2014 Hopscotch Music Festival HIGHLIGHTS – Death, Da La Soul, Freeman, Mastodon & More

De La Soul

For the fifth year of the Hopscotch Music Festival, the event expanded to include three big shows at Raleigh’s downtown City Plaza – up from two – along with the usual slew of club, theater, and street events. Each year the festival seems to tighten its grip on downtown Raleigh a little more, and this year was a crush of music from nearly every genre imaginable. Here are the highlights from Raleigh’s wildest musical weekend.

De La Soul – The audience was psyched for this show, and the energy was reciprocated in droves by the hip-hop legends. Dashing their set with favorites like “A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays”, “Me Myself and I”, “The Grind Date”, and “Potholes in My Lawn”, De La had just enough time to wear everyone out before a torrential downpour brought the show to an abrupt end.

Death – This legendary punk power trio from Detroit erased any doubts about their ability to put on a great show, enthralling an excited crowd with rapid-fire blasts of genuine hardcore music. A joy to watch, the band proved engaging and inspiring, seeming to enjoy the performance as much as anyone in attendance.

Freeman – The normally reserved Fletcher Opera Theater was drenched in distortion when Ween co-founder Aaron Freeman led his new band onstage for one of their first shows ever. Ween songs like “Exactly Where I’m At” and “Transitions” dotted a set filled mostly with new material. Thankfully, Freeman seems happy to be back on stage, and from the sounds of his recent writing he could be hitting a new creative peak.

hopscotchdeath3

IIII – The core of IIII (spoken as “four”) is four drummers and two synthesizer specialists, and they’re currently performing a piece meant to interpret the four seasons. If that isn’t enough to pique interest, how about the inclusion of up to forty drummers? For the Hopscotch show, they didn’t quite reach that record, but they did bring in 9 local drummers to make for a thunderous, inspirational experience at Fletcher Opera House. 13 drummers playing in time, yet doing their own thing, is quite a spectacle. At one point the audience erupted in a spontaneous roar of applause, moved by the power of the composition and the intoxicating interaction between the musicians.

Landlady – A relentless downpour kept the crowd small at Tir Na Nog for this unique Brooklyn outfit, and that was a shame. The quirky lyrics and stage presence of Adam Schatz, who channels a bit of David Byrne’s spastic style, proved entrancing in the dimly lit Irish pub setting. “Indie” rock bands from Brooklyn are as plentiful as the rain on Thursday night at Hopscotch, but there’s something about the pure musicianship and upbeat manner of Landlady that makes them truly notable.

hopscotchlandlady2
Landlady

Mastodon – Open air metal seemed like an odd choice for the final City Plaza set, but Mastodon and their horde of dedicated fans made sure that the atmosphere was intense and celebratory. Churning riffs and flying hair filled the stage as the quartet made short work of their set, barely stopping during the 75-minute maelstrom.

Saint Rich – This duo consists of two members of Delicate Steve – Steve Marion and guitarist Christian Peslak. Marion mans the drums for this project, giving the enormously gifted Peslak room to roam on guitar. The results had people buzzing all night after the show, pining for even more guitar indulgence in the band’s set.

St. Vincent – Alternating between unhinged guitar expressions and oddball art-pop, St. Vincent put together a sublime, rhythmic set that sounded perfect in the fading light of a downtown Raleigh Friday night. Her stage presence is arresting, her guitar playing volcanic, and her music at once perplexing and primal. New gems “Rattlesnake” and “Digital Witness” opened the show with vigor, and older tunes like “Actor Out of Work” also found their place in the 13-song set.

hopscotchstvincent2
St. Vincent

Toon and The Real Laww – The Triangle’s most entertaining hip-hop outfit keeps evolving and tweaking their shows for maximum fun. The dynamic duo seized the opportunity to share the stage with De La Soul, working in plenty of crowd interaction and cerebral rhymes. Localized lines like “I’m five-star/You’re the buffet at CiCi’s” inspired laughter and knowing looks among the audience, and the pair’s acutely verbose lyrics bounced off of thundering, organic beats provided by DJ Shahzad.

What Cheer Brigade – How often do you hear a brass band echoing through the concrete canyons of Raleigh? On Hopscotch weekend, it was a few times, as the ragtag collective What Cheer Brigade took it upon themselves to entertain the whole of downtown. Their eye-and-ear-popping stage show was only part of their impact on the festival as they stormed the streets for parades both impromptu and planned.

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter