Some of North Carolina’s best were recognized last night by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences as this year’s list of Grammy nominees were announced.
Last year, British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons made an auspicious debut in front of an international audience as they performed with Bob Dylan and North Carolina’s own The Avett Brothers.
This year, however, Mumford & Sons joins Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and fun. with six nominations each. And The Avett Brothers scored a nomination for their album “The Carpenter” in the category Best Americana Album.
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In a letter to fans, friends and family, The Love Language frontman Stuart McLamb put his heart on a platter and promised that his long-awaited third album should arrive this spring.
“This has been a long time coming, and though it feels strange to put it all out here, I feel there is much explaining to do on my part as to what is going on with The Love Language,” McLamb wrote Tuesday.
McLamb explained that he set out to record the album in February at the band’s rehearsal space in Raleigh. There, he tracked the bulk of the LP with BJ Burton before hitting the road again, including SXSW in Austin.
“It was one of the best — if not the best — times I’ve ever had creating music in my entire life,” McLamb recalled. “A full throttle, ever momentous race to our self-imposed finish line of March 1.”
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Coming out behind a din of synths from keyboardist Alex Fischel and a wash of reverb on vocalist Britt Daniel, Divine Fits kicked off a refreshing set at Lincoln Theatre with “Neopolitans” from their debut LP, A Thing Called Divine Fits.
Just as the album was the world’s introduction to this indie rock mash up, the show was Raleigh’s introduction to the live incarnation of the band.
There were no independently released EPs, CD-R demos or playing in empty nightclubs for Divine Fits. From its incarnation, the band was destined for success with Spoon’s Britt Daniel, Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner and New Bomb Truckers’ Sam Brown serving as masterminds behind the project.
Click Here for the full review and photo gallery.
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CARY, N.C. – Obama and Romney aren’t the only ones crisscrossing the nation hoping to drum up support during the final weeks before Election Day. With the race for the White House just two weeks away, more celebrities – particularly musicians – are being vocal about the importance of people getting out to vote.
Friday afternoon, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals stopped by President Obama’s Organizing for America field office in Cary. The rock band was in town for a performance later in the evening at Koka Booth Amphitheatre.
Potter and her band performed a brief acoustic set for volunteers to boost morale and encourage voters to get out to the polls early.
Click here to read more about why Grace Potter was encouraging voters to hit the polls, as well as watch a video of the band performing “Paris (Ooh la la).”
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At the first Cat’s Cradle-presented show since the venue’s rebranding, The Ritz again felt youthful and alive as Passion Pit impressed a sold-out crowd.
Before jumping into Passion Pit, I must point out that the transformation of The Ritz is remarkable. The venue looked and sounded great; if there was a complaint to be had, the stage is a bit too low, sometimes making it difficult to fully see the band from the floor — but that’s just splitting hairs.
The Ritz was also a perfect venue for Passion Pit’s brand of New England electropop that’s become so popular “with kids these days.” In front of a crowd of 2,500, the band danced through a set comprised of songs from their two full lengths and one EP.
Click here to read more and view a complete gallery of photos from the show.
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I like Stars. I sort of discovered them tangentially via Broken Social Scene. But since 2004′s “Set Yourself on Fire,” I’ve considered myself a modest fan who has purchased each of their subsequent full lengths.
I also assumed that most folks who were aware of Stars experienced a similar moment of discovery. That being said, I didn’t think there were any huge Stars fans, just folks who appreciated their music and musicianship.
Boy was I wrong.
Click through for the full review and photos.
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Florence + The Machine performs at the Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh on Sept. 21.
The band released its sophomore album, “Ceremonials,” in October 2011.
Click through to the full gallery.
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Photos by Jake Seaton
A year and a half after making Disco Rodeo a sweaty mess, mashup master Girl Talk took the stage right around the corner at Longbranch for a show presented by Cat’s Cradle.
As I’ve already noted, Girl Talk shows are disgustingly sweaty. But they are also ridiculous fun.
If you say you don’t dance — and believe me, I don’t dance, I challenge you to attend a Girl Talk concert and not get moving.
I may have looked Steve Martin in The Jerk, but so did the other 1,500 people who crowded the venue.
In addition to playing familiar tunes you grew up listening to mixed with top-40 fare, a Girl Talk show is a packaged spectacle.
Toilet paper guns, confetti cannons and balloon showers are just a portion of a show that is washed in colored lights, body-shaking bass a stage-full of dancers.
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By Jake Seaton
The Ritz is back.
