The Avett Brothers' Carolina Christmas

Newly signed American Records artists The Avett Brothers announced a series of holiday-time shows in North Carolina. First the band will hold a three-night stand at The Orange Peel in Asheville, Dec. 26-28, then the trio rings in the new year with a two-night stand at Charlotte's Belk Theatre Dec. 30 and 31. Tickets for all five shows are on sale Friday (Nov. 7) at 10 a.m. Seeing as The Avetts' recent N.C. shows have all sold out, a "good luck" is in order to anybody hoping to snag tickets.

Concert Review: The Everybodyfields – The Handlebar, Greenville, S.C. – 9/26/08

Playing to a sparse crowd on one of the first days of fall, East Tennessee's The Everybodyfields brought their brand of modern moonshiner's folk to Greenville, S.C.'s Handlebar. Filling the headliner’s spot after tourmate Will Hoge’s scooter accident and subsequent hospitalization, Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews, with help from their hired guns, meandered through nearly two hours of pitch-perfect autumnal melancholy. Whether Everybodyfields devotees or Hoge holdovers, audience members were treated to an intimate, down-home performance of recent standards and new material.

Backed by a buoyant rhythm section and incorporating pedal steel, keyboards and lead guitar, Quinn and Andrews traded between acoustic guitar and electric bass, pausing to share musings on the life of a touring band in the Southeast. Quinn, bearded and bedecked in thrift store couture, charmed with his goofy and afflicted warble, but was ultimately overshadowed by his female counterpart. Andrews, who performs with the coy manner of Emmylou Harris or Neko Case, lets her radiant voice and songwriting compensate for any lacking pretense or showmanship. The lithe and sandy-haired chanteuse stole the show, even during the tense moments she shared the microphone in harmony with Quinn's trembling tenor.

Playing with the earnest aplomb of a rural bar band, The Everybodyfields’ set varied to blend the familiar and the fresh: wistful tear-jerkers, celebratory two-steps and modern mountain ballads. Hitting a dynamic stride on the numbers "Aeroplane" and "Everything is Okay" from 2006's Nothing is Okay, the band started to live up to the promise on which their label, Ramseur Records, is banking.

With studio time scheduled for their fourth album, Quinn expressed to me over a post-show bourbon his excitement about the upcoming sessions, hinting of fertile ground for songwriting. With former labelmates the Avett Brothers enjoying a meteoric rise to stardom, it's not hard to imagine The Everybodyfields following that model, crafting a compelling set of folksy AM pop tunes and cultivating their own cross-section of Carolina devotees.

By Drew Harkins.

Paleface releases odds and ends compilation

Anti-folk legend and current Concord resident Paleface has self-released Paleface Faves, a 14-track collection of the troubadour's favorite recordings, some unreleased, to be exclusive tour merchandise. This, of course, comes shortly after the announcement of Paleface's signing to Ramseur Records and the release of a new studio LP, The Show Is On The Road, slated for Spring 2009.

Paleface Faves
01. Say Hello - 2008
02. Was Oblivious - 2003
03. Woody Submarine - 1991
04. Blood - 1997
05. Play Guitar - 2000
06. Thanks For Comin - 2003
07. Clowns Be Dazzled By Gadgets - 2003
08. New Age - 2001
09. Dancin Daze - 2003
10. Watchin The Planes Come In- 2004
11. Lullaby King Kong - 2002
12. With A Girl Like You - 1990
13. Brooklyn Girl - 2007
14. Pay For Taxis - 2006