Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

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.

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Concert Review Festival Coverage

Beats n Bars: Mega Success

Last weekend I experience Durham’s ultimate jam-packed Hip-Hop festival: Beats N Bars!!! In its 2nd installment, the Bull City was blessed with an even more expansive and super-crazy–fire line-up than last years (which was also super-crazy–fire).

My personal favorite acts I caught include (but are not limited to): G Yamazawa, Jooselord Magnus, the DeeepEnd, Shame, Free the Optimus, Cayenne the Lion King, OC from NC, Nitty Scott, and of course, the legendary Cyhi the Prynce. 

In fact, the festival provided so many dope acts, that there was never a dull moment. And the plentiful supply of food and beer made for a hot Friday and Saturday in the sun to be quite the comfortable experience. And in my opinion, the best part was the option of an indoor venue or an outdoor venue, giving the attendee the choice of which environment that they want to experience dope Hip-Hop in. 

Additionally, it would be foolish not to mention the incredible B-boy group, the Raleigh Rockers who graced the place with a display of Hip-Hop dances, as well as an interactive lesson where bystanders were able to step in and participate. Throwing in the fact that a number of DJ’s showed their chops on the 1’s and 2’s, the festival did a great job of staying true to their mission, and that was the celebration of Hip-Hop, as Crystal stated: “not as something you do, but as something you live.”

On behalf of the Underground Department at WKNC, we would like to congratulate Beats n Bars for throwing another fantastic festival for Durham, North Carolina! 

DJ Rhythm

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Concert Review

Ugly God @ Cat’s Cradle 9/22/17

I had been waiting to see Ugly God with baited breath in the weeks preceding his show at Cat’s Cradle. Finally, Friday night rolled around. My friend pulled up outside my dorm with her windows down and her portable speaker ready to blast some Ugly God.  We cruised towards Carrboro with his new album, The Booty Tapes, blasting full volume on her little speaker. We pulled up to the lot in front of Cat’s Cradle and had excellent luck with parking. I was grateful considering we were running a little late. We missed the opening act unfortunately, however, as soon as we walked in the one and only Ugly God was being introduced. My friend and I meandered our way through the crowd, trying to get as close to the front as possible. As soon as Ugly God came on stage the crowd went wild, jumping up and down with their fists in the air. He wasted no time with introductions and cut right to the music.  It was about 100 degrees in Cat’s Cradle at this point of the night because of the sheer number of sweaty people in such a small space. Ugly God was sporting a Supreme brand ski mask and a backpack, neither of which were taken off during the show. He played some of his biggest hits during his set, such as “Booty From a Distance”, “FTBT”, and “Water.” He played some tracks off his new album The Booty Tapes as well. One of the highlights of the night was right before he played the song “Water”. He evenly distributed a large number of water bottles by throwing them to the people standing in the audience. We were instructed to open the bottles and let the water fly as soon as the beat dropped. Not only did the water feel great on my skin (the temperature had climbed even higher), it  looked super pretty too. The set was relatively short as he only rapped for about 30-45 minutes. While I could have stood another hour (at least) of hearing him rap, I was pleased with his performance. We walked out of Cat’s Cradle that night sweaty and eager for another Ugly God show!

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Concert Review

Tigers Jaw- Cats Cradle 5/23

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Due to work, I arrived late to the show, causing me to miss the two openers- Smidley (a side project of emo stalwarts Foxing), and the folksy-country group Saintseneca. I came in right as Tigers Jaw took the stage and opened up with a cut from their newest album, Spin, entitled “Follows”. I was shocked to see the crowd’s reaction as a small, but considerably aggressive mosh pit opened up. Considering their newer material is a far cry from their much faster-paced emo/pop-punk days, the pit seemed very out of place and continued throughout the night to new and old songs. Three songs into the set, during fan-favorite
“The Sun”, a young concertgoer stage dove into the audience. Due to the smaller attendance, the crowd did not catch the young fan as they fell to the floor. The band immediately stopped playing, requesting help and for the audience to clear way for the injured fan. 911 was called and the fan was taken to the hospital. The atmosphere in the room was somber as everyone was uncertain of the fan’s safety.

After a few minutes after the concertgoer was taken to safety, the band returned to the stage and made a statement on taking care of each other at shows, as things like this happen far too often. With incidents like these happening so often, one has to wonder how to make them stop. Should there be no stage diving? Should there be no moshing? These are rather tough questions that defy why so many people got involved in these scenes. The bottom line is people need to respect each other’s space. This could mean not moshing if people around you are visibly crushed for space, catching people when they do stage dive (don’t part the sea like Moses), and being wary when deciding to crowd surf. I have been to many shows and have seen way too many people that are struggling to be held up by the crowd. It should come as common sense that a full-grown person shouldn’t be crowd surfing if the audience is either sparse, unwilling to support them, or made up largely of younger concertgoers, yet it happens all the time. Shows can and should always be fun, but people just need to respect everyone and be considerate of their situation and others’. If people took this consideration, then maybe incidents where an attendee getting taken to the hospital and possibly missing one of their favorite’ bands set would happen less often.

