On Tuesday night at the Visulite Theatre in Charlotte a large crowd of people were eagerly awaiting a band who are known all over the world. Surprisingly, the crowd consisted of a large number of alternative middle-aged couples. A group that I do not usually see at the concerts I go to. It makes sense since The Mountain Goats have been around for many years. Their three members have played music in many bands, ran record labels, and just been highly involved in the music industry. Since this Raleigh, NC based band have been touring for many many years, I went to this show with the expectation of seeing something special. I have not listened to them that much but I hoped that going to this show would make me want to explore their large discography.

When we arrived at the venue, opening act Nurses were playing. Their first few songs were nothing special at all, but then they started to come into their own and became quite a bit more interesting. The singer mentioned that he was sick and would have to cut the set short, and I could definitely tell in the way that he was straining his voice. Still though, they were pretty good for what they had. They sounded like a mix between The Black Keys and Born Ruffians, the singer also looked like a mix of Dan Auerbach and Dax Shepard. I enjoyed their style of music, but it was also nothing super special. I recently listened to their first album Hangin’ Nothin’ But Our Hands Down and it was an crazy, energetic cabaret-rock cd with the singer’s voice reaching extreme highs and lows. Probably in part due to his sickness, I saw none of this energy or vocal range during the show, which was slightly disappointing.

The Mountain Goats started earlier than they were supposed to due to Nurses’ short set and came out to a highly energetic crowd. Obviously Charlotte was excited to have the band in their city. Singer John Darnielle mentioned that he had never played in Charlotte before but I think he will want to come back after the warm reception from the big crowd. They started playing some songs but all I could do was stare at the drummer and wonder where I had seen him before. For some strange reason, I felt as if I had met this guy before even though I’d never seen The Mountain Goats play. I quickly Wikipedia-ed him on Jamie’s phone and found out that he is Jon Wurster from Superchunk who I saw play at Hopscotch. I can absolutely say that his drumming was the best part of both shows.

Something about The Mountain Goats just puts a barrier in front of me and it will not let me get into their music. I have never been able to and seeing them live really did not change that. I understand that Darnielle can write some damn good lyrics and they have some good music but it’s just not my cup of tea. I liked their new song White Cedar, the song Palmcorder Yajna and a few others but that was kind of it. The drummer was interesting to watch though. I’m not trying to sound stuck-up here because I really understand that for lots of singers it isn’t about how perfect their voices are, but sometimes John Darnielle kinda sounds like a mountain goat when he sings. I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just what I was thinking during the show and I want to write an honest review. All in all, it was a good show but nothing more than that. I can see the appeal, I understand why people like The Mountain Goats, but I just think I won’t be able to get into them ever. If you like The Mountain Goats, go see them, because I’m sure you’ll love it. The whole crowd did. If you’re not sure, don’t go because it might not be worth it.

Balance and Composure Live by SceneSC

Tigers Jaw Live at New Brookland Tavern by SceneSC

Captain, Were Sinking by SceneSC

These will move from Soundcloud to a downloadable database in two weeks.

Tobacco

Although the festival ran Friday through Sunday, Tobacco played a pre-show Thursday night at the Asheville Music Hall. The elusive three-piece cranked out an underwater electro-hop drum assault for a capacity crowd. Listeners familiar with Tom Fec and Black Moth Super Rainbow will notice similarities from the Vocoded vocals to the malleable synths, but Fec takes a bit of a different direction with Tobacco with arrangements closer to underground indie hip-hop (see: Definitive Jux records) and can boast collaborations with the likes of Beck and Aesop Rock. If you also happen to be a fan of 70′s aerobic videos you’re sure to enjoy this video for Sweatmother.

Beak

Geoff Barrow’s project is a throwback to early 1970′s new wave/Krautrock. Beak’s unimposing stage presence resembled that of a band rehearsing in the comfort of their own home – assuming their home has a dungeon. Their stripped down, droning sound worked as a soundtrack for a race through the catacombs of a cathedral with occasional breaks in the journey for a reflection on the distance traveled so far or a moment of appreciation for a new discovery along the way.

Anika

An affinity for 1970′s Krautrock might be necessary to enjoy Geoff Barrow’s latest venture. By adding a European journalist, Anika, to the Beak lineup Barrow has created a sound that could have been hand-plucked from that era. However, their live performance leaves you needing just a little more. At times, Anika seemed almost uninterested in what she was doing. From the crowd’s behavior it appeared the feeling was mutual.

