Today is Mustache Friday and the fun gets started at 8:00 at JJ’s for a Fat Tire mustache fest. Playing for Mustache Friday at JJ’s is local rockers Up with the Jonses which should be a good time but I will be down at Discoteca for Reigning Sound. See all you mustachios out and about tonight.

Tomorrow Lord T and Eloise return to our fair city for a show at Rythm and Brews. I hate that venue but I will still get out to support those guys.

Finally, Sunday night is the return of Shellshag to JJ’s. If you don’t get out this weekend to enjoy some music then you are an idiot and I don’t want to know you. The quality of the music going on in this town is amazing.

Looks like the opening band last night was not Bison BC. Not sure who they were.

The starting act was supposed to be Chooglin’ but they had some troubles with the tour vehicle and cancelled. We will get back to them in a minute. So first up was the New Familiars. I did not get to see very much of them because I was trying to get caught up with all the other drunks and hanging outside with some friends. From what I hear on their MySpace page I should have paid more attention. They play a bluesy style of americana that plays to my southern roots. Having grown up in the foothills of North Carolina with a mom who loves the old country sound I can really behind the sounds these friendly guys produce. If you are somehow reading this I apologize for missing most of your set.

What can I say about Christabel and the Jons. They are so good at what they do and put on a great show. If you missed them you have another change on September 11th at the Breastal Festival. They will be starting early so get there early.

While Christabel was playing Chooglin’ showed up ready to play. It was late, they were having a shitty day so what better way to end it than rocking the socks off of the few remaining denizens and barflys left around awaiting last call and this is exactly what they did. I sure hope they come back because they really kicked ass. I am a sucker for horns in a rock band and the 3 members making up the horns of eleganza did not disappoint. They only had an hour to get the job done going on at 2:00 AM and I tip my glass to them, mission accomplished. Check them out below.

If you missed John Barrett’s bass drum of death the other night you need to check him out next time he swings through town. He really tore up the stage ar JJ’s opening for local rock act the Hidden Spots.

Thursday night the local band Bathtub Gin and Fault Lines from San Francisco played to an almost empty house. Fault Lines traveled a long way from home to play and nobody showed up to support them. This is a common occurrence way to often and what makes this sad is that their van lost it’s transmission just outside of Atlanta and they had to have AAA tow them up here. Jenny Bohemia had to drive down and pick them up just so they could play the show. It is this commitment from Jenny and John and the plethora of bands that play at their awesome club that make me love that place.

Contrast this with last night when a crowded house showed up to see The Bohannans rock a 2 hour set that followed 2 excellent opening acts. First was Caitlin Rose out of Nashville originally from someplace in Texas. She has an amazing voice that has to be heard in the confines of a music venue like JJ’s to be truly appreciated. Following her was Mississippi John Doude. John hails from the great state of Mississippi but currently lives in middle Georgia and plays some wicked one man honkey tonk country blues. Even though on this night he had excellent help on bass (perhaps he always does) he was obviously the man in charge.

What does this have to do with the local music scene? Good question! The health of a music venue in a smaller town like Chattanooga is driven by the local music scene. Many out of town performers want to play Chattanooga but since most of them have no existing fan base it is vital for them to get added to the bill of a local band that draws a crowd. Bathtub Gin who are a great band generally pull in a pretty good crowd but unfortunately on this night nobody showed up and Fault Lines didn’t fare so well when it came to how much they pulled in from the door. The Bohannans drew a great crowd and all 3 bands made some money. It is not all about the money either. If the out of town bands get put on the right show and people hear them play they are likely to see them the next time they come and hopefully will bring a friend. Bands like How I Became the Bomb (who is playing this evening BTW) followed this trend and now they headline the show and pack the house every time.

So get out and support your local music club. Buy merchandise from the out of town bands you like, buy lots of drinks at the bar and tip the bartenders well. But do yourself and come a bit early so you can check out those out of town bands who have come to your fair city to entertain you, you may miss the highlight of the night if you come to late.

View all the images here.

The band this blog post is about is Monotonix who are probably the most exciting live act making their way around this nation. What makes this even more amazing is they are Israeli. I mentioned them in the past here when I said they were the best show Chattanooga has ever seen. I expect this time around it will be even better. If you want to know more about them and what you are in for just do a quick search on youtube for some live clips. Don’t wear anything nice. I will see you there.

If you missed the show at JJs last night then I regret to inform you that you missed a happening. You know what I am talking about. One of those events that people will be talking about for years to come with quotes like:

‘Yeah, I was there. He dumped my beer on my head.’

or:

‘You should have seen it when he dumped a trashcan full of crap on the drummer and he kept right on playing without missing a beat.’

Yes all these things did happen and only 75 people were there to witness it. As a bonus Giant Tiger opened up and they sounded better than ever but the real icing on the cake was Monotonix. It was Easter, they are from Israel and they rocked the house. If you were there then you are one of the lucky ones.

On a side note here are some links to new music that I have found recently:

birushanah – akai yami – Japanese Extreme Metal in the vein of Zeni Geva

Pilot Light Wednesday • October 3 • 9pm
BOB LOG III with THREE MAN BAND

The videos are especially good just not work safe.