Earlier this year Raleigh Downtowner, a local monthly magazine, challenged its readers to identify their favorites among restaurants, goods and services, shopping, people and the ubiquitous “out & about” category that covers just about everything else. The current issue, available on newsstands downtown and online, names the top three candidates in all 111 categories in the inaugural “Best of the Downtowner” awards. Although WKNC failed to place in the “most attractive staff” grouping (something about having a face for radio?), we did nestle in between 96rock and G105 as the readers’ second choice for favorite radio station. Thanks to everyone that voted for us.
Category: Blog
French trio Yelle visited Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle on Tuesday, April 26. Unfortunately, I missed the synth-pop goodness of Brooklyn-via-Milwaukee duo (and brothers) French Horn Rebellion, making it into the Cradle just in time for the beginning of Yelle’s set.
Playing for just over an hour, the group put on what can aptly be described as a non-stop, sweaty, ecstatic dance party. Singer Yelle fronted the group with charisma and charm that reminded me a lot of Robyn (not to mention the musical similarities between the two), winning the crowd over from the get-go with her friendly personality, mile-wide smile, and playful dance moves. Drummer GrandMarnier and keyboard player Tepr backed her with the buoyant electro-pop sounds found on the group’s two records, Pop Up and the recently released Safari Disco Club. The crowd seemed to reflect that energy right back at the stage. Every body in the Cradle was moving and sweating. Hands were raised throughout the entire show and glowsticks flew back and forth across the room.
While I’m not very familiar with the group’s song titles, I did recognize “Ce Jeu” early in the set, and the group played most, if not all, of Safari Disco Club. They brought along a simple, but effective, light show that reflected the rich colors found in the music. It was the most fun I’ve had at a show in a good while and helped serve to cure up some blues after a rough week. If you ever get the chance to see Yelle, don’t think; just go, dance, and have a great time.
This week, Tir Na nOg and WKNC have turned Local Band Local Beer into something less local to us, but equally awesome. Athens, Georgia’s Modern Skirts perform and Terrapin Beer Company of Athens Georgia is our beer special.
And just to keep our Super Music Triangle involved, Digg Up Tapes artist Oulipo will open the show. Sooo rad, I know.
Come enjoy what local means to Athens, right here in Raleigh this Thursday!
Gettin’ my SWIRL on…
The ninth Shakori Hills Spring Grass Roots festival brought music, art, rain, hippies, families, and so much more together in a culture-filled, weekend extravaganza. Early Thursday morning, I arrived to the festival grounds, checked in, loaded my gear out of my car, and hitched a ride on a tractor to the camping area. I found a nice, little spot to pitch my tent in the camping area coined “Middle Earth.” Although we weren’t actually in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional world, the attire and facial hair of many-a-folk begged to differ.
Being that it was my first Shakori Hills Grassroots festival, exploration of the festival grounds was essential in order to orient myself throughout the weekend. While meandering about, the sounds of music diffused through the air and entered my ear balls resulting with my “festival switch” being turned on. Everyone has a festival switch, even the most uptight Philistine; although more often than not when the switch of the Philistine is turned on, it results in his/her head exploding. Anyways, my “festival switch”…oh, yes. When the switch is fired on all stress is forgotten, and you are left carefree in a world surrounded by some of the friendliest people you can possibly imagine.
After orienting myself around the 72-acres of meadow and forest, I decided to truck it back to “Middle Earth” to get some banjo-time in before I head into the music. Before I could touch my finger to a string, two strangers, in the distance were magnetized to the wood and skin of my banjo. These weren’t any two strangers, but rather a man in drag and a woman with tons of tattoos and piercings. They also carried with them some dancing utensils including: one set of fluffy orange balls and a set of iron triangles. So, I sat there and played my banjo while these festifreaks (not in a derogatory way) danced about—a good way to start the music!
Now, it’s somewhat difficult to paint a picture of what this large event was all about, but I will try and hit the major events through the photo album. One thing the photo album doesn’t illustrate is the weather and slop. Thursday and Friday brought some severe rains to the area, resulting with the festival grounds turning into a bog. In a nutshell it was NASTY…
The festival hosted many workshops including a blues workshop with Captain Luke, Whistling Britches, and Ironing Board Sam, as well as a Cajun music workshop with Eunice, Louisiana’s Pine Leaf Boys. Educational workshops such as sustainability workshop and square dance workshops were some of the others.
Festival goers gotta eat…Many food vendors set up trucks and stands for the festival attendees’ pleasure. There was barbeque, Mexican, crepes, and even breakfast. My personal favorite food item was a sandwich entitled “The Veggie Thing.” This sandwich was loaded with salad greens, onions, salsa, and a little slice of love (the secret ingredient). After stuffing your face with the festival food, it may be necessary to wash it down with a tasty beverage. For this very reason, a North Carolina native posted his soda truck in the food village. Bob Muse of Indian Trail, NC is the co-owner of Hillbilly Bob’s Soda Company, and executive soda-maker. This soda was the best damn soda I had ever had, and the best part was it was served in recycled Bush’s baked beans’ cans.
Although mother nature decided to make it rain, festival goers were not phased at all. The spring festival was a good vacate from sanity, and thankfully, the fall festival will open up the door and welcome us festifreaks, soon enough!
So with that…Peace, Love and Swirl (the symbol for Festival as coined by Griff Blakewood of Lafayette, La)!
