Greenville's free alternative weekly

Sean Rayford’s Guide to Live Music in Columbia this March.

Dignan, Ours to Alibi, more Thursday, March 1 @ 7 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $5/$7

Just across the river in the historic mill village at the New Brookland Tavern (Columbia’s oldest continuous running music venue) you’ll have the opportunity to catch a blossoming young indie rock band hailing from McAllen, Texas called Dignan. The brilliantly seductive six piece continues to wow crowds with their ambitious tunes splattered with a xylophone, keyboard, horns, and gang vocals.

Joining them on the bill is Atlanta’s Ours to Alibi, a primarily instrumental outfit for fans of Pedro the Lion, Saxon Shore, Appleseed Cast and Minus the Bear. Rounding out the evening will be Suhgarim, Saturn 3, and About Zoe.

Sister Hazel, Madison Fair Friday, March 2 @ 7:30 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $17 adv.

Ten years ago Gaineville’s Sister Hazel broke through on mainstream radio with their ultra catchy “It’s All for You,” reaching #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100. There’s little chance that you don’t know all the words to this song and no way that you don’t know the chorus. Very much a product of the late ‘90s radio rock scene that included Blues Traveler, the Gin Blossoms and our very own Hootie and the Blowfish, these guys now have six full lengths under their belt and continue to rock it across the United States.

Providing support for the evening will be Columbia’s very own Madison Fair. Almost half a decade ago Justin Register began work on a solo acoustic project but after a recording session the singer-songwriter realized that the music needed the backing of a full band.

Just a few years after Madison Fair’s inception the band is poised to take a major leap into the national world of radio rock.Madison Fair will also play the St. Pat’s in Five Points festival on March 17.

Harry Connick, Jr. Saturday, March 3 @ 8 p.m. Township Auditorium $40-$70

Harry Connick Jr. started playing the piano at age three and by the time he was eleven he was recording with a local jazz band in New Orleans. He studied in New York at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and was soon signed to Columbia Records. In 1989 his work on the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally earned him his first Grammy. Most of us know Connick for his Pop Ballads, success as an actor and as that guy from the Suncom commercials. His latest of 24 major releases Oh, My Nola was hit store shelves in Jan. Sunshone Still,

American Aquarium Saturday, March 3 @ 9 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $5/$8

Local musician Chris Smith of Sunshone Still has recently locked himself away working on material to the follow up to the band’s critically acclaimed Dead Letters LP (2005). You can check out a demo version of “Blood and Thunder” on the band’s MySpace account where Smith suggests “Take your ten cent novel and burn the damn thing.” Sunshone Still songs have been featured on Roadtrip Nation, a 12-part series on PBS and caught the attention of NPR. If you’ve got a subscription to No Depression don’t miss forget about this one. Also on the bill is Raleigh’s American Aquarium, a frolicking alt-country six piece that begs for campfires, civil war stories and Jack Daniels. If you’re interested in an essential soundtrack through the southeast incorporating the viola, mandolin, pedal steel and organ than this is your vehicle. Magnetic Flowers and Nathan Poole provide support for the show

mewithoutYou, Sparta & Aloha Sunday, March 4 @ 6 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $12 adv.

