If you’ve looked at
the local concert calendar for the next two weeks and wondered how Charlotte managed
to score so many indie rock, electronic, and buzz bands in such a short time
span when for so long we've been bypassed in favor of college hubs like Chapel
Hill or even Asheville - I give you the Bonnaroo effect.
It kicks off with Charlotte’s own Matrimony, who plays
Saturday at The Fillmore in celebration of their new EP “Montibello Drive”
before making its Bonnaroo debut next week. Its Charlotte date doesn’t really have
anything to do with their appearance at the 4-day festival taking place June
13-16 in Manchester, Tennessee.
But you can bet our proximity to rural Tennessee has something to do with the rest of these acts, many of who are making their Charlotte debut.
British hip-hop flavored dance-pop songwriter Charli XCX (pictured above), who
helped ring in one of the biggest pop singles of 2013 - Icona Pop’s “I Love It”
- headlines Visulite Monday, June 11.
Canadian duo Purity Ring (pictured above), whose odd name pops up on my
SiriusXMU station frequently, brings its sweetly sung, dreamy electronic pop to Amos’
Southend Wednesday, June 12.
The likeminded Beach House - also a male/female duo that makes ethereal music which is more guitar and
synthesizer based - visits Neighborhood Theatre the very next night, Thursday, June 13.
That same night dance-rock outfit Passion Pit returns to the
Fillmore and brings Cults with it. The show appears to be Passion Pit’s final
club show for a while.
Dreamy, slow, ethereal music seems to be the overall theme
with yet another act Britain's the XX hitting Uptown Amphitheatre Saturday, June 15. Another
Bonnaroo scheduled act, Grizzly Bear, joins the UK act.
Just as actually attending Bonnaroo is an opportunity to
check out lesser known acts, this run of shows offers Charlotteans a chance to
check out new sounds without leaving town (and you can stream Bonnaroo - so there). Brooklyn alt-pop act Lucius (pictured above)
is one of those lesser known up and comers.
It plays Stage Door Theatre at Blumenthal Arts Center Monday, June 17.
David Byrne may not fall under that same unknown category,
but his duo with St. Vincent is certainly something Charlotte’s not seen
before. The Talking Heads frontman and his oft buzzed about NYC-based collaborator play Belk Theater Tuesday, June 18 following its set at Bonnaroo.
San Francisco duo Two Gallants (pictured above) brings an end to the short-lived phenomenon Wednesday, June 19 at Visulite. “The Bloom and The Blight” - its
first album in five years - is a rootsy, psychedelic, gritty guitar rock ride.
I’d
actually recommend any and all of these shows. I had to import a babysitter (my mom) for a week and a half to accommodate such a busy week. Come December when we’re whining there’s nothing to do, you might regret not making a week of it too.
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