All this week, be listening to Underground on 88.1 FM for your chance to see Lil’ Wayne in concert. Live Nation presents Lil’ Wayne with special guests Soulja Boy, Young Jeezy, Drake, and Jeremih on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. Former WKNC hip-hop music director DJ Nominal named Lil’ Wayne’s Carter III as one of his favorite hop-hop albums of 2008. Your first chance to win tickets is this Saturday, Aug. 1 during The 2.0 Show with D-Cutta.

The Local Beat section of the WKNC blog has been keeping a low profile recently, in part because I’m a control freak and don’t want to tell someone else to do it instead, in part because I’ve been working on a research paper that’s due tomorrow, and in part because I’ve been moving out of a disgusting 6-person college student house all week.

But that doesn’t mean we’re not giving you more than your daily prescribed dose of local music tonight at 5pm.  In fact, we’re ODing on it.

At 5:00 Violet Vector & The Lovely Lovelies and Mike Dillon of Gross Ghost will be by to talk about their show next Friday at Slim’s.

Then at 6:00 Jeff Crawford and Nick Jaeger of The Tomahawks–and every other band you’ve ever loved–will be playing some songs and chatting about the MS Open Eye Series.  They’re playing tomorrow (Saturday 8/1) at the Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro at 8pm (suggested $5 donation to support Zach Terry’s MS Ride team).

And last but CERTAINLY not least is The Proclivities, who’ll be playing The Pour House Music Hall tonight alongside Modern Skirts and Heypenny.  They’ll be stopping by right around 7:00.

And of course, in between all the chatter will be your favorite local music–and there’s so much good new local music right now it’s ridiculous. So tune in at 88.1 FM or wknc.org/listen.  No, seriously: do it.

The Independent Weekly has recognized Durham producer 9th Wonder in the 2009 Indies Arts Awards. Formerly a member of the Little Brother trio, 9th Wonder is an instructor at N.C. Central University and produces with artists such as Ludacris on the side. He also won a Grammy for his work with Mary J. Blige.

Read the full story about 9th Wonder’s award and other accolades here.

Reid Johnson, front man for local indie rock band Schooner, will be on WKNC today around 5:30 pm. He’ll bringing some brand spankin’ new tunes, as well, so don’t miss it.

As a side note, Schooner will be playing a show Friday at The Pinhook in Durham along with Lonnie Walker and a following dance party DJ’ed by yours truly. The show is at 10pm and is 21+, with a suggested $5 donation

Bowerbirds - Upper Air

Deradoorian - Mind Raft

Magnolia Electric - Josephine

1. Bowerbirds -Upper Air
2. Deradoorian -Mind Raft
3. Magnolia Electric Co. -Josephine
4. Double Dagger - More
5. Dirty Projectors -Bitte Orca
6. You And Your Effects - You And Your Effects
7. Stardeath And White Dwarfs - The Birth
8. Invisible Cities - Houses Shine Like Teeth
9. Mew - No More Stories [EP]
10. Ha Ha Tonka - Novel Sounds Of The Nouveau South
11. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
12. Portland Cello Project - The Thao And Justin Power Sessions
13. Wilco - Wilco (the Album)
14. Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day
15. Megafaun – Gather, Form, And Fly
16. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
17. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
18. Light Pines - The Light Pines [EP]
19. Tomahawks - Like A Horse On A Beach
20. Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanists
21. St. Vincent - Actor
22. Violet Vector And The Lovely Lovelies - EP II [EP]
23. Bronzed Chorus - I’m The Spring
24. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
25. Passion Pit - Manners
26. Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque
27. Talbot Tagora - Lessons In The Woods Or A City
28. Boogie Boarder - Pizza Hero
29. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us
30. Veelee - Three Sides

Compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre

The Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch was recently diagnosed with cancer in his salivary gland.

Fortunately, his voice will not be affected.

The Beastie Boy’s tour dates have been canceled and their new album, “Hot Sauce Committee Part 1,”will have its release date (originally mid-September) postponed.

Their appearance at Lollapalooza has been canceled.  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will take over the status of headliner.

