Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

Show Review: Wavves with King Tuff and Jacuzzi Boys

The energy at the Cat’s Cradle on Monday night was electrifying.  We were heartbroken to have unfortunately missed the opening set by Jacuzzi Boys, a trio whose most recent self-titled release dropped this past September, but we were hyped to arrive to catch King Tuff in all his rough and tuffness.  His band’s sound is nostalgic, their influences ranging from glam rock to psychedelic garage. The crowd reached a wide range of ages, from middle school skater bros to cool dads. Towards the stage, throngs of trill bros jammed and moshed out. Even old Old Gary on drums seemed to be having a good time. King Tuffy ended his set with “Bad Thing,” off his eponymous release, a song the crowd chanted and screamed along with him. King Tuff’s persona is out of this world: totes rad, bro. He is bad to the bone.

Rock on, man! King Tuff’s scuzzy performance was loaded with killer riffs and bad ‘tudes.

Why are some people so easy to idolize?  Nathan Williams, the frontman of Wavves, attracts fervent devotees.  His casual, fuck-off charisma is magnetic.  Many of the teenagers in attendance at Monday night’s show knew all of his lyrics, chanting along to his songs while joyfully working themselves into a writhing, moshing mass.

Wavves had the crowd in a frenzy; we stood back where the moshing was less intense

Perhaps Williams is so popular because his music fills the pop-punk void left when Blink-182 and Green Day became more self-serious: his songs are anthems for kids yearning for catchy, angry, Endless Summer rock ‘n roll.  As Wavves’ mangy bass player announced the song “King of the Beach,” a trio of high schoolers shoved past me as they raced to the front row.  We stood back and basked in the crowd’s energy, and we couldn’t help but dance and try to sing along.

 

by e baby and Spaceman Spiff

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Concert Review

Show Review: Saint Rich with WOOL

WOOL is one of the most promising new bands in the Triangle, and it was a pleasure to be wrapped up in their sound on Sunday night at the Pinhook.  Frontman Troy Hancock writes gorgeous, glowing dream pop gems, his romantic vocal melodies enveloped by a sound womb of guitars and brilliant, wiry bass lines.  These are earnest pop songs wrapped in a blanket of noise.

WOOL played a mesmerizing set

Troy expressed their excitement for opening for Saint Rich before launching into a short, mesmerizing set.  Songs such as Mountains and Bulletin Air broiled into enchanting, slow-burning climaxes.  Our station has been enamored with the Bulletin Air single released in January, and I cannot wait until they officially press these songs.   Their EP release show is on Friday, October 25 at Kings with The Human Eyes and See Gulls, and I’ll surely be there.

Saint Rich had swagger and songs to boot

Saint Rich followed shortly after a hushed pep talk with Mac McCaughan, who co-leads Merge Records (might I add that Mac’s band Superchunk has an amazing new album?).  Saint Rich announced that Sunday night’s show was their first in their record label’s hometown, and they did not disappoint.  These guys made playing rock and roll look effortlessly easy.  The band nailed a roaring set of country rock, and their triumphant guitar leads of Steve Marion and swaggering vox by Christian Peslak had my toes tapping.

The Pinhook has the nicest bathroom graffiti!
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Concert Review

Show Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Jackson Scott

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Yesterday I capped off a great weekend by trekking out to Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro to see a band I’ve been obsessed with for a while – Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

The opener, Jackson Scott, was a young, up-and-coming noisy rock act from Asheville. I had never heard of the band, and like many others at the Cradle I was in for a surprise. During their first song, I spied more than a few stunned faces in the audience – people weren’t sure what to make of the sudden assault on their ears by this trio of energetic, shaggy-haired kids. Faces obscured by their long bangs, they redefined LOUD and played the heck out of their respective instruments. Guitarist and lead singer, Jackson Scott himself, crooned indiscernibly over it all. Despite the somewhat jarring mid-song tempo changes and wealth of discordant sounds, I managed to get pretty into the music, although this is not a band I probably would have listened to otherwise.

After Jackson Scott’s angsty take on noise, we were in for a more danceable jam session in the form of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. While you may know them for their irresistibly catchy hooks and fuzzy low-fi funk beats, what you probably don’t know is that UMO are also pretty great at just jamming for the sake of jamming. I think it’s really cool when a live show delivers something distinctly different; something that you can’t get from just listening to a band’s albums (like Sam Herring’s legendary theatrics at Future Islands shows, for example), and these guys did just that. Between the crazy-intense drum solos and lead singer & guitarist Ruban Nielson experimenting with feedback on three different guitars (not even touching the strings? – mind blown), there were a lot of instrumental excursions that you won’t hear on their albums. Although the band seemed to enjoy immersing themselves and the audience in these more sprawling versions of their songs, they still supplied those unearthly, infectious tunes we were all expecting. Between discovering a new band, and hearing a familiar one play unfamiliar sounds, this was a great show – I hope to see y’all out there next time!

