Author: WKNC Admin
I was so excited for this show because it was going to be my first metal show in a month. Yes, I know a month isn’t a long time but I go to shows a lot. And I haven’t been able to go to shows in a while because I’ve been focused on school, and because all the bands that I wanted to see were either too far away, or were playing on a week night. But this show was on a Friday night and I honestly could not wait. I had two of my friends going with me. One of them is my show buddy. We go to almost every show together, I actually met him at a metal show so that’s pretty cool. My other friend that I met the first month in college was going with us. This was actually her first metal show so I was pretty pumped to see her experience the life of a “metal head.”
On the Headspace tour, Issues brought Volumes, Too Close To Touch, and Sylar with them. I was mainly excited for two of the opening bands: Sylar and Volumes. I’ve seen Sylar at the Carolina Rebellion and at Warped Tour – they put on a pretty good show. The crowd wasn’t really interacting or jamming to Sylar or Too Close To Touch. The crowd mostly just stood there during both sets. But when Volumes came on, the whole club exploded. There were at least 3 mosh pits going on at the same time, the whole set. They came out hyped and really got the crowd involved. They played some of their best-known songs such as: Feels Good, Waves Control, The Mixture, and Wormholes. I got into some of the pits and it was such a great time. Volumes is always great to see live, this was my fourth time seeing them and they never disappoint. My friend who has never been to a metal show was thrown into the pit, and she loved it. I’m friends with Myke Terry, one singer for the band and I interviewed him for WKNC. Up next were Issues, and honestly, I didn’t know how I would like their set, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw live. They put on a really, really good show. They were interacting with the crowd, and the crowd responded by going hard during their set. They had multiple mosh pits, and a lot of crowd surfers. The light show, too, was impressive. Their songs sounded heavier live, which I really liked; so, I got into some mosh pits here and there. I also crowd surfed twice and it was a good time. I got my friend to crowd surf for the first time. So, it’s safe to say that she will be going to more shows with me in the future. They played some of their best-known songs, as well: Disappear (Remember When), Love Sex Riot, Mad at Myself, and Slow Me Down. I was really impressed with this band and wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
-DJ Saw
Beyond the music and dancing Shakori is a unique social experience where a variety of folks come together, here are a few you’re bound to find there:
1.) The Hippy Mom: Probably grew up going to grassroots festivals herself. Wears patterned maxi skirts and smiles at everyone.
2.) The Tag-along: Doesn’t know why they are there, groans as they follow their friends around through the dirt. Hates nature, and only listens to pop radio.
3.)Bluegrass grandpa: Plays banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, stand up bass, harmonica, you name it. Probably has a beard and often recruits other bluegrass grandpa’s to play with him. He’s taking your old-time requests.
4.)Camp social: Spends the entire festival in the forest at the campsite chatting other campers heads off. Will bring in strangers and have their own little forest party. They came to be social not watch bands.
5.) Lawn chair squatters: Typically and older couple who’s been coming out to the festival for a while. You can find them in the daylight at the back of the crowd sitting in their chairs with a picnic, smiling and bobbing their heads.
6.) Thrill seekers: They came to P-A-R-T-A-Y. They’ll drink it all, smoke it all, take off their shirts and dance until daylight.
7.)Too much too fast guy: Blacks out the first hour of the festival, remembers nothing but everyone remembers him.
8.)Instagrammers: They’re all about the image. They came to a music festival and they want everyone to know it. Their snapchat story is 3 hours long by the time it uploads with limited service. They’re covered in glitter and sequins for that instagram fest pic, and are very easy to find as their phone is always out.
9.)The Music fans: They came for music, made a schedule and aren’t missing any of the bands they came to see. Will probably buy merch too. They’ll probably ask you who you’re there to see.
10.)Hoop Squad: This is the highlight of their life. They dropped a few Benjamins for that fancy rainbow glo hoop and they’re ready to get out of their back yards and strut their stuff! No one understands their art and they’re really only impressing their friends but it brings their hippy hearts joy.