Not that it went anywhere; it just changed names seven years ago, reflecting its new focus as a Latino nightclub.
But longtime owner Judy Powers said it was time for change, or at least a change back. Three weeks ago, the 2,500-capacity venue reverted its name to The Ritz — once again emphasizing a new focus.
“I just walked in one day and decided it was time for a change,” Powers said.
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Merge announced today that it will re-release the debut, self-titled LP from Mount Moriah, fronted by Heather McEntire (Bellafea) and Jenks Miller (Horseback). For the first time, the album will see a release on vinyl.
When it was originally released in 2011, the album was available digitally and on CD through Miller and McEntire’s own Holiday for Quince label.
The re-release will also include exclusive bonus tracks of radio sessions done last year in support of the album. The LP is due to hit stores Oct. 2.
The Durham-based Merge Records says that it will also release the band’s sophomore album in early 2013.
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Photos by Jeff Reeves
If The Lollipops was Raleigh’s best kept secret, it wasn’t a secret for very long.
In May of this year, the first collection of songs from Ignatius “Iggy” Cosky, frontman for The Lollipops, hit online music store Bandcamp and began spreading like a wildfire.
A so-called EP, the 14-track “Pop Narcotics” quickly grabbed the attention of locally run DiggUp Tape, who re-sequenced the album for a re-release in August.
If it’s any indication of the fervor through which “Pop Narcotics” was distributed, an early version of the EP starts off with the track “Betty Skelton,” while the version offered on Iggy’s Bandcamp page kicks off with “Take This Knife,” and the DiggUp Tapes version of the album begins with “Black Tar Carpet Ride.”
Suffice it to say, “Pop Narcotics” spread before Iggy or the label could ever “officially” sequence the EP.
Less than a month later, he already had a new collection of songs ready for release in “Your Royal Masochist & The Love Crusades,” further carving his place in Triangle music lore.
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Photos by Pat Shehan
Megafaun & Friends took over Martin Street for a day party, while Merge Records’ Versus took the stage at Lincoln Theatre for Hopscotch’s final night.
Joined on stage by guitarist William Tyler, The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel and improvisational drummer Chris Corsano, Durham’s Megafaun headlined a day party that consumed Martin Street between Fayetteville and Wilmington.
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Photos by Pat Shehan
Both headlining shows in the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts during the second night of Hopscotch, Yo La Tengo and The Mountain Goats could not have played more different sets during the annuals set.
While Yo La Tengo was, well, simply Yo La Tengo during their set in Memorial Auditorium, The Mountain Goats offered a truly unique experience.
The Mountain Goats, joined by a three-man choir, played an all-metal covers set on a grand piano. The metal set was then followed by a set comprised of mostly “b-sides” and “rareities.”
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Photos by Jeff Reeves
For several folks, Zola Jesus was the axis around which they scheduled their Hopscotch weekends. And when the diminutive-sized lo-fi, Goth rock singer took the stage at Lincoln Theatre, she commanded a presence — never letting up and far from disappointing.
Photographer Jeff Reeves shared his shots from that show.
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Photos by Logan Sayles
Between the day parties, POSTERscotch, HOOPscotch, SHOPscotch, the Hepcat Bike Race, City Plaza shows, cultural talk and the club shows book ending each evening, the Hopscotch Music Festival packs three days full of more activities than any one person can possibly experience.
Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.
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Photos by Logan Sayles
San Francisco-based Deerhoof took the stage at Memorial Auditorium clad in ruffled shirts during the Hopscotch Music Festival.
Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.
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Photos by Logan Sayles
While the music is certainly the star of Hopscotch, the vibe and people the entire festival brings to the City is incomparable.
Photographer/videographer/record label owner/music curator/all-around awesome guy Logan Sayles shares his shots from the three-day fest that consumed Downtown Raleigh.
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Photos by Jake Seaton
Review by Chris Cowperthwaite
The only other time I’ve had the opportunity to see them live was nearly 10 years ago, for a sweltering mid-day show in the middle of a field at the second Bonnaroo. The two situations couldn’t have been more different, but the results were the exact same: I walked away with a huge grin, and my throat was scratchy from roaring my approval alongside thousands of fans.
By eschewing turntables and playing all their own instruments, The Roots approach hip-hop differently than pretty much everyone else out there.
They are absolute masters of working the crowd: from the moment they take the stage until the moment they walk off, The Legendary Roots Crew’s number one goal is to entertain. Drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson exudes energy from his perch overlooking the rest of the band, and it is always fun to watch sousaphone player Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson stalk back and forth across the stage.
