Category: Blog

Categories
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” ).

Categories
Miscellaneous

Trick or Treat!

WKNC has a Paranormal Activity 3 “Survival Kit” up for grabs (treat) but you have to do a little something (trick).

The survival kit includes a cauldron, batter-operated candle, Frightmare CD, bloody Mary mix, picture frame, and ouija board – a pretty awesome way to kick off your Halloween-inspired festivities after getting inspired by Paranormal Activity3.

But how do you enter?

Be on the lookout on our Facebook page – we’re having a costume contest! When we ask for it, post on our Facebook wall your best “literal band name” costume.  Here are some examples of what we’re looking for:

Then on Thursday, October 27 the picture with the most “likes” at 3pm will win! The two runners-up will win a Paranormal Activity 3 hat and movie poster.

Good luck and have fun!

 

Categories
Concert Review

Givers Give Fans a Night of Dancing

Monday night at Kings Barcade, Givers visited Raleigh with two special guests, hometown friends imagineIAM and Michigan-based Lord Huron.

imagineIAM has a very unique sound – big on drums and everything you can do with them. This was their first tour, so the crowd and other performers that night joined in on the excitement.

Lord Huron joined the stage next. They mixed indie pop with folk elements, creating an interesting sound. I hadn’t heard of them before, but it’s a band I would love to revisit. With ukuleles, guitars, shakers and drums, the band’s last song was fitting – “When Will I See You Again.”

Givers took the stage around 11p.m. Their first full-length studio album, “In Light,” was released June 2011. I fell in love

 with the 51-minute album immediately. When I heard they were coming to Raleigh I couldn’t wait. The indie pop band from Lafayette, Louisiana is a five-piece that plays about twice that number of instruments on stage. Tiffany Lamson banged on drums with a uke on her back and dabbling with a fringe-laced xylophone on some songs. Taylor Guarisco, the other main vocalist, danced spaztically around on stage, jumping, kicking, and shaking his booty. The band had great

 chemistry – they joked around with each other during and between their upbeat songs. Everything sounded just as good, if not better, than the recordings on the album. The vocals were amazing, and seeing how the music was made was something I wasn’t expecting. Drummer and vocalist Kirby Campbell kept complex and interesting beats all night, Nick Stephan switched instruments every few songs (flute, saxophone, keyboard), and bassist and guitarist Josh LeBlanc danced around alternating between the two.

 

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Phoenix Documentary Available to Stream

Out of all of the bands that had an excellent 2009, French songsters Phoenix had a breakout year with their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Now their 2009-10 world tour has become the subject of a new documentary chronicling the band’s trip across the globe. That documentary, which is titled From a Mess to the Masses,is directed by Antione Wagner, who was also responsible for the music video of the single “Lisztomania.” You can watch the entire documentary below.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30586903[/vimeo]

Categories
Festival Coverage

The Road To Moog

On Oct. 28, Moogfest 2011 will officially begin in beautiful Asheville, N.C. The festival, now in its second year, brings together artists from across the electronic and experimental music spectrum to celebrate the legacy of synth pioneer and music technology visionary Bob Moog. From musical legends such as Suicide, Tangerine Dream, and Terry Riley to up-and-comers CANT, Oneohtrix Point Never, and araabMUZIK to Amon Tobin’s elaborate and visually stunning ISAM show, the three-day festival truly provides something for every ear. In the days leading up to, during, and after the festival check back regularly to the WKNC Blog for various Road To Moog features, including interviews with artists playing the festival and reviews and photos from the festival.

Categories
Festival Coverage

Shakori Hills Fall 2011

“Shakori Hills Community Arts Center’s mission is to provide an environment for community building through arts and education.”

The weather could not have been better for a four day weekend of communal music and dance at the Shakori Hills Grassroots festival.  A diverse group of people gathered together all with one goal:  to climb festival mountain.  Festival mountain has many trail heads that all lead to the top.  Some may choose to go the dancing route, and find themselves encountering the “whitest dance” around town: clogging.  That’s right, ladies and gentleman, a clogging workshop was led by The Green Grass Cloggers on Sunday morning at the festival.  Shuffle steps, Indians, and chugs were some of the many individual dances taught. Along with the clogging workshop, a zydeco dance workshop, as well as, a country two-step workshop were put on at the festival.

