newsobserver.com blogs -- beat

New York and Boston go to war over...Dvorak?

dmenconi — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0500

So you might think that Red Sox-Yankees or last week's Super Bowl represents the ultimate New York-Boston rivalry. But there's plenty of competition for that title, because bitter disputes between New York and Boston are a time-honored tradition -- and sometimes, they're centered on some unlikely subjects. Like the 1893 premiere of Dvorak's "From the New World," which New York just loved but Boston simply hated. For more on that, see the preview of the NC Symphony's "Dvorak and America" program in Sunday's paper.

Live-blogging the 2012 Grammys: How will our peeps do?

dmenconi — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:00:00 -0500

Chances are, Sunday night's Grammy Awards won't be nearly as exciting for us in North Carolina as last year's model and its stunning finale -- even if it's certain to be a somber occasion, given Saturday night's events. But year in and year out, the telecast is always one of the most reliably entertaining trainwrecks in show business.

So come on back to this space when it starts at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and we will break snark together. Check the photo gallery, too.

7:40 p.m. -- Some awards have been given out in the pre-telecast portion of the program, and the Triangle already has a couple of Grammys in hand. Bon Iver, Raleigh alumnus Justin Vernon’s band, has won best alternative album; so even if he comes up empty in his other three nominations (best new artist and record/song of the year), Vernon won’t be going home empty-handed.

Durham-based Merge Records also won a Grammy for best recording package, for the expanded version of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” (which won album of the year last year, you may recall). And Levon Helm’s best-Americana-album victory for “Ramble at the Rynam” gives some shine to Greensboro songwriter Laurelyn Dossett – whose song “Anna Lee” Helm including on the album.

As for those falling short, Jim Lauderdale and Steep Canyon Rangers lost out to Alison Krauss for best bluegrass album; Durham-based Marsalis Music fell short for best large jazz ensemble album; and Asheville’s Warren Haynes lost to Tedeschi Trucks Band for best blues album.

More to come…

7:52 -- CBS' pre-Grammy "60 Minutes" feature with Adele closes with a plug for online outtakes. You can go there for the "Funniest moments with Adele...brought to you by Viagra." Oh, yeah...

8:00 -- "Ladies and gentlemen...Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!" Not a bad way to start. Not surprisingly, it's his new single, "We Take Care of Our Own." A little ragged on the vocal, but it's all good.

8:03 -- You know, I wish we did take care of our own here in America. Alas, seems like that's kind of been the problem in recent years.

8:05 -- Host LL Cool J out, asking "how to speak to these times." Also not surprisingly, the evening's first Whitney Houston reference. LL leads the audience in a prayer for her, followed by a clip of her belting out "I Will Always Love You" a few years back.

8:09 -- Okay, Mr. Cool J, this monologue is going on a little too long...

8:10 -- "O.G. Paul McCartney?" Seriously, dude?!

8:11 -- Bruno Mars is out to do his performance. And even if his hopped-up R&B revue ain't your kind of thing, Mars is one of those performers who seems impossible to dislike. He is one good-lookin' cat, too.

8:13 -- Mars is trying to whip the crowd up, first with a Whitney Houston reference and second with a plea for everyone to "get up offa your rich asses!" Oooh...

8:21 -- Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys out to do Etta James' "Sunday Kind of Love," in tribute to her and Houston. Nice; Raitt just owns this, and Keys is keeping up with her.

8:23 -- Raitt and Keys present best pop solo vocal performance; Lady Gaga looks like she's wearing mesh. And the winner is...Adele. No surprise at all, although Mars is jumping up and down; in anger, perhaps? Excited for her? No idea...

8:25 -- Adele's accent is about the most charming thing ever. Nicely done on her acceptance speech; which is lead-in to Chris Brown's performance...

8:27 -- How is it that there's not a best-aerobics-record Grammy? If they gave that one out, Brown would be the prohibitive favorite. Dude's got moves, no doubt about it.

8:28 -- Chris Brown, continued: I thought the Super Bowl halftime show was last weekend.

8:35 -- Fergie and Marc Anthony out for some excruciating banter, and to present best rap performance; which goes to...Jay-Z and Kanye West. Who aren't here. Oh well.

8:37 -- Reba McEntire out to introduce the unlikely couple of Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean to duet on "Don't You Wanna Stay." Nice to have them on the same stage, actually; at her recent DPAC show, Clarkson did this one accompanied by a 30-foot-high hologram of Aldean onstage, which was kinda creepy.

