Weekend Picks: New Year's Eve Shows, Infamous Stringdusters, Dark Star Orchestra, Yarn, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Locust Honey, Miramar

It's a big weekend with lots of shows and New Year's Eve!

Dark Star Orchestra, the Grateful Dead tribute band, trucks into The National for two shows on Wednesday and Thursday. Tix are $25 advance, $30 day of show. The doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and there is no opener. DSO will play two sets, as always. Here's DSO in C'ville in November:



Wednesday night at The Broadberry, former Richmond electro jam band Former Champions get together for a reunion show. Doors open at 8, show starts at 8:30, Kenneka Cook opens and DJ Phil Dice will spin between sets. Tix are $8 advance, $10 day of show. Here's a set from Former Champions in 2014:

Americana band Yarn hits the stage at The Broadberry Thursday night. Dalton Dash will open the show at 9, doors open at 8. Tix are $15. Their album "This Is The Year" recently came in at number 46 on the Americana Music Association's Radio Albums of 2016. From that album, here's "Carolina Heart":



For a good happy hour show on Friday, head to Hardywood for Locust Honey and The Atkinsons. The tap room opens at 4 and The Atkinsons kick off the music at 6. It's FREE to get in. Here's the press blurb on Locust Honey:

As Locust Honey, Chloe Edmonstone and Meredith Watson bring their experience in Old-Time, Bluegrass, and Pre-War Blues to both their original material and the traditional songs and tunes of the American Southeast. With a rotating instrumentation of fiddles, open-back and resonator banjos, acoustic and resonator guitars, they set an emphasis on lively arrangements that showcase their signature vintage vocal harmonies. Joined by John Miller, (The Fox Hunt, The Hackensaw Boys,) on upright bass, they have been touring the US, UK and Ireland since 2012.

 Here's Locust Honey in July:

Jam band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are at The Broadberry Friday night. PPPP will be playing at Lockn' Festival in 2017 so you can get a sneak preview on a smaller stage Friday. Tix are $14 advance, $16 day of show, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with Elm opening. They've been known to throw Star Wars references, lyrically and musically, into their sets, so here's hoping they'll do a little tribute to Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia at the show. Here's PPPP playing in September:



Miramar (w/members of Bio Ritmo) bring some Latin flavor playing Puerto Rican boleros (joined by a string quartet!) to Gallery5 Friday evening. Tix are $8 advance, $10 at the door, Doors open at 8, music starts at 9 with openers Yeni Nostalji and Armando Muñoz. Miramar has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and here they are performing at The Kennedy Center in July:

Bluegrass/newgrass band The Infamous Stringdusters do two nights at The National, Friday and New Year's Eve. Friday's show has tix are $18 advance, $23 day of show, doors at 7, show at 8 with opener Jon Stickley Trio. NYE tix are $28 advance, $33 day of show, same times with opener Billy Strings. The Stringdusters got to collaborate like Ryan Adams and this lineup at Lockn' with Phil Lesh, Jon Fishman & Page McConnell (from Phish), Joe Russo, and Anders Osborne.



You can kick off New Year's Eve with your kids at Noon Year's Eve at noon on Saturday at Lamplighter Coffee Roaster's Addison St. location. No BS! Brass Band will provide the music. Lamplighter will provide the free cocoa. The ball will drop. There will be much rejoicing.

If you prefer a proper NYE show with No BS! Brass Band, they will be at Vagabond on NYE. Tix are $40 (including late night buffet and champagne toast) or $75 (includes the aforementioned and a 4 course prix fixe dinner). The doors open at 9 and a special guest will open. Here's No BS! at Plan 9 last month doing a Michael Jackson favorite:

The Taters ring in NYE at The County Seat Restaurant in Powhatan. The show starts at 8. It's $10 to get in and reservations are recommended. Here's The Taters on VA This Morning a few months ago:

The Shack Band and Jackass Flats are at The Camel for NYE. They'll get together at some point to form the Shackass Flats Band to pay tribute to rock icons we lost in 2016. Tix are $25 advance, $30 day of show and that includes champagne toast and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are going fast so don't sleep on this if you want to go. Here's one from The Shack Band:

The Broadberry will feature yacht rock tribute band Three Sheets to the Wind on NYE. Tix are $40 advance, $50 day of show and $75 VIP. Every attendee gets a free live CD from Three Sheets. Need something to get you ready for the show? Watch the hilarious 12 part Yacht Rock series. They are only 5 minutes each. There's a story behind every song. And it's a NSFW story. Here's episode 1, the story behind "What a Fool Believes":

