MACROCK XVIII
WO WEE EVE
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Photo by Ross Figlerski
ORST EK ER
WORST W MACROCK
The annual coronation of returning, migratory birds orating their birdsong through the blossoming buds of our native Virginia dogwoods and post oaks is the truest auspice of the dawn of Harrisonburg’s greatest gift to the world: the MACRoCk festival. Every year MACRoCk seems to fall on the first weekend of great weather in the year, so much that you can see the radiant glow of UV rays bounce off the lovely skin of the bright and young fest goers. Except us old shits at Worst Week Ever. GOD we’re going to have to walk so much this weekend just to see everything, but for those of you still flushed with a spring in your step and the blissful energy of discovery, we have a guidebook to make sure that you know everything there is to know about the good folks playing MACRoCk this year.
WEEK EVER GUIDE
From psych-punk to black metal, modern folk to shoegaze, drum and bass to post-rock, this year’s festival has a little bit of everything for everyone, and we’ve listed them all for you so you don’t get overwhelmed by the inspiring variety this year. Sixty bands, six venues, panels, an expo, and a few afterparties, and this year’s offering of Harrisonburg’s favorite music festival looks primed to be the best one yet. This is the Best MACRoCk Ever.
Cara Walton Photography
Published and edited by Mike Arellano Iain Oldman
Friday ——————————
Artful Dodger Two Inch Astronaut Axis:Sova White Reaper Palm Zula Bucket
Clementine Cafe Elvis Depressedly Paperhaus Swings Go Cozy
Court Square Theater Dorthia Cottrell Timbre Chimes Ghostt Bllonde Lightfields Myrhh Myrhh
7:50 – 8:20 7:00 – 7:30 6:10 – 6:40 5:30 – 5:50 4:50 – 5:10 4:10 – 4:30
12:10 – 12:50 11:10 – 11:50 10:20 – 10:50 9:30 – 10:00
9:20 – 10:00 8:30 – 9:00 7:40 – 8:10 6:50 – 7:20 6:00 – 6:30 5:20 – 5:40
MACROCKVA.ORG Golden Pony
Priests Rozwell Kid Trophy Wives Wish List New Turks Hoax Hunters Grace Vonderkuhn Skateboard Kyle
Three Notch’d Perfect Future Tone Buffalo Buffalo Sleeptalker
11:10 – 11:50 10:10 – 10:50 9:20 – 9:50 8:30 – 9:00 7:40 – 8:10 6:50 – 7:20 6:10 – 6:30 5:30 – 5:50
11:30 – 12:00 10:40 – 11:10 9:50 – 10:20 9:00 – 9:30
Cara Walton Photography
Saturday
Cara Walton Photography
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Artful Dodger Spray Paint WEED Malatese Fat Spirit Radradriot Wailin Storms Bronze Age AD.UL.T
Clementine Cafe
Crying Told Slant eskimeaux The Spirit of the Beehive
Court Square Theater Quilt Prince Rama Advaeta
8:10 – 8:50 7:10 – 7:50 6:10 – 6:40 5:10 – 5:40 4:15 – 4:45 3:20 – 3:50 2:40 – 3:00 2:00 – 2:20
12:10 – 12:55 11:10 – 11:50 10:20 – 10:50 9:30 – 9:50
7:20 – 8:00 6:30 – 7:00 5:40 – 6:10
MACROCKVA.ORG Friend Roulette The Sea Life Basmati Groam & Joan Son of Groam
Golden Pony Sinister Haze Artificial Brain Lord Almighty Humungus Reckoner Rhin Dispellment Ostraca Treatment
Little Grill Collective
4:50 – 5:20 4:00 – 4:30 3:20 – 3:40 2:40 – 3:00
10:50 – 11:30 10:00 – 10:40 9:10 – 9:40 8:20 – 8:50 7:30 – 8:00 6:40 – 7:10 5:50 – 6:20 5:10 – 5:30 4:20 – 4:40
Luray 11:00 – 11:30 Free Cake For Every Creature 10:10 – 10:40 Ameriglow 9:20 – 9:50 Uncle Bengine & The Restraining Orders 8:30 – 9:00
Panels and Expo The fine folks at MACRoCk have carried on the tradition of great panels again this year, featuring speakers and guests from out of town. At Three Notch’d Taproom from 3-4 PM the Girls in DIY and Punk panel will start, and speakers include Fabi Reyna (She Shreds Magazine) and Sasha Lord (Sasha Lord Presents), as well as three Virginia natives who know their way around the commonwealth’s scenes. The panel explores and discusses the obstacles women face in punk and how to book and tour as a woman in the punk world. Stop in on Friday from 5 to 8 to get your shirt screen printed with a MACRoCk design at Laughing Dog (82 S. Main St.). This is an annual tradition with great designs, like last year featuring a Struble sighting, and rumor is that this year a design will feature a certain local booker and DJ! Stop in and get a fab new shirt for freeeeeeeeeeeeee! On Saturday, Larkin Arts (1-2 PM) hosts the DIY’s Pastpresentfutures with comics and zines panel, featuring
