NICKI BLUM and the GRAMBLERS / JEANNE JOLLY ALBUM RELEASE

San Francisco's freshest sensation Nicki Blum and The Gramblers are set to perform this evening at Kings.  Strong female vocals and good ole fashion rock 'n roll make for a sound and vision often overlooked in the current indie/whistle/electronic environment in which many are stranded.




Jeanne Jolly, a favorite of everyone here at Dan After Dark, has graced us with Angels , her first full -length album, and boy are we excited.  Sensational and without compare, Jolly knocks em dead ( as usual )  with this showcase of her vocal prowess and maturation into an executor of her own future as a southern siren with operatic pipes and country roots.  Celebrate the release of Angels with Jeanne and her  all star band October 5 at The Lincoln Theater.

Download: "Sweet Love" .  

Listen: Jeanne's tear jerking rendition of Leonard Cohen's masterpiece "Hallelujah." All proceeds go the The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Watch:

7th Annual SPARKCON THIS WEEKEND 9-13

Grassroots to the core, SPARKcon speaks volumes to the tremendous sect of artists, musicians, thinkers, writers, film makers,chefs, designers and all other creatives our area is so proud to possess.  Through word of mouth, this grand celebration of art and culture is created by an open-source invitation to anyone  seriously involved in a local creative scene.  Hundreds participate and thousands attend.

    

Ignite the "creative hub of the south"  in downtown Raleigh this weekend!  

This year's SPARKS: 

  

• ArtSPARK
•  BazaarSPARK               
• GeekSPARK,  
• IdeaSPARK,
• MusicSPARK, 
• PoetrySPARK,  
• TastySPARK,  
• TheatreSPARK,   
• WheelSPARK 
• CircusSPARK  
• DanceSPARK  
• DesignSPARK,
• FashionSPARK 
• FilmSPARK

HOPSCOTCH IS NOW (re-post)

 The Hopscotch Music Festival is on!
Musically speaking, things have been a little slow around these parts as of late.  Nothing too bad, but knowing hundreds of well known and up and coming bands are  pouring into our fair city soon makes us swell with pride. Now in its third year,  Hopscotch has achieved a long overdue task:  Putting Raleigh and the Triangle on the map as a virtual fertile crescent of creative music.

Not that this is a new notion.  Raleigh has  produced  bands and music of the highest quality for years.  Remember Arrogance? The Fabulous Knobs? (my dad arranged my first guitar lesson with Knobs lead guitar man David Enloe, who died a rock ‘n roll early death only a few years ago).  How about Th' Cigarettes?  The Connells, Dillon Fence?  If not, learn about them and many others at The Golden Age of NC Music and go to Comboland.com where they play the hits born right here 24/7.

I am so happy to see some of the areas oldest and finest acts on the Hopscotch lineup this year, such as Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple's The DB's and  Corrosion of Conformity.  This festival showcases our thriving, musically vibrant city to the watching world -  an accomplishment of the highest degree.        

Founder, Greg Lowenhagen and company have once again brought the best and brightest from today and yesteryear to Raleigh for three nights of  boundless musical entertainment and exposure to what's new.   Headliners performing at Raleigh City Plaza this year include:

• Scotland's The Jesus and Mary Chain, a defining force of alternative music from the 1980's and on. 
• Equally influential among the alternative rock scene, New Jersey's Yo La Tengo.  
• The ever so loud and brilliant Built To Spill.  

• From  The Books  Nick Zammuto's new act, Zammuto. 
• The Roots! 
•  Funkdified, electrified 17 piece ensemble, Escort. 

• Shirlette and The Dynamite Brothers. 

The other hundred or so bands will perform inside our many clubs, music venues and concert halls in the downtown area.

