Whatever Brains played Friday night at Kings in Raleigh.
Allison Hussey: I started my night of music at City Plaza. I missed out on The Dodos, caught all of Drive By Truckers and some of Guided By Voices. DBT was good, but not quite my speed.
From GBV, I went to The Hive to see Justin Robinson and The Mary Annettes. The venue felt more suited for an open mic night or quiet acoustic music, not the Autoharp hip-hop and roots music that Robinson and company brought. Listeners were packed into a space that could only fit three people at most across. It was basically a crowded, hot tunnel with the band sweating it out at the end.
Next in my schedule was Annuals. This band has a special place in my heart — they were my first Cat’s Cradle show, the first local band I liked and one of my first-ever interviews. Frontman Adam Baker seemed more excited than the crowd, constantly pumping them up and yelling. The whole band was energetic and sounded excellent. Baker mentioned that a few of the songs were new material, but said nothing about when or how a new LP would be released.
I had intended to see Mount Eerie at Five Star, but ended up running in to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. The resulting conversation meant that I missed the group and would have to go straight to Mount Moriah at the Berkeley Café.
The Berkeley Café was deceptively quiet outside. I could barely get through the archway to see Mount Moriah, but managed to squash my way in. The crowd was mostly unenthusiastic during songs but still very attentive. Mount Moriah brought the house down with its last song, a new one. Hopefully a new record isn’t too far away.
I had wanted to catch Earth, but made a mistake in reading the schedule. I saw White Ring at Five Star instead. The set was an intense assault on almost all of the senses. Bright, flashing lights and sound loud enough to rattle your insides washed over the crowd, bringing a heavy end to my second night at Hopscotch.
Swans play at the Fletcher Theater at Hopscotch 2011.
Today is undoubtedly the biggest day on my schedule. I’m hitting Ben Sollee, the College Radio Showcase and Future Islands today. Tonight brings The Flaming Lips and Bombadil. Bring it on, Hopscotch.
Make sure to follow us at @DTHDiversions for Hopscotch updates. Check out what’s going on at #Hopscotch11.
Raleigh’s Whatever Brains was a little too loud for Super Vacation’s frontman.
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