“Yellow spider- yellow leaf, confirms my deepest held belief,” whispers mewithoutYou’s Aaron Weiss as the accordion slowly whispers in the background of the band’s latest release on Tooth and Nail records Brother, Sister. Less abrasive then previous records but definitely nowhere near tame these Philadelphians continue assembling hardcore, post-punk and elements of a hippie movement that will attract the attention of anyone interested in unconventional rock music. Weiss’ spiritual speak and shout vocals hold down the signature sound of the band while added orchestration makes Brother, Sister the bands’ most grand achievement to date. When the stage lights shine down and flower petals whirl through the smokey air Weiss’ cathartic body language will intrigue onlookers to the nth degree. Never have you seen a man so free and divinely intriguing. “No more spider, no more leaf.” The turbulent world of Sparta has fueled three full length records since the disintegration of the heroically steaming past of At the Drive-In. As Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedrix Bixler have continually gotten stranger and stranger with the Mars Volta Sparta has progressed with a more straight forward rock formula most evident with the latest release. After the band’s sophomore LP they found themselves struggling with how Geffen handled the release. “We got lost in a shuffle,” explains singer Jim Ward Tuesday night from Houston, TX. “The state of the record business has just been merger after merger after merger and a lot of bands our size get lost.” After the departure of ATDI guitarist Paul Hinojos former Engine Down and Denali guitarist Keeley Davis joined in and the band went on to write Threes, released by Hollwood Records in October of ‘07. At times the record spins around the likeness of U2 and Radiohead while their first single “Taking Back Control” begs for the volume dial cranked to the right. So far for Sparta it’s been a much more pleasant experience. ““It’s more of a personal thing and they understand the investment that we make with our lives into this and they treat us with respect,” says Ward. A week into the tour in Houston, with mewithoutYou Ward appears to be excited about the opportunity to participate in a coheadlining tour with them. “It’s a really interesting dynamic– we’re very different bands especially in the way we approach how we come out on stage,” says Ward. “I really enjoy it I don’t want to watch a good or a bad version of us.”

Hurt Reynolds, The Paper Champions & more Friday, March 9 @ 9 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $5/$7

“Will you be there? A test of time.” Bands like Hurt Reynolds don’t exist in Columbia anymore. Over their short existence in Columbia’s punk rock music scene Hurt Reynolds began turning heads in early 2000 drawing inspiration from bands like Jawbox, Hot Water Music and NOFX. They consistently played free shows and even when they weren’t free they found themselves owing more to the bar than they made that night.

Guitarist Jay Morrow would eventually move to Atlanta and form the Paper Champions but on March 9 the band will reunite, “for a shit ton of fun,” says drummer Matt Chapman. After finding out about Chris Connor’s (Sourwood Honey, The South, Conner Brothers) cancer diagnosis, Morrow called New Brookland Tavern and pitched the idea of a Hurt Reynolds reunion in addition to the show that the Paper Champions already had booked.

“It’s all for Chris Conner, but it’s also going to be a lot of fun because we haven’t played for such a long time,” says Chapman. (Hurt Reynolds drummer Matt Chapman talks about meeting bandmate Jay Morrow at a Goldfinger show at the Elbow Room.)

Husband and wife duo Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp of the Rosebuds perform at The(art)Garage in December of ‘05.

The Rosebuds return to Columbia on Saturday March 10 where the Merge recording artist will perform at the Art Bar. Epic recording artist Copeland will be opening for Switchfoot at Headliners Music Hall on Monday, March 19.

The Calico System and more Saturday, March 10 @ 5 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $12

Saint Louis’ Calico System tastes just like “Helloween, Pantera and Kenny Rogers rolled into one.” Well at least according to their MySpace page but possibly the guys just love his scrumptious wood fired rotisserie chicken. If Kramer thought that the neon light was keeping him up at night, let’s hope no one plays this Eulogy recording artist around his racist apartment once the sun goes down. With brutal guitar licks and chug-a-chug penny picking tunes these boys will surely shake down the house and inspire plenty of sing-a-long choruses at NBT on this evening of mayhem at NBT. The Burning Season, Nights Like These, A Day To Remember and Because of this will provide support.

The Rosebuds, Beach House Saturday, March 10 The Art Bar $5

Nearing the end of February, it’s the coldest day of the year in Moscow and the Rosebud’s Kelly Crisp braves the elements to visit St. Basil’s Cathedral. The Red Square is closed today because of a national holiday and her eyelashes have frozen over. The Rosebuds are very far from their home in Raleigh, NC.

A Russian gentleman got in touch with the Rosebuds explaining that their last LP Birds Make Good Neighbors was the best record of last year. He told the band he would like to include it in a movie titled Paragrah 78. “We checked into it and it turned out to be a huge, Hollywood-style monster of a film with a soundtrack featuring other acts like Hot Chip, Ian Brown (Stone Roses), The Rapture, Brett Anderson (Suede), etc. We liked the trailer for the movie and said yes to them using the song and then they invited us to play,” says Crisp.

