Reunion Tour

The Weakerthans are coming to Carrboro on the 9th of April. Am I pumped? Considering how much I liked their release from the Fall of 2007, yes!

However, before the Canadians get down to the Southern Part of Heaven, I plan on seeing Jose Gonzalez on campus at UNC on March 3rd, and then the everybodyfields and Chatham County Line in Carrboro on March 7th. Good times.

See you there.

Day Trip to Chapel Hill

I spent all day yesterday in Chapel Hill, a town that is as much a home to me now as the one I grew up in. I had plans to see some of my favorite people, and ended up running into a long lost friend the moment I arrived.

This space is not about my personal life though. The latter half of my evening was devoted to the Carolina vs. Nevada basketball game. The Dean Dome was almost full, with even more in attendance than when school was in session for the last game I went to against Iona.

Bobby Frasor's season-ending injury was hard to watch. When he went down, I had no doubt he had blown out his knee. It was bad, watching one part of his leg go one way and the other half go in an opposite direction, laterally speaking. However, I was rather confused and actually hopeful when Frasor got up and walked to the locker room on his own power, albeit gingerly. I've always thought of getting a torn ACL as something that would keep you from walking without support on the bum leg. I feel so bad for the guy, especially since he had an injured foot for a majority of last season. I believe it is definitely possible that Quentin Thomas can come into Frasor's role and not miss a beat, but it will require him to play a cleaner game than he has been. Bobby's assist to turnover ratio is much better than Quentin's, and it seems like Bobby shoots better from behind the arc. While Frasor has played more minutes, Thomas is a senior - there should be no inexperience in his game. Moreover, if Carolina goes all the way this year, I'd like to see Q have an important part in his becoming the only Tar Heel to ever win two national championships. That is really unimportant for the time being though. I hope Bobby Frasor makes a full recovery, and that Quentin Thomas plays up to his ability. Carolina is really lucky when it comes down to it - not only do we have a guy who is the best point guard in the land (look at those stats from last night), but we also have a backup guy. NC State is going to play their second year in a row without a real point guard. That is bad luck.

Other than the Frasor injury, last night's game against Nevada was entertaining. Four UNC players put up double figures, but Ty Lawson really stood out. Lawson managed to put up 16 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in 29 minutes. I wanted to be witness to the first UNC triple-double of the Roy Williams era, and if Lawson had pulled out an identical second half to his first he would have gotten it. No dice though, and Rashad McCants still holds the last one, occurring when Matt Doherty was still at the helm. I've never seen anyone go end to end like Lawson - the layup is an automatic when he gets the ball in transition, regardless of numbers. Short man even dunked a ball last night. Good for him. Lawson is almost always a part of my favorite happening when Carolina plays: moving the ball from one end of the court to the other for a layup without any player taking a dribble. That is efficient basketball.

On another note, Tyler Hansbrough put up 26 points in 26 minutes. Sometimes, it seems like Hansbrough ho-hums his way to 25 points. Part of it is the free throws. Through last night's game, Hansbrough is only 92 made free throws behind the program's all time leader. If Tyler keeps shooting ten a game, that won't last long. Fans like me are sort of taking Tyler for granted, I think. When he can put up 26 in 26 minutes and it not feel spectacular, especially when Nevada had two guys taller than him in the game, it is scary. I think once the conference schedule rolls around, we'll see some of those career defining performances. He probably won't score 40 points again like he did against Georgia Tech his freshman year, simply because with Lawson and Ellington playing so well he doesn't need to. Tyler is definitely capable of taking over a game like he did last year against Michigan State at the LJVM in Winston-Salem for the second round of the tournament though. I was courtside for that, and it was without a doubt the greatest basketball performance I've ever been in attendance for.

I should have a post about Cat Power's Jukebox up as soon as I give it a few listens.

Edit: The copy of the new Cat Power I had waiting on me was a promo copy that fades all the songs out around the 2-minute mark, right when they are about to break into the best parts. Matador has me beat. False alarm.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to anyone who happens upon this site.
I spent my eve of Christmas watching the new Sigur Ros DVD, Heima, and I'd say it is on par with the group's studio work. The footage isn't a necessity, but it is definitely enjoyable, and watching it made me remember how epic and mind blowing the last half of the final track to ( ) is.

