Kosher Fest - Saturday 5/27/17 - Long Live the Hut!

"Punk rock was my first girl / she left me a scar so I have her still" - Beulah, Silver Lining

I was a late bloomer in just about every respect.  Maybe it was just classic middle kid, ultra-geek (before it was cool, man!) syndrome.  Maybe I shared some of the genes that made my future son autistic.  But in life, in love, in pretty much all the social norms, I always lagged behind.  I was pretty much a grammar school kid in high school (you should see my yearbook photos!), a high school kid in college, an undergraduate in grad school.  It's probably why I now live my "adult" life like I'm still in college.

Even in my musical taste, I bloomed late. As a kid, I mostly listened to guilty pleasures like Boston, Styx, and Foreigner (hey, I was from da West bank of NOLA!).   But I'd listen to some weird stuff, too.  I'd spend hours perched over the turntable (before that became UN-cool, then cool again!), headphones on, absorbing Yes's Tales from Topographic Oceans; the definitive bloated prog-rock mind-bender if ever there was one.  Maybe most girls thought I was from another planet because, in my mind, soaking in 25-minute prog-rock movements, I quite literally was.  

But, musical or otherwise, punk rock was my first real "grown-up" passion.  In college I started to get into British stuff like Dave Edmunds and Elvis Costello, and that grew into love of American bands like the dBs, Let's Active, Game Theory, Descendants...  hmm...  seems the more off-the-mainstream-path I get, the better the music gets!  When I first I heard the Pixies "Gigantic" on KLSU (in Baton Rouge), I decided then and there to become a DJ.

Make no mistake, this musical passion is the main reason why I took 7 years to finish a PhD.  Years of deejaying, way too many shows, hosting the local music show, publishing a zine, starting a proto-website... it's really never stopped.  Zine-ing grew to the more acceptable adult past-time of an indie newspaper column.  This continues today into the humble blog you're reading.

But it's always been about punk rock.  And while that loaded phrase has as many definitions as there are people you ask, to me it's always been simply about any music that's different and breaks norms.  About artists that pursue their passion for the simple sake of it.  But beyond music, about voices that speak loudly and challenge the status quo.  Indie-alternative-underground-college-punk-whatever music has always been to me at its core, about free speech.  And I've always been passionate about experiencing and promoting that.

Okay, to the point.  In my mind, the purest manifestation of punk rock is (and perhaps always has been) the house show. It is the epitomy of that most punk of ethics, DIY.  "You don't need to tell me how to do this.  I'M gonna do it!"  Sometimes, even the most podunk, backwoods of towns can have the best ones.  Desperation breeds creativity.  At once angry and ebullient, lashing out and life-affirming, house shows give voice to the silenced, a place to the dispossessed.  A good house venue is more a home than any club could ever be.  Well, maybe a little because they usually ARE  homes :).

And there have been few house venues as welcoming as the Kosher Hut.  More home-y and familial than the buzz-iest club, the Hut's been a place where all are welcome... even this old dog.  But it's still punk as fuck.  Really, to me, those two things have always been one and the same.

The Hut's raised tons of dough for many worthy causes, all while providing one helluva great time.  Whatever Brains blew the lid off that joint.  Zack Mexico got naked.  9192 brought smooth raps.  Synths jammed, radicals screamed, horses played...  all in all, it's been weird and wild fun.  

And this Saturday, Kosher Hut's calling it quits with a blowout "show".. I say "show" because it's much more than that.  Kosher Fest features a line-up of  a dozen or more for day parties, on two stages.  Then at night, they'll have a Hopscotch-worthy line-up:  Lonnie Walker, ET Anderson, Acid Chaperone, Jenny Besetzt, Ghostt Bllonde, Zensofly, and Oak City Slums!  Killer.  But the day party line-up is no slouch either:

 

The whole shindig starts early (1:00pm) and goes on into the night.  I hear tell there'll be a BBQ food truck there, and there's even talk of a slip'n'slide!  But there'll be non-stop great music, all punk in spirit, though greatly varied in genre & style.  And that's punk, too. So come say g'bye to one of the great house venues, and have a good ol' time.  As for where... as they say, ask a punk. 

