Hopscotch 2017 Preview: My Strategy? Pick a Venue and Camp Out

Here's my two bits for the Hopscotch Music Festival 2017 (night shows, a few day party recs at the end).  As you can see by my plan above, I'll be spending much of my time shuttling between Neptune's, Lincoln, and "The Basement" (new “venue” at the Convention Center).  If you like indie-pop and general quirkiness, the Neptune's bill is stacked all 3 days.  I'm kind of ignoring the big outdoor shows because, well, you all know about those and they don't really conflict with the nighttime club shows.  If you came to see Solange, you're gonna see Solange

I start my Thursday seeing Zack Mexico frontman John Saturley doing a solo thing at the Fletcher Opera House.  John, do I have to wear a tux? :)  His solo material is all over the place; as weird as Zack Mex, but softer and leaning more on production (for all I know, he’s just gonna be up on that big stage with a keyboard and computer, which is fine by me).   The I head to Neptune’s for local dance/sax thing Reflex Arc, followed by the wonderful synth-pop of Durham’s Moon Racer (with real drums!).  Her songs make my brain swoon.  After Neptune’s, I’ll probably head straight to the Basement to camp out for the rest of the night.  This gives me my first hard choice: Phuzz Records’ the Tills play at the Pour House in between the psych-weirdness of fellow Ashevillians Nest Egg and Oh Sees (or is it OCS, or still Thee Oh Sees?) at the Basement.  Did I mention Brian Jonestown Massacre close?  And the bands before Nest Egg are no slouches.  The Basement show Thursday night is really among the most solid of the festival.  Bring earplugs to this one.  (hopefully, the Basement is bigger than CAM, and the in-demand shows there won’t fill up so quick)  

Friday night, if I’m not watching Future Islands at City Plaza, I might catch Albert Adams (Nash Hall) and Iggy Cosky (King’s).  But my Friday club shows will probably start at Neptune’s, as I'm very much looking forward to Asheville's Aunt Sis.  Their album "These People" is unexpectedly catchy, given the general moodiness of the tunes. Kinda Pavement-y with acoustic pickin’.  This leads me to my second tough choice; Greensboro's The Kneads play at the same time at Deep South.  Their brand spankin' new album, "When Nothing's Going Right, Go Left", continues the catchy wordplay and indie-rock of their debut, but songs like "A+ In Apathy" and "7 Hours" steer them towards more straight-ahead punk waters.  Then, similar to Thursday, Friday will probably have me camping out at a big venue to ensure admittance (and save my feet).  The Lincoln is loaded all night.  NC bands Acid Chaperone and Museum Mouth kick it off with psychedelic drones and poppy punk, respectively.  Then, Preoccupations bring angular new wave from Canada, followed by Afghan Whigs, one of the few ‘90s band that’s consistently cranked out new and evolving music.  I might just catch’em all, unless I decide to pop back into Neptune’s for a little softer indie from Baltimore's Snail Mail.   But across downtown, you have another big-venue/stacked-bill at CAM:  Bodykit, Konvoi, Mourn, & Protomartyr.   So it’s hard to go wrong.  

Saturday will likely have me picking up where I left off the night before, at Lincoln.  Local mathy/punky duo Naked Naps open, followed by Advance Base (he of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone).  Then back to maybe spend the rest of the night at Neptune’s:  local punks Truth Club (pretty sure the singer from Astro Cowboy), great poppy indie-punk from Cende, and closer buzz-act Japanese Breakfast.  The latter may have been hella overplayed by KNC, but her/their music holds up.  If you can’t tell, I’ve been a sucker for the soft, bedroom pop lately.  Maybe it’s my antidote for the times.  Given the size of Neptune’s, this is one of those Hopscotch-closing shows that might fill up an act or two before (part of why I’m settling in there).  But if I get locked out, backups include Mannequin Pussy at Slim’s and Cherry Glazerr at Pour House.  They can’t ALL be one-in, one-out, can they?!  If so, experimental duo Buke and Gase up the street from Pour House, at Nash Hall, could make for a nice bring-me-down after 3 nights of shows.  

I don’t know, Mannequin Pussy promises to strip the paint off the walls of everybody’s fave shotgun bar.  Slim’s will be a sweat-fest for that one!  Guess it depends on the mood I’m in about 11:00 Sat night.  