four speakers whose experiences range from running publishing companies, to comic book artists and writers, to zine publishers and writers. Seating will be limited, so get there early! Finally, the annual MACRoCk label expo, a highlight of every weekend, is being held in the basement of the Golden Pony from 11 Am to 3 PM. As always, the organizers set up a great acoustic showcase that goes on during the expo, right outside the doors of the basement. Playing this year are Stephen Lee, New God, Tucker Riggleman (Bishops), Tyler Grady (Goodwolf), Vince Paixao (Azores), John Miller (Fox Hunt), and Sleep Talker. Setting up tables at the expo this year are Twin Cousins Records, Yellow K Records, Funny/Not Funny Records, Grlz Night, DZ Tapes, Merge Records, WXJM, The MarkIt, Barely There Books, WKNC (NC State University radio), Subterranea Collective, Kappa Pi (JMU co-ed art fraternity), Instacrush Records, Sassafras Zines, Bailey Steele and the Roommates (this year’s MACRoCk artist), and Gwendolyn Garrett Rind Zines. And oh yeah, we’ll be there, too, so stop by and say hi! We’ll have posters for sale! Photo by Ross Figlerski
Two Inch Astronaut Axis:Sova White Reaper Palm Zula Bucket
7:50 – 8:20 7:00 – 7:30 6:10 – 6:40 5:30 – 5:50 4:50 – 5:10 4:10 – 4:30
ARTFUL D
Cara Walton Photography
Friday
DODGER
Spray Paint
Friday’s headliner at the Artful Dodger (7:50) is a real head scratcher. This trio is able to create more amounts of noise and chaos than you would previously believe is capable out of a small group, weaving odd rhythm with terrifying sound layering. Its like Spray Paint started off writing songs for a haunted house commissioned by Mike Watt. Slightly jazzy and obtusely abrasive, there’s no other band like Spray Paint playing at MACRoCk this year, so make sure you don’t miss them.
Two Inch Astronaut These fellas are total cool college rock. Their shimmering Silver Springs, Maryland roots squeak out through those heavy strummin’ chords, resounding influences from bands of the likes of Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, and O.A.R.. Their sound will cast a spell on you through their springy guitar waves, transporting you to a heavenly high school party. Come grunge out to these do-goooders black fridge area hanger-outers on Friday, playing at the Artful Dodger from 7:50 to 8:20.
Axis: Sova
Alright, so, uh, this band is just, ya know, just fucking cool, man. Seriously, they’re just goddamn cool. Just imagine a group of guys who toured through holy sites in Bangladesh , grinding their teeth on molly and jamming to Black Sabbath tunes all the time, and you only get the tip of the iceberg of the great depth of Axis:Sova. Obscenely fuzzy and dreary tones lead to heavy drops from synths or overdriven guitars that punch you right in the, you know, right in the gut.
Favorite land mammal? Pig
Palm Palm holds the potential to be THAT band that you run up to your friends about on the sidewalk, yelling “holy shit you missed it!�, smirking like a real jackass. Everything about this band is new and each song seems like a revelation, dipping and diving between song structures that are executed perfectly. This quartet has everything you could ask for in an indie band at MACRoCk: chill swings, minor tones out the ass, and courage. Catch them at the Artful Dodger at 5:30 on Friday.
Combining fresh doses of electronica-based acid jazz beats and traditional American indie rock is Zula (Friday, 4:50 at the Artful Dodger), who visit us from the mean streets of NYC. Listening to this group is an exercise in wholeness, as your brain constantly tries to pry itself away to one genre or definition. Are they more like the Beta Band or Flying Lotus? Radiohead or Jimi Hendrix? Whatever you decide on, it promises to be pleasant and refreshing, filling your chest up with minimalistic psych beats. Good on you, Zula.
