The first day of XX Merge officially came to an end late Wednesday night, and no longer are the night’s performances shrouded in secrecy.
If you were unable to make it, the event showcased the power of social networking; specifically in regard to the use of Twitter. It began with an early afternoon Tweet from the folks at Merge Records, and branched into a stream of photos and videos from the night’s events.
“Hey XX Merge’ers! Post your show reports & gossip to #xxmerge,” Merge Tweeted. From then on, folks could log on to Twitter to follow the festival from anywhere in the world.
Tweeters congregating at Cat’s Cradle quickly caught on to the trend, and soon a flood of information and photos began to pour in. Speculations of who would be performing ran rampant as photos of a dressed stage began to pop up.
“Context clues lead me to believe we will see Conor Oberst tonight,” @pjsykes Tweeted.
“Context clues tell me we might see Lou Barlow tonight too,” @pjsykes followed.
Little did anyone know that @pjsykes would be correct in assessing the clues as a reunited Pure took to the stage followed by Barlow, Oakley Hall, The Clientele, The Magnetic Fields, Raleigh’s own The Rosebuds and finally Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band.
“First band really did start at 7:15 — Asheville’s Pure, who haven’t played out in [about] 17 years. Can’t really tell,” Triangle Rock blogger Ross Grady Tweeted.
“And now Lou Barlow with just his acoustic guitar. Sounding great,” @wowandflutter3 followed up.
The evening was emceed by Kelly Crisp of The Rosebuds, who seemed to be warmly welcomed by the audience.
“Also brilliant? Kelly from The Rosebuds is the MC tonight,” @the_dp Tweeted.
The third act of the night, Brooklyn’s Oakley Hall closed out their set with a rendition of Nick Lowe’s “I Love My Label;” a fitting tribute to the label that made this all happen — Merge Records.
“Lou Barlow folked out acoustic. Oakley Hall started out tame, but 3-4 tracks in were tearing it up ferociously, w/ tight harmonies,” @gmflash Tweeted.
Introducing the next act, Kelly pointed out that it’s the only British band — who opened with a Big Star cover — playing XX Merge.
“Back at @catscradlenc after a Milltown break. Walked in to The Clientele covering Big Star’s ‘Nighttime.’ Pretty,” Grady Tweeted.
“The Clientele just shimmered all over us,” @gmflash followed.
Perhaps the most talked about performance of the evening was The Magnetic Fields, who mentioned that XX Merge would be the band’s only performance of 2009.
“Watching the only Magnetic Fields show of 2k9 at #xxmerge. Everyone here is enjoying themselves immensely,” @malitzd Tweeted.
The set was not without surprises as a Palmetto Bug flew in to disrupt set.
“A flying cockroach is trying to take down The Magnetic Fields,” @val1124 Tweeted.
“That’s the biggest coachroach I’ve ever seen that attacked The Magnetic Fields,” @apunc1 added.
Audio of the band being attacked
Approaching midnight, The Rosebuds began to set up for one of the last sets of the night.
“And now, The Rosebuds Quartet! Ivan, Kelly, Rob and perhaps the best bassist in the Triangle, Wes Phillips,” The Independent Weekly sent out.
“In 5 years, The Rosebuds have gone from young whippersnappers of Merge to legit fan faves. And well deserved, too.” @malitzd pointed out.
In the spirit of their Monday night impromptu performance at Jackpot in Raleigh, The Rosebuds closed out their set with a sing-a-long. The song of choice: “Nice Fox” from their 2008 album Life Like.
“‘Nice Fox’ outro with crowd participation brought a tear to my eye,” @jon_yu Tweeted.
“Rosebuds sing-a-long: the perfect ending of #xxmerge Day 1,” @alycemarie exclaimed. “Oh, wait, Conor Oberst is up next…”
With that, Oberst took that stage with an oversize hat that received more buzz itself than his performance.
“Rumor: Mr. Oberst’s hat is bigger than the audience here to see him close Night One,” The Independent Weekly joked.
“Bright Eyes would never wear a stupid hat like that,” @gprecs added.
While Oberst may not have been the best choice to close out the evening in some people’s opinions, the overall night seemed to be the perfect beginning to the week-long festivities.
“First night #xxmerge fantastic. More Magnetic Fields and Rosebuds, less Conor Oberst would have been better!,” @mrmekon said.
For more photos from the show, check out Triangle Music’s coverage. Also, @pjsykes posted some great black & whites from the evening.
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