Two Raleigh bands played up in Durham last night - Soft Company and Antibubbles (Vibrant Green and Cantwell, Gomez and Jordan were also on the bill, but I missed them). It was dubbed the Aquarian Birthday Party, and any Aquarians got in free. It was my first visit to Motorco, and it really is a top quality live venue... good sound, facilities, nice-but-not-massive beer selection, tiered "ampitheater"-type seating around the fringes.
Both Antibubbles and Soft Company make pretty heavy use of keyboards, and mine prior decades for their sound. But while giving props to the past, neither act sounds too retro. Antibubbles updates the '90s Cali pop-punk genre, and is a little more straight-ahead of the two. Soft Company has an 80s feel and delves into more experimental pop - I'm reminded of Santogold listening to them now (though I realy didn't get that from the live show). Either way, both bands put on fun shows, and are worth seeing when you get the chance.
Here's a few photos from the show. First four are Soft Company, then two of Antibubbles, then one of the ghost of Antibubbles playing in the street next to Motorco. ;)
Last weekend in Raleigh, there was a benefit for a new art/music/creative space called Moving Island. It's opening right next door to another communal/music space, the Ruby Red, as a little artistic oasis begins to build just north of trendy Glenwood South. Moving Island is shooting for non-profit status and taking memberships. Besides the odd music and art show, they're planning on holding classes in several artistic areas, and performing various other artistic outreach efforts. Right now, only one floor is open, but it will eventually open as a multilevel community space. See movingisland.org for more info.
Several bands played on this night (it was a 2-night deal) -- including Lonnie Walker, Gray Young, and Veelee. Here, Veelee performs a new song, "Bruises Easily". It's a Sonic Youth-y number which demonstrates there ability to create a raucous intensity well-beyond what you'd expect from a two-piece.
I'm finally starting to appreciate the local music around here a bit more. And by "local", I don't mean the locally grown indie/punk/post-punk/post-wave/whatever-catchphrase bands that are always integral to a local scene (and that I have always supported). But I'm talking about the local indigenous music.
Where I come from, that's jazz, and funk, and brass, and blues, etc. (I'm from New Orleans). There's no problem getting into that. It's the roots of everything. But so far, the "roots" music from these parts, either played in the purist way or melded with new sounds, hasn't caught my ear. At least not a specific act.
That was until I caught Holy Ghost Tent Revival.
Their show at Local 506 last week was a barn-burner. And the loyal (and packed) crowd proved it wasn't the first. This Greensboro combo bring all the elements of a good ole', well, tent revival!, to a rawk show. The tenor of their show reminded of days of yore catching local psychobilly punks Dash Rip Rock at their earliet hows in Baton Rouge... where so many broken bottles were danced and stomped upon that the floor ended up like sand. Smokin' hot roots music, with an ear to the past but blazing a path to the future. Banjo, horns, keyboards, plus the usual, melded punk, bluegrass, 1920s jazz, all into a downright hoe-down. They had the crowd in their hands, and sang along with them, to tunes like the rollicking "Getting Over Your Love" and the anthem of dysfunction "Alcohol"(see video below).
Stephen Murray acted the quintessential frontman, crooning wildly into the mic and switching between banjo, guitar and trumpet. Trombone and main trumpet filled out what bordered on Dixieland at times (especially when all 3 horns kicked in). The keyboardist was apparently an ex-member from long ago, filled in admirably due to the regular guy's illness. The band danced and jumped all over the place, along with the crowd (in what little room there was... I've seldom seen the 506 so packed).
In New Orleans, ever since the long-forgotten NOLA band All That first melded brass band and hip-hop to make "Brass-Hop" -- which Coolbone also promoted -- I have been a fan of such cross-decade (-century!?) hybrid bands. Galactic are perhaps the masters of that now, melding among other things, hip hop, Mardi Gras Indian, and straight jazz music into a funk-a-licious brew. But (apologies to the late Squirrel Nut Zippers) HGTR are the first NC band I've caught that are doing the same thing w/ the "local" music up in these parts.
"Freezing Point", 2nd video from the surprise reunion show Archers of Loaf played opening for the Love Language. Both of these are in HD, but they seem to play smoothest at 720p, not 1080. Sorry I missed the first line or two here...