After enjoying myself on Christmas day, I'll be spending the 26th with family. On the 27th, I plan to go spend a day in Chapel Hill. Definitely plans to see one great person, maybe a couple more friends if they can swing it. Hopefully, I'll be able to take in the North Carolina vs. Nevada game. The 27th has me more excited than the 25th.

Go over to the Mountain Goats' website. John Darnielle put up a demo of a collaboration that he and John Vanderslice hope to work on. Let him explain it to you.

Hope everyone has a great time over the holiday.

mp3 Journal

I've finished classes now for what has been a fairly easy semester. I'm going to miss it come January when I have more hours and more difficult classes.

Since it is the end of the semester, I'll post a list of the songs I rocked extra hard during the last few months. I got the idea to keep a running diary of sorts on iTunes from a good friend, and am glad that I did it. Each time i realized I was obsessing over a song, I just added it to a play list entitled sophomore. Here they are, in chronological order.

1. CC Rider - Old Crow Medicine Show
2. Aeroplane - the everybodyfields
3. Out on the Highway/Worker's Playtime - the everybodyfields
4. Tournament of Hearts - The Weakerthans
5. Sun in an Empty Room - The Weakerthans
6. Over and Done - the everybodyfields
7. 1/1 - Brian Eno
8. Stronger - Kanye West
9. The Old Home Place - The Dillards
10. The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman
11. A Postcard to Nina - Jens Lekman
12. Detlef Schrempf - Band of Horses
13. Lamb on the Lam (In the City) - Band of Horses
14. Nude - Radiohead
15. Boyz - M.I.A.
16. Birds - M83
17. Styrofoam Boots/It's All Nice on Ice, Alright - Modest Mouse
18. Speed of the Whippoorwill - Chatham County Line
19. Blue Factory Flame - Songs: Ohia
20. Rock of Ages - Gillian Welch
21. Farewell Transmission - Songs: Ohia
22. I've Been Riding with the Ghost - Songs: Ohia
23. I Gaer - Sigur Ros
24. Goin' to Acapulco - Jim James & Calexico
25. People Gonna Talk - James Hunter
26. Cataracts - Andrew Bird
27. Lull - Andrew Bird
28. Pretty Girl From Raleigh - The Avett Brothers

Al Green in Chapel Hill: No Grits Were Thrown in the Making of this Concert

Al Green is still a bad mamma jamma. He said so himself.

I didn't think I would get to hear Al say anything at all though. As of five o' clock, I didn't have a ticket to Green's sold out show at Memorial Hall on campus here at UNC. Craigslist had people asking for tickets and offering upwards of $100 and they weren't getting tickets. Why would I?

However, this is Chapel Hill, where everything turns out right in the end. You always end up getting those tickets you need here. When Sufjan played the same venue, a guy walked right up and offered three to me in the second row. For free. So I decided to call the Memorial Hall box office and ask if they were going to do a ticket dump tonight. They asked me, "What is a ticket dump?" Things looked bleak. "Where you hold tickets to sell on the night of," I replied. Ends up they had a few tickets left in the orchestra pit - that means in front of row A. Center stage. The pictures in the entry aren't pulled from the web. I took them with my piece of crap camera. Best seats in the house. I bought one at a student price. But things get better. When I was standing around waiting for the show to start and contemplating the possibility of making lots of cash off of my great seat, a scalper came up to me and gave me a ticket. I got in touch with my friend Ella, and she too had the pleasure to see Al Green.

Al Green stepped on stage at 9:18 to a packed house, wearing a tuxedo and glasses. He had a gold star hanging around his neck, and lots of gold chains on his wrists. Here's the setlist:

1. Just Can't Stop
2. Let's Get Married
3. Everything's Gonna Be Allright
4. Amazing Grace
5. Let's Stay Together
6. What Makes the World Go Round
7. Here I am, Come and Get Me
8. R&B Medley: Sugar Pie Honey Bun/If You Ever Change Your Mind About Leaving/My Girl/I've Been Loving You For Too Long/Wonderful World
9. Tired of Being Alone
10. Still in Love With You
11. Love & Happiness