This is so big, they should just go all the way & sell out.  Maybe my great MS Paint skills could snag some o' that corporate $$! :)

The GOOD Kinda MOAB (Mother of All Bills) - Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, Lonnie Walker - Nightlight, Sat, 4/22/17

I don't usually promote a show beforehand other than to fire off a quick facebook post, linking to the event.  But this one merits more.  To Be Heard booking have put together numerous great shows since their inception earlier this year.  But this one tops them all.  And by "all", I mean all local shows.  Ever.

Okay, maybe that's hyperbolic.  Musical taste is subjective.  But these three bands are all right in my sweet spot, and in my mind, may just be the three best bands in North Carolina:  Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, and Lonnie Walker.

If you read my blog at all, you know I'm in LOVE with Outer Banks' own Zack Mexico.  ZM is my crush... if I weren't too old to crush, and if I were gay, and if he were a person.  He's HAWT!  Just Google How Strange... and Zack Mexico and you'll see some overlap.  I hate long jams, but I can sit and watch these guys extend a song over 10 minutes and love it.  Hell, I can and often have watched them build a long set out of 4 or 5 songs, and left completely satisfied and musically satiated.  I can't count the number of times I've heard newbies gush after one of their shows, and with a series of opening dates with Future Islands, they'll be making a lot more fans soon.

Here's a vid I took of them at Hopscotch a couple of years back, doing an older song that appears on their latest album, Get Rich and Liver Forever:


Then there's Naked Gods, from Boone.  I kind of consider them to be the mountain equivalent to the beach's Zack Mex... similar mindset, slightly more rootsy vibe.  But they got that indie-psychedelic jam thing going.  Their self-titled album is one of the best by an NC band in years.  Frontman Seth Sullivan is a force of nature onstage.  Expect bear hugs.

Here's them at Hopscotch a couple of years back with a great song from the afore-mentioned album:


Then Raleigh's Lonnie Walker.  They laid off for a while, but are back, and the recent Earth Canals was another one of the best local albums in years.   They lean even a bit rootsier (maybe twangier, really), but really it's just Brian Corum's unique style.  I link them with some of the great Ghostmeat records bands from that Athens GA label in the '90s (Sunbrain, Drip, Tony Tidwell, Dave Dondero... particularly Dondero's band Flatwheelers that predated his solo stuff...damn they were great.).    I regret that I never had time to give ...Canals its due when it came out.  Teenage Poem is perfect pop.  Songs like All Bombs Away and Baby Man are downright incendiary.  And it's all punctuated by sublime slower tunes like No Pure Light and Seasons.

Here's Lonnie Walker doing Summertime at the very same venue where this show of shows will be tomorrow night:


Any one of these bands blows up the stage.  All three, and it might just change your life.  Do not miss this show.  Zack Mexico, Naked Gods, and Lonnie Walker, Saturday, 4/22/17, Nightlight in Chapel Hill.  Mother of all Bills.

Hopscotch Saturday Day Parties (9/6/14)

The day parties are always a highlight of Raleigh's annual Hopscotch Music Festival, and this year was no exception.  Among the plethora of these free daytime mini-fests, the Phuzz Sounds Day Party (now in its third year) is proving to be consistently one of the best.  Thrown at the Hive by the Phuzz Records/Phuzz Phest bunch from over in Winston-Salem, it's my choice as the place to settle in if you just want to pick a single spot to hear lots of great music, without trekking all over downtown.  And maybe to get over your Friday night Hopscotch hangover with some good food (or have a little hair of the dog).

