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.

Review by Chris Cowperthwaite

Stars, the upbeat Broken Social Scene side-project, brought its six-piece indie pop show to Cat’s Cradle Wednesday night.

Calling them a side-project might be selling the band short, though, considering they’ve been “together” for more than 10 years now, and Stars has an enthusiastic fan base all their own.

The band is known for its well-constructed harmonies, poignant lyrics and a palpable interplay between vocalist/keyboardist Torquil Campbell and vocalist/guitarist Amy Millan. Both voices are unique and arresting on their own — and when combined, they form a genuine sound that’s really special.

Their stage presence is refreshing, too. Campbell often holds onto the mic for dear life with both hands while Millan flits about the stage with a blitheful air, and you can’t help but watch with a grin.

Early on, the band started being conversational with the crowd.

Their 2007 album In Our Bedroom After The War chronicles a fictional revolution, something that doesn’t take much imagination to link to current events. Campbell noted that Stars had played in New York City the night before, and gave praise to the Occupy Wall Street protesters before launching into “Take Me to the Riot.”

From there, the band peppered their set with songs from a decade’s-worth of studio albums, including “Dead Heart,” Ageless Beauty,” “Soft Revolution.” They then treated us to a few new tunes as well.

“Despite all reason and rhyme, we’re making another record,” joked Campbell before one such song, which he noted they had only played once before. It had driving guitar and drum lines, and the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

“Good?” asked Campbell afterwards.“Thank you. It’s a work in progress.”

Other highlights included “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” with Campbell playing a melodica, “Window Bird” and “We Don’t Want Your Body,” which featured Millan hanging out by the drumkit on tambourine. Most of the band then left the stage while she gave a haunting version of “How Much More” accompanied only by keys and bass.

For the next song, Campbell managed to hold an impossibly long high note on “Calendar Girl” before they took a short encore break.

When Stars returned to stage, Campbell gave as good a reason to write “One More Night” as you can think of: “This song is about fucking a flamingo to death.”

Seems legit.

The band rounded things out with “Bitches in Tokyo,” “Genova Heights” and they called it a night with “Elevator Love Letter.”

Longtime fans would probably have liked to see a few different songs make it onto the setlist, but overall, it was a more-than-solid show from a band that obviously loves playing the Cradle.

Photos by Nick Pironio
Review by Chris Cowperthwaite

Electronic globetrotters Cut/Copy brought their indie act to Carrboro Tuesday night, playing to a sold out crowd at the newly renovated Cat’s Cradle.

A quick sidenote on the venue changes before I get into the review: huge improvement! This was my first show since last month’s renovations, and I came away impressed.

Concert goers now enter from around the side of the building, as the old entrance is now all back stage area. The main room is wider, the ceiling’s been raised about four feet, the riser that used to partially surround the soundboard is gone, and the arcade area’s been sacrificed in order to knock out a wall to make the room deeper. The overall effect is much more open — and it certainly fits a much larger crowd more comfortably.

If only they had redone the men’s room while they were at it. Unfortunately the infamous metal trough is still there — along with that lovely dripline pipe coated with condensation.

But I digress.

The Cradle was packed for Cut/Copy, who had support from Washed Out and Midnight Magic. I arrived just in time for the start Washed Out, the synthpop brainchild of Atlanta resident Ernest Greene. He was joined by four musicians playing drums, keys, bass (for some of the songs) and a whole lot of electronic knob-turning & button-mashing.

The result was a heavy, driven set that had a core group of fans up front consistently cheering. There was already a big crowd inside, and hardly anyone was hanging out by the back bar, so it was everything you could ask for a lead-in to the main act.

Cut/Copy opened their set with “Take Me Over,” which — intentionally or not — has always had a hint of “Land Down Under”-ish flavor from the Melbourne, Australia residents. From there, it was a tour through their two biggest albums — 2008’s In Ghost Colours and this year’s Zonoscope.

My friend Matt had told me beforehand that Cut/Copy concerts are nonstop dance parties, and he pretty much nailed that description. They followed up the opener with big hitters like “Feel the Love,” “Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat,” “So Haunted” and “Lights & Music.”