Interpol is on tour, and they are Cat’s Cradle is presenting their stop at Disco Rodeo this Wednesday, May 4. Hurricane Julia had the opportunity to interview Daniel, the guitarist and backing vocalist for the band. Listen to her interview below and find out about the “New York sound”, music Interpol is listening to, Bono’s sunglasses, and much more!
Do you have a band that somehow changed your perception of music? I remember falling off the face of popular music in middle school after discovering last.fm. I don’t really know how things happened, but I got sucked into the vortex of independent music more quickly than I would have thought possible. I’m not proud of some of my origins- I started with Oasis, moved to Muse, swung to Paolo Nutini… I made a quick pass by Mika (yeah, I was that guy). From there, things started to get really good, though.
Peter Bjorn and John were probably the first ‘this is really good!’ band that I ever listened to. “Young Folks” is enough to get anybody off their ass and into a sunshine mood. The album Writer’s Block was a significant brick in my musical foundation, and one that I am certainly proud of. On Friday of last week, I had the opportunity to see them live at Cat’s Cradle. I of course jumped on the chance!
Bachelorette opened for them, and I was sorely disappointed with her performance. She seemed like a delightful woman, and she was of course gorgeous like all Swedish women, but the performance went awry when she encountered technical issues. She was mixing from two Macbooks and experienced software problems at least four times in her short set. These always occurred mid-song, and she would just giggle and start over. Each time, I was pulled out of the beautiful layers she was setting into motion and forced to start over with her. I have explored her LPs more after seeing the show to see what her studio sound is, and I can only conclude that she was just having a bad night. Her pleasant air and eventually beautiful performance doesn’t erase the painful awkwardness that comes with seeing a musician fail on stage over and over and over again. Elaborate visuals were projected behind her that moved in synchronization with the music, but I couldn’t help but wonder why so much time was spent on arranging those when the sound itself wasn’t even correct…
Peter Bjorn and John absolutely shined. Somehow, my friend and I managed to find standing space at the front center of the stage. It was the most perfect spot that could be imagined. Peter, the lead vocalist, was one of the most energetic musicians that I have ever seen perform. He would constantly lean over us and rip on his guitar. His dance moves were beyond epic. The band members were extremely personal with the crowd, calling one fortunate soul on stage in the middle of the concert to receive a pat on the back from Peter. Peter grabbed a microphone half way through the show and jumped into the crowd. Yes, I did grab his back. I haven’t washed my hand since!
Peter Bjorn and John played two encores. On the first, the drummer (John) returned to the stage with a banana. He attempted to capture the sounds of him chewing it as he subtly mocked the organic smuggery that sometimes exists in Carrboro. The band played reworked songs from “Living Things,” explaining that they had to improvise as their synthesizers were too heavy to fly to America. The result was chilling and wonderful! In their second encore, the band played some old favorites like “Amsterdam” and a rousing rendition of “Young Folks” commenced by Peter on the harmonica. He moved to stage-right and again dove into the crowd. I didn’t see a single person not shaking their hips in the way that only good rock can make an entire audience do. The show was wonderful.
The band stayed after their performance to sign merchandise. I purchased a remix of the Writer’s Block album featuring such awesome tunes as “Sitar Folks” and a Girl Talk remix of “Let’s Call It Off.” Of course I got my vinyl sleeve signed by the band. The night was incredible and ended a wonderful week at Cat’s Cradle that was kicked into motion by Yelle Tuesday night. Concerts like this one remind me that music is my raison d’être. Keep your ears perked for an upcoming interview with Peter Bjorn and John on WKNC!
Listen to us on your ride (or in the office, at home, outside) and you could win tickets to see Death Cab For Cutie in August! Outback Concerts presents Death Cab for Cutie playing Monday, August 8 at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre in support of their upcoming album “Codes and Keys.” Scottish indie-rock band Frightened Rabbit will open the show. Tickets for Death Cab for Cutie with Frightened Rabbit go on sale Friday, May 6 through TicketMaster.com, but all this week DJs on WKNC will be asking for the correct caller to win tickets before they go on sale!
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EOT58 Save the Frogs 4/26/11
Jacob Downey spoke with Rachel Hopkins, Wake County seventh grader, about her leadership role in protecting and raising awareness of North Carolina’s diverse frog population and efforts to have the state recognize April 29 as International Save the Frogs Day.
This week we speculate on the announced collaboration between Modest Mouse and Big Boi. We talk about PJ Harvey’s latest video project. And we review new albums by Bill Callahan and Fleet Foxes.
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Minute of Silence on WKNC
If you tune in to 88.1 FM Thursday, April 28 at 1 p.m. you will hear silence. This is not a technical difficulty. This is not dead air. It is a statement.
In partnership with 13 other radio stations, WKNC is working with College Broadcasters, Inc in an effort to:
“…bring awareness of the deep impact that the sale of student radio stations is having on campuses and their surrounding communities. CBI, who represents over 200 student media outlets, has become increasingly alarmed at the sale of student stations…
Recently, student stations have been sold, and with them the loss of local voices and content. Texas Tech University, Trevecca Nazrene University, Augustana College, Deerfield Academy and pending sales at The University of San Francisco and Vanderbilt University are all examples of student stations transferred or being transferred to non-educational operators…
The minute of silence is a first step as part of a broader effort to build awareness of the selling of student stations… Additional efforts to champion the importance of student stations will take place in the months and years ahead.”
For more information and a complete list of sold stations, click here.
Other participating schools include:
WMCO, Muskingum University
WFMU, Auricle Communications, a 501©(3) nonprofit group
WOBN, Otterbein University