As for the day parties, I can only make Saturday this year... except maybe to run straight from work Thursday and Friday nights to catch my personal favorites ET Anderson and Zack Mexico, respectively (both at 6:00 at Boxcar).  They're each worth missing the big outdoor shows, and they're both FREE!  Both also play a great day party Saturday at the Pour House:  Big Ed's Bloody Brunch.  That features those two bands, Acid Chaperone, Reese McHenry & the Fox, and a slew of great bands upstairs and downstairs.  To Be Heard Booking also has a great day party at Deep South (The Veldt, Wild Fur, Lacy Jags, Al Riggs, Konvoi, etc.).  And the Maywood has Flash Car, Wailin Storms, and Acid Chaperone.  The Kneads also play a day show early at Crank Arm.  But while I can't make it, I'd be remiss to at least not mention the 4th Annual Potluck Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party at Slim's on Thursday.  It's loaded with all yer favorite local talent from Potluck.  Plus, Lilly's Pizza!

Enjoy yer Hopscotch everyone!

Hopscotch Music Festival - Saturday Night (9/10/16)

At long last, here's the last night of my Hopscotch Music Festival coverage... is it Hopscotch 2017 yet? (I know, practically... :) )  You may have noticed I skipped the big shows at City Plaza, save for the wonderful Wye Oak on Thursday.  With all the day parties (often stretching into the City Plaza time slot) and the great night shows, I had to take a break sometime!  Plus, I've never been much for bigger venues... takes the immediacy away.  Live music for me is as much about a shared experience with the band as it is about hearing the music.  I need to be front and center whether I'm taking photos or not.

Side note:  It's come to my attention that some people think I'm "working" when they see me shooting a show, or they don't want to get in my way, etc.  Nah, I'm having fun like everybody else.  Dive in!  Say hi!  The camera's just the way I see things.

Anyway, two shared experiences I was looking forward to in this last batch of night shows were at Deep South, always a good venue for Hopscotch shows.  I had never seen Weird Pennies (of Raleigh) yet, but knew of frontman Thomas McNeely when he was with Jenny Besetzt.  The Pennies' music sounded great online, and the show didn't disappoint.  Jerky, punky indie-experimental in the vein of a (slightly less esoteric) Whatever Brains or the next band in the lineup (see later)... I'll have to listen more to fully digest their sound, but it was good.

Weird Pennies...

Next band in the lineup (see now) was Columbia, SC's, ET Anderson.  As I wrote a few weeks back after their Kosher Hut pre-Hopscotch show, they may be my new favorite live band.  Recorded, they come off a bit quieter... chill, introspective weirdness with a slow burn.  Live, they take the same songs and blow that shit up.  Either way, it's a meld of soul and indie-weirdness.  A little bit Devo, a little bit Pavement, a lot bit outer space.  That shot at the top is ET Anderson bassist Hot Tub John, his wife's eyes lit up with love (and guitar glare).

ET Anderson...

Speaking of Whatever Brains, my next stop was to be Neptune's to see Bodykit, a new project featuring Rich and Josh from the Brains.  Unfortunately, I found out on the way over they were done. But I bumped into most of Beauty World and Moon Racer (where they told me about their joint release show at the Carrack in Durham this weekend, to which all of you MUST GO!) and followed them over to Memorial Auditorium to catch a little of Andrew Bird.  I'm somewhat familiar with Bird's music (having only one of his releases), but again, me and big venues... not so much.  Still, it was a nice break from the treble and the clang.  Tift Merritt even got up and sang a couple with him (see below).

Andrew Bird...

One way or another, I was gonna close Hopscotch with some brass.  My initial thought was fellow New Orleanians the Stooges Brass Band.  I figured the shotgun shack that is Slim's would already be at capacity for Downtown Boys (sorta-kinda brass in that members come from brass band What Cheer? Brigade, who wowed Hopscotch a year or two ago).  But I was getting reports that the line at the Pour House for Stooges was around the block, and when I walked by Slim's, it was open!  So I camped out there for the remainder.

Downtown Boys describe themselves as a "bi bilingual political dance sax punk party from Providence."  Yeah, that's pretty much it.  Singer Victoria Ruiz opened most songs with a rant against the given injustice of the next song, and then proceeded to cap it with a blast of raw energy, belting out lyrics in English and Spanish with the ferocity of Ian MacKaye in his heydey.  She spent half her time in the crowd, singing and slamming, as the band held down the fort with dual saxes.  Definitely a fun way to close Hopscotch 2016.

Downtown Boys...

Are we done yet?

Not quite.  Here's a few black and white shots that better capture the controlled chaos of the Downtown Boys at Slim's.

See ya next year, Hopscotch!

