Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

Mavis Staples and Andrew Bird: A Wonderfully Rainy Night at NCMA

Rhythm and blues singer Mavis Staples joined indie rocker Andrew Bird as part of the North Carolina Museum of Art’s summer concert series Tuesday night.

Mavis celebrated her 73rd birthday at the Museum Park, and one fan even brought her a bouquet of flowers as a gift. She has one of the most powerful female voice I’ve heard, filled with raw soul and confidence. There were bluesy guitar solos and impressive drumming as Mavis tried to mimic with her voice what each instrument was doing.

As a North Carolina native, I understand that summer storms are unavoidable, which usually is unfortunate when paired with summer concerts. Tuesday night it actually worked in the crowd’s favor. About mid-way through Mavis’ set, the sky opened. The crowd immediately shuffled for their ponchos and umbrellas, but there was a group of us that  rushed to the front of the stage to “take advantage of the overhang to stay dry” – in other words, we’d finally found a legit excuse to get right in front of the stage. The NCMA folks were very cool about this and didn’t try to make us move. The show instantly became more intimate. We all sat down, singing and clapping along to the songs knee-to-knee with our neighbors.

Then, Mr. Andrew Bird. Coming out on stage initially by himself with his violin, he began his show with “Why,” from his 2011 album “The Swimming Hour.” This was an absolutely beautiful intro to his show, especially with the steady rain as background noise. Seeing how the music was performed live made me appreciate him as a musician even more. He and his band used loop pedals flawlessly to switch back and forth between instruments and play multiple layers at once. Andrew rotated between violin (which was played traditionally and ukulele-style), guitar, glockenspiel and of course his famous whistling. Some of my favorites of the night included “Orpheo Looks Back,” “Eyeoneye,” “Bein’ Green,” A Nervous Tic Head Motion of the Head to the Left,“ and "Fake Palindromes.”

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Concert Review

Lower Dens Mesmerize at Kings

Lower Dens have had a good year. With the release of “Nootropics” in early May and overwhelmingly positive reviews afterwards, they have had one of the greatest stretches in their still young career. On top of this recent success recording, I took the trip to see how it would translate live at Kings during their show on Thursday June 21.

The evening kicked off with a non-musical act, something not expected and pretty entertaining. Alan Resnick took the stage as a man who has created the perfect digital copy of himself. His set continued as the comfortably awkward, passive-aggressive comedian interacted with his computer generated likeness albeit somewhat unsuccessfully, all as a part of the joke. It was a new and pleasing experience, as his set was fast enough to keep things moving and different and entertaining enough to keep the experience fresh.

Next it was time for No Joy to shine, a band I had only the minimal amount of experience with before. Their mid-tempo rock could range everywhere from slower hazy surfer rock to faster paced, mid-tempo Yuck-esque drone. If anything, their show demonstrated the growing sense of potential that the band has moving forward, something altogether exciting to look forward to.

However, the highlight of the night was clearly to be expected in Lower Dens’ performance. It was a fairly even mixture of tracks from their new album “Nootropics” and “Twin-Hand Movements.” The sound, which was once again excellent in Kings, proved to be one of the key factors in the success of the show. Their tracks came across as clearly as the record would have intended, and their precision was so spot on that you could tell there was a real sense of chemistry between each of the members. There was a consistently dreamy atmosphere surrounding Kings, as constantly changing patterns reflected on the band and the back of the stage complimented the beautiful shoe-gaze tracks that Lower Dens played. For a show that was not particularly long, it felt as if the show had been going on for days. However, this was the kind of show where you would not mind. One beautiful track after another accumulated for a hypnotizing performance and an amazing night for music in downtown Raleigh.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GafB7NQvQWg&feature=player_embedded

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Concert Review

A Sleepy Show with Damien Jurado

Damien Jurado probably writes the most depressing music of our day. In “Sheets”, he sings “Swallow him whole like a pill / that makes you choke and stills your soul.” It’s enough to make anyone’s heart heavy. Last Tuesday night, Damien Jurado graced Kings Barcade with his deep melancholy in a quiet, calm show.

