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Concert Preview Local Music

LBLB Thursday 11/18

Come down to WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Band Local Beer on Thursday 11/18 to see Embarrassing Fruits, Kid Future, and Americans In France! The show is free! 10 p.m. 21+.

Embarrassing Fruits


These guys played on NCSU’s Harris Field for the first installment of Fridays on the Lawn this semester.  I thoroughly enjoyed their show. On the one hand, they sang a song about conspiracies and on the other, something so love sick my heart ached. My favorite line? something like, “I want to be the one to kill spiders for you.” Oh please, Embarrasing Fruits, if you kill spiders for me there will be no Long Distance Breakup Summer.  Promise.


Kid Future

Seriously the sexiest new band to hit the Raleigh scene.

“The three-dude Kid Future is an upstart in the most absolute sense, having played about a dozen shows and released only a handful of rough recordings online. Those tunes are keyboard-and-guitar gestalts, given to verses and hooks that look to serve the mood, not themselves. Think The National in the basement with drum machines and synths.” —Grayson Currin, The Independent

Americans In France

“Though they’re a little more Black Flag than Buddy Holly, there’s a sloppy, rudimentary straightforwardness to Americans in France. That’s not to call their debut, Pretzelvania, simplistic, though. Actually, the Chapel Hill trio plays with a great deal of skill, shifting styles (punk, post-punk, ballad, droning space rock, peppy rave-ups) with the precision of an Indy car shifting gears coming out of a caution flag. But their ragged, kitchen-sink experimentalism is far from pretentious, striking a playful, clowning tone that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” —Chris Parker, The Independent

All three bands (hopefully!) will join me at the station this Thursday at 7 p.m. It will be a cozy interview.

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Concert Preview Local Music

LBLB November 11 Presented by New Raleigh!

This Thursday will be a New Raleigh Showcase of three lovable acts: Bright Young Things, Gray Young, and Heads on Sticks.  WKNC and Tir Na nOg are happy to bring you this FREE, 21 and up event every week.  Music starts at 10 p.m.  Grab yourself a tasty local brew (they’re on special!) and enjoy some local live music.

Bright Young Things

With their music famously described as “The Beatles on a really bad day,” there is something especially charming about this music group.

Gray Young

“Raleigh’s Gray Young (who, for the record, use vocals, but in a largely textural way) makes its anthems say a lot in very little time, and such careful editing and composition amps the intensity.” -The Independent

Heads on Sticks

Check out their free download for the track “Mocking Bird” too!

Expect an ACTION PACKED interview with Bright Young Things this Thursday at 7 p.m.!

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Concert Preview Local Music

Local Band Local Beer November 4

Thursday, November 4—Local Band Local Beer!

A Listening party for Freedom Suite, a new album from The Beast and Nnenna Freelon, featuring performances from The Beast, King Mez, Carlitta Durand, Brody & Choch, and a special turntablism, live drums, and sampling set from producers The Apple Juice Kid and Zakee who have worked with M.I.A., Wale (pronounced Wal-lay), and Rye Rye.

The Beast will headline this show and special guests include:

Producers The Apple Juice Kid (has worked w/ Wale, Camp Lo) and Zakee (has worked w/ M.I.A., Rye Rye) will be performing a collaborative set featuring turntablism, live percussion, and sampling.

The show is FREE. Ages 21 and up. Starts at 10pm.

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Drughorse First Friday at Tir na nOg

Remember the last time The Light Pines played Tir na nOg (or anywhere)? Holy smokes that was awesome.  Well, they along with two of their Drughorse brethren will be rocking the pub’s thatched roof yet again this Friday.

You know the Light Pines, right? If you don’t, well, come to the show and you’ll be glad you did.

TWELVE THOUSAND ARMIES: Fronted by Justin Williams, the surging  and recently rejuvenated (see: opening for Vetiver tonight at the 506 and recently for the Love Language at Motorco on Oct 23) Twelve Thousand Armies will fill the two-spot in this lineup with their shimmery, nostalgic 60’s pop ballads.  The melodies are playful and tickling, and the lyrics range from mature and serious to downright poignant.

