Review: Bubonik Funk "Zabooki"

Bubonik Funk’s third release “Zabooki” begins with a typical blues lick, but the direction and scope grows from there. When the fourth track “Mung Beans” bursts from the speakers with vocalist Dylan Ellett declaring “Life isn’t fair!” like the extroverted offspring of Anthony Keidis and David Lee Roth, the group really hits its stride. Ellett approaches the half rapped vocals like a blues singer while guitarist Stefan Kallandar provides playful notes that are just as engaging as the lyrics about origami birds and a cane-playing bum that fancies himself a member of ZZ Top. It escalates into a fun guitar workout even adding some bouncy, subtle horns to the track's close.

Since the Charlotte jam-funk quartet’s first EP, “OTB,” in 2008 the band’s arrangements and vocals have become more refined. Ellett’s low raspy vocals and interplay with Kallandar is more seamless. The direction isn’t always obvious. Take “Organized Crime.” It swells into a soulful funk with a nice layer of backing vocals, while “Mystic Feeney” grows from a hypnotic intro that’s fairly serious and sympathetic to its subject into a wild blues-funk romp about mental instability and hallucination. The dynamics drive it back and forth between those two extremes. That approach works well considering its subject matter.

“Baby Equipment,” which closes the album, is another highlight. With its synthed-up bop-bop-bop-bop verses it’s easy to imagine it on classic rock radio (although it varies between `70s and `80s in feel). But it would also fit on modern rock radio today. And while guitar solos can often sound stuck-on last minute and extravagant (more for the player than the song), “Baby Equipment” includes one of the most fitting solos in recent memory. It begins with an irresistibly classic feel then swerves into a psychedelic funk frenzy of wah wah and distortion aided noodling.

As usual the lyrics are quirky and interesting. I can’t tell if the vocals are a more prominent part of the mix on this record, but the lyrics certainly draw listeners in. Some are direct such as “This’ll Be the Day” - a hopeful tale of romantic chase - and “Mystic Feeney,” which riffs on mental illness. Others, like “Organized Crime,” are more mysterious (“My trophy wife bites”, huh?).

The songs sound less improvisational and more intentional, possibly because some of them were written through email exchanges while its members were off at college. Bubonik Funk didn't seem absent from the Charlotte music scene because it’s gigged fairly regularly, but in actuality tonight’s show at Evening Muse marks its first in four years as a truly Charlotte-based band. In that time Kallander has studied music at Berklee in Boston while Ellett (who also plays keys) was at Eastern Carolina University studying film. Meanwhile the rhythm section of Daniel Allison (drums) and Nick McOwen (bass) remained in town.

The band celebrates the release of “Zabooki” tonight, June 29, at Evening Muse at 10:30 p.m. with Vagabond Swing. Admission is $5 to $7. 704-376-3737; www.eveningmuse.com

This week's hot concerts

Chiddy Bang

8 p.m. Friday, June 29, Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $15/$50 VIP (includes Meet and Greet & photo opp). www.etix.com

The hip-hop duo headlines Kiss 95.1’s Summer Jam displaying its knack for splicing childlike hooks into irresistibly fun hits like “Mind Your Manners” and “Opposite of Adults.” Australian DJ Havana Brown (“We Run the Night”) also performs.

Bubonik Funk

10:30 p.m. Friday, June 29, Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St. $5. 704-376-3737.

The bluesy jam band celebrates the release of its new album, “Zabooki,” which seems to find the Charlotte act focusing more closely on its lyrics and vocals amid veering between funky atmospherics and fun and quirky rock workouts.

S.O. Stereo/Local Traumatic

8 p.m. Saturday, June 30, Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $8. 704-377-6874.

Long one to watch, this Charlotte quartet continues to evolve as a formidable pop-rock unit whose work has appeared on Showtime's "Shameless" and "The Vampire Diaries" (where its frontman was even hypnotized into backing one of the main characters onstage). Its paired with young female fronted up and comer the Local Traumatic.

Groove 8

10 p.m. Saturday, June 30, Double Door, 1218 Charlottetown Ave. $7. 704-376-1446.

Before embarking on its annual West Coast tour this Charlotte jazz-funk institution (members hail from Audioform and The X-Periment) celebrates the release of its latest album, which delivers everything from Latin jazz to funky R&B to cinematic retro flavor while featuring vocals for the first time.

