Review originally ran
here.
You might have seen it written in a preview, or overheard it around
Raleigh, NC a lot last weekend, but a popular line on Hopscotch is that
it's the music festival created by people who really like music. That's
obviously true of any music festival, of course, but the point seems to
be that unlike other large festivals, the masterminds of Hopscotch don't
have the muscle of an industry showcase, popular music website or
powerhouse promotional booking company behind them. Rather, it was
conceived of by employees of Raleigh's alternative weekly, Indy Week,
in 2010, and has grown with each installment. This year saw 175 bands
performing in 15 venues (not counting the numerous free day shows) from
Thursday, September 5 through Saturday the 7th.
The music
lovers' tag also refers to the incredible amount of musical diversity
available at the festival, and while diversity is the name of the game
of most festivals these days, I'm not sure any other one would position
as their opening act an experimental banjo player (Nathan Bowles), and
make audiences choose as their final act of the weekend a member of one
of the most influential rock bands of all time (John Cale), a
long-defunct legendary band that helped pioneer stoner rock/sludge metal
(Sleep), a hardcore band (Coke Bust), a neo-pigfuck band (Pissed Jeans)
or an avant-psych-folk band that's been around for over 20 years
(Charalambides).
There was a
good deal of Americana, folk, electropop, EDM, old time music, rock, and
a lot of things that fit somewhere in between all that, but as usual
for this kind of festival, there was some grumbling about the limited
number of hip-hop acts present. (Though it surely was difficult to
complain about Big Daddy Kane filling in for Action Bronson when the
latter threw his back out.) Avant-garde/out/whatever you want to call it
music was represented very well, with acts like minimalist composer
Charlamagne Palestine, several drone and noise acts, a couple of jazz
sets, and Japanese noise merchant Merzbow, who was all over the place,
collaborating with about half a dozen bands at the festival. Two free
day parties hosted by record labels featured other acts in this vein,
North Carolina's Three Lobed label hosting Thurston Moore's Caught on
Tape duo with drummer John Maloney, and the North American debut of
Desert Heat, one of the most buzzed about underground bands of the fest.
The new-ish Philadelphia-based label Paradise of Bachelors hosted a day
party at an outdoor amphitheater, joking about Pink Floyd Live at
Pompeii vibes as people lounged about in the bright sun. Guitar heroes
Steve Gunn and Chris Forsyth led their bands through fantastic sets,
while indescribable outsider artist and musician Lonnie Holley puzzled
and wowed the sleepy, largely hungover noonday crowd with his improvised
keyboard playing and ruminations on flowers and the universe.
The headliners played the large
open air City Plaza, Friday night's lineup devoted to the very now
electropop/EDM sounds of Future Islands, Holy Ghost! and A-Trak, while
Saturday was devoted to indie rock bands who started out in the '90s,
The Breeders and Spiritualized. Attending these shows felt like a
different festival altogether, as the other venues were primarily small
clubs and bars, and even a church. There was also Raleigh's impressive
if unfortunately named Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts,
which features an intimate black box venue, a sizable Opera Theatre and
the much larger Memorial Auditorium. About the latter venue, cult
British artist Richard Youngs commented that he had never played half a
stadium before. Youngs performed to an audience of less than 100 people
in a venue that seats 3800, and as someone joked in a tweet, 80% of the
audience was musicians. Though not very well known, and hardly a draw,
the organizers obviously love his music, so he got to open for John Cale
in the festival's largest and lushest indoor venue. That's Hopscotch.
Thursday, Day One
|
Wolf Eyes w/ Merzbow |
Surprise!
Angel Olsen
I'd heard Angel Olsen sing live and on record with
Bonnie Prince Billy, and she has an undeniably striking, gorgeous voice.
Cursory listens to her records left me a little cold, but that all
changed after seeing her perform solo live. With riveting performances
of songs like the personal and pained “Creator, Destroyer” and some very
Leonard Cohen-ish thing of which I don't know the title, she was captivating
throughout. I wish I had a picture for you but it was such a quite and
intimate performance I didn't want to sully it with a clicking shutter.
Anyone, she's been photographed plenty, and will be even more after her
next record is released on Jagjaguwar.
Best Show to Catch Some zs
Grouper
It's no insult to say I nodded off a bit during
Grouper's set, and I know other people did as well. Liz Harris probably
wouldn't take offense, as her droney, ambient Grouper project is
designed to sound like a hazy half-dream state. She kept motioning for
the lighting guy to turn the lights down lower, which elicited a laugh
from the audience who must have known what they were in for. So, not
much to see, really (from the balcony I could barely make her out
sitting behind a table onstage), but there was plenty to hear as we let
the sound wash over us.
Highlight
Wolf Eyes/Merzbow
Stalwart Michigan noise dudes Wolf Eyes are always
changing up their approach, even as at their base they remain committed
to extreme sonic explorations. The recent addition of guitarist Crazy
Jim Baljo has been nothing but a boon for the group, adding new texture
through his freak out solos and power fuzz. Japanese noise legend
Merzbow contributed the first of several collaborations over the
weekend, joining Wolf Eyes for a lengthy encore. Not surprisingly, it
was easily the most intense and loudest thing I heard all weekend.
(Though word is Wold got pretty far out.)
Friday, Day Two
|
Pere Ubu's David Thomas |
Surprise!
Protomartyr and Pere Ubu
I basically spent all Friday night in a church
watching artsy guitar, drone and minimalist performers, except when I
snuck out to see Protomartyr and Pere Ubu at Kings Barcade. I had to see
Protomartyr after one of my festival companions read that they were
compared to Pere Ubu and The Fall, and looked up a live video
performance by them. “This can't be them,” she said. “It looks like a
group of teenagers and their drunk uncle.” Hey, that does sound like The
Fall! Well the band turned out not to be that young, but man, their
singer sure does have a case of the Mark E. Smiths. The do sound like
The Fall, and also reminded me a lot of Tyvek, which makes sense as both
bands hail from Detroit. Great guitarist, a solid rhythm section and a
goofy but charismatic frontman, these guys were the best surprise and
probably the best straight up rock act I caught at the festival, along
with...