8:46 -- Jack Black introduces Foo Fighters with a reference to indie cred and (I think) a slight to Bon Iver. Hmm. Still, Foo Fighters are perfectly likable. I think Dave Grohl might be his generation's Tom Petty; and it's cool that they're playing out in the Staples Center parking lot.

8:56 -- Rihanna and Coldplay, together again for the very first time as one of Grammy's odd-couple pairings; this should be...interesting...

8:58 -- Two minutes in, this is a heckuva lot more Rihanna (and her cast of a thousand dancers) than Coldplay. Another Super Bowl-worthy spectacle, complete with her urging the crowd to "Make some noise for Whitney!" That's four references to Houston in the first hour, by my count.

9:00 -- And here is Coldplay's Chris Martin, finally, on acoustic guitar and dueting with Rihanna. Nice enough, even if also kinda forced in the time-honored Grammy tradition.

9:03 -- The rest of Coldplay is out to do "Paradise." It's, um, not making much of an impression. Can't say I'm surprised it did not win best pop/duo group performance.

9:08 -- Willie Nelson's cover of Coldplay's "The Scientist" on this Chiptole Cultivate Foundation commercial is making a far bigger impression than Coldplay's own performance, quite frankly.

9:13 -- Speaking of the Super Bowl, two New York Giants players and a gal from the CBS series NCIS are out to present best rock performance. Victor Cruz does his little salsa touchdown bit. And as graceful as Mario Manningham was last week, he's incredibly awkward at the mike. And the Grammy goes to...the Foo Fighters, over Coldplay, Radiohead, Mumford & Sons and Decembrists. An okay choice.

9:16 -- They finally cut Grohl off to bring out Ryan Seacrest to introduce the Beach Boys tribute; starting with Maroon 5...who try "Surfer Girl" on for size; and it's...well, not good. It's downright hideous, in fact. These guys used to be popular, right? Can anyone explain why?

9:19 -- Here's hoping Foster the People can do better with "Wouldn't It Be Nice?"

9:20 -- Well, they're better than Maroon 5. Yes, that is damning with faint praise. Funny thing, nobody else can pull off those vocal harmonies like the original Beach Boys.

9:21 -- Including the Beach Boys themselves, circa 2012, reconvened for their 50-year anniversary. Mike Love has always scared me; and Brian Wilson -- poor, poor Brian Wilson. He looks terrified, the very essence of deer-in-the-headlinghts. They manage to get through it.

9:31 -- Stevie Wonder! He sends a shout-out to Whitney, pulls out a harmonica and brings down the house in about 10 seconds. Wish he'd keep going. But he's introducing Paul McCartney. Here we go...

9:33 -- Um...Paul? This new song of yours, "My Valentine"? It's not good. In fact, it's pretty terrible. "Silly Love Songs"-type terrible. Please, stop. This is embarrassing. And Joe Walsh, of all people, on flamenco guitar (!).

9:36 -- Common out with an actress from yet another CBS series, to give a shout-out to lifetime acheivement award winner to Gil Scott Heron, and present best R&B album. Chris Brown looks way nervous. And it goes to...the aforementioned Chris Brown.

9:38 -- Strangely, he does not mention Whitney Houston. Now we have The Civil Wars saying they'd like to "thank all our opening acts." Nice. And yet The Civil Wars kinda puzzle me -- the esteem in which they are held. Perfectly inoffensive, at least, and now they're introducing Taylor Swift.

9:41 -- Swift is wielding a banjo, leading an enormous band and singing another of her revenge fantasies, "Mean." I can't help but like her, seriously. This is a heckuva lot livelier than a lot of what various "legends" have been throwing down so far tonight. The look on her face as the crowd cheers says, "You like me! You really like me!"

9:50 -- Neil Patrick Harris out to present song of the year; seems kind of early for this one. Anyway, it should be Adele in a landslide. Bon Iver is nominated here. And it goes to...Adele. The landslide is on, I'd say.

9:52 -- Adele just as adorable as before; and she lets her producer have a word, too. They hug. Nice. On to Kate Beckinsale to introduce Katy Perry.

9:53 -- Who appears to be trying to get her Lady Gaga on. Bright blue hair, an incomprehensible outfit, a strident song that is way less memorable than the visuals. God bless America.

9:57 -- Somewhere, Janet Jackson is watching Perry and wondering why everybody nowadays cops from her "Rhythm Nation" tour 20-some years ago.