This year had a great line-up, starting with Wilmington's Free Clinic.  I am loving everything these guys put out, including their supposedly "rough" B-side Demos comp.  It's got some great tracks, including the beachy, breezy Wasting Time, which for the life of me I don't remember if they played!  I know they played the (impossibly) even better Off My Rocker, from the MixGrotto Tape 17 Compilation (GET IT HERE!).   Listening to this bands' blissful pop will extend your summer at least a few months, and having missed their nighttime set on Thursday, was the ideal way to start my Hopscotch Saturday.

Free Clinic (at the Hive)

Another great day party was at Slim's.  While I didn't attend it directly, I caught some of it second-hand.  I'd heard Raleigh's Naked Naps was a last-minute add to their Spazzscotch III line-up, which suited me just fine.  Between Free Clinic songs, I caught some of their angular, simple-yet-complex punk from above, on the rooftop at the Hive.

Naked Naps (at Slim's)

Then it was back inside to see See Gulls.  The crowd was beginning to load in for this one, so I opted to stay back and enjoy mostly the sounds (seen them many times lately).  These sounds are truly worthy of the buzz they've been getting, and worthy of the crowds they attracted at Hopscotch (both here and for their show later that night).

People waiting for SeeGulls (which would become a theme for the day)...

See Gulls (at the Hive)

After seeing See Gulls gulling, it was our magnanimous hosts' turn.  Phillip Pledger and Drew Braden (guitar and drums in the first photo below) not only play in Estrangers, but run Phuzz Records... which is developing a habit of signing the buzziest bands around.  They themselves were the first, and their 60's-influenced big melodies and hooks had the crowd warming up for the evening.

Estrangers (at the Hive)

If I was gonna make it to the next day party, I needed sustenance.  So I popped back out to the rooftop again to grab a bite (I shoulda pitched a tent back there).  No sooner do I sit down to order does a crowd begin to build on the roof.  As it turns out, ANOTHER surprise last-minute booking at Slim's down below was setting up and about to start:  Lonnie Walker!  They've been a favorite since I first saw them some time ago, so this was a real lagniappe for me (translation for non-NOLA-folks: "bonus", "extra").  I heard they're finally about to put out their second album, and had a few copies at their opening gig for St. Vincent and Spoon the night before at City Plaza.  This made me doubly disappointed that I missed their City Plaza gig.  But they played a great song (Teenage Poem) that I hope will be on it, and I promise to post a video of it later.

In short, the two shows I accidentally witnessed from the Hive's back deck made the Slim's day party one of the best, if unpredictable, of the festival.

Lonnie Walker (at Slim's)

Back in the Hive, the crowd had swelled even more from the See Gulls set, sardine-like now, to catch t0w3rs.  Raleigh's Derek Torres was becoming the talk of the festival even before (and in anticipation of) the big band set he was planning for his night show at Pour House.  But this was his more typical recent solo set.  Again, I stuck near the back, since I'd seen and photographed t0w3rs many times lately, was fully planning on being at the nighttime set, and wanted to skip out to see what was left of a few other day parties.  As usual, Derek killed; palms of his hands.

t0w3rs (at the Hive)

t0w3rs literally raging against the towers, performing Ours...

I would miss only one band of this great "Phuzzy" line-up at the Hive (Asheville's The Tills, on Phuzz along with Estrangers and t0w3rs).  I caught them at Phuzz Phest in April, and their trash-rock take on Beatlesque sounds was great.  But other sounds beckoned, and my feet were ready to head north (well, to find a pedi-cab to head north).  But here's a shot of them anyway!

Most of the Tills hanging out on the Hive rooftop... 
(I swear the Till on right is Will Clinton's -- of Wichita Falls -- doppleganger.  I even called "Will" to him from behind at the show... I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy.)

So, I hopped some carbon-neutral transpo over to Legend's for the Let Feedback Ring! day party, which (like Slim's) alternated between inside/outside shows.  I had heard good soundz from this DC combo, The Caribbean, on the Hopscotch site, and needed to expand beyond just my milieu of just local bands for at least one day party show.  Online, they sounded sort of breezy/jazzy Euro-pop, which I was in the mood for.  Live however, they reminded me more of 90's guitar-indie, but from a mellower place, which was fine by me.

