Troika Day 1 Highlights

The first day of Troika definitely set an amazing mood for the days to come.  The night started off a bit later than anticipated seeing as my stay in Chapel Hill lasted a bit longer than I was trying to, so unfortunately I missed Birds & Arrows set at Central Park.  However, I came just in time for the beginning of Mosadi Music's set.  The band kicked off their set with some crowd interaction that as they said "would keep you warm".  The moving around did just that, and the funk-rap sounds of Mosadi Music kept the crowd entertained.

I cut out of Mosadi Music early in hopes to get to the Pinhook before Old Bricks' set started up, and sure enough they put on a show that was not to be forgotten.  The relatively small crowd of probably around 20-30 people were all packed in and quiet for the Old Bricks set.  While the vocals weren't intelligible, Stuart's voice alone is all that's needed to provide the haunting sound that Old Bricks produces.  The percussive breakdown was definitely the highlight of the set, and as they announced that the next song would be their last I found myself disappointed it had to end.  Old Bricks proved exactly what I'd thought before going into their set, that they're one of the best live bands in the Triangle.

After Old Bricks, I hung out around the Pinhook to see Veelee play for the first time.  Matt and Ginger have a certain chemistry on stage that just draws the crowd right into the band, their banter when Ginger started playing the wrong song even had a bit of the crowd laughing.  Their performance definitely kept me enthralled though.  While I'm not familiar with their catalog, the band did play a few new songs that went over well with the crowd even though the band seemed to disagree on that in one case.  Veelee definitely didn't disappoint though, and once they ended it was onto Fullsteam to check out Midtown Dickens.

Allow me to state that Fullsteam may be my favorite venue at Troika, but maybe it was just because Midtown Dickens was the band that filled the place with such amazing sounds.  Even their improvised "Troika" sound check sounded awesome!  The Fullsteam room has a great sound to it, and the place was pretty crowded for Midtown Dickens.  They opened up with some familiar songs, but played a lot of new ones as well.  Midtown Dickens' energy that they bring to the stage always draws in the entire audience and by the end of each song you've got most of the crowd moving or singing along.  Midtown Dickens were definitely the highlight of Night 1 with Old Bricks at a very very close second.

Unfortunately I had to cut out of Midtown Dickens a bit early to catch some of Valient Thorr's set, but it was well worth it.  I don't know if I've ever seen that much beard on stage at once.  The minute they came on stage Motorco just seemed to fill up with energy.  This being my first time stepping into Motorco though, I was thoroughly impressed with the place.  The room had a great sound and Valient Thorr absolutely rocked out.  I only stayed for a couple of songs before heading back to Chapel Hill so I could catch up on much needed sleep for the next day, but Valient Thorr put on a great show from what I saw.

Friday and Saturdays festivities are bound to be just as good if not better, and alas...they'll actually include pictures! (assuming I don't forget my camera in Chapel Hill yet again)