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Concert Review Local Music

Lost In The Trees plays to a captivated crowd

On Saturday night, little j and I ventured to the other side of the Triangle, Carrboro to catch local favorite Lost In The Trees in action at their CD Release Party at Cat’s Cradle. The band has recently signed with record label Anti- to rerecord their album All Alone In An Empty House. little j and I gave up the chance to see Inflowential for free in downtown Raleigh and hoped that our decision would not let us down. We didn’t have to worry about that because the show at the Cradle was a good time for both of us.

Local band The Strugglers started things off that night and we were both glad to have gotten to the show early enough to catch their performance. The Strugglers are local at heart, but are partly based in Washington D.C. for the time being, so catching them live in North Carolina is kind of tricky at the moment. The performance featured a nine-piece version of the band accompanied by a string quartet.

Old Bricks was next, giving a moving performance to the growing crowd at Cat’s Cradle. Live, the band sounds a lot different than what you hear on the recordings available. The sound is fiercer and contains even more emotion, if that is even possible. Old Bricks ended the set with a brutal beat on drums by different members of the band, and WOW was it a great end.

Lost In The Trees was the final band of the night and the obvious one everyone was waiting for. Combining old favorites with a couple of new, jazz-inspired songs accompanied by a guest tenor saxophonist, the band sounded pristine in the dark room at Cat’s Cradle. I think the only song I failed to hear was “Love On My Side”, but the good thing about a band being local is that you’re sure to catch them here again (Lost In The Trees is playing at TRKfest in Pittsboro on June 26.)

Over all, little j and I had a grand time going to Carrboro to catch some amazing local acts. Being caught in that freak thunderstorm after might be the only negative thing about Saturday night…

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Miscellaneous

WKNC supports Artsplosure

This past weekend the promotions team at WKNC ran a table at Artsplosure.  The two day event at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh was celebrating its 31st year of free art and concerts, and WKNC was on hand to support the music on the North Carolina Stage.  One of three stages set up for the event, the North Carolina Stage featured music from a variety of genres including jazz, zydeco, hip-hop, and even mariachi.

WKNC gave out koozies and stickers and took donations in support of the Visual Art Exchange for copies of the local music compilation, Hear Here.  The event was a great success and helped show why Raleigh is such a great town for art and music.  Stay tuned to the promotions blog for where WKNC will be next!

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Music News and Interviews

Passion Pit Giveaway

Do you love Passion Pit?  So do we.  That’s why all this week we’re going to be giving away pairs of tickets to see Passion Pit on June 11 at The Fillmore Charlotte.  If you want to win tickets, listen in and be the first caller to correctly identify the Passion Pit song clip when the DJ asks for it.  Tickets for the show are also available at Live Nation.

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Concert Preview Local Music

Local Beer Local Band for May 20

Looking for great local music? You never have to look further than Thursday nights at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub for Local Beer Local Band. This Thursday, May 20, WKNC and Tir Na Nog host Durham’s Brett Harris, Mount Moriah from Chapel Hill and Raleighites Jack the Radio. As always, the fun starts at 10 p.m. and it’s free.

The show poster isn’t one of ours, but it’s damn good.

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Concert Review

Josh Ritter at Carolina Theatre

I had the opportunity to acquire tickets to the Josh Ritter concert on Tuesday, May 11 at Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC through the amazing giveaways on WKNC.

We sat on the balcony level, which only somewhat took away from the concert’s intimacy, something I have grown fond of in some of the Triangle’s smaller venues. I knew the night would turn out well as I sat down and found the pre-show music to be Spoon’s Transference. The opening was an adorable 3 person folk group called  Dawn Landes and the Hounds, which I found out to be Josh Ritter’s wife’s band. Their pieces were upbeat and about memories, love and lollipops. They were all too excited to show off their new toy, those awesome bells you can play with your feet! I, along with the rest of the full house, really enjoyed their music and the energy they exuded.

from http://www.dawnlandes.com/newsite/index.html

Interesting fact about Josh Ritter – he went to Oberlin College (a school I applied to!), intending to major in neuroscience. Instead, he changed his major to American history through narrative folk music. He certainly practiced what he learned in that small Ohio liberal arts college at his show Tuesday night. Songs about war, radio, old men, and stories of the stars filled the air. Ritter and the Royal City Band kept the crowd pleased, whether it be with mournful ballads like “Folk Bloodbath”, to more upbeat and borderline rock numbers, to the Josh Ritter I know and love with “To The Dogs or Whoever” and “Good Man.” No matter the genre of choice, the crowd was extremely responsive to the 5 person band. My only complaint is with the band playing background music at parts– clearly providing musical sounds not produced by any member of the band at that time.

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band kept a consistent pace of music, usually allowing themselves one slow song and two upbeat folk or twanging southern rock. There was a different feel as Josh Kaufman, of The Hounds, recited Edgar Allen Poe’s Annabel Lee to a background of contra bass and steel guitar as provided by The Royal City Band as a set up for the Josh Ritter song “Another New World”. In between songs Ritter kept up a jovial banter for the audience– discussing mustaches, Baby Spice, and his need to brush his hair.

As Ritter left the stage, the crowd of course demanded more. Ritter then played a three part encore consisting of a song dedicated to Matt Douglas of The Proclivities, a love song that included all members of The Hounds and The Royal City Band behind the musical couple, Josh Ritter and Dawn Landes, and of course, “Harrisburg”.

All in all, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band put on a great show. The crowd loved them, and all of the members of both bands seemed to rightfully enjoy themselves too.

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Weekly Charts

Top 10 Afterhours/RPM albums on WKNC

# Artist Album Label
#1 HOT CHIP One Life Stand Astralwerks
#2 GORILLAZ Plastic Beach Virgin
#3 NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB The Optimist The Numbers
#4 FOUR TET There Is Love In You Domino
#5 VARIOUS ARTISTS Five Years Of Dirtybird Dirtybird
#6 JAVELIN No Más Luaka Bop
#7 TOBACCO Maniac Meat Anticon
#8 SUGAR AND GOLD Get Wet! Antenna Farm
#9 FELIX CARTAL Popular Music Dim Mak
#10 JES High Glow Ultra
Categories
Non-Music News

Artspace to hold annual fundraiser, Bowerbirds to sweeten the pot

Artspace, the downtown Raleigh-based visual arts center, will hold its 2nd annual Give and Take fundraiser tomorrow evening.  Artspace is a non-profit “creativity impresario,” if you will, providing all ages with an accessible and welcoming outlet for artistic expression since 1986.

Tomrrow (Thursday, May 13) will be the 2nd installment of their initiative to provide scholarships to the Artspace Summer Arts Program to area children.  Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase artwork and donate to the cause. The findraiser starts at 7pm, and local favorites the  Bowerbirds are set to perform at 9pm; tickets are available at Artspace (201 East Davie Street), by phone at 919.821.2787, and at the door. Full details are available here.

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Music News and Interviews

SoundOff6 Broken Social Scene- Forgiveness Rock Record

This week’s rather short episode of SoundOff instead of talking news (weird scheduling of this week’s show) we talk about some of the latest things we’ve been listening to. This week we review the latest from Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record.

Listen to episode 6.

Categories
Non-Music News

Nashville needs your help

Many of you may have heard about the recent flooding in Nashville, Tennessee due to torrential rains.  While the rains have come and gone, the water still hasn’t.  I visit Nashville frequently to see friends and can’t help thinking now, seeing pictures of flooded streets, how I was just there last in October.  Fortunately, my friends are fine; however, many individuals and businesses in Nashville are not.  Places I saw just six months ago are now awash with muddy floodwater.  The Grand Ole Opry has had to relocate temporarily, and Vanderbilt University has had to postpone their exams.

Nashville is Music City, USA, and it is disheartening to think what might be lost if they don’t receive the help they so desperately need.  Clean-up will undoubtedly take time, but it is important that we remember our neighbors to the west and do what we can so they can get back to making music and everyday life as soon as possible.  If you’re looking for ways to help, you can contact Hands On Nashville or the Middle Tennessee Red Cross.  Nashvillest also has information on their website about ways to help as well as resources for victims in case someone you know or love was affected.

Categories
Local Music Miscellaneous

WKNC at PBaRt

Friday night, WKNC promotions team members headed out to DesignBox Gallery in downtown Raleigh in order to provide a presence at the PBaRt Show and Concert, part of Raleigh’s First Friday.  The event was a partnership between Pabst Blue Ribbon and Paul Friedrich, during which local music and other art were showcased.  Kellie Ann Grubbs, Monologue Bombs, and Lake Inferior all took turns putting on amazing performances while artists created new works and the WKNC team got the word out about our great programming and support for local creativity.

WKNC koozies were especially popular during the evening, but the promotions team also gave away t-shirts, stickers, and Hear Here compilation CDs with all proceeds going to the Visual Art Exchange.  Everyone had a great time and the event seemed to be a great success.

Catch the WKNC promotions team out and about again downtown next weekend, May 15 and 16 at Artsplosure in Moore Square!