Fresh Music Festival

7 p.m. Sunday, July 1. Time Warner Cable Arena, 333 E. Trade St. $52-$90.10. www.ticketmaster.com

Doug E. Fresh hosts this hip-hop and R&B flashback, which includes native sons K-Ci (recently seen on stage and in the crowd at May’s New Edition concert) and JoJo, Keith Sweat, SWV, and Guy.

Hellbound Glory

8 p.m. Sunday, July 1, Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave. $8. www.etix.com

The Reno outfit makes modern outlaw country that’s far removed from today’s glossy Nashville. Instead its songs of drinking and hard living resonate with lived-in grittiness, gruff vocals, and lines like “I’m spittin’ blood but still running my mouth.”

Coldplay/Robyn

7 p.m. Tuesday, July 3. Time Warner Cable Arena. $38.45-$116.60. www.ticketmaster.com

The British rock band create a revival-like atmosphere that's cemented its as a pop force. Swedish dance pop’s Robyn creates a spectacle with irresistible songs, space age fashion risks and wacky dancing.

Foxy Shazam

7 p.m. Tuesday, July 3. Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St. $10.65. www.etix.com

As an opening act, this live force usually steals the show. As a headliner the over-the-top, Queen-like glam throwback spins positive arena-ready anthems with all of its members oozing charisma and character on stage. 

Chocolate Drops drop into Mint Wednesday

Grammy winning trio the Carolina Chocolate Drops return to their home state Wednesday for a performance at The Mint Museum Uptown as part of the opening reception for "Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial." Dial - a renowned African-American artist from Alabama who is now in his eighties - will also be on hand as the museum's special guest of honor. The string band's music is a fitting companion for Dial's work because both draw on similar eras of Southern African-American traditions.

Tickets for the reception and concert range from $50 for members to $75 for non-members. The reception begins at 6 p.m. The Mint Museum Uptown is part of Levine Center for the Arts on S. Tryon St. You can find tickets here.

The Chocolate Drops' latest album, "Leaving Eden," was released in February.

Avetts set release date

The Avett Brothers announced today that it will release its anxiously awaited new album "The Carpenter" on September 11. The band posted the following message on Facebook this morning: 


"Today we are excited to announce that on the eleventh of September, we will release our 6th full length album, THE CARPENTER. The second song on the record, 'Live and Die' is available today NPR Music for anyone who would like to hear it. A continued thanks to all those who support us in our artistic pursuits and our ongoing travels. See you soon... -THE AVETT BROTHERS"


The Concord band, who plays the Vancouver International Jazz Festival today, performed the song "Murder in the City" last Thursday on "Conan." Readers may remember Conan O'Brien gave the band its first national late night talk show debut a few years back when he was still on NBC. You can watch the clip above. 

Review: Sinners & Saints "Stupid Little Songs"

There’s something about Charlotte singer-songwriter Perry Fowler that makes you want to root for him. Maybe it’s the natural charm he carries with him no matter if he’s waiting tables, in the audience enthusiastically watching his Charlotte music peers, or on stage both solo and with  Sinners & Saints (his band with Mark Baran). His demeanor is genial, never forced. The “Stupid Little Songs” on the new five track Sinners & Saints EP are no different. The group delivers countrified tales of love with twangy harmonies and rootsy instrumentation - harmonica, fiddle, etc. Those instruments blend well, but are still allowed room to breathe on songs like “Million Dollars” where you can hear strings plucked, a fiddle weeping, and the calculated strum of the guitar. It’s the kind of song you can imagine quieting a crowd at The Thirsty Beaver on a Sunday afternoon.

“Stupid Little Songs” is deeply Southern, but contemporary. Fowler’s phrasing on “I Don’t Want to Work” for instance reminds me of critically acclaimed Americana darling Jessica Lea Mayfield (who is from Ohio, so not exactly Southern), but delivered briskly. The song then whisks into a lovely harmonized refrain of “I don’t want to go to work/All I want to do is stay in bed with you” - a simple sentiment that succinctly captures that feeling of falling in love at the beginning of a relationship, talking into the wee hours, wanting to spend every minute together and making yourselves late for work. Anyone that’s fallen in love in that manner should relate to it.