Zula
Ever played in Harrisonburg before? Yeah! It was the first stop on our “This Hopeful� tour. We played at MyMansion, and the big red cooler full of jungle joose lives in infamy.
Bucket In the spirit of complete and thorough honesty, we have no fucking clue what Bucket is all about, though if we’ve learned anything about pants with absolutely zero internet presence in the past, its that they’re usually bat-shit crazy and badass. Seriously, you try Googling “Bucket band”. That is like finding a needle in a haystack, if that haystack was floating around in the cold void of space. What we do know is they open up MACRoCk weekend, and for that reason you should check them out at the Artful Dodger (4:10) to prepare your body for two days of non-stop music.
Clementine Elvis Depressedly Paperhaus Swings Go Cozy
12:10 – 12:50 11:10 – 11:50 10:20 – 10:50 9:30 – 10:00
Cafe
Friday Reviews by Stephen Crouse
Elvis Depressedly This show has been a long time coming! Hit up this set if you want to get out of your head on Friday night. Known for their melancholy wit, this Asheville (by way of Columbia, SC) band has been on our radar for a while. Even their darker songs tend to be catchy and relatively placid, though this writer has yet to experience them live - their reputation precedes them. A significant portion of the bands we’ve interviewed for this weekend namecheck Elvis Depressedly (Friday at Clementine, 12:10) as the one band they most want to see here at MACRoCK, should peer cred mean anything to you.
Paperhaus This will be the first Harrisonburg appearance for these DC-based rockers. Their self-titled debut album is a balls-out indie rock tour de force with an impeccably tight rhythm section and well-balanced guitar work, all of which cater to the bluesy crooning present in each song. From the recordings and scuttlebutt we’ve caught, Paperhaus (Friday at Clementine, 11:10) appears to be one of the more well-oiled live bands to be playing this weekend. Their sophomore release is on the horizon so expect them to draw fresh energy from that. Dynamic as hell, you won’t regret checking them out! How do you kill time on tour? Reading “Missed connections” on Craiglist. Also talking about Nietzsche.
Swings Swings’ music ebbs and flows with grace, building from sparse guitar to a haze of full (and fuzzy) instrumentation throughout a given song. Easy on the ears and teeming with hints of dissonance, Midlake-meets-Dinosour Jr is a fair description for their standout tracks. Their vibe is consistent with the curation of Clementine’s lineup this weekend. 10:20-10:50
Ever played in Harrisonburg before? Many times, this is home away from home. Our drummer is even part of legendary Harrisonburg improv-noise octet Porn Husband.
Most listened to album on tour? Definitely Joao Gilberto “Besame Mucho”
Go Cozy From Silver Spring, MD come the shimmering sounds of Go Cozy, who kick off this year’s Clementine showcase with their unabashed shoegazing. Sure to enhance any buzz you’re on by Friday evening, expect well-structured songwriting featuring psychedelic sweeps and a strong rhythm section that holds their soft, filtered vocals aloof for easy consumption. Check out their latest release “Bruises” to mellow out that MACRoCK playlist if yours. 9:30-10:00
Friday
Court Squa
Cara Walton Photography
are Theater Reviews by Deirdre Tiernan
Court Square Theater Dorthia Cottrell Timbre Chimes Ghostt Bllonde Lightfields Myrhh Myrhh
9:20 – 10:00 8:30 – 9:00 7:40 – 8:10 6:50 – 7:20 6:00 – 6:30 5:20 – 5:40
Dorthia Cottrell
Full-throated heaviness epitomizes the vocals from Miss Dorthia. She’s channeling the haunting sounds of Leonard Cohen, K.D. Lang, and Cat Power, conjuring a fierceness within her beautiful acoustic guitar, multileveled harmonies and pedal steel sound. Female hearts will sink to their whiskey filled stomachs when she howls ”I’m the kind of girl who needs a devil in a man/ To satisfy me.” Don’t you dare miss her performing Friday at Court Square Theater from 9:20 to 10:00.
Favorite band to tour with? The Soil & the Sun! We are all best friends and they used to be my backing band for two years, so we have a lot of creative energy.