Elana Lisa & The Hot Mess bring their swing/jazz/blues to The Tin Pan for NYE. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8:15. Tix are $27.50 and includes champagne toast. You can also get dinner reservations for a prix fixe menu. Here's the band earlier this year:

If you want some Grateful Dead for NYE, head to Iron Horse Restaurant in Ashland for Long Strange Night. They'll mix in some originals, some Beatles and some blues too. Things get underway at 9 and no cover is listed. Here's the band doing "Cold Rain & Snow" this summer:



That'll do it! Maybe I'll see you at the Stringdusters show on Friday night! Have a Happy New Year and good riddance to 2016. We lost too many good people this year and Carrie Fisher today was the last straw. Here's the Princess Leia theme from STAR WARS EPISODE IV "A New Hope" (1977).
Composed by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. May the Force be with you.



Tony Jordan

Friday Cheers: SHAKEY GRAVES UNABLE TO PERFORM

This came in at 7 PM last night from Friday Cheers:

"We regret to inform you that Shakey Graves is unable to perform at Friday Cheers tomorrow evening, May 1,  due to unforeseen personal circumstances.

 The following statement was issued this evening by the artist's management:

Please know how much Alejandro (Shakey Graves) appreciates every single fan, promoter, staff and volunteer that worked to bring our family to your stage.  In addition, please know that Alejandro absolutely appreciates your understanding, and canceling a show is nothing less than a last-resort option for our entire team. "

FRIDAY CHEERS will still go on, and Yarn has agreed to extend their originally scheduled opening set into two full sets for a full night of music. Music begins at 6:30pm.
Advance ticket purchasers who prefer not to attend may get a refund thru Ticketstobuy.

See you down the road and again, thank you for your understanding,
Alejandro and the entire Shakey Graves team & Friday Cheers Concert Series

(Ticketstobuy):  Online purchasers will receive a special email with information on the Shakey Graves May 1st show at Friday Cheers."

Weekly Picks: WRIR Party, Railroad Earth, EOTO, Beatles Tribute, Hackensaw Boys, Southern Belles, People's Blues of Richmond, Poston Brown Project

Thursday night, bluegrass fans will have some tough decisions to make as two bluegrass shows go on mere blocks from each other. We'll start with bluegrass/jam/Americana band Railroad Earth at The National. Tix are $20 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 with YARN. Railroad Earth is out supporting their new album, "Last of the Outlaws". Here's a sampling of Railroad Earth from their "Live at Red Rocks" video:



With the last couple weeknight shows I've seen at The National ending between 10:30 and 11, fans at the Railroad Earth show may want to head over to Capital Ale House after the Railroad Earth show to check out Charlottesville's Hackensaw Boys. Doors open at 9:30 and the show starts at 10:30 with Flight of Salt. It'll be $15 to get in. Here's Hackensaw Boys doing "Down South Blues" a few years ago at WNRN:

Speaking of independent radio stations, the big event Friday night is the benefit for Richmond low power station WRIR, the Party For The Rest Of Us. It will be held at the The Renaissance Ballroom at 107 W Broad St from 7 PM to Midnight. To get in, give a $10 donation (or more) at the door. There will be a bunch of bands playing including The Ar-Kaics, HYPERCOLOR, Herro Sugar, River City Taiko, and much, much more. I'll be heading down there myself sporting my new haircut and I don't even know what that will be yet (a Beatles hair cut to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, a Pete Rose cut, a bowl cut, a mohawk, a buzz cut, mullet, flattop, I just don't know). If you want to join me (for the show, not the haircut, well, you could join me for the haircut too, that's cool), let me know.