Another primary trailhead was the wonderful trail of music. From Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones to Locos Por Juana; the festival provided a very eclectic group of music that was sure to soothe even the savage beast.  Dancing, singing along, hula hooping, and going into hippie freak-outs were some of the many activities that went on during the outdoor concerts.

After climbing through the mountain for some time, a festival-goer may find themselves a bit famished.  You would be in luck, because the festival offered some finger-licking, slap-your-mama meals that were affordable and satiable.  One meal to highlight was “The Veggie Thing”.  This was a piece of art in itself.  A sandwich served on a white flour tortilla filled to the top with a variety of veggies and sauces, that was sure to leave your belly full, and your mind happy.  Thirsty? Hand squeezed lemonade and frozen cherry limeade were some of the many drinks served at the festival. The sweet, tart lemonade was shaken not stirred and served in Mason jars.  This drink option was sure to quench a festival goers thirst in the warm, afternoon sun.

When people think about festivals, they often think art, music, dance, and culture.  What is not often thought about is the function of the festival.  Is this an event that is just for pleasure and entertainment, or does it get deeper than that, and provide some sort of escape from reality? While camping in middle earth (the name of our camp site), it occurred to me that the sense of community was very shire-like.  Everyone getting along, enjoying ales and sing-alongs, lending a hand whenever a neighbor was in need…we were in hobbit world!  I even think I saw Gandalf several times, or maybe that was just a hippie…not sure. Regardless of what your background was, the festival did provide an escape from everyday life—which was nice.  If nothing else, the festival gave one a relaxing environment to be a part of something big.  It’s not everyday that you get to climb festival mountain…

With the festival closing, a feeling of reality crept back, and we began to descend off festival mountain.  Thankfully the mountain will open back up next spring for another four-day escape.  Hopefully we can use the philosophy of the Shakori Hills festival in our everyday life.  Meaning, I hope we can strive to be hobbit-like, regularly.  Let’s build communities through arts and education, y’all!

Peace, Love and Swirl!

– Andrew, “The Cosmic Cowboy”

Nicole Kligerman, Sarah Hager and Kate Rafferty talk to attendees of the fall 2011 Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival.

 

Categories
Concert Review

Arctic Monkeys return to Raleigh with Smith Westerns

English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys returned to Raleigh tonight, Oct. 12, and performed at Disco Rodeo. The band visited the venue April 2010, but this year brought along Smith Westerns to open.

Chicago-based Smith Westerns released their sophomore album earlier this year. Since then, they have played with TV on the Radio, Cults and Yeasayer,  in addition to international festivals including Austin City Limits Music Festival, Fyf Fest, Leeds Festival, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. The guys were dressed like they were straight out of “Dazed and Confused,” and the smiley face-patterned banners behind them just reinforced this thought. They were fun – I sang along and danced. Their hair flew in their face as they strummed popular singles like “Weekend,” “Smile” and “Still New.”

During the 30-minute set change, I scanned the crowd. Unfortunately, this took away a lot from the show. I was behind a young fist-pumping boy and constantly trying to hold on to my standing room, only with mild success as chains of high schoolers tried to squeeze by. The musically-oblivious bystanders seemed to give more applause at times for the roadies doing soundcheck than the Smith Westerns received, but that may have been in my head.

 

A hooded figure in a golden mask finally came out on stage and hit notes on a keyboard to set the mood for the show. The lights reflected gold beams off the mask into the crowd. The rest of the band came out on stage and began their first song with a blast of energy and great reaction from the crowd. One thing I instantly picked up one is that an Arctic Monkeys show’s core is the strobe light – which is amazing, unless you have epilepsy. Luckily I do not, so I could stay. A bit theatrical at times, the band performed with special effects like lights, flashes and smoke. One of my personal favorite moments is when they paired a past-picking guitar riff with an intense strobe-light-only light show. It created the illusion that electricity was coming from Alex Turner and his guitar and filling the room. The crowd went especially crazy for “Fluorescent Adolescent” and “Brick by Brick.” At about 10:15, they played their “last song” and went off stage while the crowd chanted their name and screamed with approval of the show.