Timbre
Booming multi-tracked vocals burst out from this Nashville based chamber rock, neo-classical, folk indie harpist and songwriter. Her notorious echoing sound will lift your spirits and send you flying. Timbre is a MACRoCk alum who keeps coming back with evermore wildness in her supernormal talent. She immediately will blow your earbuds to the heavenly stars by engaging you in her outerworldly ways of connecting classical music and popular music. You most definitely won’t want to miss her when she’s playing at Court Square Theater on Friday from 8:30 to 9
Chimes
Listening to Chimes will invite you to enter their trippy world of reverb and guitar licks. With echoing influences of The Velvet Underground, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Destruction Unit, and Fuzz, these otherworldly loafers have found a niche that resonates the walls with pure electric sound. They’re total sunshine flower power on a trip with Miss Frizzo on the magic school bus to outer space and beyond. Extrasensory power chords pour over your golden aura and transcend you to their unique, hip, chic melodic world. Listen in on Friday, at Court Square Theater from 7:40 to 8:10.
If your band had a signature cocktail, what would be in it? Gin, Fireball, PBR, and a splash of YooHoo Chocolate Milk
Ghostt Bllonde
Jumping jacks and booming man growls, mysticism manifests in ultraviolet visions of unicorns and rainbows. Super rich sonically loving vibes hit you in all directions upon entering their sound fields and you don’t know where you’re going or how you’re getting there, but you gotta keep those good vibrations wrapped up all around you. Reminiscent ties from Kaiser Chiefs to Of Montreal to Vampire Weekend to the Everly Brothers. Ghostt Bllonde (Friday at Court Square Theater, 6:50 to 7:20) will make your little light shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.
Ricky, Julian, or Bubbles? Randy
Lightfields
Lightness covers your every motion upon entering the sound of Lightfields (Friday at Court Square Theater, 6 to 6:30. This Richmond based indie pop rock band is known as “the band that lives inside your head.” Their main influences are of the likes of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Pink Floyd, Modest Mouse, Air, Pavement, The Cramps and Radiohead, and if nothing else, these shoegazing, psychedelic RVAers’ melodies will bring you joyful memories of that one summer from so long ago.
Myrhh Myrhh
Myrhh Myrhh has the aromatic quality of an early morning spring walk in the park. Their sound entwines the likes of Daniel Johnston, Elliott Smith, and M. Ward. Stemming from our nation’s capital, they have been domed as dream rock pop. Their newest release “Lonesome Town” was released this past February and has a definite ghostly, rainy day feelings quality. These phantom musicians will be playing on Friday at Court Square Theatre from 5:20 to 5:40.
Friday Golden Pony
Cara Walton Photography
Priests Rozwell Kid Trophy Wives Wish List New Turks Hoax Hunters Grace Vonderkuhn Skateboard Kyle
11:10 – 11:50 10:10 – 10:50 9:20 – 9:50 8:30 – 9:00 7:40 – 8:10 6:50 – 7:20 6:10 – 6:30 5:30 – 5:50
Ever played in Harrisonburg before? Nope. Harrisonburg R U READY 4 US?
Priests Priests is a mountainous climb of sound and fury visiting Harrisonburg for the first time from the nation’s capitol. If you want a great look into the future of riot grrrl (or hell, just punk in general) then this group is for you, ditching the traditional power chord monotony for a brutal blend of noise and sludge that is composed as it is furious. Each instrumentalist maintains their individuality under a flag of cohesive static. They also put on one hell of a live show, as should be required of every good punk band, so start your weekend off with a closing set of sweat and elbows.
Rozwell Kid
Before starting off their North American summer tour, Rozwell Kid is coming to the Golden Pony (Friday 10:1010:50) to dissolve your underwear with wave after wave of noisy power pop. These guys sound like if Marc Bolan listened to Weezer as a kid. It’s like these guys almost never grew up, and as a result still rock the same set of high top Vans that have holes in the toes that they wore during their senior picture. This quartet is loud, though, and even the elderly can’t complain about that as they listen to Rozwell Kid.
This quartet from Savannah are from the top tier of the modern wave of riot grrrl resurrection efforts, featuring everything you want or need from the particular genre: anger, energy, riffs that leave your ears ringing, and the most important aspect of all- sarcasm. They’ve got it all. Trophy Wives will make you want to punch a hole through the wall of whatever garage they’re playing in, but considering they’re playing the Golden Pony, please don’t.
Trophy Wives
Wish List
If you’ve never been to Chambersberg, PA, imagine a place where you can walk through it’s parks and shopping and downtown districts all day and eat at their best restaurants, and then think to yourself “Ho-ly SHIT, I had no idea a town could be this boring”. Wish List clearly fought that boredom with pot and music. These three dudes crank out super stoned, dreamy surf punk that perfectly combines the California-surf movement and good old, classic shoegaze. Wish List’s music reminds you of all the times you sat in a field and looked up at the stars, paralyzed in existential fear and wonder. They are just something else, man.
