This is the third time I’ve seen Elvis Costello & The Imposters in the past 363 days. We saw the Look Now tour at the DAR Hall in Washington D.C.in November 2018, and the Costello/Blondie tour at The Anthem in …Read more

 

The Opaque Memoir.  First off, I enjoyed Debbie Harry’s book Face It, it was a breezy read and had a bit of filler, but also some sweet ideas. We just saw Blondie with Elvis Costello recently (tinyurl.com/zubbeastly) …Read more

 

So this is the last installment of my blogs on Ken Burns’ expansive look at Country Music from the 1920s to 1990s. It was ambitious project, not perfect, but in these episodes he must tie together the threads an ultimately …Read more

 

JoJo Rabbit begins with  ‘Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand:’ The Beatles ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ sung in German, played over scenes out of the Richard Lester school of musical movie wackiness. There are montage antics, screens divided into multiple …Read more

  It was great to be back at the big room at The Cat’s Cradle. The Carrboro, NC club, just a few blocks away from the UNC Chapel Hill campus, is a venerable concert space. Getting to see Stiff Little Fingers …Read more

 

I don’t really have a good excuse, but I’ve never seen Redd Kross live. The super power-pop band from Los Angeles has been together, led by older brother Jeff McDonald on guitar and vocals, with younger brother Steven McDonald on …Read more

 

This is the third installment of 4 blogs about Ken Burns’ latest documentary series Country Music. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for thought …Read more

I know what I like, so I generally go to shows with bands or artists I’m pretty familiar with, but tonight’s show was different. All I knew about Mudhoney was they were a pioneer in Seattle’s grunge movement, and of …Read more

 

This is the second installment of 4 blogs walking through Ken Burns’ latest documentary series Country Music. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for …Read more

This is the first installment of 4 blogs walking through Ken Burns’ latest documentary series Country Music. I hope you’ll join me for all four blogs. Anyone with an interest in any kind of music should find food for …Read more

 

As you might know, I am a pretty serious record collector. Any band that I like from my youth, I usually have all of their records. I was thinking about the New Pornographers, Carl Newman’s Vancouver ‘supergroup,’ and I realized …Read more

 

Everything about King Crimson is weird, wonderful, and different. Would you imagine an old punk like me would be a fan of the ultimate prog-rock band? Weird things happen. Years ago, my dear, departed friend Joey sat me down and …Read more

 

So, here is a quick definition for you:  ca·thar·sis  /kəˈTHärsəs/  the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. 
"music is a means of catharsis for them"  Similar: purgation  This is, to me, what Bob Mould’s …Read more

 

The Pixies debut album, Surfer Rosa was released in 1988, launching the ‘classic’ Pixies era from 1988 to 1991, with Come On Pilgrim and Doolittle all the way to Trompe Le Monde. It took me a while to warm …Read more

  In my earlier review of Whitey and the 78’s, I mentioned that my friend Russell worked for Whitey for a time. When Russell asked if I wanted to go with him to see two nights of Honky Tonk in two …Read more

  The Figgs are a very, very fine band from Saratoga Springs, New York, who have been together for thirty two years, and in the best way, sound like they have been together forever. They have an almost telepathic connection, vocalist …Read more

 

A few months ago, Adrienne and I saw Don Dixon at Imbibe in Chapel Hill (tinyurl.com/zubimbibe). Don was playing songs from this new project with novelist John Bare (from that review):  This was not a typical show for …Read more

 

I was able to see a one night only 40th Anniversary screening of Rock And Roll High School at the amazing Carolina Theater in Durham as part of their revival programming. Wednesdays often mean Laura Boyes’ ‘Movie Diva’ series, featuring …Read more

  One of my favorite Facebook groups is called ‘I Love Power Pop,’ full of musically astute fans posting all kinds of cool music. The most fun about the group, however, is the members arguing with each other whether what they’ve …Read more

This excellent book was put together by Jon Savage, one of Britain's preeminent music authors. His 2002 book England’s Dreaming is one of the best books on the U.K. Punk scene. This book, being an oral history, does not showcase …Read more

      The last time we were at The White Oak, it was for George Clinton/P-Funk and Fishbone show (tinyurl.com/zubfunky), and the security and check in at the venue were very cumbersome, slow, and user-unfriendly. Even arriving early, we missed …Read more

    I put on this record, and there it is, that Midwest sing - speak and the master of lyrics:       Said you’re kinda catching me at a transitional time       I’m a bright light burning into a dark horse       She said I’ll …Read more

What caught our, eyes, ears, and forks in August?   

 

Perly’s, Richmond, VA. We came across the marvel of Perly’s Delicatessen while on official Zub business. In February, while in Richmond, VA to see Joe Jackson (tinyurl.com/zubfool) at The …Read more

    Melbourne, Australia is where the action is. This debut LP by Melbourne’s Amyl And The Sniffers is absolute proof that rock is alive and well.  On their Rough Trade Records debut, these Aussie youngsters spin out eleven scuzzy, high energy, …Read more