Report: Hopscotch Music Festival 2011

Last weekend, Sept. 8-10, the hills - streets - were alive with the sound of music in Raleigh. Go here to see shutterbug Landa's collection of images from the festival.

By Whitney Ayres Kenerly / Photo By Tony Landa

The Independent Weekly's second annual Hopscotch Music Festival in downtown Raleigh, Carolina attracted over 150 acts over three days and nights for a range of events from club shows to day parties to the large venue stage in City Plaza.  

Hopscotch may attract the same caliber of indie buzz bands and big names as festivals like SXSW and Pitchfork Music Festival, but the feel of the festival seems to be decidedly smaller.  Tickets are limited to prevent to many of the most popular shows from reaching capacity, and there is more of a communal and intimate feel walking around between shows.  Corporate sponsorship is tastefully restrained, and local establishments are featured instead. 

For the city of Raleigh, the festival was an incredible opportunity not only to host a showcase of some of the most interesting and visionary musicians in the country, but to also have a chance to shine as one of the most exciting and creative areas in the country right now.  Out-of-towners loved meeting the locals trying some southern food, and residents had trouble deciding what to see and do among all the enticing options, but with good biscuits, bands, and barbeque - it would have been hard for anyone to go wrong. 

Day Parties:

-          Rosebuds Day Party

Local indie darlings, The Rosebuds, hosted a block party in front of Lincoln Theater with an impressive lineup that included performances by Hammer No More the Fingers, Youth Lagoon, and others, and food from neighborhood celebrity chef, Ashley Christensen, all with the Hepcat Bicycle Race was going on, with proceeds provided to a local no-kill cat shelter.  The party was a highlight of the festival and an opportunity for both local friends to mingle and for out-of-towners to experience the best of Raleigh in music, food, and creative philanthropy. 

-          Pop Music Panel

In addition to watching them perform, music fans were given the opportunity to hear their favorite artists speak about their craft during discussion panels at the Edward McKay Artist & Authors series at the Raleigh City Museum.  Each afternoon featured different writers and musicians with the discourse centered around different themes.  Sam Herring of Future Islands spoke at the discussion about pop music, alongside Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and Editor in Chief of Pitchfork Media, Mark Richardson.  Herring was modest in saying, "I was just going to roll in there and assume that nobody was going to ask me any questions because of all these other luminaries on stage," but the lively conversation had a approachable and inspiring cohesive message about the importance of using music to express, connect, and have fun. 

Club Shows:

-          Cold Cave

My prayers for a major energy boost were answered with Cold Cave, the new-wave meets hardcore meets synthpop project of Wesley Eislod.  Dressed in leather jackets and thrashing about on stage with the intensity of caged animals, the band members managed to seem both obsessively passionate and yet too cool to care.  Eislod apparently has a reputation for being a heartbreaker, which became instantly obvious to me.  Tall and brooding, crouching down into the crowd while screaming into the microphone, then erratically whipping around the microphone and circling the stand, occasionally glimpses of his chest tattoo visible through his monochromatic ensemble of black - I started to fall in love with him.  I'm sure in high school he was the weird quiet kid who was either the source of several whispered misnomers of "goth" and "dangerous", or just a fanatic band geek; but there on that stage he was the dark and mysterious God of charisma. 

-          Diamond Rings

I had high expectations for Diamond Rings.  Specifically, I wanted to see just how glam of a look John O'Regan would rock on stage during his electro-pop set at Five Star.  Walking out in white jeans, white nail polish, white sunglasses and a bleached blonde high top with geisha red lipstick - he did not disappoint.  He seemed incredibly happy - like he was having fun and enjoying every minute of his set - even starting to dance just while he was setting up his equipment and "Rude Boy" was playing. 

O'Regan is clearly someone who loves music and is passionate about everything he does, down to expressing himself as an artist through a colorful signature look.  His music is playful and coy, and he smiled along with the audience during dance songs like "Wait and See" and "Someone Else".  He was engaged with the crowd and excited to be there, complimenting Raleigh on being "Way cooler than Baltimore".  There was even a small surprise when he removed his big white glasses to reveal a white-banded stripe of make-up across his eyes. 

Diamond Rings is definitely more than just a look.  As O'Regan switched between playing keyboards, drums, and guitar, it was obvious that he is talented, committed, and has some of the best showmanship I've seen in a long time. He started his set with the exclamation, "Let's have some fun tonight!" and he delivered.   

-          Twin Shadow

Not many men could pull off a denim jacket unbuttoned to their navel with jeans, a long pendant necklace, a slightly off-centered jockey cap, and a Freddie Gibbs mustache.  But lead singer, George Lewis Jr., of Twin Shadow practically conjured the spirit and sex appeal of Prince. 

And if you had to describe his 2010 debut album in one word, it would be "sex".  The album combines R&B, New-Wave, and intimate lyrics, as if The Cure somehow collaborated with How To Dress Well.

Performing the songs live in Lincoln Theater, Lewis and his band gave the songs more of a rock edge.  It gave sultry songs like, "Castles in the Snow" more of a fullness and noise that added movement to sensuality. 

-          Japandroids

There's a refreshing simplicity to Japandroids.  It's just basically a drummer and guitarist, fresh out of their teenage years in Vancouver, singing and shouting along to straightforward garage pop songs about road trips and girls with wet hair.  The Pour House was crammed to capacity with people eager to see these skinny guys with shaggy hair and a wind machine play some of their favorite songs from the 2009 debut album, Post-Nothing. 

