9th Wonder to play Rock the Vote event at Duke

The organization Rock the Vote is currently touring college campuses in an effort to register young voters and get them involved in the political process. The tour will make a few stops in the Triangle next week.

They have an event planned at Duke University on Thursday, September 6 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. which will feature performances by 9th Wonder and Buckshot, Rapsody, Rockie Fresh and Skyzoo.

There is also an event scheduled at North Carolina Central University on Friday, September 7 from noon to 4 p.m., but the performers for that event have not been announced yet. We'll let you when that information becomes available.

Local Natives & Blind Pilot, Aziz Ansari coming to Durham this fall

The Duke University Union has announced its major shows for fall, and indie rockers Local Natives and Blind Pilot are on the calendar, as well as Parks & Recreation breakout star Aziz Ansari.

The booking of Local Natives and Blind Pilot is a bit of a departure for the DUU, which, in recent years, has focused more on hip hop artists such as Chiddy Bang and Lupe Fiasco.

Local Natives and Blind Pilot will play Duke's Page Auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Tickets go on sale Oct. 6th for students for $15 and Oct. 7th at 11 a.m. for $25 for the general public through the Duke box office. Stay tuned for a special discount code for this show just for Triangle Music readers.

UPDATE: Use promo code TRIMUSIC for a $3 discount, limit 2. Thanks to the Duke student union major attractions committee for offering this special!

Matisyahu announces new dates, coming to Durham

After a sold out show at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh last November, the Hasidic rapper will return to the Triangle this November at a considerably larger venue.

He'll perform in Durham at Page Auditorium on Duke University's campus on Wednesday, November 17. Freddie Gibbs will open the show.

Tickets go on sale to for Duke students and employees on Tuesday, November 2 at 10 a.m., $15 for students and $25 for employees. The public on sale begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 4 for $30 for the public and $25 for non-Duke students. They can be purchased here or at the box office in the Bryan Center.

Jay Sean, Flogging Molly & more coming to Duke

UNC has already lined up an awesome line-up for it's last day of classes party and Duke has a big party planned to, but is far more mainstream, as it tends to be (past headliners have included Ben Folds, The Roots and Kanye West).

This year Jay Sean will headline the big event on April 28 and I have to admit his hit song "Down" is damn catchy. Other performers will include Flogging Molly, Rooney and Big D & the Kids Table. There will be daytime sets too, but those haven't been announced yet.

Punch Brothers leave sold out Durham crowd in a haze

The string quartet dubbed Punch Brothers, led by Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, rolled into Duke's Reynolds Theatre on Friday night for a sold out show.

They kicked things off with the instrumental "Watch 'at Breakdown" from Thile's 2006 album How To Grow a Woman From the Ground, before launching into a set heavy on new tunes from the band's forthcoming album Antifogmatic, due out in May.

Loudon Wainwright III annoucnes distant dates, playing Durham

The venerable singer songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, who spawned other excellent songwriters Rufus and Martha Wainwright, will be touring sporadically in 2010 which will eventually bring him to Durham on Friday, September 24. The show will be at Duke's Reynolds Theater. Ticket information is not available yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Wainwright's latest album is High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project released in August. It is a double album paying tribute to the late singer and banjo player Charlie Poole. Check out a video documenting the song "High Wide and Handsome" from the album below along with Wainwright's tour schedule.

Ben Folds plays for a large, inebriated crowd at Duke

The bi-annual concerts in the quad on Duke's campus are always an adventure. It really seems that the laws on campus are suspended when the campus throws a party and things can be a pretty crazy with a whole lot of obnoxious thrown in. But Ben Folds' performance for the Last Day of Classes party was worth the hassle.

Folds and his band, which has now expanded to four players for a lot of the set, put on a great show of songs new and old. The set wasn't too heavy on Folds' latest album Way To Normal with only five songs making their way to the set. It did however include some of the "fake" leaked versions of the album's songs including "Lovesick Diagnostician" and "Bitch Went Nutz."

While the hits of the set for the lively crowd were "Rockin' the Suburbs," "Bitches Ain't Shit" and "Kate," one excellent inclusion that seemed to go unappreciated by much of the crowd was the old Five song "Missing the War." The album Whatever and Ever Amen had so many great songs tucked between the more popular singles.

