Robert Earl Keen gave Sweet Annie Rich a call and, in spite of Sweet Annie Rich’s technology issues, gave a spectacular interview. He talked about his time at a big Ag university (Texas A&M) similar to NCSU, his favorite song lyrically, and how touring with Reckless Kelly and the Randy Rogers Band is just a mix of “all the right ingredients.”
Category: Blog
This Thursday will be a New Raleigh Showcase of three lovable acts: Bright Young Things, Gray Young, and Heads on Sticks. WKNC and Tir Na nOg are happy to bring you this FREE, 21 and up event every week. Music starts at 10 p.m. Grab yourself a tasty local brew (they’re on special!) and enjoy some local live music.
With their music famously described as “The Beatles on a really bad day,” there is something especially charming about this music group.
“Raleigh’s Gray Young (who, for the record, use vocals, but in a largely textural way) makes its anthems say a lot in very little time, and such careful editing and composition amps the intensity.” -The Independent
Check out their free download for the track “Mocking Bird” too!
Expect an ACTION PACKED interview with Bright Young Things this Thursday at 7 p.m.!
Halloween in the triangle area is always a must-experience event. As luck would have it, one of my favorite bands, Caribou, played at Cat’s Cradle on Sunday night, so it was guaranteed to be even more celebratory than usual! Costumed characters adorned the streets; walking to the venue, I saw several renderings of Gaga, Devo, and even a fleet of dominoes. The costumes flowed into Cat’s Cradle as well. To my right was a feathery albatross, behind me, a gory zombie. The night was off to a festive start.
As Veelee opened at Cat’s Cradle, the crowd went wild. I’m a new-comer to the Raleigh music scene, so it was my first time hearing their groovy dance beats, but I was instantly hooked. I’m proud to say that they are now in my music library. “When you gonna come home,” and I was already dancing… on the opening act.
After a swift set break, Emeralds played. Boy, did they perform. Every newly synthesized chord was a new revelation—Animal Collective in the style of Philip Glass, who wouldn’t love that? The shimmery instrumental hodgepodge of beautiful textures rained down. My legs were going rubbery from breaking it down, the crowd moving in rhythm. And Caribou hadn’t even been spotted yet.
The headliner of the night played a flawless show spotted with familiar songs with a few throwbacks to their older albums. “Odessa” was of course a crowd favorite, but I adored hearing “Sun” live. The band members were of course in costume, each wearing awesome camouflage suits. It worked—I barely saw them. I was too occupied with dancing at a great show.
Last night, Friday November 6, was the second night of three for Troika Music Festival in Durham, NC. As of this moment, I have watched and photographed 11 bands, and tonight I’ll photograph 6 or 7 more. It’s been an incredible journey for me thus far. First of all, I’ve never driven in downtown Durham, let alone in the dark and in the rain. So the musical rewards were that much more delicious after I circled miles of blocks countless times.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
I’ve been blown away by the epic sounds of Old Bricks in the tiny space of The Pinhook. They radiated so much joyous energy for the creation of music, I have a feeling they forgot we were all standing there listening. I don’t typically like bands that are more noise-based and less lyrical, but they touched a part of my soul.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Later, I sat on the stage next to Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony as he played acoustic guitar standing on the top of a chair because the sound system gave out, and he wanted to make sure everyone could here and see. He entranced the entire audience with his raw voice, honest lyrics, and witty jokes, mostly making fun of himself. He has a list of over a hundred songs that he was sporadically picking from, and he shared with us the back story to The Old Ceremony most recent release, Wither on the Vines, and he sang a song that he wrote for a girl-rock band in New York.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
I was introduced to a new band that had my calves sore I was bouncing around so much. Onward, Soldier has one of the most talented groups of local musicians I’ve probably seen. The lead singer, Sean, has a soft face with an innocent air, but he plays and sings with such intensity, you’d think he was 6’6. I expect the drum to fall through the stage he was rockin’ so hard, and the second guitar ripped with fingers of gold. There’s no better way to instill love in an audience than to show your own love in the making of music. They had so much energy, such happiness, I was completely taken by their performance.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
But out of the eleven bands I have thus far seen, nothing can compare to the performance of Mandolin Orange. The male/female duo step onto the stage of Fullsteam Brewery with a fiddle, two guitars, and a mandolin. Their presence truly speaks to the power of music that has nothing to do with sound or technique. They made me believe them. I believed in the beauty of the fiddle and the simplistic elegance of an acoustic guitar. I believed that two vocal harmonies singing just the right words could transform a room into a sanctuary. Andrew has a calming presence with long curly hair, but his voice resonates with a deep, slightly twangy serenity. Emily is infallibly beautiful, but nothing in comparison to her radiance while holding a fiddle. This is the duo to watch, and I know I’ll be looking out for their next show.
I will be perfectly happy if I never listen to another band from outside of North Carolina. This state is overflowing with talent in every genre, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.
In an email sent out earlier this week, the folks behind Hopscotch Music Festival announced the dates for next year’s festival. Go ahead and mark your calendars, for the festival will return to downtown Raleigh on September 8-10, 2011. The email notes to keep an eye on the fest’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as its website, for updates on Hopscotch, round two.
