Triangle Music

The Love Language are opening their first of three shows with indie rock legends Guided By Voices tonight, which as their current schedule shakes out, could be their last shows of the year. But now the band has released their first music video from the album for the song "Heart To Tell."

Watch the video below, which appears to have been shot at The Pour House. It's similar to the video for "Sparxxx" (see that video here) in that it features the band playing surrounded by a bunch of friends and fans. This time they're just playing The Pour House instead of a crazy house party. Either way, "Heart To Tell" is a great song and a this is a fun little video.

There have been a lot of complaints in the past few years about the decibel limit at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. These complaints reached a peak during the 2010 season with both concertgoers and bands left unhappy.

But things are going to be a bit louder during the 2011 season. The Cary Town Council voted on October 14 to increase the decibel limit from 92 to 95. This should make for happier touring acts and much happier concertgoers.

Those heading to Asheville this weekend for the excellent MoogFest may be in for a little disappointment. The legendary quirky pop group Devo have had to cancel all of their upcoming shows due to an injury sustained by guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh. A shard of glass sliced the guitarist's right thumb to the bone. That's a photo of him to the right there after undergoing surgery.

The canceled shows includes the band's set at MoogFest that was scheduled for Friday night, but founding members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale will still be on hand to receive the first ever Moog Innovation Award.

[UPDATE: Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale are still going to perform. It may be a collaboration with another band at the festival or in some other form, but the duo have promised something "immensely entertaining."]

1990s Raleigh pop rockers Far Too Jones have been fairly inactive for many years, popping up every so often for shows like many disbanded local bands. The group is getting back together in early 2011 though celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Lincoln Theatre.

The show is scheduled for Saturday, February 5. Openers and ticket prices have not been announced yet, but we'll keep you posted.

[UPDATE: Tickets for the show will be $12 and go on sale via etix on Friday, November 19. Another old local pop rock group, Runaway Cab, will open the show.]

Stream the songs "Close To You" and "As Good As You" from the band's 1998 album Picture Perfect Walls below.

Veteran folk songstress Patty Larkin has announced a new round of tour dates in 2011 in support of her latest release 25, a two-disc collection featuring songs from her 25 year career, reworked with a variety of special guests like Roseanne Cash and Shawn Colvin.

Larkin will be making a stop at the Casbah in Durham on Thursday, January 6. Wisconsin singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey, who is featured on 25, will open the show. Tickets will be $18 in advance and will available via etix soon.

Watch a video of Larkin's performance of the song "Hallelujah" for the website MusicFog.com below where you'll also find her tour schedule.

Do you "Live on a Prayer" or "Give Love a Bad Name?" Then get ready because Jersey's own 1980s icons turned music mainstays Bon Jovi are heading out on a new leg of their "The Circle Tour" in 2011.

The fifth date on the newly announced tour will bring the band to the Triangle. They'll play the RBC Center in Raleigh on Monday, February 21. Tickets will range from $27.05 to $149.50 (which includes fees). Pre-sale will go on sale on Monday, November 1 here. The general on sale date is not available yet.

Bon Jovi will be releasing a new two-disc greatest hits collection on November 9 titled Greatest Hits - The Ultimate Collection.

Minneapolis indie rock band Tapes 'n Tapes will be releasing their third full-length album on January 11 titled Outside. The release will be followed with a hefty North American tour that will keep the band on the road from late January to mid March.

The tour will stop at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Thursday, February 10. Tickets for the show go on sale on Friday, October 29 via etix for $14.

Download the jaunty, jangly pop tune "Freak Out" from the new album below where you'll also find the complete tour schedule.

R&B and soul legend Diana Ross is preparing to hit the road on a new tour dubbed "More Today Than Yesterday." The tour promises to feature Ross' greatest hits that will surely delight fans.

The tour will come to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on Friday, March 11, 2011. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, November 5 at 10 a.m. here. They will be $47.25 to $137, which includes fees.

Check out a recent video of Ross performing "I Will Survive" in Los Angeles below. It looks like at 66 years old, she can still put on a hell of a show. She brings a massive band along with her on tour featuring strings, horns and much more which brings all her of classics life.

Sadly, the band The Broken West split up in 2009 which seems to have gone unannounced until now. The band played a great set at the XX Merge festival in Carrboro in July 2009 (check out photos and a review here), but the split must have been after that.