In each ballad, there were bouts of soft rings, so quiet, you can hear a pin drop. For some songs, Jurado closed his eyes entirely and grimaced, as if imagining some past breakup occurring over and over in his mind. Mostly, he played songs of his latest record, Maraqopa, but the Seattle songwriter mixed his folk-rock with hints of synth.

Even though I pictured him with a stoic demeanor based off of his musical stylings alone, Damien was actually really engaging with the crowd. During “Ohio,” he came into the audience to feel the audience’s pain, as a preacher heals his congregation. Towards the end, when normal go-seers will start to hoot and holler with requests, Jurado bluntly said, “I’m not a jukebox”. He promised to visit us again for Hopscotch, with even more material! Adorning his acoustic was a badge of Washington State and the letters “HOME” stenciled in. Very West Coast.

It’s a good mix of slow, southern tunes with Jurado’s signature soul-infused voice. Just at the end of his set, he closed with my favorite, “Everything Trying” off of Caught in the Trees. “And I will sail back to you,” he professes. “How, Damien Jurado?” I whisper silently. A pause and then, “I’ll be sailing on your deep blue eyes.” Nevermind that my eyes aren’t blue, he spoke to me– nautically– and I was entranced.

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Concert Review

Whatever Brains LP Release Party with Burglar Fucker, King’s Barcade, 4/26/2012

I thought I’d preface this recap by letting you know that I’ve recently been inundated by a certain musical-consumption plateau known as expectation.

Burglar Fucker met my expectations.  When I saw a drum set forgoing the stage for the crowd-floor, a bass cab directly facing the audience, and an electronic rig that features, at its helm, a miniscule Theremin, I thought sloppy.  I thought loud.  I thought attempts at experimenting that would probably be somewhat interesting but not really cause for contemplation.  And that’s what I got.

Anthony Petrovic, self-proclaimed “baritone guitar attempt and vomit,” plugged up his Danelectro into that bass cab and proceeded to wail some simple drop-tuned chords—the kind where he only had to put his index down to get the jettisoned-via-distortion sound-fill he desired.

His real talent was finding a way to create stage presence while not on stage.  Disappearing from the crowd for a good minute in an alcove, pulling his guitar around the semi-circle that had been formed around him, and screaming some reverbed-to-oblivion lyrical ideas that may or may not have been comprised of logical dialogue, he pushed to the audience the weird and blown-out punk-meets-stoner-metal they were expecting.

I couldn’t gauge if the audience really cared or not, nor could I decide if the electronics guy was really adding anything concrete to the music, or just fucking with it cause he could.  He deep throated that Theremin, so I’m assuming the latter.

After a fairly-standard break, Whatever Brains started off their set with a half-sung scream that wavered in and out of tune.  Actually, it may have not had a tune at all.  It was setting me up for an expectedly similar experience to Burglar Fucker, where everything would fit into a homely little alcove of booming punk and garage.  And the set did start out as a sort of homage to aggressive, bar rock, affirming my personal sentiment all-the-more.

But by the second-or-third song, the lead singer had popped the cable out of his hissy P-90-fitted Strat (interestingly, an entry-level Squier) and into some sort of synth-box from the Technological Hell of Unmarked Knobs and Switches.  What came out was a gritty and uncomfortable sense of spastic movement that was amazing well-developed and seemed sincere.

And not what I was expecting.

A short-while later, the band played a slew of songs fitted with instrumentation that could have fit right in with the best of Shellac or Don Caballero.

My expectations were gone.

Directly after the mathy rhythm-based songs, the band went into a psychedelic lunge for what seemed like a solid 10 minutes.

My expectations had pulled in on themselves, forming some sort of geometric pattern that was both laughable and depressing.  Kind of like this.

In a nutshell, Whatever Brains was aggressive and noisy, but also tight and focused—interested in trying new things, but also desiring to revel with some of their obviously-revered influences.

I would like to think the audience felt as confused and appreciative as I was.  In what may be one of the weirdest displays of affection ever, the crowd started throwing empty cans of beer on to the stage, hitting the band’s front man who had just walked out announcing an encore.

