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Concert Review

St. Vincent Amazes at the Brudenell

Let me start by saying that on Wednesday, Nov. 16, a tiny woman in massive heels brought a packed venue to its knees. As one of my English pals so articulately put it, “She makes that guitar her bitch.”

St. Vincent brought out the largest crowd that I have seen at the Brudenell Social Club (although I haven’t been to that many), and rightly so. She has come off of one of her most successful and critically acclaimed releases, Strange Mercy. With anticipations high, the tension was palpable as the stage crew tuned the guitars, adjusted the lights, and kicked the fog machines into full gear, after a wait that seemed like an eternity.

When she did come out, the tiny Annie Clark in her high heels showed that big surprises come in small packages. Playing mostly off of the excellent Strange Mercy, the powerful sound of St. Vincent demonstrated the best of the recent album. Despite the amazingly forceful performance of many of her excellent new tracks, Clark came across as incredibly modest throughout those brief moments in between songs where she gave the audience a brief glimpse into everything from her music video for “Cruel” to her recent cover of The Pop Group’s “She Is Beyond Good and Evil.”

It wasn’t all constrained to the new work, as Clark and company provided some of the greatest moments performing older hits, including an excellent cover of “She Is Beyond Good and Evil.” It was St. Vincent’s performance of “Marrow” that they were able to give a much more intense life to, which cannot be given complete justice when listened to recorded. It was the encore that stole the show with an amazing rendition of “Your Lips Are Red." It featured Clark jumping into the audience at the most intense moments of the track, and within seconds doing a complete turnaround and calming down the song to what was the end of one of the greatest performances I have seen in recent memory.

And on that night Clark certainly made that guitar her bitch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8

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Concert Review

That one time when Architecture in Helsinki came before school work

Finals at N.C. State are coming up, and with them comes heaps of homework. This past Monday, Nov. 14, Nicole and I found ourselves in the best kind of dilemma. We both had a ridiculous night of homework ahead of us, but Dom and Architecture in Helsinki were performing at Cat’s Cradle! After weighing our success in school against our love of indie rock, we found middle ground. We justified a trip to Carrboro with hopes that the bands’ energy would help us to stay up for a late night of homework. We at WKNC are true problem solvers!

We arrived at Cat’s Cradle right in the middle of Dom’s set. The band resembled an Urban Outfitters catalog while playing the hazy pop tunes that we all fell in love with at the beginning of this year. Dom played a good portion of music from their first EP and ended with “Living In America,” by far their #1 single. The only thing lacking from Dom’s performance on Monday night was…well, energy. I wanted more excitement during “Living In America.” Instead, the band looked like they were bored and ready to get off stage. It was hard to tell through his thick mass of red hair, but it seemed Dom made eyes with us a few times. It wasn’t clear if this was intentional or if his head had just rolled to the side awkwardly, and that’s a problem. When they did leave the stage, we worried that this would be a theme of the rest of the night. Fantastic tunes, a great sound, but if I wanted those, I’d listen on iTunes. We couldn’t imagine Architecture in Helsinki being so boring. Thankfully, we were right.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/32237537[/vimeo]

Architecture in Helsinki hails from the distant land of Australia; they came to North Carolina in search of Cheerwine, which they nostalgically spoke of on stage. They complimented us on our warm November weather. The band walked onto the stage void of emotion, stood there, and then jumped into a high energy, fun series of songs that had the audience dancing and smiling at the stage. Seeing Architecture in Helsinki live reminded Nicole of what an ‘80s new wave style concert would have been like two decades ago: a mix of B-52s, Talking Heads, and energy. The members all had their own distinct dance moves that were used throughout the show. The one woman in the band, Kellie Sutherland, was one of Nicole’s favorites to watch throughout the show. She wore an amazing jumpsuit and just gave her all on stage, creating dance moves and driving the energy through the roof.

Two favorites for the night were the band’s newer single “Contact High” and of course “Heart It Races,” their last song of the encore. You know you’ve hooked an audience when you come out for an encore and they begin chanting for a specific song. “Like It Or Not” and “Do The Whirlwind” brought some crazy dance moves on the dance floor as well. Overall, the show was a fantastic break from homework and gave us a second wave of energy that lasted until we got back to campus and decided to call it a night.

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Concert Review

Foreign tongues at the Cradle with Sophie Hunger and Tinariwen, 11/13/11

Scarcely before the ringing in my ears from Bombadil’s album release party could fade, I found myself back at Cat’s Cradle for something worlds away, both sonically and geographically.

