Category: Concert Review

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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

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Concert Review

Show Review: Bombadil House Show

Bombadil

When you think of a house show, you typically think a grungy basement with beer cans strewn everywhere. This show was quite different. This concert was put on by Common Chord Concerts, a self-proclaimed “network of music-lovers in Charlotte and surrounding communities that share an interest in original acoustic, Americana and folk/rock music.” Common Chord has only been in existence for a couple months, but has put on some incredible shows so far with a strong line-up of shows in the coming months.

After walking into the Common Chords founder’s wonderful home, I knew this show would be anything but ordinary even by Bombadil’s standards. The atmosphere was very light-hearted as show-goers brought snacks to share and mingled with the band members and other fans. The turn-out for the show was quite impressive for this being Common Chords’ third event. As 8 o’clock approached, everyone made their way into the living room area where the band had set up their equipment. Some moved to the kitchen and others to the balcony to get a better view as everyone geared up for the concert that was about to take place in the living room.

Everyone cheered as the band members made the transition from socializing to taking the makeshift stage space in their usual eccentric clothes. James announced that it had been a while since they had played a house show and they were really looking forward to the intimate opportunity. This show was to be my first time seeing them as a three-piece since their guitarist Bryan was off finishing his graduate studies and unable to join. They are each incredibly talented songwriters and musicians, so I was interested to see how their show would hold up with the absence of a band member. I was not disappointed. The performances were incredible and the atmosphere made for some great story-telling about the origins of the songs. The narratives made for one of the most intimate shows I had been to as Daniel shared his hardships of trying to continue writing songs while he was suffering from nerve damage several years back. The stories covered everything from sweet tea to cross country unicycle rides as the entire audience listened and laughed along.

There seemed to be no real set list as they continuously called out songs to each other as well as asking the audience for requests. They played a good mix of songs that spanned their entire career. From “Jellybean Wine” and “Johnny” to new songs such as “Have Me” and “Boring Country Song” from their upcoming album Metrics of Affection due out July 23rd. Everyone in attendance was singing along and enjoying the incredible performance. To make the night even more personal, they relocated to the kitchen to perform an a cappella version of “Get to Getting On.” At one point, Daniel made Stuart perform his new solo piano song “What Does It Mean” as he joined the crowd in the rows of folding chairs and couches. Although they seemed to have played every song in their repertoire, the show ended all too quickly with an extraordinary performance of “Honeymoon.” They barely finished bowing before someone in the kitchen started chanting encore. As a form of payback, Stuart then joined the ranks of chairs as he made Daniel give a stirring rendition of “Marriage” as everyone sang along. After the applause faded, they took their places at their instruments one last time for the song “We Were Meant to Be.” After thanking the audience and the hosts, the house once again transitioned from venue to house party as everyone milled around and socialized after the mutual experience. Although it was not quite your typical concert, the unique atmosphere made for one amazing night with the always impressive Bombadil.

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Concert Review

Show Review: Jeff Mangum at the Brooklyn Arts Center

This was my first opportunity to see Jeff Mangum and I jumped at the chance to see him by purchasing my ticket months before the show. Although this will not be his final tour, he does not plan to return to the same cities he has already played during this solo acoustic tour. This might explain his decision to play the quaint little Brooklyn Arts Center in downtown Wilmington.

The show was opened up by folk rock duo, Tall Firs. After their set, Jeff Mangum took the stage and the crowd was elated. His performance was very stripped-down with just his voice and guitar. Although he kept apologizing for having to ask his sound guy to continuously tweak the levels after every song (he admitted to skipping the sound check earlier that day) nobody really seemed to mind. I think his almost neurotic behavior about the quality of the sound made everyone appreciate him a little bit more. Jeff revisited songs from all of Neutral Milk Hotel’s albums including “On Avery Island,” “Everything Is,” and the most famous “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” His raw voice echoed off the refurbished cathedral ceilings while he carried out the last word to the lyrics “Can’t believe how strange it is to be anything at all,” sending chills down my spine.

