This weekend, March 27

Friday, March 27
BoCo - Crossin Dixon
Boom Boom Room - Swampnoise w/ Static Parade
Hippo - Good Enough for Good Times
T-Bone - Thee Headliners (Roots via Oregon), 8 p.m.
Walnut - Ben Payton

Saturday, March 28
HUBfest Downtown all day
BoCo - Molly Ringwalds
Boom Boom Room - Cary Hudson and Thomas Jackson
Hippo - The Moaners w/ This Orange Four
Walnut - Kenny Acosta ... READ MORE

Tortoise to release Beacons of Ancestorship

After five years of relative silence, Tortoise has set a release date for Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey), which promises to be more conversational than ever with techno, punk, electro, lo-fi noise, cut-up beats, and heavy synth elements.
The five-man post-rock arrangement from Chicago has kept dedicated fans on the brink since last August when a MySpace blog teased that the new album would be out "soon." The 11-track album will hit shelves, iTunes June 23.

Beacons will put an end to the not-so-quiet that followed 2004's It's All Around You, during which the group also released and toured on its box set A Lazarus Taxon, and an album of covers with vocalist Will Oldham by the likes of Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Richard Thompson, and The Minutemen, entitled The Brave and the Bold. Additionally, the individual members have kept busy with various other projects, including Exploding Star Orchestra, Bumps, and Powerhouse Sound. ... READ MORE

Hubfest is here, Sat. March 28

Marked by the spring pollen that has coated every inanimate object, Hubfest is here at last, bringing with it a weekend full of performances in downtown Hattiesburg. Remember to spray on some screen and drink plenty o'water. No one likes a sunburned drunk.

Here are a few of the highlights:

T-Bone Pruitt - Main Street Stage
9 a.m.
The Glitter Boys - Walnut/Main Street Stage
11:20 - 12:30
Vasti Jackson - Town Square Park Stage
2:30 p.m.
Blue Mountain - Main Street Stage
2:30 p.m.
Thomas Jackson - Singer/Songwriter Stage @ the Post Office
3 p.m.

Full schedule

Hubfest
Saturday, March 28

Town Square Park Stage

Centertree
9:30 - 10:30

Doctor E and the Voodoo Kings
11:00 -12:00

Birthday Party in the park w/ Mayor Johnny Dupree, celebrating the Burg's 125th
12:30 - 1:00

Deltamatics
1:00 - 2:00

Vasti Jackson
2:30 - 4:00

Singer Songwriter Stage/Post Office Stage

Chris Stafford
9:15 - 10:05

Chadd Watson & Joey Odom
10:25 - 11:15

Paperwhites
11:30 - 12:30

Charles Carter
1:00 - 1:50

Darrell Havard
2:05 - 2:55

Thomas Jackson
3:10 - 4:00

Main Street Stage

T-Bone Pruitt
9:00 - 9:50

Jason Turner Band
10:10 - 11:00

Big Smith Band
11:20 - 12:30

The Twilights
1:00 - 2:00

Blue Mountain
2:30 - 4:00

Walnut/Main Street Stage

True Light Mass Choir
9:00 - 9:45

Stage Struck
10:00 - 10:30

Lumberton Show Choir
10:45 - 11:30

The Glitter Boys
11:20 - 12:30

People of Christ Mass Choir
1:15 - 1:50

Cowboy Blues Band
2:15 - 3:30 ... READ MORE

This weekend, March 19

Now with myspace/site links for your listening pleasure. If you notice an inaccuracy or have an event to add, please post a comment for others to read.

Thursday, March 19
BoCo - Alcus Hudson Trio, 6-8 p.m. FREE
Hippo - Floating Action
T-Bone - Cary Hudson, 8 p.m.**

Friday, March 20
Boom Boom Room - Lowdown Throwdown
BoCo - Travis Clark w/ Justin Patterson & The Lost Causes
Hippo - Truckstop Honeymoon
T-Bone - WTF (Weezer tribute), 8 p.m.**
Walnut Circle - Wes Lee


Saturday, March 21
Boom Boom Room - MS John Doude w/ Mark Mann**
Hippo - Shannon McNally w/ Cary Hudson
JavaWerks - Thomas Jackson, 7 p.m. **
Walnut Circle - Cowboy Blues Band

Visit the venues online:
Bennie's Boom Boom Room
Bottling Co.
T-Bone Records & Coffee Shop
Thirsty Hippo
Walnut Circle Grill

**burger picks

Go to WTF and sing along for me! - j ... READ MORE

This weekend, March 13

Yet another Friday the 13th. Horror film producers should really milk this one.

Thursday March 12
Hippo - The Squirms w/ Mik Davis


Friday March 13
Hippo - 80s Dance Party Pt V, $2
T-Bone - Tori Sparks (Nashville)
Walnut - Chris Barker

Saturday March 14
Hippo - Jim Flanagan
T-Bone - Meshach Jackson (New York)
Walnut - T-Bone Pruitt ... READ MORE

Southern Miss gets $6M

Dang, a hefty donation to USM was announced Tuesday morning by president Dr. Martha Saunders. The donor of $6 million wishes to remain anonymous, but five million will go to student scholarship and the remaining $1M will be used to further the university's strategic initiatives in the following areas: Image Development, Connections with the Community, A Climate of Academic Success and A Culture of Healthy Minds and Bodies.

Guess there's money and then there's so much money you'd never want folks to know you have that much money. ... READ MORE

Yelp helps?

Obviously, the advent of Yelp has revamped the power of the consumer. The smart businesses are taking a piece of that power back with Yelp stickers in storefront windows, "Our customers love us on Yelp" and offering discounts, as at one particular fondue spot, with a printout of the businesses Yelp page. The barriers between buyer and seller have really been broken in an effective and somewhat scary way.

If you know that every customer has the ability to dis your biz in a format that reaches millions of customers faster than you can say phonebook, won't that help revive the mythical creature we call "Customer Service"?

Unfortunately, the average American does not live in a major city where Yelping is so instant and widespread. Instead, the average American lives in a town with a population under 20,000, has hungry kids and lives within 10 miles of a really crappy Pizza Hut. Settling happens. (In my particular neck of the woods, we have a rogue Pizza Hut that has successfully seceded from the franchise. I'll tell you about that later.)

Additionally, even with all the valuable feedback tools our wifi can sling, what is a small town business owner to do with bad employee attitudes? Sure in a college community, you can fire and re-hire in one day, but again, in a smaller town such as my own, excess labor isn't an option, even as the unemployed lines grow. Everyone is either overqualified or too proud.

Theladder.com has piqued my interest (Who doesn't want $100K/year?), but perhaps there is more of a need for a Bottomrung.com for good-natured folks who don't necessarily want it all but want to make a positive impression on the rest of the world with the simplicity of a smile.

It can be done, I've seen it here in Chicago, from janitors to doormen, cab drivers, elevator operators, salespeople and passersby. I wish I could Yelp the whole city with five stars or a fat thumbs up. But maybe it's all environmental-- where you are happy to be, you will be happy to host others.
... READ MORE