Well have no fear, because frontman Ross Flournoy has a new band called Apex Manor who will release their debut album, The Year of Magical Drinking, via Merge Records on January 25. Download the fantastic, uber-catchy song "Under the Gun" that kicked off the creative process for the album below.

The band will hit the road as a trio in 2011 which will include stops as SXSW in Austin. We'll keep you posted if they announce any Triangle dates.

After a sold out show at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh last November, the Hasidic rapper will return to the Triangle this November at a considerably larger venue.

He'll perform in Durham at Page Auditorium on Duke University's campus on Wednesday, November 17. Freddie Gibbs will open the show.

Tickets go on sale to for Duke students and employees on Tuesday, November 2 at 10 a.m., $15 for students and $25 for employees. The public on sale begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 4 for $30 for the public and $25 for non-Duke students. They can be purchased here or at the box office in the Bryan Center.

Photo by Kevin Norris

Julian Koster's merry band of carolers, better known as The Music Tapes, are hitting the road again this year on an impressively long stretch of dates extending from November 4 to January 15. Like last year, the group will be playing at people's homes in each town.

While most of the dates will feature both holiday songs and non-holiday song, the Raleigh, NC date of the tour won't happen until January 9, so the holiday songs will likely be sparse to non-existent. There will be older Music Tapes songs, as well as songs from his forthcoming album due out in 2011.

If you want the group to consider your home on their route, email lullabyedeliveries@gmail.com or send a letter to The Minister of Lullabies at 450 N Harris St, Athens, GA 30601. You have to be willing to host other local guests in your home.

Frontman of the excellent Scottish band Travis, Fran Healy, has just announced some new dates supporting his new solo album Wreckorder. After a run of dates supporting The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers in November, Healy will head out on a headlining tour.

The tour will bring him to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Tuesday, December 7. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, October 29 via etix for $20.

[UPDATE: Bad news. Just two days before the show at the Cat's Cradle, it has been announced that the show has been canceled. Healy has canceled a few other shows on the tour due to a personal issue involving his son Clay. The Cat's Cradle is going to try to book a new date in the near future. We'll keep you posted.]

Durham's shiny new Motorco Music Hall is off to a fantastic start when it comes to hosting shows with great, mostly local acts. Saturday night's Love Language show was no exception.

First up was Cashes Rivers, a folksy rock quartet out of Des Moines, Iowa. They played a short set that was a bit lackluster, though certainly not bad. Towards the end of their set, they handed out kazoos to encourage audience participation, which delighted the few people who got one.

The Autumn Defense, side project of Wilco members John Stirratt and Pat Sansone, have filled their fourth album, Once Around, with layers of harmony and nostalgia.

One part Americana, one part pop, Once Around establishes itself strongly from the start. "Back of My Mind" and "Tell Me What You Want" inspire the same kind of wistful reflections as The Wonder Years. The latter is a classic break up song and its big, gradual crescendo makes it stand out from other tunes on the album.

Most of the album could be described as easy listening, clicking along at a pace no faster than a Carousel slide projector. The layers of vocals, along with the occasional string overture, make for a comforting sound that the listener can just sink into.

There is now one more Triangle band to add to the growing list of those who have recorded a session for the very popular site Daytrotter. Raleigh band American Aquarium's session has just been made available to download and stream here.

Three of the four songs of the session are from the band's latest album Small Town Hymns, "Rattlesnake," "Hurricane" and "Reidsville." They also played the song "Bigger In Texas" from their 2008 album Bones.

American Aquarium's next local show is at The Pour House in Raleigh on Saturday, December 4 with House of Fools. Advance tickets are available here for $8. Check out the rest of the band's tour scheduled below.

At first of two big homecoming shows for The Love Language last night at Kings, the band pulled out interesting cover cover of The Smashing Pumpkins hit "Tonight, Tonight." Check out a video of the performance below thanks to YouTube user amorfati14. The video is not great, but the sound is decent.

It appears that the Lost in the Trees, string section from the band's big Cradle show (check out a review at photos of that show here) in July were at Kings to add some extra oomph to the show.

The band will play Motorco Music Hall in Durham on Saturday, October 23. Tickets for the show are still available here for $11.54.

World famous American trumpeter Chris Botti will be coming to the Triangle to perform with the North Carolina Symphony in 2011.

The concert will be on Tuesday, May 17 at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, November 12 at 10 a.m. here, starting at $38.

This will be the first time DPAC, the Carolina Theatre and The North Carolina Symphony have worked together to produce an event. DPAC seems like it would certainly be a great room to see a concert of this nature in.