The Roots charged out of the gate for their headlining set, starting off with a cover of the Beastie Boys’ classic “Paul Revere.” The famously-partisan Philadelphia natives did justice to some of New York City’s favorite sons by dedicating the song to the late Adam “MCA” Yauch.
From there, they launched into a rapid-fire set of Roots Crew classics mixed with a healthy dose of unexpected covers. My highlights included hits like “The Seed (2.0)” and “Thought at Work” off their critically acclaimed 2002 album Phrenology.
They delivered in typical Roots fashion, band members doing little choreographed dances while they played. For a hip-hop act, they even let guitar player “Captain” Kirk Douglas show off his chops with a blistering solo during a cover of GNR’s “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
This band may be 25 years old, but its members attack their shows with a fresh enthusiasm that rubs off on everyone around them — and The Roots love getting the audience involved with calls and responses.
Emcee Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter asked the crowd over and over again, “Can you dig it?” The answer was always a resounding ‘yes.’
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Photo & Review by Chris Cowperthwaite
You know that moment when you’re rocking so hard that you fall off your perch behind the drum kit? Wait, you don’t? Well, then you are obviously not Zack Mexico drummer Joey LaFountaine.
The Kill Devil Hills-based band opened night two of the Hopscotch Music Festival with a mix of psychedelic surf rock and punk at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh.
Many of their songs start off with a laid back feel, guitars strumming familiar surf pop patterns; but they all eventually pivot to their own brand of up-tempo garage enthusiasm.
My personal highlight was “My Baby Has X-Ray Vision,” but really, the entire set was entertaining — from the random horse in the crowd to the parade of songs that had high-octane hints of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.
Even the band’s outfits were worth mentioning — between LaFountain’s caveman motif and lead singer John Saturley’s shiny MC Hammer pants.
There were only two things to be disappointed with during their set. First, guitar player Matt Wentz was plagued with technical difficulties, spending much of the night fiddling with his pedals. Second, Saturley tried to throw his guitar into the CAM rafters several times during the last song (while LaFountaine was busy falling off his rock throne), but could never quite get it far enough.
I think we were all rooting for it to make it all the way across the beam and dangle from its cable, but alas, it kept falling just shy.
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As the band was wrapping up their set at the Contemporary Art Museum, Zack Mexico drummer Joey LaFountaine rocks so hard that he falls off his drum throne.
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Photo & Review by Chris Cowperthwaite
While I freely admit I hadn’t put in nearly as much pre-festival research for 2012 as I did for 2011, I did have a schedule that I intended to follow on night one. Needless to say, that didn’t last long.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t see a single band I originally intended to check out. But guess what — I had a great first night. Of course.
My friend, Justin, convinced me to tag along for the Matthew E. White: One Incantation Under God set at Fletcher Opera Theater, and it was hands down the highlight of the evening.
It isn’t often that you have a show with roughly 30 musicians that still has the feel of a solo act. White, dressed in a white suit (largely hidden by his long hair and epic beard) stood front and center with his guitar; he was backed by an orchestra complete with violins, horns and a chorus, along with a wide array of keys. The setup was beyond impressive, and it was incredibly fun to see one of the keyboard players occasionally jump up mid-song to serve as conductor for the strings.
The Fletcher Opera Theater is technically designed for people to sit and politely enjoy their concert, but keep in mind what I said about the best laid plans. Midway through “Steady Pace,” just the second song on the setlist, two people confidently marched to the front of the pit and started dancing. It snowballed from there, and I, for one, was thrilled.
Soon, there were about 30 people in a tight group gettin’ down to funky horn breakdowns and lofty string highlights.
Those build-ups would become the theme for the night. White & Co. had mellow strings start “Hot Toddies,” but those quickly gave way to a giant ambient psychedelic jam with powerful background vocals. “Big Love” had White’s mumbling through poignant lyrics, forcing you to listen intently — and then he would bring the backup singers to the forefront again.
After several of these “big” songs, White looked almost sheepish as he copped to bringing the tempo down at one point, saying: “This one’s slower. I apologize.” That didn’t last, though, as he immediately followed it up with “Gone Away” and its repetitive, increasingly-overpowering chorus and horns crashing like waves from the stage.
The final tidal wave of sound washed ashore with “Brazos,” the set closer that took the crowd back to church as the band built to a peak with White’s reassurance over and over that “Jesus Christ is your friend.” This one was where you could really see the rest of the band’s unbridled joy: trumpet players and violinists alike were bobbing their heads whenever their services weren’t needed, and there was plenty of grinning across stage at each other.
