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Underground music rises to the surface

Sam Hunt

Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Arts, etc.
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Harvest Records, a record store in West Asheville, will present five promising concerts this spring, including notable live acts at the Fine Arts Theatre, The Grey Eagle and Harvest Records.

Harvest is known for booking underground music not only in their record store, but in quality Asheville music venues and coffee shops.

Harvest will venture into new live music territory for their shows this coming season.

Harvest recently announced Stars of the Lid will be at the Fine Arts Theatre May 5. The Fine Arts Theatre will be a brand new venue for Harvest, which usually presents concerts in smaller spaces.

Stars of the Lid seems like a perfect selection for a seated theater show, according to Mark Capon, co-owner of Harvest Records.

"The sit-down theater will make their mesmerizing drones and projectors warm and entrancing," Capon said.

While the downtown setting may complement Stars of the Lid's brooding post-rock, Harvest has announced four other shows this spring, including DODOs appearing next Thursday inside Harvest Records.

DODOs, a combo of electric guitar and drums, performed at Harvest last summer as an opening act, but they earned the headlining position this year.

Opening for DODOs will be Silge Nes, a Norwegian multi-instrumental singer/songwriter who experiments with guitar, cello, drums, laptops, a synthesizer and loop pedals.

More widely known artists on Harvest's schedule will appear at The Grey Eagle.

The first of these three is A Place to Bury Strangers, who could be one of the most intense bands ever to play at The Grey Eagle, according to Capon.

"They're supposedly the loudest band in New York," Capon said. "They don't use any stage lights, just projections and smoke machines."

A Place to Bury Strangers plays at The Grey Eagle April 13.

For April 26, Harvest booked Destroyer, an indie rock band on the Durham-based Merge Records, at The Grey Eagle.

Fronted by Dan Bejar, a quirky guitarist and songwriter, Destroyer is a veteran touring act, touring for Trouble in Dreams, the latest of their eight studio albums.

Bejar is known for his unpredictable songwriting craft and distinct high-energy vocal style, both of which won Destroyer critical acclaim on Your Blues (2004) and Destroyer's Rubies (2006), giving the Destroyer a solid worldwide fan base.

Andre Ethier, a more traditional folk-rock solo artist, will open for Destoryer.

Perhaps the most noteworthy Harvest-sponsored event this spring will be the group A Silver Mt. Zion at The Grey Eagle May 26.

A Silver Mt. Zion are a heavyweight post-rock act.

But, A Silver Mt. Zion focuses on strings and other acoustic instruments more than epic guitar noise crescendos.

"We're really excited about A Silver Mt. Zion," Capon said. "This is a rare southern U.S. tour for them because they rarely leave Canada."

Opener Vic Chestnut of Athens, Ga., recruited A Silver Mt. Zion as guest musicians on his newest album, North Star Deserter (2007), so their should be some similarities between the two acts, according to Capon.

"A Silver Mt. Zion backed Vic Chestnut on his last album, so they should both have a similar vibe," Capon said.

The band will be on tour for their newest release, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons, which hits stores March 10.

"The new album has more vocals, but they are ex-Godspeed You Black Emperor!, so it should be an ethereal night," Capon said.


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