Times are tough, so it’s imperative that area rock fans live it up before they’re spending Pesos, Yuans or having to trade cigarettes (shudder) to get into shows. The Weekend Watch series at thegazz.com is still trying our best to be the best aggregator spot for local show schedules and pics. (more…)

Look at those mutton chops!

Our friend Taylor Kuykendall snapped this great shot of Adam Meisterhans, frontman for Shepherdstown-based retro rock outfit The Demon Beat, Saturday night at the H-D TSMS local music showcase show at The V Club in Huntington. There are several more rockin’ shots of The Demon Beat (whose CDs you can now download for free, if you are so inclined) on their MySpace profile.

Also, there were some pretty neat pictures of Huntington’s Electronica duo known as Bad Employees, playing at Club Echo Friday night, and The V Saturday night. Check out both acts, and look for more cool stuff at the H-D TSMS blog.

So yeah, the Weekend Watch series at thegazz.com is still going strong. As long as venues are able to simply promote their own shows online, we’ll find ‘em. If you’re an area bar on, say, Capitol Street, and you just expect people to find out about shows on area band’s MySpace profiles, and you don’t even have the upcoming weekend’s shows posted on Mondays, we’ll simply stop checking your page. It’s that simple. ‘Nuff said.

THU 1.22

For us, the weekend starts on Thursday (it’s also when the print Gazz comes out, but that’s totally unrelated). So, we want to clue area show-goers into cool shows when we can. Huntington singer-songwriter and all-around rocker Jeff Ellis plays the Empty Glass Thursday night. Hey, the Glass is pretty much the only bar in town that promotes their shows, so, yeah, we’ll plug ‘em; especially when it’s Ellis. Will this be one of those Thursday ladies night shows he’d been hosting way back in 2008? It doesn’t matter to us. The Glass is located at 410 Elizabeth St., show starts at 10 p.m., call 345-9893 for more info, like cover charge.

FRI 1.23

Out in Huntington, there’s a cool show at Shamrock’s Irish Pub, with Huntington-based electronica duo Bad Employees playing with The Buttonflies. Didn’t RFC Rudy have The Buttonflies on his show recently? It’s not a rhetorical question. Shamrock’s is the former Marley’s Doghouse, located at 2050 3rd Avenue. Show starts at 10 p.m., cover should be $5.

Up in Morgantown, area faves Sandra Black (they’re a band, not some chick, compared favorably by those in the know to Smashing Pumpkins) and a newer Magic Town band, Rifle Camp, will share the stage at 123 Pleasant St. with Northampton, Mass.-based alt rockers Spouse. 123 Pleasant Street is to be commended for their updated schedule; show starts at 10 p.m., cover should be affordable, but call 292-0800 to make sure.

SAT 1.24

The coolest show of 2009 takes place Saturday night at The V Club in Huntington, as The Huntington Herald-Dispatch Tri-State Local Music Scene blog holds their local music showcase show. Fourteen killer bands, including Huntington’s own Sarasota (WHOAH!), The Red Velvet, Attack Flamingo, Bad Employees and, yes, Jeff Ellis, will be joined by The Demon Beat (Shepherdstown retro-rock) and Charleston emo act Time And Distance, in addition to a few cool solo acts. Show starts at 5 p.m., cover is $8 at the door and $5 in advance. The V is located at 741 6th Avenue in Huntington, call 781-0680 for more info, and kudos to the H-D TSMS blog and the V for booking this.

FRI 1.16

Friday night the brothers Davisson, Donnie and Chris, bring their high energy Southern rock flavored, acoustic-based, country-influenced four-piece known as The Davisson Brothers back to The Empty Glass in Charleston. Hailing from Fairmont and already having achieved a nice level of critical acclaim, the band has a whole mess of West Virginia shows on their calendar, including Joe Manchin’s inaugural ball, a new self-titled CD on the way in March, and a huge fan base — this show should be pretty big. The Empty Glass is located at 410 Elizabeth St. in Charleston, cover is $10, and you can call 345-9893 for more info.

A pretty cool, weird sounding-yet socially conscious trip-hop act called The Family Conspiracy plays Shamrock’s Irish Pub in Huntington Friday night. If you’re into hip-hop and conspiracies, these guys are for you. Shamrock’s is located at 2050 3^rd Avenue, show starts at 10 p.m., cover is $5.

SAT 1.17

Lizard Lick, North Carolina’s Jubal Kane brings his mix of rock and blues back to the Glass Saturday night. You can hear a few songs off the live CD his band recorded at the Glass on the Glass’ MySpace site, and see live video footage of the band at the Glass on Kane’s site on MySpace. If you’ve missed him here before, swing by and catch him. 10 p.m., call 345-9893 for cover.

One of the coolest new Charleston area rock bands, Lonely Town, is set to play Saturday at Heathen’s, 244 1/2 Seventh Ave., South Charleston, behind The Mound. So you missed the rockin’ Mark Bates-fronted alt-country five-piece at The Blue Parrot last weekend? Catch ‘em out live this weekend, and expect a debut CD from the band very, very soon. Be there at 10 p.m. and bring money for cover and stuff.