9:58 -- Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley out to present best country album. Appalachian State alumnus Eric Church is up for this one, though it's hard to imagine he can beat Taylor Swift. And the winner is...Lady Antebellum? Really? They're still winning Grammys this year after all the ones they won last year?

9:59 -- That dude in Lady Antebellum is one tall individual.

10:05 -- Chris Martin's wife -- that would be Gwyneth Paltrow -- is out to introduce Adele's performance. She's already won four Grammys, and now she's gonna do "Rolling in the Deep."

10:07 -- This is good. Really good. And I'm wishing she didn't keep canceling her tours.

10:09 -- Very cool gospel flourishes from Adele and her backup singers. And I can't help thinking about Whitney Houston, who was at the top just like Adele is now -- and like Amy Winehouse was a few years ago. I hope a kinder fate awaits her.

10:16 -- Taylor Swift back out to introduce the Glen Campbell tribute, starting with...The Band Perry. Yet another videogenic young country act that I don't get. And they're not doing much with "Gentle on My Mind."

10:19 -- Mr. Miranda Lambert -- that would be Blake Shelton -- takes a turn with "Southern Nights." He always reminds me of the father of the bride on the mike at a wedding reception, and this is no exception.

10:21 -- And now Campbell himself will do "Rhinestone Cowboy." I quite like his latest album, but he obviously does not have much voice left. I'm kinda wishing he'd done the new album's title track "Ghost on the Canvas" instead; and why didn't they have the Beach Boys involved here, given his involvement with them way back when?

10:23 -- Was that Joe Walsh I just saw dancing out in the audience?

10:31 -- Carrie Underwood and Tony Bennett on to present best new artist, and do a quick duet on "It Had To Be You." Dang, if I'm still around at 85, I hope I'm as spry as Mr. Bennett.

10:33 -- On to best new artist. And it goes to...Bon Iver! Wow! Two for Justin Vernon tonight! Even though he's hardly "new," but what the heck.

10:34 -- This is a long way from Vernon's days in Raleigh. He's kinda fumbling his way through this, and they cut him off. Oh well. Wish he'd sent a shout-out to his old bandmates in Megafaun...

10:36 -- Grammy president Neil Portnow's yearly helping of vegetables. Time for a run to the frig for something sweet.

10:40 -- The "In Memorium" segment starts with Amy Winehouse. It includes Nick Ashford, Steve Jobs, Nate Dogg, George Shearing, Phoebe Snow, Dobie Gray, Johnny Otis, Joe Morello, Bert Jansch, Hazel Dickens, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Clarence Clemons...but not Etta James, oddly enough. As expected, it closes with Whitney Houston.

10:43 -- Jennifer Hudson is starkly lit as she starts into Houston's Dolly Parton-penned signature "I Will Always Love You." Very stately, spare, stark. Loads better than the over-the-top pop productions from earlier in the show.

10:46 -- That was lovely, rough edges and all.

10:51 -- Deadmaus, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Foo Fighters, David Guetta and others in a free-for-all tribute to dance music. This is pretty cool, nevertheless. And the always-likable/aforementioned Dave Grohl is one of those guys you can throw into any situation had have it work.

11:04 -- Drake out to introduce Nicki Minaj. And this is off to a weird start. Is she...possessed by the devil? This is kinda...creepy.

11:07 -- Mighty strange performance art by Ms. Minaj. I think she should moderate the next Republican presidential debate, just for grins.

11:10 -- Lady Antebellum is out to announce record of the year. How can Adele not win this one?

11:12 -- And it goes to...yes, Adele. No surprise, indeed. All that's left is album of the year and it's hard to imagine she won't win that,too. "Thank you so much, this is ridiculous." I love this woman. Thumbs up!

11:19 -- Diana Ross is out to present album of the year and it's...another for Adele. Alas, that closes the door on Raleigh expatriate Miles Walker, who shared Rihanna's nomination. But hard to be too upset about this. She is busting out the hugs and going to pieces, trying to remember everyone to thank -- and blowing her nose on her sleeve. Adorkable, I tell you.

11:23 -- All that's left is to turn it back over to Paul McCartney. And I sure hope there will be no more new songs...

11:24 -- So far so good, with "Golden Slumbers," McCartney at the piano. Yes, his voice is showing its age. Nice, though.

