Post-Scotch: Mainstream Noise By David

If Merzbow plays a set in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, did the noise actually happen? If I could sum up my takeaway from Hopscotch 2k13 in one sentence, it would be with this simple thought: What other festival could bring a Merzbow or a Wolf Eyes to North Carolina and play him to packed crowds? A Pharmakon show well attended in Raleigh? The band Sleep being a major topic of conversation? To me, these all seem like nerdy music pipe dreams for kids who tweet too much. Yet this is the diversity and breadth of the people that Hopscotch brings together from all over the country. People from all walks of life come together at this festival because they love music, and it's truly a remarkable thing to see. So with these warm fuzzies in mind, here are some memorable highlights from my experience this year!

First, yes. Yes it happened. I finally got to see Grouper live. The clouds parted over Raleigh and I saw the entire universe in a perfect light. Or something. My fanboy dial turned down slightly here though, the numinous atmosphere of Fletcher Opera Theatre and the subtle visuals complementing Liz Harris' spare drone made for a hypnotizing performance that Thursday. I was in heaven. Completely on the opposite spectrum, but equally sonically pleasing was the ever-manic Marnie Stern, who I saw shred faces at Lincoln Theatre that same night. Her ridiculously energetic set guaranteed I'll be humming "Year Of The Glad" for the rest of the fall.

Saturday, I caught The Beets, who are a garage band signed to Hardly Art that I had never heard of, and who ended up being one of my favorite sets of the festival. As you can see from the photo I snapped above, their set was dark and grungy and intimate in the best kind of way. I also saw Swearin, who I really enjoyed, and who are perhaps one of the most underrated indie pop bands (spoke too soon?) touring right now. My soul to be a Crutchfield.

Did things get weird? It's Hopscotch, of course they did. I watched Thurston Moore play a blistering improv noise set with Merzbow for a packed crowd at Kings. I ended up onstage with Mykki Blanco and about 20 other people while she played "Wavvy." I met the mysterious DJ Paypal. I saw Holly Herndon perform at CAM behind weird CGI visuals of Japanese Amazon boxes as they floated through panoramic photos of Asian families. Yes, read that last sentence twice. I saw Pissed Jeans' frontman, semi-clothed, as he taunted the audience and stacked his band's amps in a pyramid in the middle of Pour House's stage. I absolutely saw Ryan Hemsworth drop a remix of a song from the Rugrats movie, and we all danced, because it was phenomenal.

I don't want to be too sentimental or corny about it, but I really loved this year. I love how much I learn about music from this festival every year, and I love the fascinating people it allows me to meet. Pere Ubu and Earl Sweatshirt played 5 minutes from my apartment because of this festival. Viva La Hopscotch.

Post-Scotch: Anastassia's Highlights

Hopscotch is the best time of the year and this year was probably THE BEST time of any year ever. Every year the festival gets better, or should I say stranger.... but this is why I love it so much. It's so unique every year but I think this year was by far my favorite. SO many random and weird things that happened all over downtown Raleigh and it would be impossible and long to list them all but here were my favorite moments.

This year at Hopscotch:

•  I saw Swearin’ twice in one day! Their surprise Slims show was packed and dark and loud but their official Pour House show sounded great and I was finally able to unleashthe punk girl that was waiting for “Here to Hear”.

•  The Breeders became my favorite band after I saw them play at City Plaza. I don’t know what was so impactful, the fact that these women are so badass and my mom’s age or that they sounded so good live. Probably both.


•  I shed a few tears at Angel Olsen and was pretty much bewitched by her voice and then I sprinted over to DJ Paypal, danced for fifteen minutes and sprinted back to Grouper and was hypnotized into staying for her entire space-fuzz set.


•  I also danced on stage at Mykki Blanco, saw two minutes of Merzbow and Thurston Moore's noise collaboration,  attempted to mosh at Pissed Jeans (if you look close enough, the blonde mop of hair is mine in the picture above), and fell in love with Scout Nibblet's voice.

Hopscotch is so eclectic that it provides experiences like no other festival.

