Category: Concert Review

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Concert Review

Minus The Bear packs Lincoln Theatre

On Tuesday, Nov. 30, I had the privilege of going to see Minus The Bear at Lincoln Theatre.  I arrived late but still managed to catch the second half of their opener, Tim Kasher.

The feeling I got from a lot of people around me was that Tim Kasher’s performance was not as good as was expected.  It was a rather low energy performance; although, I thought the sound was good and the his supporting band played tightly.

Excitement for Minus The Bear was palpable.  As soon as their banner was raised at the back of the stage, people began screaming and stomping the floor.  It made the entire theatre seem to pump with energy.  Since the theatre was nearly full, this excitement quickly turned into wildness as a large guy in front of me jumped around and then right into my digital camera (hence the lack of photos for this blog).  It was worth it, though, and as the house lights dimmed and the stage lights went up there was an explosion of cheering.

The performance itself seemed short, but the band played for a little over an hour including the encore. Minus The Bear standards like “The Game Needed Me” were performed as well as some newer songs from their album “Omni.”  The guitarist put on a great show of bravado in the use of his pedal system, and the band as a whole really brought everything they had to the set.  I danced and even forgot for awhile that my camera was broken, but the fun had to end eventually and when it did, the entire crowd seemed to be exhausted.  It would have been nice to have seen a longer set, but I still had a great time and have gained a greater appreciation for Minus The Bear after seeing their live show.

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Concert Review

Swell Kweller

Last night’s (Monday, November 29) Ben Kweller concert at the Cat’s Cradle was opened by Julia Nunes. She played most of her songs on a ukulele, but strummed her few chords so hard that it undermined the charm the instrument is supposed to have. She had the kind of vocal twangs that made “tonight” sound like “toe-night” and “right” like “wrought” – like a less pop/less active Kate Nash. Her music just isn’t my style. I failed to see the talent (which she called her self out on). Regardless, she had a large fan base in attendance of young girls and barely post-pubescent boys. People were really digging her. She talked a lot with an immature kind of humor, but did make me laugh a few times despite my disposition. My favorite song: a cover of “Build Me Up Buttercup.”

Ben Kweller…Ben Kweller is awesome. I made it out to this concert mainly out of nostalgia for how much I used to listen to him. He performed solo because as he said, “I just wanted to get out on the road without promoting a new album (of which he is in the process of finishing up), and play some oldies.” He laughed at “oldies,” and the crowd laughed with him. His performance was delightfully endearing.  He stopped in the middle of his first song (Commerce, TX) as he remembered he forgot to add an old friend to the guest list. He yelled the name into the microphone, and told the doorman to make sure this guy got in free (which he did, Ben saw him, there was a moment).  Ben also stopped talking in between songs when he saw his older son, Dorian.

He got Dorian up on stage, and let him walk around and lay by his feet as he played a heartwarming piano set (including Thirteen, In Other Words, Falling). I had a spot right at the stage, closest to the piano. My eyes may have welled up a little bit when he played “Thirteen.” It’s a beautiful song. He talked about how much he loves playing at Cat’s Cradle, and he mixed similar expressions into his lyrics a few times. He played crowd favorites, requests, and a few lesser-knowns.

Ben’s solo performance exposed his creative guitar play and position as a master pianist. The show was simple. One guy, playing one instrument at a time, could get pretty slow, but Ben pulled it off. Of all the shows I’ve been to at the Cradle, I have never heard/seen a crowd so quiet, attentive, respectful. Expect to see Ben Kweller back in North Carolina again soon after his new album drops. He’ll probably have a supporting crew, and it will be hella’ swell.

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Concert Review

Felix the Drum Machine RECAP

If you attempted to nap before going to Kings on Turkey Day then you most likely didn’t wake up. And you missed a great show. That’s okay. There is always next year.

Here is a recap!

The Revolutionary Sweethearts opened up the night. I was in love at first listen with this band for sure. After their set I immediately headed backstage to meet Brandy. I hope to see them at a Local Beer Local Band next year!

DJ Gonzo played before/inbetween/after sets. I remember he spun my favorite Veelee song, “Amber.” What a lovely listen that was!

As Brian Shaw pointed out, there were a lot of people there that he didn’t know or recognize. A good thing, indeed. Felix the Drum Machine’s annual Thanksgiving shows are evidently gaining a fan base.

