Cat’s Cradle will present Carrboro Block Party, a free concert in its parking lot at 300 East Main Street on Sunday, May 5, featuring Lost in the Trees, The Love Language, and Loamlands.

In addition to the main stage entertainment, the community festival will include additional live music inside Cat’s Cradle and The ArtsCenter, food trucks, beer and fun, according to a news release. The gates open at 4 p.m. and the music begins at 4:30 p.m.

While the event is free to the general public, vouchers guaranteeing entry will be available starting April 9 at www.carrboroblockparty.com. There is a limit of two vouchers per person and the voucher guarantees entry to its holder before 6 p.m.

"Carrboro Block Party features some of the areas most popular and critically acclaimed bands," the release says. "Lost in the Trees will conclude a short Northeast tour with the show and are soon heading into the studio to record their fourth album. The Love Language will release their second record on Merge in 2013 and the newly formed Loamlands features members of Midtown Dickens and Megafaun."

Remember 1975? Me neither, even though I did live through it. But I'll tell you one American institution that surely remembers that particular year, the U.S. concert industry. And here's why: If you average out the year of peak popularity for seven of the biggest acts playing on various Triangle stages over the coming week, it comes to...1975. That's right, 37 long years ago. For more particulars, see this story in Friday's paper.

Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster has had plenty of posed-with-the-Gods moments over the past quarter-century, playing behind Bob Mould, John Darnielle, Ryan Adams and other indie-rock luminaries. But he's in the midst of a pretty incredible 15 minutes right now, after bearing witness to last Monday's flight-attendant freakout at New York City's LaGuardia Airport.

Wurster had a first-class seat on the ill-fated RDU-bound flight, which was repeatedly delayed before finally being canceled after a series of altercations between flight attendant Jose Serrano and passengers. Wurster spent the five-hour ordeal posting dispatches about the unfolding fiasco via Twitter ("The plane is here but the crew isn't. I Know I can fly this thing. I've seen all but one of the Hindenburg movies.") and Facebook ("What followed was a tidal wave of drama including: cops kicking off passengers, passengers leaving in protest, Jose crying, children crying, Jose quitting and the flight getting cancelled. I did get two bags of nuts, so that was good.").

Wurster was quoted in the New York Post (which identified him as "drummer at the indie rock band Superchunk") and has since been called on to recount the story on outlets including The Today Show, CNN and Going Off Track. No doubt this will be fodder for another comedy routine -- or perhaps the rock memoir I keep pestering him to write.

Meanwhile, back in Rockville, Superchunk's next local show is July 12 at Cat's Cradle.

Things are happening fast with Delta Rae, the Durham Americana band, whose album "Carry the Fire" (Sire Warner Bros. Records) was released last week. Delta Rae is one of six finalists selected for a "Women Who Rock" contest sponsored by Rolling Stone magazine, which will put the winner on the back flip cover of an issue coming this fall. The top two finalists from the first round of online voting will play at Chicago's Lollapalooza Festival Aug. 3-4, with a further round of voting on their performance videos to determine the final winner.

All six finalists can be sampled here; and Delta Rae's page is here. Meanwhile, Delta Rae's next local show will be the big album-release hoo ha, July 27 at Cat's Cradle.
 

Eons ago, when I was a kid, I remember spending a lot of time with a record called "Music: How It's Made and Played." It was an orchestral-music primer, introducing all the different instruments and the way they blended together, and it had that Disney knack for making the subject both accessible and mysterious. When all those instruments cranked up together, it sounded like the spookiest soundtrack ever.

Somehow, The Polyphonic Spree conjures up that same feeling. The group played Cat's Cradle Saturday night, their first Triangle show in some years, delivering another lovely dose of rapture. It's odd to think of a 15-piece band as "stripped down"; nevertheless, this was indeed the leanest version of the Spree that I've ever seen. Flautist Audrey Easley was missing, and this configuration also didn't have harp or theremin.