Sophie Hunger was absolutely charming. The Sunday night crowd started out pretty far back from the stage, slowly trickling in and milling about, but by the end of her set she had coaxed more than a few to the front to better catch her heartfelt lyrics and genuine enthusiasm. Vocally she sounds a bit like Feist. They both have that soft, crooning quality in their voices, but Hunger proved she was no stranger to belting out a verse or two where necessary. She switched between singing in English, German and French fluidly and frequently, so I probably only caught a fraction of the lyrics, but I like to think the meaning still came through.

It’s hard to pin her sound down to a specific genre. She herself switched between guitar and piano throughout the set and was accompanied by Michael Flury (trombonist/box player/chest percussionist) and Christian Prader (flautist/guitarist/pianist). Some songs were folk in the best tradition of the genre, while others sounded of heavy jazz influences mixed in with who knows what else. Whatever the influences, it was all a pleasure to listen to. Her endearing solo acoustic “Sophie Hunger Blues” was the song that won me over, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one. The personal narrative, catchy melody and raw emotion she put into that song had the audience smiling and laughing in a big way.

From Swiss-born, European bred folk/jazz fusion we somehow made the transition to acoustic Saharan desert blues from former African rebels. For the uninitiated, Tiniariwen is a group from northern Mali made up of Touareg rebels. They received military training in Libya and fought for the rights of oppressed nomadic peoples in the Touareg rebellion. Sung in a Berber language called Tamashek, their songs carry the revolutionary message of the cause they fought for.

If you’re not intrigued yet, then I really just don’t know what to tell you.

Before they even came on stage there were enough guitars set up to comfortably field all of Broken Social Scene, plus a few percussion instruments whose origins I could only guess at. The band was all robes and cloth when they did come out, certainly looking the part of desert bluesmen. A few greetings in what sounded like French (why didn’t I take French?) and they were off. You might not think that dusty, Middle Eastern folk and blues would be that danceable, but it definitely is. The percussionist (playing either a hand drum or a large half-sphere gourd of some sort hit with his palms and two lighters) and bassist laid down a simple but irresistible groove that the rest of the band built on. To their credit, they kept the crowd fully engaged throughout the night. I’m pretty sure I even spotted whatever the slow moving, mid-to-late-thirties equivalent of a mosh pit would be, but folks were packed too tight for me to venture out and investigate further.

Tinariwen’s latest release, Tassili, has more of an acoustic sound to it, a departure from their previous albums which made extensive use of the electric guitar. The set drew heavily form the new album, but they broke out the ax for several numbers, including one of my absolute favorites, “Amassakoul ‘n’ Ténéré.”

Tinariwen has been gaining a fair amount of international attention recently. There’s even a track on Tassili featuring Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio fame. If you haven’t heard about them yet, you probably will soon. If you haven’t listened to them yet, go ahead and do yourself a favor. I love local music but there’s nothing like some African desert blues to broaden one’s musical horizons.

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Concert Review

Bombadil’s album release extravaganza at Cat’s Cradle, 11/12/11

I have discovered that in my later years (well, I’m only 21, but still) I have become more lazy and less inclined to ever leave Raleigh to do anything. Especially to do something that requires money, like go to a concert.

Add Bombadil to the picture and it changes things completely.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Bombadil graced Cat’s Cradle with their album release party for All That The Rain Promises, the long awaited new album from this local band that is comprised of four very talented men: Bryan Rahija, Stuart Robinson, Daniel Michalak, and James Phillips. The show opened with local favorites Future Kings of Nowhere and Jay Kutchma and the Five Fifths, two groups that don’t play too much around the Triangle right now.

Seeing the lineup, I knew I had to get out of Raleigh for a night. So I filled up my gas tank, picked up some friends, and made my way to Carrboro after feasting on some delicious pre-Bombadil steak tacos cooked for us by Laser Beard, who also served as our photographer that night. We hoped to get to the Cradle early enough to get a rose, but arrived just a little too late. Instead we ate some cookies and milk (thanks Bombadil!) and moved toward the stage as Future Kings of Nowhere set up and tuned their instruments.

Future Kings of Nowhere was full of energy and a lot of fun. They played a selection which included new songs and started and ended with the crowd favorites “Let’s Be Pirates” and “10 Simple Murders.” I was really excited to see Jay Kutchma and the Five Fifths next. Red Collar always put on high energy shows and I was curious to see how Jay Kutchma would be without the rest of Red Collar. The excitement was for good reason. Kutchma’s stage presence was intense, the set starting with slower rock songs with a twang and building in energy until Kutchma was jumping up and down with his guitar accompanied by an enthusiastic Five Fifths. The bass player is the one who stuck out in my memory; he looked like he was having the time of his life on stage. Kutchma made sure to include powerful monologues as well, which is something that he has brought over from Red Collar. Overall, the opening bands were really fantastic and provided high energy that grew even higher while waiting for Bombadil to take the stage.