Can't be missed @ HOPSCOTCH 2012:  

LAMBCHOP 

YO LA TENGO

WYE OAK 

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN  

DAY PARTIES DURING HOPSCOTCH THIS WEEKEND

If you are looking to fully participate in the 3rd Annual Hopscotch Music Festival this weekend, day parties are a must.  Friday between noon and 5:00 pm, check out The Love Language and Friends BBQ Jam at  Contemporary Art Museum.  Artists include The Love Language, Lonnie Walker, The American West and The Lollipops with special guests.   At the same time Big Fat Gap, Jon Shain Jason Kutchma and Randy Whitt are playing for Hopscotch At Hibernian.  The music carries on at Hibernian Pub Saturday afternoon with American Aquarium, Mipso Trio, John Howie Junior and The Rosewood Bluff, Justin Robinson and the Mary Annette's and Th' Bullfrog Willard McGee.

Noon - 5 pm.Saturday in front of The Raleigh Times: Royal Bangs with Kooley High, Double Negative,  Red Collar, Spider Bags and The Bleeding Hearts.


Noon -5pm. Friday at  White Collar Crime:  ASSORTED AUDIO with D&D Sluggers, Brody and Choch, Soul Kahn, The Business People, Celebrity DJ Shogun and many more.  

Noon - 5pm. Saturday outside Mecca: Megafaun and Very Special Guests.   

BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE @ CAT'S CRADLE 8-21 -2012

The Wages Of Genius: Anton Newcombe and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Cradle

The Cat's Cradle was full of fans recently  - mainly  over the age of 30 – to hear The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the legendary 60's revivalist band, and to witness front man Anton Newcombe, "go crazy”.

Over the years I’ve heard accounts from friends who saw the band in the late 1990's in NYC.  One witness was in attendance when Newcombe made a spectacle of himself for an hour and a half on a tirade  sparked by the theft of the band’s equipment the night before.  After someone from their record label jumped onstage to stabilize him, the band performed for three hours straight without a glitch. 

Outbursts like this used to be common during their shows, sometimes instigated by attendees who still go out of their way to provoke the volatile lead man. 

Histrionics aside, The Brian Jonestown Massacre delivers an overwhelming Phil Spector- esque  wall of sound  powered by 4, yes 4,  guitars - a bass, drums,, keyboard / organ and one hell of a tambourine player with modern nuances, recreating a 1960's rock act not unlike Jefferson Airplane or The Strawberry Alarm Clock.    Only once did I see the brilliant guitarist and lead singer Newcombe upset by the cruelty of audience members. 

Someone shouted something (inaudible to the rest of us, but loud enough for the front man to react) about politics. And react he did with a seemingly defensive and incoherent rant. At this point it became  evident that Newcombe, no doubt sedated and under the strictures of the band’s record company to get through a two hour set without a major episode, was not going to careen out of control.  He continued on with the set that included recognizable popular tracks, including the fuzzy, declarative anthem "Anenome". The chorus chants  " you should be picking me up/ 'cept you're dragging me down" with full audience participation.  Among the favorites, rarities from their vast 20-year plus catalog popped up pleasing and wowing the hard core fans in attendance. 

Dig!, a 2004 film  documenting seven years in the lives of  The Brian Jonestown Massacre  and The Dandy Warhols ,brought out droves of indie / alternative  fans to witness the amazement of their music and rumored stage antics. But Anton pays a price for his fame playing night after night, always at risk of having a meltdown brought on by his instability and egotism, or being provoked by agitators in the audience.  In the film, Newcombe is documented exuding flashes of genius through his uncanny ability to write heavily thoughtful and musically intricate songs - and apply his brute magnetism and power over those around him.  His fellow band mates, other musicians on the scene and fans testify to this in the film. In contrast, signs of a serious mental illness are also quite obvious. And while his genius is declared by many, his manic behavior and drug abuse is cited just as often. 

After seeing the band, I can't help but feel some sadness for Anton Newcombe who, by no fault of his own, is bound by his genius to "shut up and play his guitar" to crowds mixed with adoring fans and bullying agitators. Yet, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, with all the drama and mythology surrounding them, continues to be one of the most prolific and mesmerizing acts performing today.  With the release of Aufheben in May of 2012, Anton Newcombe and the ever changing members of BJM show no sign of slowing down - regardless of any obstacles from within the band, or the unforgiving world of music critics and spiteful fans.   

