Hopscotch Music Festival Day One - Thursday Day Parties (Raleigh, NC, 9/10/15)

I've sometimes wondered why I spend so much time and effort going to mostly local bands' shows at Hopscotch, with all the big-ish and buzzy bands attending. But I have to face facts: I'm a musical locavore. With such an incredible scene here, Hopscotch is a three-day buffet of great local music. There are local bands that seldom play -- maybe that I haven't even been able to see yet -- so I get to enjoy them. And there are my favorite local bands that I see more often. My favorite bands ARE local, so to see ten of them in one day is really a pretty nice deal.

Add to that a the spice from sometimes stunning shows by national acts: this Thursday for me it was Battles and Jenny Hval (photos to come later)... and by the end of just one day, I'm simply stuffed. Appropriately, I started this year's Hopscotch at the always great Potluck Foundation Hopscotch Pizza Party at Slim's. Basically, I spent all day there. Below are my first slew of Hopscotch photos, and a couple of videos... all local bands, all from the Potluck Party. More to come later, from Thursday night and beyond.

I walked up as Schooner was echoing through the concrete slabs of the Moore Square parking deck, a "venue" that's becoming a bit of a Hopscotch tradition, as there are always people hanging out there taking in the tunes from Slim's outdoor stage.

The crowd in the back at Slim's Downtown taking in Schooner...

Heading inside, the first proper show I caught was by Greensboro's the Kneads. Their tight brand of indie-guitar-rock was a pleasant jolt (in lieu of coffee) to start the festival. 

The Kneads...

I took a break to try to see Asheville's great Nest Egg at Kings. As a result, I unfortunately missed a trimmed-down Wyrms set that I didn't think was going to happen...AND I missed Nest Egg anyway! #hopscotchproblems

But I did return in time for Horizontal Hold, a new-ish post-punk band with a bunch of veterans of the local scene.

Horizontal Hold... 

Eston and The Outs, another new-ish local band (one that I've raved about here recently), were next. His whole Carolina Wrecking Crew were there; Eston has a great supporting cast, appropriate for the wonderful songs on his second album, AM Gold. See the video below for one of the live songs.

LOOK!  It's Eston and the Outs...

The Carolina Wrecking Crew...

Josh Starmer's cello really fleshes out the Outs' sound...

Talk to the hand, 'cause Eston ain't listenin'... :)

Here's Eston and the Outs performing the first song off AM Gold, Whatever Donna / A Notch for Nancy...

Then it was back inside for Jphono1, who have filled out nicely as a full band now. Note Patrick O'Niell, foreground below, playing his 3rd of what will be 6 sets at Hopscotch by the time it's over... Schooner, Wyrms, Jphono1, Some Army, Schooner... who am I missing? Did he sneak up onstage with Dwight?

Jphono1...

The always great See Gulls had a treat in store with former member Jacki Huntington returning tfor Hopscotch. She sang Don't Write Me Love Songs and Bam Bam, along with backup (and bubbles) throughout. See a video of Bam Bam below.

See Gulls...

Here's See Gulls doing Bam Bam...

After the first day parties were over, a quick storm blew over, and the rainbow over downtown signaled that a great Hopscotch was underway.

Up next, Thursday night:  Jenny Hval, Battles, and more great local bands.