I can say without a doubt that everybody in the audience on Saturday night was truly excited for Bombadil to get on stage. The last time the band played was two months prior at Hopscotch Music Festival. The last time Bombadil played at Cat’s Cradle was December 2010, opening for the Avett Brothers at their surprise show. When a talented band like Bombadil does not play often, you know that when they do play it’s going to be a good time.

This was definitely the case for Saturday night. Wearing colorful embroidered and painted blazers, Bombadil opened the show with the old song “Jellybean Wine” which earned a huge cheer from the audience. They continued through a great mix of old and new songs with the audience giving wholehearted applause and the band grinning and thanking us for coming repeatedly throughout the night.

I think one of the best things about Bombadil is that the music they make is meaningful. After hearing bands play music that has no emotion or has no point, it is refreshing to listen to Bombadil and also to see a band that shares your excitement for being there. Highlights of the night included “Laundromat,” “I Will Wait,” “A Question,” “One Whole Year,” “The Pony Express,” and “Leather Belt” off of All That The Rain Promises and old songs like “Honeymoon,” “Oto the Bear,” “Marriage,” “Johnny,” “Three Saddest Words,” “Smile When You Kiss,” “So Many Ways To Die,” and “Cavaliers Har Hum.”

The band put on an amazing performance that the audience just didn’t want to end. Two encores later, the band had to ask the audience to stop cheering because they simply hadn’t prepared anything else to play. We certainly wore the band thin and I enjoyed every minute of Bombadil’s performance on Saturday night.

I only have one request for Bombadil: can we do it again?

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Concert Review

Constellations Festival Brings Some of Indie’s Best to Leeds

I think I picked the right place to study abroad.

Constellations Festival is relatively young, but that doesn’t keep the event from bringing in some of Indie’s finest acts. 2010’s festival included the likes of Broken Social Scene, Sleigh Bells, Local Natives, The Vaccines, and many other fantastic acts. With hopes high for this year, the festival returned to the University of Leeds Student Union on Nov. 12, and it brought acts including Yuck, Braids, The Big Pink, The Antlers, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.

One building, five different proper music venues, and nine hours of cramming in as much music as possible is a daunting task to say the least, and thankfully the folks planning this event allowed for seeing the majority of the largest names with ease. They could have easily planned the event in a way that makes more sense musically. This would include The Antlers opening for Wild Beasts, Yuck opening for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Summer Camp opening for The Big Pink. Thankfully the large acts played back to back in the same venue with the periods in between sets long enough to pop over to another venue and catch the majority of another band’s show.

The culmination of these elements made for one hell of an afternoon and night filled with music, and below are some of the highlights.

Summer Camp

This was by far the biggest surprise of the night. I was amused by the sound of Summer Camp after my initial listen of their debut album Welcome to Condale, but I felt as if there was still much to be desired. Although I had my reservations about the group, they put on one of the most delightful performances of the festival. Their love of 80s nostalgia, although they are probably too young to remember the 80s, brought about a charm to the performance. Famous dance scenes from 80s films projected to a screen on stage alongside the upbeat pop duets with some real swing left me wanting to reevaluate my initial stance on their debut.

 

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

One of the most anticipated acts of the festival did exactly what they needed to do. Consistent throughout, Malkmus and company brought their a-game during their hour-long set. Playing mostly new tracks off of Mirror Traffic, they also revisited some of the earlier solo work from Malkmus. The act left me feeling satisfied and lived up to many of expectations I had.

Yuck

If you are a fan of Yuck’s self-titled debut, you need to see this band live. There are certain things that recorded songs cannot convey, and the sense of raw, distorted power is definitely one of them. The band had some initial technical hiccups after the mics cut out on them toward the end of their last song, and walked off as the stage crew came back on to get everything working properly. The band took it in stride. After walking back on stage frontman Daniel Blumber jokingly announced, “This is our longest encore ever.” The band mixed up their tracks much like in their album, going from one faster paced harder sound to one a bit more reserved. It was the track “Rubber” that stole the show. The 7-minute song provided a visceral listening experience that shook the ears and body to its distorted 90s rock core, something much better understood when experienced instead of described.