More Hopscotch Highlights: Saturday

More Hopscotch Highlights: Friday

More Hopscotch Highlights: Thursday

Post-Scotch: The Everymen Rocked my Saturday

Hopscotch creates the optimal environment for music discovery. Many music festivals have multiple stages but few host fourteen venues for anyone with a wrist band to drift in and out of. This drifting brings about a method of discovering music that fits well with the Internet music age. We live in a world where the customer really is always right because their entire experience has been personalized for the individual. In this case, it is a personalized concert for three nights straight.



I had few artists that I absolutely had to see: Earl Sweatshirt, A-Trak, and Future Islands. Saturday was the most open out of all the nights. Other than Saints Apollo, Adult. and Big Black Delta, I had no shows planned out. Out of of all the new bands I saw perform, no show was more entertaining than The Everymen's performance at The Pour House. I almost walked out before it even started, too. I went in ten minutes before the start of The Everyman but ran into DJ Sarahnade from Post Rock Block. right outside. She had seen this band earlier and was coming back for more.

"Piano's over the head kind of stuff" she explain to me.

I was sold.

It turned out to be the best rock show I've seen in a long time. The energy and stage presence The Everymen had was outstanding, and the crowd showed it right back. Everyone for at least the first few rows was going hard to a the male and female fronted band. The lead singer/guitar player made for great mid-song commentary.

At one point, a duel was put forth between the sax and piano player. This ended with the keyboardist picking up his piano, laying one end into the crowd and just going nuts on it. This New Jersey band will forever be cemented in my memory bank.

My personalized concert ended up being spot on thanks to the amazing people who put the effort into making Hopscotch a success.

You can find their Bandcamp here - bandcamp

-Muta

 (Not pictured above: The awesome and crazy keyboard player)

Post-Scotch: Interview with Jamaican Queens

Where do I start with these guys? I knew from the beginning that the interview was going to a little out of the norm just by the way these guys sound and perform their music. With that being said, that is the exact reason I looked forward to the interview so much (and trust me, my expectations were definitely met).

Pretty much exactly on time, the entire three piece band consisting of Ryan Clancy, Ryan Spencer, and Adam Pressley walked right up to our 88.1 WKNC table at Wristband City and formerly introduced themselves. Once the interview was on its way, the band seemed to be having a little fun with it while also pointing out that their music is definitely different than most of the indie rock scene today. When asked how they were different, they did not hesitate to explain that it is because of their live foam party shows and mixture of unique sounds and lyrics. The band went on to say that if they could describe their sound as a room, then it would be the live portion of an Applebee’s restaurant; which you can take whichever way you possibly want.

Throughout the whole interview and even through the end of it, I was having a hard time letting the thought out of my mind that this band could be the next big thing; because it is definitely possible. Being a fairly young band and on the rise with extremely infectious music, how can one not think that? I was just glad Jamaican Queens decided to drop by WKNC on their quick and inevitable ride to the top.

http://interviews.wknc.org/jamaicanqueens090713.mp3

Post-Scotch: DJ DiGiorno's Review

Hopscotch Music Festival has always been one of my favorite music festivals. It is one of the most diverse festivals ever. This year was no exception. The festival included everyone from blues legends from the 50's (Ironing Board Sam) to one of the most iconic MCs (Big Daddy Kane) to the founders of both The Velvet Underground (John Cale) and Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore) to one of the greatest noise musicians from Japan (Merzbow) and everything in between. One of the greatest things about this festival is that while there were certain acts I knew beforehand, many of the acts I only learned about because of the festival.  I discovered a lot of my new favorite acts by looking them up beforehand and listened to them or even just by being dragged to their set during the festival.  Hopscotch Music Festival is definitely one of my most favorite weekends of the year filled with unforgettable experiences.

Thursday Highlights
-Thursday night I received my first unforgettable introduction to Body Games. They are an incredible new group from Chapel Hill whose brilliant indie electro-pop complete with a great lights show and Lion King projections had they whole crowd grooving along.  They even covered Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There" from Free Willy which oddly enough fit perfectly as everyone nostalgically danced along.
-New local stars Sylvan Esso blew everyone out of the water.  Their beat-driven breed of infectious electro-pop had everyone dancing and Memorial Auditorium shaking.
-Kurt Vile and The Violators played last to close out the night at Lincoln perfectly with their warm wash of guitar driven rock as everyone lost themselves in his music.