Jeff would switch between a number of different acoustic guitars surrounding him on stage (I counted five) and you were able to hear a new perspective to the songs. With this raw performance, you could listen with a newfound appreciation for the lyrics. Jeff thanked the crowd several times throughout the evening for coming out to see him by explaining that he was still just used to just playing for his friends in a living room. Even though he has been playing these same songs for the past sixteen years, sometimes at huge venues, I get the feeling that this was the atmosphere he prefers. I can’t wait to experience another heart-felt performance from Jeff Mangum.

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Concert Review

Abuse. Winter Mini-Tour Write-Up

For three days I hit the road with Raleigh’s own Abuse., a vicious hardcore act that plays brutal power violence with no time left between songs – just a stripped down, speedy hellstorm of chaos. Being one of my favorite Raleigh bands, I knew I had to hit the road with these dudes once they announced that they would be going on a 3-day mini-tour over winter break. The dates were announced: the dudes would first play in a basement in New Brunswick, New Jersey, another basement in West Philly, and a record store in DC by the name of Smash Records. After the out-of-town dates, they would play a homecoming show at The Berkeley Cafe.

The first day we woke up at around 8AM and filled up the van the guys had borrowed from a friend. After 2 ½ hours of listening to nothing but black metal and hardcore, we were in Richmond. Richmond, being an awesome place for records, was a stop we had to make on the 9 hour trip to Jersey. After scoring a bunch of sick finds, we were back on the road.

Making hardly any stops, we took on the next 6 hours of the trip and landed ourselves in a residential area by a university in New Brunswick. The guy who lived at the house helped us bring in all the gear and get familiar with the house. The bands that played that night were Godswallower (NJ), Loose Ends (NJ), and Abuse. Moving between the merch table and the show room, I was able to catch most of the sets. Godswallower played a nice mix of blown-out grind and heavy doom. Not bad at all for a first show! Loose Ends was a local hardcore act that drew in a lot of local ragers. Abuse.’s set was super tight and brutal. Considering the show was in a basement, the sound was pretty good!

After the show in NJ, we went and got some of the most delicious (and cheapest!) Mexican food I’ve ever had with a friend who had been selling records out of his distro at the show. He was nice enough to let us stay at his swanky apartment and use his shower. He kindly sold me an awesome old Green Day EP. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to flip through his extensive record collection – we had to get up early the next morning to go to New York City.

Although there were no Abuse. dates in NYC, we found it necessary to go since 2 of us had never been before. Driving in Jersey was difficult, but finally we made it to a small parking lot by the Newark train station where we could park for 12 dollars for the whole day. After much confusion, we managed to make it on the train to Brooklyn from Newark. Though cold and drizzly, we all managed to have a great time in NYC. We went to Generation Records, Trash and Vaudeville (some “punk” store we had heard about on TV that we wanted to visit for laughs), Times Square, and a whole bunch of other places in the city. Times Square was incredible – I found myself constantly taking pictures, not caring at all that I looked like the biggest tourist ever. We took a bunch of funny pictures, one being a picture of all of us in Times Square with the Marines. A friend commented on the picture when it was posted on Facebook: “The few, the proud… Abuse”.

Abuse. , Me, and The Marines

This LED-flag in Times Square was SO bright that it sucked all the light out of the picture – this was taken outside in the middle of the day!

We made it out of the city at around 3:30 PM so that we could make it to the Philly show. Although we didn’t see Fresh Prince, we did manage to have a great time at the show. It was in a basement with a bunch of awesome local bands: Callous, Congenital Death, and Bad Side. Callous played grimy sludge, Bad Side played fun hardcore punk, and Congenital Death had a great mix of crushing female screams and speedy fastcore. The crowd turnout and reaction were both GREAT and I can honestly say it was (crowd-wise) the best night of the tour. After the show everyone came up from the basement and danced to Funkadelic. I would definitely like to go to Philly again, especially since by the time we had arrived there that afternoon it was too dark to get a good look of the city.

Click here if you want to watch the full set from Philly!

After Philly, we had plans to stay at a friend’s house in D.C. 2 ½ hours later, we finally made it to D.C. and crashed immediately. We had plans to see a little bit of D.C. and take a look at the record stores in Baltimore the next morning. Waking up at about 10 AM, we headed straight to Sticky Fingers Bakery after having a nice chat with one of the dudes who lived at the house. I got myself a delicious quesadilla while the other dudes had some bagels. Sticky Fingers is definitely a must-stop in D.C. for vegeterians and vegans!

