Kara Hodge Entertainment Beat

North Carolina's own pop-rock wonder boys Weekend Excursion (WE) perform tonight at Legends. Promoting its third CD "Radioactive," WE made a commitment to hit the road in the spring of 2000 and spread its name past the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Playing regularly in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and the Washington, D.C., area, WE has attempted to create a large fan base. Weekend has even had some national attention. The band's music has appeared on the WB network's "Dawson's Creek" in January 2000, and WE was a finalist in "SPIN" magazine's "Best Unsigned Band Contest" in 1998.

The band's sound is best described as pop, but after the signing of new lead vocalist Sam Fisher, its sound has progressed from the typical college mix Ñ what this critic calls "frat rock." Besides Fisher, WE consists of Chris Groch on lead guitar, Jeff Foxworth on rhythm guitar, Cas Edmunds on drums and Danny Donovan on bass. After the release of "Radioactive," WE proved not to be the typical frat-rock band it had been since the band's start.

WE's writing and sound matured with the changes from within the band. "Radioactive" is an eight-track CD that parallels its first two albums "Five from Six" and "Weekend Excursion."

Alike in theme and content, "Radioactive" is both romantic and soft but has finally added a hard edge. The good stuff: Tracks like "Radio" and "Break Away" deal with breakups and unattainable love Ñ the songs are good because unlike a lot of love songs, they're believable. Fisher's voice has added more to the band than you could imagine Ñ he is raw and very, very real.

The not-so-good stuff: Weekend waited too long to add variety to its sound. The popish lovey-dovey music on the band's first two albums got old fast. On a positive note, WE is one of the only bands on the college circuit who is intent on keeping its fan base large and its audience happy. "No matter where we play, even if it's the first time in a city, we always see at least a few people in the audience singing our words ... and that's the best feeling in the world," said Foxworth.

Weekend Excursion performs tonight at Legends. Tickets are $7 in advance and $8 at the door. Doors open at 9 p.m. The event is B.Y.O.B. with a 6-pack limit. Proper ID is required. For more information about WE check out its Web site at www.weekendexcursion.com.

Kara Hodge Entertainment Beat

Three years have passed since Dave Matthews Band (DMB) produced a studio album. "Everyday," the fifth CD since the band's start in 1990, has been well worth the wait. Popular for its live compilation CDs and duos with famous guitarists like Carlos Santana and Tim Reynolds, DMB has been out of the loop with new material.

When asked why the band took so long to produce another album, Matthews said in a "Rolling Stone" interview, "I was feeling as if I had run out. And there was nobody who could help me in any way."

Producer Glen Ballard, who has worked with musicians like Alanis Morissette and Aerosmith, was hired to help Matthews write and focus his attention on a new direction the band should take Ñ a place where rock flourishes on concise and simplistic sounds.

"Everyday" is a 12-track CD that differs greatly from the rest of DMB's albums. Moving from the organic/earth roots/neo-hippie jams, the songs on "Everyday" are all under five minutes and are arranged like a Beatles rock tune Ñ catchy, beautifully written and just plain good to the ears. Lyrically, DMB has not changed at all. Without a doubt Matthews is famous for his poetic style of writing. Ballard just took Matthews' style and made it better.

Tracks like "I Did It" and "What You Are" feature lyrics that sound like excerpts from everyday conversation Ñ "I did it/Guilty as charged" and "Don't you know?/When you live life/Then you will become what you are." "If I Had It All" and "Angel" are ballads typical of the band's style and sound.

They are filled with idiosyncrasies and mumbled words that talk about love, sex and emotions Ñ "If were king/If I had everything/If I had you, then I could give your dreams/If I were giant sized/ On top of it all/Then tell me what in the world I would go for/If I had it all." "I think they're the best lyrics I've written," said Matthews. "I've said things more clearly on this album than ever before.

It's the best melodies. It's so musical, so thematic and so varied." "Everyday" brings about a new attitude for the college-circuit jam band. In fact, DMB ushers in a modest way to play music. This critic's theory is that after the death of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and the sudden stop of Phish tours, DMB took the gaul to show what neo-hippie bands were capable of Ñ variety.

The good stuff: Surprisingly, the songs, although shorter, are a good change from the long jam sessions characteristic of the first four albums. It is more music in less time Ñ the American way of sorts.

Matthews and his bandmates have abandoned complicated drumbeats and guitar rifts for a more condensed sound. The not-so-good stuff: Each song is concise and well written, but if you are a Davehead and like the long jam sessions, this album is not for you.

Overall, it is the best thing this critic has heard since "Under the Table and Dreaming." The album is going to change music drastically for those in the pop/rock/jazz/funk category.

Musicians will want to be able to put that much talent into a humble and mellow song and come off looking better than they ever have.

Buy "Everyday." Even if you don't like DMB, you may like this album because it is not the band's average mix. And if you are opposed to your precious Dave changing his ways, buy the album anyways Ñ you will remember why you fell in love with DMB in the first place.