Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

Of Montreal Concert Review

In the last week of March this year, Of Montreal announced the dates of their upcoming US tour. This band performed in 18 states across the nation and at 27 venues. Starting March 29th and concluding May 18th, Cat’s Cradle was the last destination for of Montreal and their opening act, Dream Tiger. As the adage goes, these groups saved the best for last.

The show last night could be described as “unreal” on many different levels. Before Kevin Barnes and company (of Montreal) took the stage, Dream Tiger started off the night with songs from their two relatively recent EPs: “Soft Skin” and “A Lover’s Request.” Dream Tiger and of Montreal only performed together for the last eight days of the tour. Considering the complementary sounds of the two groups, was unfortunate for the venues played before May 10th.

Of Montreal’s setlist was all over the board, featuring a variety of songs from their most recent albums as well as earlier compilations released in 2007 and earlier. The performance by of Montreal was bizarre yet enjoyable as most of the songs included masquerading, costumed dancers on stage. The feel of the show was animated, carnivalesque, and abstract, providing captivating visuals the entire time. Did I know what was going on during the entirety of the show? Absolutely not. Did I have a great time and enjoy the entertaining artists? Absolutely.

-Submitted by DJ Dilemma

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Concert Review

Angel Olsen at Cats Cradle

Angel Olsen performs live at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. Photo by dJ/dx.

Friday night brought indie folk-rock artist Angel Olsen back to her home state for a performance at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro.  The openers, Nashville’s Promised Land Sound, kicked off the night with great energy, backing southern-style harmonies with their country-rock sound.  They even brought Olsen and her percussionist on stage for a song that they claimed to have only played together once before.

Olsen and her crew carried the night onward and upward with a shuffled setlist of new and old, alternating between songs from her most recent release Burn Your Fire For No Witness and tracks from older discography.  It was difficult to resist swaying along to the Missouri native’s enchanting vocals as the outlined the emotionally charged lyrics that I’ve been humming along to for months.  To the crowd’s delight (as indicated by the girly screeches erupting from the house), Angel surprised the crowd with a rendition of Rhiannon by the WKNC-beloved Fleetwood Mac.  Closing out the set with a solo performance of White Fire and Iota, Angel continued to hypnotize the audience without the assistance of her bandmates, leaving the crowd with a simple “thanks” and high hopes for an encore.  She returned to the stage with her bandmates to close out the night with the high-energy of Forgiven/Forgotten.  Overall, it was an impressive performance by a wonderful artist.  While many of her shows are selling out around the country, I’m glad I had the chance to see Olsen perform in the Triangle for the first time since last year’s Hopscotch Music Festival.  It’s always nice to see talented artists getting the attention they deserve.  For more information on Angel Olsen, including tour dates, merch, and news, you can visit her website at angelolsen.com.

– dJ/dx

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Concert Review

Pissed JeansPissed Jeans

Thee TsunamisThee Tsunamis

Apache DropoutApache Dropout

The Pinhook | Durham, NC | 4/12/14

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Concert Review

Mobb Deep Album Release Concert at King’s // April 1, 2014

It’s not too often that you find a sold out hip hop show in Raleigh these days, let alone on an unsuspecting Tuesday night. But the formula of the infamous Mobb Deep, North Carolina’s own 9th Wonder, and a fresh album release combined to pack King’s with hip hop heads ready to celebrate some of the greatest craftsmen still in the game.

The show started off with 9th Wonder spinning beats for some of the up and coming artists on his new Jamla is the Squad album. GQ and Rapsody killed it and got the crowd sufficiently hyped up for the main event. 9th Wonder graciously relinquished the stage and the heavy weights entered (literally, Mobb Deep had a 350 pound body guard chilling in the corner). The Infamous kings of east coast rap have not lost a step, as both Havoc and Prodigy spit bar after bar of electrified gold.

Photos by Alex Cao. Used by permission. 

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Concert Review

Show Review: Dum Dum Girls at Kings Barcade 3.21.14

Playing for a sold out show, Blouse opened up vibrantly with an array of psychedelic projections, intense bass, loud drums, and a dreamy voice brought by the beautiful Charlie Hilton.  After a terrific opener, the stage was lit with an electrifying blue stemming from the neon-lit heart behind the stage.  The Dum Dum girls appeared on stage to fulfill their audience’s expectations.  The performance was perfect leaving little time for conversation and more time for songs.  Most of the concert came from their new album, Too True, where songs such as “Rimbaud Eyes,” “Are You Okay?,” “Too True To Be Good,” and “Evil Blooms” were played.  Their most popular song, “Lost Boys and Girls Club,” was not played before they left the stage… only to be performed in their encore. Brilliant show.  

