WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student RadioThis episode, we provide coverage on the Raleigh elections taking place on October 11th, including interviews with two of the three mayoral candidates, and a school board candidate from district 8. We discuss the two bonds also up for approval next week and the Occupy Raleigh movement. We also got some elections-related soundbytes from around campus, and as always, the weather.
North Carolina is on point with fall music festivals – in September, Raleigh hosted Hopscotch Music Festival. This weekend, Pittsboro will have Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival. At the end of the month, Moogfest will reign in Asheville.
Moogfest, named for Bob Moog, the inventor of the Moog synthesizer who was a research professor at UNC-Asheville, is back for its annual music festival during the weekend of October 28 – 30. Different venues across Asheville’s downtown will host The Flaming Lips, STS9, Passion Pit, TV on the Radio and many more. In addition to a packed lineup, there will also be artists in panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and workshops. One thing I’m particularly excited about is the opportunity, in honor of Moog himself, to try out a variety of Moog instruments. There will also be visual art exhibitions, installations, and film screenings.
WKNC has two pairs of weekend passes to give away for this event – but it will take a little luck! Each day until October 21, one WKNC DJ will do a giveaway to get a listener put into a drawing the tickets. During Local Lunch on October 21, DJ Kligz will do the drawing live on-air and announce the recipients of the weekend passes.
Go ahead and put our studio lines on speed dial so when the WKNC DJ asks for it, you’ll be ready to win!
(919) 860-0881 or (919) 515-2400
Consider this an introduction, partly because many of you may have never visited nor even heard of the lovely Brudenell Social Club. The main reason for this is because it is in Leeds, England, where I, DJ Ones, am currently stationed for my year on exchange. I found myself looking for great music clubs in this fine city and stumbled across the Brudenell Social Club, where I learned that KNC favorite Megafaun had played a handful of days before my arrival in the U.K. When I heard that Male Bonding would be playing a couple of days later on Oct. 1, I grabbed a new friend with a funny accent and headed over to the Brudenell.
After the doors opened at 7:30 p.m. and four local bands played with mixed reactions from the crowd, Male Bonding finally took the stage in this modestly-sized baseball field-shaped club.
Coming off of the release of their new, cleaner sounding album Endless Now I wondered how their new material would translate to the scruffy sound of their live shows. The show itself highlighted the best of this relatively new band’s already impressive two albums. A mixture of sounds from their previous two records leaned towards the fulfilling and more abrasive rock sound of their debut Nothing Hurts. This combined with the scrappy tracks of their debut produced a cohesive and enjoyable rock experience.
About halfway through the set I realized what was at the heart of some of their best material: the percussion section. From the visceral bass introduction to songs like “Weird Feelings” to the faster drums of “Year’s Not Long,” the sound came across with both style and substance. Fast-paced, upbeat, and to the point, Male Bonding put on one hell of a live show filled with few breaks and constant excitement.
It was with the last song, “Year’s Not Long,” that ended the night on a high note. Male Bonding provided a set full of controlled chaos: a fine balance of frantic instrumentals and cohesive songwriting. The sound in the Brudenell was great, Male Bonding was a bottle of energy, and their set was satisfying and memorable as a first for myself in the U.K.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/12024458[/vimeo]
The poetic guitar riffs of Fang Island resonated through the air and walls of Cat’s Cradle as we (Da Bear, Hot Tamale, MayDay, and Sarahnade) rolled up to the club. The energy of Fang Island was contagious, as the crowd danced and continuously banged their heads. Fang Island consists of three electric guitar players, a drummer, and bassist. Their skill on guitar was evident as they passed the lead lines from player to player, each player equally capable of shredding on guitar at incredible rates. The crowd responded most vehemently when the band broke out into their song “Daisy.” They were a great opening band to prepare the crowd for The Joy Formidable.
The Joy Formidable, hailing from Wales, contains only three members but their stage presence and performance was not indicative of this basic setup. The front woman, lead vocal, and electric guitar, Ritzy Bryan, was seemingly innocent and coy when not playing but turned into a fierce and erratic musician upon the start of the first song. With wide eyes she communicated intensity to the crowd. Their music was surprisingly thick and layered for a three-person band. It was all encompassing but not overwhelming.
The largest reaction from the crowd came during “The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade.” They continuously made strong efforts to connect with the audience and were very appreciative of the support given. The concert gained momentum throughout and finally climaxed during the last song in a whirl of energy including thrown drum sticks, distorted guitars, and a semi-destroyed stage. The crowd brought them back on for an incredible encore of one last 10-minute song. When finished the band and crowd seemed truly exhausted and satisfied by the inconceivable performance.