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Concert Review

Period Required, But No Sign of Full Stop

I met with Adult. (the period is required) in a cozy, backstage room at Kings Barcade no bigger than a broom closet after watching them sound check. The Detroit-based duo were some of the friendliest people I met at the festival, and perhaps the most insightful. You see, they’re no newcomers; they’ve been putting out records since the 90’s, and with that time they’ve encountered a broad range of experiences, challenges, and knowledge. In my interview, they shared some of their experiences with me, both good and bad, and how they affected them as artists and as people. I went to their performance later that night and was blown away by how they captivated the audience. For Adult., music is more than just a paycheck or putting on a show, it’s a genuine passion for the art of music, and they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon. Check out the audio clip of our interview for more!

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Concert Review

Show Review – Pinback

Pinback’s recent performance at the Cat’s Cradle on Tuesday, September 17th was one that I was looking forward to.  I was excited to see a band that I had followed for a few years, and I was especially curious as to how they would perform live.  On their records, Pinback tends to create a unique, layered, mesmerizing sound that’s got consistent rhythm and tons of reverb, the latter two being especially true on their album, Autumn of the Seraphs (2007).  I’ll admit that their albums can be somewhat fatiguing with the similar repetition of sounds in many of their songs, along with bold and (after a while) brash vocals.  However, I didn’t expect their live performance to be as exhausting as it was.  Most songs were extremely rushed, including some of my favorites such as “Microtonic Wave,” “Barnes,” and “Good to Sea.”  The reason for this change in tempo is unclear, because it certainly did not make them sound better.  Perhaps they were tired of playing them or felt they needed to bring more energy to their set, but I really felt this wasn’t the best decision on their part.

There were some highlights to this performance, however.  I enjoyed the pulp sci-fi, somewhat campy collection of videos that played throughout their set; it really created a sense of surreal, other-worldliness that matched well with their sound.  Rob Crow, the lead singer of the band, came into the audience and all the way back to the venue with his wired microphone, causing the entire audience to quickly step over the extension cord as he continued to walk around singing the song.  This was funny and entertaining, but overall the stage performance the musicians gave was fairly stagnant. Overall, I wished the songs could’ve been played at the pace that’s on the albums.

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Concert Review

Show Review: Washed Out

For a band who helped define a genre referred to as “chillwave”, Washed Out brought a lot of energy to their live set last night at Cat’s Cradle. The stage was set in cheesy but endearing floral decor that, in combination with the band’s dreamy tunes, created a nice halcyon effect inside the window-less venue.

Although the group relies heavily on electronic effects in recording, their sound transferred seamlessly to a live show, thanks in part to a great stage presence by Ernest Greene. The set included a nice mix of songs from both full-length albums and even a performance of “Despicable Dogs”, the band’s remix of a Small Black single. Even the most awkward of hipsters felt a tugging at their hips as the group jammed through their indie hits, eventually ending the night with “Eyes Be Closed.” Any show that can make people lose themselves to groove on a Monday night deserves some recognition, and these guys killed it.

Set List:
It All Feels Right
Belong
New Theory
Get Up
Far Away
Despicable Dogs
All I Know
Don’t Give Up
Feel It All Around
Amor Fati

Hold Out
Eyes Be Closed

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Concert Review

Show Review: GHOSTT BLLONDE, Virgins Family Band, and Free Clinic

by John Mitchell

 

GHOSTT BLLONDE, VIRGINS FAMILY BAND, FREE CLINIC SUNDAY AUGUST 18, 2013 SLIM’S DOWNTOWN: RALEIGH

I was working at Morning Times in Downtown Raleigh when Mark Kuzio walked up and started smoking a cigarette outside. I took a break from the website I was designing to go talk to him. It turned out that he was playing a show downtown. We planned on meeting up at the venue, and turns out the door dude is a super awesome guy, and he let me in (with large X’s and the if-you-drink-I-will-murder-you speech, of course). I entered just in time to see Wilmington garage pop trio Free Clinic sound-checking their equipment. This new band loves lots of reverb on everything. There’s a casual start to the set, with the band slowly turning their chorus-soaked lead lines and big, jangley chords on their head through a great ear for delay-tastic breakdowns. A competent, yet reserved drummer reigned everything into a nice glow. Though they mentioned they’re looking for a bass player, the atmosphere isn’t in any particular need to be pulled down. They’ve made due and developed an impressive sonic platform that will grow as their songwriting skills do.

Virgins Family Band take the stage next, and I’m impressed again. The toneless guitar and incredible keys make way for two drummers and some very fun bass lines. And while their compositions are much more complicated than those of Free Clinic, the psych-outs a little more reserved. Both bands worked extremely well together on a line-up for reasons that can’t be explained with your ear; it’s all because of the curatorial skills of that fellow I ran into at the coffee shop several hours before. Granted, it’s a little funny to say that, because I usually associate curation with quiet guys that have huge beards, not bombastic and wiry kids. But it’s this guy’s sunny presence, very similar to Iggy Cosky of the Lollipops, that makes all the bands he’s assembled for the show and all the friends he’s amassed in the crowd sync into place.

