WUSS CORE | The Farm Upstate
w/ Lily Slay
Thurs. Sept. 25
9 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof

The Farm Upstate’s writing style is all over the place, and that’s a good thing. Hit random on the Charleston band’s complete discography, and you’ll find power-pop rock mixed up with cinematic Jon Brion-esque études. The last band to pull off so many styles this well was Ween, and The Farm Upstate are giving them a run for their money. The band is getting ready to release their first full-length record, Appetite for Distraction. Vocalist and guitarist Eric Barfield describes the record as wuss core. “Wuss core is something I coined because I try to rip off lots of genres, says Barfield. “Making up fake genres is fun. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll.” Oddly enough, The Farm Upstatehas never had a full-time drummer. “I like to think of it as having a bullpen of drummers as opposed to not having a drummer,” says Barfield. “It’s just a matter of who’s available.” If you’re already familiar with The Farm Upstate, you might recognize some of the yet-to-be-released songs on Appetite for Distraction, but there’s a reason for that. “A lot of it has been recorded before, but I didn’t like how it sounded or it’s played differently now,” says Barfield. “Appetite for Distraction contains 33 percent new material.” —J. Chapa THURSDAY

ROCK | Moosetoberfest
Sat. Sept. 27
6 p.m.
Free
Tattooed Moose

Mechanical River’s Joel Hamilton and the Tattooed Moose have organized a killer lineup for Rocktoberfest, and by that we mean the festival formerly known as Rocktoberfest. The name change occurred after a cease-and-desist letter. “It was a company out West that has a music festival with the same name,” Tattooed Moose’s Julia Heckman says. “I guess they felt threatened by how awesome our version is.” Now called Moosetoberfest, this year’s dream lineup includes Charleston’s Punks&Snakes, Dumb Doctors, Mechanical River, Post Cobra, and Mr. Jenkins. Also, Columbia-based Stefanie Santana and Those Lavender Whales will bring their indie folk to the mix, while indie-grunge group Couches hail all the way from San Francisco. The music isn’t the only thing that’s special about Moosetoberfest. “We rotate bands both inside and outside on our patio, drink yummy fall beers, and we always do a food special. This year it will be Meathouse bratwurst and sauerkraut,” the Moose’s Suzanne Stone says. “It’s just a good vibe all around.”—Kelly Rae Smith SATURDAY

AMERICANA | Don Merckle and the Blacksmiths
w/ Wrenwood
Sat. Sept. 27
9 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof

Local Americana band Don Merckle and the Blacksmiths have been busy this year. They’ve not only released their debut The Puglist on Columbia-based Jangly Records, but they’ve also got a brand new website up and running. The guys even recently shot videos for “Ballad of an Angry Man” and “Murder on My Mind” with Charleston-based Portable Madness Productions. The latter involved coping with the Lowcountry’s often uncomfortably warm weather. “We filmed in the back of an old warehouse in North Charleston. It was hot as hell and there was no air, but we worked with some really great, talented guys and had a lot of fun with it,” Merckle says. “The song is essentially about a guy who has lost everything — his job, his family — and, feeling he has no choice, has resorted to some desperate measures to try and turn things around.” Fans of Whiskeytown will feel at home with the Charleston band’s alt-country sound. Don Merckle and the Blacksmiths will be joined by Charleston-based folk-country foursome Wrenwood. —Kelly Rae Smith SATURDAY

PUNK FOLK | Hymn for Her
Mon. Sept. 29
9 p.m.
$5
Tin Roof
Wed. Oct. 1
6 p.m.
$5
Awendaw Green

Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing of Hymn for Her know how to stay busy. Between three-month tours and writing music, they have to keep up with being a family — and they do it all in a vintage Airstream mobile home. It’s a place that acts as a practice space, a recording studio, and, according to guitarist Lucy Tight, “It’s a brothel.” All joking aside, Hymn for Her’s rowdy sound will have you digging a hole with your heel from all the foot-stomping to be had. They’re kick-drum heavy and make noise with enough instruments for a four-piece band, but they do it all with half the members. The duo relies on traditional guitars, cigar box banjos, and ukes, and they bend harmonies to the breaking point. The band sounds like what you might hear if Meg White ditched Jack and joined up with Les Claypool, who promptly left his bass behind for a cigar-box guitar. —J. Chapa MONDAY and next wednesday

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