****rant over****

As for the actual show, Tigers Jaw ripped through a vast collection of their songs, new and old, sounding pretty tight on both. Their older songs definitely packed more of a punch given the intensity and nostalgic value for many of the fans, while the new songs shined in maturity and progression as a band. The new songs, more or less the first time I heard many of them, definitely enticed me to listen to them on record (as the album had just come out a few days prior). They are perfect for the summer; elegantly pleasant and perfect for a nice night cruising down a lake.

Tigers Jaw just released Spin on Black Cement and can be found just about anywhere in the vast new world on streaming platforms (maybe not Grooveshark).          

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Concert Review

Sorority Noise: More _____ Than I Thought

Before last month, I really wasn’t very familiar with Sorority Noise. I had heard a few of their songs, but held only a passing interest in them. My decision to take DJ pass to for the show was an impulsive one; mostly an excuse to visit my friends at UNC and to try out the DSLR camera I had checked out from the library. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from the concert itself. I couldn’t have been more wrong

After a two-hour bus ride and a 45-minute walk from NC State, I finally arrived at Cat’s Cradle, where the first band to play was The Obsessives.

The Obsessives are an emo group with hints of post-punk/indie/pop-punk from Washington, DC. They seem to have a fairly diverse group of influences, reminding me of Wavves one moment and The Smiths the next. Their performance was lively and fun. I was surprised by just how much fun I was having a mere five minutes into their set. The chemistry between the bassist/vocalist and lead guitarist was apparent and made an already memorable performance even more enjoyable.

Next up was Sinai Vessel, an emo/pop-punk band from here in North Carolina. Other members of the local scene in the crowd were more than happy to get hype for the band and a mosh pit quickly formed. 

Their performance was an emotionally charged one, ending with two of the band members announcing their departure from the band and Caleb urging the crowd to start bands and support the local scene.

Finally, it was Sorority Noise’s turn. To put it quite simply, their performance blew me away. Cameron’s delivery was sincere and passionate, Adam’s guitar solos were tight and flashy, and the whole band gave a clean and intensely cathartic performance. The crowd was insatiable, climbing onto and subsequently diving from the stage, moshing, and screaming along with every song. One couldn’t help but feel a sense of belonging and comradery with everyone else in the room, as though everyone was a part of something bigger. Without a doubt, this was the best show I’ve ever been to.

Words really don’t do it justice, especially when you’re a poor writer like me.  

The rest of the photos from the night can be seen here: https://goo.gl/photos/cHND6uH2az1ThwFu9

Punk’s not dead; it’s alive and well as long as bands like Sorority Noise, Sinai Vessel, and The Obsessives keep performing.

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Concert Review

Concert Review: Carl Broemel and Dave Simonett

In August of this year, Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket and Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles announced they’d temporarily put guitar work for their bands aside and team up to tour their solo projects. Their November 10 performance at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle marked the first stop in a tour that has since taken them up and down the Eastern U.S.

Though Carl Broemel’s solo work left behind the country influences of his previous act, the folk-inspired earthiness and grounded attitude remained. His act was simple in focus: a guitar and loop pedal were his instruments of choice, with only the occasional interjection of a saxophone riff. Broemel’s lyrics were equally straightforward, often dealing with familiar themes and using unadorned language. Although his performance tools were deceptively simple, Broemel’s musical composition and performance was anything but. Many of his songs began with a single guitar track and vocals on top; the loop pedal allowed Broemel to expand his sound by progressively layering harmonies, riffs, and rhythm on this steady foundation. The additive nature of the pedal meant that the sound increased in complexity linearly throughout the song–often reaching a climax at the point of greatest lyrical tension. The result of all this pedal stomping and shoegazing resulted in a sound that was grounded in human experience, yet extremely space-filling and satisfying.

Simonett’s solo sound represented a much greater departure from his work with a band; Trampled By Turtles’ version of progressive bluegrass became downtempo, melancholy folk. In contrast with Broemel’s complex, layered sound, Simonett’s songs consisted of nothing but guitar, vocal, and a harmonica that he hoped the audience wouldn’t find “too annoying.” (We didn’t.) But while Broemel sang of real-world heartache and experience, Simonett often focused on an abstraction of these concepts–he sang of the ideas of love and experience. It was this lyrical choice that added a unique philosophical weight to his music. While Broemel’s sound made me want to nod my head and partake in certain mentally-altering substances, Simonett’s music in many ways demanded a clarity of mind not often employed at concerts. While he sang and strummed the guitar, I couldn’t help but stand transfixed by the nearly meditative quality of his words. The intimate back room of the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro was a completely appropriate choice for this type of reflective songwriting, and allowed his performance to reach the audience in a way that would’ve surely been impossible in a larger venue.

Dave Simonett will continue touring his solo work with Dave Carroll through December.

