Podcast: Junebugs and Other Corny Summertime Shit

My taste in music typically leans toward the intensely emotional and cerebral, or the purely carnal - but something about June in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill unleashes my inner flirty faux-indie party girl. There's some real love for North Carolina on this podcast, and some music that will help you forget about all your white girl problems.

1. The Rosebuds - "Woods"

2. Ford & Lopatin - "Too Much MIDI (Please Forgive Me)"

3. Holy Ghost! - "Do It Again"

4. Battles - "Ice Cream"

5. All Tiny Creatures - "Glass Bubbles"

6. Givers - "Words"

7. Black Lips - "New Direction"

8. Fucked Up - "The Other Shoe"

9. BALAM ACAB - "Oh, Why"

10. Arrange - "When'd You Find Me?"

11. Ear Pwr - "Lake"

12. The Rapture - "How Deep Is Your Love"

Concert Review: Jenny & Johnny

Although I've managed to lose track of many of the musical influences from my early college years, the Jenny & Johnny show in Santa Fe, NM, firmly reminded me of the greatness that is Jenny Lewis. I had forgotten about her impact on my younger self; Lewis' raw vocals provided the soundtrack to hours spent in the dim 70s-styled tenth-floor study lounge in UNC-Chapel Hill's Davis Library. But tonight, Miss Lewis and her man, Johnathan Rice, provided one of the most unexpectedly incredible (albeit smokey) live performances I've experienced in a long time.

First, let me speak to the smoke. Currently, there's a massive forest fire raging on the New Mexico / Arizona border that has clouded the bright blue sky for days and turned the Santa Fe moon red at night. It has also given many, many people a nasty cough.

To this end, Jenny and Johnny invited the Santa Fe Brewing Company patio audience - set behind the vast desert and distant Jemez mountains - to sing along with the chorus of Rice's original, "We're All Stuck Out In The Desert (and We're Gonna Die)." And while I'm sure each of us stuck out in the middle of dry, vast New Mexico could uniquely relate to this chorus, what really resonated were the moments in the show when Lewis simply let loose.

Firmly stating the disclaimer, "this is not a love song," Lewis kept it loose with the song, "Just Like Zeus," from the Jenny & Johnny debut album, I'm Having Fun Now. With her trademark smirk, spunk, and incredible vocal range, Lewis used her weathered yet smooth-as-honey vocals to woo the crowd.

Watching the show, it occurred to me that Lewis is far from sugar-coated. She's the real fucking deal. I get the sense that she's the type of girl who has met a few boys and spent her nights out; maybe she's done a line or two in a bathroom stall - she has lived and she has felt it - and she has the voice to make us feel it all, too.

But after a few Jenny & Johnny originals (including songs like the very political, "Animal," which was prefaced with an anti-Arizona diatribe), which were delightful and highlighted the Rice as a budding rock-star, I began to yearn for Lewis' powerful Rilo Kiley-era vocals. Don't get me wrong, Rice was musical, sensitive and talented - but something about the collaboration seemed to dim the bright light, the shining talent and soul that I remembered in past Lewis projects. The fuzzier, louder, beach-rock nature of Jenny & Johnny seemed to add a bit more noise to the equation. I wondered, had the man dimmed the woman?

And then came "Silver Lining".

In one of the most true and honest performances, the duo performed a stripped-down acoustic version of the Lewis classic, "Silver Lining." Rice introduced it as one of his favorite songs ever written and the two harmonized exquisitely in a slow, beautiful, even slightly painful rendition. The patio crowd fell quiet, the red moon loomed overhead and Jenny Lewis converted us all.

After the show, the crowd lingered basking in the glory of what had just taken place. A 20-year-old boy next to me struck up a conversation about life, the streets and culture of Albuquerque, and his high appreciation for art and culture in Santa Fe. I am confident that this random connection was born wholly from the shared experience of Jenny & Johnny's last song. Later in the night, the band showed up at the bar across the street and mutts howled into the dark smoked sky. Albeit cliche, I believe that it was - for all of us - a night to remember.

Concert Review: Home Video

Electronic group, Home Video, performed last Tuesday night at Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg. Brooklyn-based bandmates (singer/guitarist, Collin Ruffino, and keyboardist/bassist, David Gross) have been together for over 10 years (with Chris Berry of Xylos playing drums at this particular show).

It was a rare kind of show that seemed to end too soon - I wanted to listen all night. Images of tropical landscapes and bustling highways from the '70s were projected onto the stage, illuminating the frames of each band member, and creating the perfect compliment to the propelling beats.