 

The Antlers

This band is easily one of the best in filling the room with their atmospheric sound, regardless of size. That’s exactly what they did on this night. Playing the best from their debut and their second album, The Antlers demonstrated how they are able to beautifully construct songs that in some moments lack vocals yet sound structured, and when the vocals kick in it provides a fine compliment to their rest of their truly gorgeous sound.

 

Wild Beasts

It was a bit of a homecoming for the band currently based in Leeds, and their set brought out the largest crowd of the entire night. The large room was packed to the ceiling as the band covered tracks from their entire discography, and the songs both slow and upbeat highlighted the best of the band. Like Yuck, Wild Beasts live proved just how incredibly powerful their vocals are. It felt like a somewhat surreal experience to hear these regular guys produce such operatic and captivating voices. All in all, they gave one of the best performance of the night ending what was already a fantastic day.


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Concert Review

Ra Ra Riot 10/28 at Cat’s Cradle

On Friday, Oct. 28, I had the pleasure of seeing Yellow Ostrich and Delicate Steve open for Ra Ra Riot.

Let me start off by saying I always love a band that takes sips of beer in between songs. The boys of Yellow Ostrich were delightfully playful, with front man Alex Schaaf charmingly interacting with the audience and willingly answering questions like “What is your favorite color?” (It’s red.) Not only that, but they were extremely talented. The songs ranged from garage rock grittiness to melancholic and haunting ballads, most of which included clever, not annoying, uses of looping. Schaaf passionately shredded on his guitar and drummer Michael Tapper beat the drums like they were someone he hated. However, it was bassist Jon Natchez who stole my heart. When Natchez was free of his duties as a bassist, he doubled as a full-blown brass band, playing the trombone and tenor sax with impeccable style and talent.

Following Yellow Ostrich, I had a feeling I was in for a good time with Delicate Steve when I saw the strobe lights come out. I am familiar with Delicate Steve’s music, and they have been climbing my “Most Played” list on iTunes throughout the year. The stage lights had been turned off, and one by one the members of the band arrived on stage, lit only from below by the aforementioned strobe lights. The minute Steve Marion and the band begin to play the appropriate “Welcome – Begin,” the audience knew it was time to dance. I felt like I was walking in on the Wild Rumpus, with the tribal-like percussion and Steve’s fancy fingers shredding on his treble-like guitar. It didn’t stop there, as Steve and his crew managed to keep the party going with upbeat jams like “Sugar Splash,” but still made time to showcase the band’s real talent with more melodic tunes (which are still very danceable). It was a phenomenal experience, one in which I will not miss out on if they come around again.

-Salt Water Jaffee

 

Ra Ra Riot returned to the Cradle in Carrboro with more dazzling dance songs. The newly-revamped Cradle provided almost twice the amount of dance space than in previous years, and most concert attendees took advantage of all the leg room! The six-piece band showed off their dynamic instrumental talents throughout their set, changing instruments and having different band members sing lead vocals. One of the best parts of Ra Ra Riot is their added twist on what could be average indie. Violinist Rebecca Zeller and electric cellist Alexandra Lawn were the most interesting to watch on stage because of their obvious passion for their instruments, and lulls in songs were spiced up with their luscious arrangements. Lead singer Wes Miles fed off the energy of the crowd thumping and dancing. He kept the crowd enthralled with his energy and vocals, which never seemed to miss a note. The New York band played their hits from their first CD, including “Ghost Under Rocks,” “Can You Tell,” and “Boy,” as well as others from The Rhumb Line. The band mixed in new songs from their second album The Orchard, such as “Shadowcasting.” Finishing off the night, Wes Miles told the audience we were a “special crowd,” and continued into the encore that left everyone dancing even after the music stop playing.

-Riff Raff
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Concert Review

9th Wonder and Phonte with Median, Rapsody, The Away Team, HaLo and DJFlash

On Oct. 23, Cat’s Cradle was the place to be for Triangle hip-hop fans. 9th Wonder and Phonte were performing in addition to The Away Team, Rapsody, HaLo, and Median. The night even featured a surprise performance by King Mez. Not performing, but seen, were Actual Proof and Nicolay, producer from The Foreign Exchange. It was an obvious N.C. family affair.

The first half of the night was DJ’ed by Justus League’s DJ Flash, who scratched over performances by HaLo, Median, and The Away Team. All performed some of their newest material. Sean Boog impressed the crowd with his dexterity and entertained them with his antics.

Rapsody was on stage next, and DJ Flash was replaced with 9th Wonder. Rapsody inundated the crowd with her motto, “culture over everything,” and thanked the crowd for supporting her newest album, Thank H.E.R. Now. Rapsody had a solid performance, rapping to both her composed tracks and off the dome on beats created by 9th Wonder. Jamla R&B singer Heather Victoria came out and helped with the performance.

