Category: Festival Coverage

Previews, reviews and coverage from music festivals like Hopscotch and Moogfest

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Festival Coverage

Hopscotch Must-Sees: Purling Hiss

This is a personal artist spotlight on Purling Hiss by Toast for Hopscotch.

The Philadelphia-based troupe made themselves known opening for the likes of Kurt Vile, Woods, and Wilco, but their hard-hitting approach to psych-rock has earned them outsider status in the world of swamp and churn. They screech, they grind, and they muck in the grit of noisy crescendos and dense sound. This crew is not completely devoid of approachability, as through the years the band has released several tracks which could tip a hat to three-chord 90s classic rock, even pop.

The latest album from Purling Hiss, On Water On Mars, gives a good dose of both sides of the band’s repertoire, a little something for every swimmer in the psychedelic ocean of sound. Their ability to maintain this polar attitude is what makes the band really enjoyable and unique. The album engulfs you in its lo-fi murk, gives you a good dose of the blues then puts you back up on a wave of shiny solo riffs, which happens to be exactly the right formula for a killer live show. Look forward to total immersion and a blisteringly rad ride.

Favorite Track: “Lolita” on On Water on Mars
CAM Contemporary Art Museum, Thursday Sept. 5, 11:30PM

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Ahleuchatistas

This is a personal artist spotlight on Ahleuchatistas by DJ Acorn for Hopscotch.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to Ahleuchatistas last winter, out of total happenstance.
I tagged along with my friend who had organized an event at Apothecary, a relatively new DIY venue in downtown Asheville, for later in the week but we made the trek up a few days early. Incidentally, the night we arrived Apothecary was hosting “Osfest,” a weekend-long farewell to the Ahleuchatistas’ percussionist, Ryan Oslance, who was moving to California from his native Asheville. I had no idea who Oslance or Ahleuchatistas was at the time, but throughout the evening I was definitely picking up on some cult-like vibes surrounding the act. Some kid even cited it as his “favorite band ever.” We’ve all heard that before, but rarely in reference to a couple of local art rock musicians.

That night I kept noticing a man with long shaggy blond hair walking around with no shoes on jumping from group to group, who struck me as an interesting character from the start, but I realized I was about to witness something truly amazing once he– the honorary Oslance– put bells around his ankles and neck as he sat in front of a drum kit. Another man, Shane Perlowin, with a guitar was carefully arranging a score of effects pedals in his own corner of the stage.

The performance was a display of pure mastery of each member’s respective instrument. They both seemed to have surpassed any interest in making songs that people can dance to or whistle in the shower, but rather more concerned with expanding the technical horizons of their instruments. For instance: Oslance, draped in sleigh bells, transforms his own body into an instrument. Their music, however frantic and complicated, never comes off as a mess of noise. Instead, it is almost dizzyingly meticulous that two people can sync with each other to conjure such busy precision out of a guitar and a drum kit.

These men are more than math rock musicians; they are certainly avant-garde in their understanding of how sounds interact with each other with pings and bangs and whispering, lingering chords. I cannot wait to see them again this Hopscotch and have my mind blown with the technical and artistic mastery of Ahleuchatistas.

FAVORITE TRACK: “Requiem for the Sea” off Heads Full of Poison and “A Little Effort Goes a Long Way” off Location Location

PLAYING:  Contemporary Art Museum, Saturday September 7th at 9:30-10:30 PM

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Angel Olsen

This is a personal artist spotlight on Angel Olsen by Anastassia/Alternate Reality. 

In my mind, Angel Olsen is a beautiful goddess angel with a killer voice that covers all the different ranges of beautiful. Unfortunately my musical taste didn’t come around to Angel Olsen until her album, Half Way Home, had been out for about a year. I knew of her and listened to that album very briefly however I couldn’t get past the strangeness of her voice. At times, Olsen hits notes that are a deep tenor while immediately bringing her voice back to the sweetness of a Joan Baez. Strangely enough Olsen’s sound was not at all influenced by early folk music, yet Angel Olsen would fit perfectly in between Loretta Lynn, Tony Caro and John and Vashti Bunyan.

