Friday, August 31, 2007

The Rosebuds to play "secret show" Saturday

The details are in about The Rosebuds "secret show" on Saturday night. The band will play at the Downtown Event Center (formerly Raleigh Music Hall/formely Martin Street Music Hall) with The Love Language and Cinemasophia opening.

The band will have Rob Lackey filling in on drums on this tour. Rob is the drummer for both A Rooster For the Masses and Saint Maude. This will be Rob's first show with The Rosebuds before heading out on a two-week tour of of headline shows and shows with The National.

The Downtown Event Center show is Saturday night (September 1). Doors are at 9:00 PM and the show will start at 9:45 PM. Tickets will be $7 for those who are 21 and up and $10 for those under 21. For those who don't know, Downtown Event Center is at 14 W. Martin Street in downtown Raleigh.

See you at the show.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Tons of calendar updates

You may have noticed the calendar has gone untended for the past week or so. I apologize for that. I've had some technical issues to sort out, but everything is good now. There are tons of updates on the Triangle Music calendar and more to come. Check the calendar often to stay in the loop on all the latest shows.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Guster to play Raleigh on Crocs tour

Guster will return to the Triangle Oct. 26 for a show at Reynolds Coliseum on the N.C. State campus. Avett Brothers and Brett Dennen will open the show.

Guster is headlining the Crocs Next Stop College Tour, which aside from their shoes being an abomination isn't such a bad thing. Much in the Guster spirit, the tour will promote eco-friendly and green initiatives to educate concertgoers.

An "Eco-Village" will be set up to raise awareness for green technology and a carbon offset program. It will also feature eco-friendly consumer sampling and voter registration booths.

Tickets are $20 in advance (etix) and $25 day of show.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Def Leppard rescheduled

Def Leppard's show with Styx and Foreigner at Walnut Creek, canceled Tuesday night due to insane weather, has been rescheduled for this Monday, Aug. 27.

Album Review: The Pietasters - All Day

Call it a case of high school nostalgia, but I'm absolutely digging the new Pietasters album, All Day, released this week.

I was first introduced to this group, and ska music in general, when their album Awesome Mix Tape #6 was released, and honestly I haven't listened to them much in about four or five years. But certain things are hard to ignore when they come across your inbox and a few weeks ago I fould myself bopping along to their music like it was 1999.

With All Day (produced by James Brown's engineer Todd Harris), the Pietasters have more than paid homage to the sound coming out of Detroit in the 1960s. This album absolutely drips with Motown Cool right from the opening track "Change My Ways," with its old school drum and horn intro.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Mat Kearney to headline Carolina HopeFest

Carolina HopeFest, a concert raising money to fight AIDS in Africa, has announced its lineup.

Mat Kearney, Marc Cohn and Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) are the big names at this year's show. Other artists include local favorite Thad Cockrell, Dereck Webb, Sandra McCracken and Mavuno (from Nairobi, Kenya).

HopeFest will be Sunday, Sept. 20 at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. Tickets are $35 for reserved seats, $20 for lawn and $10 for students, and will go on sale Aug. 25 through Ticketmaster and the venue box office.

We hear...

That things are a downright mess out at Walnut Creek after last night's storm.

Amphitheatre staff were forced to cancel last night's Def Leppard show around 7:30 last night due to high wind, rain and, well, the fact that the roof was blown off over the stage.

The cancellation didn't happen, of course, until about 12,000 slightly buzzed ticket holders were let through the gates.

If any of you were out there last night, share your stories in the comments section. We're hearing that on top of structural damage to the venue — which has another show on its calendar this evening — the parking lot was a mess with lights getting blown over, trees and branches falling on a couple cars and even some windshields getting blown out by flying gravel.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Augustana to play Meredith College

All the kids are moving back into their dorms, which means it's time for local colleges to announce their fall concerts.

Meredith College will host Augustana and Grayson Hill for its "Sizzlin' September" concert on Friday, Sept. 14 at the school's amphitheatre. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.brownpaperticket.com.

I'm honestly torn on my opinion of Augustana. I downloaded their song "Stars and Boulevards" for free on iTunes and pretty much fell in love with it. But when their album (of the same name) came out...eh. And all the times I've stumbled across the song "Boston" (which I hate, hate, hate) don't help either. But for $10...? We'll see.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Uncle Kracker in Raleigh jail on sex offense charge

Things aren't looking so good for Uncle Kracker.