Check out a video of Botti performing "My Valentine" below.

The music of singer songwriter Matthew Garcia shines on the self-titled debut album from the Des Moines collective Cashes Rivers.

The band stretches its wings, trying out a variety of sounds on the album. The bombastic folk sound of "Tracks" is reminiscent of Okkervil River, especially on the song "Tracks" while "Our Boats" is similar to The New Pornographers or Ted Leo.

The groovy rhythm and clavinet on "Man Made of Mud" harkens back to the British invasion. The chugging acoustic song "Local Drunk" even borders on emo (I know that's a scary word, but it's not a negative here).

If you missed the approximately 47 seconds that Guided by Voices tickets were on sale before they sold out for this Friday's reunion show at Cat's Cradle, you're in luck. We've got one pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader.

To win, email trianglemusicblog at gmail dot com with "GBV tickets" in the subject line no later than 5 p.m. tomorrow, October 21. We will randomly select one winner and notify them that evening. Please be fair and only send one email per person, not per email account. We do notice these things and you will be disqualified.

Good luck, and thanks to the folks at Cat's Cradle for sponsoring this giveaway!

UPDATE: Contest is now closed. Congratulations to Mark M.!

Caribou will wrap its international fall tour with a show at Cat's Cradle this Halloween, and we're giving away a pair of tickets to the show.

To win, email trianglemusicblog at gmail dot com with "Caribou tickets" in the subject line no later than Friday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. One entry per person, please! We will randomly choose a winner and notify them that evening.

Tickets to the show are $16 in advance via etix and $18 at the door. Veelee will open the show.

Photo by Liz Devine

Former Everybodyfields member Sam Quinn is heading back on the road to continue supporting his fantastic album The Fake That Sunk a Thousand Ships (check out our album review here).

He'll be stopping a the new Durham club Casbah on Thursday, November 4. The Farewell Drifters and The Apache Relay are also on the bill. Ticket info isn't available yet, but we'll keep you posted.

[UPDATE: Tickets are available via etix for just $6. It also appears that Sam Quinn is first on the bill of three bands with The Farewell Drifters headlining.]

Check out a review and photos of Quinn's show at Local 506 in May here. Check out a video of him performing the song "Mardi Gras" for Carls' Country Club below where you'll also find his complete tour schedule.

Singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle is gearing up for a new round of tour dates between Thanksgiving and Christmas supporting his new album Harlem River Blues, released in September via Bloodshot Records.

Earle's tour will bring him to the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Monday, December 13. Nashville singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose will open the show. Tickets are on sale now via etix for $15.

Download the title track from the new album below and check out Earle's complete tour schedule down there too.

Eccentric writer, artist, filmmaker, actor and many other titles, John Waters, is heading out on a one man Christmas tour this December that promises to put the X back in Xmas.

Waters' "rapid-fire monologue explores and explodes the traditional holiday rituals and traditions as he shares his compulsive desire to give and receive perverted gifts, a religious fanaticism for Santa Claus, and an unhealthy love of real life holiday horror stories." It should be pretty crazy.

The tour will stop at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on Wednesday, December 15. Tickets for the show will go on sale Friday, October 22 at 10 a.m. here for $39 or $29.

Local duo Mandolin Orange is growing up and out. Their Saturday night set at Local 506 showed that since coming together last July, Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin have kept themselves busy with writing and re-writing songs new and old.

Greg Humphreys opened the show with some gentle acoustic songs. His songs were simple, but not boring. Humphreys kept the crowd's ears with his neat blend of folk and jazz, a far cry from the funk-rock he usually creates with Hobex. Frantz and Marlin joined him for a few songs at the end of his set, but he did quite well on his own.

Filthybird’s sophomore full-length, Songs For Other People, is often gentle with a leisurely pace, but it doesn’t lull the listener to sleep. Subtle dissonances and syncopated rhythms keep tension throughout and ears attentive.

There are familiar feelings all throughout the entire album, but they’re ever so slightly tweaked. The band walks a line between comforting and uneasy sounds and it does so brilliantly.

Aiding in this balance is Renee Mendoza’s hypnotizing vocals. She accentuates the twang in her voice frequently, but she’s also able to rein it in when appropriate like on “Stephen Dedalus.” On the next song, “Leaving Trail,” Mendoza shows yet another side of her voice with a unique falsetto.

