A few odds and ends to start off your week:

* Bill Fox played a sold out show at The Beachland Tavern this past Saturday night. Technically, he was the middle act on the bill, opening for his brother Tommy’s reggae band, Broke by Monday, but, tell that to the crowd.

It was the second time I’d seen him since he resumed playing out earlier this year, and unlike the first show he played at the Tavern, which had all the atmosphere of a solemn, Sunday service, Fox seemed to be enjoying himself much more on stage, and the crowd was really getting in to it as well. For the second half of his set, he brought on the members of the opening act, Tourist Union, for a very memorable set of songs which included “Lonesome Pine,” “Over and Away She Goes,” “Appalachian Death Sigh,” and “Song for a Drunken Nightengale.”

* Cobra Verde’s ’08 release, Haven’t Slept All Year, was reviewed at Pitchfork last Friday and earned a very respectable grade of 7.0.

* Also featured in the national media last week, Audio Eagle’s latest signees, Other Girls, who had their track, “Hey Fella, Ya Fell,” featured at the blog, RCRDLBL.

* This show has been rumored for a while, but now I can officially announce it: Mastodon, a band who shreds heavier than their name would imply, are playing the Beachland Ballroom on May 2nd, in support of their forthcoming album Crack the Skye. The pre-sale starts tomorrow at the Mastodon website, with tickets to the general public going on sale Saturday.