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Local View Wednesday
26Nov
Thanksgiving Weekend Tunes
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 04:14PM 
As always, Thanksgiving is a time for unparalleled gorging on food, football, sales, family reunions, and a few good bands that provide a respite from all of the aforementioned joys. Memphis always has some of its own play this weekend and this year will be no different.
Wed., Nov. 26
Tireless troubadour Harlan T. Bobo returns to town and will play the Hi Tone along with Vending Machine. It's also Goner DJ night at The Buccaneer Lounge.
Thurs., Nov. 27
Ross Johnson will be at The Buccaneer Lounge.
Fri., Nov. 28
Antenna Shoes and Coach and Four will be at the Hi Tone. Don't miss this because you never know when you'll get a chance to catch Antenna Shoes again between the various touring commitments in the band. If you can't make it though, certainly check out their album, Generous Gambler, which is available at Shangri-La.
Sat., Nov. 29
Lucero plays at the Young Avenue Deli. This show should be of interest as Lucero plans to return to the studio soon and may have some new songs to debut.
Sun., Nov. 30
Country takes a gothic turn at the Hi Tone as New York's O'Death comes to town with roots revivalists Those Darlins.
Tuesday
25Nov
Orpheum to host Bluff City Ball for NYE
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 07:06PM So if you're like me (and most people in this economy) your New Year's Eve plans may be a bit scaled down this year. Less hanging out in Times Square, more hanging around Studio on the Square. That doesn't mean that you can still have a fun on New Year's and hear some great tunes if you're staying in town though.
TCB concerts will present the Bluff City Ball NYE party this year at the Orpheum downtown. The event will feature performances by the legendary Jim Dickinson, international rising star Amy LaVere, gritty rockers Lucero, and southern blues/jam heroes North Mississippi Allstars. Tickets are $30-45 depending on seating and can be purchased from Ticketmaster's website.
Thursday
20Nov
Castanets @ Hi Tone Tonight!
Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 02:16PM 
If you haven't heard Castanets yet, get ready for a more than slightly off-kilter blues act that will keep you transfixed. Less a modern Black Keys-styled blues act, this midwestern blues owes more to deconstructed spaghetti-western ambience and whiskey drenched country/rock than garage rock and punk. Cementing the whole package are Ray Raposa's outstanding vocals; his whispered wail on "City of Refuge" is as haunting as anything I've heard in a while, melting into the droning reverb-heavy guitars.
The concept for the newest record, City of Refuge, quite literally dawned on Castanets mastermind Raposa the morning after an overnight drive with tour companions from Oakland, CA, to Las Vegas, NV. Waking in the back seat to a Nevada gas station sunrise, Raposa said "here," and as the drive progressed, so did his conviction that this was where he would record the next Castanets album.
And so it was that the band holed up in Overton, Nevada, a town of 2 bars and no stoplights to record what sounds like it could easily be the sountrack to a black and white Tarantino film. A soundtrack comparison is apt with City of Refuge for in addition to spacey moods and evocative lyrical refrains and chants, Castanets also offers electronic noise solos as shifts in mood and tempo. The record flows along as you would follow a storyline unfold. Get your free download of "Glory B" here and do yourself a favor and pick up the album from Asthmatic Kitty.
And if you live in Memphis then you are in luck; they are performing tonight at the Hi Tone. If not, perhaps elsewhere on down the road.
| Friday 2008-11-21 |
Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn w/ Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson |
| Saturday 2008-11-22 |
Chapel Hill, NC - UNC - Chapel Hill w/ Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson |
| Sunday 2008-11-23 |
Washington, DC - DC9 |
| Monday 2008-11-24 |
Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's w/ Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson |
| Tuesday 2008-11-25 |
Boston, MA - TT the Bear's w/ Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson |
| Wednesday 2008-11-26 |
Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall w/ Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson |
Tuesday
18Nov
Burke's Wants You to Let Them Help You Read
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 06:10PM 
Burke's Books, a Memphis area literature staple for the past 133 years, recently moved from Poplar into the Cooper-Young arts district and its current location at 936 Cooper. The bookstore has served as a provider of textbooks, new, used, and rare books, as well as a publisher and general community do-gooder. Well, they are apparently now using the move into their new location to do more of the same.
Now, with any $5 purchase made at Burke's you will be able to choose from a selection of advance reading copies (sent out by publishers for promotional purposes), with titles ranging from history to mystery, fiction to...well, nonfiction. The deal will continue as long as supplies last, so now might be a good time to get over there (before everything is picked clean for Christmas). Free books are only available for in-store purchases, but if you can't make it by, you can still browse their selection at Burke's website and order via email. Now, stop reading a blog and go pick up a book.
Wednesday
12Nov
This Week in Film
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 11:35AM 
This is a good week for film lovers of all kinds here in Memphis. This Friday marks the release of the newest installment in the Bond series, Quantum of Solace. Personally, I think Daniel Craig is second only to Sean Connery in the pantheon of Bonds (as much as I like some of the films he was in Roger Moore was a bit too stiff, Pierce Brosnan a bit too pretentious, and Timothy Dalton a complete failure on all fronts) and I'm looking forward to the follow-up to Casino Royale, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the major films available in any town, we have a few here that are a bit more exclusive.
Tonight, Indie Memphis continues its involvement with independent filmmakers, hosting a screening of Chris Metzler's Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea at Studio on the Square in conjunction with the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group. Once known as the "California Riviera," the Salton Sea is now called one of America's worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands. Created by an engineering error in 1905, reworked in the 50's as a world class vacation destination for the rich and famous, and then suddenly abandoned after a series of hurricanes, floods, and fish die-offs, the Salton Sea has a bittersweet past.
While Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea covers the historical, economic, political, and environmental issues that face the sea, it more importantly offers up an offbeat portrait of the eccentric and individualistic people who populate its shores. It is an epic western tale of fantastic real estate ventures and failed boomtowns, inner-city gangs fleeing to white small town America, and the subjective notion of success and failure amidst the ruins of the past. Hair-raising and hilarious, part history lesson, part cautionary tale and part insider's glimpse into one of the strangest communities you've ever seen, it paints the portrait of a decaying American Dream.
Metzler will be on hand to introduce the film and will be available for a Q & A session afterwards. If you want, you can travel over to John Beifuss's Bloodshot Eye for more on the film. Film starts at 7:30 and admission is free, though donations are suggested.
If all that wasn't enough, music film enthusiasts can look forward to Sunday night's showing of The Who's performance in At Kilburn 1977 at the Brooks Museum. On December 15, 1977, The Who performed before a select invited audience at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn, North London, to record a concert for Jeff Stein's film The Kids Are Alright. Sadly, it turned out to be on of the last live performances by drummer Keith Moon. Shot in 35mm, this holy grail for fans has been digitally restored and re-mastered, offering fans a chance to see the final performance of one of the great drummers of the last century. 
The cost will be $8 for Brooks Museum members and $12 for nonmembers. If you are not a subscriber to the Indie Memphis newsletter I would recommend visiting their website and signing up, as they offer discounts on this and other films showing around town. The screening will start at 6 pm with a cash bar available at 5.