The Reverend's backing band came out before him though, wearing all black, and featured a horn section (one trumpet, one saxophone, one trombone), two guitarists (playing maple strats), a bassists, a keyboard player, an organ player, a drummer, a percussionist, and two backup singers - one of which was Green's daughter, Deborah (or Debra? I don't know). Being up front and center probably had a lot to do with me enjoying things so much. Al's voice wasn't what it was way back, but he could still hit the high notes. The decades on the road doing shows definitely taught Al Green how to work a crowd, and after every high note Green would say, "Now you try to hit that note! Somebody do that!" and then say, "I'm a bad mamma jamma!" By far the most entertaining part of Green's stage presence was the throwing of roses (upwards of two dozen) to the female members of the crowd. When Green would trot down into the aisles, hordes of women, all over forty, would rush towards the singer for roses and hugs. The Reverend knows how to work a crowd, especially if they are older women. Green was helped out throughout the night by two guys in shiny clothes to dance along.

Green's set seemed to alternate, in the beginning, between work the crowd songs and big hits. An entertaining "Let's Get Married" was followed by "Everything's Gonna Be Allright," which was never more than an extended jam. Afterwards, Green said something to the likes of, "I may be a preacher, but I'm still a man," and launched into an alternate version of "Amazing Grace." At one point during the set, there was a guitar solo played by the teeth. By far though, the closer, "Love & Happiness" was the best part of the night. It really is Green's best song in his catalog, and everyone sang along at the top of their lungs on the song we all wanted. After singing the song, Green walked off to a rocking Memorial Hall, and the band was left to go around and do their solos. At one point, the horns all came to the main mike and played the horn riff at the end of the song, which was great. It wasn't the best concert I've been to, but I had a great time. Also, it gave me a chance to make the grits reference in my title. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, you gain my respect.

I'll have a review of the Avett's show soon. I promise.

The Week Ahead

The coming week looks to be a great one:

Monday, 9/10: Free Hug Day? Free Hug Day!


Tuesday, 9/11: I have a blues poem due. This is scary.


Wednesday, 9/12: Andrew Bird in Durham!

Augie March opens.


Thursday, 9/13: Al Green in Chapel Hill!
It is sold out, so I have to get there early to get some tickets from a scalper. Hopefully it won't be too much.


Saturday, 9/15: The Avett Brothers in Greensboro!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Roosevelt Hill

View Larger Map

I know the image right there is awful looking, but just click the 'view larger map' to see what I am talking about.

I went for a bike ride this morning, and found my favorite ride in the whole town in the process. Roosevelt Road drops really quickly and has some great turns in it. When flying down Roosevelt, stay straightish onto Hillview to remain on blacktop instead of gravel, and cross over Plant to bottom out at Dickenson. It is a great time, and you can ride the sidewalk on E. Franklin to get there. If I had someone to shuttle me back to the top, I'd probably coast this hill all day. I can't imagine that the longboarding crowd doesn't know about this place. Best yet, it is a quiet area will hardly any traffic! Wooooo.

True Norwegian Black Metal - The Mountain Goats at Cat's Cradle

I went to Carrboro's Cat's Cradle last night to catch the Reach for the Skye benefit concert featuring the Mountain Goats. The show started at nine, and had four bands on the bill, which is good for ten dollars, but bad if you have to be somewhere early the next morning. I got there at a quarter to ten as the first band, Hope & Anchor, was finishing their set. I couldn't really make much of the Asheville-based group from the one song I heard, except for the notion that they both looked and sounded like they were indeed from Asheville, which is pretty much saying they looked and sounded like they were from Carrboro. I said hi to friends after their set and checked out who else was in attendance - David Karsten Daniels and Perry from Prayers & Tears were there like always, and took a seat for the next act, the Moaners. The Moaners are two girls, one playing a slew of slide guitars, one on drums, and they are pretty much awful. The Moaners reminded of everything I hated about the whole rock and roll revival idea - sludgy sound, poor musicianship, garage rock, Kurt Cobain vocals, and the notion of loud + fast = good! There set seemed much longer than thirty minutes. No more will be said about them.