They played a few new songs, but people got really amped for the classics like "Rockers East Vancouver" and "Young Hearts Spark Fire".  A lame mosh pit started to form dangerously close to where I was standing, causing me and the few other girls at the show to squeeze out and away.  As someone who doesn't like to be touched by strangers, getting pushed around by a bunch of drunk dudes just isn't my thing.  If I wanted to get in on that sort of thing, I would have been at Warp Tour in high school.  There's no need for violence at Japandroids.  I'm just trying to enjoy the chance to hear one of my favorite songs, Sovereignty" performed live.

I think my ears are still ringing, but it was the perfect way to close around and all-around great night of amazing shows. 

-          All Tiny Creatures

Wisconsin natives and Volcano Choir and Collections of Colonies of Bees collaborators, All Tiny Creatures, had one of the best sounding shows of the night.  The pouring of tings and dings in their music rang out with a swelling crispness.  The metallic airiness of their songs sliced and glided through Lincoln Theater like ice skates.  Their intricate arrangements brimmed with the dizziness of instruments orbiting and weaving through loops, as Thomas Wincek's strained and whispered lyrics acted as the pressure point pulling at the center of the chaos.   

-          Bombadil

Bombadil temporarily served as the main ambassadors of the North Carolina music scene after the success of Tarpits and Canyonlands in 2009.  The folk-pop quartet from Durham has a widespread appeal, in part due to the accessibility of their quirky lyrics and catchy melodies.  Dressed in various vintage styles of blazers and singing songs that seem to embrace youth's awkward encounters with love and affections, the band is decidedly a bit dorky - they did name themselves after one of the most eccentric characters in Lord of The Rings.  The proficient execution with which they play their pianos, drums, and guitars has always been their shining point.  The audience at Fletcher Opera House delighted in watching their skills, giggled along with the humor in some of the lyrics, and gave the group a standing ovation.

-          Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra has been a big buzz band this year, shrouded in a bit of mystery.  Singles like "Ffunny Ffriends" and "How Can You Luv Me?" appeared on music blogs with high praise but little biographical information.  Their self-titled debut album has a weird alien-like building on it that appears to be in the middle of nowhere, and their songs seem to come from places even more remote and strange (Portland, Oregon). 

I even thought that I had somehow confused the time and place of the show when I didn't see any females in the group as the band was setting up.  I could have sworn that it had been a woman's voice on some of those songs.  I was wrong, and the male lead singer used a microphone that looked like a copper tin can with marble-sized holes at the top.  Even with that strange equipment clue, I'm still not entirely sure how the band is able to create so much distortion, and sound as if they as playing from across a field, and yet simultaneously right next to your ears.  The show made me love and appreciate the album even more, and was one of my favorites of the whole festival. 

-          Yelawolf

Before Yelawolf stepped out onto Lincoln Theater's stage with an immediate and perfectly timed assault of fast paced and high-energy rap, I hadn't realized how much I had been missing rap-rave at Hopscotch.  It was impossible to fight the impulse to bounce, grind, and grimace along with the beats and verses. 

The comparisons to bands like Die Antwoord and Eminem (who signed Yelawolf to his own Shady Records) are inevitable, but Yelawolf's ability to shoot out phrases like a Tommy gun and yo-yo yank them around is almost mechanical.  I felt like Uma Thurman with an adrenaline needle in my heart. It triggered something deep inside of me from when I first fell in love with music through hip-hop albums - stolen from my older sister.

Headliners:

-          Dreamers of the Ghetto

One of the biggest pleasant surprises at Hopscotch was the performance by Dreamers of the Ghetto when they opened for Superchunk and The Flaming Lips on Saturday night.  Lead singer, Luke Jones, has warm and raspy voice that is both familiar and refreshing.  Mostly, there is just a compelling rawness to it, and the force of it hits you like the punch of a perfect tennis backhand. Ballads like the song "Always" - a highlight from Enemy/Lover and written about his wife and fellow bandmate - are powerfully stirring.

The Indiana natives certainly made quite a splash  in Raleigh, and I have a feeling they will be garnering throngs of other fans from around the country over the next year. 

-          The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips were arguably the biggest act and most anticipated show at Hopscotch, and City Plaza was filled with an all-inclusive eclectic mix of people ranging from die hard indie music lovers, to Greek Life collegiate couples, to culturally savvy retirees.  The psychedelic alt-rockers are icons of the 1990s, and famous for over-the-top live shows.

Lead singer, Wayne Coyne' made a couple of pre-show warnings about what to do if the strobe lights caused audience members to have seizures (his advice was simply "look away") before returning by bursting out into the crowd in a giant plastic bubble that skimmed the top of the audience like an airy hamster wheel.  With the first loud, lurching guitar riffs, confetti cannons exploded and colored paper, giant bouncy balloons, and the faint scent of weed filled the air.  The projection screen behind the band flashed between images from epileptic acid trips to extreme close-ups of Coyne's face - his wild shaggy hair encircling his head and a fur stole around his neck.

Coyne, with his chorus of young girls in Sailor Moon inspired outfits, encouraged the audience to sing along to "She Don't Use Jelly" and  "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" while seeming positively giddy about shooting lasers into the capital building. 

It was clear that we were all witnessing a legendary performer, even though Coyne doesn't seem to age.  His creative energy allows him to outperform musicians generations younger than him, and he seems to keep up with, if not ahead of, all the technology trends in indie music.  He's been tweeting throughout the festival (@waynecoyne) and confessed to the audience, "I love my fucking phone!"

Even those who did not get to witness The Flaming Lips in-person were still treated to the echoing of their songs throughout downtown Raleigh.  As I walked to another show later in the night, I heard a cover from "Dark Side of the Moon" resonating down the street to the roaring approval of the crowd, and smiled.