The former Kid Rock protege, whose real name is Matthew Shafer, was arrested at Embassy Suites in Cary early this morning for a second-degree sex offense charge (learn what that means here), the News & Observer reports. That's his mug shot to the right.

Shafer is currently being held at the Wake County Jail on a $5 million bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.

The charge stems from an incident at The Depot in Raleigh last night, where Shafer was scheduled to perform.

Sex offense charges are, of course, no joking matter, but if you were at the Depot last night or have a friend who was, please comment and let us know what the hell happened out there! If you wish to be anonymous, drop us an email at triangle_music@hotmail.com.

Update 9:45 a.m.: Here are some more details from Jim Sughrue of the Raleigh PD.
"In the early morning hours today, a Raleigh Police Department officer was working in an off-duty capacity at the Ess Lounge at 327 W. Davie St. A 26 year-old female patron approached the officer and reported that a suspect had committed a sexual act against her while she was inside the establishment.

After subsequent investigation by the off-duty officer and by other members of the department, a warrant was obtained charging Matthew L. Shafer with second degree forcible sex offense. The suspect was located and detained at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary by members of the Cary Police Department until Raleigh officers arrived at that location and served the warrant. Shafer was then transported to the Wake County Jail by the RPD.

The victim and the suspect were not acquaintances."
UPDATE 10:29 a.m.: Some people are questioning why bail is set so high in this case. Well, it turns out that in a moment of sheer genius, Shafer told cops he was going to hightail it back to Michigan. According to court documents ... "arresting officers informed this court that [Kracker] made statements that he would immediately fly back to Michigan to avoid charges."

TMZ.com has a pdf of court documents available here.

UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: Swear to God, my last Uncle Kracker post today, barring any huge developments. A judge just reduced his bond to $75,000 with the stipulation that he have no contact with his accuser. He'll be back in court on Sept. 24. Seeing as his next tour date isn't until Aug. 31, my guess is he's gonna be getting his ass home to Detroit real quick.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Cradle keeps rocking

Oh, how much does the Cat's Cradle rock lately. There's a ton of great new shows on the books at the Cradle.

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Black Rebel Motorcycle club will return on October 8. The band will stop in Carrboro while during an off night while touring with Kings of Leon. Black Rebel is touring in support of their latest album, Baby 81, that came out in May.

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Now out of their deal with Atlantic Records, The Donnas will play the Cradle on October 12 with a brand new record in tow. Bitchin' will be released on September 18 on the band's own label, Purple Feather. Stream three songs from Bitchin' at The Donnas' MySpace page.

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Swedish pop group and Merge Records band Shout Out Louds will stop by the Cradle on October 30. The band will be supporting their new album Our Ill Wills, that will be out on September 11 via Merge Records. Download the first single "Tonight I Have To Leave It" (thanks to stereogum.com). Also check out the video for the second single, "Impossible," below.



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Last, but certainly not least, Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) will return to the Cradle on November 19 October 16 with her new band, Dirty Delta Blues. The band includes Judah Bauer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Chan and Dirty Delta Blues are currently working on an album of covers called "Covers Two." For now, feel free to download "The Greatest" from the album of the same name.

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Ticket info
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Monday, October 8 - $16 advance/$18 day of show - on sale TBA
The Donnas - Friday, October 12 - $13 advance/$15 day of show - on sale now via etix.com
Shout Out Louds - Tuesday, October 30 - $10 advance/$12 day of show - on sale TBA
Cat Power - Tuesday, October 16 - $22.50 - on sale TBA

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Shins extend tour, stop in Raleigh

The Shins have extended their tour and it includes a stop in Raleigh. We were left thinking that the Triangle wouldn't see the band on this tour when they stopped at the Millennium Center in Winston-Salem in March. Thankfully, The Shins did not shun the Triangle, they just made us wait.

The Shins will play at Memorial Auditorium in downtown Raleigh on October 19. San Francisco band Vetiver will open the show. Pre-sale tickets will go onsale today, August 14, via theshins.ducatking.com. We don't have a general onsale date yet.

The Shins are touring in support of their third album, Wincing the Night Away, which came out in January. For a complete list of dates, check out theshins.com.

Check out the new video for "Turn On Me" from Wincing. Calling the video "odd" would be selling it short. Check it out for yourself. Also, look below the video for an mp3 download of "Phantom Limb."

