Mike Doughty, solo or with Scrap or with a band, will always be one of my favorite live performers not because he is such a great songwriter (which he is) or such a tremendous musician (ditto), but because he is and always will be infinitely charming on stage. Don’t get me wrong — I love…
Category: opinions about concerts
blitzen trapper @ cat’s cradle
I declare Blitzen Trapper to be the modern band most likely to cover a deep cut by the Band and absolutely slay it. There’s no one else I can make a comparison to, and that’s a big one, I know; but something about the vocals, and the organ swells, and the loose bass lines and…
wild flag @ cat’s cradle
I can’t summon words for how powerful it was to stand at the edge of the Cradle stage and watch these four amazing women rock the place to the ground. They were fierce and frenetic and they were so fucking good, they are all such great musicians, and it was a pleasure and a privilege…
liam finn @ the casbah
I like to be up front with you guys, you know that: a few years ago, I picked up Liam Finn’s debut album, I’ll Be Lightning, because he was Neil Finn’s son, and I do love me some Crowded House. Happily, Liam is just as talented as his dad, in completely different ways, and so…
mc chris — race wars tour @ cat’s cradle
I shouldn’t even really put mc chris in the title here, because I won’t front: we were there to see Adam WarRock and Tribe One, who were the first opener; but it was mc chris’s headlining, so it makes search hits easier. Or something. I didn’t expect to go to the Cradle last night and have…
frontier ruckus @ local 506
Frontier Ruckus’s songs are dense and full of empty space, universal and intensely personal, intimate and wide as Michigan skies. They put out one of my favorite albums of 2010 in Deadmalls & Nightfalls, and they were wonderful when I saw them in January; they were just as wonderful last night. I find it hard…
the dirty guv’nahs @ local 506
The Dirty Guv’nahs worked a miracle at the 506 Thursday night; the place was only half full, but they had that half packed against the stage, slopping PBR at frontman James Trimble, singing along, and basically acting like the complete opposite of the usual Chapel Hill hipper-than-thou crowd. And with good reason: not only is…
shakori hills grassroots festival fall 2011
I’ll write more about the festival this week, but for now, a selection from my two days; all 150+ images are here.
american aquarium @ local 506
Thursday night, American Aquarium with Wylie Hunter & the Cazadores and Stella Lively — a lovely evening full of bands made up of people I am inordinately fond of. I love the Thrill, I love our scene, I love the people I know, and I love the shit out of music. Full set here.
brand new kind of photography 