Olsen is a unique singer-songwriter and Half Way Home captures a magical moment, a moment of being alone and completely vulnerable to all the emotions that may take you over. After initially listening to Angel Olsen, I didn’t think too much of it however one random night while I was in my apartment alone, I decided to give her another chance. My music taste is a little brat sometimes, disregarding an artist after a brief encounter without giving them a significant chance. Sometimes, though, it comes around and opens up to artists like Angel Olsen, embracing her sincere voice and the bizarrely beautiful range of notes within her vocals. Her show at Hopscotch is highly recommended and you will probably see me there weeping

Favorite Track: “Acrobat” on Half Way Home.

Playing: Fletcher Opera House, Friday September 5th 9:30-11 pm

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Waxahatchee

This is a personal artist spotlight on Waxahatchee by Virginia Werewoolf.

It was just this past summer that I was able to coerce Alabama singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield into trading her Don Giovanni released lo-fi debut “American Weekend” for a ten dollar Starbucks gift card after a stripped down set in a Richmond basement. A short year after that with fellow late arrivals, I shared a cigarette and a window sized view of Crutchfield singing to a little restaurant bursting at the seams during Harrisonburg Virginia’s MACRoCK festival.

Since then Crutchfield’s once solo project, Waxahatchee has grown to include electric instrumentation and high quality recording, while remaining incredibly mercurial and intimate. March marked the finish of the band’s sophomore album “Cerulean Salt,” which served as a transition from volatile bedroom wails to minimalist punk hymns that earned Waxahatchee some of its most positive critical acclaim yet. The receptive response also landed her a spot at Chicago’s ultra-popular Pitchfork Fest.

The most singular thing that should add to the very deserving bubble of hype surrounding Waxahatchee is the fact that after touring almost relentlessly, in the most low maintenance way imaginable for a musician—using only voice and an acoustic guitar—Crutchfield will take the stage at The Kennedy Theater with amps and all. Their set that Friday may not be the cozy and accustomed, acoustic performance the act is known for, but it will bring the same personal and powerful delivery with a much anticipated little-bit-extra.

Favorite Tracks: Be Good off “American Weekend,” and Swan Dive off “Cerulean Salt”

Playing: The Kennedy Theater, Friday from 12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Speedy Ortiz

Major Arcana by Speedy Ortiz
Major Arcana

This is a personal artist spotlight on Speedy Ortiz by DJ DiGiorno for Hopscotch.

Speedy Ortiz’s first foray into the scene was the release of The Death of Speedy Ortiz in 2011. Then a solo project of songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, the lo-fi pop album began to make its way around. Dupois then decided to enlist the help of her friends Matt Robidoux (guitar), Darl Ferm (bass) and Mike Falcone (drums) in early 2012 to turn Speedy Ortiz into the full band it needed to become. This noisy band quickly found its home in the Boston DIY scene playing basements and house shows left and right. In the summer of 2012, Speedy Ortiz released a 7" as well as an EP. Now that they were a quartet, this gave them the ability to flesh out the sound of the first album. Their songs were praised for their pop-sense vocals atop the ambitious noise. The aggressive, thundering drums bottomed out by hefty bass riffs complete with frenetic, dissonant guitar parts fronted by soothing vocals helped complete their signature abrasive yet beautiful style of noise-pop.

