With classes winding down, graduation impending and the sun constantly shining, summer is just out of reach. These three months of freedom generally yield limited obligations and provide days of infinite adventures. With summer, it seems all we have to be preoccupied with is time and how to best let it pass. T0W3RS IF 4LL WE H4VE IS T1ME Indie pop/rock Dive Verdict: 3 1/2 of 5 stars
Small-time record shops are slowly regaining popularity. Now, they’ve got their very own day. In its fifth year, Record Store Day celebrates brick-and-mortar independent record stores and physical music media on Saturday. Along with in-store performances by bands, Record Store Day participants also look forward to limited-edition releases from some of their favorite bands. We looked at what this year’s celebration has to offer around the Triangle, as well as records you can snag.
Those with an affinity for not-so-Southern country and not-too-edgy rock might look for a stylistic space that exists somewhere between George Strait and Jason Mraz — the land of Hootie, Dave Matthews and Sister Hazel. The Jason Adamo Band on the other hand: look elsewhere. The Jason Adamo Band Bricks & Mortar ?Country/rock Dive Verdict: 2 1/2 of 5 stars
Local musicians have joined forces against Amendment One, the controversial North Carolina constitutional amendment that’s up for a vote on May 8. Tonight, Mac McCaughan, Superchunk frontman and co-founder of Merge Records, takes the stage with The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle and Reigning Sound’s Greg Cartwright to raise money to help strike the amendment down. Amendment One Show Time: 8 p.m. tonight, $20 With: Mountain Goats, Greg Cartwright, Tara DeFrancisco Location: Motorco, Durham Info: motorcomusic.com
“Bless my heart. Bless yours, too. I don’t know where I’m going, don’t know what I’m gonna do.” So sings 23-year-old Brittany Howard on the opening track of Alabama Shakes’ debut album, Boys & Girls. Alabama Shakes Boys & Girls Rock Dive Verdict: 4 of 5 stars
Bright. Dark. Quiet. Loud. Carrboro’s Lilac Shadows chooses these simple, juxtaposed adjectives to describe the swirl of sound that comprises the Shallow Madness EP. Lilac Shadows Shallow Madness EP? Psych pop Dive Verdict: 4 of 5 stars
As the fourth movie in the “American Pie” series, “American Reunion” follows its predecessors with all its antics, quirks and extreme exaggerations of the life of a once fun, now boring, generally average person. But unlike the rest of the once-fun American Pie franchise, “Reunion” generally sucks. American Reunion Dive Verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars
This week, Diversions writer Thompson Wall talked with rebellious Chelsea Crowell, third generation singer-songwriter and granddaughter of Johnny Cash.
Preparing for a concert later that day, boxes full of their debut album newly arrived and smiles plastered to their faces, it was hard to miss the excitement enveloping Mipso Trio when sitting down to talk Friday afternoon. Mipso Release Show Time: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, tickets $10 (includes album) Location: Cat’s Cradle, 300 E. Main St., Carrboro Info: mipsomusic.com
Thumbs up if you can’t watch a YouTube video without scrolling to the “Top Comments” section. This week, Dive looks at the most popular types of these most popular comments — specifically for music videos.
2010’s “Clash of the Titans” was a big-budget but low-intelligence remake of the 1981 classic of the same name, and it did little else other than make “Release the Kraken!” the most overused catchphrase of the spring. “Wrath of the Titans” fails once more to bring the goofy action and awesome special effects that audiences want and raises the question of how $150 million can buy something so damn bland. Wrath of the Titans Dive verdict: 1.5 of 5 stars
One of the many bands playing Phuzz Phest is Chapel Hill’s T0W3RS. Staff writer Lucian Crockett talked to Derek Torres about the band’s upcoming plans.
Eighty-thousand miles — that’s how long it took Hammer No More the Fingers’ silver Honda Odyssey to break down. It was an expensive and apparently tragic malfunction: the band seems to love their tour van as one of their own. And in order to heal their sickened friend and mode of transportation, they’re bringing a headlining gig to Motorco’s garage
If you can only make it to one night of Phuzz Phest, consider making it Saturday. You won’t get the chance to see M.C. Taylor, the man behind Hiss Golden Messenger, for quite some time as he embarks for a U.K. tour at the end of the month.
Pledger took the time to talk to staff writer Elizabeth Byrum about Phuzz Phest’s beginnings and juggling a band at the same time. Estrangers plays at 9 p.m. at The Garage tomorrow, with a slot between Lilac Shadows and Nightdogs.
Hailing from Durham, Free Electric State is a band that delivers slightly heavy rock ‘n’ roll tunes that are entrancing and well-crafted.
Billed as the movie event of the year, “The Hunger Games” is a visceral, violent film that outshines its teen-targeting counterparts. “The Hunger Games” took in $155 million last weekend — the third best movie opening ever. The hype surrounding the film, based on a bestselling novel by Suzanne Collins, has skyrocketed, as fans waited around the block to attend midnight screenings bedecked in full costume. Even at UNC, fans took part in their own Hunger Games involving water balloons and markers last Friday. Unquestionably, the games have become a phenomenon. The Hunger Games Dive verdict: 4 of 5 stars
For Latin music outfit Orquesta GarDel, the UNC-Chapel Hill connection runs just as deep as its jazzy Cuban salsa roots. What began as Charanga Carolina, a university ensemble under the guidance of music professor David Garcia, now stands as a 13-member-strong group that meshes the traditional and the modern elements of Latin music through a growing combination of percussion, horns, keys and vocals.
Coffee is a staple in nearly every college student’s life, but what’s good beyond the chain shops on Franklin Street? Dive staff writers visited South Rd. four different shops scattered around Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Which one suits your fancy? Caffe Driade At 1215 E. Franklin St., Caffe Driade is a bit of a walk from campus. But its secluded and intimate environment make it well worth the trip. Like its sister cafe, Open Eye, Driade carries beans from both shops’ parent business, Carrboro Coffee Company, which offers fair-trade and single-origin coffee and espresso beans.“Beyond our great product, people come here for the atmosphere,”said barista David Ruiz. “It’s a nice, cozy, magical location in the woods.
A compilation often functions as the young label’s mission statement — a declaration of musical values intended to align artist and listener sympathies. For UNC-based label Philosophy Major, Altered States, Vol. 1, despite a few highlights, overwhelmingly fails in this effort, indulging too frequently in drugged-out repetition to impassion anyone. Altered States Vol. 1 Dive verdict: 2 of 5 stars