Lead singer Dan Whitford was impassioned the entire show — he’s one of those frontmen who looks like he’s having a blast, but gets that point across without smiling much. He constantly clenches his fists or runs his hands through his hair while daring the crowd to match his energy level. By the time the set started winding down with “Hearts on Fire,” Whitford’s shirt was drenched, but he still had the entire crowd jumping in unison during the chorus.

And that’s not to say the rest of the band sits back and watches quietly, either; guitarist Tim Hoey is just as intense — one minute standing on the drum riser smashing a cymbal, the next holding his guitar high above his head, playing it with a bow and slapping the back of the body for effect.

The album version of “Sun God” tops 15 minutes, and the live version ending their set had to have been even longer, not that anyone was complaining. Some of the synthesizer sounds seemed to delve into “Baba O’Riley” territory, and it featured some of the better lighting effects of the night, to boot.

After a short break, the band returned for “Need You Now,” which Whitford introduced as “the soundtrack to our marathon.” It was a fitting end for the night, with the chorus building to a swagger; ironic considering the lyrics.

Next time the Aussies head this way, make sure to circle your calendar, because it’s worth planning ahead for. Oi! Oi! Oi!

Photos by Matt Moore
Review by Jake Seaton

Amongst a kaleidoscope of images projected on to a myriad of strategically hung dish rags, Wilco took the stage at the Raleigh Amphitheater in front of a near-sold out crowd.

But Wilco’s concert Tuesday night wasn’t just another stop on the band’s nationwide tour; rather it was a celebration of their new album, The Whole Love, which saw a release that very day.

“Won’t you join us in singing along with songs you don’t know?” frontman Jeff Tweedy implored the crowd after a trio of songs from the new LP and a handful of crowd pleasers — including “Ashes of American Flags” and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” from the universally acclaimed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

The brief interlude was one of only three times the infamously awkward and seemingly uncomfortable Tweedy addressed the audience, though it was clear he was in an especially cheery mood. This could be chalked up to the release of The Whole Love, one of their more ambitious efforts.

“We haven’t seen much of your city because we’ve been huddled around a computer watching the Amazon reviews come in,” Tweedy joked after delivering the beautiful “Impossible Germany” from 2007’s Sky Blue Sky.

Tweedy continued, “I’m gay apparently. Every time … every damn record I’m reminded how gay I am.”

This was definitely a more lighthearted Tweedy. Unfortunately the attitude didn’t quite translate to the performance.

Overall the show was slow to start and the venue seemed to suffer from some audio issues. With every smack of Glenn Kotche’s snare, a dull crack echoed from the stage – probably a result of the previous week’s rain-drenched Fleet Foxes concert that ended with a blown PA.

It was more than an hour into the 25-song set when the band finally seemed the fall into a groove and the show morphed into something that better resembled a Wilco concert rather than Wilco Lite.

“Pot Kettle Black” kicked off a trio of old hats, including crowd favorite “Handshake Drugs,” while new cuts “Standing O” and “One Sunday Morning” brought the energy down just enough to leave the audience craving more.

And more the audience would get.

By far Wilco’s eight-song encore packed more punch than any of the 17 songs that preceded it. Summerteeth’s “A Shot in the Arm” gave way to Yankee Hotel’s “Jesus, Etc,” which welcomed a cover of Jim Ford’s “36 Inches High” featuring Nick Lowe on lead.

With Lowe still on stage, Tweedy took the opportunity to perform the Lowe-penned “I Love My Label” – fitting considering Lowe’s label, Yep Roc, is based just down the street in Haw River and had several reps in the audience.

Wrapping up with Sky Blue Sky’s “Walken” and ultimately “I’m the Man Who Loves You” from 2001’s Yankee Hotel, Tweedy certainly gave the audience a breadth of material, touching on many of the band’s hits while mixing in enough of the new tunes to draw folks into The Whole Love.

I have been to hundreds of concerts and seen thousands of bands, so admittedly it’s difficult to remember each and every performance.

