WEDNESDAY, JULY 16
MARSHALL RUFFIN TRIO The Columbus, Ga., singer had the audience in awe during the inaugural night of the Crowntown Showdown a few months back. Needless to say, he walked away as the winner. That time he was solo – singing songs that sounded like a '30s movie soundtrack with bluesy, growly, almost-Waits-ian vocals and plenty of guitar talent. Who knows what he'll do as a trio ... Evening Muse (Jeff Hahne)
THURSDAY, JULY 17
Tropic Culture CD Release This multi-hued Charlotte band (octet, or more on a good night) has been making waves around these parts for a few years. They celebrate their new recording Live to Love and Love to Live this summer's eve. It's fitting the album is being released at the height of summer since the band sways between hot reggae, pop and scads of Latin accents where live gigs are performed in both English and Spanish with a fine mix of originals and covers. Visulite (Samir Shukla)
FRIDAY, JULY 18
Corey Smith RIYL (recommended if you like) – Busch light, shootin' fireworks on the beach, owning a Jeep, the color khaki, Chili's, yelling "you the man!" at golf tournaments (tee), "doin' some fuckin' Jager," the New York Jets, bank clerks with lower back tats, manicured beards, yelling "get in the hole!" at golf tournaments (green), AXE body spray, USC "Cocks" hats, USC "Cocks" hats turned backwards, Buffalo Wild Wings, and generally acousti-coolin' out with 35,000 of your closest MySpace "friends." Amos' Southend (Timothy C. Davis)
Wink Keziah & Delux Motel Charlottean Keziah has put in his time doing stints with Rollin' Tumbleweeds, the pre-DBT Adam's House Cat and six years with the Houdauls. Now on his own, Keziah's PBR-b-cue rural rock, country soul and honk hybrid sounds like ... well, it sounds like it came from an honest-to-god person. Instead of coming across as some sort of regrettable roots fusion, it instead is evidence of what seems like a solid cross-section of real life, and all the accompanying ups and downs that entails. With Velvet Truckstop. Puckett's Farm Equipment (Davis)
Delta Moon The core duo of Atlanta's Delta Moon, Tom Gray (lap steel guitar, songwriter for many hit-makers, leader of the 1980's band The Brains) and Mark Johnson (slide guitar), weave an American tapestry of blues, bluegrass, folk, rock and jazz. Rotating crews of singers and musicians have performed in the band where the veteran duo makes jaws pop open with dual snaky slide guitars. Double Door Inn (Shukla)
SUNDAY, JULY 20
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Bear Colony Bear Colony sound as if they traversed the pond, but this Brit-rock comes from Arkansas, not Manchester. It's an uneven mix where moody pop, electronica and funky rock are tossed into the stack; where emotive vocals and melodic twists tell the tale; where the songs work their catchy caress. The blokes' most recent recording of tunes, We Came Here to Die, is fairly addictive. With Cement Stars. Milestone (Shukla)
RUSH If you don't know who Rush is, you should probably crawl out of your cave and get to work on living in the 21st century. The original lineup of the band formed 40 years ago, though they went through a few changes in those first years before landing on the Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson trio you know now. "Tom Sawyer"... "Freewill"... you know them. Feel free to sing along. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Hahne)
TUESDAY, JULY 22
Suffocation That rat-a-tat you hear isn't some drive-by shooting, but N.Y. death metal band Suffocation booming on the hi-fi. Growly-assed vocals, bumping bass and gnarly guitars tangle with each other to unleash the heaviness. Label hassles, numerous releases, break-ups and reunions haven't aged these cats' angst, who released their debut way back in 1991. Crank the amps, but don't forget to duck. With Labyrinthe and Faith in Ashes. Tremont (Shukla)
