Where has the time gone? Here we are at the end of September looking into October! There’s a lot of ground to cover this week, so let’s dive into the first fall edition of “Next Week”!

The Grids, Hectagons and more at Tremont Music Hall!!

Tremont Music Hall- Grids, Hectagons, The Art Department, The Lesser Pauls 10/02/09- I heard this was originally supposed to be a house show be ended up getting moved to Tremont. That’s cool, you’ll have to pay more but you won’t have to worry about the police showing up. In the meantime it’s gonna be a great night of indie/ punk/ noisy music. Grids are a really noisy hard hitting band of a sort of Shellac vein. Hectagons is another of Wyley Buck Boswell’s bands. He already plays/played in Hell or High Water, Appalucia and Andy the Doorbum. His partner in crime Richard Culp also plays/played in Zeus and Andy the Doorbum.  The duo was joined by Korey Dudley of Abe Reid & The Spikedrivers and Tropic Culture. Okay you get the point, everyone in this band has other bands. The important thing is they play really talented instrumental metal/ heavy rock music. We actually have quite an underground scene for instrumental metal/ rock here in Charlotte. You should do research into these bands, in the meantime check out Hectagons! The Art Department are from the DC/ Baltimore area and play some type of pop/ indie music that comes across as being a lot lighter then the previous two bands mentioned here. That’s not a bad thing, they are a very odd though. Think light, clean sound almost nervous sounding music with really high, fast vocals over the top. It gives the whole thing a very almost antsy feeling. I see on their schedule they are playing with the Meat Puppets in a few weeks, that makes perfect sense. The Lesser Pauls get better everytime I listen to them. Their song “Neon Jesus” always reminds me of Jefferson Airplane during the Grace Slick era. Another good comparison would probably be PJ Harvey. These guys have that slightly unpolished in a good way, garage vibe that reminds me of those bands. Check it out, it’ll be a fun show. Doors are at 8:00pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $9 for under!

Tremont Music Hall- Zoe Vette and the Revolvers, Dirtbag Love Affair, Planet Piss and Famous Tragedy 10/4/09- Happy Birthday Zoe Vette! I got an email informing me that this is the official Zoe Vette birthday celebration so we wish a happy birthday to the leader of the Revolvers. They’ve been working hard over the past year or so to establish the Revolvers as a standout rock and roll unit. They put it all out there in a standout live show that will remind you musically of the Runaways but with more over the top theatrics to boot!  Dirtbag Love Affair have that grimy punk, sleazy rock and roll sound but seem very polished in what they do. Still they do have a few catchy songs on their myspace and it appears they tour their brains out so good for them. Planet Piss seem way more authentic and not just because I’ve seen the singer slice himself onstage. Probably the most over the top band on this bill Planet Piss have an insane stage show that features a mostly naked man. If you mind seeing a man bounce around in nothing but a really tiny speedo then this set may not be for you. Famous Tragedy open up this rock fest. Doors open at 7:30pm and admission is $7 for over 21 and $10 for under.

The Milestone Club- Lamb Handler, Mego and Grown Up Avenger Stuff 10/2/09- This is my 90’s throwback show of the week! Lamb Handler are all veterans of the 90’s Charlotte alt rock scene and play some killer rock and roll to boot. Silky vocals slide over slinky melodic leads over solid driving beats. This quartet retains the feel of some of their previous bands with a certain 90’s rock flair but still progressing to seem relevant nowadays. Mego are formerly known as Mego Dirge but changed their name for some reason. The guy from Creative Loafing says  they “combine a variety of styles- Taproot, Nirvana, Helmut- into something of their own” who am I to argue? Grown Up Avenger Stuff list their sound as a little bit of just about every genre that you can think of. However when I listen to them they sound like Mazzy Star. Not that it’s a bad thing, but they claim to sound like the Foo Fighters if they had a female vocalist. My opinion the only way they would sound like the Foo Fighters is if Dave Grohl took waaay to much valium. But they will be a really chill opener for this show and that’s okay too, even if they do think they sound like the Foo Fighters! Doors are at 8pm and admission is $6 for over 21 and $8 for under. 18+ only.

Happy 10th Anniversary Dead Kings!!

