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Thanks to our friends at Live Nation, we have 5 pairs of tickets to see Death From Above 1979 at The Ritz! They will be playing Monday, August 10. Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for calls and you could win a pair of tickets! Tickets went on sale today at 10:00 am on livenation.com, via the Live Nation app, all Ticketmaster outlets, or via phone at 800-745-3000. Listen to their latest single “Virgins” off The Physical World here:
On Saturday, Double Barrel Benefit veterans Elvis Depressedly will play the third installment of Reverb Fest in Charlotte.
Last summer, we covered Elvis Depressedly’s show at a very small art space in the North Davidson district of Charlotte. Tomorrow they’ll play Reverb Fest at the Neighborhood Theatre, a 1000-capacity venue in that same corner of the city. It will be their first show since the release of their new album, New Alhambra. The album marks a departure from the lo-fi-ness of their past releases, while still using older recording equipment. The result is something well-produced, yet with a unique sound. Outlining the album are obscure vocal samples that tie into the loose theme of the Second Coming. These often effect-ridden samples push the album forward until the end of its run time of just over 20 minutes.
Some of my favorite cuts from the album include: “Ease” (a song that takes note on self-consciousness and features a beautifully distant-sounding electric guitar), “Rock n’ Roll” (a song that smartly uses a classic rock & roll beat and has lyrics like “Jesus died on the cross so I could quit my job” that seem purposefully laughable), and “New Alhambra” (which boils down to an audacious belief that one can parry death eternally because pain has been replaced with numbness).
The last song, “Wastes of Times,” begins with a sudden dropout of the electronic ambiance that pervades the entire album. It’s a striking contrast that represents an acceptance of the bad if it means being able to look forward to what’s new and worthwhile. It’s also the least lethargic track on the album, and a quick glance at the lyrics will show hopeful and compassionate words: “Heartbreak can’t phase me. I am crazy, but I’m true.“ The brevity and minimalism of the track is refreshing, and heck, it nearly has me convinced that there actually will be “No More Sad Songs” from Elvis Depressedly.
You can still get tickets to tomorrow’s festival with Elvis Depressedly, Beach Fossils, and several of North Carolina’s most worthwhile bands and you can treat yourself to a copy of New Alhambra.
-DJ Nasty Nate
Waxahatchee takes the top spot for the second week in a row as Speedy Ortiz moves up to number two.
WKNC RADIO 200
1. WAXAHATCHEE – Ivy Tripp – Merge
2. SPEEDY ORTIZ – Foil Deer – Carpark
3. TORRES – Sprinter – Partisan
4. CHASTITY BELT – Time To Go Home – Hardly Art
5. COURTNEY BARNETT – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Mom And Pop
6. HOP ALONG – Painted Shut – Saddle Creek
7. RYLEY WALKER – Primrose Green – Dead Oceans
8. SUFJAN STEVENS – Carrie And Lowell – Asthmatic Kitty
9. GENGAHR – She’s A Witch [EP] – Transgressive
10. ALEX G – Trick – Lucky Number
11. MY MORNING JACKET – The Waterfall – Capitol
12. MITSKI – Bury Me At Makeout Creek – Don Giovanni
13. PURITY RING – Another Eternity – 4AD
14. MIKAL CRONIN – MCIII – Merge
15. SARAH BETHE NELSON – Fast Moving Clouds – Burger
16.
MOUNTAIN GOATS – Beat The Champ – Merge
17. TORO Y MOI – What For? – Carpark
18. PEACH KELLI POP – III – Burger
19. JEFF ROSENSTOCK – We Cool? – SideOneDummy
20. JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD – Wasted On The Dream – Infinity Cat
21. MATTHEW E. WHITE – Fresh Blood – Domino
22. MOON KING – Secret Life – Last Gang
23. KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW – Bad News Boys – In The Red
24. BOUQUET – In A Dream [EP] – Self-Released
25. REPTAR – Lurid Glow – Joyful Noise
26. AVA LUNA – Infinite House – Western Vinyl
27. COLLEEN GREEN – I Want To Grow Up – Hardly Art
28. WARM SODA – Symbolic Dream – Castle Face
29. SURFER BLOOD – 1000 Palms – Joyful Noise
30. WEED – Running Back – Lefse
WKNC TOP 5 ADDS
1. ELVIS DEPRESSEDLY – New Alhambra – Run For Cover
2. ESKIMEAUX – O.K. – Double Double Whammy
3. JACCO GARDNER – Hypnophobia – Polyvinyl
4. ICKY BLOSSOMS – Mask – Saddle Creek
5. NOVELLA – Land – Sinderlyn
WKNC RADIO 200
1. WAXAHATCHEE – Ivy Tripp – Merge
2. CHASTITY BELT – Time To Go Home – Hardly Art
3. SPEEDY ORTIZ
–
Foil Deer
–
Carpark
4. SUFJAN STEVENS – Carrie And Lowell – Asthmatic Kitty
5. PEACH KELLI POP
–
III
–
Burger
6. COURTNEY BARNETT – Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit – Mom And Pop
7. REPTAR – Lurid Glow – Joyful Noise
8. TORRES – Sprinter – Partisan
9.
