Kickstarter campaigns seem like a dime a dozen these days, but the Bowerbirds are pushing one that's several cuts above what you usually see. The local folk-rock group is looking to raise $28,000 to finish out a solar-powered recording studio in the rural cabin they built; and to fund recordings by the Bowerbirds (whose latest album "The Clearing" is spectacular) as well as Phil Moore's side project Island Dweller.

That's very cool, but what's even cooler are some of the handmade works of art they're offering as pledges (many of which look like they'd make dynamite Christmas gifts). Check those as well as their rather whimsical pitch video here. It's an ambitious undertaking and they've got a bit less than $10,000 to go to reach the goal -- and just over a month to get there.

Since this weekend marks the "official" start of the holiday shopping season, we've got the annual gift guide with musical suggestions for what to get your loved ones (or yourself). The list includes some excellent 2012 albums from acts that call the Triangle home (and even a book by yours truly), so check it out -- and buy local!

Happiness is a Megafaun show.

Seriously, this trio is a better mood elevator than Wellbutrin. It's not just that they're very, very good (and make no mistake, they are, in a way that has attracted nationwide notice). It's that they convey such a wonderful sense of joy onstage, even when thrashing about with a physical awkwardness that's downright endearing. You just can't help getting caught up in their communal spirit.

Saturday night at a soldout Carrboro ArtsCenter, Megafaun put on one of the best shows I've seen all year. It was a homecoming show from a six-week tour with Bowerbirds, and the intensive roadwork seems to have done both bands a world of good. I've never heard Bowerbirds sound better or more relaxed, and Megafaun's performance was a revelation. Every last note, nuance and flourish was perfectly placed, from the jingle-jangle chime of "The Fade" to the freak-folk dramatics of "Columns" to Brad Cook's flights of sound-effects fancy.

It really was brilliant, with good vibes and mutual love aplenty. I've said it before and I'll say it again: We're really lucky to have so many great bands in our midst. And if you're not out there partaking, you're really missing out.

ADDENDUM (8/25/09): "Brad Cook Is Not Your Man."

SECOND (9/1/09): Spin review.

So this week's James Taylor tour won't be the only get-out-the-vote shows happening here this election season. Coming to UNC-Chapel Hill's Graham Terrace (adjacent to Morehead Planetarium on campus) is a Nov. 1 lineup that offers up a superb slice of local music:

The dB's
Superchunk acoustic (which might be a first)
Ivan Rosebud
Megafaun
I Was Totally Destroying It
Bowerbirds
Greg Humphreys
Regina Hexaphone
Portastatic

It gets going at the rather non-rock-'n'-roll time of 9 a.m., and it's free -- they're even throwing in coffee and doughnuts.

UPDATE: Billy Bragg, who is playing in Durham that night, has been added to the lineup. 

Now that drought appears to be rearing its ugly head again, here's a suggestion on how to combat water shortages: Get Bowerbirds to play around here on a regular basis. Sunday evening at Duke's "Music in the Gardens" series, the skies were darkening as Bowerbirds began their set, and a steady rain began falling a few songs into the show.

There was plenty of cover under a tent for anyone seeking shelter, so no one got too wet who didn't want to (and a few hardy souls did tough it out on the lawn). And the Bowerbirds' ecologically minded folk was very appropriate for the bucolic outdoor setting. But the funny part was that their new material seemed to bring on the heaviest downpours. Sunday's show was, they said, the first they played a new song called "Chimes" in public. Right on cue, the sky opened up and rain came down in buckets as frontman Phil Moore crooned, "I draw my breath from an ancient earth."

'Twas great.

ADDENDUM (8/15/08): "In Our Talons" video.