Contributors: Rick Cornell, Grayson Currin, Margaret Hair, Rich Ivey, Kathy Justice, Chris Parker, Chris Toenes
Wednesday, July 4
People Noise, Baumer, Feeding the Fire, Blend
A studio duo of ex-VHF and Boom Bip members that expands to quintet form onstage, Louisville’s People Noise is a promising new act. At their best, they bloom with the same epic saturation and build-and-fall that Spiritualized aced on Ladies and Gentlemen, though, at their most pedestrian and dull, they’re world-weary lyricists tinkering with electronics and arriving at something between Muse and Mr. Corgan’s Machina II. South Carolina’s Baumer is really into remixing its synthesizer-and-drum tokens latelytoo safe for electroclash, probably too “indie” for Orgy, but you get the picture. Feeding the Fire opens. 9 p.m. GC
Thursday, July 5
Promute, Matt Weston, Tone Ghosting, Nightlight
An excellent triple-bill: Improviser Matt Weston builds from the base Max Neuhaus built, routing percussive ideas through patchwork electronics, while Carrboro’s Promute works to build immaculate, broad sound palettes that are environmentally mimetic in a torpid, surrealist sense: His best rises either through drone-oriented electroacoustic manipulation or slow-motion beat sequencing. Whatever mood Promute finds tonight, Tone Ghostingthe work of D.C. experimental ringleader DJ Panicis bound to extricate you from it: Using a junk-load of cheap vinyl ripped to bits with hacksaws and laced with contact mics routed through pedals and into loops, TG (a fitting acronym) lets the noise sizzle and burn in imaginative ways. An EP released last year found him plying one loop in dub, pop and a cappella remixes. $5/ 9:30 p.m. GC
Friday, July 6
Inflowential, Sean Boog & Nervous Reck, Kooley High, Lazarso, DJ Ill Digitz, Downtown Event Center
With two MCs, a bass player and a human beatbox, the N.C. State-bred Inflowential seeks to create its own hip-hop front. It’s organic, but always evolving and evoking, taking tips from The Roots, Slum Village and local heroes Little Brother and spinning them into collegial gatherings. Expect them and the crew of openers to go all out, as this is Inflow’s CD release show. $5-7/ 10 p.m. RI
Fontana, Polynya, Malt Swagger, The Cave
Durham’s Fontana works a lonesome, loping crawl that ranges from the humorous Grandaddy-ish ode to flyover country, “Landlocked Teens” to the tender beauty of “Midway,” whose dulcet jangle echoes the song’s lovelorn hope. Epic tracks, such as the eight minute-plus “City of Medicine,” intermittently echo the cosmic country crawl of Beachwood Sparks and the folky-pop bounce of Big Dipper, together shaping one of the Triangle’s most intriguing pop acts. They’re joined by Polynya and Malt Swagger. $5/ 10:30 p.m. CP
Erie Choir, Broad Street Café
Erie Choir, the pop project of Sorry About Dresden’s Eric Roehrig, takes a North Carolina-tinged approach to rock. Matching Roehrig’s image-filled lyrics with either gleeful pop sensibilities or folksy ballad tempos, the group’s 2006 release, Slighter Awake, crystallized its frontman’s time on the local scene into a set of anti-indie gems. Transit Union (featuring Erie’s John Booker and Trekky Records guru Will Hackney) and The Never open. $5/ 9 p.m. MH
Laura Blackley and the Love Handles, Shakori Hills
With a ragged strum from her acoustic and a whiskey-throated warble, Laura Blackley plays the part of a smart-mouthed mountain balladeer, painting equally ominous portraits of Southern-bred deceit and spit-fire woman power in her folk-graced Americana work. One part Appalachian folkie, one part alt.country songstress, Blackley’s stripped-down style conjures memories of Patty Griffin’s soul and Lucinda William’s rage. She’s a damn fine storyteller, too, unafraid to get her hands dirty in the muck of life. $5-$8 donation/ 7 p.m. KJ
Cave Dwellers, Brightleaf Concert Series at Brightleaf Square
There’s much fun to be had at a Cave Dwellers show, only part of which is trying to tell the classic country covers from the equally beer- and tear-stained originals from leader Mark Weems (of the Stillhouse Bottom Band). Free/ 7 p.m. RC
Brothers Grim, Sadlack’s
