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Friday, June 6, 2014
Music / Live Reviews Live review: Jack White, The Fillmore (6/5/2014)
Posted By Patrick Wall on Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 11:31 AM
Jack White
The Fillmore
June 5, 2014
- Photo by Jeff Hahne
- Jack White
For the most famous - and possibly most important - rock 'n' roll star of his generation, Jack White's a bit of a crankypants. Not even his audience is unassailable.
"Some musicians don't care about this stuff, but I let the crowd tell me what to do," White says in a Rolling Stone cover story (which contained a few get-yr-dukes-up nuggets of its own). "There's no setlist. I'm not just saying the same things I said in Cleveland last night. If they can't give me that energy back? Maybe I'm wasting my time." Recall that White drew criticism back in 2012 when he walked off the stage at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, reportedly as a result of a lackadaisical audience. (White reportedly asked at one point during that show: "Jesus Christ, is this an NPR convention?")
If White does indeed feed off his audience, Thursday's sold-out crowd gave him plenty to draw from. (A solid portion of the crowd on the rail showed up not only hours before doors opened, but hours before the box office opened at noon. For a sold out show. One crew of four from Lynchburg, Virginia, camped out overnight to be the first in line and the first on the front row. Directly behind them, a woman who's catching nine dates of this leg of White's tour.)
Monday, June 2, 2014
Music / Live Reviews Live photos: Matrimony, Neighborhood Theatre (5/30/2014)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 11:42 AM
Matrimony
Neighborhood Theatre
May 30, 2014
Charlotte's Matrimony performed at the Neighborhood Theatre on May 30 as a release party for the band's Columbia Records debut, Montibello Memories. Named after the street where singer/keyboardist Ashlee Hardee Brown and her brothers, drummer Jordan Hardee and multi-instrumentalist CJ Hardee, grew up, Hardee Brown noted the night was bittersweet as the home had been sold that very day.
As the band took the stage, smoke set off the building's fire alarm causing a premature evacuation of the venue into the NoDa streets. Soon after, singer/guitarist James Brown, Hardee Brown and CJ (with his banjo) were out front singing their song, "Flee or Fight," much to the delight of the attendees within earshot.
When the crowd finally filed back in, the band played a set filled with songs from the new album, as well as music from its two previous EPs.
Music First notes (6/2/2014): Jesus Christ Superstar tour canceled
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 11:39 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* The Jesus Christ Superstar tour, including a June 11 performance at Time Warner Cable Arena, featuring John Lydon and Michelle Williams has been canceled.
* The Allman Brothers have announced their final shows - a string of dates in New York City.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Music Luke Bryan falls off stage at PNC Music Pavilion
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, May 30, 2014 at 11:33 AM
Luke Bryan was performing a cover of Macklemore and Lewis' "Can't Hold Us" last night at Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion when the country singer fell off the stage.
I'm good. Few stitches.
- Luke Bryan (@LukeBryanOnline) May 30, 2014Judging by this YouTube clip posted by one of the attendees, he lost his footing while dancing.
In another clip, Bryan is shown trying to laugh about the situation and asked people to post the videos and photos they got. The incident is getting plenty of national attention.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Music First notes (5/27/2014): Mike Patton is the greatest singer?
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, May 27, 2014 at 10:46 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* Judging singers by their octave range, it turns out that Mike Patton of Faith No More fame is the "world's greatest singer." A published chart compares the range of well-known singers. While Axl Rose topped the initial list, VVN Music claimed Patton after examining more vocal ranges.
* Speaking of being judged, Charlotte's own Funky Geezer will appear on America's Got Talent, which premieres tonight at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
News / Music Protesters picket EDM event 'Pow Wow'
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Sat, May 24, 2014 at 4:44 PM
A small group of picketers held up signs outside of the Chop Shop on Friday, May 23, to protest an electronic music event called "Pow Wow 2." Created by local music promoter Mikey Tookie as an event to celebrate the art of people from diverse backgrounds, last year's "Pow Wow" drew attention for the use of Native American regalia and imagery at a non-Native American event.
- Photo by Mert Jones
- Wesley Stevens, Tawa Poplin-Redhouse and Kayla Holland protest the Pow Wow on May 23, 2014.
A commentary by Desiree Kane published in Creative Loafing earlier this week drew strong reactions from both sides of the argument - is it racist for non-Native people to wear Native American regalia, which is considered sacred and religious to many tribes?
