WKNC Double Barrel Benefit - Day 1 (2/3/12)

It must be that time of year. First, the benefit for WXYC & WCOM in Carrboro a couple of weeks back, then WUNC's offering chances at free trips to everywhere, and now this one, for WKNC. Local radio fundraisers are in full bloom and in need of pollination! A lot of people/bees showed up the first of these two nights of the 9th annual Double Barrel Benefit to oblige. Like I posted recently, support college radio... blah blah blah.

The two night shows are being held at the Pour House, each featuring a 4-band lineup. Night 1 started with MAKE. This 3-piece plays sludgy, mathematical, spacey hard rock. While this genre is not my cup o' tea, they ARE very good at it, and have their own distinctive take on it. For a trio, their tight, bass-heavy sound really filled the room.

MAKE...

MAKE was followed by Durham quintet Organos. While they have two guitars, who were both kind of spacin' out themselves (sliding and tweaking their instruments in unusual ways), they're more bass-driven. But while "spacey and bass-y" just like MAKE, they couldn't have sounded more different. Organos has been described as experimental. That fits, I guess, but only in that they're hard to categorize. Sometimes that means experimental, but sometimes that just means unique; I think the latter is more the case here.

For starters, front-woman Maria Albini plays bass more like a lead guitar, and it's the predominant element in many of the songs. She belts out powerful vocals that are at once in your face and a bit melancholic. Other band members chime in with xylophone, spoons, and various other percussive sounds that counterpoint the melancholy with a bit of whimsy. It all adds up to a sound that's a little hard and a little folky, but again, just different. While mostly plugged in, they asked the audience if they would like to hear one song unplugged. Thankfully, the audience said yes. It was a very sweet number with all five of them coming to the front of the stage singing. I think you have to see Organos live. There's a lot of personality and fun in this band that I hadn't heard listening to their recorded material.

Organos...



Next came Chapel Hill's Birds and Arrows. They sport pretty minimal instrumentation (acoustic guitar, cello, fairly muffled drums). But strangely, they ROCK out. Part of it is singer Andrea Connolly's strong voice and stage persona. She's a very emotional singer, throwing every ounce of her slender frame into the mic. Birds and Arrows are another band that, while maybe more in the folky/Americana vein, are hard to categorize. They did a great Peter Gabriel cover, "San Jacinto". I'll post a video of that later, but some photos for now.

Birds and Arrows...



I think the painting on drummer Pete Connolly's kick drum -- painted by him -- is as good a description of their sound as any. It's of a small, scrappy dog rising up to take on a big ol' bear...
Last to play on Friday night were Future Kings of Nowhere. They play a smart, punky pop along the lines of Ted Leo, Cake or Ben Folds. Smart, clean lyrics and vocals in songs like "Here Comes 30" and "Thanks Mr. Grodin" are self-deprecating and humorous. The latter is a tribute to the actor Charles Grodin and all of their "friends in the theater who won't make a dime". It ends with the sage advice "There's more to success than just how successful you are". Very true. On "Honestly Anabelle", they slowed it down and got pretty sweet themselves... a stretch for their style, but well worth it.

Future Kings of Nowhere...

So that was Day 1 of the anual Double Barrel Benefit. It ended up being a very diverse and interesting lineup... which is, after all, what college radio is supposed to be all about. I'll post on Day 2 (a day show and market at Tir Na Nog, and another night show at the Pour House) in the next few days, along with the video of Birds and Arrows.