NUDEHUES: You wouldn’t guess that the eerie, lingering and hard-for-me-to-classify compositions of the mysterious Nudehues came from the same brain that spun Max Indian’s hook-laden toe-tappers for over a year.  Carter Gaj (Max Indian frontman emeritus) and Tom Simpson (Light Pines percussionist) may leave you scratching your head, but they will certainly leave you wanting more.  Compelling and thought-provoking stuff.

This show starts at 9:30, and it costs a conveniently meager five dollars.

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Concert Preview Local Music

LBLB October 28… Halloween Style!

Get spooky, baby!  This Thursday WKNC and Tir Na nOg bring you the scariest bands to hit the Raleigh scene: Left Outlet, A Rooster for the Masses, and The Alcazar Hotel. I know you’re heart is racing with fright already!  n all seriousness, Local Beer Local Band Night is FREE, 21 and up, and the nightmare starts at 10 p.m. Keep an eye out for Big Boss’s pumpkin beer. AHHH!!!

Left Outlet

Easily the hottest gay band in Raleigh, this band features:  “T.Lemuel…soothe sayer from another place; D.Smith….dulcet notes stolen from siren songs;  L.Bennett…aural massaging with ivory and circuit;  St. Anthony…self-destructive plunges into the deep and;  C-Tron Bravo…booming pounding grooving."  This band is most likely to rock your face off and steal your boyfriend.  Yummmmm

A Rooster for the Masses

This band is too good.  You might have caught them at Hopscotch during our Local Beer Local Band day show at Tir Na nOg. Their album review by Grayson Currin in the Independent Weekly said, “The Rooster still sings truth to power over angular guitar lines and hi-hat pulses, whether riffing on the downtown void King’s Barcade left behind on ‘No Party Downtown’ (the band released Rojo there in 2006) or territorial tendencies on ‘Headwaters.’”  Well thankfully, Kings is back (was anyone there this past Saturday?? Luckies…), A Rooster for the Masses is playing music, and everyone will be happy.

The Alcazar Hotel

"Inspired by the music and philosophies of such seminal bands as The MC5, Morphine, and The Violent Femmes, The Alcazar Hotel play straight up Rock & Roll, no qualifier (indie, alternative, punk, etc.) necessary.  Their first release “Songs from The Alcazar Hotel” (Knockdown South, 2005) was a widely received hit in Amsterdam, The Netherlands after Dawson moved there in 2006. After a year of squatting and busking, Dawson returned to the states to record their follow up album, “Come ON! Dig The Unified Theory!” “…The Unified Theory” was recorded with a blistering set up of 2-string bass, electric guitar, and vicious drums at Delta Recording Service in Como, Mississippi. It features guest appearances by Jimbo Mathus of The Squirrel Nut Zippers and Luther Dickinson of The Black Crowes & North Mississippi Allstars.”

There will be a really scary interview on Thursday from 7-8pm starring myself and Left Outlet.  Be sure to tune in on the creepyness.

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Design Council Halloween Bash sure to entertain

The NCSU College of Design has a lot going for it: the prettiest slice of campus, convenient juxtaposition with Pullen Park and the railroad tracks, the coolest bikes, an awesome-looking dean…and the list continues.  In short, the cool place to be is rarely far from Brooks Hall.  This Saturday (October 24th) will be no exception, as the Design Council will be throwing their annual Halloween Bash.

This year’s shindig features treats from different poles of the local music spectrum: the always-charming, Dylan-scented indie troubadours Lonnie Walker, the exceedingly talented hip-hop monarch King Mez, as well as  DJs The Biters and Holygrailers.

Tickets are ten bucks; full event info is available here!

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Concert Preview Local Music

Local Beer Local Band—October 21—Tir Na nOg

As usual,  Tir Na nOg and WKNC present Local Beer Local Band Night. This Tursday, October 21 features music from Mount Moriah, Old Bricks, and Filthybird! Same rules: starts at 10 p.m., ages 21 and up, and FREE.

