Category: Blog
Hopscotch creates the optimal environment for music discovery. Many music festivals have multiple stages but few host fourteen venues for anyone with a wrist band to drift in and out of. This drifting brings about a method of discovering music that fits well with the Internet music age. We live in a world where the customer really is always right because their entire experience has been personalized for the individual. In this case, it is a personalized concert for three nights straight.
I had few artists that I absolutely had to see: Earl Sweatshirt, A-Trak, and Future Islands. Saturday was the most open out of all the nights. Other than Saints Apollo, Adult. and Big Black Delta, I had no shows planned out. Out of of all the new bands I saw perform, no show was more entertaining than The Everymen’s performance at The Pour House. I almost walked out before it even started, too. I went in ten minutes before the start of The Everyman but ran into DJ Sarahnade from Post Rock Block. right outside. She had seen this band earlier and was coming back for more.
“Piano’s over the head kind of stuff” she explain to me.
I was sold.
It turned out to be the best rock show I’ve seen in a long time. The energy and stage presence The Everymen had was outstanding, and the crowd showed it right back. Everyone for at least the first few rows was going hard to a the male and female fronted band. The lead singer/guitar player made for great mid-song commentary.
At one point, a duel was put forth between the sax and piano player. This ended with the keyboardist picking up his piano, laying one end into the crowd and just going nuts on it. This New Jersey band will forever be cemented in my memory bank.
My personalized concert ended up being spot on thanks to the amazing people who put the effort into making Hopscotch a success.
You can find their Bandcamp here – bandcamp
-Muta
(Not pictured above: The awesome and crazy keyboard player)
A new semester and a new “Eye on the Triangle.” In this edition, we talk about recent controversy surrounding feeding homeless in Raleigh’s Moore Square.
Keep it tuned to WKNC all week long for your chance to win tickets to any of these great shows below! Just be the correct caller when the DJ asks for it, and you and a friend could be hitting up some of the coolest local acts around.
Tuesday, September 10 – Black Joe Lewis with Dex Romweber Duo @ Cat’s Cradle
Thursday, September 12 – Borgore @ Lincoln Theatre
Thursday, September 12 – Paleface with Eric Scott-Guthrie and Rob Nance @ Pinhook
Friday, September 13 – The Old Ceremony with Shark Quest and Curtis Eller @ Cat’s Cradle
Saturday, September 14 – Acoustic Syndicate record release @ Cat’s Cradle
Whenever I was told that I was going to interview High Highs I had to admit that I was not terribly familiar with their music. However,I was quick to change that whenever I started listening to their songs and immediately became addicted to their smooth and dreamy vocals. Their lead singer, Jack Milas was kind enough to give us a call just a couple of hours before their show started on Friday Night at the Memorial Auditorium. Now I would be lying if I said I was not a bit nervous for this interview, because I definitely was. With the popularity that High Highs received with their song “Open Season” I was afraid that their fame would get the best of me; but boy was I proven wrong as soon as the conversation took hold.
Once the phone was answered, Jack’s Australian accent was quick to erase any possibly tension that could have been formed prior to. Being very laid back and respectful to all the questions, Jack was able to make the interview seem like a conversation that I could have had with one of my closest friends.
The question from this interview that stood out the most was the one that we asked most the artists we interviewed at Hopscotch which is “If you could describe your sound as a room, what would that room look like/have in it.” Instead of one of the very obscure rooms that I heard in previous interviews, Jack simply put that his room would be a cathedral. It was in this instance that I gained a whole new respect for Jack and the band as a whole, because they were completely correct in the answer. Not just for its wonderful acoustics, but also religious setting, the room seemed a perfect fit for their echoing and powerful lyrics. Jack was able to represent his band beautifully in the all too short interview that he provided myself and the station with on Friday afternoon. You better bet that I didn’t pass up their set that night either.
Where do I start with these guys? I knew from the beginning that the interview was going to a little out of the norm just by the way these guys sound and perform their music. With that being said, that is the exact reason I looked forward to the interview so much (and trust me, my expectations were definitely met).
Pretty much exactly on time, the entire three piece band consisting of Ryan Clancy, Ryan Spencer, and Adam Pressley walked right up to our 88.1 WKNC table at Wristband City and formerly introduced themselves. Once the interview was on its way, the band seemed to be having a little fun with it while also pointing out that their music is definitely different than most of the indie rock scene today. When asked how they were different, they did not hesitate to explain that it is because of their live foam party shows and mixture of unique sounds and lyrics. The band went on to say that if they could describe their sound as a room, then it would be the live portion of an Applebee’s restaurant; which you can take whichever way you possibly want.
Throughout the whole interview and even through the end of it, I was having a hard time letting the thought out of my mind that this band could be the next big thing; because it is definitely possible. Being a fairly young band and on the rise with extremely infectious music, how can one not think that? I was just glad Jamaican Queens decided to drop by WKNC on their quick and inevitable ride to the top.
Hopscotch Music Festival has always been one of my favorite music festivals. It is one of the most diverse festivals ever. This year was no exception. The festival included everyone from blues legends from the 50’s (Ironing Board Sam) to one of the most iconic MCs (Big Daddy Kane) to the founders of both The Velvet Underground (John Cale) and Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore) to one of the greatest noise musicians from Japan (Merzbow) and everything in between. One of the greatest things about this festival is that while there were certain acts I knew beforehand, many of the acts I only learned about because of the festival. I discovered a lot of my new favorite acts by looking them up beforehand and listened to them or even just by being dragged to their set during the festival. Hopscotch Music Festival is definitely one of my most favorite weekends of the year filled with unforgettable experiences.
Thursday Highlights
-Thursday night I received my first unforgettable introduction to Body Games. They are an incredible new group from Chapel Hill whose brilliant indie electro-pop complete with a great lights show and Lion King projections had they whole crowd grooving along. They even covered Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There” from Free Willy which oddly enough fit perfectly as everyone nostalgically danced along.
-New local stars Sylvan Esso blew everyone out of the water. Their beat-driven breed of infectious electro-pop had everyone dancing and Memorial Auditorium shaking.
-Kurt Vile and The Violators played last to close out the night at Lincoln perfectly with their warm wash of guitar driven rock as everyone lost themselves in his music.
Friday Highlights
-Thurston Moore, although not on the official Hopscotch bill, played a day show at Kings with drummer John Moloney. It was incredible to see such an iconic legend in a setting such as this.
-Future Islands have become local music gods so it is obvious that would be one of my highlights. Future Islands performed new-wave synth-pop to perfection as Sam’s antics kept the crowd entertained. They played many favorites from over the years as well as some songs from their upcoming effort that they announced.
-Speedy Ortiz was one of the bands I was looking forward to see the most of this festival and they did not disappoint. Their hour long set was rock solid made full use of the stage and filled every corner of the room with their guitar driven noise-pop.
Saturday Highlights
-As a fan of the Pixies and more recently of The Breeders, it was a dream come true to see them perform live at Hopscotch. The entire band was having a great time as they joked back and forth between songs off of The Last Splash. Their energy fueled that crowd as everyone sang and danced along. They even got to play a few more songs after the last song on their album that they were playing in full. Their performance was utter perfection and you could see the excitement of them playing together again.
-City Plaza not only knocked “seeing The Breeders,” off my bucket list, but “seeing Spiritualized” as well. They played a perfect mix of songs that spanned most of their career complete with projections and lights. The whole show and atmosphere was just an incredible experience as dusk began to settle.