After getting a bite to eat, we made our way to Baltimore to check out Celebrated Summer Records. To say I was astounded by their selection in vinyl is a total understatement… From new releases to the rare record you always wanted but could never find, Celebrated Summer has it. Shout out to the owner for having the coolest record store ever and to the super nice employee for giving us the inside-scoop on the Baltimore music scene.

Spending most of the day in Baltimore, we tried our best to beat traffic so that we could make it to the D.C. show at Smash Records. On the bill was Vile Faith (a bunch of cool high school kids playing their first show) and raging hardcore act Human Shield. The turnout was great and we had the opportunity to check out the records. Alex, Abuse.’s vocalist, got a superb copy of Bathory’s “The Return…”, which I was (and still am) extremely jealous of. Human Shield’s drummer got Morbid Angel’s “Domination” – also an awesome find! Smash Records is definitely one of my favorite places to go to whenever I visit D.C., so I was glad to know that the show was there. The set Abuse. played at this show (music-wise) was definitely my favorite of the whole tour. It was nothing but pure, hateful hardcore. I shamelessly raged from behind the merch table. The dudes who lived at the house we had stayed at the night before were kind enough to let us stay the night again. After the show we got food and chilled.

The next morning we left bright and early at about 7AM because the vocalist had to make it to work by 2PM. In addition to that, Abuse. also had the homecoming show that night with touring bands Recide (TX), Breakout (TX), Manic (GA), and Desist (local ragers, first show!). The show that night was awesome! The touring bands were super nice guys. I missed Manic the last time they came through Raleigh… that was definitely a mistake. Recide, Breakout, and Manic were some of the best hardcore punk bands I’ve seen in a long time. Desist put on a great show as well. I can’t wait to go to future shows with them on the bill.

To round things up, I had an incredibly fun time being sweaty in a van with 4 other guys for 3 days. Abuse. are the coolest guys ever and I am very thankful to have been their merch guy on this tour. Thanks to everyone who gave us a place to stay, the other bands that played, and of course the people who came out to the shows. We had the best time going up north and being treated with superb hospitality. Thank you so much.

-Possessed

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Concert Review Local Music

Show Review: Local Band Local Beer – Toon & The Real Laww

Toon & The Real Laww

This week’s Local Band Local Beer was an awesome yet insanely odd one.  First off, any time I get the chance to see live hip-hop I’m naturally going to jump all over it, it’s just an incredible experience through and through…especially when you’ve got a live band joining in as well.  Toon & The Real Laww were joined by The Band (not that that The Band), comprised of members of LiLa’s rhythm section and a keyboard player that was twerking like his life depended on it, the combination of a live band with the booming bass brought by DJ Shahzad was what made Thursday night at Tir Na Nog truly special.  While the crowd was filled with an abnormally large amount of bougie folks dressed to impress, that didn’t stop the crowd from raging like nobody was watching.

Toon & The Real Laww have been building up quite the reputation for themselves, drawing a lot of attention from a heavily acclaimed Hopscotch set and various other local performances, the group is swiftly being mentioned with names like Kooley High, King Mez, and The Beat in terms of top local rap artists.  Toon’s clever lyricism and wordplay bounce perfectly off of the precision and finesse of The Real Laww’s flow.  Both have bukus of charisma, engaging in practically every audience member in arms reach, and often times a few more.  From free styling with the aid of a few words written by crowd members to the massive amounts of crowd participation, Toon & The Real Laww were an engaging and exciting act, a fantastic to spend a study-filled Thursday.  While the dance party continued on after the set, the dense crowd gave me no room to cook in so I unfortunately had to bounce.