The Caribbean (at Legend's)

Then it was outside and back to the local thing to see Some Army.  Hadn't seen them in a while (they play far too little since flooding local clubs after releasing their excellent self-titled EP).  Frontman Russell Baggett tells me an album's in the works; yes, please.  As for Hopscotch, the psychy/jazzy/indie take on Americana was a a great segue between the punkiness of earlier shows to the country sojourn I was about to take.  It was a nice setting, outside in a beautiful courtyard, surrounded by green, with a few wafts of air to go with the musical breeze.

Some Army (at Legend's)

As for my sojourn to the country... well, it was really only a few blocks back south (and towards my hotel, which was another bit of lagniappe).  But it was to see best practitioners of the art of country music in these here parts, and that would of course be John Howie Jr. and the Rosewood Bluff.  It's been too long since I've seen this bunch; they are always a good time.  The Guitartown Day Party at Berkeley Cafe was a good setting for this:  shotgun room, gotta squeeze to the back (if you want to see the band), just about enough space for dancing to bump into everyone nearby (including the band).  With songs like Everything Except Goodbye and Handfull of Heartaches, Howie hits all the right lyrical notes.  But he has the kind of guitar-slingin' authenticity in his singing and stage presence that only comes from being deeply studied in the roots of country and western music.  Howie's not borrowing from the tradition, he's adding to it (contrary to most current country "stars").

And the band are some genuine players:  Tim Shearer on lead guitar, Billie Feather on bass, Nathan Golub on slide, and (for this show at least) SCOTS drummer Dave Hartman.  Feather takes control of a standup bass bigger than her in a way that is, quite simply, impressive.  And Golub's slide makes everyone I've seen him play with twice as good... always a highlight.  I hear great things about his solo album.

John Howie, Jr., and the Rosewood Bluff (at Berkeley Cafe)
(I didn't go sepia on these because they were country -- well, maybe partially -- it's just that the color versions were just so damn colorful it distracted from the musicians!  Maybe I'll post the color ones on the Facebook page later.)

As the sun began to wane, so did my day party experience.  The Guitartown party was another indoor-in-the-front/outdoor-in-the-back party, and Michael Rank played a sublime set of his dark roots-rock-Americana on the back patio.  The single accompaniment of mandolin lent a sweetness to the outlaw edge that's more apparent when he's with his band Stag.  Equal parts Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, and Keith Richards, No Depression calls him "a contender for the King of DIY Americana".

Michael Rank (at Berkeley Cafe)

The sun sets on a great series of day parties at Hopscotch...

The Berkeley was a pleasant way to end my day partying.  Plus, I was only a short walk from my hotel (for a much needed break before the night shows).

Between Friday night and the day parties Saturday, it had already been a great Hopscotch.  Maybe I was just choosing wisely from the musical buffett, but I hadn't seen a bad show yet.  But keep your eyes on this page; next up, Saturday night! (talk about yer lagniappe)

NC is Melting, So You Should Too (a summer mixtape)

It being the height of the summer doldrums in North Carolina, here's a little summer playlist made up (mostly) newer stuff from (all) local/regional bands.  Listen, buy some if you like, or make your own playlist.  Below is just the base.  Here's the full recipe:

- Add other ingredients (Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Animal Collective, The Shirelles, whatever)
- Chop finely

- Add libation of your choosing
- Blend until smooth
- Chill for 1 hour
- Burn/tape/save to your favorite medium
- Ingest
- Then ride/swim/cruise/float/surf/porch-sit/melt until the summer is over

Bottoms up!

Okay, maybe Spider Bags doesn't fit with the summery vibe so much.  But I was lookin' for something to segue into Lonnie Walker's Summertime.  And anyway, they just fuckin' rock.