11:27 -- They're sticking with the "Abbey Road" medley and it's right fine. Good to see Springsteen out there on guitar behind Sir Paul, sharing the mike with...Joe Walsh? Man, he's been everywhere tonight. So has Dave Grohl, sharing McCartney's mike.

11:29 -- Veddy nice guitar fireworks from Walsh, Springsteen, et al.

11:30 -- Done on the dot. Good night, everybody. Your late local news is next.

Whitney Houston -- nooooooooooooo

dmenconi — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:42:59 -0500

Oh, Whitney – why, why, why?

Grammy prognostications

dmenconi — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:32:03 -0500

So how will our North Carolina nominees do at Sunday's Grammy Awards? And can this year's model come anywhere near last year for all-around excitement? My suspicion is probably not, but see the preview in Friday's paper for prognostications; then come on back Sunday night, when I'll be live-blogging the telecast.

At last: Aretha plays Durham

dmenconi — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:02:00 -0500

By David Menconi
dmenconi@newsobserver.com

DURHAM – Well, the fifth time was the charm. After standing the Triangle up four times on concert dates since 2005, Aretha Franklin finally showed up, holding forth Thursday night at the Durham Performing Arts Center. And the fact that she was actually good made for a nice bonus.

Franklin brought along lots of backup firepower, of course, a score or so of musicians billed as the Aretha Franklin Orchestra. She made exactly the sort of entrance you’d expect of a diva of her stature, striding onstage in a white fur coat to a breathless introduction: “Your queen, my queen, THE QUEEN of Soul – Aaaaaaaaaaretha FRANKLIN!”

It was an unusual concert, to say the least. Not many shows feature the mayor coming out halfway through to hand over the key to the city, as Bill Bell did Thursday night.

“You don’t need a key, we built this house for you,” Bell said with a gesture taking in DPAC’s plush environs. “So you got to come back.”

Whether she will or not, Franklin made her mark Thursday night, credibly pulling off everything from En Vogue covers to a bit of standup comedy. Franklin will turn 70 next month, and she has undeniably lost a step or two over the years. But reports of her voice’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Besides, Franklin at three-quarters capacity is still better than just about anyone else out there.

Although Franklin never directly addressed her multiple no-shows, she did offer up a song selected for atonement purposes, “I Wanna Make It Up To You.” Her gospel roots were never far away, with many songs – starting with “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” which came up second in the 90-minute set – going to church on the outro. And when she really reached down and wailed, she still made you feel it. “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” just about melted the house down, and “Chain of Fools” wasn’t far behind.

Best of all was “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the one song where Franklin sat at the piano to play as well as sing. She started out somewhere between church and honkytonk before quickly taking a turn for the verse into a full-on gospel raveup, complete with call, response and Hallelujah’s to the heavens. Even her band was applauding by the end.

The show closed with “Respect,” Franklin’s longtime signature, and she took her bows as the band vamped on.

“See you next time,” she said.

Promise?

Menconi: 919-829-4759 or blogs.newsobserver.com/beat

Local music races the cure for Oliver Gant

dmenconi — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:59:59 -0500

Oliver Gant isn't even in kindergarten yet, but he sure does have friends in high places. Young Oliver has been battling sacrococcygeal teratoma for the past year, so the local music and arts communities have been pitching in with a series of benefit shows to help out his family. The latest is "Racing the Cure," featuring an upper-echelon slice of the regional music scene playing multiple venues in downtown Raleigh on March 23. This might be the only time you'll ever see the Avett Brothers in a club around here where they're not headlining.

Tickets are $25 and allow entrance to all three clubs. They go on sale at noon today (Wednesday) at etix.com.

Kings
8:15-8:45 -- Jack the Radio
9-9:40pm -- Schooner
10-10:40 -- Filthybird
11-11:40 -- The Old Ceremony
midnight-12:25am -- Avett Brothers
12:30am -- Ivan Rosebud & JYU

Tir Na Nog
8:15-8:45pm -- Hooking Up
9-9:45 -- Hammer No More the Fingers
10-10:45 -- Whatever Brains
11-11:45 -- Lonnie Walker
midnight -- Annuals

Pour House
8:15-8:45pm -- Gross Ghost
9-9:45 -- Spider Bags
10-10:45 -- Patty Hurst Shifter
11-11:45 -- Birds of Avalon
midnight -- The Love Language

Madonna strikes a pose -- in Charlotte

dmenconi — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:42:24 -0500

So did you enjoy Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime show in all its garish glory? Enough to want to truck over to Charlotte to see the expanded version in-person? Because yet another major tour is bypassing the Triangle to play the other end of the state instead. Madonna's world tour has been announced, with a Nov. 15 date in Charlotte.