 

Categories
Concert Review

Thou, Make, and The Proselyte, 10/12/11

On Monday, Oct. 12 at King’s Barcade, Make, The Proselyte and Thou played an excellent show. Put on by Primitive Ways this show was heavier than any other that has come through Raleigh in a while.

Show Flyer (L. Greenwood)

Make

Hailing from Chapel Hill, Make was a great opener for this show. Heavy, sludgy doom that had a bold psychedelic flavor; Make produces some very excellent metal. Support local music and check these guys out here: Make

Bass

Drums

Guitar

The Proselyte

A nice addition from Cambridge, Mass., The Proselyte bridged the psychedelic feel of the show to a strangely happy yet still dark feeling. These guys brought some great metal to Raleigh, and it was very enjoyable to watch. I’ve never seen a drummer sing and drum so quickly. A very excellent band; both of their releases have been highly rated (Sunshine (2011) and The Proselyte (2007)). Check them here: The Proselyte.

Bass

Drums, Guitar, Bass

Vocals, Drums, woaaahhh duuude.

Vocals, Guitar

Thou

Holy Dio. This is probably one of my favorite bands that I have seen in 2011. Coming up from Louisiana, these guys played on the floor and had one of the most energetic shows I’ve been to in awhile. I couldn’t get many pictures so you’re just going to have to regret not getting your eardrums covered in the sludgy, heavy goodness that is Thou. This five piece really blew me away with their show. I must admit two things helped; one, their excellent blog that allowed me to download their music and two, they played a kick-ass cover of Black Sabbaths Into the Void. Gnarly, dude.

Thou

Thou 2

Overall, as I have previously stated, this was and probably will be one of my favorite shows of 2011. It was heavy and covered in slimy, doom-y sludge. Good job to Primitive Ways for really knowing how to book a good lineup and to the bands, Make, The Proselyte and Thou, for giving Raleigh an excellent Monday night.

-It

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Black Keys Announce New LP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Q9fskIosM

The Black Keys are set to follow up their Grammy-winning album Brothers with El Camino, which will be released Dec. 6 in the United States.

However, their announcement was not without some hijinks. As originally posted by Rock it Out!, the Ohio duo released a video showcasing a van salesman; at the end of the video the release date, a website, and The Black Keys are all connected.

It does not stop there. The website wannabuyavan.com instructs you to call (330) 510-1206, which ultimately leads you to message recorded by drummer Pat Carney about the van he is trying to sell. Unfortunately, this line is almost always busy.

Update: Since this morning’s original information was released, more details have come out about the new album including the cover art and the track listing, which is below. The first single of the new album is titled “Lonely Boy,” and will be released on Oct. 26.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Camino:

01 Lonely Boy
02 Dead and Gone
03 Gold on the Ceiling
04 Little Black Submarines
05 Money Maker
06 Run Right Back
07 Sister
08 Hell of a Season
09 Stop Stop
10 Nova Baby
11 Mind Eraser

 

Categories
Weekly Charts

CMJ Loud Rock from WKNC’s Chainsaw 10/11

1. Absu – Abzu (Candlelight)

2. Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)

3. Nachtbult – Antik (Napalm)

4. Mastodon – The Hunter (Reprise)

5. Thulcandra – Under a Frozen Sun (Napalm)

6. Machine Head – Unto the Locust (Roadrunner)

7. Warbringer – Worlds Torn Asunder (Century Media)

8. Chelsea Grin – My Damnation (Razor and Tie)

9. Hatesphere – The Great Bludgeoning (Napalm)

10. Chimaira – The Age of Hell (eOne)