More information can be found in his video announcement posted here.

We at WKNC 88.1 are bummed out big time about this and we wish for Adam to have a full recovery so he may continue rocking our faces off.

I arrived to the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro about ten minutes after the 7:15 pm start time of the first night of Merge Records’ 20th anniversary music festival, aptly named XX Merge. Walking into a already-packed Cradle, a trio of bass, drums, and guitar greeted me with a mixture of Pavement melodicism, Pixies-like noise, and the tightness of bands like Slint. Being one of the few Merge bands I didn’t recognize by appearance, after their set, I asked a guy next to me who just played. “Pure,”  he responded. Pure, a band from Asheville who released just one 7″ single on Merge Records in the early 90’s before disappearing, provided the absolute perfect kick-off to what was sure to be a night of great music and immediately turned me into a fan (anyone got a copy of that 7″?)

Nearly right after Pure’s half-hour set, I noticed Lou Barlow, of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh fame, take the stage to begin setting up for his set as Pure was tearing down. Barlow, who released an album of understated folk-pop titled Emoh on Merge in 2005, played a quiet, acoustic set, treating us to a couple songs off of his next album for Merge, Goodnight Unknown, due out this fall.

Lou Barlow

Next up was the country-tinged indie rock of newer Merge signees Oakley Hall. Seven members strong on stage, the group played a sometimes raucous, sometimes poppy set of songs that felt like a 70’s AM radio station’s signal interfering with a college station’s.

Oakley Hall

The Clientele were the next band on the bill. One of my favorite Merge acts, The Clientele played a set of their signature twilight indie rock that was as pretty as violinist/keyboardist Mel Draisey, ending with a driving performance of “Bookshop Casanova” that had the entire crowd moving.

The Clientele

I may be one of the few people who thinks that The Magnetic Fields live are superior to The Magnetic Fields on record. Don’t get me wrong, I love the records, but live, playing all acoustically, the songs take on an intimacy and beauty that just isn’t quite as strong on record. With a mere 40 minute long set time (this is a band that played two sets with an intermission last year at Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall), the band played crowd favorite after crowd favorite, including “California Girls,” “The Book Of Love,” and my personal favorites “I Don’t Believe You” and “Papa Was A Rodeo.” Singer Stephin Merrit’s deadpan humor was present as ever, trading quips with pianist/vocalist Claudia Gonson. When told they only had a minute left, they decided to play the humorous minute-long “Punk Love” to close out the set. It was a fitting exclamation mark to a fantastic set.

Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields

Coming on next were Raleigh’s own Rosebuds. If you’ve never seen The Rosebuds live, you owe it yourself to catch them sometime. I’ve seen them more than a few times and they’ve never put on a less-than-stellar show. Opening with one of my favorite songs (and the song I had stuck in my head prior to their set), “Drunkards Worst Nightmare,” the band charged through a set full of songs from all four of their long-players, from the dancey synth-pop of “Get Up Get Out” from Night of the Furies to the hauntingly beautiful set-closer “Nice Fox” off the recent Life Like (including, as always, audience participation on the refrain “And it don’t mean nothing at all.”)

From the merch table in the back selling Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band shirts to the drum kit with the words “The Mystic Valley Band” emblazoned across the kick drum, it was apparent who the night’s headliner was from the moment you stepped into the Cradle. These days, instead of playing confessional folk songs, Oberst is busy playing raucous country-rock. Backed by a five-piece band, Oberst took the stage in a wide-brim cowboy hat that wouldn’t be out of place in an old western. Oberst played a generous hour-and-a-quarter long set consisting solely of material from his two Merge albums, last year’s self-titled record and the newly-released Outer South. Backed by a five-piece band, it was a nice way to end the first night of XX Merge’s festivities and get people excited about the remaining four nights.

Conor Oberst

More coverage and photos of the other four nights are on their way, so check back soon!