If you want some all improvised jamtronica Friday night, get thee down to The National for EOTO. Emalkay and ELM will open and there may be a few others taking the stage too. Door open at 8, show starts at 8 and I don't expect this one to end early. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. They've got a new stage setup and they always have might trippy stages. Here was the teaser for their Fall tour so you can get a little sample:



At The Camel on Friday night, Southern Belles continue their First Friday residency. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Major and The Monbacks from Norfolk. It's $7 to get in. Though the Belles play mostly originals (and good ones) these days, they always throw in a few choice covers. Here they are teamed up with Trongone Band doing the Grateful Dead's "Dire Wolf":



Saturday night at The Camel, People's Blues of Richmond are gonna rock, they're gonna roll you, they're gonna melt your face and pour whiskey down your throat. PBR just finished up a stint in the studio so they may have some new songs to drop on you. It'll be $8 at the door, Russell Lacy will start things off with some blues at 9:30, then Fool's Errand will play before PBR. Here's PBR the last time I went to see them on 11/30 at The Camel:

At Cary St. Cafe Saturday, it's a rare Poston Brown Project show. It'll get underway at 9:30 with opener Soulfly and it's FREE to get in. PBP plays music from The Grateful Dead, The Band, The Rolling Stones and more. There aren't any recent PBP videos (they don't play together too often anymore) so here's The Rolling Stones doing "Heartbreaker":

Sunday is the 50th anniversary of The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show that started the British Invasion and changed rock n' roll and music forever. Celebrate by going to The Camel to see a Beatles tribute with The Girtles (all girl Beatles tribute band), The Blue Tips and Goldrush. They'll all be doing their favorite Beatles songs. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. It'll probably look and sound something like this:



And nothing like this:



Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Weekly Picks: Charlie Wilson, Infamous Stringdusters, Papadosio, Skip Castro Band, The Nighthawks, Dark Star Orchestra, YARN, GWAR

The weekend between Christmas and New Year's is always a busy one. Everyone has time off which means those bands can play every night and this weekend is no exception.

Friday night, jamtronica band Papadosio comes to The National. Tix are $18 in advance, $23 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers EarthCry & Jimkata. EarthCry is a project from Papadosio's singer Anthony Throgmartin so get in there early if you want to check that out. Here's Papadosio doing "Dream Estate" in Ohio in November:



Over at the Canal Club on Friday, it's time for some old school blues-rock from Skip Castro Band and The Nighthawks. Doors will open at 8 and it's $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Here are the bands jamming together last year at The Jefferson Theater on the Chuck Berry classic "Little Queenie":

Saturday, bust out your tie-dye and head to The National for Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra. Tix are $25 in advance, $30 day of show. Doors will open at 7 and the show will start at 8. Get there on time because there is no opener, just two fat sets from DSO. They may recreate the setlist from a classic Dead show, they may just make it up as they go along, but either way this is as good of a classic Dead show as you'll get. Since today (12/26) is St. Stephen Day, let's hear DSO doing the Dead classic by the same name:



Lead singer on some of The Gap Band's biggest hits ("Early in the Morning", "You Dropped a Bomb on Me", "Party Train") and a Grammy nominated solo artist, Charlie Wilson will be at The Landmark Theater on Saturday night. Tix range from $51 - $81. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. No opener is listed, though it says the show is hosted by comedian Buckwylde. Here's Charlie telling you what his name is:



And here's Charlie with The Gap Band. Don't miss that train, people! This video is soooooooooooooo 80's!



It's bluegrass night over at The Camel with YARN. It's $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Doors will open at 9 and James Justin & Company will open. It's still the holidays so here is YARN performing Ray Charles' "The Spirit of Christmas" from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation":



If you've had enough of Christmas cheer and are ready for some bloody, mucous, and other bodily fluids sprayed mayhem, then by all means get thyself to the GWAR show at The National on Sunday night. Tix are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:30 with openers Iron Reagan, Battlecross and Gritter. And if you haven't already signed it, please sign the petition asking the NFL to allow GWAR to play the halftime show at the 2015 Super Bowl. If middle America thought Janet Jackson's nipple was bad, wait'll they get a load of this:

The Infamous Stringdusters will settle into The National for two shows on 12/30 & 31. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 8 each night. Tix on the 30th are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Tix for the 31st are $35 in advance, $40 at the door because everything is more expensive on NYE. They have a really fantastic selection of openers for these shows. On Monday night, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Jesse Harper and No BS! Brass Band will open. On Tuesday night, Sons of Bill, Carl Anderson and Love Canon open. Expect lots of mixing, matching and jamming across bands. Here's the Stringdusters jamming out in a style of their very own on "Machines" at The Festy Experience in October:



No BS! Brass Band will throw a party of their own on NYE at The Camel. Doors will open at 8 and The Green Boys will open the show. Tix are $20. Here they are at The Camel doing their great cover of a Rush tune at The Camel in November:



Cary St. Cafe will throw a New Year's Party of their own with Grateful Dead tribute band, King Solomon's Marbles. It starts at 10 PM and for $10 you get in, get some party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. Couldn't find any new KSM video so this'll have to do. I remember watching this show on pay-per-view.