Friday Highlights
-Thurston Moore, although not on the official Hopscotch bill, played a day show at Kings with drummer John Moloney.  It was incredible to see such an iconic legend in a setting such as this.
-Future Islands have become local music gods so it is obvious that would be one of my highlights.  Future Islands performed new-wave synth-pop to perfection as Sam's antics kept the crowd entertained.  They played many favorites from over the years as well as some songs from their upcoming effort that they announced.
-Speedy Ortiz was one of the bands I was looking forward to see the most of this festival and they did not disappoint.  Their hour long set was rock solid made full use of the stage and filled every corner of the room with their guitar driven noise-pop.

Saturday Highlights
-As a fan of the Pixies and more recently of The Breeders, it was a dream come true to see them perform live at Hopscotch.  The entire band was having a great time as they joked back and forth between songs off of The Last Splash.  Their energy fueled that crowd as everyone sang and danced along.  They even got to play a few more songs after the last song on their album that they were playing in full.  Their performance was utter perfection and you could see the excitement of them playing together again.
-City Plaza not only knocked "seeing The Breeders," off my bucket list, but "seeing Spiritualized" as well.  They played a perfect mix of songs that spanned most of their career complete with projections and lights.  The whole show and atmosphere was just an incredible experience as dusk began to settle.

Hopscotch: Friday Night Highlight Photos

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Hopscotch: Thursday Night Highlight Photos

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Hopscotch Day Party Highlight: College Radio Showcase

WKNC, along with our friends at WUAG and WXYC, is kicking Hopscotch Music Festival off right on Thursday with a free day party at Tir Na Nog featuring College Radio Showcase. There will be four bands and all sorts of fun from noon to five pm!

The lineup is as follows:

12:30: Ameriglow

1:30: The Human Eyes

2:30: Once and Future Kings 

3:30: Solar Halos

For more information, check out the event page!

 

 

Playlist: A Guide to Hopscotch 2013

Hopscotch Music Festival is quickly approaching. If you haven’t had time to check out all of the bands yet, I have made a comprehensive Spotify playlist that includes a couple of songs from each of the Hopscotch artists that are currently on Spotify to help you out. Check out the playlist to help you decide which artists you absolutely must see at this year's festival. As always, tune in to 88.1 WKNC Raleigh to hear these artists as well as other great artists all day. We'll see you there!!!!!

Check out the playlist here!

Hopscotch Day Party Highlight: Rock N' Roll Pizza Party

WKNC is sponsoring Rock N' Roll Pizza Party, a Hopscotch Music Festival Day Party presented by Naked Gods that promises to be one of the best of this year's festival.   The day party will take place from noon to 5 pm at Slim's Downtown on Thursday, September 5th.  This day party features some of the best local acts as well as free pizza from Mellow Mushroom.  The schedule is as follows:

12:00 - Gray Young
Raleigh's Gray Young creates huge driving instrumental rock. His breed of anthemic rock rivals that of some of the best post rock bands on the scene.   His crescendos and grandiose builds fill every corner of the venue as he fully immerses the entire crowd into his world.

1:00 - The Critters
This Asheville quartet delivers their infectious breed of psych pop-rock with an imperfect perfection that will be sure to have you dancing along.

2:00 - Invisible Hand
Born in Charlottesville, VA this creative band combines acid rock with power pop guitar hooks.  Their newest effort Lies, Lies, Lies is an impressive album that is due out soon.

3:00 - Naked Gods
Psychedelic pop rockers from Boone leave every audience instant fans of their band. Their perfected, high energy performance is always a worthwhile sight to see. They promise a stellar set including some new additions from their as of yet untitled album that they are currently working on.

4:00 - Lonnie Walker
Raleigh's Lonnie Walker has been a WKNC favorite since their release of These Old Times in 2009.  Their intelligent breed of indie rock with a hint of post country embodies the city of Raleigh for me.  The fast-paced nature of the songs and the energy of their live performance will round out this day party perfectly.

https://www.facebook.com/events/560384460691582/?ref=2

Hopscotch Must-See: WOOL

“Like cries from a wolf at night, on acid.”