This Raleigh quintet’s sweaty, whiskey-soaked sound traces its roots back to Neil Young’s spiky, distortion-drenched amble and the Drive-by Truckers’ blend of Southern verve with country-punk swagger. It’s rugged drinking music with a knack for beer-lifting anthems like “Oh My God,” off their 2005 six-song EP, Bury Me in the Swamp. The twin-guitar attack is meaty, and frontman Adam Lane’s aching Southern twang is well suited for such crunchy rockers. 7 p.m. CP
Tony Williamson, Carolina Inn
With a fanbase that includes Jerry Douglas, Vassar Clements and Pavarotti, it comes as no surprise that mandolin virtuoso Tony Williamson knows how to work a crowd into mouth-gaping, knee-slapping awe with each twitter of his instrument. A bluegrass man at heart (despite a broad knowledge of jazz and classical structures), Williamson knows the best tunes are spun from unpredictable arrangements, as his lightning-fast fingers transform mandolin strings into a chaotic hum of vintage vibrations and fast turns. Free/ 5 p.m. KJ
Saturday, July 7
FrequeNC Records Night, Pykrete, pulsoptional, The Trapper Keepers, Nightlight
Chuck Johnson will be departing very soon for music graduate studies, so this episode of Pykrete’s sublime unpredictability should be the last around here for a while. pulsoptional seems to be ever-present in the area, raising their collective composer heads in performances that feel like a treat in a club instead of a concert hall. The Keepers namecheck Throbbing Gristle, The Godz, Wendy Carlos and Merzbow. Enough said, maybe? $5/ 10 p.m. CT
Lise Uyanik & the Mobile City Band, Stella, The ArtsCenter
Just a year away from celebrating their 30th year of combining rock and soul in the Triangle, Lise Uyanik & the Mobile City Band officially disbanded in 1984 but never really stopped playing. And, while coming together for occasional gigs, the members of a band named for a Morrisville trailer park have created a side story of good citizenship that includes founding Wellspring Grocery, Somethyme Restaurant and the Music Loft. That’s strong proof of creative class benefits, long before politicians were debating Richard Florida’s buzzwords, huh? Tonight’s for dancing. $15/ 8:30 p.m. GC
Monday, July 9
Sound of Urchin, Crescent Moon, Local 506
A playful and diverse band of New England dudes with names like Tomato, Seahag and Doo Doo Brown, Sound of Urchin proselytize a capable mix of punk, pop and dead-on metal theatrics, all under the non-ironic command to “Believe in Rock ‘n’ Roll.” A workhorse, triumphant live show manifests those qualities through moments of headbanging, finger-tapping and a spiked, singing drummer who looks like he’s always winning a marathon. Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger produced their latest, so expect abounding tightness and jokes. Tomato also plays in opening act Crescent Moon, which features Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz. That’s all they’ve got going for them, really. Liability/asset assessment is your call, natch. $8/ 9 p.m. GC
Wednesday, July 11
Sam Kininger Band, Mayhap, The Pour House
Alto-sax man Sam Kininger came up in Boston trio Soulive’s funk-orgasmic dreamscape, airing over heavy organ riffs before pushing his sax onto new planes of groove-oriented poetry in this, his new titular band. Kininger retained all the greasy funk and urban staccato of the former, molding slabs of soul jazz, guitar freak-out and velvety hip hop into perfect grooves. Raleigh’s two-piece funk outfit Mayhap starts the party off right with their Orleans-flavored combo of jazz-organ and thumping drums. $5-$7/ 9 p.m. KJ
Botox Party, The Future Kings of Nowhere, Dead to Society, Bull City Headquarters
** This show has been moved to August 11 **
A trifecta of punk rockers to bang your head to at Bull City: Richmond’s Botox Party takes notes from hardcore legends Black Flag, serving up pavement-smacking scores with shout-out-loud choruses splayed over chopped up guitars and fist-pumping energy, while Durham’s Dead to Society borrows from Fugazi’s righteous anger, taking riot-ready anthems out into the streets with dissonant guitar attacks and jittery drums. Rounding out the evening are fellow Durhamites The Future Kings of Nowhere, who make their version of punk shine with the glossy edge of “acousticore”: a witty combo of lush harmonics and high-octane acoustics pummeled over the bitter edges of a scorned lover’s legacy. 9 p.m. KJ