 

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Concert Review

Show Review: O’Brother bring an ear-ringing, bangover inducing show toKings

It’s been over three years since O’Brother played in Raleigh and two since I’ve seen the mind-blowing post-punk-rockers put on their dazzling live show.  In those past few years the band has been busy playing sold out shows with the likes of Manchester Orchestra and Thrice all over the continent, but alas the Georgia based group is finally making their way out on a headlining tour for the first time in what feels like ages.  Since my last encounter with the O’Bros the band had put out a highly acclaimed debut full-length and signed to Triple Crown Records, a wonderful feat for a band I once sat cross legged for along with fifteen or so others in my hometown of New Bern.  These years of busting their asses on the road and in the studio have clearly payed off though, the band practically up-ended their old style of melodic post rock to a far heavier end of the spectrum, turning what used to be subtle nuances towards a heavy influence has now morphed into a barrage of fast paced, in-your-face post-punk with the occasional yet breathtaking melodic break.  I was anxiously awaiting this show, and having last seen the band as they were beginning to play out with their Beneath Your Garden Windowmaterial , I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from this set.  Plus opening act Harvard (or their newer, vowel-less name HRVRD) has been a band on my radar for quite some time and was just coming off of the sold out opening spot for fun. at The Ritz this past Thursday, making this the perfect chance to check out a band that I may be becoming very familiar with soon.

The night started off with the Raleigh locals of Octopus Jones, a band whose work I’d skirted around before checking out the end of their set here at Kings.  While the band brings a fun and upbeat blend of psychedelic surf rock with punk rock undertones, the melodies and lyricism seemed a bit lacking and couldn’t really hook in this listener.  Vocalist and guitar player Danny Martin was doing a great job of hamming it up on stage though, adding to the quirky and upbeat vibes given off by the bands self-described “spank-wave boogie”.  I only got to catch the last four songs from Octopus Jones before it was onto HRVRD and one step closer to seeing the o’bros!

HRVRD

Before I delve into HRVRD I must admit that I’ve got a thing against bands without vowels in their name, and while I’ve embraced a select few thus far (SBTRKT and TNGHT being glaring standouts), I’m always a bit apprehensive to check a band out…especially if they used to have a name that didn’t read like a sixth graders notebook cover.  Personal grudges aside, whatever changed about this band when they became HRVRD worked wonders for them, the Charlotte outfit used to give off a larger pop influence than the experimental and haunting tunes that were on display at Kings.  Thought vocalist Jesse Clasen was coughing throughout damn near every song and informed the crowd of his sickness, his vocals were still soaring through the invigorated crowd at Kings.  When I saw Clasen pull out a trumpet after already wowing me with the band’s overwhelming live presence I became enamored in this act.  After I saw their use of vocal loops I was sold.  HRVRD combined elements of punk, pop, and experimental music to create a compelling product that’s accessible by fans of Manchester Orchestra or Circa Survive alike.  And make no mistake, I’ve long grown out of the high pitched vocals and chuggy yet melodic guitar thing…the Circa Survive ship never came to port for this fella, but HRVRD have taken that sort of approach and turned it into an intriguing blend of styles that mesh together perfectly.

Sickness aside HRVRD could have easily stolen the show if it weren’t for me being such a fanboy of O’Brother.  As soon as the band took the stage I drew myself uncomfortably close despite their live shows being notoriously loud and known to induce “bangovers” by many attended.  Well consider me a bangover statistic, because when the band opened with an old favorite, “Ascension” I was thrust right back into my high school days of losing myself in the same ambient yet ear rattlingly heavy anthem.  The band smoothly transitioned into “Lay Down”, the track that marked the beginning of a heavier phase of O’Brother, filled with throaty shouts and heavily distorted guitars but juxtaposed with softer, melodic bridges.

O’Brother

The rest of the show can only be described as painfully awesome, the band was so loud that it was hard to discern much of Tanner Merritt’s vocals, even when he was screaming into the microphone.  This volume issue can be a bit of a draw back with a band like this, while their live presence lies heavily in the physicality of their music (you can pretty much feel the bass in your chest, it’s fantastic!) the band’s lyricism is arguably just as strong.  With a separate floor tom to add depth to the band’s already powerful rhythms along with their DIY lighting setup consisting of string lights run over all of their equipment, the on-stage ambience is an equally compelling aspect of the band’s performance.  To summarize it, it’s all great.  While the mixing at these shows could be a bit better to bring out Tanner’s vocals, it’s hard to nitpick at a show that leaves the listeners so speechless.  While I miss the melodic side of O’Brother, this band has tread into new territory with their latest releases and their intensity and talent conveys just as strongly through shouts in spurts as it did through their tamer releases.  O’Brother is an absolute powerhouse of an act both on stage and in-studio, but nothing compares to seeing these gentlemen perform live, and Sunday proved just that.