The Flaming Lips

Turn on the lights. All of them. Especially the flashy ones. Cue the balloons and confetti and the fifty-foot tall naked woman dancing on the backdrop screen. Readers might agree that this would be a great climax to a show or a Grand Finale but The Flaming Lips are about to begin. If you haven’t been to a Flaming Lips show then you’re missing one hell of a party. A good time WILL be had by ALL. People in animal suits, confetti cannons and front man, Wayne Coyne, in a giant plastic bubble surfing the audience are part of what’s in store. Not to mention a happy and healthy dose of alternative psychedelia. We could all benefit from whatever they’re growing in Oklahoma.

Amon Tobin

If there was one performance that was the most anticipated of Moogfest 2011 it was Amon Tobin: Isam. Tobin’s collaboration with visual artist, Tessa Farmer, yields an experience unlike any other. The erratic and ever-changing movements made it impossible to settle in and the constant visual stimulation of a mind-boggling projection on a three-dimensional structure ensured that the audience appreciated every second. From a large cube wedged strategically in the middle of the structure Tobin attends to his machine and carefully detaches the audience from reality – propelling them through his own mesmerizing dreamscape. Isam is that amusement park ride you get back in line for over and over.

This Saturday, I drove up to Asheville, NC to check out the 2nd day of this year’s Moogfest and as expected, it was fantastic. Unfortunately I could only go on the Saturday since I went to see Jay-Z & Kanye West on Sunday (which was also amazing). I arrived there a little late and missed The Naked And Famous but I saw them at Lollapalooza so I wasn’t too bothered. I got my pass and headed to one of North Carolina’s best venues, The Orange Peel. There weren’t many people there at first and I was a bit worried that not many people would show up for the first act but it quickly filled up. CANT were the first act that played. CANT is the solo project of Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear and his first album Dreams Come True was made in collaboration with George Lewis Jr. from Twin Shadow. They played a 45-minute long set playing all of the songs from this album. During the whole set, you could absolutely tell that Chris Taylor was in charge. He ran the whole show, playing bass, guitar, and synth all rather beautifully. The rest of the band were on top of the game as well, especially the drummer. Their set was at times beautiful and other times furious and pounding. Dreams Come True is kind of a quiet, slow album but live it was huge.

After CANT I got to see Twin Shadow for the second time and it was even better than at Hopscotch. They said it was their last show for a while, I’m assuming they are recording a new album, and they definitely played like it was their last show. The crowd were feeling it, especially a girl right next to me who was so over the top singing that you’d think she was performing in front of a crowd of crazy people. During the set, the female keyboardist and George Lewis Jr., the frontman seemed to get in a fight. The keyboardist was screaming swear words at him and she looked really angry. But then he made the crowd cheer for her and they were better, I think? She was drinking so she was probably a bit drunk and it was something silly. Their song Yellow Balloon was brilliant live and I can’t wait for what their next album is gonna be like.

I went to a great Mexican place next to The Orange Peel called Mamacitas and got an amazing quesadilla before heading to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium/Asheville Civic Centre along with a hefty amount of extremely messed up people. It was freezing outside and I was really upset with that because I have a new pair of gloves that I have really wanted to wear and I could have worn them but I didn’t bring them. Literally the worst thing ever. Anyways, I went to the Asheville Civic Center which is a pretty big arena and saw Amon Tobin: ISAM. Listen to me right now, I have never seen anything close to what I experienced. I went to the front in front of the barrier to take pictures but instead of really taking pictures I found myself captured by this 3D light-cube-space show. I do not know how to explain this but look at that picture and imagine images of space and crazy lights all over it in time with the music. The music was spacey and huge. I have never felt that much bass go through me and it was quite a majestic feeling. I left after a bit to go see St. Vincent in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.

If anyone reading this has ever seen St. Vincent before, you know that she is the most adorable human being alive but can also play guitar a lot better than many of the acts out there right now. She played cuts from her three albums but I would say my personal favorite was Cheerleader which is off her newest album Strange Mercy. Something about that song rubs me in just the right way and her band pulled it off just perfectly. I don’t know what song she played as the encore but it involved just her and her keyboardist and she sung the most emotional, beautiful song. I saw some drunk girls crying. By that, I mean I was crying. After St. Vincent played Battles came on and they were just great. All three members are so talented with their instruments and bring something unique to the stage. Their sound was huge and they had a large amount of polyrhythms making everything sound weird but great. This is one of those groups whose members are all so talented that you do not know which one to watch. I found myself staring at the drummer most of the time as a good drummer is probably one of my favorite things in life. This guy was absolutely brilliant. I don’t know how he kept going for over an hour with the drumming he was doing. I would have been lying in a coffin by then, but I guess that’s why I’m not a drummer.