Fresh off of their big show at Walnut Creek last weekend, The Avett Brothers have announced the details of their annual New Year's shows. This year, there will be two shows, both in Asheville at the Asheville Civic Center.

The shows will be on December 30 and 31. Truth and Salvage will open the show on the December 30 and David Mayfield Parade will open the December 31 show.

Pre-sale tickets will be made available on Tuesday, October 19. To be eligible for pre-sale tickets, you must be signed up for the Avetts email list by 5 p.m. Monday, October 18. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon on Friday, October 22.

The Love Language are in the midst of their fall tour and will be swinging through the Triangle for not one but two shows next week — and we're giving away a pair of tickets to each show.

To enter to win a pair of tickets to see The Love Language at Kings in Raleigh on Thursday, October 21, email us at trianglemusicblog at gmail dot come with "Love Language at Kings" in the subject line no later than Tuesday at 5 p.m.

To enter to win a pair of tickets to see The Love Language at Motorco Music Hall in Durham on Saturday, October 23, email us at trianglemusicblog at gmail dot come with "Love Language at Motorco" in the subject line no later than Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Veteran ska punk band Less Than Jake are hitting the road early in 2011 for a hefty month long tour that will bring them to the Triangle.

They will play the Motorco Music Hall in Durham on Friday, January 21. Punknews.org is reporting that the show is part of a two-day festival on January 21 and 22 at Motorco called Death To False Hope Fest, named after the Durham-based DIY label who is celebrating their second anniversary.

Pre-sale tickets are available now for Less Than Jake's night headlining the show here for $34.95, which includes a signed poster. There are other more expensive pre-sale packages, too, which include various other extra goodies. There's no word yet on standard ticket sales for the festival other than they're supposed to go on sale on November 8.

The American Beauty Project featuring Ollabelle with special guests Jim Lauderdale, Catherine Russell, Aoife O'Donovan and David Mansfield will be at Page Auditorium on Friday night, October 15 performing songs of the Grateful Dead and we have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader.

To win, email us at trianglemusicblog at gmail dot com with "American Beauty tickets" in the subject line no later than 12 p.m. tomorrow, October 15. We will randomly choose a winner and notify them on Friday afternoon.

Tickets for the show are $18, $26 or $32 for the public or just $5 for Duke students. You can buy your tickets here or at the Bryan Center box office on Duke's campus.

The Henry Clay People Photo by Justin Weber

"We may not have the technique down for this song, but we’ve got the feeling."

That’s what lead singer Andy Siara of The Henry Clay People said to the audience of less than 30 at Local 506 Wednesday night right before the band ripped into a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s "Born to Run" to end the night. It’s a statement that applies to the band as a whole.

That blue collar feeling is there, but the songwriting is rough around the edges. It’s easy to hear why the band gets compared to The Hold Steady and Titus Andronicus, but unlike them The Henry Clay People don’t have any tunes that will blow you away. Most of what they played came from their new album Somewhere on the Golden Coast.

Circa Survive is kicks off their headlining tour this week in support of their new album Blue Sky Noise, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away for the band's stop at Cat's Cradle next Tuesday, October 19.

To win, email us at trianglemusicblog at gmail dot com with "Circa Survive tickets" in the subject line no later than 5 p.m. tomorrow, October 15. We will randomly choose a winner and notify them tomorrow evening.

Tickets to the show are $16.50 in advance via etix for $18 at the door. Dredg, Codeseven, and Animals As Leaders will open the show.

Chapel Hill quartet Butterflies are gearing up for the release of their new album Residual Child, which will be out on Nov. 23 via Trekky Records. Ahead of the release, download the jangle pop tune "Goodbye (Like a Stranger)" from the album below.

The band will celebrate the release of their new album with a big release show at the Cat's Cradle on Saturday, Nov. 20 with The Strugglers, Erie Choir and Cassis Orange. Ticket info for the show is not available yet, but they'll be available via etix.

[UPDATE: Butterflies album release show at the Cradle will be free.]

If you can't wait to see Butterflies, they'll be playing Local 506 on Friday, Oct. 22 with North Elementary and Honored Guests. Tickets for the show are $6 and available now via etix.

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Powerpop trio Jukebox the Ghost are in the midst of a hectic fall tour schedule that has them opening for Guster and Barenaked Ladies as well as headlining their own shows. The band are showing no signs of slowing down since dates are now reaching into December

The band will be playing Durham's new venue Casbah on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Advance tickets are on sale now via etix for $9.