(I don’t want to weigh out the possibly this display could have been fueled by drunkenness or participation in some inside joke unbeknownst to myself.  I could be pulling the whole atypical homage thing out of my ass to prove a point, just wanted throw that out there.)

With what was quite the risk, the set ended with an impressively-cohesive piece that incorporated the various styles they had taken on throughout their time on stage, ending in a slide-equipped riff that was elongated and weird, yet surprisingly conclusive.

Whenever you get to see Whatever Brains in the future, check your expectations at the door.  Even if it seems like nothing can really be unexpected.

-John

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Concert Review

Lost in the Trees can do no wrong, ever

Lost in the Trees had their album release show at Cat’s Cradle this past Friday, April 20. Brice Randall Brickford and The Toddlers were the two opening bands. The Toddlers are another side project band of Missy Thangs (The Love Language, Soft Company). Alongside Missy Thangs were Noah Dehmer, Ellis Anderson, and Nathan Toben. They started off with a galloping song and before the set was over I could swear that they were close to resurrecting Jim Morrison on stage. Dehmer’s voice sounded remarkably like the Lizard King himself and everyone seemed really into it.

When Lost in the Trees came out Christmas lights turned on around the stage and everyone knew it was about to be an extraordinary set. They started the set with “Walk Around the Lake,” which pleased everyone to hear a familiar tune right off the bat. Next up they began playing songs off their new album starting with what is probably the most popular song on the album, “Red.” The set list continued to build; all the songs and stage presence were very strong and evocative. Emma Nadeau, dressed in red with glitter on her face, seemed to effortlessly produce the most hauntingly beautiful vocals while she wasn’t playing her French horn. Ari Picker and Jenavieve Varga never hold back in their performances and that was definitely the case at this show. Ari’s fidelity to his songs resounds through his vocals that travel for miles, with a voice so emotionally pure you can tell what he’s singing isn’t forged. Jenavieve is a powerhouse violinist and it’s her performance that lets you know how meaningful the music is.

The apex of the show was their song “Garden,” which was played midway through their set right before they reeled in the rest of their songs. “Garden” is the most involved song off the new album and served as the perfect beginning to the end of their show. They then relaxed and played an old favorite, “Song for the Painter.” Before they began to play “Golden Eyelids,” Ari requested that everyone slow dance to the song to make it special. Specifically asking to recreate scenes from “Back to the Future 1 or 2, but not Back to the Future 3,” he said, laughing. For the encore they performed “All Alone in an Empty House.”  It was a spectacular show as always; I can’t imagine anyone could have walked away disappointed.

By Beth Moore.

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Concert Review

The Magnetic Fields are Brilliant

The Magnetic Fields at Cat’s Cradle

The Magnetic Fields played Cat’s Cradle two nights this past week to mark the penultimate stop on their U.S. tour. The Magnetic Fields are a band I have always loved, but never got a chance to see—FINALLY! Cat’s Cradle was at capacity Thursday, April 12 (i.e. the show sold out), and fans were shoulder to shoulder from the stage to the bar. The band, consisting of Stephin Merritt, Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, and Shirley Simms, played music from 69 Love Songs, I, Realism, and their most recent Love at the Bottom of the Sea. Between songs, Stephin, Claudia and Shirley entertained the crowd with stories and comedic banter. The band jokingly mentioned several times that there was a serial killer in the audience, suggesting he/she may behind you or it may…even be you. Claudia mentioned a dream that she had involving a kitchen knife.

The concert was spot-on brilliant! Their current tour is promoting their new album released on Merge Records, Love at the Bottom of the Sea. For more info on the tour and band visit their blog, “Tour at the Bottom of the Sea.” It has been documenting the quirks and happenings of the U.S. tour.

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Concert Review

And More Black Metal for Raleigh

This has been a great week for Raleigh: a show Monday, Dec. 5, and then a show Saturday, Dec. 10. AND they worked out perfectly with exams! Following the Inquisition show on Monday, Herpderp Booking presented Old Painless, No Tomorrow and Mutilation Rites on Saturday.