Following her, and introduced with accompanying Star Wars music, was Phonte. He performed some of the tracks off of 9th Wonder’s The Wonder Years album; “Band Practice Pt. 2” was performed by both him and Median. This was later followed by “The Life of Kings,” with King Mez, toward the end of the show. “The Life Of Kings” was one of the few new tracks from Charity Starts At Home that he performed.

9th Wonder and Phonte are getting older, but have shown they can still put on a hell of a show. It’s nice to see that their music has matured along with them. During the show, Phonte took a moment to talk about their dramatic feud and mentioned how special it was that they were now performing together. Both have new albums out that are worth a listen.

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Concert Review

Minus the Bear’s sold-out show at Lincoln Theatre, 10/25/11

I know why Minus the Bear is celebrating their Tenth Anniversary Tour: because they are amazing performers. Their show at Lincoln Theatre on Friday, Oct. 25, was incredible.

I arrived to the sold-out show with a few friends right before Minus the Bear started. Thanks to some skill we scurried our way to the front and waited in anticipation. Minus the Bear came out and started with a bang. In celebration of their tenth anniversary they played the entire Highly Refined Pirates album and a few new songs. Even though I was not familiar with this album, they did not disappoint. They had amazing stage presence and were all in sync with each other in a way that seemed effortless. In combination with their epic lights, I got that show “high” people talk about.

I was happy to be near the guitarist because his performance was just as admired as the lead singer. You can distinguish a Minus the Bear song by its signature guitar sound and the guitarist, Dave Knudson, was brilliant. But like I said, the entire band was brilliant. It’s safe to say that I am never missing a Minus the Bear show, if they come around again.

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Concert Review

Trampled By Turtles Concert, 10/20/11

I like turtles…

On Thursday, Oct. 20 at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, These United States was the opening band for a packed house. They consist of a drummer, acoustic, two electric, and bass guitar (sometimes keys). They were a high energy alt-country band that kept the audience prepped and psyched for what everyone came to see: Trampled By Turtles.

TBT came out playing. Their insightful lyrics and skillful instrumentation across the band led to a truly awesome show. Trampled By Turtles cannot be exactly classified as a true bluegrass band but rather a mix of genres, incorporating indie, folk, and bluegrass. Their style of music is applicable to all audiences and was very evident in the eclectic nature of the crowd. The crowd especially responded to “Victory” and “Codeine” before they ended their set with “Wait So Long,” which was truly the climax of the show. The audience sang along with every word. After cancelling their show in Carrboro a year ago, this show was long-awaited and met all expectations.

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Concert Review

The Rosebuds Return to Triangle

Wednesday night, The Rosebuds return home to the triangle to play a show at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle, alongside recent Merge Records signee Hospitality and Mount Moriah front woman Heather McEntire.

I got to Cat’s Cradle right before Hospitality started its set. The band has recently signed to Merge Records, with their debut album set to release January 31 of next year. I wasn’t able to catch them at Hopscotch, so I was excited.  Amber Papini, one of the four members, led vocals. Despite saying she was from New York, her voice had some hints of British every now and then. Each song in the their set was a little better than the last. I can definitely see how they fit into the Merge family – I’m looking forward to hearing more from them in January.

The Rosebuds tried to make the show into somewhat of a theme party, posting this on Twitter earlier in the week:

Some of the fans got the memo, myself included, and were donned in glitter-fabulous homemade shirts. Others had made their own, sans glitter, consisting of hand-drawn rosebuds and a head shot of a “nice fox.”

My friend and I snagged a spot front and center. Kelly came on stage and shook some of the fans’ hands before starting the set, which consisted of old songs from as early as “The Rosebuds Make Out” to their newest “Loud Planes Fly Low” released earlier this year. The band, who has been on tour since June, mentioned a few times how good it felt to be back in the triangle. I could see why – not only did the crowd show love for their hometown favorites and effortlessly sing along to every song, but fellow local bands came out as well to show their support. I saw members of Superchunk, Bowerbirds and Lonnie Walker enjoying themselves in the crowd. Ivan also pointed out his sister  mid-set and thanked her for coming out

to the show. The chemistry between the audience and The Rosebuds made the show amazing. If you’ve seen them before, you are aware that this band is one of the best out crowd interaction – encouraging clapping, singing, dancing, and even conversation. The last encore song, “Nice Fox,” was significantly better live. Kelly told the story behind the song and the audience sang the hook (“and it don’t mean nothing at all” ).