WKNC 88.1 FM - North Carolina State University Student Radio1. Arkona – Solvo (Napalm)
2. Textures – Dualism (Nuclear Blast)
3. Revocation – Chaos of Forms (Relapse)
4. Opeth – Heritage Sampler (Roadrunner)
5. Mastodon – Black Tongue (Reprise)
6. Chimaira – The Age of Hell (eOne)
7. Monstro – MonstrO (Vagrant)
8. Kittie – I’ve Failed You (eOne)
9. Dir En Grey – Dum Spiro Spero (The End)
10. iwrestledabearonce – Ruining It For Everybody (Century Media)
This past weekend was packed with shows, due to Hopscotch Music Festival taking over downtown Raleigh. Sunday, a day of rest for many who attended the festival, still had its fair share of great acts. Cat’s Cradle was hosting two shows, at its own venue and at Local 506. After a long day at work, I got on I-40 and headed out toward the other side of the Triangle.
Walking into the club from Franklin Street, I realized I made it just in time for Miniature Tigers’ first song. The show started out strong, with great vocal lines atop a poppy, guitar-driven melody. As the first couple of songs passed, the crowd seemed enthused. About three or four songs in, the melodic pop started to become more synth-driven, and the crowd responded with some ridiculously nerdy and fun dance moves. Toward the end of the 45-ish minute set, the band played their most popular song, Bullfighter Jacket, to which the crowd responded in a quite unexpected way: a small mosh pit started a few feet away from me. Bizarre, right? With a few more songs (including my personal favorite, Gold Skull, which was produced by Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo), the band finished up their set, played an extremely well received, two-song encore, and invited everyone in the audience to say hi at the merge booth.
Throughout the show, Charlie Brand, the singer and guitarist, was positive and happy. He talked between songs about how Chapel Hill had become a sort of home away from home (which our station adviser can attest to…she’s seen the band seven or eight times!). He also stated that the band was going to take a break to record and spend time with their families, and that this would be their last show for a while. I think we have good things to look forward to from Miniature Tigers in a couple months; if they focus on keeping their sound interesting, I’m sure the new album will be well-received!
A few side-notes: Local 506, as always, was great. The ticket salesperson was friendly, and the sound was not muddled in the slightest. Every instrument could be distinctly heard, even when standing right next to the stage! Though I didn’t get off work in time to see the opening bands, I heard promising things about both The Grapes’ indie rock and Lilac Shadows’ shoegaze pop. From what my friends said, I think both bands have potential that hasn’t been realized yet.
This Friday evening on “The Local Beat” is going to be a fun one as we are going to try to do the show live from downtown Raleigh at Wristband City in the Sheraton Hotel for Hopscotch Music Festival. With power outages and bad Internet connections we will cross our fingers to see if we can make it work.
Hopscotch will be beginning its second day as the Local Beat takes the air and we will be joined by a variety of guests that may include WXDU’s Ross Grady, old school local band Soccer member and Lenovo Social Media Editor Gavin O’Hara, as well as several different local musicians who plan on dropping by. The conversation will focus on Hopscotch and the people and music involved in it.
It all starts at 5 p.m. with plans for the show to only last until 6 p.m. so we can all join the Dodos, who are playing live in City Plaza starting at 5:45 p.m.
Feel free to come by and watch the Local Beat from Wristband City, whether you are a Hopscotch goer or not!
As always “The Local Beat” starts at 5 p.m. every Friday evening on WKNC. Listen live here and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!
First Friday- Mark takes a look at the tradition of the First Friday bike ride and the excitement that comes with it.
Helping the Homeless- Nate explores the problem of homelessness in Raleigh and what steps are being taken to help amend it.
Hurricane Katrina Survivor- In light of North Carolina’s run-in with Hurricane Irene, Chris interviews a Hurricane Katrina survivor to get an idea of what she experienced in New Orleans.
Red Hat- In response to Red Hat’s announced move, Nick and Dave interview a Centennial Campus developer to get an idea about how the move will affect NC State University.
Poetry- Selma gathers local artists to share their poetry in Selma’s Poetry Corner.
Learning Languages- Nick and Dave talk to a linguist to find out what factors contribute to learning a language and its dialects.
Greetings! I know, the title is a little lame, but the Gigan, Pathology, Blood Red Throne and Grave show was the complete opposite. The show was Wednesday, Aug. 31 at Volume 11.
I’ll start at the beginning with Gigan. Yeah, Gigan, the monster the fought Godzilla, well he just devoured all the other bands so the show ended early….
Bad joke. For real, though, Gigan was awesome. Since appearing last in Raleigh the band has changed its line up but is still equally kick-ass. Gigan’s innovative style and talent was a strange match to Grave’s death metal feel, but they were excellent openers for the following bands.
** Sorry for any Pathology fans, I didn’t see them. I needed my eardrums for Blood Red Throne and Grave.**
Blood Red Throne DESTROYED. That is the most head banging I’ve done in a while. Norway is known for its black metal but this death metal band stands as a reminder that more comes from those snowy lands than Hades and Emperor (Ironically, past members from Emperor have graced the stage with BRT).