However, what that means is the gems really shine amongst the crowd.

I recall watching Neil Young perform “Words” and “Harvest Moon” back to back while sitting in a chair positioned in the middle of the GTE Amphitheater stage in Virginia Beach.

I vividly remember Jerry Cantrell inviting Scott Weiland on stage in Charlotte for a medley of Alice in Chains songs just days after Layne Staley’s body had been discovered in his Seattle home.

And seeing the Helping Hand Marching Band cut through the dense crowd in City Plaza at Hopscotch 2010 ranks near the top of my concert memories.

But Wednesday night, sitting in the beating rain at the Raleigh Amphitheater, I experienced one of the most magical and memorable concerts of my life.

The forecast was grim. There was a guarantee of rain, and clearly printed on the ticket stub were the words “Rain or Shine.” I knew I was in store for a wet evening, I just wasn’t aware I’d be sitting in more the two inches of it.

Opener The Walkmen promised that we were in for a treat when Fleet Foxes took the stage. That, however, was the understatement of the year.

As the band began to set up, the rain quickly turned from a sprinkle to a down pour. My shoes felt like stones, my jeans: lead. As for my hoodie, it kept me colder than it did dry.

The show was surely going to be called off even before it started.

“You all are fucking troopers,” Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold declared as he took the stage.

Little did he know that the rain wouldn’t soon let up, and the crowd wasn’t budging.

As one song was winding down, so did the rain. As the next song cranked up, so did the rain. Still, with eyes peaking through makeshift ponchos staring intently at the stage, the crowd didn’t let up.

Perhaps the coup de gras was during “Ragged Wood” when the PA system finally succumbed to the weather and blew. A faint strumming on Pecknold’s guitar could be heard, but no matter how loud he sang into his mic, nothing seemed to escape the stage.

That was the moment when I remembered why I love Raleigh. Rather than throwing up their hands and leaving the show in frustration, close to 5,000 people sang at the top of their lungs, “Lie to me if you will/ At the top of Barringer Hill/ Tell me anything you want, any old lie will do/ Call me back to, back to you.”

Unfortunately, one song later, the show would have to end. Not by the band’s hand, however, but Mother Nature’s.

“Raleigh: you were the most amazing audience we’ve ever had the honor to hang with, sticking it out in that crazy storm tonight,” Pecknold Tweeted after the show.

He later added, “Seeing you people in Raleigh tonight made me more proud to be a part of this than any other thing we’ve done.”

But don’t take my word for it, check out another reaction under the break.

Review by Ben McNeely
Photo by James Nix

A changed Bombadil took the stage at Fletcher Opera Hall late Saturday night.

Gone were the pan flutes, trinket instruments and bright colors.

Even the outfits the quartet wore were stylish, but muted compared to bright colors for which they are known.

Maybe it was just the venue they were playing that demanded more prestige than flair, but it also was that Bombadil had been changed: Changed by two years of making music in slow motion, as guitarist Bryan Rahija said, while Daniel Michalak recovered from a debilitating nerve illness that severely reduced the use of his hands.

Yet, the Bombadil that took the stage was confident and mature, mixing old favorites and songs from a new album, to be released Nov. 8.

When Michalak and Stuart Robinson stepped onstage to begin the show with “Reasons,” the duet from the band’s celebrated sophomore album Tarpits and Canyonlands, it was a reason to smile. You could feel the anticipation in the air, the silent question that hung: Do they still have the magic?

Yes, indeed, they do.

The big sound and frenetic energy of Michalak dancing on stage wasn’t there. The band had to simplify arrangements to accommodate his hands, which are much better by the way, but which, Michalak admitted, could get better or worse. (Right now, he’s all good, he said.)

The stripped-down sound forced a focus on the songs themselves and not on the showmanship.

Bombadil has always been the full package — solid songwriting and impressive showmanship. It was nice, though, after a long day running around Hopscotch, to sit back and take in music that hasn’t been heard live in two years from a band that left a noticeable hole in the Triangle music scene.