At Capital Ale House on NYE, The Big Payback - James Brown tribute, will get down and get funky. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 and it's $15 in advance, $20 at the door to get in. Make sure you get a cab ride home so you can enjoy all those tasty, high ABV beers. Here they are at Cary St. Cafe in June 2012:



I'll leave you with this one which tells you all you need to know about pop-country in 2013:


Have a Happy New Year!

Tony Jordan

Cracker, YARN, Dropkick Murphys, The Band Perry

Kind of a slow weekend as things wind down until after Labor Day. I think even the bands are trying to get a couple weeks vacation in.

Friday at Ashland Coffee & Tea, it's Cracker Acoustic with David Lowery & Johnny Hickman. Tix are $22 in advance, $25 day of show. Show starts at 8. While I'm still waiting for Cracker and David's other band, Camper Van Beethoven, to do a proper electric show here in Richmond, this should be pretty damn good. David tells great stories so he'll be quite entertaining in between the great songs. And I'm sure they'll play all their classics. Eurotrash Girl, Get Off This, Happy Birthday to Me, Low, This Is Cracker Soul, Take Me Down to the Infirmary, Sick of Goodbyes, Let's Go for a Ride, Sweet Thistle Pie and many more. There aren't many tickets left for the show so get them soon. If they are sold out online, call Ashland Coffee & Tea directly. That's what they said on the site. Here's Cracker with "Teen Angst":



Over at The Camel on Friday night, it's Americana/bluegrass band YARN with Tarrant opening. Doors open at 9 PM, show starts at 10. On The Camel site and on Facebook, I don't see any indication of a cover charge but if there is one it should be between $5 and $10. Here's Jim Lauderdale sitting in with YARN a few weeks ago at Floyd Fest:



Sunday night, you can get your Irish on with Dropkick Murphys at The National. Doors open at 6:30, music starts at 7:30 with openers Swingin' Utters and BarRoom Heroes. Tix are $29. This is the Murphs (as I like to call them even if no one else does) with "The Boys Are Back" which is the kind of song people will get drunk and fight to on Sunday night.



Country band The Band Perry will be at Innsbrook on Wednesday night. Gates open at 5 PM, music starts at 6 PM with that fabled band TBA. Tix are $30 for GA lawn and it appears that all the Gold Circle tix are sold out. Here's the band, Perry, playing "Done" on a "Live on Letterman" webcast:



Here's The 20 Stages of Successfully Buying a Concert Ticket Online. And it's funny because it's true. Click HERE.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Henry Rollins, Gov't Mule, YARN, People's Blues of Richmond, Susan Greenbaum Band

I've got a binder full of shows tonight so let's get started!

Americana band YARN will be at The Camel Thursday night. Tix are $7 in advance, $10 at the door. The show will start at 8 with opener Luke Mitchem. Here's the video for their new song, "Annie":

Get More: Annie, Yarn, Yarn Videos

People's Blues of Richmond will be at Tobacco Company on Friday night. The show starts at 9:30 and it's FREE. Here they are when they performed at The National on 9/20/12 with horns!

Speaking of horns, over at The Camel on Friday, No BS! Brass Band plays with Larri Branch Agenda who are opening and celebrating the release of their CD, "Labragenda". It's $7 to get in and Larri Branch Agenda  starts the show at 9:30 (doors open at 9). Here's No BS! when they filmed their live DVD (out later this year) at Montrose Studio on 10/7/12:



Also on Friday, Bush League will be at Poe's Pub (THE place to go to watch the NFL on Sundays, especially the Eagles). Show starts at 9 and it's FREE. Here is the audio from the show they recently did on WRIR:



Saturday in Powhatan, it's the 10th Annual Powhatan Festival of the Grape. As the name would imply, this involves wine tasting and drinking from 30 VA wineries, crafts, food and entertainment from Casper and Steve Bassett. It's at Powhatan's Courthouse Square from 11 AM to 6 PM. Tickets are $25 for tasting and $15 for non-tasting.

Neil Young's 26th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert will be webcast HERE. It'll cost $5 to view the webcast but that's a small price to pay to help a good cause and see acoustic performances from bands like Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Guns N' Roses, Flaming Lips, Foster the People, Sarah McLachlan, Ray LaMontagne, Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers, KD Lang, Lucinda Williams & Gary Clark Jr. The webcast will only be on Saturday (they do a Sunday show too but no webcast for that one) starting at 7 PM ET.