T0W3RS - If All We Have Is Time (DiggUp Tapes)

T0W3RS began as a solo project of Derek Torres (ex-Soft Company, etc.).  I was intrigued early on.  Before seeing them play some months ago, I checked 'em out online, and it surprised me that their recent EP prominently featured a cover from another local band, Summertime (by Lonnie Walker).  Kind of a gutsy (foolish?) move by an upstart local.  But I had been wearing out my copy of These Times, Old Times, Lonnie Walker's debut, so I'm curious: "What are these guys going to do with it?  And more to the point, why?"

My answer was immediate.  They were paying respects to fellow travellers, yet somehow simultaneously breaking totally new ground.  See, Lonnie Walker is a pretty rootsy, twangy band.  While still exerting a little twang, T0W3RS turned the song completely on end... into an electronic, slow-dance apparition of its former self.  Then there was another song, OUR5!, an Animal Collective-inspired rave-up released in support of the Occupy movement.  It had nary a string in earshot, but plenty of rolling keys, beeps, and a steady kick drum.  Okay.  I was interested.

Now, after giving their debut full-length, If All We Have Is Time, a few listens... well, let's just say I'm still interested.

...Time starts with the slow plucking of electric guitar and Torres' plaintive wail on Swim In, bemoaning an obviously dysfunctional relationship ("Your love's like a drain or a hole in boat / I should be swimmin'").  It's a brief, dark intro, which somehow jumps seemlessly into the upbeat pop bliss of eee!  This song realizes the meld of geetar & electronic hinted at by the earlier EP.  It's driven by jaunty acoustic strumming, echo-y electric, and knocking drumsticks.  But there's so much more clatter, warped static-y noises, and vocal cleverness that it goes way beyond relying on a pop hook.  And, really, how can you NOT love a song called eee!?

Over & Ov'r then detours us towards a darker, slower side of T0W3RS.  It's an unexpected, albeit welcome, development; one which sets the tone for the album.  The mournful waltz is punctuated mid-song by the swell of nightmarish organ that calls to mind some tripped out, mid-70s, midnight movie.  It's a bluesy, shadowy number with lyrics full of bite and spite ("Oh, you've got me tonight / that's when I act like I gave a fuck about you / and your kind...").  Next is Scout/, which begins with simple, sustained piano keys, but is buoyed when the gentle electric beat kicks in.  We get the feeling Torres is lifting out of a fog., a feeling accentuated by segueing into the (slightly) more up-tempo The Cardinal/The Finch, which continues the sparse piano and drums before sweet lilting vocals begin to pull us back into the sunlight.  

Before going much further, I should mention Torres' voice.  It's a great voice, but not in a typical way.  More in the way that Robert Pollard's voice is great... just the way he uses it.  A similar range to Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), and perhaps in the way it's mixed, explaining some of the Animal Collective comparisons.  But there's a vocal cleverness in the way he uses lyrics and sounds; from wordplay like "so keep what you make-k-K/your capital" ("you're capital"?), to simple breaths and croaks at just the right times.  It's one of the highlights of the band.  And although most of the album's vocals are Derek's, the addition of female vocals to the band really adds something to the sound, and the live show. 

Another highlight of T0W3RS is that the songs are always moving. By that I mean something is always going on, at every turn of every song.  Beyond the main song structures, under the surface, in the background, are surprising little tweaks and touches.  It's easy to throw a bunch of sounds together and call yourself "experimental".  Making it all flow together is the tricky part, a trick T0W3RS has mastered.  Even the quiet, slow songs, or parts of songs, are never boring.  Again, this is something captured well by the full band.  Multiple, varied instrumentation and voices come and go to great, restless effect, making for a very fun live show.

