B-Sides: MUSIC & OTHER EPHEMERA

Last week I saw joy (Beshear creams Fletcher for gub chair; bring on the partisan gridlock) and pain (Gardner-Webb upsets my alma mater, UK, to the snickering delight of Cards fans nationwide).

For the kids
Now, a warm, fuzzy for the holidays: The proceeds from Eddy Metal’s next showcase, “Rock for Kosair 3,” at Phoenix Hill Tavern, go to benefit Kosair Children’s Hospital. The lineup includes enough rock for days, let alone one evening: The Burial, Caldera, Nova Red, Antikythera, Heaven Hill and more. The show starts at 9 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $7 after 9 p.m., but if you get there before, it’s free. Money goes to buy toys for sick children. Check www.phoenixhill.com or myspace.com/eddymetalrocks.

100% balls
This ain’t no candy pop redux. Digby’s newest EP for Label X/Toucan Cove, What’s Not Plastic?, is out, and it is tight and loud. The first EP is one of three, and if its first track, “New America,” is any indication, hipsters won’t deride them for “100% Free.” Speaking of free, Digby plays a free in-store at ear X-tacy (1534 Bardstown Road, 452-1799) at 6 p.m. Friday, before playing the Homegrown Concert Series at Fourth Street Live with The Photographic and The Invaders.

Dark and bloody ground
What is old is new again. Antietam, named after the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and fronted by Louisville punk foremother Tara Key, is slated to release the double album Opus Mixtum on Chicago’s Carrot Top Records in January. The 26-song set includes a cover of “You/I,” which was originally recorded in 1969 by The Rugby’s. The trio relocated to New York more than a decade ago and has some possible shows in the works, but you should check myspace.com/antietamnyc for more updated info.

Mat Herron is LEO’s Music Editor, and believes shrimp cocktail is the cure for everything. Contact him at [email protected]