The Milestone Club- Dead Kings 10 year Anniversary show 10/3/09- Has it really been 10 years?? My own band My So-Called Band attempted to reach the 10 year plateau but fell short by about a year or so before imploding in on ourselves. But Jeff Williams has quietly ( and musically not so quietly!) been plugging away at it for 10 years now as the Dead Kings. Along the way they’ve developed a reputation for a wicked sense of humor and satire mixed with an ever escalating stage show. They actually built a stage set to look like Hell at one show! These guys will do whatever it takes to throw the most insanely over the top show and I’m sure this will be the spectacle to end all spectacles. Musically they are a solid rock and roll outfit somewhere in Motorhead-ish territory. Jeff has also developed quite a stage persona as Biggy Stardust, some of you will recognize him as the voice of conservative reason on the political section of our forum. Unabashedly politically incorrect and on purpose obnoxious Biggy and the Dead Kings deliver. And the flyer like one of their cd’s is dedicated to “Hot Black Chicks”! Come out and pay tribute to one of the hardest working groups of road warriors in Charlotte, kudos Biggy! You earned the hard way!! Opening are Dirtbag Love Affair (again??) and the King Sized Killers who are a punk band from Shelby NC. Doors are at 8pm and admission is $7 for over 21 and $9 for under. 18+ only please.

Neighborhood Theater- Colin Hay ( Men at Work) 10/2/09- I had to mention this show because I absolutely loved Colin’s vocals in 80’s group Men at Work. The thing you may not know is they had a few small hits here during the 80’s but they were huge in their native country of Australia and they still are. Still Colin’s been doing solo work and I love his acoustic take on Men at Works ” Overkill”. Find it and download it and you’ll see what I mean. He has an absolutely haunting voice and is a great pop songwriter. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the songwriting. It’ll be a fun night for sure! Show starts at 8pm and admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Puckett’s Farm Equipment- The Straight 8’s, The Tremors and Diamond Jem & The Ace 10/2/09- Shows like this remind everyone why Puckett’s is the high temple in Charlotte’s rockabilly scene! The Straight 8’s are rockabilly with a healthy dose of surf and they are bound to rock the doors off the place. The Tremors are one of my favorites from Greensboro with a psychobilly sound and the vocals of Jerry Lee Lewis on meth, these guys always keep your feet tapping. Diamond Jem & The Ace are the side project for Jem Crossland and it goes even further into traditional rockabilly territory than his other band, the Hypertonics. Stripping it down to just guitar and bass Jem mines the early Sun records catalog for inspiration and comes up with some of the most pure rockabilly you’re gonna find anywhere!

Snug Harbor- Joe Buck Yourself, Appalucia 9/30/09- Appalucia continue the never ending recruiting drive for their musical militia with an appearance at Snug Harbor. These traditionalist play their own blend of Carolina mountain music as filtered through the minds of Andy the Doorbum, Wiley Buck Boswell and Corey Ziggler.  Joe Buck meanwhile is a maniac. Flat out, I know no other way to say it. He’s the side man to Hank III and is developing a hell of a following for his solo act as well. Menacing and over the top, his one man band act is something to behold. This is a hell of a way to end the month of September, that’s for sure! 10pm starting time, price unknown.

The Not Likelys, Princess & The Criminals and Jojo Taterhead Revival at SK Net Cafe!

SK Net Cafe- The Not Likelys, Princess & The Criminals and Jojo Taterhead Revival 10/3/09- Anyone who was at Punk Rock Picnic 2 will agree that the side stage performance of the Not Likelys had some of the wildest pits of the whole show. And why wouldn’t it? The Not Likelys bring a mix of punk and ska blended with a working class work ethic. Basically they rock and it’s hard to stand still when they are belting out killer punk classics! Also anyone who was at that show will attest that Jojo Taterhead Revival had one of the best Charlotte debuts of all times! The crowd ate up this brand new ska/ reggae group comprised of former members of DSS. Add Princess and Criminals to this show and you have a great punk/ ska show that is only $5 bucks!! No surcharge? No shit! Show will start at 9pm so get out there early because from what I’ve heard Jojo Taterhead is opening so you don’t want to miss out!!

Come to the show or Michael Cain will put a cap in your ass!!

Welcome to another edition of “Next Week”. This week there are several shows to talk about, but first I wanted to touch on a rumor I had heard. I know a lot of you went to the Minority Party reunion show and it looks like it was an amazing show! Look for a gallery to go up from it this weekend. In the meantime I’ve gotten questions about whether this was a one time show or are there going to be more? I caught up with Adam from MP recently and he told me that there will definitely be other Minority Party shows in the future. Look for them to show up again sometime this winter.

Now on to the shows!

Kid Congo at the Milestone Club 9/25/09!