Wesley Stevens, one of the protesters, commented that people can "have a pow wow, just do it respectfully."
- Photo by Mert Jones
- Kyle Buffkin, who is 50 percent Native American, attended the Pow Wow on May 23, 2014.
Kyle Buffkin, who attended Pow Wow 2 wearing a headdress and is 50 percent Native American, said, "My dad thinks it's awesome. It's just an event and a way to dress up and express yourself."
Chop Shop owner Jay Tilyard noted the line is somewhat blurred when it comes to what is "allowed" or not. "So, if a guy is 100 percent Native American, it's cool to wear regalia, but what if someone is 50 percent Native American, or 25 percent? What are the rules?" Tilyard said by phone the day after Pow Wow 2. "Is it then a type of segregation if you say you can only do something if you're part of a race? With young people, they see someone wearing regalia and think it looks cool and want to wear it, too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It's not like people are dressing up as cowboys and pretending to shoot the people who are dressed in Native American attire."
Friday, May 23, 2014
Music Avett Brothers on Front and Center this weekend
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 12:11 PM
The Avett Brothers will be the featured performer on UNC-TV's Front and Center on Sunday, May 25, at 2 a.m. The band was recorded live at New York's McKittrick Hotel as part of the third season of the PBS series.
And here's their performance of "Down With the Shine" from the show:
Music God Save the Queen City announces 2014 lineup
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, May 23, 2014 at 10:49 AM
God Save the Queen City, held at the Chop Shop on Aug. 9, has announced its 2014 lineup:
Jeff the Brotherhood
Johnny Fritz
Apache Relay
Floating Action
Natural Child
Clear Plastic Masks
Promised Land Sound
Benji Hughes
Temperance League
Ancient Cities
The Loudermilks
Sinners and Saints
Renelvis
Late Bloomer
Elonzo
Toleman Randall
AM/FMs
Batsheet
Started in 2011, the event combines local, regional and national talent all under one roof for one price. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show. For more information, go to gstqc.com.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Music / Live Reviews Live review: Lucius, The Fillmore (5/19/2014)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, May 20, 2014 at 3:51 PM
Tegan and Sara, Lucius, The Courtneys
The Fillmore
May 19, 2014
In less capable hands, the idea of two frontwomen dressing alike with similar hairstyles might come across as a gimmick. With Lucius, the visual similarities take a backseat to the band's talents. Wearing black dresses and white tights that complimented their platinum blonde hairstyles, singers/multi-instrumentalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig took the stage and immediately impressed with harmonies so tight it sounded more like one singer than two.
Sandwiched on this night between the bar-band fuzz-pop of The Courtneys and the polished pop-rock of Tegan and Sara, Lucius was a stunning breath of fresh air.
Music / Live Reviews Live review: Reverb Fest, Neighborhood Theatre (5/17/2014)
Posted By Patrick Wall on Tue, May 20, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Reverb Fest
Neighborhood Theatre
May 17, 2014
In January, I moved up to Charlotte from Columbia, S.C., where I was music editor of the city's altweekly Free Times. Not too long before I left, I started noticing billboards up around downtown Columbia, mostly by interstate on-ramps and major intersections, promoting Charlotte as a tourism destination. They'd show happy young yuppies lounging in the shadows of Uptown skyscrapers.
Charlotte's got a lot, they'd read.
(Ironically, billboards advertising Columbia's tourist hotspots, such as they are, started springing up in Charlotte after I'd moved up here. Quelle ironie!)
Columbia's a small town, and its music scene is similarly small. The benefit to that is, naturally, camaraderie, which was a comfort in Columbia. If someone needed support, he or she could fall back on fellow musicians. Benefits, like the ones that have sprung up in the wake of one local musician's brain cancer diagnosis, are common.
Though I've held residence in Charlotte since the New Year, I hadn't spent a lot of time in the city - I did some touring with some bands I play in, spent some time in my ancestral home of Boston, and pitched in as a spare hand at the Columbia alt-weekly I'd just left. It wasn't until mid-March when I spent any amount of time in Charlotte, let alone seeing its musicians. Those I had seen I was already intimately familiar with, and Creative Loafing readers probably would be, too: Bo White, Great Architect, Joint D≠, Hectorina, Junior Astronomers.
Which is what attracted me, as a relative newcomer, to Saturday's Reverb Fest. Its lengthy bill offered, to me, an opportunity to see a great number of bands - many of which I hadn't yet seen.
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