MY MORNING JACKET SATURDAY 8-25 @ RALEIGH DOWNTOWN AMPHITHEATER

The success of  Kentucky born rock outfit  My Morning Jacket can be measured by it's die hard fans, the quality of their scorching sound and the ability to stay out just outside the obnoxious spotlight of popular music in America.  Southern to the core, MMJ carries with them a hellishly engaging stage presence with a noise steeped in psychedelic rock. The grace and beauty of steel guitar with front man Jim James' spellbinding vocals finds an unexpected but perfect partner with the headbanging raucousness within the MMJ recipe.  It has taken me years to settle down and actually listen to most of their albums and I now am an admitted "huge fan."  So, thanks to all those who pushed them on me for so long. 

Always evolving, My Morning Jacket will play to an intimate audience at The Raleigh Downtown Amphitheater this Saturday Night with another of the greatest bands to form after the turn of the century; Band of Horses.    

MY MORNING JACKET covering "HOW THE GODS KILL" by DANZIG:

HOPSCOTCH IS NOW!

It's back!  The Hopscotch Music Festival reawakens just weeks from now and boy, are we happy.  Musically speaking, things have been a little slow around these parts as of late.  Nothing too bad, but knowing hundreds of well known and up and coming bands are  pouring into our fair city soon makes us swell with pride. Now in its third year,  Hopscotch has achieved a long overdue task:  Putting Raleigh and the Triangle on the map as a virtual fertile crescent of creative music.

Not that this is a new notion.  Raleigh has  produced  bands and music of the highest quality for years.  Remember Arrogance? The Fabulous Knobs? (my dad arranged my first guitar lesson with Knobs lead guitar man David Enloe, who died a rock ‘n roll early death only a few years ago).  How about Th' Cigarettes?  The Connells, Dillon Fence?  If not, learn about them and many others at The Golden Age of NC Music and go to Comboland.com where they play the hits born right here 24/7.

I am so happy to see some of the areas oldest and finest acts on the Hopscotch lineup this year, such as Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple's The DB's and  Corrosion of Conformity.  This festival showcases our thriving, musically vibrant city to the watching world -  an accomplishment of the highest degree.         

Founder, Greg Lowenhagen and company have once again brought the best and brightest from today and yesteryear to Raleigh for three nights of  boundless musical entertainment and exposure to what's new.   Headliners performing at Raleigh City Plaza this year include:

• Scotland's The Jesus and Mary Chain, a defining force of alternative music from the 1980's and on. 
• Equally influential among the alternative rock scene, New Jersey's Yo La Tengo.  
• The ever so loud and brilliant Built To Spill.  

• From  The Books  Nick Zammuto's new act, Zammuto. 
• The Roots! 
•  Funkdified, electrified 17 piece ensemble, Escort. 

• Shirlette and The Dynamite Brothers. 

The other hundred or so bands will perform inside our many clubs, music venues and concert halls in the downtown area.  

Can't be missed @ HOPSCOTCH 2012:  

LAMBCHOP 

YO LA TENGO

WYE OAK 

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN  

Roger Waters On Trial: The Wall At PNC Arena

From the August issue of Metro Magazine.  Photos 1,2 3 and 5 by Jack Morton.

. 

 At age 68, Roger Waters - of the now defunct progressive psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd - proved to be energized and in top form for his multi-media extravaganza presentation of his personal masterpiece, The Wall in Raleigh at PNC Arena July 9th. In 1994, Pink Floyd performed in Raleigh to a packed Carter- Finley Stadium. David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright went on performing to sold out arenas and stadiums around the world for several years after Waters departed to make The Wall the focal point of his career.

Backed by a team of top flight musicians, every track from the original 1977 concept album was performed flawlessly in sync with the visually striking animation and theatrics that comprise the experience of the film and the album. Waters transcended time and space as a tortured child who suffers the loss of his father, takes abuse from his teacher and smothering by his overprotective mother.