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week 10/15, written by Mason Morris, WKNC Operations Manager
If you have seen the French film Amélie, you perhaps recall its vivid colors, quirky dialog, touching plot and most certainly its soundtrack. The violin, accordion, piccolo, xylophone and tambourine just begin to comprise its emotional tsunami of sound. It floats spirits, it drowns souls and it moves the viewer with sound as much as the cinematography does with sight. From the highs of “Les Jours Tristes” to the devastating crash of “La Valse D’Amélie,” each piece from the soundtrack pulls the strings of the listener’s heart. Fans of the Amélie soundtrack should be delighted to learn that the composer Yann Tiersen’s masterpieces did not start, and have not dropped off with his premier film score. Tiersen’s most recent studio release is titled Dust Lane, and it serves as his formal American debut. After my first listen through, I can only attempt to fathom why he did not appear sooner. The notes on the cover of the album share it’s dedication to the artist’s mother and Dédé Lafleur, both whom were dear to him and died at the time of writing and recording. These close sentiments are reflected throughout the pieces in an imaginative expression of love and dedication. The album begins with “Amy,” a song peppered with beeps and blips as a vessel lost in the stream of life searches for guidance and some solidarity.
This murky start clears as a glimpse of hope, rare to the album, crescendos into further chaos. “Sinking, sinking,” Tiersen laments. An end, presumably death, has been revealed to the man, as his music transitions to a drearier tone. The listener is led through a cloud of deeply personal confusion from here to the album’s conclusion. Dust Lane ostracizes Yann Tiersen’s previously known musical style with a mélange of synthesizers and heavy guitar riffs. The change is both genius and welcome.
“Palestine,” a politically charged, yet emotional, song from the album, puts Tiersen and colleagues spelling the state’s name repeatedly behind a haze of melody that dissolves as all structure falls. From Tiersen’s label, ANTI-, comes his description of the track. “I ended my last tour in Gaza City, and realized that even in the most unfair situation there is hope. It is when surrounded by mess and dust that everything comes to life again,” Tiersen said. Percussion and interference set a background as vocals intensify, eventually misspelling and entirely collapsing the idea – Palestine.
Tiersen succeeds in delivering his message to audiences with grace and beauty that is sure to cause chills. Yann Tiersen’s album does not end on an entirely negative note. “Till The End” is its penultimate track, and it is haunted by gorgeous ethereal singing, spiraling screeches, piano solos and a gleaming resolution. Perhaps all will be okay. Perhaps one can only move on. The piece transitions into the finale, “F*** Me,” where the album’s climax rests. “Love me, love me, and make me love again,” Tiersen begs in a major key. The end is not nigh for all. In an unmistakably complex way, the musical artist finds solace in the comfort of his partner and sings to her. Good music is listened to, but great music is experienced. Tiersen succeeds at this on all fronts in a brilliant album that must be listened to by all.
88.1 WKNC Pick of the Week is published in every Friday in the print edition of Technician, as well as online at technicianonline.com and wknc.org.
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Homecoming with WKNC!
It’s that time of year again—and WKNC is helping the Pack get ready to beat Wake Forest!
NC State Homecoming 2010: No Wake Zone kicks off this Sunday, November 7, at 4 p.m. on Harris Field (corner of Cates and Dan Allen on NC State’s campus). WKNC will be among other organizations participating in the festivities, as well as supplying music for the event. Come out to meet your favorite deejays, get free t-shirts, free food, and more!
For the full schedule of Homecoming week events, check out NC State Homecoming’s facebook.
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EOT48 Election Night 11/2/10
The EOT crew covers early election results live from the polls, previews the designers for Couture for a Cause and interviews the organizers of Durham’s Troika Music Festival.
This coming Friday on the Local Beat I am dedicating two hours of the show to Troika Music Festival. Of course by the time the interview airs the festival will be well underway since it is beginning tonight. Melissa Thomas and Stuart Horne came in to pre-record the interview with me earlier in the week and I felt that it was important to share our conversation before Friday evening and before Troika begins. Among many things we chatted about the history of the event, compared it to Hopscotch, and discussed what is going on differently in this years festival. Give it a listen below:
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Local Beat preview 11/5/10
Friday evening on the Local Beat will be one you surely do not want to miss.
The first hour of the program Chapel Hill band the Light Pines are coming on to talk with us about a plethora of topics as we promote their First Friday show at Tir na Nog alongside 12000 Armies and Nudehues. The Light Pines are almost finished with their debut 10 track album and we will talk about that in plenty. Also stick around and listen as we chat about their connections with the Love Language and their future touring plans.
From 6pm-8pm I am dedicating two hours to the Troika Music Festival in downtown Durham. Melissa Thomas and Stuart Horne dropped by earlier in the week to pre-record the two hour interview and it was rather entertaining. You can go ahead and listen to that interview here, but you can only listen to the Troika bands during the airing of the interview!
As always, the Local Beat is every Friday evening from 5pm-8pm right here on WKNC. You can also listen online here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and ReverbNation!