Susan Greenbaum Band will be at Ashland Coffe & Tea Saturday night. Show starts at 8 and it's $10 at the door. Here's Susan performing Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine" with friends Renee Kingan and Jocelyn Oldham earlier this year:



Sunday night, punk provocateur, Henry Rollins, appears at The National. Henry's spoken word show is titled "Capitalism" and will begin at 8 PM (doors open at 7). Tix are $20 - $25.

Warren Haynes' Gov't Mule plays The National on Monday. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7 with the fabulous sacred steel guitar sounds of The Lee Boys (you'll like them if you like Robert Randolph) so get there early. Here's Gov't Mule doing "Time to Confess":



We'll be back with our next dispatch on Monday night to cover some of the big shows next week here in the RVA.

In a shout-out to old school Henry Rollins, here are 29 Amazing Punk Flyers From the 80's.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Frankie Rose, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Hackensaw Boys, Breathe Carolina, YARN

A surprisingly busy weekend for an Easter weekend, but that's a good thing.

Thursday night, the show at Strange Matter with Real Estate, The Twerps and Diamond Center is sold out. If you are going, make sure you get in when the music starts at 8 PM to see Richmond's own Diamond Center. They'll melt your face off with their heavy psychedelic garage rock.

At Kingdom on Thursday, you'll find the Lucky Street tour featuring Go Radio, This Providence, Tonight Alive, and Tyler Carter. The headliner, Go Radio, plays emo-y pop rock. The show starts at 6 and it's $12 to get in. Here's Go Radio performing "Goodnight Moon":



And here is Jay Mohr as Christopher Walken performing "Goodnight Moon":



Alt-country band YARN will be at The Camel on Thursday. It's $7 in advance and $10 at the door. Doors open at 8 and show starts at 9 with James Justin & Company and Farm Vegas.  Here's YARN doing "Abilene":

Richmond's NO BS! Brass Band will be at Balliceaux on Thursday night with their instrumental funk music. Show starts at 10 PM and it's FREE. Here's NO BS doing "Iron Palm":



Friday night at The National, Americana group The Hackensaw Boys will play especially for you. It's $15 in advance, $17 at the door, doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Horsehead. Here's The Hackensaw Boys performing at Knucklehead's in Kansas City in February:



Also on Friday, Black Girls and Big Payback (James Brown cover band) will play a funkalicious show at The Camel. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. No one is saying if there will be a cover charge but expect there to be a minimal one.

Saturday, electro-pop duo Breathe Carolina will be at The National headlining the Blackout Forever Tour which also features The Ready Set, Ashland High ft. Trace Cyrus (formerly of MetroStation), Matt Toka and It Boys. The doors open at 6 and the fun gets under way at 7. Tix are $16 advance, $19 at the door. Breathe Carolina has been named one of the "100 Bands You Need to Know" by Alternative Press magazine and now you know. Here's Breathe Carolina doing "Blackout" (NSFW because of couple f-bombs):



Sunday night, come down off your Easter candy high with Frankie Rose at Strange Matter. She kind of has an 80's Sundays/New Order new wave sound. Tix are $10. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9 with openers Dive, White Laces, and Nelly Kate. Here's Frankie's new video for "Night Swim":



Monday night, the band with the awesome name We Were Promised Jetpacks will be at The Camel with Bad Veins and New Cassettes. And we were promised jetpacks, we were all supposed to be flying around with them by now, according to all the "this will be the future" videos we used to see when were kids. Bastards. It's $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Here's the video for "Human Error" from WWPJ:



Have a most excellent weekend. Give the Easter Bunny a hug for me when you see him.

Tony Jordan

Friday Cheers '11 schedule, Yarn, Dark Star Orchestra, Bright Eyes, Ty Segall

The Friday Cheers schedule was announced today and I'm really digging it.  Here is the full lineup.  Remember it will cost you $5 or $10 to get in this year, depending on the show, but I think that should be worth it as they got some good quality acts and it should cut down on the number of people who feel the need to talk up near the band.  We will, of course, cover each band in depth when we get to that week.