Old Painless threw a little different vibe into the mix Saturday and played some convergent tunes. I didn’t have a chance to take any pictures as my camera was acting up. I’m glad I was out of the room when a drumstick went flying.

Next up was No Tomorrow. I have seen these guys a few times now, and they were so on point for this show. It was awesome. Crusty, destructive and heavy: these dudes from Wilmington ruled.

Again, last but not least was Mutilation Rites. Heavy hitting black metal from the bowels of New York City, these dudes were truly Satan’s sirens. It was a set everyone in and around the house enjoyed.

I hope this is a trend that continues. Two killer black metal groups in one week, excellent!

-It.

P.S.  Merry Whateveryoucelebrate, spread the love and come out to a show!! Here are some compiled by Vile Discourse!

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Concert Review

Here is My Inquisition

Black metal in Raleigh. Sorry if you missed out cause it RULED.

Old Painless, Double Negative and Inquisition played at Six Forks Pub Dec. 5 for a last minute show put together by  some excellent people in Raleigh.

Old Painless started the show off with destructive grindcore. They played a short set but it was pure brutality.

Next up was a Raleigh classic, Double Negative. If you haven’t heard these hardcore hitters you should step up your game. Last year they ripped it apart with Corrosion of Conformity; this year it was Inquisition. Awesome each and every time.

Finally, Inquisition. Pure evil with corpse paint and all. This two piece played for probably close to 45 minutes or more and they typically play bigger venues like  Maryland Death Fest and Chaos in Tejas. It was super cool to hear their strange vocals and destructive drumming and guitar from so close.

If you missed this sorry sucker, it was awesome.

-It.

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Concert Review

High energy Kooley High show a success

There are about 465 words I’ll use to describe the energy at the Kooley High CD Release party this past Saturday night at The Pour House.  Not only did Lazurus, Actual Proof, King Mez, and Kooley High deliver, they all captured the crowd’s attention throughout the entire show.  Each set was quick, to the point and fun – something I often miss at an indie rock show.

I arrived at The Pour House around ten to find a healthy throng of people smoking their last cigarettes before the show started.  King Mez was standing outside and hyped up the show by telling us how pumped he was for it tonight.  Just seeing his energy got me excited to see what would happen inside.  Lazurus took to the stage right on time.  This guy is a super hyped-up MC that had me laughing and throwing my hands back and forth with the crowd.  He started his set with some a cappella rhymes and then brought out the beats for about thirty minutes.  He wrapped up his set with a gift for the fans– T-shirts and albums.  Luckily, I managed to snag an album.

 

Actual Proof set up shop next.  These two young guys from Raleigh’s own Enloe High School killed it on stage.  Not only did they look fresh, but they sounded smart, fast, and just plain good.

In between sets I had to fight my way back to the bar to refill my drink.  That’s a good thing when it comes to local music shows.  All kinds of people were coming together for this show and everyone was pushing for a place near the stage.

I made my way up to the second story to capture the energy of King Mez.  The picture below captures the best point of the night in my opinion.  Everyone watched as the rapper performed solo.  I loved his introductions to his producers and shout outs to his friends.  His personality shone through his entire set.

Lastly, Kooley High performed against the festive decor surrounding the stage. Female emcee Rhapsody put the Christmas lights to shame in her performance with fellow group members Charlie Smarts and Tab One.  The group was celebrating the release of their new album “Kooley High Presents… David Thompson” which is available digitally here.  Kooley High has a lot to celebrate, including the success of their show.  They got at least one new fan who walked away from the venue still humming their beats in my head.

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Concert Review

96x Winter Meltdown

 

This past Thursday, Dec. 1, 96X hosted Winter Meltdown at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. The lineup consisted of Days Difference, Young the Giant, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeper Agent, Foster the People, Grouplove, Cage the Elephant, Cake, The Naked and Famous, and Bush. The Center itself was very similar to the RBC Center. The bands were separated between two stages; the main one was on the coliseum floor and the other was in one of the larger rooms of to the side.