After a short encore break, the entire ensemble came back for the most rollicking song of the night, a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.” It had a loose, fun-loving feel — more like the famous Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young version (if only they had a 30-piece backing band, of course).
White made a special point to thank Hopscotch curator Grayson Currin for taking a chance on this project; he said Currin agreed to add them to the lineup before only a handful of people had even gotten a chance to listen to their album.
I think most people in Fletcher last night would agree he made the right call.
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Hacienda performed at Tir na nOg and Hume performed at Kings Barcade during first night of the Hopscotch Music Festival.
Photos & Review by Jake Seaton
If there was ever an absolute need for Hopscotch, it is now.
Between the Republican National Convention last week and the Democratic National Convention this week, Raleigh screamed for a break from the political monotony. And somewhat ironically — perhaps fate? — one of the bands to close out Hopscotch’s first night this year was a band called Liars.
But Liars wasn’t my first stop, rather it was right next door at Fletcher Opera Theatre for Matthew E. White and his 30-piece ensemble.
The Richmond-based big man is no stranger to Hopscotch. Last year his improvisatory ensemble Fight the Big Bull took the stage at the Pour House.
But this year White upped the ante with “One Incantation Under God,” a performance of his album Big Inner complete with 30 of his closest friends.
“In January, [Hopscotch curator] Grayson Currin reached out to me and proposed what may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the resources and the platform for a true performance of Big Inner in its entirety — each song and its full instrumentation,” White explained.
Not only was the performance a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” it was also one of the most well-produced and awe-inspiring concerts I’ve experienced.
With orchestration by musical director Trey Pollard and choir direction by Phil Cook, each facet of the performance was finely tuned and expertly delivered. As elegantly delivered as the ballet that will grace that very stage next week.
“I aim to make music … with this gifted ensemble that is greater than anything I can make on my own,” White said. “We will certainly never all be in the same place again and this music may never again be performed like this.”
Next door, the scene was very different. What was Matthew E. White’s waltz was Liar’s mosh pit.
In the massive Memorial Auditorium, three men filled the room with a breed of post-punk I’d never experienced live.
Liars entranced the audience and probably shattered a few ear drums in the process. In fact, I had to back away from the stage because I literally thought my ears were bleeding.
This was not a fault, however, as it was an experience that best suited the trio. A controlled chaas, if you will.
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Local label DiggUp Tapes has a big presence at this year’s Hopscotch, and they kicked off the annual festival in a big way with a day party at Kings.
Co-sponsored by Raleigh Denim and Nice Price Books, the DiggU Tapes Orientation In Space day party featured performance from Jenny Besetzt, Cassis Orange, Invisible Hand and The Human Eyes.
Between sets, The Lollipops’ Iggy Cosky, T0W3RS’ Derek Torres and Lonnie Walker’s Brian Corum each performed solo sets.
A relatively new band in the Triangle, The Human Eyes — featuring Thomas Costello (Mount Weather), Ryan Gustafson, Carter Gaj (Max Indian), James Wallace (Mount Moriah) and Tom Simpson (The Love Language) — headlined the show. The band released its debut album, “Guiding Eyes For The Blind,” May 1.
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To accomplish this, the Democratic National Convention enlisted the help of a number of North Carolina musicians to show off the state’s rich musical heritage.
On Thursday, Durham’s Delta Rae will perform alongside James Taylor ahead of President Obama’s acceptance speech.
On Wednesday, however, jazzman Branford Marsalis had the honor of kicking off the second day of the convention with “The Star-Spangled Banner” played on his soprano sax. In addition to the national anthem, Marsalis will perform at an invite-only party tonight with the Warren Haynes Band and Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford.
Although a Louisiana native, the Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee has called Durham home for the past decade.
Last month, the Branford Marsalis Quartet released Four MFs Playin’ Tunes. The album is Marsalis’s third from the quartet to be recorded at St. Joseph’s Church at Hayti Heritage Center in Durham
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Opened in June 2010, the amphitheater has until now been known simply as the Raleigh Amphitheater. Today, the city announced that it had reached a five-year deal with Raleigh-based software company Red Hat.
City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday in support of the $1.175 million agreement with Red Hat, meaning the 6,000-seat venue will be called the Red Hat Amphitheater.
