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.

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.

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.

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.