Giant sunflowers in West Point, VA

My Chevy Cavalier has truly made the rounds this summer. In the past month alone, I’ve been all over the state — to the mountains, the coast, and everywhere in between, as well as to visit friends in Virginia. You’d be surprised to hear how loud I can bump the bass in that little car. I’ve got a stack of mix CDs I’ve made to make time on the interstate pass by quickly, and of all the songs that have accompanied me on the roads, there are definitely some I will always identify as “summer 2009 road trip songs.”

Here are my top ten:

1. Telekinesis - All Of A Sudden
   This song is catchy belong belief and perfect for summer!
2. Kings of Leon – Taper Jean Girl
   This song isn’t new or anything, but there’s this “uhhh huhhh” after the opening chords that gets me every time. I could listen to this one on repeat for a whole car trip, I’m pretty sure.
3. Bombadil – Sad Birthday
   Bombadil created a song with a super upbeat tempo and really depressing lyrics, and the outcome was a great success.
4. Empire of the Sun – Walking On A Dream
   This song is for me what MGMT’s Kids was last summer — fantastic.
5. The Love Language – Lalita
   My steering wheel becomes my drum set every time I hear this song.
6. Lonnie Walker – Pendulum’s Chest
   Bet you thought I was going to choose Summertime…well, I almost did. Am I cheating on this top 10 to say Lonnie Walker’s entire album, “These Times Old Times” is on my summer road trippin’ list?
7. Bowerbirds – Beneath Your Tree
   I’m sure if Bowerbirds heard my rendition of this song in the car, they’d add me to the band. (That is a total lie, but I can dare to dream!)
8. Thao With The Get Down Stay Down – Swimming Pools
   No explanation necessary; this song is summer in music form.
9. St. Vincent – Actor Out of Work
   This song is more up-beat than I’m used to hearing from St. Vincent, which is one of the reasons it made this list. The lyrics make me laugh, because I know several people who I would describe as “actors out of work.”
10. The Avett Brothers – Die Die Die
    This just happens to be favorite Avetts song at the moment, and a good one to sing along to on I-40!

Which songs would you add to the list? I’ve still got miles to cover before school starts, and I’ve always got room for more CDs in my car.

Didn’t score tickets to XX Merge? Well, I was lucky enough to get tickets to Wednesday and Friday nights of the music festival and will be bringing you reviews and pictures from both nights. The festival will be going down this week, July 22 to 25 at Cat’s Cradle (in the words of Conor Oberst: Souled Out!!!) and July 26 at Memorial Hall at UNC Chapel Hill (those tickets are still available). There will also be several activities going on during the day, such as a cookout and showings of documentaries on Merge artists, as well as a free show at the Orange County Social Club on Saturday featuring Radar Bros., Tenement Halls, Matt Suggs, Portastatic, and The Music Tapes.

For more on XX Merge, visit http://mergerecords.com/xxmerge

And for coverage of the festival, check back into the WKNC blog later in the week.

Max Indian at the Nightlight in May Photo by Mike Gray

Max Indian will be joining me, DJ Caid, in studio today at 1pm right after the Local Lunch.  Max Indian will be in to talk about their show this coming Friday with The Tomahawks and Ryan Gustafson at the Local 506.  The show starts at 9:30pm.

Tune in for more information!

Bowerbirds - Upper Air

Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Deradoorian - Mind Raft

Here are the top 30 records at WKNC from the past week, compiled by Daytime Music Director Jenna St. Pierre:

1. Bowerbirds – Upper Air
2. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
3. Deradoorian – Mind Raft
4. Ha Ha Tonka – Novel Sounds Of The Nouveau South
5. Double Dagger – More
6. Stardeath and White Dwarfs – The Birth
7. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
8. Mew – No More Stories [EP]
9. Portland Cello Project – The Thao And Justin Power Sessions
10. Invisible Cities – Houses Shine Like Teeth
11. You And Your Effects – You And Your Effects
12. Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day
13. Still Life Still – Pastel [EP]
14. Megafaun – Gather, Form, And Fly
15. Wilco – Wilco (the Album)
16. St. Vincent – Actor
17. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
18. Black Moth Super Rainbow – Eating Us
19. Lonnie Walker – These Times Old Times
20. Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine
21. Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanists
22. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
23. Passion Pit – Manners
24. Bronzed Chorus – I’m The Spring
25. Veelee – Three Sides
26. Throw Me The Statue – Creaturesque
27. Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream
28. American Folklore – American Folklore
29. Boogie Boarder – Pizza Hero
30. Talbot Tagora - Lessons In The Woods Or A City

