Yes, we've been fortunate enough to have some really fine releases in the Triangle this year. That said, this list wasn't a terribly difficult one for me to make.
No other local release got as much play in my world -- or as much attention from the masses. Kudos to Bladen County Records' Matt Brown for making the incredibly wise decision to release Stu McLamb's lo-fi solo compositions as-is. And kudos to Stu for putting together a very fine live band to interpret those compositions.
2. The Bronzed Chorus: "I'm the Spring"
A fine release from the most compelling band I've heard, local or otherwise, in a while.
3. Lonnie Walker: "These Times, Old Times"
Listening to "These Times, Old Times" just makes me happy. And that's good enough reason to put this on my list.
4. Megafaun: "Gather, Form and Fly"
On the other hand, "Gather, Form and Fly" often makes me feel apprehensive. Even the quietest numbers have a calm-before-the-storm feel to them.
5. Polvo: "In Prisim"
Polvo returns, and isn't afraid to show their Led Zeppelin influence.
Song of the year: I Was Totally Destroying It: "Done Waiting"
Nothing made me sing at the top of my lungs like the "Whoa-ohhhhs" in this song.
(The Bronzed Chorus)
Let me start off by saying that I'm still not exactly sure why this thing was called Viking Storm, or what it had to do with vikings. Ultimately I don't think it matters much because everyone got into the viking theme (plenty of horned hats everywhere), I got to see one of my favorite bands from last year, and I also got to go to the Pinhook for the first time.
Let's talk about the Pinhook for just a minute. I liked this place quite a bit. It's pretty centrally located (I found it easily from the Durham Freeway), nicely decorated with red walls and well-preserved vintage furniture, and has a well-stocked bar with some high-end items such as MaCallan, which my companions eagerly indulged in (I was driving, so I just observed). And I may be wrong about this, but I think they had Aveda soap in the ladies room.
But the owners of the Pinhook seriously need to do something about the lighting situation above the stage. Basically, other than an old living room lamp that looks like it was dug out of a dumpster behind the Goodwill, and the weak light of the exit sign on the back wall, there is no light above the stage. And that's kind of weird because the rest of the club seems to be fairly well lit. That means if you're watching the band, you don't get to see much, and if you're in the band, you hardly see anything. At one point the guitar player for The Bronzed Chorus had to borrow someone's cell phone to throw enough light on his pedals to see what he was doing.
During Pink Flag, the lighting situation wasn't much of an issue because several folks, including yours truly, were busy snapping flash photos around them. So even though this video of them performing "Haunted" is incredibly dark, you can actually see a little bit of what's going on, just because of all the flashes going off.
Pink Flag - "Haunted" from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Next up were The Bronzed Chorus from Greensboro, who I loved just as much as when I saw them last year at Tir na Nog. More people were watching the band, but fewer taking photos, so this one is almost totally dark. I did pan to a couple of viking-hat-wearing fans in front of the stage who were getting INTO it. But other than that, there really isn't much on this video to see.
The Bronzed Chorus - "Underpass Surprise" from Mann's World on Vimeo.
Caverns and Tooth played afterward, but we headed back to Raleigh. Hammer No More the Fingers is playing Duke Coffeehouse tonight in celebration of their CD-release.