Emotionally, the band ran the gamut — the most stirring coming from Michalak and Robinson’s solo songs. Michalak’s “Marriage” from Tarpits was simple, sweet and direct, countered with Robinson’s intense “Matthew” and a new song “They Will Wait.” (The baby grand piano at the Fletcher sounds incredible. Thanks Raleigh for keeping it tuned.)

But just as Bombadil pushed your heart into your throat, they lifted spirits and took us on a light-hearted trip on a unicycle and explored awkwardness in relationships through a ukulele (all from the upcoming album).

Fans in the audience yelled out during “Cavaliers (Har Hum)” and sang along during “Jellybean Wine” and “Honeymoon,” the quartet’s closer, then gave a well-deserved standing ovation.

A perfectly magical ending to Hopscotch, which served up plenty of musical sorcery all weekend.

And it’s more than just nice to see Bombadil back together, it’s downright uplifting.

Photos by Jake Seaton
Review by Chris Cowperthwaite

If you’ve seen the Flaming Lips live, you know it’s more spectacle than concert.

Their confetti budget is probably higher than most bands spend on fuel, and frontman Wayne Coyne owns the stage like nobody else.

As Saturday night’s headliner for the Hopscotch Music Festival, the Lips extravaganza was easily one of the highlights of the weekend.

The show got started with one of the band’s trademark routines: Coyne walking his giant space ball across the top of the crowd, while the rest of the band built ambient sound to a crescendo.

From there, it was a tour through the Flaming Lips’ decades-long catalog. 1993′s “She Don’t Use Jelly” had longtime fans cheering, and Coyne begged the crowd to sing along to 2006′s “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power).”

Occasionally, two teams of local fans were ushered on stage to dance in Dorothy outfits, a role that has morphed from animal outfits, Santas and aliens over the years.

Towards the end of the set, Coyne implored everyone to appreciate the full moon above the Raleigh skyline, before launching into a cover of Pink Floyd’s epic “Brain Damage.”

One of the knocks on Flaming Lips concerts is that Coyne tends to talk too much between songs, something that’s never bothered me much, but a lot of people don’t like it. Saturday’s set had its fair share of one-sided conversations, but didn’t seem to be too bad.

The Lips ended things in style, finishing up with an incredible version of “Do You Realize??” that exploded in emotion as Coyne repeated the chorus with bigger and bigger flourish.

Overall, this was a pretty standard Flaming Lips show — or as standard as one of their shows can be — and I walked away completely happy to be one of the fearless freaks of Hopscotch.

Review by Ben McNeely, Media General
Photo by James Nix

Odessa Records put on their Sunday best musically at its Day Show at Kings Barcade Friday.

Shit Horse, wild wild geese, Americans in France and Transportation all showed off the best of what this Carrboro label is offering the Triangle local music scene.

But it was The Kingsbury Manx, venerable veterans of the scene, that capped a fantastic afternoon of music.

The band — Clarque Blomquist, Paul Finn, Ryan Richardson and Bill Taylor — looked, felt and played like they’ve always been there and always will be. The vibe in the noticeably older crowd was delightfully comfortable: They knew they were going to see and hear a good show. And that’s what they got.

At Kings, these guys had nothing to prove. They are one of the few local bands at Hopscotch to have played together for more than a decade.

They played for the sheer joy of playing, of being in the moment. And, for the hour, the crowd went right with them.

Moving seamlessly from laid-back, soulful grooves, tinted with other-worldly organ, like “Galloping Ghosts” from their 2009 release, Ascenseur Ouvert! to fast rock from their upcoming album and older releases, The Kingsbury Manx had a cool-kid confidence that only comes from making music for yourself for so long.

If it’s good, people will listen. They will like it or they won’t, not much a band can do about how an audience will respond, yet, some bands beg for you to listen and to love them,

With The Kingsbury Manx, they are who they are. If you like them, great. If they don’t, that’s cool too.

Review/Photo by Chris Cowperthwaite

There’s a trap many of us fall into at a music festival.

Someone will say, “Man, have you seen these guys? They’re crazy!” and you’ll go see them. You may even enjoy them, which is great! I’ve certainly discovered some incredible music that way.

