July 16 in Asheville: So much to do, so little time

You know how there are some days in Asheville where everything seems to happen at once, and even if you gave it your very best college try, you couldn’t possibly cram it all in to one 24-hour period of time? Well Saturday, July 16 is one of those days. Here, to make your time management next to impossible, are five events worth shoe-horning into your schedule.

1)
“Come one, come all, come big, small, short and tall, to the 3rd Annual 23 Ring Circus!” reads the press release. Secret Agents 23 Skidoo adds, “And the best one yet, if I can toot my own horn along with the carnival band!”

The kids-and-families-oriented show includes kid-hop from Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, juggling by 40 Fingers and a Missing Tooth, kid cabaret music from Helblinki, belly dancing by Claire Dima and the shennanigans of The Runaway Circus, plus ice cream and balloon twisting. 1 p.m. show time, $9, free for kids under age 3.

2)
“Just wanted to let you know about some things that have been going on in Nova Echo world over the past little bit,” writes local pop-rock band The Nova Echo. “We got hooked up with Hard Head management out of NYC, which is owned by Warren Haynes and his wife Stefani Scamardo, and we’ve been working closely with them over the past months.” The band just played Camp Bisco in New York with festival hosts The Disco Biscuits and they just finished recording new five-song EP, Solar Systematic (tentatively set to be released later this summer). Before the Nova Echo launches its next tour (August and September)  they’ll perform “our first and probably only show in Asheville this summer.” It’s at The Grey Eagle, it’s all-ages and it includes Louisville-based Uh-huh Baby Yeah!. 9 p.m., $6 advance/$8 day of show.

Listen to “Orion” here:

  The Nova Echo-12-Orion by The Nova Echo

3)
Asheville High alum-turned-film maker Melika Bass screens her first featurette length film at Fine Arts Theatre.  The film, Shoals, is described as “A prairie grotesque. On the grounds of a rural sanitarium, three young women search for wellness as a cult leader seeks to control their bodies through labor and daily rituals. A dense, viral atmosphere of seething cricket sounds and crawling film grain envelops this macabre tale of entrapment, stasis, and the desire for a cure.” It will be screened with the 34 minute Waking Things: “In a house in a primeval wood, a mysterious, misfit family prepares a seasonal feast for a visiting party of outlanders. As they shuffle through ritualistic preparations, shadows reveal each creature—one menacing, one wounded, and one worn, stewards of an old tradition, blood for blood.” 9:30 p.m., $8.75 adults/$6.50 seniors.

4)
The Black Rabbits out of Orlando includes brother Jetson and Skyler Black (perfect band names) along with Yuki Tong and Kim Drake (also admirably named) who claim pitch-perfect rock influences like The Who, The Pixies, The White Stripes and The Doors. Off to a good start (and, with names like Jetson and Skyler we’d expect nothing less), the Black Rabbits’ 2010 debut EP was produced by Billy Chapin and Stan Lynch of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. They’ll play Westville Pub (opening for Hudson K). 10 p.m.

Watch “Hypno Switch”:

5)
“We are excited to introduce indie rock artist Bear Lake to Asheville at Lexington Avenue Brewery as part of their East Coast tour in support of their third album, If You Were Me,” writes Grand Circus Media.  “The single, ‘Scissors,’ just debuted at #16 on the CMJ Charts and the band has been confirmed to open for The Raconteurs on their only date in September 2011, which will also feature Sheryl Crow.”  So there’s a handful of reasons to check out the Saturday show. Young Orchids also play. 10 p.m., cover TBD.

Listen to “We Were Young” here:

  07 We were the Young by bearlake