Pitchfork

Mac McCaughan photo by Will Marsh; Clint Conley photo by Jen Reel

When all is (hopefully) said and done early in the morning on November 5, let no one claim Merge Records head honcho and Superchunk/Portastatic frontguy Mac McCaughan didn't do his part to get Illinois Senator Barack Obama elected the next president of the United States. Mac, who kicked out some jams with Superchunk for candidate Obama back in May alongside labelmates Arcade Fire, will take part in a pair of shows in North Carolina over the next week and a half to encourage participation in the state's early voting program.

First up is an October 28 gig at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, which will find Mac's Portastatic, Chris Stamey of the dBs, Tift Merritt, Reigning Sound, and others making their voices heard for the Obama-Biden ticket. The show is free, provided you nab tickets while you do a bit of early voting outside UNC Asheville's Zeis Hall first.

Then on November 1-- the last day of early voting in the state, mind-- Mac will play double duty at a free show on the University of North Carolina's Graham Terrace in Chapel Hill. From 9 a.m.(!) to 1 p.m., you can bear witness to an acoustic set from Superchunk, plus tunes from Portastatic, the dBs, Bowerbirds, Megafaun, Ivan Howard of the Rosebuds, and others. Oh, and there will be coffee and doughnuts, 'cause goddamn that's early for a rock'n'roll show.

The gents of Mission of Burma are getting in on all this hot election season action as well, holding an auction of some really swanky stuff with the proceeds going to political action group MoveOn.org and, consequently, the Obama cause. There's lots of rare vinyl, bitchin' posters, and the like up for the bidding. That fiscal conservatism touted by other side? Don't bring that mess to the auction block, my friends.

Oh, and tonight (October 23) at Brooklyn's Southpaw, a nice sampling of the Daptone Records crew will come out in support of Mr. Obama at a fundraising gig. Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, the Budos Band, and "some other very special guests from the Daptone stable" will perform live, along with DJ sets from the Honeydripper, Tommy "TNT" Brenneck of the Dap-Kings, and Neal Sugarman. Should be quite a (Democratic) party.

And don't forget, voters, the Beastie Boys' "Get Out and Vote '08" tour is live and in effect starting next week.