Ghostt Bllonde is a band that popped up on my radar several months ago through a taped-together cd-r sleeve in the local rack at KNC. There are blown-out tracks withered with melodramatic hooks and way-too-heavy percussion. There was real potential there though; potential to turn these ideas into hooky songs everyone wanted to sing along to. With the recent release of TrashPop//DoomWop, they’ve gotten much closer to that goal. It doesn’t lose the super-saturation or the booming drums that made the band unique to begin with, but it amplifies everything with comparatively razor-sharp articulation. Live, the energy was brought back up to the level of those first recordings, without all the necessary straining to understand what’s going on. That’s a great thing, because this isn’t heady music at all. It had the crowd, which consisted of 30-something guys with dreads, girls who’d look less out of place at the Architect, and a fair amount of plainclothes college kids bopping their heads, pulling out lighters during the slow points, and best of all, smiling. It’s going to be hard not going to Slim’s Downtown for another three months. In a few hours, the general divey-ness, tiny corner stage and half-a-foot of room I had to stand in started to feel like home.

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Concert Review

Show Review: Kurt Vile and The Violators with Swirlies

DJ e-baby recaps his experience below at the Kurt Vile show at Cat’s Cradle:

One could really tell the kids were home for summer. The crowd appeared more refined than one would expect. The Swirlies, an old school band formed in the 90’s, started the show.

They played with much gusto but little uniformity. The band members seemed to be on a different page including the small female vocalist who could barley handle her guitar. I have never been a fan of Mumford and Sons until they used it to cover up the sounds of the Swirlies leaving. I went to the bar and waited with the crowd for Kurt to emerge.

Kurt Vile took the stage and the air was palpable. Kurt was a vision in long dirty hair and torn jeans. He commanded attention. Kurt’s raspy coos and extended lo-fi riffs picked the crowd up after the Swirlies’ disappointing performance. Kurt and his band played a long show, pausing between ten-minute songs to pound Red Bull and mumble mysteriously into the mic. The show felt like a slow motion summer ride. It was sad when it finally winded down. Kurt ended things with “Baby’s Arms,” transfixing the crowd and stepping away into the night.

~ebaby

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Concert Review

Show Review: Twin Shadow w/ Elliphant

On a muggy evening in June, there really is no escape like being swept into the swampy and synthy sounds of a band like Twin Shadow. A laid-back crowd filed in out of the heat, but numbers were still small for what I consider to be a well-known band.

Opener Elliphant (featuring an M.I.A-esque singer and her dj) worked hard to get the crowd out of their sun-addled stupor, and by all consideration succeeded in impressing them. However, it was obvious that this group of spectators had one agenda, and after a nice long break between sets, lead singer George Lewis Jr., drummer, bassist, and synth emerge to a enthusiastic round of whoops and applause.

Immersed in a black and white kaleidoscope light-show, the band set straight to work. Starting with a couple lesser-known tracks, the group quickly got to their hit “5 Seconds,” after which it was apparent that the crowd was less than energetic, which in my opinion can kill the mood of any show. I will say, however, that I’ve never seen a band work so hard, each person was obviously giving it their all and that made all the difference. They took a cold room and worked it, which is the key. Slowly the bodies started moving and those die-hard fans panned their good vibes throughout the room, and a mass of bobbing heads and waving arms formed. We were in a good place, now. I left the concert quite satisfied with what I had heard and seen, and ready to wake up the next day and revisit the moment with a review of the album, as I’m sure many others did, as well.

All in all it was a great start to my personal summer concert series. Can’t ask for more than that.

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Concert Review

Abuse. Record Release/Hounds of Hate/Violent Reaction

Tuesday night at The Maywood was a totally killer show. Featured on the bill were Abuse. (Raleigh’s own power violence trio), Child Support (Raleigh hardcore – first show), Pennsylvanian straight edge-cool-dudes  Hounds of Hate, and U.K.’s straight edge punks Violent Reaction.

Child Support were not bad at all for it being their first show. They definitely ruled and brought a decent mosh! Probably the coolest first show I’ve ever seen. The vocalist is a high school kid who goes nuts running around, pushing everyone violently away as he rushes through the crowd. Definitely looking forward to future shows.

After Child Support were Violent Reaction, a straight edge hardcore punk band from the UK with a hint of Oi!. Glad to see a band bringing a taste of their homeland sound over to the States. This band ruled!

Violent Reaction – Photo by Will Butler, used by permission

After Violent Reaction were Hounds of Hate. These dudes bring a fresh  sound to oldschool 90’s NYHC. Reminded me a lot of Cro-Mags or Sick of It All. They have their new self-titled LP out on Painkiller records. Check it out!

Last but not least was Abuse. These dudes always put on a great show, pumping out song after song of brutal, unforgivable power violence. Abuse. just put out a 7" on Hygiene Records, owned by Jordan of Priapus. Be sure to check that out!

-Possessed