The Shins - Turn On Me



"Phantom Limb" mp3

Monday, August 13, 2007

Van Halen reunion to kick off in NC

It looks like the Van Halen reunion tour with David Lee Roth is back on. The group was initially scheduled to tour through the summer but the tour was canceled when Eddie Van Halen entered rehab in March.

The tour won't include the full classic lineup though. Original bassist Michael Anthony will be replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang.

The tour will include all the major stops including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, but the surprising thing is that the tour will kick off with not just one, but two shows in North Carolina. The tour will begin in Charlotte at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena on September 27 and roll through Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum on September 29.

While it's cool that Van Halen will kick off there tour here, one could also speculate that the band would want their first, potentially mistake-ridden, shows to be in North Carolina as opposed to a major city like New York or LA. The start of The Police's reunion tour was plagued with problems and mixed reviews that led to Stewart Copeland (drummer of The Police) to slam one of their shows.

So, with a new bassist and some rusty, aging members, will the Van Halen reunion tour be a high-flying success or a train wreck? Hell, will the tour even happen or will it get canceled again? Let us know what you think.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

UNCG DJ breaks Guinness record

Extreme kudos go out this Saturday to John Walker over at our Alma Mater, UNC Greensboro.

This morning at 11 a.m., Walker tied the Guinness Book of World Records time of 125 hours for longest DJ marathon. At this hour, he is still on the air, bringing him to 132 hours. He plans to continue until he hits 175 hours, another two days.

Walker is a DJ at the student radio station WUAG, 103.1 on your Greensboro dial. (Where, I might note, Kevin was once reprimanded for playing Hootie & the Blowfish's cover of "Hey Hey What Can I Do" on his 1-4 a.m. shift. "It's not my fault they had a Led Zeppelin tribute album in their stacks," he argues.)

According to an article in the Greensboro News & Record, Walker has stayed awake with the help of bee pollen and raw garlic. Ew. Whatever works, dude.

You can stream Walker's broadcast from WUAG's website. He's also taking requests, to give him a call at 336-334-5450. Hey John — play us some Hootie!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Muse electrifies the Garden

Not to knock the Triangle, but there's something about going to a concert in New York. So I was immediately excited when a recent trip to the city coincided with Muse's show at Madison Square Garden.

I had seen the group, who are from England and don’t get around this way much, once at Disco Rodeo when they were doing the MTVu college tour, but Monday's show at the Garden blew that one out of the water.

The group opened with "Knights of Cydonia," off their latest album, Black Holes and Revelations, and continued for more than an hour and a half playing songs off all four of their albums.

As sonically well put together as Muse’s albums are, it’s always impressive how they are able to match, and even best, that sound live.

Lead singer Matthew Bellamy’s operatic vocals soared through the Garden. Bellamy, to me, is a little bit of a musical savant. Brilliant songwriter, especially talented singer and guitarist (watching his fingers move on the jumbotron during one of the guitar solos was just perplexing) and also a ridiculously good pianist. (Check out this video for a bit of proof.)

As for bassist Chris Wolstenholme, his performance that night proved that it actually is possible to play the intro to their song “Hysteria” without missing a note. Brilliant. (I missed the solo, but check out a clip from the song here.)

Drummer Dominic Howard more than held his own, keeping the high energy level going. (Sorry, I know very little about drumming seeing as I have little rhythm myself.)

“Starlight,” one of my personal favorites got the entire Garden attempting to clap in unison (clap/clapclap/clap/clapclapclap—apparently harder than it sounds) while “Apocalypse Please” got them all attempting to mimic Bellamy’s vocal range (definitely harder than it sounds).

Muse also introduced me to a new group that night, Cold War Kids, who I’d heard of but hadn’t paid so much attention to. The band opened, playing a lively set from their debut album Robbers and Cowards. (Here's a clip.) Considering the group is still playing small clubs in the states, playing the Garden was a huge deal for them so they brought in some friends for reinforcement — Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Nice reinforcement, indeed.

But I’ll admit one of my favorite memories from the show (aside from singing along with thousands in the crowd to “Take a Bow,” which includes the lyrics “You will burn in hell, Yeah you’ll burn in hell.”) comes from the train ride out of Penn Station. For those of you who have spent any time in the city, you know that you don’t talk to people (look at people, breathe on them if you can help it, etc.) on the subway. Well, there was one particular guy, who yeah, had imbibed, who was extremely excited to recap the show and how “freaking amazing” it was. Even in a society where we all “need our space,” it’s nice that music, and uh, beer I suppose, can still bring us together.

What can I say, it was a New York moment.