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.

Hear Here: February 28 - March 7

Justin Lacy & The Swimming Machine

Last week was jam-packed with fantastic shows and this week showcases much of the same.  Sometimes within the Triangle we'll see a particular city jam-packed with shows while the rest are left to twiddle their thumbs or make the drive up I-40, but every now and then there's that one week where the entire area is filled with incredible performances.  You can welcome that particular conundrum this week.

With a raucous show from Spider Bags at Slim's kicking off the week and a sold out performance from Alt-J at Cat's Cradle, this week runs the gamut of musical genres.  Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are getting equal amounts of lovin' from both touring acts and local favorites, so make your way out to a show this week!


Show of the Week: Onward, Soldiers w/ Wiley Hunter & The Cazadores and Justin Lacy & The Swimming Machine @ Kings Barcade on March 2

Thursday, February 28
Spider Bags w/ Flesh Wounds & DJ Suggadelic @ Slim's in Raleigh
$5

• Two of the areas finest punk acts are going to be packed into one of the Triangle's finest clubs for gritty, high-energy shows.  Needless to say this show is going to be incredible.  Spider Bags solidified their spot in 2012 as one of the local powerhouses, receiving high acclaim from national publications like Pitchfork, Shake My Head was release that boosted Spider Bags to the glory that they deserve.  I finally got to see their southern blend of punk rock at Double Barrel Benefit earlier this month and suddenly understood why this band has received the acclaim they have.  The energy was bouncing across the stage, much like the band, as they powered through an engaging set filled with sing-a-longs and wild antics.  Spider Bags' fans are a dedicated bunch, exerting just as much energy as the band when taking in their frenetic live performance.  Flesh Wounds couldn't be a better opener either, I got the chance to see them in a crowded Berkley Cafe at Hopscotch last year and saw much of the same that I did at Spider Bags, but with far more grit.  Flesh Wounds give fans exactly what they want, no frills balls-out punk rock with jaunting rhythms and fast-paced melodies.  Slim's is at its finest when it's packed in tightly and filled with the brash tunes that we'll see on display on Thursday.  A fantastic way to kick off this batch of shows.

Around The Triangle

Chatham County Line @ Cat's Cradle
8/6/2011

With the recent addition of Agatha Donkar as our newest Bottom String member we're going to be bringing you more show coverage than ever before.  We're implementing our first new piece this week with "Around The Triangle", shots from shows all over the Triangle from local and touring artists.

All photo credit goes to Agatha Donkar unless otherwise noted.This week's photos come from Chatham County Line's Cat's Cradle on Saturday, August 6 with Justin Robinson and The Mary Annettes and Onward Soldiers' July 30 show with The Pneurotics and Effingham