But if that’s the reason you’re seeing a band, it implies that you could overlook the acts that aren’t doing something nuts. If that’s true, then you might have missed out on Chip Robinson‘s Hopscotch set Friday night — and that’s a shame.

There’s nothing crazy about a Chip Robinson show. It’s just straight up rock ‘n’ roll done right, and the former Backsliders frontman had a big, loyal fanbase crowding into Deep South for his gig. He sings and plays with a been-there-done-that swagger backed up by a devil-may-care attitude; after the show he said, “I should never have lasted this long raging against death.”

Robinson calls Raleigh home now, having bounced around from Texas to Seattle and spending nine years in New York.

This was his first Hopscotch, but it actually should have been his second: he broke his hip in a bike accident last year before the festival started.

Chip admits that he’s probably one of the Hopscotch outsiders with so many indie acts on the schedule, but he’s fine with that.

“They’re precious sounding,” he says with a grin. “I don’t get it.”

That’s not to say he has a problem with some of the different styles of music converging on Raleigh this week; Chip welcomes the diversity that Hopscotch brings and says it’s a big benefit for the Triangle music scene.

“It’s not a plethora of signed acts. There’s a lot, and still some big acts, too, but it’s not a circus,” he says. “To make Raleigh more of a musical place is awesome.”

Review by Chris Cowperthwaite
Photo by Nick Pironio

As a music fan, it’s always exciting to see a band make good on an opportunity. It’s even better when you weren’t familiar with that band prior to said opportunity.

With that in mind, I think a lot of people would agree that the 2011 Hopscotch Music Festival got off to a great start.

I was looking for an upbeat band to kick things off, and a friend suggested hitting up Dinosaur Feathers at King’s Barcade.

Apparently we weren’t the only ones who had that idea.

Minutes before the self-described “Experimental Pop Tropicalia” band out of Brooklyn, New York, took the stage, there was a line stretching from the front door all the way to Fayetteville Street; I was literally the third to last person to slide in before they started the dreaded one-in-one-out routine.

The packed house seemed to catch the band by surprise. “This was absolutely shocking,” said keyboard player Duck Zimmerman. “We didn’t even bring our merch.”

“Incredible. There was a giant line at the door,” added bassist Ryan Kiley.

Kiley said the band was expecting the first slot on a weeknight to be a tough sell for fans, and they were blown away by such a great turnout. They were also ready to make the most of it.

Dinosaur Feathers plays a fast-paced indie show full of songs that have subtle hints of assorted genres. One minute they’re dropping into a funk-ish breakdown, the next they’re following a ’50s R&B beat. Usually guitarist Greg Sullo takes lead vocals, but at times he, Zimmerman and Kiley are all singing in polyphony.

Despite those different feels, however, the band never strays far from its core high-energy indie sound: there’s a heavy dose of synth-pop layered over acoustic guitar with the occasional sample thrown into the mix.

Dinosaur Feathers is tight with Raleigh mainstays Lonnie Walker, and credits that band with helping them get a foothold in the Triangle. They make it to North Carolina two or three times a year, and this is their first time playing Hopscotch.

“Hell yeah, we’ll play it,” said Kiley of their festival invite. “We saw the lineup and were way impressed.”

The crowd never thinned out over the span of their 45-minute set, and only after they finished did we hear that the line downstairs was starting to scatter. Even the iconic Muppet duo of Statler and Waldorf who overlook the stage (only the coolest decorations in the history of music venues) never left their seats, which is high praise indeed!

By Ben McNeely

To say the Hopscotch Music Festival is comprehensive in its scope of indie music is an understatement. And to categorize the sound of Hopscotch is downright impossible.

No matter which venue you walk into, you’re going to hear good music.

The most delightful surprise of Hopscotch, thus far, however, is Justin Robinson & the Mary Annettes.

A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Robinson left the Drops earlier this year to join the Mary Annettes full-time as the front man. Just as the Chocolate Drops defy convention — playing hip-hop covers in ole-timey fiddlin’ — Robinson takes that conceit — ole-timey instruments meets modern rhythms to form musical goodness — and runs headstrong into the wind, fearlessly.