Finally, GRAVE. Swedish death metal. A brutal set which sealed the reputation that Northern Europe rules at playing metal. Though their albums only include three members they play live as a four piece. Two guitars, a bass and drums.
And I conclude with Magnus Mertinsson, he is the add-on member for live shows and he looks the most like Cousin It! Which is where we started, It going to a show! Well, that’s it, until next time!
-It
Arbor Ridge Studios of Chapel Hill has put together a day party for Hopscotch – but this isn’t any day party. Titled “Saved Haven” and presented in conjunction with Shuffle Magazine and WKNC, the party will present local bands at Tir Na NOg on Friday, September 9 from 12-5 p.m. Oh, and the bands will be paired together on stage.
That’s right, instead of a set of just Mandolin Orange, it’ll be a set of Mandolin Orange and Josh Moore. Not just Luego, but Luego and Wylie Hunter and the Cazadores.
The live collaborations are (in reverse order of appearance):
Sounds amazing, right? Can it get any better? Yes. While all of this magic is going on, Arbor Ridge is giving listeners a sneak peak into what’s been recorded recently at their studio.
It’s a 2-in-1 day party – collaborations + listening party – and it is a must for Hopscotch.
Local Bands (together), Local Studio, Local Magazine, Local Station, Local Pub
12-5pm, Tir Na nOg, September 9. It will be beautiful.
Of course you do! Four days of music, dance, art and education in the heart of North Carolina; what could be a better way to spend fall break?
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance is holding its Fall Festival October 6-9 in Chatham County. Over 60 bands are scheduled to perform, including Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Donna the Buffalo, Brett Dennen, Sidi Touré, The Duhks, Rosie Ledet, Nawal, Emmit-Nershi Band, Eilen Jewell, Toubab Krewe, Bearfoot, The Old Ceremony, Locos Por Juana and HOBEX.
Keep your ears open for one-day pass giveaways for you and a friend. One pair will be given away each week leading up to the festival. When the WKNC DJ asks for it, be the correct caller on our studio lines, (919) 860-0881 or (919) 515-2400.
It’s finally time for round two of Hopscotch Music Festival, coming up this weekend, September 8-10 in downtown Raleigh.
This year offers a special free day party sponsored by Port Merch – College Radio Showcase, presented by WUAG, WKNC, WXYC and WXDU. The four college radio stations are part of UNC-Greensboro, N.C. State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, respectively. The stations have collaborated to create an awesome lineup of local music from the Triangle (and slightly beyond) by each choosing one band to represent them: Nests (WKNC), Whatever Brains (WXYC), Free Electric State (WXDU) and The Bronzed Chorus (WUAG). These bands cover the genres of post-country, shoegaze, punk, experimental and indie rock.
The day party will be at White Collar Crime on Saturday, September 10, noon until five.
All Hopscotch day parties are free and require no ticket for entry. For a full list of Hopscotch’s day parties, refer to their day party schedule.
Friday, Sept. 2 on “The Local Beat” is the first live program since July and it is jammed full of some amazing guests.
Last year we had Independent Weekly Music Editor and Hopscotch Music Festival Curator Grayson Currin on the program for a full three hours to talk about the first ever Hopscotch. This year we toned it down a bit and Grayson, along with Hopscotch Marketing Director Greg Lowenhagen are coming in for one hour from 5-6 p.m. Join us as we chat about this year’s festival from the eyes of the men behind it.
At 6 p.m. local hip-hop act Kooley High is dropping in for the first time in quite awhile. The group is playing at Kings Barcade with King Mez, HaLo, and Drique London. The show is all ages and cost $1, with the starting time planned for around 10 p.m. I’ll be catching up with Kooley High and talking hip-hop.
The final hour of the show will belong to Hunter MacDermut, aka The Tourist, who is releasing a brand new 12 track album Sept. 3 at Marsh Woodwinds in Raleigh. Scott Phillips (of Goner, Monologue Bombs, and about 20 other local bands) will be opening and the show at 8 p.m. Hunter and I are going to talk about the new album and the show and spin some tracks off of it.
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!
Earthquake- This week, we discussed the earthquake that rattled the area last Tuesday. In addition to capturing student reactions, we spoke to Dr. Karl Wegmann about the specific geological details surrounding the event and what we should be concerned about.
Ramadan- As Ramadan drew to a close, we took a look at a day in the life of a fasting Muslim during Ramadan and learned about what Ramadan means to Muslims.
Brick by Brick- In the premiere of a brand new segment, we spoke to John Morris about the history and unique architecture surrounding our own Harrelson Hall. Each week, we will take a look at a different building on campus and give you the opportunity to get to know NC State, brick by brick.
Sports- Cory Smith offers his opinion on our football team’s standing and schedule this year. For more on sports, Cory hosts a sports show, Pulse of the Pack, on Wednesday nights from 7-8.
This Week In History- Dave and Nick are back with This Week In History, where they offer us all sorts of interesting events and birthdays that took place this week in history.