By the end of the night, the campus was wrecked and everyone wandered home and hopefully stayed out of trouble. Check out Ben Folds complete set list as well as more photos below.

[all photos by Kevin Norris]

Ben Folds set list:
Lovesick Diagnostician
Dr. Yang
Hiroshima (B-B-B-Benny Hit His Head)
Bastard
Annie Waits
Still Fighting It
Sentimental Guy
Bitch Went Nutz
Free Coffee
Landed
Zak and Sara
Fair
Brick
Effington
Rockin' the Suburbs
Army
Not the Same
You Don't Know Me
Kate
Bitches Ain't Shit

Ben Folds, Gym Class Heroes, Girl Talk to play Duke

So here's a show that's managed to fly under the radar. Duke University has lined up another big show this year for their Last Day of Classes party. Last year, The Roots played. This year will feature Ben Folds, Gym Class Heroes, Girl Talk and Mike Posner and the Brain Trust. Local boys The Huguenots will play early on the Plaza stage. This will all go down on Wednesday, April 22. Check out a schedule of performers below.

Main Stage:
9:15 pm - Ben Folds
7:45 pm - Gym Class Heroes
6:45 pm - Girl Talk
6:00 pm - Mike Posner and the Brain Trust with Big Sean

Plaza Stage:
4:45 pm - The Huguenots
4:00 pm - The Soulless Dogs
3:15 pm - Toon
2:45 pm - L@W
2:00 pm - Nate of Stella By Starlight
12:30 pm - Makepeace Brothers

Thanks to The Huguenots blog for the initial tip.

New acoustic track from The Never - "Vampire"

Geek rockers The Never are giving away an acoustic version of a new song titled "Vampire." The track was recorded at The Owl Room, the Trekky Records studio in Chapel Hill. The song is available to download via The Never's ReverbNation page. You can also download some other Never songs on the page.

The Never have been touring on their storybook album Antarctica for about three years and have been working on a new album that should be out later this year.

The group have a few dates scheduled over the next month or so which include a show in Durham at The von der Heyden Pavilion on Duke's campus on April 2. The show is FREE and Lost in the Trees and Paleface will also play. Check out the rest of The Never's schedule below.

03.28.09 - New Bern, NC - Broad Street Music
04.02.09 - Durham, NC - The von der Heyden Pavilion (Duke campus)
04.11.09 - Greensboro, NC - Studio B
04.15.09 - Cleveland, OH - The Spot (Case Western Reserve University)
04.25.09 -Charlotte, NC - Evening Muse

[photo by Mary Catherine Penn]

The Huguenots get down at Duke's Armadillo Grill

The Armadillo Grill on Duke's campus seems like a weird place to hold a rock show, but it actually works. I made my way to the campus Friday evening to finally check out Chapel Hill band The Huguenots and I was not disappointed.

The dapper four-piece played a set of 60s inspired pop tunes which catchy, clever melodies to a gaggle of students winding down from from their week. Their fun, high energy stage presence compliments their music, making them one of the grooviest bands in the area which won over much of the crowd.

The guys say they are about 80% done with an EP which they hope to find time to finish soon. In the meantime, check them out live at one of their many gigs in the area which are listed below.

The Huguenots dates:
03.19.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight
03.20.09 - Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor
03.21.09 - Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse (UNC/Duke Battle of the Bands)
04.16.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Thursdays of the Terrace (UNC campus)
04.16.09 - Raleigh, NC - Tir Na Nog

[photos by Kevin Norris]

Portastatic, Bowerbirds, more to play Duke summer series

Duke University will hold a summer concert series from May 28 to August 3 that features acts ranging from classical, to indie rock, to gospel.

There series kicks off on May 28 with The Ciompi Quartet, but the shows that we're most interested in are the outdoor rock shows.

Portastatic, Bowerbirds and Les Savy Fav are all scheduled to play outdoor shows at Duke over the summer.

All of the shows will be free for Duke students and children under 12, $5 for Duke employees and $10 for the general public. For ticket info, click here.