I really wish that I could have stayed for the whole weekend as I missed out on The Antlers, Passion Pit, M83 and a bunch more but it was such a great time that I’m for sure going to go back again next year. I like the fact that all the bands there have a synthesizer in their band. I guess that’s the point of it, but I just think it’s very clever. Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR for hooking me up with this! See you next year.

After my day 1 recap, my Hopscotch experience turned into a blur of day parties and fuzz bands.  There is no way you’re going to see every band you want to see, so you really have to pick and choose and just enjoy where you are.

Of Spin’s top 8 performances at Hopscotch and we were at seven of those with them.

I’m not going to rank my top performances, but here were some of my favorites.

-Last Years Men

-The Love Langauge

-Toro Y Moi

-John Vanderslice

-Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes

-Yardwork

-The Black Lips

-TOW3RS

-Youth Lagoon

-Dinosaur Feathers

Sleigh Bells

Right off the bat, I know that you have three questions for me. 1) Was the show an explosion of amazement? 2) Were there a lot of drunk moms at the show? 3) Did you find out Sleigh Bells‘ spirit animals? The answer to all three of these question is a big HELL YES.

But let’s start at the beginning. The drive from Columbia was a wonderful 2 and a half hour drive. I always love to see the mountains and the sun was setting behind them when we reached them so it was just perfect. When we got to The Orange Peel there were already quite a few people there but me and Jake secured a decent spot and waited in anticipation. By the way, The Orange Peel is one of the best venues I have ever been to, and I have been to a large number of venues. The stage is big, the atmosphere is great, and they actually have air conditioning (a lot of venues don’t).

First up was Bosco Delrey. As soon as I saw he was wearing sunglasses inside I was already a bit skeptical. It was just one guy and his guitar, but he also ran some beats from his iPhone and sang over it. It started off really choppy, he finished his part of the song before the beat was over and stood there awkwardly, then his monitor supposedly turned off so he couldn’t hear himself. It probably took 10 minutes for them to fix this and he stood up there the whole time playing the same chord over and over not really saying anything. The rest of the set was nothing special, his beats were really cool, but he did not have an amazing voice.

Quick crowd update: I noticed one guy wearing a Linkin Park t shirt and his friend wearing a New Found Glory shirt. Was a little confused at why they were at this show. There also seemed to be a large amount of intoxicated older women, interesting crowd.

Next band were CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy which means “got tired of being sexy”, brilliant) from Sao Paulo, Brazil. They had 6 members and all 6 members were on top of their game. The amount of energy that this band poured into their music was astounding especially lead singer Lovefoxxx (probably not her real name, but I’m actually considering legally changing my name to that). She was all over the place, wearing ridiculous makeup and drinking red wine out of a fancy glass on stage. She reminded me a lot of Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, especially her voice. At one point she said to the crowd “if you like ketchup, wave your arms like this (arm movement), but if you like mustard, wave your arms like this (different arm movement)”. It was awesome. The crowd were all over the place during this show, sometimes getting rather annoying but it was a great show anyways.

Now we get to the big guns. Sleigh Bells. Before I start with them, I would like to say, if you are a person who goes to a concert and throws beer all over the crowd, you are not a good person. I got beer thrown all over me last night and it was completely disgusting. If you have ever taken your cup of beer and thrown it at a crowd, don’t ever go to a concert, ever again.

When I asked Alexis Krauss, singer of Sleigh Bells, what her spirit animal is she told me it is a dolphin. The whole time that she was up on that stage she was fun, playful, and energetic much like a dolphin. Alexis is a born-to-be stage performer, jumping straight into the crowd at one point and dancing around the stage in her “SLAY BELLS” jersey for the rest of the show. She also has a brilliant voice too, which was especially showcased in Rill Rill where guitarist Derek Smith left the stage, leaving Alexis to sing her heart out alone.

Now when I asked Derek Edward Smith what his spirit animal is, he said elephant. At first thought I didn’t get it, but after talking it over I realized that he is 100% an elephant. On stage, Derek Smith is a powerhouse, just like an elephant. As I said in my show preview he was lead guitarist for screamo band Poison The Well so he’s definitely had a lot of practice killing it on the guitar. I would have to say that Derek’s guitar playing is pretty much the most important aspect of Sleigh Bells as it hits you hard and fast and gives you no choice but to dance.

Both of them tore up the stage, helped by an amazing light show (for an example, check out the video I took of Tell ‘Em). The set was pretty short, but I could not have asked for any more. Highlights of the set included Rill Rill and opener Crown On The Ground. They will be playing all over the US and Canada over the next few months and will appear at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. If you get a chance, GO SEE THEM. They will blow your mind. While watching them, take into consideration their spirit animals, you’ll see the resemblance.