But back to the LP.  Each song sounds like a movement, progressing into the next.  After exiting the fog, we get to, appropriately, Big Sky (which, although they do cover Kate Bush live, is NOT the Bush song of that name).  Reverb-laden guitar and thumping drums make you almost see the distance and space.  The title cut then continues into the more optimistic bent, spare piano and strumming building to the realization that "If all we have is time, then we'd be allright".  Darla picks it back up, with a jumpy guitar line invoking Texas blues.  This most upbeat song on the album is followed by perhaps the simplest, quietest number, Logan.  While it may sound like the album is a bit of a roller coaster (and maybe it is), every hill and valley work together.  Darla and Logan, for instance, share a penchant for Deep Southern musical roots.  Logan is almost country, plucking it's way through Georgia, Austin, and back to Carolina, and "hoping for someone to soothe my heartache".  But then it's back on the coaster for the closer, the psychedelic (and again, a little Southern) rocker, The Seams, The Tangles & The Sum of My Brain.

T0W3RS is nothing if not diverse.  Influences are all over the place.  There's the afore-mentioned southern rock, blues, and electronic/experimental.  But I also hear a bit of 70's arena rock... can't really place it... Emerson, Lake, and Palmer?   But they rarely wear them on their sleeves.  There are just too many ingredients going into the pot to come out sounding like anything but, well T0W3RS.  Though this was recorded largely before the band took shape, props to the what has now become a great live band (Sam Logan, Karen Blanco, Jacki Lee Huntington, Zeke Krautwurst), and to the production by Logan.

T0W3RS play at Kings Barcade in Raleigh Friday, April 27th, to celebrate the release of If All We Have Is Time on DiggUp Tapes.  They're playing with Lonnie Walker (also great, see here), and Coastal Vision (who I haven't seen, but if the bill is any indicator...).  Plus, it's FREE!  You can put your money towards getting the LP.  It's worth it.

PS:  Derek's got a thing for math, numbers, punctuation, etc. (or should that be #s/punctuation/3TC?).  He and Robert Schneider, apparently.  Thus the band name and some of the song titles.  So no, not a bunch of typos above.

Lonnie Walker/Free Electric State/Hammer No More The Fingers (Nightlight, Chapel Hill, 11/18/11)

Here's a few pics and a video from a recent Nightlight show featuring one of my favorite local acts, Lonnie Walker, and two others I hadn't seen yet, Free Electric State and Hammer No More the Fingers. I should have seen the headliner HNMTF much sooner, and unfortunately didn't get any good photos of them this night. But they go balls-to-the-wall for a trio, have a fun sensibility not unlike Weezer, and can get downright funky at times. They've got one foot firmly planted in the old school of indie, but with an emphatic bass and a sometimes somewhat complex interplay between bass & guitar. It's not surprising they've worked with producer J. Robbins (ex-Jawbox, etc.).

Lonnie Walker opened. I've seen them a few times, and you should too. Brian Corum's country-ish twang and manic tales of heartbreak and the road take your brain places, and get your body jumping (as evidenced by the dancing fans in the video and pics below). For all the bands around here with that rootsy, "Americana"-thingy going, they take it where no one else does, IMHO standing head and shoulders above the rest. They remind me of some of the bands on Athens' Ghostmeat Records back in the 90s (Tony Tidwell, Drive By Truckers, The Lures, and Dave Dondero... or really more like his old bands Sunbrain or Flatwheelers before he went solo). Very much kindred spirits with that bunch, anyway.

Meanwhile, relative newcomers Free Electric State filled out the middle of the night with a thunderous, sorta "math rock"-y, BIG sound. They follow the indie old school, too. Dual staccato guitars, stop-starts, unexpected turns, high energy... all that with the male-female vocals kinda reminded me of Versus live. Their songs often build to pleasant, mind-numbing drones that almost (but not quite) hide the many layers used to generate them. All in all a very cathartic live show, and I'd guess as much for them every time they play as for the audience.

Lonnie Walker...



Free Electric State...






Lonnie Walker doing "Summertime"... sorry the vid's a bit dark; the original wasn't before it was dumped to YouTube.