Metal Evolution, Farmington Hill and Commie bastards

by Chris Aaland

I’ve sat around the house more days than I’d like lately, glued to the tube watching some utterly mind-numbing TV while wallowing in various states of self-pity. Sorry to be a buzzkill, but death took all the fun out of the holidays. Shelly took a much-needed, weeklong trek to New Jersey to visit her sister, leaving me at home with Otto. Last I checked, hauling my 4-year-old to late-night concerts and bars was considered bad parenting. So I opted for Christmas cookies, Diet Pepsis and the idiot box.

Along the way, I realized that Anthony Bourdain is right: The Food Channel sucks. And the History Channel and Bourdain’s chief employer, the Travel Channel, aren’t far behind. ESPN was chock full of bowl games, but you have to be seriously lacking in life to find anything entertaining in such matchups as the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl (Woo-hoo! Marshall vs. Florida International!) and the Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Yippee! Temple vs. Wyoming!), among others.

My salvation was a few music- and sports-related documentaries. A few of my favorites:

- “Metal Evolution,” an 11-part documentary on the history of heavy metal on VH1. The brainchild of Sam Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist and unapologetic headbanger, it basically breaks down hard rock into a family tree of sorts, with limbs including “Pre Metal,” “Early Metal: U.S. Subdivision,” “Early Metal: British Subdivision,” “New Wave of British Heavy Metal,” “Glam,” “Thrash,” “Grunge,” “Nu Metal,” “Shock Rock,” “Power Metal” and “Progressive Metal.”

-  “The Secret to a Happy Ending: The Drive-By Truckers Documentary,” a 2009 film about the redemptive powers of rock and roll. Barr Weissman spent three years delving into the most important era of the band’s history — a period that spanned the classic Jason Isbell era. It took a loving and painful look into how DBT survived the divorce of Isbell and Shonna Tucker, a near break-up and its commitment to the craft of Southern rock.

- “Cold War on Ice: Summit Series ’72,” a 90-minute look back at the eight-game hockey series between the Soviet national team and Canadian-born NHL all-stars during the height of the cold war. The airing of this documentary kicked off the new NBC Sports Network, a middling satellite and cable sports channel previously known as Versus and the Outdoor Life Network. Talk about putting on the foil. This international “friendly” series featured players using their sticks and skates as weapons, 007-esque espionage and more. The NHL of that bygone era of the Broad Street Bullies, KC and the Sunshine Band and “Deep Throat” was so much more entertaining.

This week’s local music bill of fare is a bit thin, so if you’re stuck around the house waiting for Tebow and the Broncos to convert on third down, you might want to dig deep to find entertainment on the airwaves … and these three were must-see TV.

The tale of Farmington Hill is one that will surely be debated, deciphered and discussed by anthropologists who unearth old band flyers centuries from now. According to popular mythology, Erik Nordstrom and Bubba got together to drink a case of PBR and swap country songs on acoustic guitars. Next thing you know, Katie Iudice (Bubba’s bass-playing wife), Mike Mantineo (a drummer not married to either Bubba or Erik) and multi-instrumentalist Kelly Rogers (best known for his lap steel prowess) were on board and they were opening for the Supersuckers. The rest, as they say, is history. F-Hill joins forces with the bluegrassy folksters in Old North State for a twin bill at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Summit. And, yes, PBRs will line the stage.

This week’s Summit slate also includes Thirsty Thursday with Smooth Money Gesture at 10 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Jan. 5), happy hour with Chaz McFlash from 6-9 p.m. Friday, the monthly First Friday pairing of music and live visual art with Rhyme Progression and Black Mask at 10 p.m. and happy hour with Rupnow & friends from 6-9 p.m. Saturday.

Adfero Affero plays original dubstep with live vocals at Moe’s on Saturday night. This duo consists of Tyler Adriance and Michael Wall. Then on Sunday, Musica del Mundo presents live music and dancing to the sounds of the 3 Wise Men at Moe’s.

Ska gets busy this week with a trio of events. Frequency, an acoustic rock trio, does the weekly Ska-B-Q shindig at 5 p.m. tonight. Then Tubby Love brings reggae and funk to the brewery on Friday evening. Finally, the Barley Pop Betties hold their inaugural 2012 meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A $25 annual membership gets you a club T-shirt and invitation to all events. One caveat: you must be a woman. The purpose of this group is to get together with friends and acquaintances and sample tasty beers, learn about the art and science of brewing and further your appreciation for this fine beverage.

Elsewhere: the Three Brothers play the Office Spiritorium from 7-11 p.m. on Friday and Black Velvet does the Derailed Saloon at 8 p.m. Saturday.

This week’s Top Shelf list examines five highlights of the 1972 Summit Series:
1. Longtime Boston Bruins great Phil Esposito tripped on a rose petal on the ice in the pregame ceremony for Game 5 in Moscow. Ever the showman, he flopped around on the ice and blew a kiss to the face of evil himself, Leonid Brezhnev.
2. Philadelphia Flyers captain Bobby Clarke showed some brotherly love to Valeri Kharlamov by swinging his stick with two hands and breaking Kharlamov’s ankle in Game 6, spurring Canada’s rally from a 3-1-1 deficit in games.
3. Soviet police subdued Canadian promoter Alan Eagleson in the third period of Game 8 when he confronted the goal judge for not turning on the light. A near riot ensued, with Canadian players going over the boards to confront gun-toting cops with their sticks.
4. USSR player Boris Mikhailov reinvented the phrase, “Commie bastard,” by using his skate as a weapon in a fight with Gary Bergman, kicking the Canuck twice in a Game 7 fight.
5. Journeyman Paul Henderson — the lone do-gooder on Team Canada — scored the game-winners in the last three contests, including a rebound with 34 seconds left in the series finale.

We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.