New Turks
Some bands find it impossibly difficult to manufacture true, oppressive sound, and that’s with four or five musicians at times. New Turks does it with two, and holy hell do they do it well. One of Worst Week Ever’s favorite Virginia bands of 2014, these guys from Richmond are no strangers to Harrisonburg, or MACRoCk for that matter (they played the pre-show and an after party last year). For fans of Jesus Lizard and all things awesome, New Turks are that one band you’ll be talking about all weekend, we promise you, so make sure you catch their set at the Golden Pony at 7:40 on Friday.
Taking Harrisonburg on a walking history tour of all things alternative-punk will be Hoax Hunters, a trio from Richmond intent on celebrating the 90s in all of its glory. Every song they play is a playground for you to lose yourself in, as each diddy they throw out is a continuation of the theme, but never repetitive. Pick an old punk band that lives on in teenage bedroom posters or record store speakers and Hoax Hunters has a song to satisfy you: HŹsker Du, Bash and Pop, Rites of Spring, whatever, and they’ll get you hooked.
Favorite venue to play at? Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA
Hoax Hunters
Grace Vonderkuhn Singer-songwriter Grace Vonderkuhn is here to fill two essential spots at MACRoCK this weekend: “acid-washed garage punk” and “artists from Delaware”. Five minutes into listening to Vonderkuhn’s music, and you know she wrote these songs on the shores of Dewey Beach. Her altpunk grooves are in the style that we just love, super faded out and bleached in gain, or garage-born indie that grew up in a commune. All of her jams are equal part psych, pop, punk, and surf rock, and goddamn is it awesome to lose yourself in. Don’t miss your chance to see her in Harrisonburg (Golden Pony, Friday at 6:10).
Skateboard Kyle Alright, first we need to get this out of the way- say Skateboard Kyle from Jersey in your head. Funny, right? Well, that’s the FIRST bit of fun that Skateboard Kyle promises to give you, but on Friday at the Golden Pony (Friday at 5:30) this group from the Garden State will do it with insanely fuzzed out guitars that carry some seriously poppy, bouncy riffs. This is the type of band you’d hire to play your twenty-first birthday party, they’re just that much fun. What is the most recent album you’ve released? I just put out a split cassette with my buds Seismic Thrust from Philly.
Friday
Thre e
Not ch’d
Perfect Future Tone Buffalo Buffalo Sleeptalker
11:30 – 12:00 10:40 – 11:10 9:50 – 10:20 9:00 – 9:30
Perfect Future Closing out Three Notch’d Taproom’s inaugural MACRoCk showcase (hell yeah!) are the exciting and youth-filled Perfect Future from Maryland. Displaying an ear for true emo is a DMV tradition, and these guys are carrying it on with aplomb. Perfect Future harkens back to the golden late 90s era of post-core emo with their sound, transporting you back to freshman year and skateboard injuries. Roll your ankle while you see these guys close out Friday night at Three Notch’d (11:30).
Tone
This quintet from DC promises to build the totally chill atmosphere created in Three Notch’d Friday night (10:4011:10) with their beautiful, delicate orchestrations that pierce your ears and chirp around in your head. Tone is bathed in ambiance from the get go, but continue to build on simple themes that slowly grow and grow into a collection of individual sound and, uh, tone. Ohhhh, I get it now. The resulting productions (yes, they’re productions) are powerful, wonderful trips through musical expression in one of its finer forms. There are few acts at MACRoCk that have musicianship and artistry down as much as Tone do and are a CAN’T MISS band this year.
Best house show story? Tristan crowd surfed while playing our last song at Camelot and was a good 10 feet off the ground.
Julia Pox One of Harrisonburg’s freshest acts, Julia Pox serves up dish after dish of atmospheric indie that is mathy as fuck. Their songs jump around from section to section, dissecting your expectations and changing your body’s rhythm, transcending traditional post-rock by ditching the old school of minimalism to adapt a more modern, poppy style. Julia Pox has their tone down to a T, especially impressive for such an ambitious sound, and somehow has that vague quality that slows your heart down, making them the perfect band to be your party buffer Friday night at Three Notch’d (9:50).