After some success with their first releases, Speedy Ortiz made their way around the nation playing mainly house shows and DIY spaces. Their low key shows were delivered spot on to very welcoming audiences around the nation. After touring extensively, they embarked on their first truly collaborative effort. In July 2013, they released their proper debut album Major Arcana to major critical acclaim including Best New Music from Pitchfork. This album saw them perfecting their craft. Dupuis’ carefully crafted vocals soaring over discord. In addition to meaningful lyrics, she also provides another layer to the record with her cunning wordplay and perfectly articulated annunciations. Her lyrical delivery rivals the best in indie music these days. This can be dangerous in most cases as it can draw closer attention to the words, but they end up holding their own in a time when lyrical prowess seems to be of a bygone era. This praise is not to say that Dupois outshines the rest of the band. Her fellow band mates’ skills are well on par with hers. The thunderous drums and bass lay the groundwork for the melodic driven noisy guitars that echo and compliment the melody lines. Altogether, this is a very tight band that is an absolute must-see for Hopscotch Music Festival.

Favorite Tracks: Tiger Tank, No Below, Fun, Pioneer Spine

RIYL: Yuck, Polvo, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement

Playing: Kennedy Theater, Friday September 6th 11:00 PM-12:00 A.M.

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Grouper

This is a personal artist spotlight on Grouper by Prism.

When asked in 2012 by Dazed Digital about why she rarely does interviews, Liz Harris, b.k.a. the Portland, OR resident behind enigmatic one-woman ambient project Grouper, responded “I just feel nervous getting direct focused attention."  This reclusiveness seems natural for a woman who makes the type of music Grouper does: her melancholy, spacious ambient folk music seems to deny the group listen and prefer the personal.

I should mention that I’m a bit nervous to see Grouper at Hopscotch this year. This is because, like to many, her music carries a lot of history for me. During my freshman year of college a few years ago (a great and complicated time for love and music in anyone’s life), I discovered her 2008 record Dragging a Dead Deer Up A Hill on the music website Gorilla Vs. Bear shortly after a breakup, one that probably seemed much more dramatic to me at the time. And while it took me a few listens to "get it,"  I was soon enamored with this record. I walked around every day just lost in it, not paying to most track titles or song changes, just keeping the entire record playing on repeat from "Disengaged” on, lost in the world that Liz Harris creates. And while “Dragging” is far from what I would call a breakup record, I think Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop was correct when he described the style as “soothing” music that would appeal to someone who needs to go “through a process.” Grouper’s music is intensely personal music and hits emotional cues, in the same way that big-name titans of instrumental post-rock such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros rely on emotional bombast to draw a response from their audience.

Her discography is sizable at this point, with a slew of solo albums and collaborations to her name, some of which are easier to track down than others (such is the nature of Pacific Northwest ambient projects). Her most recent record, 2013’s The Man Who Died In His Boat, is a collection of songs recorded around the same time as “Dragging,” and to my ears, they follow much of the same ground as that album, meaning we have vast, scarred, yet somewhat accessible expanses of dirty tape hiss and synth washes that swirl while Harris’ plaintive vocals and acoustic guitar float through them.

Although I’ve definitely gotten a little bit happier since a few years ago I discovered her, I’m still going to do my best to watch Grouper’s set with the same emotional openness that I found her with. I’m very excited for this set.

Favorite Track: Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping, off Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill

Playing: Fletcher Opera Theater, Thursday 11:00 PM-12:00 A.M.
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Festival Coverage

Hopscotch Must-Sees: Marnie Stern

This is a personal artist spotlight on Marnie Stern by C’est La Bri for Hopscotch. 

I became googly eyed over Marnie Stern in the tenth grade, when my cooler-than-I-was boyfriend made me a mixed tape with “Prime” off of This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. It became the track I played on repeat until I could get all of the words and rhythms down from its off-kilter chaos.

While past releases have excelled in dizzying their listeners, her most recent album, The Chronicles of Marnia, has less cluttered tracks aimed to put her masterful finger tapping to the task of conveying a whimsical indie-pop Stern.  This new album creates a distinction of sounds in tapping versus the past of layering and confusion.  But this isn’t taking away from the musicianship of Stern’s guitar writing- it’s highlighting her new philosophy on songwriting and composition.

And make no doubt about it, Marnie Stern is a show you can’t miss at Hopscotch this year. She brings with her an energy that makes a festival worth seeing. This year’s festival is a study on dynamic- you’ve got an artist like Stern on a lineup with Angel Olsen. High Highs are playing the same gig as Sleep.  So if you’re going to Hopscotch for some diversity, Marnie Stern is definite must-see.

