Magic happened in the form of live local music Saturday night at the Cat’s Cradle as Chatham County Line had their album release show for Wildwood.
Birds & Arrows were invited to open for a late arriving crowd who were chit-chatting quite loudly at the start of the set. That was until the war painted lead singer Andrea Connolly opened her mouth for the first time and her strong but enchanting voice immediately silenced the entire venue as B&A jumped right into one of their favorites, “Honeymoon Song.” The group debuted several brand new songs including their new single “Pride of Lions” which is slated to be released this Friday evening in Durham. Needless to say, I believe many in the crowd were not followers of our local music scene, and I heard nearly a dozen people exclaim how impressed they were with this “unknown” band. After their set, the crowd gave B&A a well deserved rousing applause.
Birds & Arrows are playing this Friday in downtown Durham for the release of their new 7" single off of 307 Knox Records. Billy Sugarfix who is also on the release and Schooner are playing as well.
Chatham County Line took the stage a short time later to a cheering and delightful near-sellout crowd. There was an immediate hush followed by an ecstatic breakout as the acoustic band dived right into to a couple of brand new songs off of Wildwood. If you still have not had the opportunity to hear the new album yet, which is being released officially tomorrow, you will be happy to know that it is the band’s best to date, even outshining its famous last release, IV. Where IV was poppy, Wildwood is hesitant, teetering on the edge of a jumpy hook and laidback mountain picking culminating in a highly pleasing and overall satisfying listen that keeps you coming back (I’ve had it on repeat for almost two weeks now). The crowd in Carrboro was kind enough to stay mostly quiet through the show until the end of each song (save for a few drunken loudmouths) as the group plays acoustic and using only one microphone stand to play around. Dave Wilson even commented that “Carrboro was always more polite than our hometown of Raleigh.” In total, CCL played 22 songs (by my count) in its entire set including 7 from Wildwood bringing the audience to their knees at the end of the final encore begging for even more. After this show, it is obvious that CCL owns the Triangle and the entire Southern bluegrass scene.
Chatham County Line is playing several shows on Tuesday including free ones at Sadlack’s Heroes in support of Schoolkid’s Records and another at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.
Listen to CCL on the Local Beat 7/2/10:
Chatham County Line on the Local Beat 7/2/10
Sabaton return with another album chock full of inspiring music about various battles throughout history. First off, let me say that when you first listen to this album, you will have trouble putting it down for a few days. The songs are very catchy, and the choruses just make you want to raise your fist in the air and charge along the battlefield with the soldiers who fight in the song. By far, though, the opening track is the strongest song on the album. “Coat of Arms” opens up with a synth playing softly before the drums and guitars kick in and instantly make your head bang and foot tap. There are some songs, though sad in nature, will still make you feel powerful, like “Final Solution,” which describes prisoners’ feelings as they are walking through the gates of Aushwitz. It’s hard to say how long these guys will be around for though, because there are only so many battles you can sing about, and a lot of their songs vary little. Despite this fact, they can still write catchy songs that have us hooked.