Swedish death metal group In Flames has cancelled Monday's show at Amos' Southend due to a family illness. The band was in the midst of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival with Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machinehead and others. This means it will also not be on the bill Wednesday, August 3 in Raleigh when Mayhem hits the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek.
The band released the following statement on its website Sunday afternoon:
It is with huge regret that today with immediate effect, In Flames must cancel their current US shows as part of the Mayhem tour and their own US headline shows. But due to a serious terminal illness of one of the band's immediate family members they feel they have no option.
"We have had the most amazing and fun times as part of the Mayhem tour and we are truly grateful for all the support the whole festival has shown. We will be back at the start of 2012. Once again, our apologies."
Refunds will be issued for tickets to the Amos' show.
Last weekend guitar great Slash celebrated his 46th birthday. To commemorate one of their best client's big days Gibson compiled a list of Slash's most notable guest gigs. It's an interesting list that includes some work I forgot about or wasn't even aware of, but not his Super Bowl halftime gig with Black Eyed Peas.
You can read the article, complete with video clips, here.
Slash actually revisited "Always on the Run," the Lenny Kravitz track that he co-wrote and performed on, at his solo concert at Charlotte's Fillmore in February. That song was always my favorite Kravitz track and it was a real treat to hear him play it live.
On another note, 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of "Appetite for Destruction." I'm curious to see what, if anything, comes of that. If not the proper reunion, which fans are clamoring for online (there is even a petition to reunite the original lineup), I'm at least hoping for a remastered reissue with lots of extras (although sound quality seems to be hit or miss on these things). Twenty-five years also makes Guns n' Roses eligible for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. As much as I'd like to see that, it seems premature considering some of the artists that have been ignored. Plus, having the artists my generation grew up with like Metallica and Run DMC inducted just makes me feel old.
Charlotte Indie-rock trio Angwish celebrates its 15th anniversary and cd release Friday, July 29, at Smokey Joe's Cafe (510 Briar Creek Rd.). While Angwish has been around for a long time and has been fairly prolific, 15 years doesn't quite seem possible. Vocalist/guitarist Bryan Bielanski actually started the band when he was 17. Longtime bassist and backing vocalist Rachael Malmberg joined in 2003. Neither member looks their age so its not surprising that reviews referred to them as "kids."
The Anniversary party also sees the release of its new disc "Data West," which is a collection of b-sides, some dating way back. Bielanski says, almost as a disclaimer, that some of the songs on the disc feature Angwish at its most raw and were really only intended for release so fans could hear just how far the band has come.
As someone that's followed them since fairly early on I've watched them develop into more mature songwriters and arrangers with each record. I've always been impressed by how well they pull disparate influences together. What's been a defining thread over the last few years though is the Pixies-like vocal interplay between Bielanski and Malmberg.
If we were handing out high school yearbook superlatives I've long thought of Angwish (along with a few other local bands like Scapegoat, Harvard, and Campbell) as "most improved." That's not to say those bands didn't show promise early on, but because they started performing when they were so young and new, it is easy to see now how much they've evolved.
The annual Bele Chere Festival in downtown Asheville kicks off Friday at noon with arts, crafts, live music and children's activities. Music begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday's lineup includes Black Mountain's eclectic and critically acclaimed Floating Action, Athens' power rock trio the Whigs, Southern rockers the Apache Relay, song songwriter Marc Broussard (pictured), and rootsy Greensboro outfit Holy Ghost Tent Revival.
Music continues Saturday across four stages with the Cedric Burnside Project, Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Rebirth Brass Band, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, and Railroad Earth. Sunday's lineup features the Stereofidelics, Skinny Legs and All, Do It to Julia, Papadosio, and Hoots & Hellmouth.
The entire lineup and schedule is available here. Other activities at the family-friendly festival include arts and crafts exhibitors, local merchants, food vendors, and a children's area with crafts, rides, inflatables, performances, and a Lego table where kids will build a block replica of Asheville.
8 p.m. Friday, July 29, Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. $15-$18. 704-358-9200.