The influence of Radiohead is apparent in Ruffino's haunting vocals, but the inspiration is modified with the band's own unique synth melodies and driving percussion that build in every song.

The catchy electronic music still has substance, epitomized by the lyrics at the end of the standout single, "Every Love That Every Was":

look out now across a darkened sky/
you'll see the ash of every love that ever was/
and if we can do this right/
nothing else can matter/
you and i can live forever

Home Video's latest album, The Automatic Process, was released late last year and is a excellent soundtrack for summer night drives. Home Video are continuing to tour through summer, with more shows scheduled in Brooklyn, DC, and Boston.

Interview: Future Islands

After a bewitching opening set at Cat’s Cradle, I mentioned to Future Island’s charismatic lead singer, Sam Herring, “I think you were a thespian in a past life.” He gently smiled and responded, “I think I’m one in this life.”

Herring and fellow band mates, keyboardist Gerrit Welmers and bassist William Cashion, formed Future Islands back when they were in college in Greenville, North Carolina. They have been fan favorites of local music lovers for many years, but made what was arguably their national break through with 2010’s In Evening Air.

While in college, the band coined the term Post-Wave to describe their music - combining minimalist New-Wave inspired synthesizer melodies with Post-Punk tempos. However, the truly signature feature of the group is Herring’s gravelly and haunting voice (which is most often compared to Tom Waits) and dramatic performance style. Dressed in khakis with a tucked in white dress shirt, he paces the stage with the intensity of a boxer - crouching down to the audience and reaching out towards some imaginary tangible emotion suspended in space before ripping it back with his hands.

He commits to the performance. The strain of emotion that is worn on his face matches the confessional lyrics about pain and heartache.

When performing the popular single, “Tin Man” Herring jumped in place as the metallic notes of the keyboard intro built, aggressively thumping his chest. The fierce physicality of Herring’s on stage persona is a stark character foil to his warm and docile personality

All three members are incredibly friendly guys who were thrilled to be back with friends and family in North Carolina, after having moved to Baltimore in 2007. Before the show they discussed plans to get barbecue and visit Bojangles while in town.

As with all North Carolinians, the Cat’s Cradle is an especially significant place for the band. Herring mentioned on stage, “Growing up in North Carolina if you’re in a band, this is where you want to be.”

In homage to their love of North Carolina, the soon to be released album, On The Water, was recorded at a friends house in Elizabeth City. Future Islands closed their set with the new atmospheric song, "Grease", that opens like clouds parting to reveal a post-winter landscape, and a conscience pensively taking stock of the icy damage.

On The Water will be released sometime this fall, and I look forward to hearing the new album and seeing the band in Raleigh NC, for the Hopscotch Music Festival in September.

You can see more photos from this show on New Raleigh. All photos were taken by Jennifer Finan, who also filmed and edited the video.

Concert Review: Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus are a punk band from New Jersey, named after Shakespeare's first tragedy - sometimes controversial for it's graphic violence - about a general in the Roman army who is preoccupied in his vendetta with the Queen of the Goths.

The epic and militaristic nature of their name suits them. With four guitarists spanned across the stage at Cat's Cradle, Titus Andronicus made a musical attack on the crowd with post-adderall stamina and lyrics about getting fucked up and fucking hating your ex.

The rhythmic synchronization of the band and interplay between the members added to the satisfying momentum. Like caffeinated marionettes, each guitarist had a different repetitive motion during a song - one was shifting back and forth, the second pouncing, the third bobbing, the fourth swiveling - all in time with each other.

Their impeccable timing was especially apparent during musical breaks, where it felt like a ball had been tossed in the air and all the members thrashed forward to catch it at the exact same time.

When I asked guitarist and electric violinist, Amy Klein, about building synchronicity with fellow band mates she admitted, "It has taken a lot of practice, but eventually you start to feel the other people without looking back at the drummer."

Lyrically, there are a few verses that Titus Andronicus yell out repeatedly in various songs; "It's us against them!", "You'll always be a loser!", and "Please don't ever leave!" Some songs actually begin quietly with near-epiphanies about atonement before exploding into a seizure of rowdy punk. Though their aesthetic is decidedly American some of these anthems would feel very much at home in a modern Irish pub.

Titus Andronicus are continuing their US tour and recording new material. "We have a new song and a half. The half is really long though," said Klein with a side giggle. The band also recently released the first music video from the critically acclaimed album, The Monitor, for the song "No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future".

Photo by Jennifer Finan