Everyone was in costume: Brian C. in the space suit, Zack O. as some animal/superman combo, William C. in a black trench coat, and Brian S. as a Mr. America (or something like that) outfit. They were all super cute!

At the end of the night, I picked up my own cassette tape that Felix the Drum Machine was selling. The artwork completely original and unique. Best investment I’ve made in a while. See you next year!

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Concert Review

Fridays Are For Local Music

This past Friday (November 19) was a great day for local music in Raleigh. Hopefully most of you dropped by after work or class and came out to the Harris Field lawn to check out our November installment of Fridays on the Lawn featuring The Tender Fruit and The Tomahawks.  Despite the chillier weather, we experienced a great turnout as people came out with blankets and snuggies to enjoy the free pizza and music.

The Tender Fruit was represented solely by Christy Smith, an N.C. State graduate in English, who managed to hold her own as she worked the kick drum and strummed her guitar. Smith’s voice is really something to admire. On the band’s recent album, Flotsam & Krill, I was blown away by her vocal dynamics, especially on track “Get Out of the Car.” Performing live, she was equally as powerful and her set proved to be calming but also a pleasant juxtaposition against the grittier headliners, The Tomahawks. This past August, Indy Week covered an interesting story on Smith, her past relationship with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and how Flotsam& Krill is a response to Vernon’s hit album For Emma, Forever Ago. You can check out the article here.

Although the concert was over before 9 p.m., local music fans were in luck as Future Islands were headlining at Kings Barcade in downtown Raleigh that night as well. Well, that is, if they had bought a ticket in advance as the show was sold out. Although I missed the opener NAPS, I was greeted by the familiar and pleasant sounds of Veelee upon walking into Kings. Matt and Ginger focused their set on their newer songs off their latest album The Future Sight. Veelee recently opened for Merge Record’s powerhouse, Caribou, on Halloween, which is a sign there are bigger and better things awaiting them.

Lonnie Walker was the last band to perform before the headliners came on stage. The bands are well known friends as Walker and Future Islands recently put out a split 7" together. The crowd at this point of the night were getting into a frenzy. The front part of the stage where I had posted myself had become a dance floor. My head was particularly swaying to many of the tracks on Island’s recent album, In Evening Air. The night was everything to be expected of Future Islands: funny antics from lead singer Sam Herring, stage dancing, and great music.

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Concert Review

Javelin Fly High at Kings

Local label Denmark Records brought Brooklyn electro-pop duo Javelin to town this past Thursday, November 11, for their third Raleigh show in four months at the recently re-opened Kings. I unfortunately missed the Panda-Bear-but-less-weird sounds of local act It Is Rain In My Face, but arrived right in time to catch the start of Athens, Georgia’s Reptar. With bassist Ryan Engelberger M.I.A., the band still managed to put on an energetic show, keeping the crowd dancing with synth-pop reminiscent of Passion Pit, sans the obnoxious vocals. Dressed in a choir robe and multi-colored sunglasses, keyboard player William Kennedy bounced around with singer/guitarist Graham Ulicny like two kids hopped on Red Bull and Pixie Stix, their boundless energy clearly rubbing off on the crowd.

After a brief set break, Javelin kicked off their set of sample-heavy party jams. Mixing in older tracks such as “Radio” and “Soda Popinski” with newer cuts, including personal favorite “C Town”, the duo of George Langford and Tom van Buskirk never once let their set go into non-danceable territory during their nearly hour-long set. The duo also managed to drop in a few verses from songs other than their own, including Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” With a much larger turnout than the nearly-empty Small Black show a couple weeks before, the show proved to be a success for everyone—for Denmark, for Kings, for the fans, and especially for Javelin, who went so far as to ask, “Why haven’t we moved here yet?”

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Concert Review

Troika Saturday

This past Saturday marked the the last night of the local music festival Troika in downtown Durham. Despite the cold weather, Anastassia and I, AndyQ, had a glorious time running around from venue to venue listening to the Triangle’s finest local music. This is our collaborative blog on our experience.

The first place we went to was at the new Motorco Music Hall, which had a nice upscale warehouse lounge vibe going on.

Filthybird started the evening out nicely with some mellow music. It was fun to watch the lead singer with her short stature play such a huge guitar.

After Filthybird, some men in snazzy suits and well manicured beards came to the stage. With their four-part harmonies and fancy finger work on the fiddle, Chatham County Line managed to crank out some good ole bluegrass reminiscent of classic Avett Brothers.