The V Club in Huntington hosts the diverse Winnipeg folk-rock five-piece called The Duhks, with Fayetteville’s Wild Rumpus bringing the rockin’ bluegrass back to the V Saturday night as opening act. The Duhks are swinging through Huntington before a stop at the WVU Creative Arts Center Sunday night for a Mountain Stage show. The V Club is located at 741 6^th Avenue, show starts at 10 p.m., call 781-0680 for cover.

Morgantown trio The Greens plays, fittingly enough, at Shamrock’s Saturday night; another stop at the venue for the group, with the green theme working good, it seems. Fronted by Andy Tuck, The Greens play a funky, catchy, hard-to-pin down style of bluesy jam band-type rock. Check the band out online (@ www.thegreensmusic.com) and at the show if you like what you hear. Show starts at 10 p.m., cover should be $5.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit will bring their soulful, Muscle Shoals, Alabama-inspired version of rock to 123 Pleasant Street Saturday night. Morgantown’s roots-based garage rock act ‘85 Flood will open. Isbell (formerly of Drive-By Truckers) and his Unit are set to release their third CD in early February with a steady string of shows to plug the release. Show starts at 10 p.m., cover is $10, call 292-0800 for more info.

Our friend Jim the local music emperor snapped this nice pic of Lonely Town frontman Mark Bates lead guitarist Bill Dean (thanks Rod) and drummer Aaron Fisher at The Blue Parrot Saturday, Jan. 10.

Formerly incarnated as Mark Bates and the Vacancies, Lonely Town just returned from Athens, Georgia, where they recorded their soon-to-be released CD. We think Lonely Town is one of the better new area bands for 2009, but don’t take our word for it; swing by their MySpace page and give their alt-country flavored tunes a listen and catch ‘em out at an upcoming show over the next few weeks and months.

So it’s 2009, but the only thing that’s changed at the Weekend Watch series is…well, we don’t know how to finish that sentence. There hasn’t been a darned thing changed; whether in the print Gazz or at the Gatecrasher blog at thegazz.com, it’s still the number one spot (according to us) for statewide rock show info. Read on if this opening graph made the cut… 

FRI 1.9 

Cincinnati’s funky Freekbass comes to The Empty Glass in Charleston for his CD release show Friday night. If you’ve ever rocked Bootsy Collins or George Clinton, you’ll dig Freekbass, who’s been to town a few times and who’ll return for a V Club show in February. The Scrap Iron Pickers and area rappers Meuwl and B-Rude (aka The Rabble Rousers) will open. The Glass is located at 410 Elizabeth St. on Charleston’s historic East End. Show starts at 10 p.m., call 345-9893 for cover info.

If punk rock is more your thing, then Shamrock’s Irish Pub (2050 3^rd Ave) in Huntington is the place to be Friday night, with a lineup that is waaaay more punk than you. Most Ill (Huntington cuss punk), The Bloody Panties (Charleston 2-step/thrash), Cryptorchid Chipmunk (Clarksburg insane ska) and Huntington’s Full Force round out the lineup, from what we read on Shamrock’s MySpace site. Show starts at 9 p.m., cover is $5.

SAT 1.10 

Saturday there’s a brand spankin’ new local rock band playing The Blue Parrot in Charleston. You may remember hearing about Mark Bates and the Vacancies? Well, apparently Bates has left the hotel and formed a new five-piece rock band, Lonely Town, with Aaron Fisher (of 101 Studios) still on drums, and a CD (recorded in Athens, Ga.) on the way. Vintage Tone, a Charleston band we haven’t heard of doing any shows for a long time, will open, and the show will of course, as most do, start around 10 p.m. with a $5 or so cover. The Parrot is located at 14.5 Capitol Street, by the way.

Charleston area “Buckersfield” trio Buckstone is scheduled to rock Sam’s Uptown Café Saturday night. If you’re like us and missed yer copy of their new CD, that’s alright, swing by and catch Tom, Jamie and Diana rock the quaint two-story joint. Sure to be a good time, and you don’t even need to buy that six-pack in that paper sack; we’re sure Sam’s has the legal beverages covered. Just don’t “fall asleep” on the balcony. Show starts at 10 p.m., the place is located at 28 Capitol St., and call 346-6222 for cover info. No, we will not be there, as we are on an informal, generic form of house arrest.

Yes, we managed to find some decent shots of area bands celebrating the holiday season; always a good thing.

First, there’s pics of our friends in Morgantown’s instru-metal three-piece Treasure Cat at 123 Pleasant Street Christmas night. Here’s a pic of frontman Will Mecum (above) with the requisite Santa hat. There are more, but we really couldn’t get a name to attribute ‘em to, so check ‘em out and leave comments.

Some girl named Gabrielle Gardner caught up with The Red Velvet at Club Echo New Year’s Eve. Check out the pics on the band’s MySpace site, and check out the songs, too; a cool band. No, they’re not coming to Charleston anytime soon. Surprised?

Fairmont-area punk band Dangerkat (back doing shows) was caught at the Kingmont Fire Hall in Fairmont New Year’s Eve. Check out some pics on the band’s MySpace page by simply clicking this link.