This is a personal artist spotlight on WOOL by Toast for Hopscotch.

While I find WOOL’s sound a little less animalistic than their proclamation, there is none the less a good case of the swampy-womps riddling their music. Headed by local fella, Troy Brian Hancock, this band came on the scene in 2011 and in January of 2012 released their latest album, “Bulletin Air” and apparently another on the way in the spring. Bright guitars by Zack Oden really launch the experience, backed by bassist/keyboardist Johnny Hobbs and drummer Raymond Finn. The album has a definitively optimistic but not too sunny sound, like moseying around with no real place to be on the first day of fall. It’s sway side to side, bob your head stuff, perfect for an easy night out without all the fuss and jump you may find at other shows. You may actually get through the set without someone spilling a beverage on or near you, which in my mind, is a feat in itself.

Favorite Track: “Bulletin Air” on Bulletin Air

Berkeley Cafe, Friday September 6th, 9PM

Hopscotch Must-Sees: Kurt Vile and the Violators

Wakin on a Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile

This is a personal artist spotlight on Kurt Vile and the Violators by DJ DiGiorno for Hopscotch.

Kurt Vile has become the unofficial king of Philadelphia. The mayor even recently declared August 28th as Kurt Vile Day in Philadelphia. His calming brand of guitar driven, lo-fi stoner rock has become a banner that they fly proudly. His soothing voice crooning over the wash of sound creates this warm, spacious atmosphere that you can reside in forever.  His music is slow, but in the best possible way. It's reminiscent of those long, uneventful summer days that we remember fondly.

Kurt Vile began writing solo songs as a teenager.  In 2005, he formed The War on Drugs with Adam Granduciel.  They released their debut studio album Wagonwheel Blues in 2008.  After a tour with the album, Kurt Vile left the band to focus more on his solo efforts although he has been featured on some of their recent recordings. After leaving the band, Vile then released his debut solo album Constant Hitmaker in 2008 which is comprised of home recordings from 2003-2007. The record began to get some recognition as he began to start touring. In 2009, Vile released God Is Saying This To You... which again consisted of previous home recordings.

Vile was then signed to Matador Records in May 2009. By October, he had released his third album Childish Prodigy.  This was the first time he had gotten a chance to sit down in a studio and write a cohesive album as opposed to compiling various old home recordings.  Childish Prodigy was our first introduction to his backing band, The Violators. Vile was garnering attention increasingly as he joined artists such as Thurston Moore and Dinosaur Jr. on tour.  Vile released his fourth album Smoke Ring for My Halo in 2011 to critical acclaim.  The album made many end of the year lists and is considered his breakthrough album.

This past April, Kurt Vile put out his latest effort Wakin on a Pretty Daze.  The album received very positive reviews including Pitchfork's coveted "Best New Music" award. Wakin on a Pretty Daze is one of Vile's most beautiful and spacious albums to date.  With most songs surpassing the six minute mark, it is evident that this album has a complete disregard for time. The album is comprised of 11 songs and clocks in at about 70 minutes long. Vile takes you into his warm world where time is irrelevant. The subtle intricacies of his work demands your attention: the guitars fading in and out, the shifting of beats, or just the shuffling or leaving out of parts. The lyrics on this album are his most self-aware to date as he comments on his music and his life. It makes for a comedic as well as introspective listen.

Kurt Vile and The Violators always deliver an impressive live performance. Vile performs from behind his mass of hair as The Violators stay right in step and flesh out every corner of the song. The warm, timeless atmosphere of the songs are a great place to reside in on a late September night. This is an absolute must-see show for Hopscotch Music Festival.

Favorite Tracks: Never Run Away, Wakin on a Pretty Day, Shame Chamber, Baby's Arms

RIYL: Ariel Pink, War on Drugs, Dinosaur Jr., Guitars, Chillaxing

Playing: Lincoln Theatre, Thursday September 5th 12:00 AM-1:00 AM

Hopscotch Must-Sees: Ryan Hemsworth

This is a personal artist spotlight on Ryan Hemsworth by Prism for Hopscotch.