The band just released their sophomore album Everything Under the Sun via Yep Roc Records in September. Check out our review of the album here, download the song "Empire" below and watch the music video for "Schizophrenia" below too.

Photo by Gary Isaacs

Crooked Fingers, led by singer songwriter Eric Bachman, has been busy working on a follow-up to his last full-length, 2008's Forfeit/Fortune, which is supposed to complete by the end of the year. In the meantime though, Crooked Fingers are hitting the road for a short east coast tour in December.

The tour will kick off in at Local 506 in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Tickets will go on sale soon via etix for $12. The excellent Mount Moriah will open the show.

[UPDATE: Cotton Jones has been added to the bill. Check out a review of their latest album Tall Hours in the Glowstream here.]

The Henry Clay People and The Dig are on tour together in support of their new albums, and we're giving away a pair of tickets for you to check out their show at Local 506 this Wednesday, October 13.

In order to win, email us at trianglemusicblog at gmail dot com with "Local 506 tickets" in the subject line no later than 5 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12. We'll randomly draw a winner and notify them tomorrow evening.

Tickets to Wednesday's show are $8 and are available via etix.

It's time for WXDU's annual record fair, but this year it's not going to be at Duke Coffeehouse. Since the  timing this year is perfect, the fair is being held at the Nasher Museum at Duke which is currently displaying the excellent exhibit The Record.

The fair his happening on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free for both the fair and the exhibit. In addition to vinyl, there will be CDs and other things for sale.

Last year, the Only Burger truck was scheduled to be there, but there's no word yet on whether it'll make an appearance this year. You'll just have to go or follow Only Burger on Twitter to find out.

After eight years and a small name change, John Darnielle and Franklin Bruno return as The Extra Lens with Undercard.

Musically, it’s difficult to separate The Extra Lens from Darnielle’s main act, The Mountain Goats, these days. In 2002 it was still a novelty to hear Darnielle in hi-fi and with more than just acoustic guitar.

Now the differences are more subtle: the gentler use of percussion, the nimble arrangements and the variety of musical styles. While Darnielle’s lyrics will always take center stage, Bruno does an excellent job creating an atmosphere for each song.

Photos by Allison Hussey

Concord quartet The Avett Brothers played a much anticipated, long overdue Triangle show last night at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. It was their first Triangle show since opening for Dave Matthews in April of 2009, and their first area headlining show since the Gleam II release/homecoming show at Cary's Booth Amphitheatre in July 2008. There were a few doubtful murmurs that the group could handle headlining such a large venue, but those murmurs were quickly hushed once the evening began.

Brandi Carlile opened the show with a short set of guitar-driven, country-tinged rock. The crowd was still pretty sparse as she took the stage, and she took the time to thank those who had bothered showing up to see the opening act. Some of the crowd seemed unsure about the Seattle native until she broke out her Johnny Cash covers — "Jackson" sliding right into "Folsom Prison Blues." Carlile brought her set to a close with a beautiful cover of Alphaville's 1984 hit "Forever Young." Though a longer set may have been appreciated, the crowd was eager to get to the main event: The Avett Brothers.

Durham's Mount Moriah have released a stunningly beautiful new music video for the even more stunning song "Old Gowns." The video was filmed by Hueism Pictures and produced by photographer D.L. Anderson. Watch it below and be blown away.

Mount Moriah have a busy couple of months ahead of them that will have them opening shows for the Indigo Girls in late October and the Amy Ray Band in November.

Before hitting the road, the band will play Local Beer Local Band night at Tir Na Nog on Thursday, Oct. 21 with Filthybird and Old Bricks. Those Local Beer Local Band shows are always free.

Indiana singer songwriter and family farm advocate John Mellencamp is launching the first leg of his new tour dubbed No Better Than This (the name of his latest album) in late October. He has now announced the second leg in early 2011 that will bring him to the Triangle.

Mellencamp will play the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on Tuesday, March 1. Tickets for the show will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 15 here. They will be $54.95 to $143.30 including fees.

Instead of an opening act, there will be a screening of the film It's About You which documented Mellencamp's tour of minor league baseball stadiums with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in 2009 as well as the making of his latest album. It was shot on Super8 film and directed by Kurt Markus. Check out the music video for the song "No Better Than This" below which features footage from the film.

There is going to be an amazing all-star tribute to Big Star at the Cat's Cradle in December with a line-up to knock your socks off. The two-night show, dubbed Stroke It, Noel, will feature a fully orchestrated performance of Big Star's album Third/Sister Lovers.