The following are albums recently added to our library, which you can look forward to hearing on the air:
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
Yacht – See Mystery Lights

WKNC has some new and exciting tickets to giveawathis coming week! Check out the shows going on July 19 to 25 for which WKNC will give away tickets:

Sunday, July 19:
Lost In The Trees playing @ Cat’s Cradle

Scream The Prayer Tour @ Lincoln Theatre

Wednesday, July 22:
Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers @ Lincoln Theatre

Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers

Dark Party (Eliot Lipp & Leo 123 w/Mux Mool) @ The Pour House

Eliot Lipp

Saturday, July 25:
Annuals & The Old Ceremony @ NC Museum of Art

Annuals

The Bleeding Hearts with The Dielectrics & Stonefox @ The Pour House

The Bleeding Hearts

In addition to these great shows, WKNC is also giving away tickets to following shows:

Robert Cray Band July 23 @ Koka Booth

Robert Cray

The Big Surprise Tour w/ Old Crow Medicine Show August 10 @ Koka Booth

Old Crow Medicine Show

Coldplay August 6 @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion

Coldplay

Be sure to listen in to WKNC 88.1 for your chance to win some of these great tickets! Also, be sure to check out The Rock Report for a complete list of local shows near you!

Exciting stuff happening on both the Local Lunch and Local Beat today.

First, the Local Lunch: our good friend BJ Burton from Flying Tiger Sound Studios is coming by to DJ with Mikey for today’s Local Lunch.  He’s bringing with him exclusive local tracks “that no one’s ever heard before”:

Rosebuds

“Second Bird of Paradise” by The Rosebuds

Lonnie Walker, c/o http://www.terpsikhore.com/

“Seasons” by Lonnie Walker

I don’t know exactly what Mikey and BJ’s plans are, but those songs will be presented to the world for the first time during the Local Lunch today.

Hopeline Benefit at Tir Na Nog: Lonnie Walker, On Photon, Hammer No More the Fingers, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Future Kings of Nowhere

Then, looking ahead to the Local Beat, we’ll be chatting with Shayne from The Future Kings of Nowhere about playing the Hopeline Benefit show at Tir Na Nog tonight, about moving to New York, and about some of his memories from time spent in the Triangle.  He’ll be performing several new songs in studio, as well.

And, of course, we’ll be spotlighting some of the AWESOME new local music that’s been released locally.  Good stuff all around.

Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix earns 4 out of 5 stars
May Chung

The French quartet’s fourth studio album rips off not only Mozart’s name sake but also his unadulterated style. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a composition of catchy ballads, orchestrated with dance pop ditties and heavy synths. The throwback to German romantic composers is the sort of puckish impudence that moves a limb or two. As it should.

Arguably, the album’s opener, “Lisztomania” is this summer’s belting roll-down-the-car-window hit for the Vampire Weekend crowd. “Darling I’m down and lonely” Phoenix’s front man, Thomas Mars croons in his ever-disaffected manner. Gloriously infectious, it is this kind of melodious case of the travesties that defy (or perhaps reinforce?) the Stokes comparisons. It only takes one spin to know why.

The use of falsettos (none more prevalent than in “Fences”) doesn’t seem to hurt either. They seem to be very popular in recent indie releases (think MGMT, Passion Pit). Still, they didn’t just land an SNL on high octaves alone. “1901” and “Rome” add to the ridiculously vivid guitar melodies. Both warrant continuous plays: the first, grandeur of hooks and likely successor to the season jam; the second, complete with snare hits and a riveting outro. So encouraging, it almost seems a shame not to live it up.

