Photos from day 2 of Hopscotch!

I'm heading out soon for my day party at Dive Bar, sponsored by Big Boss.

(Earth at Kings)

Photos from day 1 of Hopscotch 2011

Highlight of the night: Absolutely Oxbow, who are probably the most menacing band I've ever seen -- even during the acoustic part of their set. The freakiest thing for me was the duct tape over Eugene Robinson's ears.

I also got to see the Debonzo Brothers for the first time, and liked them a lot. They were one of the bands who played after the Sadlack's party was restarted at 5 p.m. In case you didn't hear, that party was shut down for noise around 1 p.m., and the organizers were told they could only begin again after 5. See photos from throughout the day.

Photos and video of Weedeater, Saviours and Bison BC

(Weedeater)

This one is going to be quick and dirty because I'm heading out soon for some Hopscotch day parties. Weedeater and Bison BC were both killer on Tuesday night at Kings, but I have to say Saviours pretty much owned the evening for me. I also bought their brand new CD, "Death's Procession," and have been listening to it non-stop. See more photos.


In the interest of saving time, I don't plan to shoot much video this weekend. Might get some from local acts I haven't seen before, but for the most part, you'll be seeing mainly photos from me for the next three days. I'll be tweeting my observations along the way.

Mine and others' recommendations for Hopscotch

Thanks so much to New Raleigh for letting me give my Hopscotch recommendations. They contacted a fairly diverse selection of people who offered up their recommendations as well. As others have said, don't try to see everything. Just pick the shows that you absolutely must see and stick to them.

New Raleigh also added a guide to dining/shopping/drinking downtown, but I honestly thought they left out a lot of the best places, so I added my own thoughts in the comments section.

There are lots of day parties going on, but I sure hope that you'll come to mine -- the Mann's World Day Party at Dive Bar on Saturday, sponsored by Big Boss. I have an awesome lineup: Righteous Fool, Black Thai and Lurch. It's free!

Finally, with all the talk of Hopscotch happening, it's easy to overlook Scumfest happening at Volume 11 on Saturday. I know these guys, and I've told them I think it's a bad idea to have their festival happening the same weekend as Hopscotch. But I truly admire the fact that they basically don't give a damn, and are going to do it anyway.

Also on Saturday, Lechuza Booking is sponsoring a metal night with Systems, Beneath Oblivion, Earthling and Sperm Count at Dive Bar.

This also points out one of my major concerns about Hopscotch, which is, you can't really hold a major Raleigh music festival and ignore at least two well known clubs (Volume 11 and Dive Bar). The argument that Dive Bar is not a downtown club just doesn't work with me. Dive Bar is about a five block walk from Kings, and the R-Line stops right in front of the club. It's true that Volume 11 is not downtown, but last year the festival ferried people around via a biodiesel bus. There's no reason why that bus can't also make a two-mile trek out to Volume 11.

This week's cool shows: Weedeater, Cough and more!

With Labor Day coming up, and Hopscotch happening next week, this weekend is somewhat light on shows. But the shows that are happening are definitely worth your time.

On Thursday, Sept. 1, Cough, MAKE  and Swordasters of Ginaz will be at Casbah. I don't know anything about the Swordmasters, but Cough and MAKE have consistently been two of my favorite doomy bands over the past year.

Over at Motorco on the same night, DejaFest will feature American Aquarium, the Love Language's Stu McLamb, Prison Book Club and Gray Young.

On Sunday, one of my all-time favorite North Carolina bands from way back in the day, The Bad Checks, will be at JawsFest at the Station in Carrboro. And on Labor Day itself, Black Skies, Vaz and Pygmy Shrews will be at Casbah.

But the show of the week in my opinion is Tuesday's Weedeater, Saviours, Bison BC and Fight Amp show at Kings. I will admit to having never seen Weedeater or Saviours, but Bison BC and Fight Amp both put on an amazing show.

Also, there are two very different festivals happening this weekend: the annual ProgDay international prog rock fest at Storybrook Farm, and Bull City Rumble, a celebration of rockabilly and classic car/motorcycle culture, at Casbah.