I would definitely like to thank Press Here Publicity for letting me cover the show at such short notice. It was an amazing show and I look forwarding to seeing them at Bonnaroo.

By Kurt Rambis:

Charlotte, North Carolina is known for a lot of things. In the business world it is known for its big banks. In the entertainment world it is known as being the setting for the hit television series “My Brother and Me”. Most importantly it is known for people who have called it home like Ric Flair, Fantasia Barino, and a certain former Charlotte Hornet who now coaches in the NBA. What Charlotte isn’t known for is being a big draw for critically acclaimed bands, unless said critics are fans of bands who are best known for making modern rock radio hits that have soundtracked more than a handful of date rapes. For one night, that all changed. Charlotte was rocked to its very core in a way that hasn’t happened since Steve Smith began physically assaulting teammates when Explosions in the Sky rolled into town. Much like Charlotte, Explosions in the Sky are known for lots of things. Besides being the best thing to ever come from Texas, and being featured prominently in the best TV show and movie ever, they are my favorite band in the history of the world.

Amos’ is a place I typically don’t frequent. And by typically I mean never. It seems like the crowd skews meathead and redneck, but as a fellow capitalist, I can appreciate the venue wants to make money. Still, when I drive by here, I usually see people I don’t think I would like, and I do like making generalizations based on what people look like and the music they listen to, so there. So, I was curious to see the place as well as the crowd that would be present.

First on stage was The Octopus Project. Like EITS, this was their first visit to the Queen City as we were greeted with “We’ve never been to your city, but you have a beautiful town.” From then on, everybody was on their side. I was familiar with them prior to seeing them, but in no way was I prepared for what I was about to see. Quick sidenote. I’ve seen EITS more times than you have and probably more than anyone you know. That’s not saying much because they don’t tour a lot. EITS always has very interesting openers. Usually the band they bring along is an acquired taste like Lichens or The Paper Chase. The Octopus Project ranks right up there with Eluvium as my favorite band I’ve seen open for them. In the most basic sense, The Octopus Project plays instrumental rock music with electronic flourishes. While they have the standard rock gear of guitar, bass and drums, they supplement than with synths, drum machine, all kinds of electronics, and most interesting of all, a theremin. In their 40-minute set, they played a set that relied on old songs and songs so new that they were written 5-minutes before they came on stage, and even had vocals in one song. Interestingly, the highlight for me was their first song they played, “Malaria Codes”. Yes, it is my favorite song of theirs, but it definitely set the mood for the evening.

Now for the highlight. After a 20-minute wait we were left looking at a stark stage. Guitars, a lonely drum kit, and the ever present flag from the great state of Texas draped over an amp. At just past 9:00 the four members of Explosions in the Sky, plus a fifth touring member strode on the stage to an enormous reception. With a simple, “Hello, thanks for coming to see us, we are Explosions in the Sky from Austin, Texas.”, the band immediately launched into a new song, “Postcard from 1952” from the upcoming album “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care”. The new songs don’t deviate from the tried and true formula that EITS has explored over their career. Also, for the uninformed, EITS is fucking loud. After one song, the whole building was shaking, and you could literally feel the drums in your gut. EITS have began employing various taped vocal effects in many of the new songs though that sound like chanting. After the opener the band, never resting, continued with some older material with “The Birth and Death of the Day” and “Your Hand in Mine”, which drove the crowd into the predictable lather. They followed that with another new song, “Last Known Surroundings”. At this point, the band turned it from a 10 to a Spinal Tap 11 for “The Only Moment We Were Alone”, a song that historically has been a set closer. Moving the it up in the set didn’t temper the power of the song as it ended in the familiar crescendo. The band quickly segued into “Catastrophe and the Cure”. This song has become a live staple because it allows guitarist Munaf Rayani to join Chris Hrasky on drums for the conclusion of the song. Rayani is by far the most expressive member of the band (not to mention the only member who ever speaks on stage) so this is always a pretty entertaining part of the show. The band followed this with “Let Me Back In” (new song) and “Greet Death”. For a the final song, they again closed with a new song, “Trembling Hands”. This is their shortest song ever, employs taped vocal chanting, and is going to be the song they play when they do the obligatory late night TV show circuit when the album comes out. While the song may not have the power that “The Only Moments We Were Alone” or “Memorial” it still is a fitting end with the song building to an enormously loud climax. Rayani thanked everyone for coming and being interested and then promised to see us all again! The crowd proved they were a bunch of Johnny-come-lately’s by chanting for an encore. An encore would have been fruitless because there is no way they could have topped that hour plus sonic siege they laid on my fair city.

