Chelsea Wolfe, Hopscotch Music Festival 2015
September wouldn’t be complete without an epic Hopscotch Music Festival ravaging Raleigh. If you’re not following Loud Ballads on Facebook, I posted an album full of photos from the weekend. You’ll find some shots of Chelsea Wolfe, Flock of Dimes, Wing Dam, Lost Trail, Clang Quartet, Charming Youngsters, See Gulls, GHOSTT BLLONDE, and Wild Fur. Until next year, Hopscotch!
Papa M (David Pajo), Hopscotch 2012
Hopscotch Music Festival officially kicks off on Thursday evening. If you’re planning to be in Raleigh, don’t bypass the excellent lineup of FREE day parties from Thursday afternoon through Sunday! If you don’t have a wristband, you can still see a hearty selection of acts that range from local to national. It’s also not too late to buy a wristband to the official festival! A small amount remain available for purchase through Hopscotch’s website.
Having trouble wrapping your mind around day party schedules and time slots? I’ve compiled them into a list for Thursday through Sunday*, and you can download it right here**: Hopscotch 2014 Day Parties
A couple of highlights:
On Friday, Valient Himself (of Valient Thorr) fronts Brief Lives from Richmond, VA 2:00PM at CAM. Saw them play Neptunes a few months back and they will rock your face off.
Also on Friday, legendary Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) will play Kings Barcade with harpist, Mary Lattimore at 4:20PM. If you’re not outwardly familiar with Lattimore, she played on Moore’s 2011 solo album, Demolished Thoughts, and was part of the band during that tour. There’s an interview somewhere out there where Moore states that Lattimore is the first person he’s ever had to “fire” (begrudgingly) from a band. Transportation costs are high for harps.
On Saturday, Landlady plays Pour House at 3:30PM. Frontman, Adam Schatz has a repertoire that includes playing saxophone for Man Man as well as Vampire Weekend. Catch them at this show because it will be easier to see and the acoustics will be better than when they play during the actual festival at Tir Na Nog (no hard feelings).
Girls Rock NC will be hosting a ‘Babes in Boyland’ party on Saturday in the Warehouse District where Ex Hex will slay. If you missed them at July’s Merge 25 Fest, here’s your chance to catch them. The party runs from 12PM – 5PM, and although I couldn’t find a set lineup with time slots, I’d venture to guess they’ll headline and go on close to 4PM.
Special love to The (now defunct) Spazzatorium Galleria, as Jeff Blinder (Spazz Presents) brings another great mix to Slim’s during this year’s SpazzScotch III day party on Saturday from 12PM – 6PM. You can catch many of the bands that have played Greenville’s annual Spazz Fest. There’s one secret act on the lineup that you will have to show up to see.
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*The times listed are based on a mix of times provided on Hopscotch’s website, along with the official Facebook event pages for each day party. Check those for any last minute changes.
**Schoolkids Records and Humble Pie were cut from my Saturday list in order to fit everything on one page (I’m really sorry). You can view those on the official Hopscotch Day Party list here.
UPDATE 9/3/14: Schoolkids Records has added a list their day parties to their website.
Since there was a tie in the Choose Your Own Adventure poll, an executive decision has been made to feature Warpaint next.
Warpaint setlist April 3, 2011
Late 2010, I hosted a holiday dinner party. My friend Jon arrived with a stack of CD-Rs for me, which included Warpaint’s 2009 EP, Exquisite Corpse and their 2010 album, The Fool.
When I got a chance to listen to the CDs, Set Your Arms Down (the first track on The Fool), immediately conjured up haunted memories of living in Greenville. All of the songs to follow had that same feel. And for once, it felt like there were others out there struggling with the same issues of being female, dealing with relationship limbo, having to quell primal feelings and still be taken seriously as an artist or musician without cheapening the sound and feel of the songs being created and produced. Aside from feeling a personal connection, this album was packed with solid riffs and harmonization and I had it on heavy rotation for weeks.
Fast-forward a few months to April 2011. Warpaint played a packed show at Kings Barcade in Raleigh and did not disappoint. Guitarists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman flanked both sides of the stage with ethereal presence, while Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass) and Stella Mozgawa (drums) kept all of the songs grounded from center stage. I was able to pick up this setlist after the show. There’s also a video below of Warpaint playing Majesty. The camera I used at the time was pretty heinous and I’m kind of cringing at the idea of sharing this with you, but I’m just an amateur and the audio is good (close your eyes or look at something else while you listen).
Loud Ballads 