Sleeptalker
Friday’s outrageously excellent showcase at Three Notch’d Taproom begins in the best possible way with Harrisonburg’s most industrious artist Sleeptalker. Andrew Puffenbarger’s monolithic compositions will bend your perceptions of what you can expect from a solo singer/songwriter, captivating your ears with breathy, whispery constructions that toe the line between modern folk and classic American acoustic indie. You could realistically expect to just randomly find him playing around a campfire with friends or at a bar outside of Tacoma. Or, you know, you could see him at Three Notch’d. That’d be much easier.
Artful Dodger Saturday
Spray Paint WEED Malatese Fat Spirit Radradriot Wailin Storms Bronze Age AD.UL.T
8:10 – 8:50 7:10 – 7:50 6:10 – 6:40 5:10 – 5:40 4:15 – 4:45 3:20 – 3:50 2:40 – 3:00 2:00 – 2:20
Cara Walton Photography
Saturday’s headliners at the Artful Dodger (8:10) come up from North Carolina with gentle, laid back surfer indie that you know was fleshed out in a basement somewhere. Everything seems cut out of granite with the band as no instrument (including vocals) is allowed to steal the show, working with each other in perfect harmony, and goddamn do they make you bop your head and move your feet. They just make you feel good, man. The hooks are super poppy and sound like something from a French Go-Go demo from the the 60s and the guitars are always at the perfect tone to match the tambourines and claps fluttering around in the background. We sincerely hope they find their way onto an after show (this band would sound perfect in a house) but in case they don’t, you gotta be sure to watch them close the curtains for MACRoCk at the Artful Dodger.
Daddy Issues
Last year we saw these super-bleached, stoned out punk kids open up for Fucked Up in Richmond and got immediately hooked. WEED brings to the table what nobody has been able to get down so far- they’re not expressly shoegaze, but they’re not expressly hardcore punk either, living in the undefinable space in between. And its badass. Their songs jump back and forth from raw passion to bridges of dreamy, milky riffs that will leave you in a hazy concentration, unsure of your thoughts and emotions, like getting drunk under a bridge. Oh yeah, and these dudes are coming all the way from goddamn British Columbia, and who knows when they’ll be swinging back this way again, so make sure to catch them before Daddy Issues at the Artful Dodger on Saturday.
Favorite band to tour with? So Pitted, Naomi Punk, The Courtneys
WEED
Malatese
Its hard to succinctly and satisfyingly describe Harrisonburg’s masters of alternative punk in such a short space. We’ve written about them extensively before (we love their new cassette release) but to recap: DON’T FUCKING MISS THEM! Malatese has their sound down and it’s something incredible and challenging to watch. Every separate instrument in every separate part of every separate song demands your explicit attention as they build up indestructible walls of coordinated chaos just to swing into the next cloud of psych-alt-punk-whatever. They’re playing the Artful Dodger again (last year they killed it) at 6:10 on Saturday, so whether you’re from out of town or have seen them play a dozen times, make it a priority to squeeze yourself in before the place fills up.
Fat Spirit Favorite land mammal? Swamp ape.
Formerly Heavy Midgets and MACRoCk vets, Fat Spirit (Saturday at the Artful Dodger, 5:10) carries on the tunes and, God I hate to do this, spirit of the old name. Fat Spirit seemingly does everything right, writing catchyas-shit hooks and keeping their songs poppy and exciting through sheer execution. This quartet from Richmond has their sound down, and its just straight up awesome indie-rock, done with the perfect amount of flair without getting showy, leaving the raw float of the vocals and simple instrumentation to satiate your primal desires.
Radradriot From the deep deep South (Little Rock, Arkansas) is the suuuuuper lo-fi alt-punk group Radradriot, who have some serious depth to their sound. Everything they do is rough around the edges and sharp to the ears, though they stay composed and never seem to lose that sense of where they’re going with a particular song. Radradriot carries that energy that inspires the high school shit-stain in you and causes you to sweat before you even move a muscle, and remind us of last year’s badass act Big Ups. We’ll be there to catch their set at the Artful Dodger (Saturday, 4:15), make sure you are too.
Wailin Storms
Riding the wave of rockabilly resurgence and appreciation is Wailin’ Storms, a veritable horror story from behind the pine curtain. Following Bronze Age on Saturday at the Dodger (3:20), this quartet from North Carolina helps carry an hour of sure Southern sounds that are an eclectic blend of old and new styles. You can hear the whispers of old legacy in Wailin’ Storms’ gothic-style punk as Justin Storms belts out screams that could rival Danzig’s pipes, but the group has an established modern heaviness and ear for hardcore that helps set them apart from the rest of the herd.