– DJ Squeeze

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Concert Review

PWR BTM with Bellows and Lisa Prank @ the Pinhook

Lisa Prank, a solo indie pop punk band from Seattle, and Bellows, a dreamy indie folk band from Brooklyn, opened for New York’s queer punk duo PWR

BTTM at Durham’s the Pinhook on Sunday, November 20th.  Lisa Prank (Robin Edwards) captivated her audience with her innocent demeanor, sporting a glittery blue and silver crown that read “PRANK” for the entirety of her set.  Her special brand of “TMI Punk” is brutally honest in depicting her experiences in life and in relationships, which gives her listeners a lot of space to relate to her.  Most of the songs she performed were from her 2016 album, Adult Teen.  Bellows came next, supplying a change of tone with their dreamy, delicate, and highly sensory sound.  Their matter of fact lyrics and sing-song melodies have characteristics of folk music, paired with strange and striking background music creates a style that is unique to them.  They played songs from both their 2016 album, Fist & Palm, and Blue Breath from 2014.  Oliver Kalb of Bellows was also sure to convey to the audience the importance of the Pinhook as a space that encourages and facilitates political organizing in the wake of the huge political changes that are about to take place.  

You could really feel the excitement in the audience as PWR BTTM finally took the stage.  Liv Bruce and Ben Hopkins were dressed in their usual garb – both rocking dresses, Liv wearing bright lipstick and Ben with a handful of glitter smeared across his face.  They opened with a crowd favorite, West Texas, and played a majority of the songs from their 2015 album, Ugly Cherries.  They also played three tracks that they are planning to include in their upcoming album, including one song called “Silly” that Ben dedicated to “anyone who has ever been made to feel ridiculous about their sexuality or gender identity”.  They, like Colin Kalb, were adamant in advocating for the importance of the Pinhook as a gender-neutral space for people to come together to protect themselves in the upcoming political climate.  Ben and Liv had an entertaining and hilarious chemistry throughout the show, and even switched between playing guitar and manning the drums three times during their set.  They apologized for how long it took to adjust their instruments each time – they had been robbed of their equipment and had to buy all new stuff very recently.  At the end of their initial set, they encouraged the audience to chant to summon the “pizza monster,” after which Ben Hopkins came back out and played the last few songs in a cardboard pizza costume.  It’s safe to say that fun was had by all, and that I won’t be missing their show next time they’re in town.  

– DJ Dari

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Concert Review

The Wrecking Ball ATL 8/13/16 – 8/14/16

DJ Nasty Nate, English Soccer, and Heavy Liquid headed down to Atlanta, GA last week for The Wrecking Ball festival. Check out pics below! Photos courtesy of DJ Nasty Nate.

American Football

Deafheaven

Hey Mercedes

Joyce Manor

Knapsack

Lemuria

Motion City Soundtrack

Piebald

Rainer Maria

Thursday

Tigers Jaw

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Concert Review

Kitten Forever with Royal Brats and Pie Face Girls

Since seeing Kitten Forever open for the legendary Jack off Jill at Asheville’s the Orange Peel, I had been eagerly awaiting the fem-punk Trio’s return to North Caroline and finally got my chance this past Sunday. The Minneapolis band consists of bass, vocals and drums, a very unconventional assortment which they make even more unique by rotating instruments every few songs and singing through a telephone shaped mic. The band brought vibrant energy to Ruby Deluxe, where not a head wasn’t bobbing along to their contagious pop infused riot punk sound.  

Opening for Kitten Forever was the ever so fitting local activist-punk act Pie Face Girls as well as Royal Brat who is currently touring with Kitten Forever. Each band brought the same high energy as well as messages of the struggle for equality, feminism, and taking a stand against injustices. The show all these bands put on definitely did not disappoint.

-DJ Whatsherface

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Concert Review

Say Anything/mewithoutyou/Teen Suicide/Museum Mouth at the Cat’s Cradle

Teen Suicide, a lo-fi band from Maryland, and Museum Mouth, Double Barrel Benefit 13 band and long-time favorites of KNC, were the opening acts for Say Anything and mewithoutYou on Thursday, May 19th at Cat’s Cradle. I was most eager to see Teen Suicide after listening to their much anticipated 26-song album It’s the Big Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir the Honeypot. The album has a diverse mix of genres ranging from typical indie pop songs like “Falling Out of Love With Me,” to the jarring industrial sounds on “Beauty.” No song is similar and it was hard to imagine what type of sound the band would be going for during the show. Teen Suicide didn’t disappoint, going with two electric guitars, bass, and drums. Doing great renditions of old favorites like “Benzo” and “the same things happening to me all the time, even in my dreams,” opting for a less ambient sound and going with a heavier indie rock sound, but still with the band’s overarching theme of teenage sadness. The songs off the new album were more indie rock sounding, like “Pavement” and “Alex.” It was a great performance and showed at least one aspect of the band’s diverse toolkit. Hopefully Teen Suicide will come back to the Triangle soon and change up their sound a little to highlight other songs on their newest album. mewithoutYou, Say Anything, and Museum Mouth had great performance as well. Museum Mouth played some newer songs like “Incubus Tattoo” and “Wave Emoji” and highlights from their newest album Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig. Lastly the show was not complete without Graham from Museum Mouth getting married to his fiancée, in the middle of the Cat’s Cradle crowd before mewithoutYou started their set. It was definitely a night to be remembered.

-Wizard Doctor