Pere Ubu, led by a true Drunk Uncle, David Thomas.
Anyone who has seen them live knows how cranky and unpredictable Thomas
can be, and honestly I wasn't expecting much as I closed out my Friday
night with the band. But it was an amazing show. The band was great, the
sound was good, and Thomas was in a jovial mood (for him), cracking
jokes about Sting and Billy Jo-el. They encored with “Final Solution”
and “Heaven” before Merzbow came out to join them for one more song.
Never thought I'd see that.
|
John Truscinski and Steve Gunn |
Highlight
Paradise of Bachelors day party
New Philadelphia-based label Paradise of Bachelors
threw a day party at an outdoor amphitheater and it was a blast. The
label head joked about the Pink Floyd at Pompeii vibes as everyone
lounged about in the sun. Rising guitar heroes Steve Gunn and Chris
Forsyth each led their bands through fantastic sets, Virginia's Black
Twig Pickers played some old time music, Spacin' and Birds of Maya
brought the psych rock vibes and kicking it off was indescribable
outsider artist and musician Lonnie Holley, who puzzled and wowed the
largely hungover noonday crowd with his improvised keyboard playing and
ruminations on flowers and the universe. It would have been worth the
trip to Raleigh for the free day shows, and this one seemed extra
special.
|
Lonnie Holley |
|
The Legend
Charlamagne Palestine
It was kind of a tough choice between Charlamagne
Palestine and Earl Sweartshirt and last minute Action Bronson
replacement Big Daddy Kane, but I didn't know when I'd have the chance
to see the minimalist legend again, and the guy's almost 70 years old
and drinks a lot of cognac. (Later I heard Earl was having some sound
issues, so I have no qualms at all about my choice.) Before playing, he
always places stuffed animals in front of his piano, and has a bottle of
cognac handy. The animals are some sort of totem or something to do
with his childhood, I think, and he probably just enjoys cognac. He
begins the performance with a high-pitched vocal chant and rubs the edge
of his cognac glass to produce a tone, before sitting down at the piano
to “strum” on it for 45 minutes or so. The constant runs he makes up
and down the keyboard produce undertones, and it was pretty remarkable
to be sitting in a church, everyone bathed in red light, 10 feet away
from the piano making these sounds. Big Ears brought Philip Glass and
Terry Riley to Knoxville, Tony Conrad has played here a few times, and
it was a thrill to get to see a lesser known but seminal American
minimalist performer.
Saturday, Day 3
|
Spiritualized's Jason Spaceman's got those old shoegaze blues again |
Surprise!
The Breeders
I know it sounds stupid to say The Breeders were a
surprise, but I hadn't listened to Last Splash in probably 15 years or
more, and I honestly forgot how good it is. The band and crowd were both
in a great mood and people lost their minds during “Cannonball,” as
they should. Great song, great album, great band.
Highlight
Richard Youngs
The British musician is known for his unpredictable
and prolific output (he probably has close to 200 recordings counting
collaborations), and no one seemed to know what he would be doing at
Hopscotch. So much of his stuff leans to the noisey/experimental side of
things, it was kind of surprising when he took to the stage with an
acoustic guitar and performed a hypnotic, 15-minute long version of
“Spin Me Endless in the Universe” from his new album. He then performed a
few songs a cappella, one in which he petitioned the audience to
accompany him by imitating a sped-up wah bass and drumkit falling down
the stairs. I'm sure we've all been in situations where audience
participation can seem a little forced and cheesy, but despite the odd
request, it ended up sounding quite nice and a little haunting. Youngs
is a big believer in repetition, from his guitar playing to his chanted
vocals, and there was a hypnotic feel to the entire performance which,
excepting the audience participation part, had the large auditorium
hushed. The most unique and affecting performance I saw all weekend.
|
John Cale |
The Legends
John Cale/Sleep
What can you say about John Cale? Look on his CV,
mortals, and despair. He opened with “Hedda Gabbler,” played a coupe of
songs I didn't recognize, and had a really good stripped down rock band.
But it all seemed too tasteful and civilized a way to close out this
great weekend, so I went to Sleep.
What can you say about Sleep? A legend before their
time, the stoner rock/doom metal band have influenced so many bands
since they broke up in the late '90s that they don't sound quite as
awe-inspiring and heavy as they did 20 years ago, when their classic Holy Mountain
was released. Still, it was thrilling to see, and especially hear, them
live, a sentiment shared by a packed out theatre which included members
of Spiritualized, Scout Niblett and a hoard of revelers who didn't want
the weekend to end. “No sleep 'til Sleep” was a sort of unofficial
rallying cry for many at this year's Hopscotch, and they were the
perfect band to close out the festival.
To be sure,
Hopscotch draws a lot from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle, and
there were a lot of local acts on the bill that most out of towners had
never heard of, let alone heard. So that 175 bands might not seem as
impressive when compared to Pitchfork or Bonnaroo, but on the other hand
there was a lot of opportunity for discovery, and there's something
great about the fact that the festival organizers schedule two of their
favorite North Carolina bands to open for the big City Plaza shows. This
seems to be what makes Hopscotch so unique and beloved; it can draw
established and respected acts that pack the city plaza or auditorium,
but allows plenty of room for up and comers and more esoteric performers
in fairly intimate settings. I am certainly not alone in saying it's
one of the best music festival I've attended.