What comes out is not easily classified, but a beautiful mix of old country and new hip-hop, all channeled through Robinson’s autoharp, the violin and viola of Sally Mullikin and the cello of the newest Mary Annette, Elizabeth Marshall.

With Kyra Moore on banjo and Josh Stohl on percussion and keyboards, the Mary Annettes are powerful force to complement Robinson’s eclectic style.

The quintet electrified the very crowded second-floor bar over the Busy Bee Café. They kicked off the set of Robinson’s song, “Kissin’ and Cussin’,” featured on the Chocolate Drops’ Grammy-winning album, Genuine Negro Jig. The original recording is just Robinson and his autoharp, singing the sinister opening lines, “Now tell me pretty baby, do you think you’re too sweet to die?”

With the Mary Annettes backing him up, “Kissin’ and Cussin’” is transformed into a hip-hop ballad, with the hip-hop groove scratched out on cello, viola and violin.

If it’s called anything, it could be called post-Civil War hip-hop, where modern rhythms are played on acoustic instruments, giving it a rough-hewn, earthy sound.

And Robinson’s influences are played out throughout the set — from old country in the group’s original song, “Devil Teeth,” to even a cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” where the disco hit’s opening notes are scratched out on the violin.

With such a blend of old and new styles, it won’t be hard to conceive that, in the near future, Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes could surpass the Chocolate Drops

Whereas the Chocolate Drops are introducing a new generation of music lovers to the old fiddle and minstrel tunes from the Jim Crow South, the Mary Annettes are taking those long-formed techniques and embracing modern rhythm to create a sound as eclectic as the band itself.

After sweat-inducing sets from Chapel Hill’s It Is Rain In My Face and Athens, Ga.-based trio Reptar, Javelin took the stage in Raleigh for the third time in the past four months.

This time around, Denmark Records brought the indie dance duo to Kings Barcade, and like their previous performances before, Javelin had the crowd bouncing, dancing and even surfing until the very end. In fact, for several minutes after the final song, most of the crowd stood around expecting the party to continue long into the night.

As we’ve noted before, the energy of a crowd directly affects the performance of a band on stage. Thankfully for Javelin, the crowd at Kings was chock full of energy and the Brooklyn duo took note, saying, “We’ve been to North Carolina more times in the last half a year than any other state. And we keep asking ourselves, ‘Why haven’t we moved her yet?’”

Javelin’s set was comprised of a wide range of songs from their impressive catalog, but highlights included “Oh! Centra” from their new LP No Más, and “Soda Popinski” and “Radio” from their 2009 eponymous 12-inch.

If you’ve never seen Javelin live, it’s a must see experience. While their albums certainly stand on their own, they’re immensely subdued compared to the band’s frantic live shows.

A band’s performance very much hinges on the energy of a crowd. If a crowd just isn’t into a show, the band’s performance subsequently suffers.

I don’t want to say this exactly happened to Ra Ra Riot Thursday night at Cat’s Cradle, but there were definitely moments when the crowd’s lack of enthusiasm translated on stage. This doesn’t necessarily mean the band failed to impress, in fact, their musicianship was a shining point of the evening and kept the show’s head above water. But there were times when the band just seemed to go through the motions, counting down the minutes until they could step off stage.

Factored in with their unique instrumentation — an electric violin and cello — the band possessed a handful of songs that got the otherwise lethargic crowd moving; unfortunately one of those songs, “Can You Discover?,” was that of the band Discovery; an indie electronic band formed of Ra Ra Riot frontman Wes Miles and Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij. Regardless of the sources, those few songs got things rocking in the Cradle and made me proud of the raucous dancers we have in this town.

I understand that Ra Ra Riot is still a fairly new act, thus many of their “fans” outside of their home state of New York will respond better to the “hits” than the rest of the band’s catalog. But this is a band that needs to be heard because quite frankly they’re really good. It’s just disappointing to see a packed house at Cat’s Cradle stand solemnly while what’s supposed to be a high-energy dance band tries to feed off the audience’s energy — or lack there of.

