WNnG – Musings from the desk of chaz.

Two great upcoming shows next weekend if you find yourself bored.

[Saturday, July 12th, 2008]
@ BCHQ. (723 N. Mangum, Durham.) 10pm. 5 bucks.

DES ARK (myspace)
YARDWORK (myspace)
HAMMER NO MORE THE FINGERS (myspace)

This will be the post show following Les Savy Fav at the Nasher Museum of Art here in Durham. Which I’m equally crazy excited about. As soon as that show wraps up around 9:30pm or so, I’ll be booking it over to the space (hopefully with a caravan of kids) to catch this other fine event.

Des Ark is under construction again and has returned with a jaw-dropping new line-up. Aimee is easily one of our area’s finest songwriters and with her, she’s bringing Evan Rowe (drummer extraordinare for Maple Stave, Grappling Hook, etc.) and Noah Howard (guitarist-marveloustest for Tiger Bear Wolf, Marijuana Wolf, Transit Union, etc.). Two guitars and one madman drummer equals quite a bit of awesomeness. Be there for this. They’re on tour with Yardwork from Charlotte and Aimee is also joining that band for the tour. I believe they have ties to the highly missed band, Control. I’m pretty excited to see these guys live! And then, last but not least, there will indeed be some Hammer. Upbeat, energetic and catchy indie rawk in the vein of 90s heavyweights – Ted Leo and Pavement.

[Sunday, July 13th, 2008]
@ BCHQ. (723 N. Mangum, Durham.) 8pm. 5 bucks.

THE ERGS! (myspace)
HUNCHBACK (myspace)
THE DROWSIES (myspace)
THE BEGIN-AGAINS (myspace)

Pop punk-a-rama!! This here will be the show of the summer. Most definitely. We’re talking some good, upbeat, feel-good, pop punk. Wanna feel like you’re in high school again for a second with nowhere to go? This’ll be the show to wander aimlessly towards! Or, perhaps you’re in high school and haven’t quite discovered the world of dog-day, DIY pop punk. Ever found yourself wishing you’d been around to see Screeching Weasel in the 90s? F.Y.P. at any point? Green Day in the late 80s/early 90s? Hell, any of the Lookout Records roster in the early 90s?? This is your chance. This is the moment to relive it, fall into it for the first time, or just plain jazz yourself for the summer.

The Ergs is the current best pop punk band in the the States. And that’s no over-exaggerating. I’ll stand behind it. They’re currently on Dirtnap Records (Exploding Hearts, etc.) I’m always excited when they roll through town. Native to New Brunswick, NJ, these are true music collector geeks to the core. There’s just one catch though. They’re also true-to-the-bone music composition geeks. Most, if not all three, are classically trained or jazz trained. They choose to play the most brilliantly dumbed-down pop punk I’ve heard in ages. They’ve stripped away every last bit of pretension or musician poise and they just play from the gut, from the heart, from their cleared-conscience heads. The knack they have for writing a hook is uncanny. Every single song they create will stay, trapped by the murk in yer head until the sunshine cracks through. Hmmm? Yup.

They were playing the shop a couple years ago. One of the first shows here and the PA broke on us. Instead of being upset or complaining about it, they just silently broke into a spot-on Thelonious Monk cover until the PA was fixed. A three-piece, punk band. Breaking into a Thelonious Monk cover all at once.

With them will be Hunchback, also from New Brunswick. They played the shop before as well. I’m pretty sure that show was on a random weeknight with the Ergs and Vireo (a Nathan Tarr band, he’s now leading the amazing Wood Ear). The Hunchback’s set ended in sweaty chaos with keyboard keys flying off and hitting walls and people falling to the floor. Needless to say, it was a great show. It’s more of an arty DIY approach to punk. Their new album just came out on Don Giovanni Records!

The Drowsies are veterans of the Raleigh/Durham pop punk scene. By veterans, I mean they’ve managed to stay together for about two years now. Songs about quesadillas and Bjork. They draw the bulk of their inspiration from the Dead Milkmen and the Desendents. Quirky, goofy and fun. The Begin-Agains just played BCHQ last weekend and were amazing. They’re quickly gonna become one of my favorite local bands. Prepare to see them on a lot more bills. A lot of their inspiration comes from the Ergs actually, which in turn connects them back to the early 90s San Francisco pop punk sound. Catchy and fun. I think I even heard them start to cover an Ergs song to warm up for the show the other night. Let’s hope we get a taste of the whole song at this show!

Thanks for reading!
Hope to see ya out!