–DJ Z and DJ B

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Concert Review

Show Review: The Pizza Underground at King’s Barcade

Thursday, March 20, 2014 marked the day that brought a night of bizarre wonder to Raleigh. Who, do you ask, was responsible for bringing this ridiculously magical experience to the masses? None other than former child, Macaulay Culkin. 

An antsy crowd filled the sold out Kings Barcade as they awaited the performance. Toby Goodshank, of the Moldy Peaches, warmed up the audience with a solo acoustic set including songs centered around love and heartache. His voice sounding much like Colin Meloy’s of The Decemberists. While he performed, a screen behind him displayed black and white video footage of various road trips and people. During his set there was a man on stage dressed to the nines as Andy Warhol complete with a striped shirt, blonde wig, and video camera in hand while he captured Meloy’s performance. He was later seen eating a banana…well played, sir.

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Following Meloy’s intimate set The Pizza Underground took the stage. Before they began, they passed around nearly ten boxes of pizza for the crowd to which everyone was beyond excited about. The band delivered an eccentric and pun-filled thirty-minute performance with songs including “I’m Beginning to Eat the Slice,” “Papa John Says,” “I’m Waiting for Delivery Man,” and “Take a Bite of the Wild Slice.” Of course these are all pizza-themed covers of The Velvet Underground’s “Beginning To See the Light,” “Stephanie Says,” “I’m Waiting For The Man,” and “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.” Instruments included an electric guitar,a glockenspiel, a pizza box, a kazoo, and an African shekere. Video footage played in the background making the whole performance feel more like an art installation.

At one point during their set, Meloy took the stage as “Kurt Cobain’d” and performed a slew of Nirvana songs in the past tense. Get it?

Overall, this much anticipated show was ultimately what one might expect from a former child actor-  a memorable novelty concert of 2014. It certainly wasn’t breaking ground in terms of musical talent but it was entertaining nonetheless. 

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Concert Review

March Madness…Music Festival?

So if you were in the Triangle area for the first week of March, you might have noticed the overwhelming amount of concert choices that made many music lovers faced with the typical music festival question; who do I choose to see? For me, this week had been planned out well before Christmas, but even as the week approached more and more shows were being announced that made me question my initial decisions.

As things started to pan out, the big questions seemed to boil down to these options: On Tuesday night, either St. Vincent at the Haw River Ballroom or Palehound with Pie Face Girls at Nice Price Books; then on Wednesday either Future Islands with Wye Oak at the Haw River Ballroom or Shovels and Rope with Hurray for the Riff Raff at Cat’s Cradle. Of course, with my obsession with HFTRR, I chose to see them for the fourth time within the past year (and you better bet I will see them for a 5th on April 10th at the Local 506) over the crazily passionate Future Islands. Then, since my ears were still ringing by this point I unfortunately had to sit out the Wool with Sun Club and Wharves show at Nice Price on Thursday night, but the action was soon to rise again on Friday. On this day, I was faced with another difficult decision; either Houndmouth with Rayland Baxter at the Haw River Ballroom, Oberhofer with Small Black and Numans at the Local 506, OR Tow3rs with Lilac Shadows and Body Games at the Chapel Hill Underground. Since I had already bought tickets to see Rayland Baxter and was really interested in seeing Houndmouth since I missed them at the Newport Folk Festival this past summer, I decided to stick with this show…and boy was that a good choice. Not only did Rayland Baxter serenade the crowd and provide some comical commentary, but Houndmouth absolutely blew me away. Being a young band out of New Albany, Indiana, Houndmouth seems like a band that just truly enjoys playing for people and with one another.

So with all this being said, why did I feel led to share this with you? It is not because I was mad about all the bands that I didn’t get to see (even though I really would have loved to see all of them), or because I had to spend a lot of money on gas and risk failing two midterms, but because I want people to understand just how amazing the music scene of the Triangle is shaping out to be. Not only are we thankful to be the host of the wonderful Hopscotch Music Festival, but we also have plenty of concerts to choose from on a weekly basis. Although this first week of March seemed to be crazier than the college basketball tournaments, I am happy to say that this music madness is here to stay. Looking ahead to the future shows at all the Triangle venues, I can confidently say that the amount of music coming our way is on a steady flow. So I suggest to my fellow North Carolinians to kick back, enjoy the tunes, and be thankful that you are living in such a blooming musical hub.

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Concert Review

Double Barrel Benefit Night 1 Recap // February 7, 2014

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The first night of Double Barrel Benefit 11 at Cat’s Cradle surely did not disappoint. We are so grateful to the hundreds of wonderful people who came out and showed their support.

The night started out with a highly energetic and enthusiastic performance by Raleigh’s own Ghostt Bllonde. Next was Tow3rs, who began his set with a cover of Raleigh’s Lonnie Walker, which immediately grabbed at the crowd’s hearts. Hammer No More the Fingers followed with a nostalgic yet fresh set with new material that reinforces your past love affair with the boys. Lastly, The Love Language took the stage and delivered a genuinely heart-felt performance. The band served up a well-balanced mix of older songs as well as some picks from their latest album. Before we knew it, nobody in the crowd could contain themselves and broke out into a frenzy of crowd surfing- which has become a surprisingly recent pattern at The Love Language’s shows.