Recently, I read New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica's piece about his experiences at 2013's Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. In the article, he makes a distinction between the first day (largely hip bread-and-butter indie rock) with the second and third day's more electronic and experimentally focused bills. And he specifically cites 23-year old Halifax DJ Ryan Hemsworth as being responsible for finally kick[ing] this year’s edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival into gear, saying that his music made "bodies [get] to moving" for the first time that weekend.

I found this observation funny, because I had a completely similar experience with Ryan at this years' South By Southwest music festival. After my then-underaged ass found my way into Pitchfork's 1100 Warehouse showcase on Thursday, I caught Sky Ferreria and Zebra Katz's sets amidst a crowd of bearded tweeting industry bros who gosh darn it were not going to dance for the effing likes of Sky Effing Ferreria. But when Hemsworth went up and immediately dropped what I think was his remix of Frank Ocean's "Thinking About You," the lame music crit crowd went wild for the first time, dancing for his whole set and into Disclosure, who followed him.

So while I've established that the man accomplishes things live, I should also mention that Ryan Hemsworth has been kicking around the internet for a few years at this point. His oeuvre includes his many diverse and amazing remixes (go YouTube his version of Craig David's "Fill Me In" or maybe his snare-filled twist on 'Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely' from the Backstreet Boys) as well as a slew of originals and production he's done for rappers such as Shady Blaze, Deniro Ferrar, and Main Attraktionz.

There's a lot I could say about him, but I think the best thing to say is that if you enjoy dancing and contemporary sample-based electronic music, his headlining set at CAM will be where it's at at Hopscotch. The conflict between him and Earl Sweatshirt at Lincoln will be tough for some, but I've seen the man live before and I know where the fun will be at. See you at CAM.

Best Songs: Frank Ocean - Thinkin Bout You (Ryan Hemsworth Bootleg)

Playing: CAM: 12:30 AM Friday night

Hopscotch Must-Sees: Speedy Ortiz

Major Arcana by Speedy Ortiz

This is a personal artist spotlight on Speedy Ortiz by DJ DiGiorno for Hopscotch.

Speedy Ortiz's first foray into the scene was the release of The Death of Speedy Ortiz in 2011. Then a solo project of songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, the lo-fi pop album began to make its way around. Dupois then decided to enlist the help of her friends Matt Robidoux (guitar), Darl Ferm (bass) and Mike Falcone (drums) in early 2012 to turn Speedy Ortiz into the full band it needed to become. This noisy band quickly found its home in the Boston DIY scene playing basements and house shows left and right. In the summer of 2012, Speedy Ortiz released a 7" as well as an EP. Now that they were a quartet, this gave them the ability to flesh out the sound of the first album. Their songs were praised for their pop-sense vocals atop the ambitious noise. The aggressive, thundering drums bottomed out by hefty bass riffs complete with frenetic, dissonant guitar parts fronted by soothing vocals helped complete their signature abrasive yet beautiful style of noise-pop.

After some success with their first releases, Speedy Ortiz made their way around the nation playing mainly house shows and DIY spaces. Their low key shows were delivered spot on to very welcoming audiences around the nation. After touring extensively, they embarked on their first truly collaborative effort. In July 2013, they released their proper debut album Major Arcana to major critical acclaim including Best New Music from Pitchfork. This album saw them perfecting their craft. Dupuis' carefully crafted vocals soaring over discord. In addition to meaningful lyrics, she also provides another layer to the record with her cunning wordplay and perfectly articulated annunciations. Her lyrical delivery rivals the best in indie music these days. This can be dangerous in most cases as it can draw closer attention to the words, but they end up holding their own in a time when lyrical prowess seems to be of a bygone era. This praise is not to say that Dupois outshines the rest of the band. Her fellow band mates' skills are well on par with hers. The thunderous drums and bass lay the groundwork for the melodic driven noisy guitars that echo and compliment the melody lines. Altogether, this is a very tight band that is an absolute must-see for Hopscotch Music Festival.

