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Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Photos / Live Reviews Live review: Diplo, The Neighborhood Theatre, 4/5/2012
Posted By Stacey Rose on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 4:17 PM
Diplo
Neighborhood Theatre
April 5, 2012
Boom! Just as my interest began to wane late Thursday after stellar opening-act performances on Diplo's "One Night Only" tour stop at the Neighborhood Theatre, the man himself jolted me back to rave reality. The theater - specially gutted out to be dance-friendly - was abuzz with excitement (and possibly some excitement-inducing "helpers") as fans crushed forward for the headliner's free last-minute show.
- Jeff Hahne
- Diplo making his magic at the Neighborhood Theatre
Diplo, the production wunderkind who's brought his special brand of electronic dynamite to artists ranging from M.I.A. and Snoop Dogg to my personal favorite, Beck, seized the stage as foam glowsticks were hurled into the crowd. Hype men from the show's sponsors donned grotesque masks and went - as the youngin's like to say - totally HAM. (That's "hard as a mutherfucker, for those in need of a glossary.)
- Jeff Hahne
- Diplo, his glow girls and his (note the laptop bumper sticker) "awesome techno."
I was initially thrown off by the techno vibe, but couldn't help bouncing along with a crowd that seemed to be conducting its own orchestral movement with multicolored batons. It was fairly amazing to watch. After that "warm up," as Diplo called it, he launched into an hour-plus mix, throwing everything at the crowd from the buzzes and dings of PacMan to drumline-driven dance hall to Waka Flocka Flame to the Police. Diplo's creativity and complexity seem to know no bounds. But then, neither did the creativity of Diplo's strong supporting acts.
Photos / Live Reviews Live review: Van Hunt, Double Door Inn, 4/5/2012
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 1:02 PM
Van Hunt
Double Door Inn
April 5, 2012
Van Hunt was an hour and 10 minutes into his concert at the Double Door Inn on April 5, 2012, when he stopped the show, his band walked off stage and the 42-year-old singer/songwriter addressed the audience.
"I really hate to say this, but some people here have been rude and talking through my entire set," he told the mostly seated crowd. "It's rude and it's disrespectful. It's distracting me and I'm forgetting words and chords. People paid money to come to see me and you're not helping. I'm going to play a few songs now, for the people who came to see me. I want to make it up to them, if that's ok."
Hunt took the next 20 minutes to shine like he hadn't had a chance to do yet on this rainy Charlotte night. His three-song solo set started with a tamed-down version of the soul-infused "Dust," off of his 2004 debut, Van Hunt. Hunt, a relatively static performer who remained stationary for much of the night, also kept his electric guitar riffs at bay while he focused on his vocals and tried to connect with each member of the audience.
Halfway through "Seconds of Pleasure," he asked the crowd to sing with him. The slow neo-soul style bringing a sexier vibe into the room as he hit every high note and let his vocals float through the room. He capped off his solo set with "Down Here in Hell," as it slowly built up in emotion and capped off the evening with style.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Concert Announcement Friday Live! at the Factory announces 2012 schedule
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 4:50 PM
Friday Live! at the Factory announced its 2012 schedule today which features national and local artists.
The event, which takes place each Friday in the Fountain Plaza of the N.C. Music Factory, kicks off on April 29 with the "toe-suckin' geek rock" of Southern Culture on the Skids and Charlotte surf rock group The Aqualads.
The schedule includes some of the bands as last year - Cowboy Mouth, Vertical Horizon, Tonic and Ed Kowalczyk of Live - and a few of local bands are also on the schedule including the Hot Gates, Chris Cook and Simplified.
Advance tickets are $5 and available online here. Tickets at the show are $10. A 10-concert "super pass" is available for $35. Each ticket also includes admission to Bask, Butter, Osso, The Saloon, Wet Willies, Small Bar, Matties Diner, Halo and VBGB Beer Hall and Garden.
Each rain-or-shine concert will start at 6 p.m. and end by 10 p.m. A portion of the proceeds of each concert will benefit the "Back to Life Foundation."
Here's the complete schedule:
April 27 - Southern Culture on the Skids, The Aqualads
May 4 - TBA
May 11 - Lit, 1000 Horses
May 18 - Cowboy Mouth
May 25 - The Connells
June 1 - Soul Asylum, Simplified
June 8 - Los Lonely Boys, Chris Cook
June 15 - Vertical Horizon
June 22 - Tonic, The Hot Gates
June 29 - Ed Kowalczyk of Live
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Opinion Beatles offspring project a bad idea
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 2:04 PM
The Interwebs are abuzz today with word of a possible project involving the sons of the Beatles. Before I go any further, let me say, "Please. Don't."
It all started when the BBC published an interview with James McCartney and he said he'd be up for a project involving the other Beatle offspring. On initial glance, it might seem like a good idea. Take James McCartney (son of Paul), Dhani Harrison (son of George), Sean Lennon (son of John) and Zak Starkey (son of Ringo) and... son of a bitch. For the love of music, I can't continue.
The Beatles were one of, if not THE, greatest rock group in history. Just as you can't reunite without a band member who is deceased - see Led Zeppelin - you can't use offspring to form the next best thing. Therein lies the problem.
You could take those four young blokes, put them in a room and tell them not to create anything that even remotely resembles the Beatles and, regardless of what they come up with, they'd fail miserably with the general public. A) They will never be the Beatles. B) Anything they do will be compared to the Beatles.
The BBC even suggested they call themselves, "The Beatles - The Next Generation." Seriously?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Concert Announcement Diplo, Chiddy Bang announce surprise concert
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Diplo and Chiddy Bang will be in Charlotte on Thursday night for a surprise concert. The DJ and hip-hop band are touring the country as part of AXE's One Night Only for seven free concerts in college towns.
On Wednesday, April 4, an AXE One Night Only truck will hit the UNC Charlotte campus to hand out pairs of free tickets. The concert will be held at the Neighborhood Theatre, and the only way to get tickets is by following AXE on Facebook and Twitter to get the details on where that truck will be. Tickets will not be sold publicly and entrance to the show is a first-come, first-served basis.
Diplo worked with M.I.A. early in his career and later formed the dancehall group Major Lazer with producer Switch.
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