Here's the schedule with individual venues:
May 28 - The Ciompi Quartet - Indoors at Duke Gardens
June 11 - Mallarmé Chamber Players - Indoors at Duke Gardens
June 18 - The Ciompi Quartet - Indoors at Duke Gardens
June 22 - Portastatic - Outdoors at Duke Gardens
June 29 - Bowerbirds - Outdoors at Duke Gardens
July 6 - The Allen Boys - Outdoors at Duke Gardens
July 12 - Les Savy Fav - Outdoors at Nasher Museum of Art
July 20 - Malpass Brothers - Outdoors at Duke Gardens
July 27 - Capial City Five & Gospel Jubliators - Outdoors at Duke Gardens
August 3 - Madison Elites - Outdoors at Duke Gardens

The Roots, Eve 6 to play (separately) in the Triangle

It's barely spring but dates are popping up across the area that will take us well into the sweltering days of summer.

The Roots will play a free show at Duke University on Wednesday, April 23, for the university's "last day of class" party. In our experience, there's no sort of ID check to keep these shows students only, so by all means head out there.

In a move proving once and for all that they are totally out of touch, Downtown Live organizers have booked Eve 6 to play in Moore Square on Aug. 23. What should be a really cool event is instead a parade of past-their-peak rock bands. My hope of redemption lives on, but I'm guessing it will quickly fade as each new show is announced.

State Fair organizers are also already hard and work and have booked Jason Aldean, TobyMac and Joe Nichols for their weeklong Christian 'n Country extravaganza. This year's fair will be held Oct. 17-26.

In another Van Halen update, the show has now been re-rescheduled for May 5. We're not holding our breath.

And for those of you who are, like us, wondering when the hell R.E.M. tickets will go on sale for their June 10 show at Walnut Creek, we have no idea. But you'll be the first to know when we do find out!

Will Hoge rocks out for Joe College

Will Hoge and his band played at Duke University on Saturday as a part of Joe College Day. Hoge was part of a line-up that included Gov't Mule, Grace Potter and others. We only dropped by to catch Will's set.

Hoge played a number of songs from his new album Draw the Curtains including "Sex, Lies & Money," "When I Can Afford To Lose" and "Silver or Gold." The set also included songs from his previous albums including "Pocket Full of Change," "Woman Be Strong," and a new slower version of "King of Grey."

Hoge played to a small yet enthusiastic audience that grew throughout his set. Towards the end of the show, he encouraged the students to get off their blankets and come closer to the stage. "No one's gonna steal your blanket, you're at Duke University," he said. "You pay a lot to go here so you may as well enjoy it."

Will Hoge will play at the Cat's Cradle on November 29 with Hoots & Hellmouth opening. Hoge will also co-headline a show with Jason Isbell at Lincoln Theatre on December 30. Tickets for the Cradle are on sale now via etix.com. The Lincoln show goes on sale tomorrow, October 26, also via etix.com.

Here's a short clip of "Sex, Lies & Money"

Dear Duke students, stealing is bad

Looks like Duke is one of the latest campuses targeted by the RIAA for illegal file sharing.

28 lawsuits were filed yesterday against users of the Duke computer system.

"The industry previously warned Duke that it suspected 35 people were illegally downloading music files using the computer system. It asked Duke officials to provide the alleged violators with letters offering out-of-court settlements. Duke complied in all but about 12 cases, indicating some settlements were made.

The association in April sued 23 computer users at North Carolina State University after offering settlements to 37. The association said this week it sent out another group of letters warning of lawsuits, including 43 to North Carolina State." [WRAL]

Settlements have been going for about $3,000 per case, or those sued can take it up with the RIAA in court.

So anyone know someone who's been sued? We want stories!!

Photos: Of Montreal play Duke

[All photos by Kevin Norris]

Afternoon delight: Of Montreal to play Duke

Quirky Athens, Ga. indie rockers Of Montreal will bring their unique electro pop to Duke University Friday afternoon. Details are sketchy, but we do know that the band is set to play at 3:30 on the West Quad and the show is free.

This show is the band's last scheduled date on their current tour. The only future dates include a stop at the LA Weekly Detour Festival in Los Angeles and a show at Mexico City's Corona Fest. The band will hit the road again in early 2007 after the release of a new album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? on January 23.

Download "Suffer For Fashion", a new song from Hissing Fauna by clicking the title.

So get off work early or just get off the couch and come out to Duke's west campus and enjoy a damn good show for the low, low price of nothing.

Go to myspace.com/ofmontreal to hear tunes from band's current release, The Sunlandic Twins as well as some older tunes.