That outlook carries into the next track “Have It All,” which is equally catching. The sentiment - “Seems like we’re all either searching for something or someone/Sometimes we settle for anything or anyone/What’s say we take the fall...we had those feeling whenever we was young and unafraid to have it all” - is more mature and reflective, as if looking back on a time when the romantic risks of the opening track were the norm. It could actually be interpreted as a critique on relationships, getting older, or even the way some consumers accept whatever’s easiest (mainstream radio, reality TV) and closest to access as they get older instead of seeking out quality in entertainment. That may be reading too much into it, but I like it when a song works on several different levels and allows the listener to come to a conclusion - and more than one at that.

“I’m No Good” is more of a downhome boot stomper and probably a bit less resonant than some of the more emotionally-anchored tracks. But as a faster, upbeat track it could be one of the strongest live.

The harmonies and instrumentation recall early Avett Brothers. “Stupid Little Songs” is marked by the same raw, rugged feel and harmonies that blend well without the singers’ voices all mashing together. You can hear the highs, the lows, and the in-betweens. Those qualities are most notable on the final track “The Odds."  Its matter-of-fact delivery of lines like “Don’t forget where you came from…we must all overcome” also remind me of those Avetts’ lines that inspire massive crowds to sing along often loudly overtaking the band.

Sinners & Saints play Snug Harbor Friday with Black Iron Gathering and Antique Animals. 9 p.m. $5. 704-333-9799; www.snugrock.com (Photo courtesy of the band's site at http://www.reverbnation.com/sinnersandsaintsnc)

Con meets club culture at Chop Shop Saturday

In the past few years I’ve grown to enjoy pop culture conventions. It wasn’t something that was even on my radar a decade ago, but since my first in 2003 I’ve been to Wizard World Philadelphia, a “Buffy” con in Knoxville, and comic book and horror conventions.

It all started when actor James Marsters (who played Spike on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”) made his first appearance at DragonCon in Atlanta. He’s become a regular guest at the Labor Day weekend convention, which my husband and I have also set an annual marker for on our calendars. This year I’ll take my best friend from high school to her first Con. Last year I added Eliza Dushku to my collection of Buffy autographs. This year I’ll add Rose McGowan’s sig to the “Death Proof” poster Rosario Dawson signed at HeroesCon a few years ago.

HeroesCon, which is taking place at The Charlotte Convention Center this weekend, has become another permanent “X” on our calendar and, unlike DragonCon, it’s close and family friendly enough that we can bring our children along. 

There’s plenty of late night adult entertainment for the comic book set during HeroesCon though, including a new offsite entry from NoDa’s Chop Shop. The NoDa venue/bar celebrates HeroesCon’s 30^th Anniversary with the folks behind the White Trash theme parties. The Con-themed/geek culture concert and party features the rocking house band Iron Cordoba (no strangers to costumes themselves) with hip-hop artists Aswell (of Mr. Invisible), Shadow, 10:Teal, and Wolly Vinyl as well as alien bellydance from Naima Sultana, freak show stunts from Ms. Collette and Billy ½, and makeup and airbrushing from the Get Dead Crew. DJ Grandbastard will spin as well.

Prizes, food, games, and dance competitions are also on the menu. Cosplay is also encouraged. And a video game character dance-off is also mentioned on the website if that helps you narrow your costume choices. Doors open at 8 p.m. and it’s free. 

Iron Maiden opens tour with long awaited return

Influential theatrical metal veteran Iron Maiden kicked off its Maiden England World Tour at Charlotte’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Thursday. The opening night show marked the British band’s first Queen City concert in nearly 25 years as frontman Bruce Dickinson (pictured above) noted following “2 Minutes to Midnight” four songs into its set.

“Last time we were here it was 1988. I’ve become a daddy three times since,” said the 53-year-old who added that the last Charlotte show was actually August 9, 1988. Dickinson said the audience held a few thousand more people this time as Thursday’s crowd swelled around 14,000. 

The crowd response was that of fans that had been waiting over two decades (and in some cases their entire lives). The reaction to “The Trooper,” which featured Dickinson wearing a red and white military jacket and waving the Union Jack, was arguably unparalleled throughout the night. “Run To the Hills” had heads banging and bodies thrashing in nearly equal measure with the band’s mascot Eddie in giant form twice the height of the band members bounding across the stage in Colonial military attire (above).

