I started
Hopscotch Saturday's day parties Upstairs/Downstairs at King's/Neptunes, with the OCSC party. Slow and dark downstairs at first -- literally and figuratively -- with
Boogie Reverie. He's a CH-Carrboro singer-songwriter I'd never seen yet. He reminded me a little of John Darnielle, or anti-folk singer Roger Manning, but his stuff I've heard online is much more wide-ranging pop-rock and experimental.
Boogie Reverie...
Next I popped upstairs to see
Mac McCaughan, who played a variety of tunes from Superchunk days to his current Non-Believers material. Kings was packed early for this one, and they all -- from the aging indie-dads (like me) to millenials giving props to the Merge progenitor -- appreciated it.
Mac McCaughan...
After a bite at Garland's (yummy Korean tacos!) I went back downstairs to see
Shelles, for only my second time. Shelles is the current band of Stuart Edwards from Old Bricks, with a host of great sidemen who cast hypnotic spells full of reverberating guitar and violin. They don't play often enough, but with their just-released LP
Carousel, they're hitting stages more often. This Thursday (Oct. 6th), they bring this moody, southern gothic vibe to the Pinhook for their
Durm release show (I missed one earlier at the Cradle Backroom, but I'll try to make this one).
Shelles...
On my way over to the Pour House, I stopped into Slim's and caught just a couple from the
Charming Youngsters. They're another local act I hadn't yet seen (there are a LOT of bands 'round here, folks!) so I wanted to make the effort. Their quirky pop sounded good to me in an Elvis Costello kinda way; gotta check'em out for a full set soon.
The Charming Youngsters...
Then over to the Pour House to close out my day parties with a big one by Younger Brothers Productions. Raleigh's
No Eyes were the penultimate act, taking the stage in some rather sexy evening wear. You wouldn't expect such well-dressed young gents to tear up the stage with the dark-psych-southern-doom-rock that they do. But there you are.
No Eyes...
I can't say much more about
Zack Mexico than I've said here a hundred times. Suffice it to say I like'em just a bit. They usually burn through an hour or so with about 4 or 5 extended jams (not to be confused in the slightest with jam bands). This was the case with their nighttime set at Hopscotch 2015, which IMHO was the best of that year's fest. NO ONE was left wanting for more after that blast of intense fun. But this time, they played more songs than I remember them playing in forever.
I've taken so many shots of this band they start to all look the same to me. So this time, let's do some portraits...
TIGER BEAT-style! (anybody else remember that or am I just way too old?)
Hey kids, it's Zack Mexico! Introducing...
The Shredder, Jamie!
The Mad Scientist, Matt!
The Wild Man, Joey!
The Machine, Stephen!
The Guru, John!
Finally, as Happy Mondays had their Bez, Zack Mexico has their Jesse...
There you have it, boys and girls, ZACK MEXICO!
Too corny? Yeah yeah, whatever, I've got writers' block and a backlog of photos. Anyway, ZM are always a blast.
(Well whaddya know! It's still a
it's still alive, courtesy the interwebs!)
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