Overall, everyone at WKNC is elated with the results from our first night of Double Barrel Benefit 11. Be sure to come out for the second round of fun, this Friday, February 14, 2014 at Lincoln Theatre. It will be a Valentine’s Day celebration featuring Mount Moriah, Bombadil, Loamlands, and Daniel Bachman! Tickets can be purchased here. 

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Concert Review

Show Review: Mandolin Orange for PineCone Jan. 10th

It was one of those evenings that left you dreaming of lying in an overgrown field, soaking in the sun’s rays. Yes, folks, it’s all due to the harmonious sounds of our Chapel Hill friends, Mandolin Orange.

Thanks to the PineCone, Piedmont Council of Traditional Music Inc., Mandolin Orange was the duo of the night on January 10th as part of a series of Down Home Concerts featuring other local favorite bluegrass and folk artists. PineCone was originally founded in 1984 as a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting traditional music dance and other folk art.

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Commencing their New Year at the classy and cozy Fletcher Opera Theatre in downtown Raleigh, Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin justified a sold out show since their CD-release party at Cat’s Cradle back in August of 2013.  The duo took to the stage, him matching her orange and blue dress- of which she probably made herself, as she’s known to flourish in her hand-made frocks.  The band began the evening with the favorite “House of Stone,” a track from their recent record This Side of Jordan.  Accompanying the laidback duo was accomplished musician Robbie Link on bass and cello, who is known across the state for his talent with the string family.  The duo covered all the corners, performing songs reaching back to their first record Quiet Little Room to the most recent.  Marlin and Frantz seemed very at ease and comfortable to be performing, cracking jokes and sweet banter as well as even reminiscing about Andrew’s attempt at ‘flying’ off the Haw River spillway, an incident that later led to a broken pelvis and a stunt in the hospital that inspired the track “Morphine Girl.” From favorites like “Turtle Dove & The Crow,” a song dedicated to Marlin’s father, to “These Old Wheels,” the duo even covered a number of songs, like Garry Harrison’s “Red Prairie Dawn” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” by the Everly Brothers, in memoriam of the late Phil Everly. A personal favorite was the band’s cover of Tim O’Brien’s “I’ve Endured,” of which Marlin showcased his natural knack for the mandolin.  The evening concluded with Frantz showing off her true talent for the fiddle with Marlin matching her on the mandolin.  

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After being named one of NPR’s top ten folk and Americana albums of 2013, the duo proved that ‘their side of Jordan’ was a pretty sweet side to be on.  This was a crowd that was there to appreciate authentic bluegrass and country, and that’s exactly what the evening entailed.  It’s cozy concerts like these that the audience is privy to authentic music; inside your heart will be warm and ears will be happy.

– DJ Zaps

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Concert Review

Show Review: OLD GRAY w/ LOVECHILD and BROTHER BEAST @ The Tipsy Teapot (1/8/14)

Old Gray | Live at The Wood Shop: Copiague, NY -- Shot and edited by Brian Renaldo

The Tipsy Teapot is a great little venue in the heart of downtown Greenville. I went to see The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die there over the summer, and ever since then it’s held a special place in my memory. Seeing Old Gray was an appropriate contrast to that show, it being the dead of winter now instead of the start of summer. They definitely evoke a darker, more painful, mood than The World Is.. too. Old Gray’s music is more comparable to bands like Midwest Pen Pals and Merchant Ships, but lately they’ve distanced themselves from those influences, creating their own sound.

The band opened with, probably their most immediate song, “Wolves” of their powerful debut album, “An Autobiography” that they put out last spring. That song got the crowd singing right off the bat. The attendance was small, maybe 30 or 40, but people were really into it, and all bands brought it. Honestly, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the show. I’ve been a little bummed out on emo music in general lately, but Old Gray brought the world to life for me a little bit, which is such a great thing to be able to say about a band.

Old Gray have heart. They sing about lost love and fading youth. They spill their guts to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Their drummer has to consistently hop off his seat to pound them with enough strength.  Their main singer leans into his mic at a runner’s stance as if his problems are staring him down, and he’s about to barrel through them. For the last two songs the guitarist and bassist switched instruments, shifting the mood. The music moved from crescendo-based with heavy distortion to a more twinkly style of emo. They closed their set with the fan-favorite, “Her Tongue Was Tattooed to the Back of Her Teeth”, which starts off with a brilliant bit of spoken word, and turns into an emo anthem. It was a night I won’t forget soon. I couldn’t have asked for more. Great crowd, poignant vibes, good times.

-DJ Nasty Nate