Pitchfork

You know that bar? The one right around the corner? Just down the street? Where all the indie rockers go for a drink? Your Rainbo in Chicago? Your Clem's in Brooklyn?

Carrboro, North Carolina isn't Brooklyn, and it ain't Chicago either, but it has its own musician's watering mecca and-- get this-- it's down on Main Street. Orange County Social Club, founded by former Merge Records retail and mail order manager Tricia Mesigian five years ago, has become that place for Carrboro, a small town of just under 20,000 bordering Chapel Hill, the town whose indie rock Merge has helped make famous for more than a decade.

Mesigian left Merge to start the bar, but her original label crew-- which includes Superchunk and Merge co-founders Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan-- has been good for business. In the label's guide for out-of-towners at their four-day 15th anniversary party in June of 2004, they endorsed OCSC as the official label bar of choice, and McCaughan has sported OCSC apparel in the artwork for Portastatic's Autumn Was a Lark and Summer of the Shark.

As such, Merge (which isn't 21, btw) helps the bar celebrate its fifth birthday this month, beginning tonight (September 1), as Superchunk and Chris Lopez's Tenement Halls team up for a show at the Cat's Cradle. On September 18, it's "acoustic jams" night at the OCSC, with former Lion named Pedro David Bazan, Jeremy Chatelain (Jets to Brazil, Cub Country), Regia's Louis Schefano, Jenny and Lee Waters of Work Clothes, and Seven Mary Three's Jason Ross (cumbersome choice, eh?).

The real kicker, though, is September 24's show at OCSC: Glorious Merge guitar poppers Ashley Stove play for the first time since 2001, joined by Victory Factory-- the new band of Pipe wildman Ron Liberti-- and Hundred Aires, the new bag of Mayflies USA frontman Adam Price. The Rosebuds and former Spatula guy Chuck Johnson join up for the Carolina cocktail. Nights devoted to karaoke and "Family Feud" (September 6 and 12, respectively) split up the rock nights, but all the cool kids will totally be scoping Rusted Root at the Cradle, anyway (Oh, snap!).

And, in the spirit of giving back, OCSC will donate a portion of all September profits to the MusiCares Foundation.

Merge has a busy autumn (a lark, even) itself: The now Durham-based label has just released Lambchop's Damaged and M. Ward's Post-War, and will issue Richard Buckner's fantastic Meadow on September 12, and both Portastatic's Be Still Please and Robert Pollard's Normal Happiness on October 10. And don't forget M. Ward's "To Go Home" single on November 7, or new signing the Brokedown. You kids will be dancing in the streets to that shit with post-midterm-election fever, huh? Let's dance, crazy kids.