A metaphorical wall is built brick by brick in his mind -and on the stage -separating the audience from the band and isolating the artist from reality. By the time the wall is completely constructed, both figuratively and physically, Waters has transformed into the adult rock star demigod “Pink”, donning a Gestapo style uniform, shouting racial epithets and blasting a machine gun at the audience. Theatrically stunning and musically phenomenal, The Wall came to life before the eyes of the audience with memorable animation and sound bites from the famous 1982 live action/animated musical film written by Waters and starring Bob Geldof.

Everyone in attendance knew this was a once in lifetime event since the chances of a performance of this magnitude coming back around were slim. Waters toured The Wall during his years after leaving Pink Floyd to smaller audiences with a meager budget on a much smaller scale. For the last three years, he and his crew of hundreds have toured the world mounting the seemingly impossible feat of building and performing a production that is visually, musically and theatrically stunning each time, tearing it down and doing it all over again night after night. 

Waters’ personal political agenda was by no means kept secret. Ironically, his anti-capitalist message was projected brightly to an audience of die- hard fans who paid upwards of $150.00 for tickets. But for the true believers in the audience, every element of both the album and the film were reproduced in perfect order, including new twists on the changing world climate. Images of dead soldiers from past violent conflicts were spattered everywhere, along with politically provocative symbols such as the dollar sign, the hammer and sickle and headshots of Chairmen Mao, George W. Bush and other “tyrants”. Waters’ political leanings only reached the point of annoyance with the song “Mother” which he dedicated to a victim of senseless violence somewhere in South America.

In accordance with the film, Waters translated the innocence of childhood and the experimentation of adolescence and undertakes a close probe into the crossed over adult mind of the suffering rock star tuned cultist leader.

The climactic moment, when each attendee regressed and connected on a child- like-level, occurred during “Comfortably Numb”, an obvious favorite and defining anthem of Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” also brought out the child in everyone as a group of local children appeared on stage and chorused “we don’t need no education”, danced and pointed at the unforgettable sadistic schoolmaster re-created in larger than life puppet form.

 Pink is pilloried for his crimes during “The Trial”, a frightening animated song in which our hero is exposed for all of his sins and labeled insane or “over the rainbow”. The monstrous judge’s order to tear “down the wall” echoed through PNC Arena as the complete structure on stage came crumbling to the ground, shooting smoke and pyrotechnics in all directions. 

Like past productions of The Wall, enormous white bricks were stacked slowly by the crew until the band was essentially hidden from view, unless on stage for chosen tracks, atop the mighty structure or through one of the empty spaces. Animation from the film, made famous by the creative mind of Gerald Scarfe, including marching hammers, carnivorous, vaginal flowers and teethed airplanes, were splashed on the white bricks, along with an updated swath of symbols and war photographs dating back to World War I. An enormous pig was flown around the arena providing all in attendance a glimpse of Pink Floyd as they once were 20 years ago.

Though Waters’ political agenda was made clear as expected, the fans appreciated The Wall for whatever deep meaning it instilled in them when they first gave the album a spin or viewed the film. 

— Dan Reeves

Photos From KISS @ WALNUT CREEK July 22

The one and only photograpger extraordinaire Jack Morton shot some amazing  pics of Kiss in action at Walnut Creek July 22.  The 63 year old rockers did what they do best: rock out for their hoards of devoted fans known as The Kiss Army!  

NEW CRYSTAL CASTLES TRACK FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM

"PLAGUE" ,  an early release from Great Britain's elctro-emotional duo whose sound was once described as "ferocious, asphyxiating sheets of warped two-dimensional Gameboy glitches and bruising drum bombast that pierces your skull with their sheer shrill force, burrowing deep into the brain like a fever" by Jack Shankly, a writer for Brit website Drowned in Sound.   An acquired taste for many, but top of the menu for young fans of the overwhelming presence of electronic music with a message.  Get a sneak peek at their upcoming 3rd record to be released later this year