Show Review: Hopscotch Music Festival 2013, Day 2

A-Trak @ City Plaza

14 hours of live music will take something out of you--I can attest to that. But the prospect of another full day of even more exciting festivities is enough to push me to drag my ass out of bed and immerse myself in a whole new day of beer drinking, fried food gorging and most importantly live music consumption. Hopscotch's three-day run is a unique festival experience, I've trekked out to Bonnaroo and know the woes of spending your days camping in the sun, but Hopscotch is an equally exhausting experience believe it or not.

However, one of my favorite parts of Hopscotch is the ability to revisit some of these acts--whether they be local or not--that you haven't seen in years and suddenly stumble upon. That's what my day was filled with on Friday, an afternoon of high-energy rock music from a wide array of genres. I begrudgingly attended my Friday class and made it downtown just in time for Last Year's Men to begin their set at Slim's. Last time I saw these guys was ironically enough at Hopscotch...at Slim's, so this was definitely a familiar environment for me. Their buzzing brand of garage rock continues to wow me as I experience the band in this tightly packed setting that is absurdly conducive to their sound.

After Last Year's Men finished up their raucous set I checked out The Everymen from New Jersey behind Slim's. Of course I feasted on free booze and veggie burgers, but the highlight of this experience was most definitely the discovery of an absolutely wonderful live act. The Everymen packed out Slim's back porch despite the beating sun and rocked harder than anyone I saw on Friday (including Valient Thorr). At one point the keyboardist picked up his instrument and pulled out a rocking behind the head solo which is arguably the most rock and roll thing a keyboardist can do. Their lively set even drew a crowd of underaged kids on the adjacent parking deck which everyone began to gawk over as well. All in all Slim's served as an awesome kickstart for my Friday.

Hopscotch Itinerary: Friday, Sept. 6

Ah, Friday. Even though we're only a day away I'm still stressing out about who I'm going to see, what sets I'm going to cut out of early and who I'll sadly miss all together. Even with this year's cancellations, Friday's lineup is still one of the strongest for a single day that I can remember. Day Parties kick into full effect on Friday and City Plaza starts off in the evening with an eclectic but incredible combination of locally and internationally acclaimed artists.

Since there's no WKNC commitments taking up the afternoon, Friday is thankfully a day entirely dedicated to bouncing around venues for some of the incredible Day Party showings. There's some local goodness of all varieties that'll be performing in downtown Raleigh this afternoon, so I'll surely be making my rounds throughout most of the day parties.

The Pinhook has teamed up with Cirque Du Vol Studios for an afternoon filled with some of the area's most talented female artists like Shirlette Ammons, Des Ark and the fantastically fun Creedence Queerwater Revival (featuring Kym Register and a barrage of CCR covers!). Their hilariously titled Bitchfork Day Party takes place at Cirque Du Vol and kicks off at 11. Deep South's Schoolkids Day Party is another awesome one with standouts like Onward, Soldiers and Kenny Roby. Slim's Churchkey Day Party is always a ridiculously good time and this year's lineup features some incredible acts like Spiderbags and The Beets. It'll also be nice to check out Caleb Caudle on Friday at The Hive as well as First Person Plural at Tir Na Nog. While it'd be sweet to get to see Thurston Moore performing at Kings for the Three Lobed/WXDU Party, I remember how packed Kings got for last years XDU show, so I'll likely stray away from that venue.

Big Boi, Local Natives, John Cale and nearly 172 others to play Hopscotch 2013

Big Boi will be headlining Hopscotch 2013
Performing Friday, September 6th at City Plaza

Since its inception Hopscotch has been a festival filled with diversity.  From Panda Bear to Public Enemy, Flaming Lips to Guided By Voices, and The Roots to Built To Spill, we've seen a wide variety of acts grace the now 15 stages that make up the Hopscotch Music Festival.  Each year we've see bigger names, deeper lineups and a consistent focus on local music and 2013 proves to amplify each of these aspects.  This morning the Hopscotch lineup was released to an eager audience that have let out a collective cry of joy over what many are calling the best lineup yet.

While many festivals boast the same acts, Hopscotch is built around unique experiences.  Concert goers can experience sets at Hopscotch that simply aren't possible anywhere else on the festival circuit.  Whether it be The Breeders' Last Splash set or The Rosebuds cover of Sade's Love Deluxe, Hopscotch contains one of a kind sets from some of the finest active, and even inactive acts.  Whether it be a seldom seen set from the stoner-metal pioneers of Sleep or the eclectic lineup of Gross Ghost followed by Future Islands followed by Big Boi at City Plaza, Hopscotch provides a bit of something for everyone.

Tickets for Hopscotch are on-sale now with a 3-Day Pass at $125 and a VIP pass at $180.  Single-day passes will be available in June, but quite frankly passing up on such an incredible weekend at such a phenomenal price would be a huge mistake.  I'm already absurdly excited for September, between Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, Local Natives and countless other acts I know this is going to be yet another unforgettable weekend.  The full lineup can be found below: