The Height
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Nuclear Power Pants
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Lonnie Walker
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Category: Blog
Independent Weekly’s Grayson Currin describes Baltimore band Nuclear Power Pants as “heavy psychedelic pop, with thick group vocals piled over sheets of synthesizers and stacks of riveted percussion.” Tonight’s Local Beer Local Band at Tir Na Nog is the second of a three-night gig featuring Nuclear Power Pants with Baltimore neighbors Height and local boys Lonnie Walker.
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WKNC welcomes new general manager
The North Carolina State University Student Media Board of Directors has selected Tommy Anderson, a junior in political science from Concord, as the new general manager of WKNC 88.1 FM. Since joining the staff in fall 2008, Anderson has held numerous positions at the station, including board operator, daytime music assistant and personnel director. He most recently served as the station’s program director. Anderson begins his one year term Thursday, April 1. Anderson replaces Rocky Mount senior Mike Alston, who will graduate in May with a degree in civil engineering. Kieran Moreira, WKNC’s promotions director since Jan. 2009, will take over as program director.
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The Road Went On Forever…
…and that party, it still hasn’t ended.
Oh, listeners of Americana Blues & Co – you know how I love me some Robert Earl Keen. The man was back in town, hitting the Lincoln to play for the usual crowd of drunks, fun-lovers, and good-time aficionados. In fact, it appears the NCSU student body president Jim Ceresnak is a fan. I didn’t know he was right behind me until my helpful brother informed me after the show.
But, on to the show!
Sons of Bill opened up and, like last November, showed that they can hold their own.
These are a group of good ol’ boys from Virginia with a sound that pulls together influence from outlaw country with a dose of Gram Parsons.
When REK and his band came on stage, the audience was in for a big surprise. They played a lineup of lesser-known, lesser-played songs. The people expecting him to tear through No. 2 Live Dinner looked a little confused and certainly didn’t know the words, but some (like me) were thrilled to hear some favorites that we thought we’d never hear live. (Mine is “The Raven and the Coyote,” by the by.)
The best part of a Keen show, in my opinion, is just letting go and having fun. This is a band of seasoned pros who know how to put on an excellent show. Next time you’re in town, give ‘em a try. I know I’ll be there.
The Independent Weekly announced the line-up for its first Hopscotch Music Festival today. The festival will take place in downtown Raleigh on September 9, 10 and 11 2010. Headlining the festival are Public Enemy, Panda Bear and Broken Social Scene. A plethora of local favorites will be playing as well.
Here’s a list of the bands scheduled to play the festival, with more to be released April 12:
9th Wonder & Friends, Active Child, All Tiny Creatures, American Aquarium, Americans in France, Atlas Sound, Balmorhea, Bear in Heaven, Best Coast, Birds of Avalon, Black Congo NC, DJ George Brazil, Broken Social Scene, Brutal Knights, Richard Buckner, Burning Star Core, Cannabis Corpse, Caitlin Cary’s Small Ponds with Tres Chicas, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Cults, Greg Davis, Double Dagger, Double Negative, The Dynamite Brothers, EAR PWR, ExMonkeys, First Rate People, Followed by Static, Ben Frost, Fucked Up, Future Islands, Golden Boys, The Golden Filter, Goner, Gray Young, Ryan Gustafson, Hammer No More the Fingers, Harlem, Harvey Milk, Horseback, John Howie Jr. & The Rosewood Bluff, I Was Totally Destroying It, Javelin, Jeb Bishop Trio, Juan Huevos, Kill the Noise, The Kingsbury Manx, Kooley High, Kylesa, The Light Pines, Lonnie Walker, The Love Language, Lucero, Luego, Max Indian, Erin McKeown, Megafaun, Midtown Dickens, The Moaners, The Monologue Bombs, Motor Skills, Mountains, Jon Mueller, Marissa Nadler, No Age, Ocean, Old Bricks, Panda Bear, Pattern Is Movement, Pictureplane, Plague, Pontiak, Public Enemy, The Rosebuds, Schooner, Sightings, spcl gst, Spider Bags, Thien, Tigercity, Tortoise, Treasure Fingers, US Christmas, Sharon Van Etten, Veelee, Vincent Black Shadow, War on Drugs, Washed Out, Weedeater, Whatever Brains, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yip-Yip.
Tickets go on sale April 1. For more information, check out this article from the Independent Weekly.
Cynic will release a new EP titled Re-Traced on May 18 that I and I know many other prog fans have been looking forward to. Ever since the release of Traced In Air, we the fans have been eagerly awaiting to see what these masterminds have planned for us. While the EP will not consist of new work, it will have four of the best songs re-imagined by the band, as well as one new track. I got to hear this one track live, and I instantly fell in love with it. The song was “Wheels Within Wheels”, and it is an epic spiraling song of beauty with guitars and drums woven together to make a tapestry you can lose yourself in. Cynic only seems to be getting better with each album, and they are turning out to be one of the most creative bands to tour and release music. They constantly evolve and don’t let the idea of genre force them to write music they don’t want to. I cannot wait for this EP to come out, and I certainly cannot wait for the new full length to come out. Let us just hope we don’t have to wait another 15 years for a new album. I have included at the bottom, fan footage taken of their new song. I apologize for the sound quality, but thanks to MetalInjection.com for having a good version, because apparently mine is to big of a file size.
Cynic-“Wheels Within Wheels”
The excellent Chapel Hill music label Holidays For Quince Records, run by Heather McEntire, Jenks Miller, and Hannah Smith, has just released a free compilation for download. Titled Holidays For Quince Records, Compilation Vol. 1, it features 12 tracks, some new and/or previously unreleased, from the label’s varied acts, including the riot-grrrl-meets-sixties-pop of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, doom metal guitar (and bass and drum) heroes Caltrop, the always ferocious Double Barrel Benefit vets Bellafea, and an epic 16-minute-long track from experimental metal group In The Year Of The Pig, among others. You can stream or download the compilation here and, if you like what you hear, head on over to the HFQ store, buy some records, and support one of the area’s finest cultural institutions
After a 12-hour driving marathon from Raleigh to Miami, my heart was broken to find that due to forces beyond my control, I wasn’t going to make it to Ultra. What is Ultra? Ultra is one of the biggest electronic music festivals in the world. Attracting huge names like Benny Benassi, Crystal Method, Infected Mushroom, Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, ATB, Groove Armada, Eric Prydz, Orbital, LMFAO, and more. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed about not being able to go. Well, not for long…
You see, when you get hundreds of great DJs together in a city like Miami, something wonderful and magical happens in a certain place that you would normally never find me – clubs. With these DJs in town, clubs suddenly have access to some of the best DJs around who play some of the greatest music you will ever hear. I’ve picked out a few shows that I really enjoyed and thought would be worth sharing.
One of the first shows I attended featured the duo of Armand Van Helden and A-Trak. Together, known as Duck Sauce. These guys complemented each other’s style perfectly. Their set began with a solid beat that you could feel and easily move your body to. It featured the typical funky house music with a kick of groovy disco and just a dash of hard hitting bass. I felt like there was a little bit of back and forth between the two DJ’s styles but the songs were mixed together so well it was hard to tell. The rest of the night kept the theme of electronic house with alternating DJ’s. I enjoyed this show more than I thought I would considering I’m not the biggest house fan.
Another show I attended featured Annie Mac and DJ Mehdi. Annie Mac has a show on BBC Radio 1 which makes her pretty much a big deal. The bar was set high, and she did not fail to disappoint. The mixes between songs and genres that she had in her set kept the audience thoroughly energized and entertained. She didn’t leave a song on for too long or too little- she somehow always found the perfect balance that kept the movement of the entire set moving fluidly. Furthermore, she managed to get sounds from house to dub step to disco to mix together in a way that kept everything from getting boring or too repetitive. I think I love her.
Below is video of her dub step segment found on Youtube.
DJ Mehdi is a personal favorite of mine so I was pretty excited to see him live. His performance did not fail to disappoint me either. He ended up trading off between some other DJs throughout the night but when I did catch him tearing up the boards, it was typical Mehdi. He had the fantastic funky hip hop with some great clean sounding synths that kept an amazing upbeat feeling that I’ve grown so fond of.
Below is a video from youtube of a portion of his set:
Despite the fact that I didn’t get to attend the almighty ULTRA Music Festival, I still was able to have an amazing time being blasted by electronic music from fantastic DJs. But most importantly, I was exposed to an entirely new atmosphere that you just can’t get in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Seeing DJs of this caliber live is something that has to be done by an electronic fan at least once in their life. To see the energy that a good DJ can bring out of a crowd is amazing, to feel the 25 ft speaker bass humming through your body is face melting, and to be a part of the entire movement of energy that flows through the entire venue from DJ to music to audience back to DJ is almost spiritual. That’s something you just can’t get from those white iPod ear-buds.
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EOT25 SBP Debate 3/29/10
When EOT aired March 29, the past 24 hours had brought destruction to North Carolina and casualties in Moscow. Newscaster Evan Garris broke down those stories and more in News. Sports takes a look at the Wolfpack’s performance on the diamond, the editorial gave a look inside the Eye of the… storm . Student Media hosted a debate between top-tier Student Government candidates, Correspondent Jacob Downey talked to the co-president of N.C. Skate and Chris Cioffi got the story behind that infamous silver key.
NEWS
News correspondent Evan Garris gave the details of this week’s top local, national and international headlines.
EF-1 tornado touches down in Person County
Two students in flood-induced accident
Homes throughout N.C., Va. damaged in storm
Moscow suidice bombings leave 38 dead, 60 wounded
Obama, in Afghanistan, congratulates Karzai on anti-Taliban campaign
Raleigh-Cary area ranks 49th, population-wise, in U.S. Census
SPORTS
Tyler Everett capped up this week in Wolfpack sports.
EDITORIAL
- Storm alerts interrupted programming, including the Duke game against Baylor. Twitter and local blogs erupted with complaints. The alerts did, indeed, alert, but left fans and evening television watchers agitated.
- The FCC requires TV stations to relay weather warnings via the Emergency Alert system their broadcasting license.
- Despite the unplanned interruption and programming rollback, the alerts are essential and can – and did – help save lives.
If you have a response to this editorial or any part of tonight’s show, contact us on twitter at WKNCEOT, look for us on Facebook at Eye on the Triangle, or shoot an email to publicaffairs@wknc.org.
VIP
In lieu of Student Body Elections, which are causing, if not a stir, then a paper and sandwich board trail around campus. Student Media invited top-tier Student Government candidates—Student Body Treasurer, Student Senate President and Student Body President—to contribute their platforms and ideas on questions that moderators Mike Alston and Saja Hindi asked.
COMMUNITY CANVAS
Correspondent Chris Cioffi caught up with Lillian Jones to discuss how she develops ideas for the Raleigh Treasure Hunt in which she invited all of Raleigh to follow clues that lead to a silver key. Whoever found it won a prize from her jewelry store. Cioffi talked to Jones about the event and about her ideas for future hunts. He also spoke to her about the recent publicity the hunt has been receiving, like this story in the News and Observer.
Later, he sat down in the studio with this year’s winner, Team Clueless. Solving the puzzle in one day, Team Clueless quickly snagged the newest pendant. Their quick solving methods shattered the reigning champ’s time, almost three months. He spoke to them about their previous treasure hunt experiences, as well as their experience with The Raleigh Treasure Hunt. They spoke about channeling Ms. Jones’s thinking process to get an edge on solving the clues, as well as how their individual talents came together to make the perfect solving force.
WOLFPACKER OF THE WEEK
Eye on the Triangle’s Wolfpacker of the Week is a sophomore working on a degree in construction engineering and management and is also the co-president of the Skateboarding Club. Correspondent Jacob Downey spoke to the Matt Brokaw, co-president of N.C. Skate, the University’s skating club. As one of the club’s founders, Brokaw has worked to help transition the club from a collective of enthusiasts and hobbyists into a competitive body able to represent the University at intercollegiate meets. An avid skater since getting his first board at 11 years old, Brokaw said he enjoys promoting skating through service projects like N.C. State’s Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser, Shack-A-Thon, and hosting fundraisers for Grind for Life. One of the things he enjoys about his involvement with the NCSU Club Sport is the mentor relationship between experienced skaters and beginners. For more information on the NCSU skateboarding club visit http://www.skatewall.com/ncstate/about.html or pop in at one of their biweekly meetings in Riddick Hall Room 339 at 8 p.m. The next one is April 7. You can also hang out with the skaters behind the Free Expression Tunnel as the group hosts the “H.O.R.S.E.” inspired game of “ S.T.A.T.E.” on Saturday afternoon, April 10.
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EOT preview: 3/29/10
Stay tuned to WKNC this Monday for the week’s top headlines, an overview of Triangle sports, Evan’s hair-raising editorial and interview clips with six of the seven candidates up for student body president.
In Community Canvas, correspondent Chris Cioffi delved into the Raleigh Treasure Hunt. Established by Lillian Jones, the Hunt is an event held every equinox that leads contestants around Raleigh in search for a silver key. The first person to locate the key receives a handmade pendant made by Jones herself. We talk to her about the hunt and what she does when she is not working on the event. We also spoke to the equinox’s winner, who solved the puzzle in less than a day.
For more on last night’s tornado watch and that perfect dose of international, national and local news you’ve been craving all week, take a listen tonight at 7 p.m.