Thursday, February 7, 2013

This week's hot concerts

Jamie Laval Trio
7:30 p.m. Friday, February 8, Great Aunt Stella Center, 926 Elizabeth Ave. Free (donations accepted). www.folksociety.org
This award winning Celtic fiddler now makes his home in Asheville where he’s teamed with guitarist David Brown and bagpiper/flutist E.J. Jones. They bring the music of Scotland, Ireland, Quebec, Brittany and Appalachia to the Charlotte Folk Society’s latest Gathering.

The Slackers
8:30 p.m. Friday, February 8, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $15. 704-358-9200.
The prolific NYC outfit, who describes its music as “Jamaican rock n’ roll,” is going strong 17 years after its first release and continues to stretch the widely-held perception of post ska-punk ska and its boundaries while still respecting tradition.

Sixpence None the Richer
8 p.m. Saturday, February 9, Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. $15-$18. 704-358-9298.
With its hit “Kiss Me” and its popular covers of the La’s and Crowded House, Matt Slocum and Leigh Nash’s band became one of the first Christian acts to crossover to alternative pop radio. After a hiatus, the band regrouped in 2007. Five years later it released the new album “Lost in Transition."

Testament
6:45 p.m. Sunday, February 10, The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd. $33. www.livenation.com 
After its highly successful 2011/2012 tour with Anthrax and Death Angel, cancer survivor vocalist Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick and company headline its own thrashfest following the release of 2012’s “Dark Roots of Earth.” With Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam, and 4Arm. 

Corb Lund
8 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. $10-$12. www.eveningmuse.com
With lyrically amusing (and sometimes serious) songs like “Drink It Like You Mean It” and “The Gothest Girl I Can” this Juno winning Canadian songwriter topped the charts in his home country with his latest slice of old school-inspired honky tonk, “Cabin Fever.”  


Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds/the Wheeler Brothers

8 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $10-$12. www.visulite.com
The petite powerhouse soul singer and her brass-driven funk band have been causing a stir with its tough and fiery take on a classic mix. She strikes somewhere between Tina Turner and Nikka Costa fronting a versatile funk band with bite.   

Patterson Hood
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 13, McGlohon Theatre, 345 N. College St. $20. 704-372-1000.
Well known in the Drive-By Truckers for his writing contributions and the gruff, Southern vocals that help sell that band’s lived-it take on working class pain and drama, Hood goes it alone with his third solo album and more intimate concerts which still feature the Truckers’ Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzalez.  

Social Studies/Ramona Falls
10 p.m. Wednesday, February 13, Snug Harbor, 1228 Gordon St. Free. 704-333-9799.
The female-fronted San Francisco dream-rock quintet Social Studies curbs its desire to experiment on its new album, “Developer,” which is dark, layered rock that remains simultaneously direct and mysterious. Brent Knopf of indie-rock band Menomena’s side-turned-full time project, Ramona Falls (who should win a Grammy for its complicated cd design), glides on an equally interesting, dark synth-rock plain.

Eoto
8 p.m. Thursday, February 14, Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $17-$20. www.etix.com

This duo has made a name for itself on the electronic and jam scenes by executing a complex, entirely improvised live show and for its equally engaging visuals which has the band surrounded by a  lotus flower made of screens which serves as a backdrop for constantly morphing projections.