Phuzz Phest Night 1 (Winston-Salem, NC, 4/15/16)

Winston-Salem's Phuzz Phest has really come into its own in this, its sixth year.  While not quite as expansive as its sibling here in the Triangle (Hopscotch), there are ample venues and musical choices to satisfy the most discerning and adventurous music fan.  One thing they did exceptionally well this year was the genre-groupings at the respective venues.

Take Friday night.  Looking for indie, psychedelic, guitar pop?   The Garage had you covered with Sunflower Bean, Lacy Jags, and Shadowgraphs.  Wanted a punkier edge?  Try Reanimator.  The fancy digs of Millenium Center could fill all your EDM desires with the likes of Quilla and Neon Indian.  More garage-y rock held sway at Bailey Park, headlined by Thee Oh Sees.  Krankie's had a great lineup of twangy, rootsy, female-fronted acts like Lera Lynn and Sarah Shook and the Disarmers.

But this festival is so compact that, despite 7 or 8 venues, you could catch a little honky tonk, walk down the block for a little psych weirdness, then close out the night with some dance grooves... which I did, not in that particular order.

I started the evening off before sunset, at the wonderful new Bailey Park (a venue still under construction, but great nevertheless).  Drag Sounds are now formally a Baltimore band, but have heavy NC roots.  They got the festival proper started with their own brand of Velvety phuzz.

Drag Sounds...

As Drag Sounds was finishing, I walked the furthest walk this festival required (only about 7 blocks) up to the Garage, to catch Carrboro's Teardrop Canyon. Rootsy, psychedelic pop that can start slow but ends up grinding it up pretty good.

Teardrop Canyon...

Teardrop Canyon... from the street seats

Then I hoofed it down two blocks to catch one of the sets I had most anticipated, Greensboro's Quilla.  Her new album, Beautiful Hybrid, leans heavily on piano and acoustic instrumentation.  The live set, however, was more electronic (as almost every acts' are, but talking more dance-y type of electronic here).  Both are excellent, and her strong voice is the heart of each.  Quilla is definitely a rising talent, one that we're lucky to call local (despite her Montreal origins and French-Canadian/Peruvian parentage).  Keep an ear out.

Quilla...

After Quilla, it was back up to the Garage for another much-anticipated set... that of Charlotte's Shadowgraphs.  These guys create a very good facsimile of a late 60s/early 70s psychedelic vibe, while never sounding derivative.  I'm really digging their self-titled EP.

Shadowgraphs...

Both Skylar Gudasz's debut album (Oleander) and live show are entrancing.  I wanted to leave halfway through her sett Krankie's to see Lacy Jags back at the Garage, as I'd seen Gudasz a handful of times recently and the Jags only once.  But the music was so beautiful that it really felt like a siren had cast a spell on me.  I was frozen in place, stage front.  Sorry Lacy Jags! (it ain't a good festival without some hard choices)  Gudasz is another NC act that I'm guessing will be going places fast.

Skylar Gudasz...

It's just as well I stayed at Krankie's though, because Sarah Shook and the Disarmers were up next.  This buncha honky-tonkers from Chapel Hill are SO good, they burn up the stage every time they play.  Buzzfeed recently put Shook on top of a list of "5 Women Who Are Kicking Country Music’s Ass".  Well-deserved, and accurate.  And that band!  They definitely keep up in the ass-kickin' category.

Sarah Shook and the Disarmers...

Back to the Garage, I returned mainly for one of the festival's headliners, Sunflower Bean.  But I lucked out and caught the last couple from Spirit System.  Winston-Salem's answer to Peter Murphy, with a little Cocteau Twins thrown in.  I felt a little musical whiplash from Sarah Shook to this! (no pain, no gain)

Spirit System...

Sunflower Bean did not disappoint.  Live, they brought a much harder edge to the sometimes almost twee songs on their album Human Ceremony.  I loved it, as did the capacity crowd.  Bassists/singer Julia Cumming was fearsome, a monster onstage.  AND... their guitarist did not look nearly as much like Michael Cera in person as on the album cover! :)

Sunflower Bean...

One last stop, a few doors back down Trade Street at Single Brothers, to catch a little of Sumner James' (of Bombadil) set.  A mellow, electronic set accompanied by drums.  It was a good way to close to night one of an excellent festival.

Sumner James...

Up next, Night 2 (and some day party stuff):  Shirlette Ammons, Zack Mexico, Brett Harris, Body Games, Boulevards, etc. etc. etc.