All in all, this show slayed. Some people in the crowd sucked, which justifies my blind judgment of strangers. The Octopus Project slayed. I slayed. Explosions in the Sky especially slayed. If the band comes within 10-hours of you, I suggest going. Just don’t talk in quiet parts or don’t think you need to push to the front of the stage, or some asshole like me is going to write about it.

My feet are blistered so yours don’t have to be.

We did a lot of press yesterday and then holed up at the favorite gentlemen showcase for the rest of the night. Here are a few pretty pictures for your eyeballs.

neon hitch @ the pure volume house

family of the year @ the CNN room

miniature tigers recording an acoustic session for us

kevin devine @ lambert’s
favorite gentlemen/paradigm showcase

There’s plenty more coming! Several acoustic sessions an interviews still to come in the next few weeks. And we still have three more days of SXSW left. If my feet don’t fall off before then.

Kopecky Family Band

Team Stringer was at The Channel in Greenville Friday night to check out The Kopecky Family Band on their Neato Burrito Qdoba tour.  Lucky for us Ghosts of the Great Highway was added to the show late.  Unlucky for us, there is no Qdoba in Greenville, so we didn’t get any free food.

Friday night was one of those moments where you ask yourself, why haven’t I seen Kopecky Family Band live before?  We’ve covered them in the past, and casually listened to their music, but it was their live show that really won us over.  They are one of those bands that we’ve heard good things about for a long time.  Members of the band recorded on the new All Get Out LP that will come out hopefully some time this year.  It took some dedication from Kopecky just to make it to the show.  They had a wheel bearing on their trailer break in North Carolina and had to ditch the trailer and stuff all of their equipment in their van with them.  Being three hours late didn’t affect the show.  It caused for an extended sound check by the 6 piece band, but the crowd didn’t mind the delay.  What started as a show with everyone sitting, ended up with everyone standing in front of the stage waiting on an encore which the band was happy to provide.

For the live show, I’ll let the videos speak for themselves.

For the live acoustic videos, what sounds like static is actually the fountain.  I didn’t realize it would show up so loud on the camera, but atleast its a steady noise.  This is one of my favorite settings for any acoustic videos we’ve ever shot.  I hope you enjoy them.

So the first show at Scene SC’s House of Softcore went off without a hitch, and all in attendance had a great time (especially Ben Walker) and saw an amazing show. In fact, it was such a good experience that I feel it’s a foregone conclusion that House of Softcore is going to be your new favorite place to catch shows in SC, and I’ve put together a few reasons why:

1) Best Locals

We’ve all been to a show out-of-town at some point or another where we hopped into a car, sped the entire two, three, or maybe four hour drive to make sure we got there on time and before it sold out, only to wish that we’d been late enough to miss the local opener that bored us to death. Lucky for us, Columbia has grown to be the epicenter of a growing music scene that’s spawned some amazing talents. It’s safe to say we’re never have to worry about that happening to us here at the HoSc.

2) Intimate Atmosphere

There’s just nothing like seeing your favorite artists playing in a living room surrounded by your friends. There’s also nothing like being able to tell all your friends, “I saw them when…” It won’t be long before the HoSc is serving as the setting to the music snob stories you’re telling your friends who were late to the party. And if you thought Part II was a tear-jerker before, your heart’s absolutely going to break when you see the video of All Get Out’s Nathan Hussey play it at the HoSc. And yes, it’s okay to cry here. I mean, we named it the House of SOFTCORE, didn’t we?

3) They Stock The Soft Stuff

The HoSc is all about comfort, and there’s nothing more uncomfortable than the sandpaper-like, public-school toilet paper stocked at most venues (And 60 South barely ever had any! For shame!). Luckily, SceneSC’s got you covered, and you’re going to have a much more pleasant trip to the bathroom to clean up your tear-smeared makeup and collect yourself before you head back into the living room for more.

And, of course, there are a hundred more reasons to come (Did you taste the salsa?!) than what’s been posted here, so we hope to see you at the next house show. Thanks to everyone who came out, to Nathan Hussey, Ben Walker, and Elonzo for playing, and to SceneSC’s David, Hillary, and Meredith for being great hosts.

Coming up at the House of Softcore:

September will bring Columbus, Ohio’s The Black Swans to the HoSc. Check them out by downloading this Phoning It In Session. See you there!

We are also lining up a handful of other acoustic shows that you will be hearing about soon.

P.S. Do a little searching though Phoning It In’s archives and you just might find a session by everyone’s favorite house show veteran David Bazan.