Tickets go on sale March 5 -- more than eight months ahead of the show date. But it might not be a bad idea to wait. The tour schedule has open dates around Nov. 15, so it's possible that another date closer to the Triangle will pop up.

ADDENDUM: Madonna's Super Bowl show was...a Satanic ritual?...

Megafaun wins the Super Bowl!

dmenconi — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:07:50 -0500

Most of the Super Bowl's pre-game musical chatter centered on Madonna's halftime show, and her set was fine in a sensory-overload kind of way. But my favorite music during the game actually turned up right before halftime, in a Toyota commercial -- which featured the understated piano fanfare of "Hope You Know," a track on local trio Megafaun's eponymous 2011 album. Here, check it out.

Kelly Clarkson: That girl could sing

dmenconi — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:05:36 -0500

By David Menconi
dmenconi@newsobserver.com

DURHAM – Kelly Clarkson is nothing if not a dramatist. Here’s someone who released an album titled “My December” a few months after turning the ripe old age of 25 – and Tuesday night she came onstage at the Durham Performing Arts Center preceded by a montage of headlines about various struggles (“Fat,” “Failure” and such) on the video screens.

Then she proceeded to blast those headlines into irrelevance. Because whatever her drama-queen tendencies, Clarkson can really, really sing, even if it’s often hard to tell just how good she is over when she has to fight to be heard over some of her backing arrangements.

As the “American Idol” it’s cool to like, Clarkson can pretty much do any style convincingly. Her biggest hits have been uptempo girl-power rock and dance-leaning pop, but she can also do convincing arena-level bombast of both the rock and country persuasions. Best of all, she's a fabulous torch singer when she turns the volume down.

Tuesday’s best moments were when she was accompanied by just piano, especially on a pair of covers – Sara Bareilles’ “Gravity,” and a soulful reading of Carrie Underwood’s “I Know You Won’t.” At one point during the latter song, a loud male voice rang out from the crowd:

“YES, M’AM!”

Actually, the crowd was pretty heavily distaff, gathered to bask in the drama of Clarkson’s story. Three of the set’s 21 songs had the word “Gone” in the title and another dozen or so centered on some variation of that theme, presented as epic narratives about female trials and tribulations.

Clarkson didn’t make anyone wait too long for the big hits, serving up “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Since U Been Gone” as the second and third songs in the set. Also present and accounted for were “Breakaway” (still gloriously catchy), “Miss Independent” and, of course, “My Life Would Suck Without You.”

The crowd just ate it all up, singing and chanting along on pretty much all the loud ones. Still, it was those quiet songs that hinted at what Clarkson can really do when she’s not having to strain to be heard. She’s coming to realize that herself.

The encore kicked off with “Never Again,” stripped down from the 2007 original version to just voice and piano, and the rage it conveyed was almost chilling. Afterward, Clarkson was perky as ever while drinking in the audience’s applause.

“I love that,” she said. “I sing that one quiet, and it’s even angrier!”

There’s a lesson to be learned.

Menconi: 919-829-4759 or blogs.newsobserver.com/beat

How scalpers do it

dmenconi — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:13:26 -0500

Ever wonder how ticket scalpers -- excuse me, ticket brokers -- always seem to wind up with all the best tickets for the big shows? Well, here's your answer: TicketBots.net, an online retailer where your wildest front-row dreams can be had starting for about $750, which will get you web-robot software capable of scooping up scalpable golden-circle seats by the bushel.

I'd like to tell you more about this site, such as who runs it and what, other than buying up blocks of tickets to scalp, one might use such a product for. But when I sent a message identifying myself as a newspaper reporter who covers the ticket-scalping industry, the agent on duty wrote back the following reply:

I don't think, I can help you with anything here..

Now that is a pity...

Ben Folds comes back to get his symphony on

dmenconi — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:57:00 -0500

Onetime Chapel Hill regular Ben Folds is coming back to his old stomping grounds this spring, to play two shows with the NC Symphony. The pianist will be at Raleigh's Meymandi Concert Hall March 22-23, with associate conductor Sarah Hicks -- and word is that they'll do two different concert programs, not the same program repeated two nights. ~~Ticket prices are still to come, but~~ The public on-sale date is Feb. 6. This will be Folds' first show in the area since that fabulous Ben Folds Five reunion in Chapel Hill in the fall of 2008.