Bronze Age From Virginia’s coast comes Bronze Age, a group that cranks out some seriously rad grunge riffs that makes you want to pack a fat lip and flick off your mom. There’s a unique sense of southern sliminess in their songs and when they kick in classic hardcore riffs you’re left with that same rush of adrenaline that you get from Melvins albums, or when you see a pitbull wearing a bandana with a Corrosion of Conformity patch sewn on. That’s when you’re like, oh shit, I better back up. Bronze Age is the dirtiest band playing MACRoCk this year, and therefore one of our favorites. See them at 2:40 on Saturday at the Artful Dodger.
Best house show story? PAC in New Haven, CT. Its really too much to go into. There were some boobs. Thats the only good part.
AD.UL.T
Visiting our mountain town all the way from frigid-ass Boston is AD.UL.T, a duo that proudly plays under the banner “DRUM AND BASS OR DIE”. If that’s your shit, then AD.UL.T is your shit, too. They get it down, man. Their songs are like an endless assault on your senses, displaying real, palpable talent alongside an unmistakable sense of blind rage against all forms of conventional musical norms. This band is WEIRD, but awesome, and the perfect group to kick off Saturday at the Artful Dodger, at 2 PM. That is, after you come see us at the label expo. Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Cara Walton Photography
Saturday
Cleme
Crying Told Slant eskimeaux The Spirit of the Beehive
entine Reviews by Stephen Crouse
12:10 – 12:55 11:10 – 11:50 10:20 – 10:50 9:30 – 9:50
Crying
Crying are a badass trio from New York with a sound that shouldn’t fucking work but oh-so-totally does. Their music is hallmarked by enthusiastic chiptune melodies; some seriously solid drumming; proggy, power-pop guitar, and dreamy, bubblegum vocals. Simultaneously cute, abrasive and sonically overwhelming, they’re known for putting on one hell of a live show. Don’t miss their festival closing set at Clementine! Did we mention they’re catchy? Check ‘em out!
Told Slant is a delightful band that muses over our shared reality with vigor and eclecticism. Their energy is artfully withheld, with powerful emphasis placed on every lyric, strum and percussive note. Full of intellectual curiosity, naked emotion and melancholic observation, their lyrics carry a weight that we all share and identify with, but one that is rarely expressed so acutely. That energy we mentioned earlier? Yeah, these guys are want to letting it all build and explode in a live setting.
Told Slant
eskimeaux
eskimeaux “is the songwriting and production project” of New York-based artist Gabrielle Smith. Her demos are a collection of thoughtful hymns projecting various emotions, stories and frank observations, all tied together by her powerfully emotive voice that we find to be as haunting as it is soothing. Our desire to catch her set (Saturday at Clementine, 10:20) was amplified to the nth degree upon the release of her re-recording of “Broken Necks” off her upcoming album O.K., coupled with the fact that her live band includes members of the similarly fantastic Told Slant.
The Spirit of the Beehive The energy in The Spirit of the Beehive’s self titled debut record is palpable, boding very well for their opening slot at Clementine’s Saturday showcase (9:30). They boast a robust sound wherein their songs often fluctuate from being vulnerable and sparse to dense and distorted. This straddling of sonic dimensions high-fives the listener once equilibrium is reached, when gritty guitars and vocal harmonies collide. Consider this Philly outfit highly recommended.
Quilt Prince Rama Advaeta Friend Roulette The Sea Life Basmati Groam & Joan Son of Groam
7:20 – 8:00 6:30 – 7:00 5:40 – 6:10 4:50 – 5:20 4:00 – 4:30 3:20 – 3:40 2:40 – 3:00
Reviews by Deirdre Tiernan
Saturday Court Square Theater
Quilt
These Bostonians are really diggin’ that 60’s psychedelia groove. Their sound simulates an aura similar to rock bands such as The Zombies, The Beatles, and yet still bring to life the contemporary sound of The String Cheese Incident. Quilt shoots pistons in to your being as you’re lifted into a sky filled with unicorns and rainbows. This band is a perfect way to end your Macrockin’ evening festivities and to get your brain pumpin’ for the long night of the after-shows to come. Venture into their domain as they play on Saturday at Court Square Theater from 7:20 to 8.
Prince Rama
Simply put, this band is total avant garde. For those of you interested in experiencing an intense artistic expression of art plus music, then Prince Rama is the band for you! Brooklyn has bred this imaginative immortal vision of continuous self-expression. Prince Rama will get you movin’ and groovin’ to a beat so distinct and celestial, David Bowie will come dancing in your mind! Bring your glitter-full and metaphysical soul to Court Square Theater on Saturday from 6:30 to 7 to see these passionate creatures perform.