“Red Hat is proud to collaborate with the City of Raleigh,” said Jackie Yeaney, executive vice president of Strategy and Marketing at Red Hat. “Red Hat’s mission is to be a catalyst in our communities, and we’re hoping that with this collaboration we’ll be able to help fuel the continued growth of Downtown Raleigh.”
Securing sponsorship for the amphitheater has not come without drama, however. In 2010, the City came close to a $1.5 million agreement with Harris Wholesale, which would have meant the venue would be called the Bud Light Amphitheater.
But nearly as quickly as word got out about the possible sponsorship, the Substance Abuse Advisory Commission appealed to City Council that naming the venue after a beer would be harmful for people who abuse alcohol and for youth.
On top of the moral issues raised by the group, the North Carolina ABC Commission does not allow public venues to be named after alcoholic beverages, meaning state law prohibited the venue from being called Bud Light Amphitheater.
The issue was rendered moot in June 2010 when the ABC Commission denied the city’s request for an exemption, saying it would create more competition than they could handle in the advertising field.
While naming had at one-time been rumored to be going to Durham-based Cree — whose Shimmer Wall plays an integral role in the amphitheater’s ambience – Red Hat, which in June began relocating employees to downtown, ultimately secured the five-year deal.
“Raleigh is so proud that this internationally acclaimed, home-grown technological leader has further solidified its association with the Capital City,” Mayor Nancy McFarlane said of the agreement. “This Downtown venue, that offers the very best in entertainment in a uniquely Raleigh setting, is the perfect match for this uniquely Raleigh company.”
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For the third time in two years, mashup artist Girl Talk will bring his high-energy spectacle to Raleigh.
Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, will perform at Longbranch in Raleigh on Sept. 20. Interestingly, Longbranch is around the corner from Disco Rodeo, where Gillis performed in January 2011.
Presented by Cat’s Cradle, tickets are on sale now through Etix for $20 in advance or $22 the day of the show.
If you have never experienced a Girl Talk show, expect a long, sweaty, incredibly enjoyable night filled with many familiar tunes.
In July, Illegal Art released a chopped and screwed version on Girl Talk’s 2011 album “All Day.”
In addition to his show at Disco Rodeo, Gillis also performed at the Raleigh Amphitheather in August 2011 during N.C. State’s Wolfpack Welcome Week.
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While my chance at infamy may remain a thing of fantasy, one local musician saw that dream come true in the pages of Marvel’s “Gambit” series.
Jack the Radio guitarist and vocalist George Hage is immortalized in the second issue of “Gambit,” drawn as a security guard and complete with a name tag reading “Hage.”
“I know it sounds trite, but when I first saw the page my jaw dropped a little and my heart was pumping. In my head I think I did a back flip,” Hage said of first seeing himself in the comic book.
The chance to be drawn into the book came from Hage’s relationship with artist Clay Mann, who has served as a penciler on the “Gambit” books since the character landed his own series last month. Hage became a fan of Mann’s in 2008 while Mann was working with Ed Brubaker on “Daredevil,” and after the two met at HeroesCon inCharlottein 2010 they have remained in contact via email.
Hage says they had discussed the “fanboy dream” of appearing alongside a comic character, but he says he never expected it to become a reality. And to appear in “Gambit,” Hage was positioned with one of his favorite characters from his childhood.
“For our generation, it’s hard not be a fan or at least familiar with the character. I mean, who doesn’t remember the X-men cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings?” Hage said.
“When I was a kid I grew up reading Marvel comics like ‘Captain America,’ ‘Wolverine,’ ‘X-men’ and ‘Spider-Man,’ but around junior high my interest started turning to music and it really wasn’t until a few years after college that I started getting back into reading comics.”
Now 30, Hage is marrying that love of comic books and music. If you have been to a Jack the Radio show, the band’s impressive merch table may have caught your eye. Graphic T-shirts and beautiful, screen-printed posters adorn the stand, and it is all thanks, in part, to Hage and his “Jack the Radio” character — an anthropomorphic boom box.
“I definitely pull a lot of inspiration from comic books. I’ve always really enjoyed the freedom a lot of comic book artists take with their styles,” Hage explained. “I used to draw a lot as a kid when I was reading comics more, and stopped for years. I started to pick it back up when I started reading comics again.
“Being able see original pieces and being able to meet and talk with the artists at conventions like HeroesCon is really inspiring.”
One of Hage’s more recent works will be on display and for sale next week when Hopscotch is held Sept. 6-8. Hage is among 15 artists selected to have their concert posters — including a limited edition Hopscotch ’12 poster — displayed during POSTERscotch in Raleigh City Market.
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