Bellafea was up next, and I was rather interested in hearing them. This three piece really reminded me of the better post-hardcore/angular indie from the late 90's. There was the abrasive sonic aspect and metrical changes of At the Drive In, as well as more reigned in moments that were similar to Denali and Engine Down. If I were sixteen again, I probably would have gone ape-shit over their set and would have fallen in love with Heather, the singer/guitarist. However, I am not sixteen anymore, so I just go ape-shit over seeing the Mountain Goats these days and fall in love with John Darnielle.

Last night's Mountain Goats set was a solo one for Darnielle, and was the first time I've seen him play sans-Peter Hughes. I figured it would be a good night from the moment JD walked on stage wearing a t-shirt that said "True Norwegian Black Metal" in Olde English font. I can't remember the entire set, but here is a run through of songs I can recall in order.

Palmcorder Yajna
'New song that was a throwaway from the new record'
Neon Orange Glimmer Song
Dilaudid
Evening In Stalingrad
Keeping House
Game Shows Touch Our Lives
New Monster Avenue
Snow Crush Killing Song
Dance Music
Color In Your Cheeks
Broom People
The Mess Inside
Going to Georgia
Love Love Love
See America Right

(encore)
Jenny
No Children

I am fairly sure those were the songs played. They may be a bit out of order. John said after a couple songs that he decided to put lots of material from Full Force Galesburg in the setlist and wanted to know if anyone minded, and of course there was applause. However, it became evident that the setlist was out of the window halfway through the set for multiple reasons - 1. John couldn't remember the tuning to a song he said "hasn't been played since 1996," 2. John couldn't read the setlist because he didn't have his glasses on, and 3. the crowd was full of people yelling requests at the stage. If JD didn't know a song requested, he would say, "Don't remember that one any more." The call for songs became a bit annoying after a couple rounds of it. I really wish people would just let John play what he wants to play. Sure you might really want to hear him play "This Year" or "No Children." We all do. But do you really want to hear it for the third song? Or do you want John Darnielle to close with it? Wait your turn.

I like seeing the Mountain Goats in any lineup possible, and really did enjoy last night's performance. But I feel like John has a little bit more fun and looks a lot livelier when Mr. Peter Hughes is up there next to him. So, yes, Peter was missed. Who doesn't like Peter Hughes? The man is a great bassist and seems like an all around nice guy. And who else has John Darnielle recorded a record in honor of and called a savior? No one. Anytime the Mountain Goats are on stage, it will be a good time. Any time Peter Hughes is missing, it won't be the same either. John did give us some of his usual hilarious stage banter, likening playing "Going to Georgia" to seeing an ex-wife after twelve years and starting to kiss her and thinking, "Oh, why am I doing this," but by the time the kiss gets to tongue you are like, "Oh yeah, this is great!"



My definite favorite from the night had to be John's inclusion of "Snow Crush Killing Song" and "Neon Orange Glimmer Song" from Sweden. "Snow Crush" had a little extra push behind it that made it great to sing along with. When the Mountain Goats play, there will always be songs left out that you want in. I doubt John ever plays "Sendero Luminoso Verdadero" anymore. It is sad anytime "This Year" isn't played live. And playing a show in Carrboro should always mean he has to play "Wild Sage" just for the 15-501 reference. I've never seen John play "Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" live. But for every song he doesn't play, he delivers with "Snow Crush" or "Orange Glimmer." Or "The Mess Inside." Take your pick.

Oddly enough, after John's last Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill show in May at the Local 506, I heard him talking with a guy afterwards and the guy asked about "The Mess Inside." John said he never played that song anymore but would make sure to play it next time he was in town. He delivered. You have to love John Darnielle.

I might or might not be going to see The National supported by Doveman tonight. Will probably be a last minute decision.

Headlines

A few key parts from the lead story in today's Daily Tar Heel.

Car chase fails to nab stabbing suspect

Police are still looking for a man called 'Young Buck'

Then a quote from an innocent bystander:

"I seen the car come around the corner, and I was like, 'Damn, he's going fast!'" said Darrell Walt, who was riding his motorcycle nearby as the chase ended. "Of course, he lost it, and they were right on his butt."

I really got a kick out of this article, even though it is rather serious in subject. By the way, if you know the identity or location of "Young Buck," you should call the Chapel Hill Police Department.