Filthybird

I’m always a sucker for a band with female vocals. The folks at the Pinhook said, “These guys are kind of a cosmic Americana western eastern totem spirit animal.” They just had their record release party at the Pinhook on the 15th of October.  If you didn’t catch them there, see them this Thursday!!

Old Bricks

I just saw these guys at the album release party for Veelee. That in itself was an amazing show, I hope you were able to make it. Although this band encompasses the same exact members as Motor Skills, the sound is entirely different. Stuart, the singer, reminded me of Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, in the most wonderful way.

Mount Moriah

Folk rock in the best way.  I have a girl crush on Heather… don’t tell….

Old Bricks is going to come hang out with me in the studio on Thursday from 7-8 p.m. Be sure to tune in!!

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Benefit concert scheduled at White Collar Crime

23-year-old Steven Campbell has been battling Ewing’s Sarcoma for 13 years. Recently, his condition took a turn for the worse, and Jackie Campbell decided to take action. In celebration of Steven’s birthday and in order to help raise funds for medical expenses, etc., Jackie is organizing a concert at White Collar Crime in Raleigh on October 17. The show will begin at 7 p.m. and features local artists such as The Royal Nites, Hank Sinatra, Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls, Hell No, and The “Infamous” Sugar. $10 is the suggested donation.

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Concert Preview Local Music

LIVE at Tir Na nOg! LBLB October 14!!!

Come down to WKNC and Tir Na Nog’s Local Band Local Beer on Thursday, October 14 to see AMINAL, BRETT HARRIS, and THE HONORED GUESTS! The show is FREE. Ages 21 and up. 10 p.m.

Don’t forget to visit the fancy shmancy new Local Beer Local Band website! Loaded with show schedules and a download-able mixtape!

Aminal

“If pop music is a wild animal, then this Chapel Hill trio’s domesticated it, teaching it to sit up, roll over and lay in their lap. Their songs amble with unhurried grace and purr with ineffable charm. Frontman Patrick O’Neill has a gift for vocal melodies that insinuate themselves into your confidences so completely that, after a couple of listens, you’re ready to buy them a round of drinks. The songs boast a woozy ebb and flow fueled by a vibrant rhythm section that’s capable of unspooling the sound with the measured skill of a master angler loosening and locking his reel.”

– Hopscotch Music Festival

You might have missed these guys at Hopscotch because they were playing at the same time as Best Coast. No worries, catch them this Thursday!

Brett Harris

“…equal amounts of jangle and drift, pop and pontification, like a Nick Lowe and Randy Newman acolyte dreaming in FM ballad Technisound.”

-Grayson Currin, Independent Weekly

“…Durham’s version of Paul McCartney.”
-Zach Hanner, Shawna Kenney & John Staton, Wilmington Star News

Brett Harris recently played on NC State campus for Shack-a-thon. A week-long camp-out to support Habitat for Humanity.

The Honored Guests

“Perfection is better in concept than practice, as most anyone who’s lived with a perfectionist will tell you. It nearly brought down the Chapel Hill band The Honored Guests until they learned to scale their ambitions and expectations to a place where the means of playing music were as important as the ends of making the perfect record.

That struggle is encapsulated not only in the title of the Guests’ third album, Please Try Again, but also in the songs themselves. Sure, the album suggests The Flaming Lips’ Soft Bulletin with its richly layered songs, oddly shaped and resolutely catchy arrangements and dreamy countenance. But rather than being infused with hope, Please Try Again comes shadowed by a sense of frustration and dissipation, tracing a psyche at war with itself.” – The Independent

All of the above bands will be in the station this Thursday from 7-8 p.m. for an interview. Tune in!

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Fridays on the Lawn returns!

WKNC has again teamed up with our comrades in the Union Activities Board and Student Government to bring great live music to campus.

This Friday, October 15th, has local acts Birds and Arrows and Embarrassing Fruits performing on Harris Field (at the corner of Dan Allen Drive and Cates Avenue).  The show starts at 6:30 and is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC so bring your friends, maybe a blanket and a picnic basket, and come experience some awesome locally-grown musical talent.

P.S. There will also be some free grub for early-comers!