UPDATE: Ticket prices are $28, $37, $63 and $79.

WHOOPS: And it turns out that Folds played DPAC in 2009 and did an NC Symphony gig in 2010; so this will actually be his third show in the area since the 2008 Ben Folds Five reunion (thanks, Eric and Valerie).

American idiots: Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer

dmenconi — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:47:33 -0500

When it comes to multi-disciplinary collaborations, it always helps things along if artists from different worlds hit it off on a personal level. And that's definitely what happened when Green Day guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong met Broadway director Michael Mayer while they were putting together the stage-musical version of "American Idiot." In no time at all, they were singing show tunes together.

"It was at a diner on Ninth Avenue," Mayer said in a recent interview. "The whole band was there, and Green Day is really [expletive] famous. They're not the sort of band that's going to be in a diner in New York's theater district in the middle of the afternoon too often. But there we were, singing 'Together, Wherever We Go.'"

At this point, Mayer paused to warble a bit of the song made famous by Ethel Merman in 1959's "Gypsy": We may not go far/But sure as a star/Wherever we are/It's together.

"Yes, between Billie Joe's androgyny and [drummer] Tre Cool's pink boa and tasteful pumps, Green Day's always been very campy," Mayer continued. "The whole thing was so much fun. I knew that, in some weird way, this was a soul mate. It was a beautiful thing."

There is an "American Idiot" movie in the works. Meantime, however, the touring version of the musical opens at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday. For lots more on that (including the local member of the stage band), see the story in Sunday's paper. The first two rows in the pit have been designated as "student rush tickets" for each "American Idiot" performance, available only the night of the show for $26. A student ID is required.

ADDENDUM (2/2/12): Roy Dicks' review.

Bob Dylan, Old 97's and the random interconnectedness of all things

dmenconi — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:35:24 -0500

Not that it’s unusual to encounter Bob Dylan songs, but I still felt like the man’s songs were following me around on Friday night. Driving from Raleigh to Chapel Hill, I heard Peter Paul & Mary’s version of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” on WKIX-AM. After that signal faded out, I switched over to WXYC on the FM band just in time to hear Van Morrison’s rendition of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” Then I walked into Cat’s Cradle, where Old 97’s were playing, and they served up “Champaign, Illinois” – a rewrite of Dylan’s “Desolation Row.”

While it’s hard to argue with those other two covers, I think I dug the 97’s remake the most. There might not be a more purely likable act on the bar-band circuit nowadays, and they’ve gotten nothing but better since their mid-’90s breakthrough period.

Speaking of the mid-’90s, frontman Rhett Miller does not appear to have aged 15 minutes in the 17 years since the 97’s debuted with 1995’s “Wreck Your Life” (an album represented Friday night by a rollicking run-through of “Doreen”). Miller’s stage persona is the lovable loser who wishes he were cooler, but he’ll settle for knowing where you’ve been. And even if you’re not telling, well, he’ll still leave the back door open for ya.

The rest of the 97’s were all beyond solid, too, still rocking at the feverish pace of a runaway train (no, that name has never been an accident). They were great, and it was a surprisingly full house given that the 97’s are touring on an album that’s six months old. All in all, a real good night…

The usual country comfort at Walnut Creek

dmenconi — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:54:00 -0500

We don't have dates yet, but we do have acts for the big 2012 arena-country shows at Raleigh's Time Warner Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. And let's just say that, aside from the first two acts listed, this year's schedule is mighty heavy on The Usual Suspects (and is actually most notable for who isn't on it, at least not yet):

(UPDATE -- dates have been added...)

Sugarland (April 28)
Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Thompson Square (June 8)
Toby Keith (July 15)
Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan (July 27)
Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, Eli Young Band, Edens Edge (Aug. 10)
Brad Paisley, The Band Perry (Aug. 24)

These six shows go on sale Feb. 3 as part of the venue's annual "country megaticket" package at prices from $129 to $649.

Bruce Springsteen goes west (of the Triangle)

dmenconi — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:08:59 -0500

Well, the good news is that Bruce Springsteen's U.S. tour includes a North Carolina date. But the bad news is that said date ain't here in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill vicinity. It's over in the Triad, March 19 at Greensboro Coliseum. On-sale date for those who want to make the trek is Feb. 3.

