Christmas has come and gone, and so have those First Night parties that are actually on the last night of the year. There’s no chance getting someone to come to a celebration called last night though, that has a whole other connotation. So what do we do now for entertainment? The ball has dropped, the champagne is gone, and Bad Religion doesn’t play Atlanta for another two months. It appears that the concert connoisseur has very few, if any choices.
Not so fast. I know when I say Asheville and the word ‘music’ in the same sentence, the first thing that pops in your mind is hippies and hippie music, or the Asheville Music Zone and well, we don’t talk about the Asheville Music Zone. “What else is there?” might be many’s cry.
Well, on Jan. 26 should be a date you mark in your date book, on your calendar, and for those of you with steel traps for minds, your mental schedule. On that Saturday, the Asheville band Piedmont Charisma will take the stage at Vincent’s Ear Coffee Shop to bring their brand of funky new wave punk straight to you.
Think of the singer from the Talking Heads, the craziest drummer you ever heard, a bass player in a sweater vest, keyboards, a guitar player who’s talented with a screwdriver, a bunch of new wavers dancing, and Pabst Blue Ribbon, and you have a Piedmont Charisma show.
Don’t get me wrong; this band will undoubtedly rock your butt to Russia and then back. Piedmont Charisma blends several types of music to make something that is wholly like nothing else you will ever experience. These guys can run laps around Weekend Excursion any day of the week.
One advantage to seeing Piedmont Charisma is that they will be playing at Vincent’s Ear Coffee Shop, one of the best and most intimate places in Asheville for live music. Vincent’s Ear is located at 68 N. Lexington.
Piedmont Charisma’s song “Red, Black, and Khaki” has just recently been featured on the Bomb Threat compilation album that came out last October. The compilation features several upcoming North and South Carolina punk bands like Piedmont Charisma, The Makeout Room, Seizure Kids, Planet Cock, Alli With An I, and many more. The album, which you likely won’t find at your local record store (sorry, In Your Ear), can be purchased at www.interpunk.com for about six dollars.
So my advice to you, and I do give good advice if I do say so myself, is to go and check out Piedmont Charisma. Tickets will be five dollars. For more information contact Vincent’s Ear at 259-9119. Also, if you got a little extra cash, buy the compilation album too.
Now is the part where you ask me what else you should be on the look out for. The answer is this: Bad Religion, Hot Water Music, and Less than Jake coming to Atlanta on March 7th, NOFX in Atlanta March 10th, and Cake coming to Asheville on February 6th. So everyone have a great weekend, and support your scene.