This Carolina institution rarely slows down despite nearing the 30-year-mark. It continues its toe tapping, humor-filled brand of retro roots-rock and celebration of Carolina culture on 2010’s “Kudzu Ranch” and the recently digitally reissued “Santo Swings.”
Country’s biggest trio (this side of Lady Antebellum at least) makes its annual summer trek to Charlotte with Sara Evans, who is enjoying somewhat of a comeback after a long recording hiatus, Easton Corbin, and Justin Moore in tow.
DS The Evolution/Leydy Bonilla
8 p.m. Saturday, July 30, Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. $15-$20. 704-358-9298.
The Latin duo that fuses hip-hop, reggaeton, Bachata and Merengue and the Dominican vocalist both call Charlotte home, but tour internationally. This hometown show gives locals a chance to catch these popular musical exports.
Sade/John Legend
7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 31, Time Warner Cable Arena, 333 E. Trade St. $37.75-$170.60. www.ticketmaster.com
After a long break the Nigerian born UK singer and her band returned from a second retirement in 2010 for a fourth Grammy win and a 2011 tour featuring fellow award winner Legend in the opening slot.
Team Levine is back with the band after coaching “The Voice’s” Javier Colon to a win. He and his soul-pop outfit, who mine their rock roots on stage, join Train and Gavin DeGraw.
Young Jeezy
8 p.m. Tuesday, August 2, Fillmore, 1000 Seaboard St. $38. www.livenation.com
The growling South Carolina-born, Atlanta-based rapper behind “Ballin,” “Lose My Mind” and “Soul Survivor” heads up his TM103 Tour with rising, fast-talking rapper Freddie Gibbs, and Deniro Farrar with J. Capri as support acts.
Selena Gomez & the Scene
7 p.m. Wedneseday, August 3, Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheatre, 1000 Seaboard St. $38-$96.05. www.livenation.com
The now 19-year-old "Wizards of Waverly Place" star is the latest Disney princess to try to break the Mickey-mold without wrecking her tween-friendly image. She channels Gaga lite with the costume changes and electro-pop of her recent single "Love You Like a Love Song."
The Top 11 from the latest season of "American Idol" aren't the only "Idol" grads to hit a Charlotte stage this week. Before the "AI Live" tour stops at Time Warner Cable Arena Thursday, Season 6 finalist Sanjaya Malakar plays The Milestone Tuesday, July 26.
The small, graffiti-ed Milestone is a long way from Hollywood's "AI" stage, but the storied West Charlotte haunt is the kind of venue that sees it all - a musically open-minded place where you're as likely to see a phlegm spewing punk band as you are a foot stomping country act or a soulful funk combo. The common thread is usually that most of these bands are underground or on-the-cusp.
In the case of Malakar (pictured above), he's already performed for millions on television and toured with his season's "AI Live" Tour. Even if you remember nothing of his voice, you're likely aware of his name, his screen grabbing ever changing hairdos, or his ability to annoy and confound Simon Cowell. The seventh place finisher who was only 16 when he auditioned for the Fox reality series, is once again under the radar . He's touring small clubs like other indie artists. He plays the Milestone with Oregon-based indie-pop artists Brave Chandeliers and Chris Blair. Tickets are $7 to $9. Doors are at 8 p.m.
Watch his acoustic performance at Yahoo's Music Lounge here.
Poly Styrene, the singer for iconic punk band X-Ray Spex, died of cancer in April but she also released a new album, "Generation Indigo," that same month. "Ghoulish" is the latest single from that disc and its a really beautiful dark pop song written about another fellow musician that was gone much too soon. Styrene penned the song about Michael Jackson, his physical appearance late in life, and the coverage that surrounded him. Before her death she said: "I never met him but he seemed soft spoken and gentle. It was all over the media and I thought I would write that song, but it could be about any goth."
The above video featuring a cast of mostly mediocre Jackson impersonators was released today. I found it and the song both really charming. It's funny to think the same ethereal vocalist singing "Ghoulish" is the same one screaming the classic punk anthem "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" It makes me want to run right out and get the rest of the record.
Courtney Devores has been writing about music and entertainment in Charlotte for 16 years and has been a regular contributor to The Charlotte Observer since 2003.
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