Chris Stamey is organizing the event and will be in the band, which will also feature none other than Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills, Jeff Crawford (of a boatload of bands), Mitch Easter and The Tomahawks' Charles Cleaver as well as members of Lost in the Trees, Birds and Arrows and the North Carolina Symphony. There will also be guest vocalists including members of The Love Language, Megafaun and The Old Ceremony.

All photos by Tim Lytvinenko

We were unable to make it out to the Gayngs show at the Cat's Cradle on Wednesday night, which was a huge bummer, but fortunately, thanks to photographer and friend of the blog Tim Lytvinenko, we have some photos to share with you.

Check them out below and be sure to head over to Tim's site and check out more of his photos including some additional ones of Gayngs.

The stupendous string band Old Crow Medicine Show are hitting the road for a short run of dates in November which will bring them back to the Triangle for the first time playing their own show since 2009's Big Surprise Tour.

The band will play Memorial Hall on UNC's campus on Friday, Nov. 12. Student tickets will go on sale on Monday Oct. 18 for $15 and tickets will be made available to the public on Monday, Nov. 1 here for $25.

The group are still supporting their 2008 album Tennessee Pusher. Most of the band were last in the area as Dave Rawlings Machine's band in November. Check out a review and photos of that show here.

All photos by Kevin Norris

New York sextet Dirty Projectors wrapped their current tour on Tuesday night at Page Auditorium on Duke's campus with a bombastic set of experimental pop.

Bright, spastic guitar riffs, staccato female vocals and a tight, groovy rhythm section dominated the night. The band's music feels improvised much of the time, but the group is so tight, it seems impossible that much of it is left to chance.

"Knotty Pine," the band's contribution to the Dark Was the Night compilation, was an early stand out in the set. They also played a few songs, "No Embrace" and "Beautiful Mother," from their recent collaboration with Bjork titled Mount Wittenberg Orca.

The Avett Brothers are back with their third live album, aptly titled Live, Volume 3. The album, which is also available on DVD, was recorded at the band's big hometown show at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte in August 2009.

The album showcases the band's raucous, high energy live performances the band have become known for, but that's a double-edged sword when recorded. The energy is fantastic, but the recording makes the sloppiness of the live show apparent, with the band sawing away at their various stringed instruments wildly. In an interview on the DVD, Seth Avett calls the band's live sound "a beautiful mess," which is very fitting.

All photos by Kevin Norris

The National strolled onto the stage at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium Monday night, wowing the crowd with a lengthy set spanning their last four albums.

They kicked things off with the Boxer classic "Start a War" and were joined by a pair of horn players who stuck around for the entire set adding a little extra color to the band's tunes.

The set was heavy on songs from The National's latest album High Violet as well as their breakthrough album Boxer. A few older tunes were big hits in the set too, including the raucous "Abel" and the even older "Available."

October has finally brought North Carolina some cooler weather and it's also time for another month of free Local Beer Local Band shows at Tir Na Nog in Raleigh presented by WKNC.

Things will kick off on Oct. 7 with an Odessa Records showcase featuring Wild Wild Geese, Wesley Wolfe and Shit Horse.

Other bands throughout the month include The Honored Guests, Brett Harris, Mount Moriah, Old Bricks and A Rooster For the Masses. Check out the full October schedule below.

WKNC has also released a digital compilation album featuring a track from each of the bands scheduled to play Local Beer Local Band this fall. Check that out here.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of their/his debut album The Swiss Army Romance, Dashboard Confessional (Chris Carrabba) are re-releasing the album and launching a tour this fall that will take them all around the eastern half of the U.S.

The third date of the tour is at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, Nov. 7 via etix for $25. Pre-sale tickets are available via the band's fanclub site now.

Check out a performance of the anniversary album's title track below along with the complete tour schedule.

The Tomahawks' debut album, Cut Loose, clocks in at a pretty quick 35 minutes, but it’s plenty of time for this Chapel Hill band to prove that they could be the next local band everybody is talking about.

Even in its most intense moments, The Tomahawks’ music has a rolling feel and is generally laid back. The album starts out in a more pop-flavored direction, but gradually shifts to Americana as it progresses.

Beyond the energetic opener “Dear Mary,” the first half of Cut Loose isn’t as well developed as it could be. Most of the songs feel almost there, but they are missing something — a wittier lyric or a catchier melody — that could make them more memorable.