Maybe the folks lining the walls at the Cradle were too cool for school and didn’t want to grace us all with their dance moves. Yeah, that must be it.

Hopefully the next time Ra Ra Riot plays in front of a Triangle crowd, we’ll show them we truly appreciate their showmanship and aren’t afraid to get down a little. Or we can just stand around with our arms crossed again.

NOTE: I noticed you, long-bearded man, and I appreciate that you danced from start to finish! That is how it’s done.

Music.MyNC’s Jake Seaton was joined by photographer >> Read More

By Ben McNeely, Media General

CHARLOTTE — Outside Manifest Discs and Tapes, fans of The Avett Brothers — wearing the free bandannas they received with their copies of the Concord-based band’s latest live album, Live Volume 3 – lined the sidewalks and parking lot at the South Charlotte record store.

They came to see Scott and Seth Avett, bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon perform in a rare, in-store concert.

A group of high school students were up front. They said they had been sitting there since 3 p.m.

Behind them, two girls sat on the sidewalk. Emily Russell from Dahlonaga, Ga., and Melanie Meeks from Indianapolis, Ind., met each other at Bonnaroo this past summer.

Melanie said she spotted Emily at a gas station. She said she noticed Emily’s tattoos — the artwork from the Avett albums Emotionalism and Four Thieves Gone.

Melanie drove 12 hours to Charlotte to see The Avett Brothers.

It’s been more than a year now since The Avett Brothers’ major label debut, I And Love And You, was released on American Records. They are touring almost all the time — cross the country several time last year and this year.

But coming home is always sweet for the boys from Cabarrus County.

“We love coming home. We step off the plane and we just go, ‘Ahhh.’” Scott Avett said, in between songs.

You can tell it on Live Volume 3. The 16 tracks were recorded at the band’s homecoming concert last year at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. It was a special venue for Scott and Seth: They saw their first rock concert there.

In the middle of “The Ballad of Love and Hate,” Seth Avett stops singing, somewhat emotional, but continues picking his guitar.

“I’m so happy right now I can barely stand it,” Seth says. The crowd cheers. “I’m just gonna go one more time, if you’re OK with that.”

The crowd cheers again. Seth starts over, and the crowd joins right in with him.

It’s something that gives you goosebumps when you hear it. And standing in the middle of the crowd on the floor on that steamy August night last year, that moment marks a magical night.

The Avett Brothers hit the big time when producer Rick Rubin said he wanted to produce I And Love And You. From there, it’s been a blur. National tours, performances on the late shows — Letterman, Austin City Limits — a best group of the year award from the Americana Music Association, songs played on prime-time television shows, featured on an episode of Ace of Cakes on Food Network.

And on and on and on.

I’ve never seen The Avett Brothers out-of-state. I’m sure their shows are just as frenetic and kinetic and heartwarming and touching somewhere else. But when they are in North Carolina, they are relaxed, joyous, soulful.

There is no place like home, and The Avett Brothers prove it on Live Volume 3. Despite a coliseum full of people, they played like they were sitting on their front porch on the farm out near Mount Pleasant, picking and grinning and singing and laughing and carrying on.

The live album carries the warmth from that night to digital form. It’s raw, it’s emotional, it’s fun, it’s The Avett Brothers at their peak thus far.

It was home then, and Manifest was home Tuesday night.

“We’ve played just about every place in this town,” Scott said, referring to Charlotte and the bars, large and small, they performed at during the formative years.

It was supposed to be only a 30-minute show, but they played for a solid hour, before the crowd queued up for autographs. The store manager, before the show, gave instructions about the autograph session.

“Don’t worry, they will stay until everyone who wants an autograph gets one,” he said.

That NASCAR fan treatment, learned from Richard Petty, got them out of the seedy, hole-in-the-wall bars and into the national spotlight.

At MerleFest in April, the band was the Sunday headliner and the audience broke attendance records for the venerable folk music festival. A few years ago, Scott, Seth and Bob played for free just to say they played MerleFest.

