This is night four and the last show of Merge Fest–Merge Records’ 15th birthday celebration. The first three nights have been sold out for weeks now, and for good reason. Night three’s pairing of Spoon and Destroyer sold out first, followed by night one’s superb bill with Superchunk, The Rosebuds, Essex Green, M. Ward and Richard Buckner. And as if night two wasn’t already a certain sell-out candidate, Merge was compelled to add Versus to a lineup of Crooked Fingers and Camera Obscura.
Night four tickets are still up for grabs, though, and–given the dream-pop booking of Britain’s The Clientele, New Zealand’s David Kilgour and Nashville’s Lambchop–you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend a Sunday night or to top off a spectacular festival. Both on his own and with The Clean, Kilgour has produced some of the most stick-in-your-head melodies on record. Lampchop, who can manage to sell out Royal Albert Hall but don’t seem to get the props they deserve stateside, promise a one-of-a-kind show, adding a local string section for the gig. Night four starts at 7:30 p.m. at Durham’s Carolina Theatre. Tickets are $18.