Though it wasn’t a song-for-song recap, the show closely mirrored 1988’s “Seventh Son of a Seventh Tour” (which was released on VHS under the name “Maiden England”) down to the opening track “Moonchild” and the arctic stage that placed the members on a giant floating iceberg with drummer Nicko McBrain imbedded in the center of the glacier. 

Following the hit "Can I Play with Madness," the crowd roared as footage of the cult `60s TV show “The Prisoner” flashed on screens to introduce the song of the same name, which the band reportedly hasn’t performed live in decades.  

Up to this point the sound was muddy with little definition, but it began to improve during “Afraid to Kill Strangers.” Friends on the lawn agreed. But opening night technical bugs are to be expected (yes Maiden has been rehearsing here all week, but not cushioned by 14,000 bodies). Founder Steve Harris’ (pictured above) bass cut through everything. If you’re going to have bass licks rising to the top of the mix Harris’ are the ones you want. Miming most of the lyrics, Harris with his waist-length brown waves and tall frame stalked the stage emitting crisp, elastic notes.

The only other bug was with pyrotechnics that didn’t trigger on the first try when Dickinson was “raising” flames during “Phantom of the Opera.” He just shrugged it off with a laugh.

Age hasn’t affected Dickinson who pounced and ran across the stage athletically, jumping through the air at one point. Vocally he remains one of the strongest in metal. What was different from 1988 was his attire. Now with close cropped hair, he wore a sleeveless black t-shirt beneath a vest that looked like it was made of actual thick fishing rope (not fishnet) and brown pants laced up the sides.

Guitarist Adrian Smith astounded with his solo on “Wasted Years.” Songs like it, “Phantom,” “The Clairvoyant” and “Fear of the Dark” with signature twin guitars and changing tempos and dynamics reminded me what a huge influence Iron Maiden has had on contemporary hardcore and metal bands that regularly juxtapose intricate picking and theatrical classically-influenced passages with wailing layered guitars and charging heaviness.

The theatrics included plenty of Eddie who hovered over the band in different forms - always a part of the changing backdrops in costumed stilt-walker form during “Run to the Hills” (another obvious crowd favorite) and as a huge red-eyed Buddha-like statue resurrected from the original `88 tour that rose during “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.” A goat-headed god stood to one side of the stage with its head hanging during “Number of the Beast” and an evil organist appeared during “Seventh Son,” but the creepiest prop award goes to the creature that was squirming in giant Eddie’s hand during the final song “Iron Maiden.”

Eddie wasn’t the only 12-foot tall figure on stage Thursday. Alice Cooper’s opening set included his own towering Frankenstein. While openers are often relegated to performing for a small portion of the crowd, Cooper (pictured on podium below) and his five-piece band performed during daylight for a packed house receiving the most enthusiastic response for an opening act that I’ve witnessed since the Black Keys played Verizon with Kings of Leon in 2010.

While not quite as long or theatrical as his 2010 co-headlining set with Rob Zombie, Cooper’s set was even better thanks to his timeless charisma and the addition of guitarist Orianthi (well-known as part of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” lineup). Despite the fake blood slashed across her lips and neck (a reference to her role on the new song “Bite Your Head Off”), Orianthi appeared less road-worn with her bright blonde hair and sparkling leggings than the typical leather-clad rock guys that make up Cooper’s band. But she shredded like she’s been touring almost as long as her new boss. Her contribution was most notable on “Poison,” which was elevated by the high backing vocals that appear on the original recording. Hits like it, “I’m Eighteen" (pictured below), “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and “School’s Out” were equaled in energy by a couple of lesser known tracks.

Cooper didn’t shy away from theatrics either - spearing a photographer (not a real one, mind you) with a microphone stand and getting beheaded with his infamous guillotine. He ended the set wearing a #18 Panthers jersey and a studded top hot that would dwarf Slash’s with “School’s Out,” during which the band briefly referenced Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.”

Charlotte was definitely treated on both counts although it’s hard to compete with an opening night concert that Carolinians have waited over twenty years for.

The “Maiden England Tour” hits Atlanta Saturday and Boston Tuesday.