Matthew Everett: July 2010 Archives

Isn't there something in the Bible like, "As long as there are college students, then Hasidic reggae rappers will be among us"? No?

Well, Hasidic reggae rapper Matisyahu is coming to the University of Tennessee next month anyway. He'll be appearing at the Humanities Ampitheater on Aug. 21 at 8 p.m.

Here's the video for Matsyahu's hit, "King Without a Crown," from 2005.

Pitchfork has just posted a new video for Caribou's "Sun," from the new-ish album Swim. Caribou, aka Daniel Snaith, was announced yesterday as one of the performers at AC Entertainment's MoogFest in Asheville in October, along with Big Boi, Massive Attack, Jonsi (of Sigur Ros), MGMT, and Thievery Corporation. 

The second round of lineup announcements for AC Entertainment's MoogFest, scheduled for Halloween weekend in Asheville, N.C., is even better than the first. The initial announcement a few weeks ago included heavyweight headliners Massive Attack and MGMT, along with the Washington, D.C.-based electronic duo Thievery Corporation. Now you can add Big Boi (one half of OutKast, whose new album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty was released earlier this month to rave reviews), Jónsi (the frontman for Sigur Ros, who has just released his first solo album, Go), and the Canadian producer/programmer Daniel Snaith, who performs under the name Caribou and whose 2010 album Swim is very nice.

The full schedule and lineup will be announced on Aug. 10. Tickets go on sale Aug. 13. MoogFest will take place Oct. 29-31 at the Asheville Civic Center, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and the Orange Peel.

The Dirty Guv'nahs have posted the official video for the song "We'll Be the Light," off their brand-new album Youth Is in Our Blood. It was shot at Preservation Pub a few months ago.

Knoxville's Ampient Music, a free-floating collaboration of drone, sound art, and other noises that ask for a lot of patience, is moving into Pilot Light tonight for an early show. The group generally includes Todd Steed, John T. Baker, George Middlebrooks, Carl Snow, Toby Applegate, and a few others. Find out more here, and there's discussion at KnoxBlab too. (There's a free download of the Knoxville Is Ampient compilation at the bottom of the page.) Tonight's show starts at 8 p.m., cover is $3. 

Here's the brand new video from Band of Horses, for the song "Laredo," from their new album Infinite Arms. It's a nice and fuzzy song, and the video's appropriately sun-drenched and hazy. The band's playing at the Tennessee Theatre on Oct. 16.

If local music clubs have seemed a little less sleazy this year, it might be because Maryville's hair-metal revivalists Gun*Slinger broke up in January. Now they say it's just been a hiatus, however, and that they'll be bringing their '80s-style Sunset Boulevard glam-rock back to town soon.





Here's the e-mail singer Cole Graham sent out yesterday:

"Gun Slinger mended their wounds, cleaned up the saddles and instruments of mass music production, and they ride again.

It is understood that there are four creative and well rounded musical gunslingers in the band, and disagreements arise. Time away cleared the air for forgiveness and understanding.

Rock goes on!

The band is continuing work on their debut album and lining up shows.

It's a little bit outside our usual range of coverage, but AC Entertainment's latest festival venture is worth noting: MoogFest, set for Halloween weekend in Asheville, is "a three-day festival celebrating the innovative vision of sonic pioneer, Robert Moog," the inventor of the synthesizer.

The lineup looks like it will be heavy on electronic and dance pop; the announced headliners are Massive Attack, MGMT, and Thievery Corporation. The full lineup will be announced on July 27; tickets go on sale July 30.

I really liked the first two Hold Steady album. I started to get a little bored around Boys and Girls in America. By the time Stay Positive came out two years ago, I'd pretty much had it with the band. I regret the tone of the review I wrote, even if I do stand by my assertions.



The new album, Heaven Is Whenever, hasn't exactly won me over again--it's really just a further refinement of its predecessors. But I really enjoyed talking to Craig Finn a few weeks ago; it reminded me that he's a smart guy, but I also realized just how thoughtful he is. There are no accidents in his songs, and the very specific world he's crafted--of party kids with Catholic guilt who are now closing in on 40--is a deeply personal one.

Based on that, and on the general consensus that the Hold Steady rock really hard live, I'm actually excited about tonight's show at the Square Room, something I wouldn't have expected a month ago.

Photo by Mark Seliger. 

Best Coast, the hazy beach-pop L.A. duo that's getting all kinds of attention from Pitchfork etc. and is scheduled, according to Pollstar, to play at Pilot Light on Sept. 11, has made its upcoming debut album Crazy for You, available for streaming at the Urban Outfitters website. The disc is due on July 27. It sounds pretty good so far. 

The good news: The second leg of the American Carnage tour, featuring three of the Big Four of American thrash metal--Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax (Metallica is the missing link)--is coming to Knoxville in September. Megadeth will be performing their 1990 album Rust in Peace in its entirety, and Joey Belladonna, the singer for the band's classic late '80s/early '90s lineup, has rejoined Anthrax (again).

The bad news: Slayer is playing its 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss front to back as its set, which seems like a total waste of 45 minutes. When I think of the Slayer songs I want to hear live, I think of songs from Reign in Blood and South of Heaven, and even a few from Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits, before anything from Seasons in the Abyss.



The reason is that American Carnage is a recreation of the 1991 Clash of the Titans lineup-- which featured all three bands plus a then-unknown Alice in Chains--so the bands are playing the material from that era. But come on--Slayer would have closed with "Angel of Death" way back then. Why don't we get to hear it this time?

The Knoxville date for American Carnage at the Civic Coliseum is Thursday, Sept. 30. Tickets go on sale July 23; visit the Slayer, Megadeth, or Anthrax websites for info on a July 14 pre-sale.

Photo by Mark Seliger.

Even if he weren't off to the best season of his career, Cincinnati Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo would still be a much better pitcher than he is a singer. You can check out some video of him and his band covering the Goo Goo Dolls here if you need evidence, or you can just go to the grand opening of Lincoln's Sports Grille in Oak Ridge tonight. Arroyo and his band will be opening for the Jaystorm Project, starting at 7:45 p.m.  

Tim Lee announced earlier this week that he'll be posting a free MP3--old songs, demos, new unreleased songs--on his website every Friday. Here's the first one; it's called "Good Times," and it's kind of groovy, man--a little bit Steve Wynn, a little bit Patti Smith. 

Another national album release with local connections is coming in September, when Nonesuch, an imprint of Warner, issues a live recording of avant-garde guitar-army composer Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail.



The album was recorded last August in New York at an outdoor music festival with 200 electric guitarists, 16 bassists, and one drummer. One of the guitarists was Knoxville's Ian Henderson; one of the bassists was Cain Blanchard of local record label Laboratory Standard Recordings.

Remember when Christian Fennesz, David Daniell (of San Agustin) and Tony Buck (of Australian improv supergroup the Necks) played together at Big Ears in 2009? I don't either--it was one of many shows I missed. But Thrill Jockey is releasing a recording of the set, titled Knoxville, in August.