But Tim Delaughter, the Walt Disney of symphonic indie-rock spectacle, was still out front, channeling his and your inner child. There was also a xylophone, a three-piece horn section and a killer cello player. And even though they didn't do the one that always make me mist up, they did "Soldier Girl," "When the Fool Becomes a King" and a drop-dead perfect medley of "See Me Feel Me/Listening to You"-"Pinball Wizard" (if ever a band was meant to cover The Who, it's Polyphonic Spree).

There was laughter, a lot of jumping up and down, smiling -- plus confetti. Lots and lots of confetti. A joyous 90 minutes of bittersweet whimsy that left me feeling 8 years old again, and that's always a good thing.

So why weren’t you there?

(Photo: Patty Chase)

Carrboro’s first hotel and parking deck will soon be under construction downtown.

The first phase of the 300 East Main development includes a 142-room Hampton Inn & Suites with 18,100 square feet of retail/restaurant space on the ground floor facing East Main Street. A 500-space parking deck will sit behind the hotel and provide free, public parking.

Construction of this phase will take about 14 months, the developers announced today in a news release. The first work, already begun, will demolish existing buildings at 304 and 404 E. Main St. and two empty houses on Padgett Lane and Boyd Street.

Developers will hold a groundbreaking ceremony later this month after demolition is complete, according to the news release.

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…

Here is a look at today's local headlines:

300 EAST MAIN ON THE MOVE: Developers say construction could begin on the Cat's Cradle/ArtsCenter shopping center makeover this summer. First up: a hotel and parking deck. Read Tammy Grubb's story here.

ON THE PORCH: The Bynum General Store celebrates 75 years as the Chatham County community's hub (and most recently, launching pad for Grammy-nominated singer Tift Merritt). Read how residents rallied after the post office closed in Dave Hart's story. 

DID POLICY LEAD TO TROUBLE?: Greenbridge needed to sell a certain number of units to get the bank loan the developers now can't pay back. Partner Tim Toben says the bank counted the units priced to meet the town's affordable housing mandate. So did the town indirectly contribute to the developers' financial collapse? Read Katelyn Ferral's story and tell us what you think at editor@nando.com.  

Sam Taylor says the Heels kept him connected in Basra. Susie Wilde says Chapel Hill writer Luli Gray never liked Aesop's "Ant and Grasshopper" (so she rewrote it). Monks are building a mandala, and former CHHS runner Kent Pecora is tearing up the track in the NCAA.

Lots going on. We still want to hear from you about UNC's proposed arts center at the old museum, OWASA's plans to tap Jordan Lake water in future droughts and whatever else is on your mind. Send us a letter at editor@nando.com.

Thanks for reading,

Mark 

If you're not otherwise occupied Friday night, you really should head for Cat's Cradle and night two of Big Star's "Third/Sister Lovers" live performances. Thursday's opening-night show was truly spectacular, a wonderful night of music and warm communal vibes. Chris Stamey showed his usual attention to detail in overseeing the proceedings, which saw scores of great singers and players coming and going to bring the cult-classic album to life.

Highlights included a seasonally appropriate "Jesus Christ," sung by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills; Stu McLamb from The Love Language on "Stroke It Noel"; Brett Harris singing a lovely and moving encore version of the Chris Bell classic "You and Your Sister"; and most of all "For You," sung by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and with a string part so beautiful it induced chills.

Go. Seriously.

Here are a couple of late additions to the upcoming show schedule, both worth making time for. First, the great singer/songwriter Gillian Welch plays at Cat's Cradle next Tuesday (yes, six days from now). Tickets go on sale at noon Thursday.

Then on Wednesday, April 28, St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark, of Sufjan Stevens and Polyphonic Spree fame) plays UNC-Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall with local favorites The Love Language opening. UNC began giving out free tickets to students this week, but public tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday.

And in other show-schedule news, Concord's Avett Brothers STILL don't have a Triangle performance booked -- but they're playing Merlefest on May 2. It's being billed as their "only spring/summer North Carolina appearance in 2010." Which means they won't be here until fall at the earliest. Great...