MOUNTAIN GOATS – Beat The Champ – Merge
10. MITSKI – Bury Me At Makeout Creek – Don Giovanni
11. ALEX G – Trick – Lucky Number
12. GENGAHR – She’s A Witch [EP] – Transgressive
13. JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD – Wasted On The Dream – Infinity Cat
14. SARAH BETHE NELSON – Fast Moving Clouds – Burger
15. WEED – Running Back – Lefse
16. RYLEY WALKER – Primrose Green – Dead Oceans
17. PURITY RING – Another Eternity – 4AD
18. COLLEEN GREEN – I Want To Grow Up – Hardly Art
19. TORO Y MOI – What For? – Carpark
20. BOUQUET – In A Dream [EP] – Self-Released
21. MOON KING – Secret Life – Last Gang
22. DAN DEACON – Gliss Riffer – Domino
23. MIKAL CRONIN – MCIII – Merge
24. KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW – Bad News Boys – In The Red
25. DOLDRUMS – The Air Conditioned Nightmare – Sub Pop
26. SHEER MAG – II [7-inch] – Self-Released
27. BOMBADIL – Hold On – Ramseur
28. MATTHEW E. WHITE – Fresh Blood – Domino
29.
SUUNS AND JERUSALEM IN MY HEART- Suuns And Jerusalem In My Heart – Secretly Canadian
30.
AVA LUNA – Infinite House – Western Vinyl
WKNC TOP 5 ADDS
1. MY MORNING JACKET
–
The Waterfall
–
Capitol
2. WARM SODA
–
Symbolic Dream
–
Castle Face
3. HOP ALONG
–
Painted Shut
–
Saddle Creek
4. SURFER BLOOD
–
1000 Palms
–
Joyful Noise
5. LES BIG BYRD
–
Stockholm Death Star
–
A Recordings
The Crypt’s DJ Soulwood visited the Art of Cool Festival in Durham, North Carolina the weekend of May 1, 2015. American R&B singer-songwriter and producer Anthony Hamilton stopped by the press tent before his headlining performance at the Durham Athletic Park on Saturday afternoon. Listen to his press interview here. (Apologies for the food trucks in the background-Durham is kind of loud.)
Anthony Hamilton Press Photo
WKNC is proud to once again be a media sponsor of Artsplosure, the Raleigh arts festival. Check out their great music lineup!
Friday, May 15
Main Stage | City Plaza on Fayetteville Street
Saturday, May 16
Main Stage | City Plaza on Fayetteville Street
North Carolina Stage | Fayetteville Street (State Capitol end, Morgan Street)
Sunday, May 17
Main Stage | City Plaza on Fayetteville Street
North Carolina Stage | Fayetteville Street (State Capitol end, Morgan Street)
Delta Rae will be performing back home in the Triangle at the Ritz on Saturday, May 9 and WKNC has your chance to win tickets starting today!
Chicago-based hip hop, funk, jazz group Sidewalk Chalk called in to WKNC to talk with DJ Soulwood after their performance at the Durham, North Carolina Art of Cool jazz festival. Their creative blend of hip hop, rap, jazz and funk brought the house down at the Durham Armory Saturday evening. If you were unable to make it out to the festival, please listen to their interview here.
Above: Sidewalk Chalk Press Photo
Photo highlights from this year’s Phuzz Phest in Winston Salem. Featured act’s are (from left to right) Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Human Eyes, Nest Egg, ET Anderson, Protomartyr, and Blursome
Sunday night at Phuzz Phest this year was definitely one for the books. Kicking off the night at Krankies Coffee with the Tender Fruit, the crowd was treated with an unplugged performance that left chills down the spine and hearts full of emotion. After this great start to the night, I knew the rain and storms outside would not put a damper on all of the great musicians that were still to be seen. After leaving Krankies, I trekked through the rain to see Family Bike at the Garage. With their first full album on the way, many (all) of the songs consisted of what is to be expected with the anticipated release with songs that are dedicated to bands like TOOL and people like Carson Daly.
After Family Bike finished their thirty minute set, I rushed next door to the Millennium Center to see one of my favorite local groups, River Whyless, who is out of Asheville, NC. All in all, River Whyless had the most breathtaking vocals of the entire festival. Together Ryan O’Keefe (guitars, vocals), Halli Anderson (violin, vocals), Alex McWalters (drums, percussion) and Daniel Shearin (bass, vocals, harmonium, cello, banjo) all come together to harmonize folk songs that illustrate rustic settings of woodsheds and the making maple syrup. From the Millennium Center, I walked back across town in the pouring down rain and secured my spot indoors at the cozy Reanimator Records where Lowland Hum played to a packed house that overflowed to a crowd that stood in the rain just to hear the beautiful music of Daniel and Lauren Goans who are originally from the neighboring Triad city of Greensboro, NC. With lyric books in tow, everyone hung on to every word that was sung from their new self-titled album that released earlier in the month.
With every performance up to this point absolutely breathtaking, I expected nothing less from the last performer of the night- Hamilton Leithauser (of The Walkmen, and The Recoys). My expectations of Hamilton were met above and beyond as himself and his band performed a perfect mixture of fast and slow paced rock songs that pulled at the heart strings every single time. Growing up a huge fan of The Walkmen, Hamilton’s solo act confirmed all of my preconceived notions about what it means to be a rock band based out of New York- professional with the perfect amount of madness to go along.