But the album’s best hit yet is “Lasso.” From a whole album devoted to the eternally lovelorn, this one tears a new heartache. Where would you go with a lasso?” Mars inquires, “Could you go and run into me?” Is he wooing a cowgirl? No matter, the nostalgia is enough to encourage any silly old unpretentious fool to try his hand at love—only to be left listless and unfulfilled.

“Love Like a Sunset” has a reminiscent Air-like quality, which not surprising since it was Mars who was the voice behind “Playground Love.” (Incidentally, the song was used in The Virgin Suicides, directed by Thomas’s domestic companion and baby’s momma, Sofia Coppola). Over three-fourths through, the song diverges into a dreamy territory, though it is quite satisfying. It’s actually the sultriest bit of fun to come from the French since Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Dance me, Amadeus. Though Phoenix have been a staple in indie rock for quite some time, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is an innocently new beat, and is a craft in its own right, having been already labeled by many as one of the best records of the year.

Reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated. This Phoenix refuses to die.

88.1 WKNC DJ Pick of the Week is published in every Tuesday print edition of the Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.< /blockquote>

The Black Crowes’ Warpaint earns 4 out of 5 stars
Tyler Haggard

With 2008’s Warpaint, The Black Crowes redefined their already hazy musical parameters with a country/blues/hard rock release that broke a seven-year studio silence for the Georgia boys. With the addition of slide guitar virtuoso Luther Dickenson (North Mississippi All-Stars) filling the shoes of fan favorite Marc Ford, and keyboardist Adam MacDougall stepping in for long-time member Ed Harsch, the new Crowes sound succeeded in hitting that difficult mark of inventive roots rock.

April’s Warpaint Live confirms what die-hard fans (and band members) have preached throughout the Crowes’ 20+ year stint of making the good noise: The Black Crowes are a band to be experienced live. Members have honed their improvisational chops to a razor’s edge, and almost every track on this release outshines its studio doppelganger.

Recorded on March 20th, 2008 at the Wilhelm in Los Angeles, Warpaint Live catches one of the many shows the Crowes played immediately after Warpaint’s studio release, featuring the new album in its entirety followed by a set of covers and selections from the Crowes’ back catalogue. Singer Chris Robinson’s vocals are noticeably grittier than on the source material, adding a raw texture that perfectly compliments the lumbering blues trudge of “Walk Believer Walk” and the rock’n’roll gallop of “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.”

Brother Rich Robinson’s guitar plays the same role it always has: blurring the line between rhythm and lead, a term Keith Richards dubbed “the ancient art of weaving.” The second thread in that tapestry, provided by Dickenson’s velvet or molten (depending on the song) slide licks, sounds just as home with the psychedelic, Zeppelin-esque “Move It On Down the Line” as it does with the feel-good dijembe trot of the studio closer, “Whoa Mule.” Hearing how far Dickenson had come in the short interval of the studio recording and this live offering shows the new guitarist quickly establishing his niche in the band.

The album isn’t without flaw. Just as on the studio release, “God’s Got It,” a cover of an old Reverend Charlie Jackson staple, is too repetitive in lyric and structure to be redeemed by hot axe play. Likewise, the lyrics of “Evergreen” seem cliché and stifled- “Evergreen, evergreen, prettiest thing I’ve ever seen” smacks of bad high-school poetry, not Robinson’s usual eloquent stanzas. Thankfully, all is forgiven with “Oh Josephine,” boasting some of Chris’ finest ballad lyrics to date coupled with the most soulful solos of the entire album.

The second disc holds a few stellar covers, stand-outs being a dead-on rendition of The Rolling Stones’ “Torn and Frayed” and a kick-in-the-teeth romp through Moby Grape’s “Hey Grandma.” Rounding out the auxiliary disc is the never-released Crowes original, “Darling of the Underground Press,” a better version of which is tough to find, even in the Crowes’ leviathan live archives.

If Warpaint was a wry smile from the ever-changing Black Crowes, Warpaint Live is that same smile, sans brushing for about a week. All the more reason to don your Warpaint and join the jubilee.

88.1 WKNC DJ Pick of the Week is published in every Tuesday print edition of the Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.< /blockquote>