5/6 - Carbon Leaf w/Lights East - $5
5/13 & 14 - Dominion Riverrock fest with the air dog event, mud run, kayak jumps, freestyle mountain biking and a couple bands and all FREE, I believe
--5/13 - Perpetual Groove w/Big Gigantic and Josati
--5/14  - music all day with headliner Yonder Mountain String Band, People's Blues of Richmond, William Walter & Tucker Rogers, Psychobilly Cadillac, and The Bush League.
5/20 - Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue w/Glows In The Dark - $5
5/27 - RVA Music Night featuring Three Sheets to the Wind, NO BS! Brass Band and Long Arms - $5
6/3 - Corey Smith with David Shultz and the Skyline - $5
6/10 - Drive-By Truckers - $10 (editors note: HELL YEAH!)
6/17 - The David Grisman Sextet with The Hot Seats - $5
6/24 - Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings with The New Belgians - $10

I think I've got six definite see bands on that list (Carbon Leaf, Perpetual Groove, YMSB, DBT, Grisman, Sharon Jones) and two quite possibly's (Trombone Shorty & RVA Music Night).  So you should see me on the Island quite a bit.

Let's put our dreams of shorts, t-shirts, and drinking beer under the warm, late spring sun aside for now and get back to what is going on this weekend where at least it is starting to warm up a bit.  Wednesday night at Ashland Coffee & Tea, Yarn will regale you with Americana-ish tales of traveling, dirt and knitting.  Here is what the Ashland Coffee & Tea site says: "Yarn’s music — just like the band’s namesake — aims to be simple, functional and fun. Since Yarn released its debut album in 2007, the band has been puddle-jumping from one career highlight to the next, from charting on the Americana Music Association’s Top 40 to performing live on National Public Radio’s Mountain Stage to making an appearance on the Grammy ballot. Along the way, Yarn picked up its share of acolytes, including Edie Brickell, banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka and Caitlin Cary of Whiskeytown fame, all of whom made cameos on the band’s 2008 sophomore release, Empty Pockets."

The show starts at 7 with openers Andy Friedman & Caleb Stine.  Tix are $12 in advance, $17 at the door.  Here's Yarn doing their tune "Schenectady":


Friday night, Grateful Dead cover band, Dark Star Orchestra comes to The National.  Doors open at 7, show starts at 8 and there is no opener listed.  Tix are $20 in advance, $25 day of show.  Here's DSO doing "China Cat Sunflower" at All Good Festival last year:


If you go see DSO or even if you don't head over to Cary St Cafe to see Skydog's Dark Star Orchestra After Party.  Show starts at 10 and cover is $5 with your DSO stub.  I think it might by $5 without a DSO stub but Skydog's Facebook page doesn't really say nor does the Cary St. Cafe site.  Skydog is our local Allman Brothers tribute band.  It would be really cool if they could coordinate with DSO and recreate the 6/10/73 RFK Stadium show with the Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead with DSO doing the Dead's set, Skydog doing the Allman's set and then DSO joining Skydog at Cary St. Cafe to recreate the legendary third set with members of both the Allmans & Dead.  Skydog, make it happen. 

Sunday night, Bright Eyes aka Conor Oberst comes to The National.  The show is SOLD OUT but if tix do pop-up they'll be $25 in advance, $28 at the door.  Doors open at 7 PM, show starts at 8 PM with opener Cursive.  Here's Bright Eyes performing "Jejune Stars" on Letterman last week:


On Monday night, a dude that has been getting a lot of critical acclaim lately, Ty Segall, will be at Strange Matter.  The show starts at 7 PM with openers Super Vacations and Bermuda Triangles.  Neither Ty's MySpace page nor the Strange Matter site say how much the show will cost but I would figure no more than $12.  Ty's MySpace page lists him as Folk/Garage/Psychedelic which is as good a description as any.  If you like the "Nuggets" compilations, you'll like this.  Here is Ty with his video for "Cents":


Wanted to share this video with you because Honey Badger don't give a f**k.  (Language NSFW):


Finally, let's move forward with our Paste Magazine 25 best music videos of 2010.  This week, we feature Jonsi (who is the new Bjork) and his video "Go Do".  It features the androgynous Jonsi dressed like a bird, acting kind of like a bird and hanging out with birds and apparently a big fan of the movie "Birdy".  He also can't seem to get his suitcase open and is losing patience with that.  There is some fine cinematography or as I like to put it "purty pictues" and I do like the song. 

Jónsi - Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

That's it for this week.  Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan