Sept. - The Raleigh Hatchet, a monthly music, art and humor ...

Strangewww.thisisstrange.orgtheir more experimental leanings. Subverting and embracingtradition, Pyramid began to compose music with an eye towardplaying live. In the summer of 2002, the band emerged from thebasement with a slew of new material and took to the stage,garnering critical praise. Just recently they were voted Charlotte’s“Best Local Band” in Creative Loafing magazine’s 2005 Best ofCharlotte Edition.Dynamite Bros.www.dynamitebrothers.comRaleigh quintet Strange recently unveiled a new lineup and abunch of new material, and the word on the street is that they’reonly getting better. Drawing on Thirteenth-Floor psychedelia,electric-era Miles, Bauhaus goth and Factory punk, Strange useseclectic instrumentation and free arrangements to constructsurprisingly accessible and memorable songs.Urdogwww.urdog.comUrdog formed in the late summerof the year 2002 in the strangelybesmirched, smallish town ofProvidence, Rhode Island. Two, by nameof Jeff and Erin, equipped solely withaged and decrepit farfisa minicompactand ramshackle drum ‘kit’ and led bya fierce yet loveable dog by name ofParmalee, set out to form a progressivebeat combo of sorts. Months later, Daveappeared, armed with fender mustangand a confusing array of pedals and thus their sound was born;equal parts prog and psych rock that at times can delve into akind of hypnotic repetition that always remains interesting.Pyramidwww.sidewalkexplosion.comFormed in North Carolina in 1997, Pyramid was conceived as anoutlet for musical experimentation. This approach lead to manyextended sessions holed up inside a small basement recordinghours upon hours of sonicexplorations - favoringimprovisation overstructure, intuition overformula. Gradually, theband found themselvesreturning to certainaspects of musical formand classic songwriting- maintaining a grasp onThis trio based out ofChapel Hill, NC specializesin their own brand of rockn’ roll that blends blues,soul, punk, funk, garagerock, jazz, and other styles.Elements of Muddy Waters,Funkadelic, the Chambers Brothers, the Who, R.L. Burnside, Staxsoul, Bad Brains, Little Richard, and Sly and the Family Stone echothroughout their original sound. The Dynamite Brothers startedas a duo consisting of Scott Nurkin (Drums, Vocals) and MitchellRothrock (Guitar, Vocals) in the summer of 1998. The band playedhouse parties, the occasional club gig, and eventually began totour the South. The Brothers added Shane Hartman on bass inearly 2002, and recorded and toured as a trio until his departureearlier this year. Now they’re back, and we hear they’ve tradedthe bass for keys -- whatever the case, this evening will begin withsome kick ass boogie rock.Saturday September 10thStarts at 9:00A Rooster for the Masseswww.aroosterforthemasses.comJ.E. Pilkington of the Raleigh Hatchet says, “Socially-consciousrhapsodies fused with danceable, disco-like grooves that workover an electronic/organic hybrid of beats, synths and guitar.A messy contradiction? Hardly. It’s the very crux of Rooster’sphilosophy: people can think and shake their asses at the sametime. Imagine a Station To Station era Bowie backed by SaintEtienne, with Graham Coxon and Howard Zinn thrown in forkicks. Don’t be mistaken, though - these aren’t the gutter-spunpolitico-alibis of Ani Difranco or Michelle Shocked, nor are theythe visionary gospels of Patti Smith; Rooster have shaped theirown unique manifesto, a declaration of “everything you know isbullshit - let’s dance”. And dance we do”