The husband (Ivan Howard) and wife duo who met while in college in Wilmington, NC and quickly caught the attention of Merge Records in 2003. “Ivan and I talked about our goals when we realized people were taking us seriously and the first thing we agreed on was that we would get signed to Merge,” says Crisp.

“Merge is the most well respected independent label in the world becauseof how they operate. They sign bands they like,regardless of their profit potential and as long as a label is doing that, they will continue to be interesting and command respect and, as a bonus, some of those bands actually sell lots of records,” says Crisp.

They’ve appeared on NPR and it’s obvious that something must be rolling right for the Rosebuds who now tour with as a five piece band. In April they will release The Night of Furies which they describe as “’a dark, sexy, danceable, nuanced, and sublime record.”

“This one is different. I think it is the right combination of sounds and words to lift the spell we’ve been unde,” says Crisp. Prepare for a delighting romp in indie rock.Baltimore’s Beach

Switchfoot, Copeland Monday, March 19 @ 7 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $20 adv.

California pop rock oh my! “Oh! Gravity” the title track from Switchfoot’s latest release spurred the album towards it’s ascension to the #1 spot on the iTunes top album chart while peaking at 18 on Billboard’s album chart.

Songs like “Burn Out Bright” and “Awakening” are intelligently crafted and slicker than the coolest emo kid’s hairdo. Whether you’d really like to admit it or not (especially if you are good friends with Lucifer and black metal) these songs will have your head bobbing and wishing you were cruising the back roads with your best friends from high school with nothing to do at two o’clock in the morning. Although originally associated with the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot explains that faith is not a genre and that they don’t want to limited in that role. Copeland is still riding on the coattails of their October release Eat, Sleep Repeat which propelled them to signing a major label deal only two weeks later. Singer Aaron Marsh’s angelic voice is like a soft blanket over the piano-based signature sound of the band.

In an interview with Marsh just a few weeks prior to signing their deal with Columbia, the singer told City Paper, “We’ve been a full-time touring band for almost five years. We’ve definitely built from the ground up. If we never sign to a major label or do anything bigger than we’ve done now, we have a really, really great core fan base that we can still tour to who will come out and see us. I feel really fortunate that we’ve had the opportunity to build a grassroots style, just playing houses and basements and VFW halls and just lapping the country as many times as we could.”

Whole Wheat Bread, Against All Authority, more Tuesday, March 20 @ 7 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $10

How do you recognize Whole Wheat Bread fans on the interstate? Maybe it’s the “I love black people” sticker sandwiched between the MxPx and Bouncing Souls stickers. This three piece from Jacksonville, Florida continues to surprise audiences across the country while developing a loyal fan base of white punk rock kids from suburbia. With these black dudes cranking out Green Day style pop punk, it’s a good lesson in not judging a book by its’ cover. The band’s latest EP, Punk Life was released on Fighting records this past November and was produced by Travis Huff (Fall Out Boy, Pharcyde) magical punk versions of crunk nasties. Just a few days after posting their own version of “I Don’t Give a Fuck” by Lil’ Jon the monarch of crunk contacted Whole Wheat Bread about a future collaboration.

Cartel & more Tuesday, March 20 @ 7 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $13 adv.

What do you need to know about Atlanta’s Cartel? The former Militia Group recording artist made the Alternative Press 2005 list of “Bands You Need to Know” following the release of their debut LP Chroma. In 2006 the band signed a major deal with Epic Records, was named Yahoo! Music’s winner in the “Who’s Next” competition and was named a “Breaker” artist by AOL music. Cartel finds swimming the seas of the current the powerpop punk genre with the likes of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and the ubiquitous Fall Out Boy Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls and the New Atlantic provide opening support.

Baumer, The Cinematics Wednesday, March 21 @ 8 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $10

What can we say about local dance/pop/rock heroes Baumer? Rising like a phoenix (cliche, eh?) from the indie rock ashes of the short-lived Courage Riley they’re quickly snatching fans of every genre both in Columbia and beyond. Their synth driven tracks off of Come On, Feel It start an instant dance party whether on the car stereo or live in the club.