The Milestone Club- Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds w/ the Trouble Walkers and Pinche Gringo 9/25/09- Former Cramps/ Nick Cave/ Gun Club guitarist Kid Congo is back with a stripped down new cd of raw garage and early Chicano rock. I have seen Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds a few times and this new stripped down solo sound of Kid Congo’s should be really interesting. These songs have a definite nod to the 60’s with stripped down dirty guitars and driving beats. Reverbed out half spoken vocals round it out and make for a great listen. It’ll be interesting to see how this goes live! Also on the bill are Charlotte white trash kings Trouble Walkers. These guys have songs that seem to be drenched in the hot steamy embrace of an August night at the trailer park with no a/c and nothing to keep you cool except a six pack of PBR. Somebody pass me another! Also on the bill is Pinche Gringo featuring the one man band of ex The Spinns drummer Josh Johnson. Admission is $10 for over and $12 for under. Doors are at 8pm.

Neighborhood Theater- Marty Stuart & The Fabulous Superlatives 9/25/09- Bluegrass and country legend Marty Stuart is touring to support his new record “Compadres” and word has it he is putting on some of the best shows of his career. From clips I’ve seen on youtube I’ll tell you two things. One, he doesn’t look like he’s lost a step. And two he has the worse case of bedhead I’ve ever seen! Go to gawk at the hair but stay for some of the best bluegrass/ country around. Doors at 7pm. Admission is $22.

Snug Harbor- Chain and the Gang w/ Snagglepuss and Moenda 9/25/09- Okay so Chain and the Gang feature Ian Svenonius of the Make Up/ Weird War/ Nation of Ulysses. I don’t quite know how to describe it. It comes off as part beat poet, part jazz and goes all over the place from there. Interesting and just the odd kinda party vibe you would expect from a show with Snagglepuss on it. Hope Nichol’s party band extraordinaire will be the off kilter jams and party till the paint peels.  Opening is Moenda featuring Davey Blackburn of Calabi Yau. It’s best described as noise oriented indie rock. Fans of Sonic Youth will dig it for sure. Is it noise for the sake of art or art for the sake of noise? You decide. It should be an unusual night all the way around. Show starts at 11pm.

Also this week I wanted to quickly mention that Bracing For Impact, who recently played an acoustic gig at Hot Topic in Rockhill will be appearing at Prevue Music Hall in Charlotte on 9/25. Also be sure to go to Common Market Deli to check out Andy the Doorbum on Saturday the 26th as this will be his welcome home gig from his tour. Andy and the boys have been up into the Northeast and hopefully everything went well for them.

Well that’s it for this edition of “Next Week”. We’ll see you guys out at the shows or on the forum!

Ryan Dead

Alright it’s Monday so it’s time to start off a new week with a new column! Let’s take a look at what is going on in music in Charlotte!

Peelander-Z invade Charlotte on their "World Health" tour 9/16/09!!

The Milestone Club- Peelander-Z, Chamelon and Planet Piss 9/16/09- It’s time for yet another visit from Japanese comic punk band Peelander-Z! These guys are the ultimate crowd participation band. If you come to the show and don’t want to participate you better stay outside or in the bar room. At their shows you are liable to be included in a congo line, playing guitar with them onstage, participating in audience/ band bowling and more. The music? Not bad but it definitely takes a backseat to the insane over the top antics of these larger than life comic characters. Also on this show is Chamelon, an experimental rock band from Monroe, NC that seem to favor musical experimentation in a way that reminds me of 90’s alternative rock for some reason. Also listed on the show is Planet Piss, who finally have a real myspace page. Back in the day the link to their site on the Milestone site went straight to a porn site. Not that they still don’t have a leaning toward the raunchy side. ( Their myspace site is definitely 18+ only!) Still they manage to mix it up and dish out pretty straight up punk rock with shall we say, suggestive lyrics. This should be a really wild night at the Milestone to say the least! Last but not least this show is also the Elder Statesmen’s birthday! Many of you may remember the Elder Statesmen from Punk Rock Picnic 2, he was the one feeding you all that free food! The least you can do is show up and have a beer with him on his B-day and check out one of the wildest shows you’re bound to see this year! Door are at 8pm and it’s $8 for over 21 and $10 for under 21.

Snug Harbor- KP Soloman 5000, The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and the Holy Smokes 9/20/09- KP Soloman 5000, otherwise known as Kyle from 25 Minutes to Go continues his one man acoustic assault on the Charlotte area with a gig at Snug Harbor. Expect heartfelt lyrics and quiet, moody acoustic accompaniment. The Hobo Nephews from Holyoke Minnesota have a quirkier sound that reminds me a little of early Dylan. Toe tapping stuff for sure. The Holy Smokes from Gastonia, NC sport some great vocals courtesy of sing Jonny Whistlebritches ( check their myspace, I ain’t making this up!) and are finally sporting a more fleshed out sound with the addition of Geoff White on fiddle, mandolin and dobro and Bobby Childers on drums. Should be a fun show for a Sunday night! Show starts around 9pm.