It wasn’t surprising when we looked back at the crowd and saw that they had packed the house filled with swooning listeners.

We were in for a surprise when we headed over to The Casbah.

Gray Young completely changed the atmosphere of the evening with their garage rock cords that were evocative of Explosions in the Sky. With their awesome stage presence and edgy music, it was impossible to stand still. Seeing Gray Young right after a nice folksy band like Chatham was an eye opening experience to the wide range of local music in the Triangle, and both of us really appreciated that.

Then, we saw  The Loom from Brooklyn, who were well worth the walk to the Trotter Building, which was decorated nicely with lovely lanterns. I liked the band’s ability to start off with a mellow opening, only to build up to a crescendo of high energy horns, banjo, and drums. The “Middle Distance,” showcased their driving beats that backed haunting vocals. The sweet raspiness of the female vocalist accompanied by the male lead’s voice was very enjoyable.

Next, we ran back to The Motorco for Cassis Orange. This girly, but rough band was really fun to watch, with the singer dancing and jumping around. Their use of different and sometimes odd instruments came especially handy when a flutist joined them to cover Ke$ha’s “Tik-tok”. That was probably the best cover that I have heard, hands down.

Finally, after almost five hours of shows, the best was saved for last with Hammer No More the Finger. We had heard of them, but didn’t really know what to expect, and they definitely did not disappoint. It was obvious even from the beginning that they had a solid fan base in Durham. The venue was packed and a sort of mosh pit was forming. No one stood still because the guitar riffs and catchy songs were too good to not dance to.

In general, the festival not only presented some great local music, but it showcased the noteworthiness of downtown Durham, helping to disprove some people’s sentiments that Durham is Raleigh’s ghetto. We were very disappointed that there was not enough time in the night to listen to all the bands that performed.  We also went with fellow DJ Godrik, who would like to add “beer should have been cheaper”.

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Concert Review

A Parade of Wolves at Lincoln Theatre

Canadian indie rockers, Wolf Parade, made their way to Lincoln Theatre on Saturday night and deejays N!cole and Special K were there to cover the event. Upon arriving, we were greeted by the power chords of the opener band, Ogre You Asshole. Admittedly neither of us had heard of them before, and I personally was a bit confused by their garbled lyrics. As we made our way through the sea of people, it became apparent that these guys were not from around here. Unlike the headliner, Ogre You Asshole wasn’t even from this continent! Hailing from Nagano, Japan, the band members were over 6,500 miles away from home and on tour with Wolf Parade. Overall, they had the crowd swaying despite the fact most of the audience couldn’t understand the vocals.

After what seemed like a long time for setup, Wolf Parade finally made their way on stage. They opened with DJ N!cole’s favorite song, “You Are A Runner and I Am My Father’s Son” and continued their set with a mix of old songs and new songs off their latest album Expo 86 which released this past June. I personally thought there was a rise of energy in the crowd when they began to play “I’ll Believe In Anything” which continued on into a demanding encore later at the end of the show. Wolf Parade ended the night with “Modern World” and “Kissing the Beehive.”

The Final Recap: As best summarized by DJ N!cole, “It was a really good show.” Overall, there was quite a bit of drunkenness among the crowd at Lincoln and Wolf Parade looked like they were having a good time too. I also continued to hear a rumor about a girl throwing up all over the floor throughout the night.  However by the end of the show, the vocals and music had been crisp, the audience looked satisfied, our shoes were clean, and there was a pleasant ringing in my ears as we walked to the parking deck. Another successful night of music in Raleigh.

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Concert Review

Halloween Night With Caribou, Emeralds, and Veelee

Halloween in the triangle area is always a must-experience event. As luck would have it, one of my favorite bands, Caribou, played at Cat’s Cradle on Sunday night, so it was guaranteed to be even more celebratory than usual! Costumed characters adorned the streets; walking to the venue, I saw several renderings of Gaga, Devo, and even a fleet of dominoes. The costumes flowed into Cat’s Cradle as well. To my right was a feathery albatross, behind me, a gory zombie. The night was off to a festive start.

As Veelee opened at Cat’s Cradle, the crowd went wild. I’m a new-comer to the Raleigh music scene, so it was my first time hearing their groovy dance beats, but I was instantly hooked. I’m proud to say that they are now in my music library. “When you gonna come home,” and I was already dancing… on the opening act.

