Looking for something to do this holiday weekend? See our picks for some fun local events.
Jay Blakesberg/Retna LTD.
Nash’s band, The Waybacks, comes to Kirk Avenue Music Hall on Wednesday night to share a bill with formidable roots singer John Cowan and his band. Read story and get details.
Here, Nash talks about the band’s MerleFest experiences, including the “Hillside Album Hour,” which grows in reputation. And we stream songs from the band’s latest CD, “Loaded” (Compass Records).
Thanks to Michelle Canterbury for hipping me to this situation. This list might be incomplete, because Michelle says that Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band is on for Oct. 19, and that’s not on the club’s myspace page yet.
For now, the room is listing Perpetual Groove, EOTO, The Pietasters and Carbon Leaf. I can’t complain about the variety.
Sep 11 2009 12:00A
Sons of Bill @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Sep 18 2009 12:00A
Ben Phelps Project @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Sep 29 2009 12:00A
Two Fresh @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Oct 2 2009 9:00P
Farm Vegas @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Oct 3 2009 9:00P
The Pietasters @ Attitudes Bar & Cafe
Oct 6 2009 9:00P
Perpetual Groove @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Oct 9 2009 9:00P
Carbon Leaf @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Oct 26 2009 9:00P
EOTO @ Attitudes Bar and Cafe
Sep 2 2009 9:30P
THE Comedy Club with MC Anthony Quinn (rep) @ Attitudes
Sep 3 2009 10:00P
College Nite with DJ Squirrel (rep) @ Attitues Bar
My colleague Amy Matzke-Fawcett, at the New River bureau, turned in this piece on The Lantern’s demise.
The room brought in a good many bands over the past year. I only got down there a couple of times, but it was everything I love in a rock ‘n’ roll dive. The room was sort of colorfully dingy, with good, greasy food and a beat-up stage with no buffer between band and crowd — in short, a great indie-rock Chitlin’ circuit joint.
I’d love to see someone with some gumption rent that room and let it be what it’s made for. What would you do with The Lantern?
Crowd, under tarps, hears Louisiana music
About 5:15 p.m., the rain started falling hard for about a half-hour. Workers pulled out tarps to cover gear and people at the folklife stage, where members of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas and with members of Hot 8 Brass Band played through it.
The Hot 8, from New Orleans, and accordionist/singer Nathan Williams, from Lafayette, La., had seen worse in their lives. At least a hundred listeners got soaked and danced along, then followed The Hot 8 on a second-line parade up the main path, with an assist by folklife stage host Jon Lohman, decked out in a nutty Mardi Gras outfit.
By then, the rain has slowed considerably. As the parade neared the holler stage, a rainbow was arcing toward the main stage.
Second-line parade up main path
Rainbow arcs beyond the site
No sooner do 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and Black Stone Cherry leave town than the civic center announces another big rock package.
It’ll be on a Tuesday, so you rockers plan to miss work on Wednesday.
Show details: Staind, Shinedown, Chevelle, Halestorm at Roanoke Civic Center, 7 p.m. July 7. Roanoke Civic Center.
“STIMULATE THIS!” TOUR 2009
Tickets On-Sale: FRIDAY, MAY 22 AT 10AM
ROANOKE CIVIC CENTER TICKET OFFICE;
TICKETS.COM; CHARGE BY PHONE @ 888-397-3100
$44.50 GA FLOOR / $39.75 & $22.00 RESERVED
*PLUS APPLICABLE FEES
White, a Roanoke County native, makes his home in Blountville, Tenn., nowadays. The nationally syndicated PBS show he hosts, “Song of the Mountains,” begins its fourth season run on Saturday. On the podcast, White discusses aspects of his history, which includes plenty of picking and the Birthplace of Country Music mural he painted on State Street, Bristol, Tenn.
Producer’s notes: Shilling, a Martinsville boy who now lives in Nashville, has been a podcast friend for a long time. He and VanCleve met up with me backstage at the MerleFest main stage, shortly before their band, Mountain Heart, played a hot set with bluegrass guitar genius Tony Rice.
In a couple of hours, I’m headed over to Kirk Avenue Music Hall, where Ed Walker has called a “gathering of the tribes” — local musicians, promoters, club owners, studio folks, music fans, etc., to get together and work on ways to build up the city’s music scene.
With that in mind, here’s the question: What are the best things about this town’s scene? The worst things?
On Sunday night, I went to hear an amazing act, Bobby Lee Rodgers/Jeff Sipe Project. Aside from people working the show and myself, there was one person there — that was rapper Toni Blackman, who just arrived in Roanoke for some Jefferson Center stuff. The band played a set anyway, and killed it.
I wrote a column that we’ll publish later in the week, in which I go over a few of the likely reasons for the pathetic attendance. But for now, let’s do the question of the week:
What was the saddest turnout you’ve ever seen for the most deserving band?
My pal Jeri comes up with all kinds of entertaining words. Here’s one — Lyricosis. That’s her word for the inability to correctly understand song lyrics. Here, she gives us an amusing anecdote:
> I’ve had multiple cases of it. I didn’t get one particular diagnosis and cure until this past summer, and the song came out in 1973, I believe. That’s a long time to be singing, Bruce Springsteen’s, “Hot Devil In The Freezer” while all along the correct lyrics were “10th Avenue Freeze Out.”
So, any of you all suffer from Lyricosis? Please, spill the embarrassing details. I’ll bet Wendy Maxey can drop a few on us.