Favorite Tracks: Tiger Tank, No Below, Fun, Pioneer Spine

RIYL: Yuck, Polvo, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement

Playing: Kennedy Theater, Friday September 6th 11:00 PM-12:00 A.M.

Hopscotch Schedule Announced!

While the line-up has been published for some time now, the official schedule has just been posted.  Now its time to get out that pen and paper and start banging your head into the wall to decide if you want to see Kurt Vile and the Violators or Matthew Dear more.  With this year's stellar line-up there is sure to be much debate over who to see as well as a lot of running around to maximize the number of sets you see.  Hopscotch has been posting a number of useful Hopscotch Handbooks that break down different bands to help make your decision process a bit easier.  As always, stay tuned to WKNC as we continue to bring you some artists to look forward to at this year's festival.  So pin your Hopscotch handbooks and schedules on the wall, it's time to pull out the red string and tacks and start mapping your Hopscotch 2013 adventure!

Hopscotch 2013 Lineup Announced!!!

Hopscotch Music Festival has announced their full lineup for this year's music festival. The festival will house close to 175 different bands across 15 different venues in downtown Raleigh. This year's festival features the best from the Triangle music scene as well as a healthy mix of other national and international acts. As always, City Plaza (the mainstage) features some great talent. Local 90s-esque indie rockers Gross Ghost kick off Friday night at City Plaza followed by WKNC's favorite new wave synth-gods Future Islands. Big Boi will finish off the night at City Plaza.  Local indie-pop newcomers The Lollipops will open the night at City Plaza on Saturday. The Breeders (Kim Deal of the Pixies) will honor the twentieth anniversary of their hit album Last Splash by playing it in its entirety.  British rockers Spiritualized will headline the night at City Plaza with their stunning breed of space rock.

While City Plaza may appear to be the mainstage of Hopscotch, there are many other amazing shows that take place.  As the headliner finishes up their show at City Plaza, concerts all around downtown Raleigh at Hopscotch's 14 other venues are just beginning.  While there are way to many incredible bands to highlight in this post, other notable acts playing around Raleigh include Local Natives, John Cale, Sleep, Earl Sweatshirt, Low, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Action Bronson, Matthew Dear, Oblivians, The Rosebuds, Califone, ADULT., Merzbow, Chatham County Line, Mikal Cronin, Pere Ubu, Marnie Stern, Pig Destroyer, Ryan Hemsworth, WOLD, Pissed Jeans, Matmos, Charlemagne Palestine, Wolf Eyes, Holly Herndon, Purling Hiss and Mount Moriah.  To see the full list of bands along with profiles for each band go here.  Tickets are available here.  Stay tuned for more Hopscotch information and coverage.

Hopscotch Lineup Announcement

Hopscotch Music Festival is the largest music festival in North Carolina.  This year Hopscotch will host nearly 175 bands at 15 different venues across Raleigh.  The festival will take place September 5-7th, 2013.  In addition to the 175 bands on the bill for the festival, there will be dozens of day parties every day featuring many more bands.

Hopscotch, now in its fourth year of existence, promises to continue its rise in popularity and is beginning to solidify itself as one of the great music festivals of the East Coast.  Hopscotch's first announcement came a couple months ago when they revealed that The Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, who more recently has had a very successful career as a solo artist and producer, would play Hopscotch 2013.  A month later they announced that stoner, doom metal band Sleep would be making their first appearance in North Carolina in over 20 years at the festival.  Experimental electro-pop genius Matthew Dear was the next to be added to this year's bill.  Then one of the most surprising announcements came.  The Breeders began as a side project for Kim Deal of Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses.  It then grew into so much more.  The Breeders are active again with Kim Deal at the helm joined with her sister Kelley Deal along with Jim MacPherson, and Josephine Wiggs.  This is the same line-up that recorded the critically acclaimed album Last Splash that they will perform in full at this year's festival.

Even with just four acts announced,  this year promises to be better than all of the previous years.  The full lineup will be announced tomorrow April 24th at 10 am.  Be sure to check here for the unveiling of the lineup.  Don't forget to get your passes for this year's festival as soon as possible here.  We look forward to seeing you all out and about at this year's festival!

Be sure to check out Hopscotch's upcoming Road Shows here.