The band recently returned from 12 days in Upstate New York working on their sophomore release. If this band gets what they deserve they’ll be household names by ‘08 and vocalist Nate Boykin won’t have to worry about writing songs about dollar bills and the bling bling. Glasgow, Scotland’s the Cinematics will easily warm up the crowd with their Milky Way/Four Horsemen inspired jams for fans of Interpol, Muse, and Franz Ferdinand. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard much about these Scots it’s because the band’s debut U.S. LP A Strange Education will be released on March 6. Now for the finishing move: the debut LP was produced megamind by Stephen Hague. Hague is most notably known for producing New Order’s Republic, The Pet Shop Boys and Siouxsie & the Banshees.

Throttlerod, Quickfuse & more Friday, March 23 @ 9 p.m. New Brookland Tavern $6/$7

Throttlerod once called Columbia it’s home after their formation in the summer of ‘99 but has since taken their thick sludgy self up to call Richmond, Virginia their new home. If you’re looking for some dirty, metal-inspired head banging, beer drinking rock ‘n’ roll then Throttlerod will surely fill your plate. Heck, if I was a chick I’d definitely be flashing my bosom tonight. Local veterans Quickfuse and Gods of Mars will rock your face off before the Throttlerodding.

Of Montreal and Loney, Dear Friday, March 23 @ 8 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $12 adv.

If getting throttled isn’t your cup of tea than you’ll appreciate the diversity the town can offer with Athens, Georgia band Of Montreal. They’re sure to give you your needed dose of cool weird-ass shit. The former Elephant SIx and Kindercore artist found a new home with Polyvinyl Records recently crafting Puff the magic dragon-inspired dance songs. Fans of David Byrne and Ween or just something different, you’ll want to see this. Loney, Dear (essentially a solo project from Sweden’s Emil Svanängen) will bring the mythical culture and spirit of it’s Scandinavian homeland to open the show.

Hella Monday, March 26 The(art)Garage

The(art)Garage should provide a perfect match for Sacramento’s Hella. If you found Of Montreal’s sound perplexing at times it’s going to be one of those nights this evening. To describe them as an avant garde brigade of noise insanity wouldn’t do them much justice. Heck, if you already have these guys on your iPod you’ll be out by Owen’s Field tonight. The Dirty Projectors and Who’s Your Favorite Son God? also make an appearance this evening at The(art)Garage.

Notes:

Every year a numerous and diverse array of musicians assemble as part of the St. Pat’s in Five Points celebration. This year the event will be held Saturday, March 17 and features: Hot Lava Monster, Everything After, The Movement, Stretch Arm Strong, 3 Days Grace, John Paul White, Danielle Howle, Patrick Davis, Will Hoge, Corey Smith, Joal Rush, Sun Brewed Soul, Josh Roberts, Villanova, Elliot & The Untouchables, Drink Small, Dennis Spring and the Sons of the Full Moon, The Merrows, Loch Ness Johnny, Seven Nations, Madison Fair, Testing Ground, Soul Mites and Tootie & The Jones.

Stretch Arm Strong vocalist Chris McLane remarks, “You get to play in front of a lot of people that would never come to see us play- so it’s been cool to be a part of that celebration that has been in Columbia so long.” A benefit concert will be held for Chris Conner on Saturday, March 10 at Headliners Music Hall. In addition to a two hour tribute to Chris.schedules perfomers include Danielle Howle, Patrick Davis, Josh Roberts and Villanova.

Afroman Wednesday, March 28 @ 8 p.m. Headliners Music Hall $10

Oh Afroman, Afroman how do I wish to share a 40- ounce of Colt 45 with thou. Very much so. About a year ago some in Columbia were able to catch an extremely entertaining show with Mississippi wonderboy Afroman at Headliners and your return is predetermined. Afroman claims “I drive better drunk than you do sober-I don’t know what you’ve been told, I’ve been drinkin’ since I was 12 years old” on 2004’s Drive Better Drunk. but most of us know him for other famous words. It all leads back to the turn of the century when Afroman was having trouble cleaning his room but kept placing blame on his marijuana habit. He penned “Because I Got High” and in 2001 the rest was history.

Coming in April! Lucero The Locust Daughters Cattle Decapitation Casey Jones Anberlin Flickerstick Darkest Hour Static X Rehab