DPAC battles the scalpers

dmenconi — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:29:12 -0500

I was recently perusing the Durham Performing Arts Center website to check the date on a concert, when I saw something I hadn't noticed before. Tucked into the bottom of almost every listing was this notice:

NOTICE OF PROHIBITION OF ONLINE RESALE OF ADMISSION TICKETS
Pursuant to §14-344.1(b) of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the Durham Performing Arts Center has filed a notice with the NC Secretary of State prohibiting the Online Resale of Admission Tickets to this event.

This goes back to a story I wrote last year, about parasites -- broker sites that try to pass themselves off as venue websites, even though they're populated by scalpers selling tickets well above face price. After that story ran, DPAC management met with the Secretary of State's office and decided to give prohibiting online resales a try. So far, it's working at least some of the time.

"We filed our first prohibitions early last fall," says DPAC general manager Bob Klaus. "We tested five shows and to our amazement, many of the biggest ticket re-selling sites dropped those listings."

Brokers, of course, don't agree that this is a good thing. The argument for "secondary market sales" is that it's classic free-market economics based on supply and demand. The ticket-broker industry's position is that attempts to regulate ticket resales are misguided and even counterproductive.

"You can't regulate the resale of tickets," declares Gary Adler, general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Ticket Brokers. "If you try and make restrictions, you are limiting the amount of tickets in the market. The secondary market when it's open and free is a beautiful thing, it puts tickets into people's hands at a fair market price. Maybe that's more than face value, but that's the band's fault for not having more accurate information about what they should be charging."

Whether you agree or disagree with that viewpoint, it's an issue that won't be going away anytime soon. In fact, you can probably count on the NATB lobbying the North Carolina legislature about amending this law before too long. For more, see the story in Sunday's paper.

Simone Dinnerstein postpones

dmenconi — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:43:35 -0500

Well, shoot. In today's paper, you'll find an interview with Simone Dinnerstein; and below is the blog post I prepared to go with it (under the headline, "Strange yet cool collaborations: Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt"). Alas, Dinnerstein has had to postpone her show scheduled for tonight due to illness. The rescheduled date is March 2.

Last time she played Durham, classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein shared the stage with Tift Merritt in an intriguing cross-genre collaboration. They'll work together again this summer with an album project. Meantime, Dinnerstein and Merritt have separate albums on tap. Dinnerstein's "Something Almost Being Said" comes out next week, and Merritt is in the midst of recording the followup to 2010's "See You on the Moon" now.

"I'm really excited, I've got a neat cast coming in," Merritt said shortly before recording was to begin. "It's close enough that I don't want to jinx it by saying anything, but I'm excited. I'm making this one myself with Tucker Martine producing, and Marc Ribot will play guitar. It's been kind of wonderful to be at the helm in an even deeper way than before."

~~Dinnerstein also plays tonight at Duke.~~

Headed our way: Elton John

dmenconi — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:30 -0500

The RBC Center won't be called that for too much longer, but the Raleigh arena just announced a mighty big show. Elton John will play there on March 16, right about the time the building's name change to PNC Arena is supposed to take effect. Tickets start at $37 and go on-sale Jan. 27.

Red Hot Chili Peppers reschedule for April

dmenconi — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:54:00 -0500

Last week, Loretta Lynn's Triangle show was rescheduled to April because she's recovering from knee surgery. And now, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Jan. 27 show at RBC Center has also been postponed to the same month, also due to a lower-body surgical situation.

The Chili Peppers' new date will be April 4. In a statement, tour promoter Live Nation said the show was postponed because lead singer Anthony Kiedis recently had to undergo surgery because of "multiple foot injuries," adding that he is expected to make a fully recovery. Also rescheduled are dates in Charlotte, to April 6; and Greensboro, to April 9.

Vienna waits for Asher Philips

dmenconi — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:24:08 -0500

The Vienna Boys' Choir has been around since the late 15th century, but the famed ensemble has never had a member from North Carolina -- until now. Asher Philips, an 11-year-old alumnus of the Raleigh Boychoir (and also Hunter Elementary), joined the Vienna Boys' Choir last summer. He's already traveled the world and sung on many famous stages, including New York City's Carnegie Hall, staying remarkably unfazed by it all. We caught up with Asher while he was home for the holidays, so check the profile from Sunday's paper. And here is Asher singing at a Christmas Eve service in Cary.