Triangle Music for Newbies

If you’ve been waiting around for months to finally see that great local band that you’ve heard so much about, now’s your chance.

Troika serves as Durham’s own music festival with performances in venues all around Bull City throughout three nights. Some local event sponsors include Merge Records, Duke student-run radio station WXDU and the Durham Performing Arts Center.

This event is affordable (and college-student friendly) with a full-festival pass priced at $20 or $8 for a night. However, if you’re feeling super thrifty, there is at least one free show each night (one Thursday, two Friday and four Saturday).

Rock, Paper, Scissors, a new addition to this year’s festival, features live music, and art from local craftsmen and band merchandise for sale on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Check out the vendor list.[map]

There’s no lack of quality in talent whatsoever, so I’ll take the lazy, yet thorough way out and post the entire schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 7

Festival Kickoff at Durham Central Park (free) [map]

• 7 p.m. The Beast

• 7:45  Megafaun

Backstage at the DPAC [map]

• 8:30 p.m.  Ghost Cats
• 9:15 p.m. Humble Tripe
• 10 p.m. The Future Kings of Nowhere
• 11 p.m. Bowerbirds

The Pinhook [map]

• 9 p.m. The Desmonds
• 9:45 p.m. House of Fools
• 10:30 p.m. Aminal
• 11:15 p.m. Max Indian

Duke Coffeehouse [map]

• 9:15 p.m. Molly Bancroft
• 10 p.m. The ExMonkeys
• 10: 45 p.m. EAR PWR
• 11: 45 p.m. Future Islands

Broad Street Cafe [map]

• 9:30 p.m. Regina Hexaphone
• 10:15 p.m. Pink Flag
• 11 p.m. The Dry Heathens
• 11:45 p.m. The Moaners

Friday Nov. 8

West End Wine Bar (free) [map]

• 7:30 p.m. Tea and Tempests
• 7:45 p.m. Liza Kate
• 8:30 p.m. Birds and Arrows

Marvell Event Center [map]

• 8:15 p.m. Ryan Gustafson
• 9 p.m. Wembley
• 9:45 p.m The Proclivities
• 10:30 p.m. Embarrassing Fruits

Trotter Building [map]

• 9 p.m. The Huguenots
• 9:45 p.m. Brett Harris
• 10: 30 p.m. Hammer No More the Fingers
• 11:30 p.m. Gentleman Jesse & His Men
• 12:30 a.m. Dex Romweber Duo

Duke Coffeehouse

• 9:30 p.m. The Ringing Cedars
• 10: 15 p.m. The Pneurotics
• 11 p.m. I Was Totally Destroying It
• midnight Birds of Avalon

Broad Street Cafe

• 9:45 p.m. Jews and Catholics
• 10:30 p.m. Whatever Brains
• 11:15 p.m. Dirty Little Heaters
• 12:15 a.m. Pipe

Bull McCabe’s (free)

• 11:30 p.m. All Your Science
• 12:15 a.m. Beloved Binge

Saturday, Nov. 9

Rock, Paper, Scissors at Trotter Building (free)

• 12:30 p.m. Three Days in Vegas
• 1:30 p.m. Tin Star
• 2:30 p.m. Mount Moriah

West End Wine Bar (free)

• 7 p.m. Sequoya
• 7:45 p.m. Jasme Kelly
• 8:30 p.m. The Tender Fruit

Marvell Even Center

• 8:15 p.m. Sea Cow
• 9 p.m. Bright Young Things
• 9:45 p.m. Lud
• 10:30 p.m. Luego

The Pinhook

• 9:30 p.m. Veronique Diabolique
• 10:15 p.m. Citified
• 11 p.m. Gray Young

Duke Coffeehouse

• 8:45 p.m. D-Town Brass
• 9:30 Veelee
• 10:15 Schooner
• 11:15 Lonnie Walker

Trotter Building

• 9 p.m. The Bronzed Chorus
• 9:45 Maple Stave
• 10:30 The Travesties
• 11:30 Red Collar

Broad Street Cafe

• 9:30 p.m. Dynamite Brothers
• 10:15 Rat Jackson
• 11 The Loners
• midnight The Love Language

Bull McCabe’s (free)

• 11:30 p.m. Butterflies
• 12:15 a.m. Pistil

Check out a map of all the venues (courtesy Troika’s Web site).

If you can’t make it to Durham, head over to the Indy and download some free tracks from festival performers. (If you love free stuff check out Free-cession in the Triangle for all kinds of free activities!)

Can’t get enough Troika here? Follow the festival’s Bullbot and check out his blog.

Experience one of Chapel Hill’s infant bands at Durham venue The Pinhook this Thursday, Oct. 1. However, don’t expect novice musicianship as  members, like so many in the incestuous local music scene, dip their toes in multiple projects like Luego, Roman Candle, The Tomahawks and Mount Moriah, to name a select few.

Recent music fixture Max Indian (Nick Jarger, Carter Gaj, Jeff Crawford, James Wallace, Jamie McFarlane) combines the retro with current indie rock and catchy, not kitschy elements of pop-rock. OK and maybe a little bit of folk rock.

Check out a video of the band performing “Free as the Wind” from their “You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything” release show at Local 506 last year.

Floridians Lighthouse Music open at 9 p.m. with the headliner at 10 p.m. Check out The Pinhook’s music calendar and blog. [map]