FestivALL-goers braved the rain and/or the threat of rain Saturday evening to catch Charleston-area honky tonk rockers Buckstone at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston for the Live on the Levee concert series.

The band, recently back from a recording trip to Nashville, was holding an EP pre-release deal there, and at least one CD was seen wrapped, fittingly enough, in something resembling a brown paper bag.

Families out on the weekend unleashed the rugrats, and the adults were treated to a nearby beer garden (more of a stand, which did have Magic Hat!) and some rockin’ “Buckersfield” tunes.

Arriving a little early, and having already inspected the beer stand for quality assurance, I settled in to catch Buckstone and friends T.J. King, unknown rocker No. 1, and someone who looked a lot like Billy Matheny on banjo as they checked the sound. The six-piece band rolled through versions of “Country Roads” (to much applause) and “Morgantown Bound.”

I didn’t get to stay very long, just catching about five songs. And, no, I didn’t get a CD. Sometimes it just works out that way. But I do look forward to hearing it, and to catching Buckstone again. The band is a treat; Kirk out front singing and drumming in that snazzy outfit, seeming to be a cross between an auctioneer (with his fast talking audience voice) and a chef at some Japanese restaurant, but instead of flipping prawn, casually rocking his kit.

Tom Kirk

Guitarist Jamie Adkins rocks solos and backs up Kirk nicely with the vocal harmonies. Boone County rocker Alan Griffith, who Adkins and Kirk backed in the Cheapbeats, once told me that Kirk and Adkins were “the real deal” and could make a living for themselves in Nashville as studio musicians if they wanted to.

Jamie Adkins

Bassist Diana Dynamite seems to be in her own world, bouncing around and totally getting into the music. She really looks like she has fun playing.  Her bouncy bass lines give the songs that booty-shaking appeal and make me want to pick the bass up and start a band.

Diana Dynamite

Even though I didn’t get to stay long, I was glad I got to catch the band, and also glad I didn’t need that umbrella.

Area rockers are getting ready for big changes in “the bar scene” as the smoking ban comes to Kanawha County effective July 1^st. So smoke ‘em if you got ‘em this weekend (The Gatecrasher blog does not recommend smoking) because it’s the last weekend you can, and hey, at least it’s not winter.

FRI, June 27
Charleston punk rock heroes The Concept host Pittsburgh punkers The Composure, and their hip-hop friends Meuwl and B-Rude at The Blue Parrot (14 Capitol St.) in Charleston on Friday. It’s the second swing through town for The Composure, and on a CD note, you can purchase The Concept’s new CD “The Empire Penguin Strikes Back” at Budget Tapes & Records in Kanawha City. Show up around 10 p.m., and expect to pay like $5.

Huntington power-pop trio Threefold Theory is doing a double dip at Julie J’s (808 Kanawha Blvd.) in Charleston Friday and Saturday night. If you missed them at “Bike Night” at Quaker Steak & Lube last Thursday, catch them in town over the weekend. Shows should start around 10 p.m.

Out in Huntington, The Dig-Its, Sarasota, and The Argonauts (Bowling Green, OH ska) welcome No Torso (Oslo, Norway punk) to Club Echo (1318 4^th Ave.) in Huntington. The Dig-Its have a new singer with newly recorded songs on their MySpace page, check ‘em out and see what you think. 9 p.m., $5.

Up in Morgantown, there’s a show we’dlove to go see, with Morgantown instru-metal three-piece act Hovel, Lo-Pan (Columbus stoner rock) Big Right Hand (Morgantown hard rock)  and Vox Populi (Martinsburg post-punk) playing 123 Pleasant St. Maybe Diamond Joe Manchin can sign a law requiring Hovel to come to Charleston. Ehhh…  we know it won’t happen. 10 p.m., money.

SAT, June 28
Our Saturday night special is down at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston, as our favorite honky-tonk trio from Charleston, Buckstone, is set to release their debut CD in a Live at the Levee show. They’ve just got back from a recording jaunt to Nashville, and we understand they’ll have copies available. So grab your six-pack in that paper sack (do NOT BYOB to Haddad) and swing by for Buckstone! Buckstone starts playing at 6:30 p.m. and the Voodoo Katz follow at 8:30 p.m.

Rockers around the state are set to fire up the grill to celebrate our fair state’s birthday. Several food-related rock shows are scheduled this weekend, led by The Empty Glass picnic at Coonskin Sunday, and the Weekend Watch series is on ’em like flies on yer food, so let’s go! (more…)

Turns out our favorite honky-tonk rock and roll trio Buckstone just got back from a recording jaunt to Nashville (that’s right — Tennessee) and are having CDs pressed! Check out some behind-the-scenes pics on their MySpace page (that’s Jamie, Tom, and Diana with “Mr. Golden Ears” Mark Capps above) and look for the CD 6.28 at FestivALL on the Levee…

This Saturday , June 21, an all-night open jam takes place on this outdoor stage at the Appalachian South Folk Life Center in Pipestem. Photo by Robert Blankenship

SUMMERS COUNTY: The Appalachian South Folk Life Center on Rocky Mount Road just down from the entrance to Pipestem State Resort in Pipestem features one of the most stunning settings for an outdoor stage in the entire state. On Saturday, June 21, starting 8 p.m., an all-night open jam goes on until dawn breaks over that stage, perched on a ridgeline overlooking waves of West Virginia hills.

It’s free to get in and $5 if you wish to camp the night on the rolling hillsides. The event is put on by LLyniuM entertainment, the same folks who run the Room Upstairs listening room in Princeton, at the Riff Raff Arts Collective. The Folk Life stage will also be the site of their fifth Culture Fest, a 22-band world music and arts festival Sept. 19 to 21. For more, see www.culturefestwv.com.

Thanks to the Weekend Watch series, you don’t have to troll the web searching for information on cool area rock shows to go to. We do that for you, and there is a veritable murderer’s row of shows lined up for Friday the 13th, so let’s go… (more…)

Only one state newspaper has the most up-to-date rock show info each week. Only the Gazz has the Weekend Watch series, which covers Charleston, Huntington and Morgantown like nobody else. If you’re looking for a cool rock show this weekend there are several, so read on… (more…)

We came across some pretty cool pics of Morgantown three-piece instru-metal act Treasure Cat on their MySpace page. Turns out someone calling themselves Amalgam Unlimited knew where pics of TC and Clutch were, and we are hooking you up with a link to said pics. Click here to check ‘em out, and if you’re up that way this weekend Treasure Cat is playing 123 with Hells Fire Sinners this weekend.

Whole lotta cool shows goin’ on this weekend, led by CD release shows for The Concept. So let’s go!

THU May 29
Some people aren’t aware of the rock goings on any particular Thursday night. That’s where the Weekend Watch series comes in. Bud Carroll & The Southern Souls (Huntington neo-blues) open for Blind Melon at Fluid (formerly the Monkeybar, located at 611 4th Ave.) in Huntington. There will quite likely be new Bud Carroll EP’s for sale, as they just released their new CD a few weeks ago at Marley’s Doghouse. We can’t confirm that, but it’s high quality speculation. Cover is $17 (at least that’s what it said on the website). So, bring money and show up around 9 p.m. (more…)

The guys in Huntington’s Black Knots snapped some pretty cool pics of their recent swing through Cleveland and Detroit. Check ‘em out on their new Detroit 08 photo album on their MySpace profile. Look for them to now go into the studio to record the follow-up to “Hell Bent To Kick It Out” — due out later this year. Maybe…