Favorite Track: “Prime” on This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That

Playing: Lincoln Theatre Thursday, September 5th 11:30PM- 12:30AM

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Hopscotch Must-Sees: Nightlands

This is a personal artist spotlight on Nightlands by The Walrus for Hopscotch.

When label Secret Canadian states that Nightlands is ultimately the product of bedroom producing, it brings to mind the countless demos crafted by artists as an attempt to exhibit that which could be further polished and refined to produce their ultimately desired sound. Nightlands goes far beyond the assumptions of bedroom producing and often puts them to shame in comparison.

Dave Hartley, bassist of The War on Drugs, began his side project directly from the bedroom, keeping a tape recorder on his bedside table to archive the musical ideas he developed in his sleep. These ideas were the seeds for his debut album Forget The Mantra and were, as you could expect, dazzlingly dreamy.

Three years later, Hartley concludes his production of Oak Island, the sophomore album that has received exceptional critical acclaim for its fantastical and incredibly lush sound, providing the listener with an immersive and engaging inward journey. It’s amazingly polished for a bedroom production and never once depicts that which could be further refined.

Nightlands has been inked into my personal Hopscotch schedule since the day the lineup was released. Oak Island has been a consistent favorite of mine since its January release, and I will certainly be at The Hive at midnight to see them perform.

Favorite tracks: “So Far So Long” / “Other People’s Pockets”

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Festival Coverage

Hopscotch Schedule Announced!

While the line-up has been published for some time now, the official schedule has just been posted.  Now its time to get out that pen and paper and start banging your head into the wall to decide if you want to see Kurt Vile and the Violators or Matthew Dear more.  With this year’s stellar line-up there is sure to be much debate over who to see as well as a lot of running around to maximize the number of sets you see.  Hopscotch has been posting a number of useful Hopscotch Handbooks that break down different bands to help make your decision process a bit easier.  As always, stay tuned to WKNC as we continue to bring you some artists to look forward to at this year’s festival.  So pin your Hopscotch handbooks and schedules on the wall, it’s time to pull out the red string and tacks and start mapping your Hopscotch 2013 adventure!

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Festival Coverage

Mountain Oasis Lineup Announced!

 

The first ever Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit has just announced their lineup for 2013.  The festival takes place in Asheville, NC on October 25th through the 27th.  Mountain Oasis is programmed and produced by AC Entertainment, the company that helped put together MoogFest.  Towards the end of last year, Moog Music and AC Entertainment split up when Moog declined to renew its licensing agreement with AC.  Mountain Oasis now takes the place of MoogFest as AC Entertainment’s presence in North Carolina.  The Mountain Oasis festival will take place the same weekend and location as previous MoogFests.  This however will not be the end of MoogFest.  Moogfest just recently announced a new partnership with Paxahau along with a new logo. Along with it they stated that MoogFest will not be taking place in 2013, but will return April 25th through the 27th in Asheville for MoogFest 2014.

So set aside all your worries, North Carolina will not be losing a music festival.  Instead we will be gaining another one and after looking at the intial lineup announcement, it looks to be a damn good one.  The lineup, despite not being completed yet, is full of some big names and rarities.  Neutral Milk Hotel will be playing one of their first shows in fifteen years together at this year’s festival. Trent Reznor will be playing twice with How to Destroy Angels as well as Nine Inch Nails who are just coming off their hiatus. Other notable artists include Animal Collective, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Chromatics, Tricky, Zola Jesus and JG Thirwell, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, and Bosnian Rainbows. Many more artists will be announced in the coming future. The festival will also feature talks, seminars, panels, interactive experiences, exhibitions and more by artists and other esteemed members of the musical community. Tickets will go on sale Thursdau, May 2nd at 12:00 pm Eastern Time. Stay tuned for more details as the full lineup will be announced.