Hopscotch Day 2: Raleigh’s Music Scene is Mind-Blowing! Packed Clubs & Day Drinking w/ the Hippies

Is every band in North Carolina amazing? I've never seen so much talent concentrated into such a small place, outside of maybe NYC.

Acid Chaperone

There was Acid Chaperone - the name says it all - delivering Doom Metal with an upbeat edge, a tight sound w/ the slightly bizarre decision to include meandering synth tones throughout the set.

This song was rad:

Zack Mexico

Then there’s Zack Mexico, one of the most popular bands in North Carolina to not actually break yet and go national. I am shocked that this band does not get much attention outside of the southeast USA, they’re tight and the audience goes crazy for them.

They’re definitely a stoner band - considering their biggest hit is a track about smoking weed all the time - “I smoke pot, that’s my reputation. The first time I was nervous, now it’s my vocation.”

DAMN THIS BAND RULES. I consider myself lucky to have hung out with the one guitarist, Matt Wentz a few times - him and Elijah from The Walding Family go way back, I hope we can collaborate with him soon.

Zephyranthes

My main goal of the day was to finally see Zephyranthes play a set. This is Elijah’s other band, also featuring Logan Maxwell (of Vacant Company) and a great drummer named Micheal Lamardo.

Elijah leads this band into unknown territory, always seeking new and fearsome ways to bend your mind with edgy riffs. It’s psychedelic prog rock with a lot of twists and turns, tons of shred, with the knob firmly set to 11.

They pulled a great crowd in the outside area. Kudos to Raleigh Slabs (https://raleighslabs.com/) for hosting this party, by the way - they’re literally a company that makes boutique slabs. Cool as fuck.

Supposedly all the bands in this outdoors area were on the verge of passing out due to insane heat reflecting off of the concrete… oops. I didn’t notice anything.

Atomic Buzz

Atomic Buzz wrapped up the day party at Raleigh Slabs. They’ve got a cool vibe, heavy but with a bit of blues rock dipped in. I will be honest, I prefer the hard rock groovy side of this band, they had some singer-songwriter stuff that wasn't as much up my alley.

I think the drummer, Davis, really brings the groove. He told me he’s way into Queens of the Stone Age - and that makes a lot of sense with his hard-hitting yet laid back style.

Tacos!

After all of that, and several other bands besides who I didn’t manage to catch on camera, I was exhausted. Six hours of continuous live music, basically running from the end of one set right into the middle of another, will do that to you.

By the time 6:30 rolled around, with the Raleigh Slab party done and Zack Mexico’s set triumphantly concluded, Elijah told me to follow his crew towards some dank Mexican food. Ya, I am in.

I’ll just be honest with you, I have no idea what this restaurant was called. The food was amazing though, and it was great to have dinner with a bunch of local musicians, many of whom I haven’t hung out with in 2+ years.

The tacos were so good. So. Good. Look at this:

It was a dairy overload, so much queso fresco and sour cream on top, and then tons of chicken, guacamole, and salsa beneath. What a treat. I could barely stand up by the time I’d finished all three of these, and it came out to just $8 before tip.

Great food, cool people, and radical stoner jams? Man, Raleigh really has it all. I didn’t even need a ticket to the main event (the Hopscotch night shows w/ all the big national acts) - I was exhausted from a long day of partying, withdrawing simultaneously from caffeine and alcohol, ready to crash.

The rest of the night consisted of jazz fusion jams over at Mike from Zephy’s place, and hanging out with his awesome dog Vinnie. That dog rules. I’ll have to get a photo of him for next time.

Day Two: A Total Blast!

Raleigh continues to blow my mind. I’m typing up this post in my super affordable, large, furnished bedroom w/ private bathroom. There’s only one other roommate to share the apartment with. In NYC, I’d be paying three times as much for a much worse apartment.

Apparently we’re going to go check out a local jam session on Tuesday - so I’m DEFINITELY going to report back on that one. Stay tuned for more Raleigh excitement :-D