After a swift set break, Emeralds played. Boy, did they perform. Every newly synthesized chord was a new revelation—Animal Collective in the style of Philip Glass, who wouldn’t love that? The shimmery instrumental hodgepodge of beautiful textures rained down. My legs were going rubbery from breaking it down, the crowd moving in rhythm. And Caribou hadn’t even been spotted yet.

The headliner of the night played a flawless show spotted with familiar songs with a few throwbacks to their older albums. “Odessa” was of course a crowd favorite, but I adored hearing “Sun” live. The band members were of course in costume, each wearing awesome camouflage suits. It worked—I barely saw them. I was too occupied with dancing at a great show.

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Concert Review

Troika Music Festival has stolen my heart

Last night, Friday November 6, was the second night of three for Troika Music Festival in Durham, NC. As of this moment, I have watched and photographed 11 bands, and tonight I’ll photograph 6 or 7 more. It’s been an incredible journey for me thus far. First of all, I’ve never driven in downtown Durham, let alone in the dark and in the rain. So the musical rewards were that much more delicious after I circled miles of blocks countless times.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I’ve been blown away by the epic sounds of Old Bricks in the tiny space of The Pinhook. They radiated so much joyous energy for the creation of music, I have a feeling they forgot we were all standing there listening. I don’t typically like bands that are more noise-based and less lyrical, but they touched a part of my soul.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Later, I sat on the stage next to Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony as he played acoustic guitar standing on the top of a chair because the sound system gave out, and he wanted to make sure everyone could here and see. He entranced the entire audience with his raw voice, honest lyrics,  and witty jokes, mostly making fun of himself. He has a list of over a hundred songs that he was sporadically picking from, and he shared with us the back story to The Old Ceremony most recent release, Wither on the Vines, and he sang a song that he wrote for a girl-rock band in New York.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I was introduced to a new band that had my calves sore I was bouncing around so much. Onward, Soldier has one of the most talented groups of local musicians I’ve probably seen. The lead singer, Sean, has a soft face with an innocent air, but he plays and sings with such intensity, you’d think he was 6’6. I expect the drum to fall through the stage he was rockin’ so hard, and the second guitar ripped with fingers of gold. There’s no better way to instill love in an audience than to show your own love in the making of music. They had so much energy, such happiness, I was completely taken by their performance.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

But out of the eleven bands I have thus far seen, nothing can compare to the performance of Mandolin Orange. The male/female duo step onto the stage of Fullsteam Brewery with a fiddle, two guitars, and a mandolin. Their presence truly speaks to the power of music that has nothing to do with sound or technique. They made me believe them. I believed in the beauty of the fiddle and the simplistic elegance of an acoustic guitar. I believed that two vocal harmonies singing just the right words could transform a room into a sanctuary. Andrew has a calming presence with long curly hair, but his voice resonates with a deep, slightly twangy serenity. Emily is infallibly beautiful, but nothing in comparison to her radiance while holding a fiddle. This is the duo to watch, and I know I’ll be looking out for their next show.

I will be perfectly happy if I never listen to another band from outside of North Carolina. This state is overflowing with talent in every genre, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.

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Concert Review

Local Natives bring in fans from all over

This past weekend, October 16, marked the longest drive to see a single concert for a large amount of people, including myself. Some fans journeyed over 5 ½ hours, if not more, all to see a few bands—Local Natives, The Ruby Suns, and The Union Line—at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC. Once the show began, I understood why.

The Union Line, a five-piece from California, started off the night. Creative drum beats were a staple in each song laced with pretty guitar and Natives-esque vocals. While most shows’ opener band encourages a crowd to linger at best, The Union Line had the crowd engaged and dancing within the first song.

The Ruby Suns followed with a poppier set; think Toro Y Moi if they ate too much sugar. Regardless of the slight genre change, it kept everyone energetic.

Following was the headliner for the night, Local Natives. With only one LP out, Gorilla Manor, I was surprised to see a sold-out show. The fanbase was incredible, especially for such a new band. It was shoulder-to-shoulder and impossible to move as far front as I would have liked. The set started off strong and hit every song on the album. Another pleasant surprise was Local Natives actually sounds better live, in my opinion. Everything—vocals, drums, guitar, etc.—was on point, in addition to crowd interaction. Another very unique aspect of this band is each member alternated instruments every song or so.

One of my (many) favorite parts of this show particularly was how eager the bands were to meet the fans. Every member from the three bands took time to hold a conversation with fans, sign autographs, joke around, and take pictures with the best college radio station in NC.