Da Bear, Hot Tamale
First, Nick Lowe is cool. As Jeff Tweedy said when Lowe came out to accompany Wilco for two songs (including one of his own), “It’s okay to like Nick Lowe.” He was a perfect opener. He played solo, just him and his pretty, old Hummingbird. Sure, this is the guy that people mostly (if not only) know for “Cruel to Be Kind,” and that seemed to be the main criticism of him I was hearing. But I scoffed at these doubters – these fools would doubt anyone that Wilco choose to play with them. His guitaring was smooth, his lyrics were smart, and he was cool. Supreme.
Now, Wilco. "Who’s your favorite band" can be a pesky question if you don’t have a ready answer. Wilco’s been mine since early high school. This span of favoritism has included weeks without their music and days of listening only to them, but even when I’m not listening to Wilco I know that I’d like to be. With 75 of their songs on my iTunes, adding up to more than five hours and 19 albums (and EPs, Singles, Compilations, etc.), they surely outnumber any other artist. (This doesn’t even include Loose Fur or any other side projects.) Plenty of their 4+ minute songs have over 30 plays, and the star ratings… plentiful. I love them.
So, hooray for Raleigh. We hosted Wilco’s new album (The Whole Love) release party, and we got a shout-out for housing their merchandiser, Kung Fu Nation. Many of my Wilco-friends thought The Whole Love has restored their faith in the band, and it’s their favorite album since (blablabla yadayadayada), etc. Yes, the new album kicks ass, but for me, so do the old albums–all of them. Songs from their Wilco album already feel like classics, and hell, so do half the songs from their newest album. They proved their range of greatness with a killer set and a magnificent encore. There’s nothing like knowing every song. This is their set list as recorded by me (comment corrections if necessary):
1. Art of Almost
2. I Might
3. Rising Red Lung
4. Ashes of American Flags
5. Bull Black Nova
6. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
7. One Wing
8. Dawned On Me
9. Born Alone
10. Impossible Germany
11. Say You Miss Me
12. Whole Love
13. Pot Kettle Black
14. Handshake Drugs
15. War on War
16. Black Moon
17. One Sunday Morning
Encore
Shot In The Arm
Jesus, Etc.
36 Inches High (Song by Nick Lowe, with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (with Nick Lowe)
Red-Eyed and Blue
Walkin’
I’m The Man Who Loves You
One hell of a night. Tweedy called it out himself. Honestly, though… it could’ve been a little louder (and I had great, close seats). I’ll be glad to see them as many times as I can. They produce a poster for every single concert they put on. If that’s not some indication for how much they care about their shows, I’m not sure what is. You can always count on bits of Tweedy’s character in between songs. This evening was not filled with rants between each song, but there were a few gems to prove how personable he can be (plAAAtinum).
Over these next two weeks Local Band – Local Beer will be doing a special giveaway for World Beer Festival! Winners will receive two tickets for the festival that takes place on October 8th! There will be two giveaways TONIGHT and two next week – that gives you four chances to win!
The festival features over 300 beers from 100 different breweries, music by local bands, and education sessions by industry experts!
The festival will take place October 8th at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
To win, come down this week or next (or both) to Local Band – Local Beer. This weeks artists are Cellar Seas and The Toddlers, next week features Temperance League, The Demon Beat, and the P-90’s.
Local Band – Local Beer is held every Thursday at 10pm at Tir Na NOg in downtown Raleigh!
Come and win!
This week’s EOT features news from Shack-a-thon, Over the Edge, Selma’s Poetry Corner and more.
1. Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
2. Chelsea Grin – My Damnation (Razor and Tie)
3. Absu – Abraxas Connexus (Candlelight)
4. Textures – Dualism (Nuclear Blast)
5. Chimaira – The Age Of Hell (eOne)
6. Opeth – Heritage Sampler (Roadrunner)
7. Hatesphere – The Great Bludgeoning (Napalm)
8. Kittie – I’ve Failed You (eOne)
9. Kyng – Trampled Sun (ILG)
10. Slot – Break the Code (Neurodisc)
What to say about the Fleet Foxes concert? I don’t think I have ever been that wet in my entire life. There was a torrential downpour the entire concert, or what there was of a concert.