Categories
Pack is Life 8: 9/27/17-10/04/17
Anyone who knows me knows that I love grungy girl-fronted bands, so when I heard Daddy Issues and Lala Lala were opening for Together PANGEA, I was ecstatic. A new friend and I cruised down to Carrboro blasting Deep Dream, Daddy Issues’ newest full-length album, in my little busted-up Corolla. Upon arrival, Lala Lala’s set was in full swing (and I was considerably disappointed), but it was well worth it to see them end their part of their show with Exorcism, my absolute favorite song from Sleepyhead. Daddy Issues took the stage next, performing most of their songs from Deep Dream. Lead guitarist and singer Jenna Moynihan played with such enthusiasm that she broke a string midway through a song and had to finish their set using one of PANGEA’s instruments. Whilst tuning said instrument, they allowed a kid from the crowd to tell a joke on the stage, which fell flat. However, they saved the show by performing their hit “In Your Head”.
Once Together PANGEA came on the vibe in the room changed – herds of adolescent boys showed up, donning Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide apparel. They proceeded to mosh (if you can call it that) and their underage intoxication became more and more apparent. And while I did make my exit before the end of PANGEA’s set, I left two band tees and one car sticker richer. I certainly won’t be missing Daddy Issues or Lala Lala next time they come to town.
DJ Daria
Categories
Beats n Bars Festival
This past weekend, KNC DJs JermE and chilimango attended the second year of Beats n Bars festival. Beats n Bars was a two day fest focused on hip-hop culture, and featured a variety of locally and nationally known artists.
From the website:
The art of MCing, B-Boying, DJing and graffiti all are integral components that are culturally represented in our community and its importance of the sustainability of its kind or culture.
Beats n Bars mission is to build stronger community through the influence of urban culture and music.
The annual festival is hosted by Crystal Taylor, CEO of the Underground Collective, and John Laww (aka The Real Laww), the CEO of the Durm Hip-Hop Summit.
From DJ JermE:
I thought the Beats N Bars festival was a nice little festival. It was a good atmosphere and there was good music. This festival put me on to some talented artists in the Raleigh Durham area, and also featured some more well-known artists such as Cyhi the Prynce. The artists that left an impression on me were TheDeeepEnd, Sean Kyd, and Jooselord Magnus. They brought that ENERGY and, most importantly, they had bars. I also enjoyed the Lion King; I caught him outside for a little bit he was more of a chill reggaeton type rapper. I also thought the battle of the beats was a necessary component to this festival since it’s called “Beats N Bars”–it was pretty hype.
Overall it was a good atmosphere. I feel like they should continue doing this, and try to make it an even bigger festival in the future. This would help promote the local rappers who are trying to use this as a platform to get more known.
From DJ chilimango:
While we were only able to catch the second day of the festival, I was impressed by what I saw. As press, I had the opportunity to interview some of the artists who would play that evening, including G Yamazawa and Nick Grant. The flow of the fest was well organized, from the interview sessions, to the layout of the stages and lineup. The artists were well curated, and I appreciated the focus not only on the music, but on other components of hip-hop as well (MCing, BBoying, DJing, and graffiti). One of my favorite acts was Maestra–she emanated poise and power, and has an amazing voice.
Because the festival is still young, there wasn’t a huge crowd attendance. While it could have been a little more hype, I did enjoy the intimacy that comes with smaller crowd–people knew each other, there wasn’t as much pushing and shoving to get to the shows, and you were able to meet many of the artists between sets. JermE and I were blessed with press passes, which granted us access to the front of the mainstage–that’s an experience I likely wouldn’t have gotten at a larger festival. I loved the people and the music, and hope Beats n Bars continues to grow in the coming years!
Stay tuned for a recap video, as well as a podcast featuring interviews with artists like Maestra, Nick Grant, and G Yamazawa! The audio story will be aired on our specialty show, the Oak City Move.