Mac and Laura launch 'Our Noise' in Durham with performance and Q&A

Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance stopped by The Regulator Bookshop in Durham last night to to celebrate the release of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records.

The evening started with a duo performance of "Driveway To Driveway" followed by Laura reading a letter she wrote after Merge's five year anniversary. The letter's theme was essentially "How did we get here?" and here they are fifteen more years later from that point.

Mac then read a passage about Matt Suggs from the book and followed it with a performance of Suggs' song "Where's Your Patience Dear?" Mac then played the Lambchop song "Theöne" followed by a passage from the book about Lambchop. It was a beautiful tribute to two Merge artists who have been with the label for many years. Watch videos of the performances after the break.

XX Merge day 4 at Orange County Social Club: Matt Suggs and Tenement Halls

The third band to take the stage at the free XX Merge show at Orange Social Club was Matt Suggs (formerly of Butterglory). He played a great set comprised of solo tunes and old Butterglory songs. Suggs was joined by Zach Holland on guitar for a few songs and Mac McCaughan played drums during most of the set.

The old Butterglory songs really shined, specifically "She's Go the Akshun!" and "Better Gardens, Better Homes." You can check out video of the entire set on YouTube thanks to user chiglartayindustries. It's well worth checking out. The complete set list is below.

New XX Merge events announced in Durham, Carrboro

Two new events have just been announced as part of the big XX Merge Festival coming up in July.

First, on the Saturday, July 17, prior to the big event, the Triangle Youth Ballet will present "Merge With Motion" at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. The event will be the world premiere of dance performance set to Merge Records music. The dancers will dance to recorded music by Arcade Fire, Caribou, Destroyer, The Magnetic Fields, Polvo, Richard Buckner, Spaceheads and Spoon, but will also feature a live performance by The Rosebuds. They will play an old song as well as a brand new song composed specifically for "Merge With Motion."

Tickets for "Merge With Motion" are $17 or $15 in advance, depending upon the seats. Tickets are available here and at the box office. It sounds like a pretty cool event.

Second, Merge will host a free show on Saturday, July 25 at 1pm at Orange County Social Club in Carrboro (it's right up the street from the Cat's Cradle). The show will be outside and feature sets by Portastatic, Tenement Halls, The Music Tapes, Matt Suggs and Radar Bros. The OCSC is a private club, but you only need to buy a membership for this event if you plan to drink. This will be a good chance for folks who were not able to get tickets to the main event to enjoy some great Merge music.

Tickets are still available for final night (July 26) of XX Merge at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill featuring She & Him, American Music Club and Wye Oak. Tickets are available via etix.com, at CD Alley, Bull City Records and Schoolkids Records and at the Memorial Hall box office.

We're only a little over a month away now. It's going to be fun.