Opening up on the smaller stage was Days Difference, a local band from Virginia Beach. Their upbeat and energetic sounds set the tone for the rest of the evening. This concert was our first encounter with the band, but both the band and the crowd seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Following their performance, the crowds moved back to the main room for Young the Giant. They made their entrance on the main stage with “My Apartment,” kicking off their five-song setlist.  They followed this up with the lead vocalist and drummer starting “I Got” in an acapella fashion.  Sameer Gadhia looked like he was having a good time as he jumped back and forth between his dual microphones and smashed the crash cymbal with his tambourine. They also added a new song into their set which was received well.  They ended their set with everyone screaming along (including us) to “My Body.”

Taking Back Sunday was on the main stage with their original lineup and was better than ever.  You could tell that they were enjoying themselves with the original five back up on stage.  In the spirit of the evening, they opened up with their rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” before exploding into the song “El Paso.”  They played some songs off their new self-titled effort and returned to some classics like “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team)” and “A Decade Under the Influence.”  When talking to people in between sets, many were most excited about Taking Back Sunday and they did not seem to be let down at all.

After them, it was time to head back to the smaller room for Sleeper Agent (who referred to it as the ‘cool room’). The first couple songs had a bit of a feedback issue, but once that was fixed, they sounded great. After playing “Get It Daddy,” Tony Smith remarked on how awesome it was that people knew their songs well enough to sing along.

Moving back to the main stage, Foster the People was ready to go on.  As the lights rose, they began a drum circle which led into “Call It What You Want.” It turns out the weird laughs in “Don’t Stop” are done by Mark Foster himself. The band could not stop dancing throughout their set and I don’t think there was a single person in the room who did not at least tap their foot. They finished up with their signature “Pumped Up Kicks.” Even though they lengthened the song by adding choruses for the crowd to sing along, their set seemed to end way too soon.

After Foster’s set, it was time to head back to the smaller stage for Grouplove. They strutted onto stage to some hip-hop before playing “Love Will Save Your Soul.” We had never heard of Grouplove before, but we got a hold of their album when we found out we would be going to the show and have not put it down yet.  Christian Zucconi was sporting an awesome sweater, as the picture shows. They finished up with “Tongue Tied,” and the crowd sang with them until the very end.

When they finished their set we moved back to main stage for a brief statement about Wounded Warrior, a program that helps injured veterans. A few minutes later, the lights dimmed and we could barely make out Cage the Elephant making their way on stage. The lights came on as they started to play “In One Ear.” If you’ve seen Cage the Elephant before you’ll know that Matt Shultz likes to mess around with the timing of his lyrics. This was quite true during “Around My Head,” when he paused for a solid 30 seconds after the first chorus (before “Do youuuuuuuu”). They finished up with “Sabertooth Tiger,” during which Matt stood on the crowd and then convulsed on the stage.  They were by far the most energetic band there.  Although the venue was huge, they made it seem small as Matt made the six-foot leap into the crowd several times.

After a few minutes of set up, Cake came out on stage and immediately started playing “The Distance,” as the crowd roared with approval. They played a few old songs before switching over to new material. As John McCrea stated, the new music was a bit angrier than stuff they did before, and jokingly told easily offended people to leave. They finished up with “Sick of You.”

The Naked and Famous began in the smaller room.  Since it was later in the night, this room reached maximum capacity quickly, and people were out in the hall trying to get a listen.  They put on a great energetic show, and the crowd got into it as well.  Everyone sang along to their songs like “Punching in a Dream” and “All of This.”  Their show ended all too soon as it was time to move out to the main room for Bush.

It took a while to pile out of the room from the Naked and Famous and we made it in about halfway through the first song of their set.  At this point the entire stage had opened up and the lights and fog machines were running on high.  Everyone seemed excited to see them as it was their first string of shows in nine years.  They played some classics that everyone sang along to as well as some new material from their latest output The Sea of Memories.

Eventually the show came to an end.  It was then that we realized how hungry and tired of standing we were.  We had been listening to great music non-stop for seven hours.  It’s amazing to think that none of the 10 bands put on a bad show and most of them have been in heavy rotation in our CD players.  It was definitely worth the six-hour round-trip drive and terrible 1 a.m. McDonald’s food.

-DJ Dewey Decibel and DJ DiGiorno