Oh, man, last night made the Cat's Cradle scene with Linda and Roy. The club, a dive or hole along the lines of CBGB, has hosted a ton of terrific bands over the decades, and last night's show was exactly in this tradition: The Legendary Shack Shakers, Cracker and The Reverend Horton Heat. More on all three at some point.
For now, let's pull back and peak at Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the Cat's Cradle. The first of these is a small city of about 55,000 people, plus another 18,000 undergaduates and 11,000 graduate students at The University of North Carolina. Adjoining Carrboro has about 20,000 residents; the current incarnation of Cat's Cradle can absorb something above 600 people at one time (with a smoking and break deck out back). This is Cat's Cradle #5. The first four physical incarnations were in Chapel Hill, and I used to frequent #2 and #3. A couple of acts that came to #2 on Rosemary in the early 1980s were -- off the top of my head -- Bo Diddley and Romeo Void. Used to go there all the time with friends as an undergraduate. It was our regular place to blow off steam. Still went to that locale when it rebooted as Rhythm Alley and Skylight Exchange. The Cat moved over to West Franklin Street, and that's the incarnation where I saw The Cramps and Lloyd Cole as a graduate student. It must have been #4 where Nirvana played to a small crowd in the early 90s. The Cradle may have to move yet again, but no worries. The tradition will continue. If you go anywhere near the Research Triangle of North Carolina and dig live music in an intimate venue, check it out! The cover charge for all three bands last night? $20. Believe me, it was worth every penny and a whole lot more. The crowd was eclectic, of all ages and many came a long way to get there.
Today's Rune: Fertility. Pictured above: cover of Revival (2004), a Reverend Horton Heat album.
4 comments:
Erik, with a name like the 'Legendary Shack Shakers', you can't go wrong! Sounds like a blast! I'm in for a Detroit classic, tonight with 'The Warren Commision'!
The demographic reminds me a bit of Fayetteville, Ark, which has a much smaller population when school is not in session. It also has a lot of neat little bars and clubs, more now than when I was going to school there.
Hey, thanks all for the comments! Will post more today about another nearby town, Hillsborough, where a guy from Louisiana served Abita beer'
Cheers'
Hard to believe it's still there, but I'm glad to hear it is! In the real early days (late '70's) I remember it as a bluegrass/folk kind of scene, with acts like Mike Cross performing there a lot. Later it became a regular venue for bands like the X-teens. I seem to recall us catching a Let's Active show there almost by accident, in what must have been one of their first gigs.
JC
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