I arrived at the Raleigh Amphitheater toward the end of The Walkmen, the opening act. At this point the rain was fairly mild and I had a rain jacket and a towel so I was prepared. By the time Fleet Foxes started, the downpour began. They began by playing songs from their new album, Helplessness Blues. The rain made for a unique atmosphere. People wearing trash bags, people without shirts or shoes. Everyone was soaked. But people made the most of it, and at one point there was a parade of fans dancing and singing through the venue in the rain.
I enjoy all of Fleet Foxes’ albums but I have a special connection to their self titled album, so when they started playing songs from that one I was in bliss. They played “Your Protector” and “Ragged Wood.” Then suddenly, in the middle of “Ragged Wood” a speaker blew out. Fleet Foxes tried to continue playing but they had to stop. Then they said they had to take a break until the storm passed. So in the downpour we waited in limbo, not knowing whether the storm was going to pass at all. At that point, my rain jacket and dress were soaked through and I was dripping water. The storm started to get the best out of some people and fans began to gradually trickle out. My friends and I were stubborn and did not want to be defeated by Mother Nature, so us and other fans just stood in the rain hoping it would let up so we could hear some Fleet Foxes.
Fleet Foxes had to cover up all their equipment and were also just standing on the side of the stage hoping the storm would pass. After a while, the rain let up but they announced that they had to wait for the lightning to stop in order to play. Looking up at the sky I saw that there was lightning every five seconds or so, so it did not seem hopeful. A tech guy then came up to a microphone and stated that another storm was coming so Fleet Foxes would not be able to play again. The lead singer of Fleet Foxes then came onto the microphone and explained that they were sorry and if they could play, they would. He also complimented us Raleigh fans on being awesome for standing through the storm. He claimed they would try to make it back to Raleigh soon, and he sounded sincere.
Later on their Twitter they wrote “Raleigh: you were the most amazing audience we’ve ever had the honor to hang with, sticking it out in that crazy storm tonight.” And “Seeing you people in Raleigh tonight made me more proud to be a part of this than any other thing we’ve done. #thankyou #fucknature”
So in the end, the Fleet Foxes concert was definitely an experience, although the experience didn’t include as much music as I had hoped for.
This evening on the Local Beat we are having another jam-packed show with three hours of local music goodness.
One of my favorite bands in the area, Mandolin Orange, is starting off the program at 5 p.m. to chat about their new double album that is being released at Cat’s Cradle on Saturday, Sept. 24. The album is entitled Haste Make/Hard Hearted Stranger and was recorded at two different studios in the past year. According to their website,
“Haste Make was recorded with Jeff Crawford and James Wallace in winter 2010/2011 at Arbor Ridge Studios West in Franklin, NC and at Arbor Ridge Studios in Chapel Hill, and was produced by Jeff Crawford and Mandolin Orange. Hard-Hearted Stranger was recorded in summer 2011 at Rubber Room Studios in Chapel Hill and features Andrew and Emily alone, produced by Andrew Marlin.”
The Tenderfruit are opening for Mandolin Orange at 9 p.m. and tickets are only $10.
I will try to coerce Emily and Andrew to play some live tracks for us on the radio so you don’t want to miss out on that treat.
6 p.m. brings in ‘80s Chapel Hill dream poppers, The Veldt, who are playing a show at the Southland Ballroom this evening at 9:30 p.m. You might remember these guys from their amazing 1994 release Afrodisiac or the follow up LP in 1998, Love at First Hate (or maybe you don’t). Regardless, they are local legends and it is going to be an absolute thrill and honor to have them on the Local Beat, especially since they rarely ever perform live. We will be talking about the history of the band, their scene, their connection to CBS’s hit show, Survivor, and all things in between. Doors at the Southland Ballroom are opening at 8 p.m. with music starting at 9:30. Brooklyn-based Your 33 Black Angels and Chapel Hill group 100 Yorktown are starting the show and tickets are only $10. In addition, the band is encouraging everyone to film the concert and email the footage to theveldtrocks@gmail.com for an upcoming DVD.
The last hour of the program will feature yet another local music festival, our fourth on the program in the last three weeks. Sara Waters, co-coordinator of Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival, is stopping by to chat about this fall’s festival, which will take place October 6-9 in the woods and fields of Pittsboro, N.C. Shakori Hills has long been a staple in central North Carolina, with two festivals each year. We are going to play music from bands and musicians featured at this fall’s event. Sara and I are also going to talk about the history of Shakori Hills, some fun things going on at the festival this year, and be giving away free tickets. You don’t want to miss this final hour.
As always, “The Local Beat” starts at 5 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m. every Friday evening on WKNC. Listen live here and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!