Feedback File

All is quiet on New Year’s Day. A world in white gets underway. Etc.

click to enlarge

Here's my lo-fi and abbreviated rendition of U2's killer anthem (I added some extra beats and a few bent notes):

newsyearsday

They played it better on the 1983 album War (and in the deep snow in the early-era MTV clip) — but they played it best on the 1983 live EP Under a Blood Red Sky (recorded in the drizzle at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado).

Happy New Year's Day and beyond!

Notable non-holiday shows from this week's Music Board listings (the odd stretch between Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa and New Year's Eve)

click to enlarge

with special guests | $10

“The Occasional Milkshake is what happens when Hootie and the Blowfish, the Blue Dogs, and Cravin’ Melon all take a break,” says Hootie guitarist Mark Bryan (pictured). He and Blue Dogs bassist/singer Hank Futch regularly collaborate with drummer Gary Greene, (who plays drums Cravin’ Melon and percussion with the Hootie), playing annual oyster roasts, benefit shows, local outdoor festivals, and club dates. The Milkshake’s country-fried style covers a lot of musical ground — from country and bluegrass to guitar-driven power-pop. —T. Ballard Lesemann

click to enlarge

Sat. Jan. 3 | $6

Local singer/guitarist Joel T. Hamilton (of The Working Title) recently released a self-produced solo disc titled Officina (it’s a raw and beautiful piece of work). He shares the stage with singer/guitarist Michael Trent (of Shovels & Rope, The Films) and Nashville-based singer/songwriter/harpist Timbre Cierpke (pictured). Performing simply under the moniker “Timbre,” Cierpke plucks and strums a highly unique and unusual style of music. Playing a full-sized classical harp, she sings original tunes and beautifully reworked renditions of Celtic, folk, and popular songs. She describes her style as “an ethereal mix of Romantic, Classical, and modern minimalism … If Radiohead and Sigur Ros had a baby and it played a harp, it might sound a little like this when it grew up.” She recently contributed music and performances to a variety of stage productions, music festivals, and film soundtracks. Her new collection is titled Winter Comes to Wake You. —T. Ballard Lesemann (photo by Jenna Maurice

click to enlarge

w/ Carroll Brown

Sun. Jan. 4 | $15, $12 (adv.)

Veteran acoustic singer/songwriter and guitarist Jack Williams joins local fave Carroll Brown for a special show at the cozy Gage Hall (adjacent to the Unitarian Church at 4 Archdale St.) on Sun. Jan. 4. “I’m a singer/songwriter of the South,” says Williams. “It’s not hard to define my own style; it’s impossible. It’s not naval-gazing music. I don’t write about broken relationships and deep psychological problems. A lot of my music is very much more upbeat and fun, as opposed to the music of some of my New England compatriots, who tend to be more intellectual and introspective. Mine is very outgoing and rhythmic … and I play a lot more guitar than I need to.” Now based in Arkansas, Williams, 65, regularly visited Charleston over the years for songwriter showcases and small concerts at various venues from the original Myskyn’s to the recent Oceansong Café. “I’ll be doing the same thing I do about 150 nights a year,” says the songwriter of his set. “I’ve been playing Charleston since the ’70s. I will sing my songs and tell my stories. It’s a very intimate setting.” Williams’ latest album Don’t Let Go is a “tribute” album of various renditions. “It’s a collection that features a lot of music from heroes, artists, writers, and styles that really influenced my music — from the days when I was a jazz trumpet player to when I was a classic lutenist and a rock ’n’ roll, blues, and folk player,” he says. Show time is 7 p.m. Contact Joe Innella at (843) 452-5453 or innella108@comcast.net for advance tickets. —T. Ballard Lesemann (photo by Frank Serior)

click to enlarge

I'm very mich looking forward to participating in the "John Crain Birthday Jam" at Art's Bar & Grill (413 Coleman Blvd., Mt Pleasant) this evening in honor of fine local musician and longtime good friend of mine.

When he's not at his day job or hanging out with Shannon and Max in north Mt. Pleasant, John Crain plays bass (four-string, five-sting, and/or eight-string) and sings in a handful of local bands. I met him 20 years ago in Athens, Ga., during my freshmen year at UGA. In 1990, we formed a really strange rock trio called Roosevelt and recorded and toured a'plenty over three or four years. Currently, he and I play occasionally as The Stiff Joints (or The Pits, as a bass/drums duo). We also play together with local funk band Booty Call and jam in as the rhythm section with bar band Spunjwurthi.

Crain's a "go-to guy" for rock bass work. He celebrates the big "4-0" with a jam session featuring guitarists Marty Parker (Stoff Joints, Travis Alison Band) and Daniel Pruitt (Roosevelt), sax player/keyboardist Alan Brisendine (Booty Call, Vehicle, Unisol), vocalist Alison Tysinger (Party Mouth), and, hopefully, many others. It should be a ruby.

Andrea Warner's Top 10 Albums of 2008

1. Fleet Foxes — Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)

click to enlarge

Fleet Foxes’ incredibly lush harmonies create a sound so full that it drowns out every inch of the outside world, immersing the listener in a complex yet calming infusion of ’70s sensibility and thoroughly modern pop-rock.

2. Black Kids — Partie Traumatic (Columbia)

3. Jenny Lewis — Acid Tongue (Warner Bros.)

4. Death Cab for Cutie — Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)

5. Hot Chip — Made In The Dark (DFA/Astralwerks)

6. Los Campesinos! — Hold On Now Youngster... (Arts & Crafts)

7. Vampire Weekend — Vampire Weekend (XL Recordings)

8. DeVotchKa — A Mad And Faithful Telling (Anti-)

9. Adele — 19 (XL)

10. Kathleen Edwards — Asking For Flowers (Zoe)

Andrea Warner is freelance writer and regular music contributor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her short stories, film reviews, music features, and Canadian notions are available on her weblog, The Writerly Life.

Michael Andrews’ Top 10 Albums Worth a Damn and Your Dollar in ’08

1. Ry Cooder — I, Flathead (Nonesuch)

click to enlarge

Does it have a song that makes you wanna cry? Yes. One that makes you wanna dance? Several. How’s about intertwining thematic elements that include the decline of country and western music, flirting with underground communism, and an unsatisfied traveling jones propelled by a well-worn Caddy with red interior? I, Flathead has all that and more, making it Cooder’s best “songwriter” album since the late ’70s.

2. Todd Snider — Peace Queer (MRI Associated)

3. Kings of Leon — Only by the Night (RCA)

4. Lucinda Williams — Little Honey (Lost Highway)

5. Randall Bramblett — Now It’s Tomorrow (New West)

6. Pavement — Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (Matador)

7. Old Crow Medicine Show — Tennessee Pusher (Nettwerk)

8. Bob Dylan — Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (Columbia/Legacy)

9. Loudon Wainwright III — Recovery (Yep Roc)

10. Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm — 2 Man Wrecking Crew (Delta Groove)

Michael Andrews is freelance writer and regular music contributor based in Jasper, Ga. His collection of rock, country, and roots music is a teetering phenomenon

Next critic’s “Best of 2008" list: Andrea Warner.