Live

The Deal: Two "shows" in one night at the Muse offers a look at some of the variety of Charlotte's music scene.

The Good: I'll start at the beginning. Nicolette Emanuelle opened up the early show with a fantastic piano-driven set. She often draws comparisons to Tori Amos, though her themes may come across a little darker. With only a drummer to back her, Emanuelle delighted with her talents on the keyboard, vocals and in songwriting. She'd even go back out to perform a few songs on cello with the next act.

The Hot House Hefftones were the second act of the early bill and hit the stage swinging with their combo of jazz and swing with some New Orleans flavor added by the trio of horns.

Singer Emily Estrella has one helluva stage presence on her as she sang and swayed, made faces and gestures to go with the lyrics and just appeared to be having a great time. A group I hadn't seen before, but one that I'm hoping to catch again soon.

Thief was the middle act on the third bill and got things a little more charged up with a full band, indie-rock sound as players even found time to change up instruments. Seeing as how the group drew a decent crowd to the Muse that required chairs to be moved out, I'd keep your eyes out for these guys.

The final band of the night was S.O. Stereo. Frontman Bradley C. Davis sank himself into the lyrics and let his emotions pour out through the band's brand of straight-forward rock. Having seen the band more than a year ago at Tremont, I can easily say they've come a long way since them and appear a lot more comfortable on stage.

About halfway through a Robert Randolph concert, the slide wunderkind kicks his chair back, throws his feet in the air, and starts spinning on it. This is the cue for the rest of the band to go into double time, and--if it's 12:01 a.m. on New Year's day--it's the cue for three million females to teeter onstage for the dubious privilege of having champagne sprayed at them. For a brief moment, the 9:30 Club feels like Cancun in mid-March: the jam disintegrates, replaced by awkward, arrhythmic dancing.

Then the ladies evacuate and the Randolphs get back to putting on the best live show in the country.

No matter how hard we might try, family gatherings and holiday season don't always add up to joyous -- or even peaceful -- experiences. But when the Trucks clan joined forces for their Soul Stew Revival bash at Tampa Theatre on Monday, a near capacity crowd of around 1,400 witnessed domestic bliss at its finest. The jubilant vibe, marked by expert musicianship, permeated the ancient venue. If the rumors are true about the historic movie house being haunted, even the ghosts must have been grinning.

The gnat's-ass-tight gang of musicians mesmerized with gorgeous executions of the timeworn tension-and-release dynamic. It's a God-send rooted in the churches of the Deep South, one that was sold with aplomb to the secular world by the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks' chief employer, then expanded the sonic presentation with Kind of Blue-indebted jazz elements in the late 1960s. Decades later, the holy tradition thrives, coming together wonderfully Monday night at Tampa Theatre.

The Soft Pack, formerly the Muslims, just contributed a little acoustic set to Sterogum's little acoustic feature called Decomposed. One of the songs they performed was "Call It a Day," from their self-titled EP, the one with the sleeves the band had blasted with a shotgun by a retired cop (it's already extremely hard to find copies).

The Avett Brothers w/ Auld Lang Syne and Jason Webley
Belk Theatre
Dec. 30, 2008

The Deal: The Avett Brothers return to Charlotte for the first night in a sold-out, two-night New Year's Eve stand.

The Good: Auld Lang Syne warmed up the crowd as the first opener and were a little mellow in comparison with what was to come. Jason Webley was up next and got his feet stomping, the crowd involved and screamed his heart out. Even though he broke a guitar string, the show went on and he did his best to bring some energy out in the theatre.

You could tell the crowd was excited for The Avetts before they even hit the stage. There was an energy of anticipation for the whole night, and when the first notes finally rang out, the crowd broke into a frenzy and sang along with every word. While you may have thought it was full-on crowd participation for the opening song, it was en masse for "Paranoia," the second song of the night. The Avett's sister, Bonnie, came out to sing "Swept Away" and gave a nice female, family harmony to the song. Paleface and Mo made an appearance for three of the songs, including the first encore song. People who were yelling out for "Salvation Song" all night were rewarded at the end of the encore as Bonnie returned to join in with the band. It always amazes me that the band is able to keep up that energy each and every time I see them...but that's probably why their following continues to grow. Foot stomping, screaming, strumming -- it's always one hell of a live show to witness.

It's one thing to sing in your car, bedroom or even in a recording studio, but it's another to go on stage to sing for hundreds or thousands. Getting "butterflies in your stomach" would be expected, but becoming frozen with fear -- to the point of crying and going on stage late may not be that much of a surprise either.

The second scenario was the case for singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat. The platinum-selling artist had been on stage "maybe 10 times" before she went on tour with The Goo Goo Dolls.

"Oh my gosh! Yes, there were times when, honestly, I would have to go on stage like 15 minutes late because I would be so nervous that I would start crying," Caillat says by phone from her California home. "It was really hard for me at the beginning. Luckily, I've adjusted and now I'm excited about it, but for a while there it was really tough."

Caillat -- rhymes with ballet -- has always enjoyed singing, but the thought of being a full-time performing artist never really crossed her mind, but her friends saw otherwise.

Jacksonville's Derek Trucks, 29, has established himself as the greatest guitarist of his generation: He's a genre-hopping band leader/solo artist, key Allman Brother and while on tour with Eric Clapton a couple years back the kid named after Derek and the Dominos helped Slow Hand wonderfully recreate classics from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Yeah, Trucks is the shit.

And so is his wife, Susan Tedeschi. She's a feisty blues guitarist, an accomplished songwriter and excellent soul singer. Her new album, Back to the River, features her crushing on emotive originals - several cowritten with Trucks, who also lends his slide guitar fineness to the disc - steeped in the sounds of the Deep South. Tedeschi's also a master interpreter of classic rock gems. One of the many highlights of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2008 was during the final moments when Tedeschi joined Derek Truck's group for a tent-raising rendition of The Band's "The Weight." I get chills and a smile comes to my face just thinking about that very special performance.

  Former Smith and indie boy icon Morrissey will bring his melodramatic croon and hopeless romanticism to Jannus Landing on March 4. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 19 at 10am through Ticketmaster, or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Moz will begin the U.S. leg of his world tour in support of his new album, Years of Refusal, this February. Morrissey will be backed by his longtime band including Boz Boorer, Jesse Tobias, Matt Walker and Solomon Walker.

Anyone who's been by the Hideout over the last few months knows that the bar's owners have been  enthusiastic supporters of Barack Obama--a huge banner of the president-elect's face has hung over the building's facade since the election season heated up, and co-owner Tim Tuten has frequently used his interminable band intros as mini Obama rallies.

As a culmination of the Hideout's participation in the campaign, the club has organized the Big Shoulders Ball, a blowout concert on Monday, January 19--the night before the inauguration--at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. Tortoise, the Waco Brothers, Eleventh Dream Day, Jon Langford & Sally Timms, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Ken Vandermark, Freakwater, Icy Demons, and Judson Claiborne are confirmed and "special guests" are promised. In keeping with Hideout's scrappy vibe, attendees are "encouraged (but not required!) to wear vintage, thrift-store, hand-me-down and ex-bridesmaid formal attire."

My favorite yearly music bash, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest, just announced its lineup for 2009 and I'm stoked about Aretha Franklin headlining the second weekend, April 30-May 3, which I annually attend. I've never seen the Queen of Soul and can't imagine a better place than the Big Easy for it to finally happen.