AVL MUSIC

Documenting the Asheville Music Scene

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Trombone Shorty @ The Orange Peel I had seen his cameos on Treme, but at the Orange Peel he displayed a level of energy not captured in those performances. The group was really fired up, in no small part due to the great reception that he received from the packed crowd.

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Of Montreal, The Grey Eagle, October 1, 2014 What a blast! Of Montreal rocked harder than I've seen before. Was it the influence of their yet-unreleased album, which Kevin Barnes called a "dude rock" oriented album? I have no idea, but the show was amazing. They played a lot off of Lousy with Sylvianbriar, their last album and undeniably their best since Hissing Fauna.

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More Moogfest 2014

Continuing working through my recent backlog, here are some shots from Moogfest 2014, including Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, Daedalus, TOKiMONSTA, Kaytranada, and RJD2.

Daedalus was a standout, with a heavy, heavy set that had more than Daedalus sweating. Someone told me TOKiMONSTA reminded them of a demented video game heavy, with her sweet, cherub face, dropping cluster bombs of bass.

Kraftwerk played a great set, despite a technical malfunction 1/3 of the way through the evening. They played tunes across the breadth of their career, with a 3D projected backdrop of truly old-school computer-generated art.

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More backfilling of show pics, this one of the Escort show from April 26, 2014.

Escort was, for me, the highlight of Moogfest 2014. Asheville Music Hall was filled well past capacity, and we were all dancing and sweating up a storm. This was not the full 17 piece orchestra, and that was probably for the best. This small-ish club was the perfect showcase for the band's talents.

Adeline Michèle, lead singer and bass player, has an undeniable charisma, and had the guys in the front row eating out of the palm of her hand. One particularly smitten dude asked for (and received) the setlist that she had used to daub her sweat.

If you get a chance to see Escort, and you're accompanied by a receptive crowd, you are going to have an astounding time. They're self-described as disco, but don't let that turn you off. These are great musicians playing great music, putting on an astounding show.

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Orgone and The Horse You Rode In On opened this year's RiverLink RiverMUSIC festival, to a record turnout, and weather that threatened to turn sour but never did. As was the case last year, the stage was entirely powered by solar-charged batteries, provided by Sundance Power Systems.

The Horse You Rode In On, a funk/fusion quartet from Asheville, opened as the crowd filtered in. A gentleman thought it would be humorous to bring a horse to accompany the band; he and his friend were quickly escorted out.

Kids cavorted down at the river, families queued at the food trucks, and the adults queued and queued some more for Catawba beer, the only beer provider at the event. Apparently Beer Week festivities made for slim pickings, but Catawba was there, and their tent had two lines queued halfway to the stage. Many were standing in line with their beers, knowing that by the time they got back to the tent they'd be ready for another.

Orgone, and their powerhouse funk/disco/soul was next, fronted by their new singer Adryon de León, and played a hard-driving set. They stayed on for three encores and closed the show at 10.

See more photos from the evening below:

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Diarrhea Planet, State Champion, and Doomster @ The Mothlight

Diarrhea Planet (Nashville) came into town with another explosive show at The Mothlight last week, the first show of their 2014 tour. Local band Doomster, and State Champion from Kentucky, opened.

Doomster had a cool, driving sound, reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand according to a friend; State Champion self describes as "garage folk, sun-warped honky tonk toons, southern art rock, noisy, unhinged slop and soul." Sounds about right.

DP just had a successful trip to SXSW, playing 14 shows while there, including backing up Melissa Etheridge. Melissa was so taken with the group that she invited them to hang backstage when she played at Symphony Hall in Nashville in April.

If you've never seen a DP show, you've missed out! These guys rock hard, with four guitarists — Emmett, Evan, Jordan and Brent, counting left-to-right across the stage — trading off rhythm and lead. Their songs (they introduced two yet-to-be-recorded ones during the set) and their stage show are completely infectious, and you leave the show with swag that others are convinced you'll never wear in public.

DP's tour will take them around New England, ending up at The Governors Ball Music Festival in NYC.

See more pics from the show on Flickr.

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Boogarins, Fan Modine, and Warm the Bell @ The Mothlight

Brazilian psychedelic band Boogarins came to The Mothlight, on their first tour of the US. Local acts Warm the Bell and Fan Modine opened.

Unlike the Pitchfork reviewer's surmise, I believe Boogarins don't even appear to be doing this as a goof. The music coming out of their instruments, while harkening back to classic psychedelia, is nonetheless its own thing, and at the same time feels true to their Brazilian roots. It's strong and clever, and rocking, and they deliver it with conviction.

Boogarins hails from Goiânia in Brazil, but the vibe feels more like early Hendrix than Os Mutantes, in no small part due to the electric presence of their singer, Fernando Almeida, and his excellent songwriting with lead guitarist Benke Farraz.

Boogarins continue their tour in Europe, before returning to do a brief tour with Of Montreal (what a great pairing!) before heading back to Goiânia for Bananada 2014.

Check out their official video for Lucifernandis below.

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Of Montreal @ The Grey Eagle

Of Montreal came to the Grey Eagle on the 17th of January, and played an amazing set. Kevin is with his new band configuration, including the uber-talented Rebecca Cash.

To say that I was anticipating this show would be an understatement, and Of Montreal didn't disappoint. They did a set that included many songs off of their latest album, Lousy with Sylvianbriar (which is excellent), but they also played a number of tunes off of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer, including Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse, The Past is A Grotesque Animal, Gronlandic Edit, and She's a Rejecter.

Kevin was in top form, singing with not a little vitriol and strutting his stuff across the stage like a cross between Robert Plant and Syd Barrett.

The crowd was in heaven, with the entire front row singing along to the 9-minute-long Past is a Grotesque Animal.

See more photos from the show on Flickr.