The Avett Brothers left the Land of the Pine humble country boys, wanting to play their brand of folk music to anyone who would listen.

Now, they are coming back as heroes and for a diverse crowd of fans.

But they aren’t letting it go to their heads.

“We are so lucky to be able to come home and play for you guys,” Scott said. “We are so lucky.”

By Jake Seaton, NBC17

RALEIGH — Irish mega group U2 hit the stage Saturday night at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium in front of more than 55,000 fans.

For some, the show was the long-awaited make up date for the band’s ill-fated stop during their PopMart Tour 12 years ago. For others, it was a concert performance 27 years in the making when U2 made a stop at Keenan Stadium on April 23, 1983 during its War Tour.

Regardless of when the band was — or was supposed to be — in the Triangle last, the U2 360° Tour is unlike any performance to date. The band, along with designer Willie Williams and architect Mark Fisher, created a stage that provides little view obstruction from any angle, and puts the band in the middle of its fans.

As frontman Bono explained, the set brings the band closer than ever to its fans. An experience rivaled only by intimate club shows.

Taking the stage about 30 minutes after the show’s scheduled start time, the electricity in the stadium surmounted as Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, The Edge and finally Bono made their way to the front of the massive spider-like structure and launched into “Breathe.”

Largely the band’s set consisted of songs from their last three albums – which some may refer to as post-millennium U2. The three albums are some of the band’s most commercially successful affairs, especially after the dismal returns from their 1997 album Pop.

However, the October 2000 release of All That You Can’t Leave Behind – an album that launched the band back into the public and critical spotlight – marked a point that polarized fans. While some accept the post-millennium U2, others – especially Gen Y-ers – view the band as becoming more pedestrian and focusing more on international affairs than on music.

For that — being that the band brought its $750,000-per-day tour to a collegiate football stadium – perhaps the set should have focused more on U2’s earlier catalog. Despite nine of U2’s 12 albums being released pre-2000, only 10 of the set’s 23 songs came from those formative years.

But in the grand scheme that was U2 360°, the set list plays little into the fact that the self-professed “best band in the world” put on one hell of a show. Bono’s political musings were tastefully delivered, and the 150-foot stage quite literally wowed the audience.

If U2 was looking to give fans the ultimate live experience in a truly unique setting: mission accomplished.

And perhaps Gen Y-ers should give those post-millennium albums a second listen; because with 15 Grammy Awards and eight Platinum certifications, they’re far from pedestrian. If anything, U2 is on the top of their game.

Indie rock pacemaker blog Pitchfork has given Polvo’s In Prism, the band’s first album in 12 years, an 8.1 rating.

Here’s an excerpt of the review by Stuart Berman:

“Ten years of recording-technology advances also means that Polvo has never sounded more radiant; liberated from the murky, mid-fi production of the band’s older records, Ash Bowie emerges as a forceful, almost swaggering vocalist on In Prism’s blast-off opener “Right the Relation”, which, despite its cryptic allusions to Polvo’s history and ethos (“We see the beauty behind imperfection… I kill my creation to right the relation”) is the band’s most forthright, unfussy rocker to date.”

On a similar note, KEXP of Seattle also likes what it hears.

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, Merge Records has the album available for streaming. What are your thoughts on Polvo’s big return?

Many of today’s casual fans may not be too familiar with Ryan Adams’ tumultuous but highly influential past in the Triangle.

Sure Whiskeytown is a familiar moniker in Adams’ niche fan base, but names like The Lazy Stars and The Patty Duke Syndrome sound as foreign as his current alter egos DJ Reggie and WereWolph. But despite the lack of knowledge of either if these two outfits, they are as much a part of Adams’ ethos as Whiskeytown.

There was, of course, also Ryan’s brief stint in the hardcore punk band The Finger, but neither one of its two EP’s names are suitable for print, so we’ll just leave that one to your imagination. Regardless, chances are you’ll be hard pressed to find any of the band’s releases on the shelves at your local Best Buy. I just so happened to stumble upon a The Finger album at Chaz’s Bull City Records during my scavenger hunt for rare and imported Ryan vinyl.