbit Run (Tragic Hero Records) Silver +/- (self-released) While Raleigh’s Downtown Live continues to exhume staples of mainstream rock from decades past and fans keep turning out in large enough numbers to make that kind of booking profitable, the Triangle music scene is far from a proper incubator for local rock acts looking […]