Advaeta Listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Love the 90’s riot girl movement punk bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Gossip? Advaeta is right up your alley. These Brooklyn lady rockers will get you feeling there are banshees all around as their heavy ambient sonic soundscapes encapsulate otherworldly super feminine creative powers. You should definitely come check out this supergirl group trio at the Court Square Theater on Saturday from 5:40 to 6:10. Their sound will find you hypnotized and mesmerized by sheer estrogen enjoyment.
Friend Roulette Watching Friend Roulette close out MACRoCk weekend at MyMansion last year, bathed in sweat and feeling my brain wind down from a seemingly endless injection of adrenaline, was the undisputed highlight of my festival weekend last year. Friend Roulette comes down from NYC to perform for the second year in a row, and thank God for that, because this is a band I just cannot get enough of. Utilizing the EWI with signature tone, this septet pushes out incredible songs that defy genre or method, leaving a mark deep in your soul. “I Guess” was played to DEATH in the Worst Week Ever house last summer, and just when we thought we’d heard enough of it, we found we needed it some more. Simply, you cannot miss Friend Roulette play, and they’re booked in the perfect venue, to boot. See them play a half-hour set at Court Square Theater on Saturday at 4:50.
If your band had a signature cocktail, what would be in it? PBR tall boys fuuuck it.
The Sea Life Ever try listening to music while being submerged by a large volume of saltwater? Do you love lazy summer days spend drinking shandies on the shore? Well, then these Washingtonian rockers are waiting to play for you! They carry the eccentric sounds of bands like Modest Mouse, Vampire Weekend, and the Shins but yet make that sound their own by building vivid images of summers by the sea. You really want to give these guys a try because you’ll never want to be left alone, swimming in your head. Find The Sea Life playing on Saturday at Court Square Theater from 4 to 4:30.
Basmati
This electronic psychedelic subterranean Richmond band will eat your heart out. Basmati strikes those high school nostalgia strings hard and they’ll have you roaring and soaring through prismatic air waves. If you have ever felt furious for letting go of a certain someone or being the one left alone, you will want to give these guys a shot. Don’t miss them playing on Saturday at Court Square Theater at 3:20, you’ll get that old time floating feeling you felt for that certain someone sometime so long ago.
Groam&Joan Son of Groam Richmond has a melting pot of music being stirred continuously by the eclectic sounds of the vast artsy scene, but no one does it like Groam and Joan Son of Groam. These fellas fill up the room with their messy jazzy feel and find common ground along The Clash and Miles Davis. Wherever you find yourself the morning after the first night of MACRoCk madness, you should make sure to catch a train headed to the Court Square Theater, for you will find these musical menfolk playing from 2:40 to 3.
Saturday Golden Pony
Sinister Haze Artificial Brain Lord Almighty Humungus Reckoner Rhin Dispellment Ostraca Treatment
10:50 – 11:30 10:00 – 10:40 9:10 – 9:40 8:20 – 8:50 7:30 – 8:00 6:40 – 7:10 5:50 – 6:20 5:10 – 5:30 4:20 – 4:40
Sinister Haze Please, listen to our words of caution on this one- BRING EAR PLUGS TO THIS SHOW. If on Sunday you find yourself stumbling around like you slept through a concussion while your ears ring like church bells, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Sinister Haze (Golden Pony, Saturday at 10:50) earn their bread through their unencumbered sound, towering over the crowd with the imposition of a mammoth, commanding attention and respect. The trio harkens back to the era when Sabbath ruled the minds of metal heads, blasting out doomridden, sludgy stoner metal that gets you blazed just from listening to them. If you love Electric Wizard, Earthride, Kyuss, or any other doom metal that keeps you from the death grips of sobriety, then Sinister Haze is the group for you.
Artificial Brain
One look at the cover of Artificial Brain’s most recent album Labyrinth Constellation will give you the only direction you need to guess their genre. Seriously, go look at it right now. Fucking metal, right? Indeed, Artificial Brain carries on the tradition of badass New York death metal with their horribly morbid themes, technical mastery, and unrivaled brutality. If you have long hair, this will be the band at MACRoCk where you swing it in a clockwise motion. Or counter-clockwise. Whatever your thing is.
Lord Almighty
Forged in Boston, but boasting Harrisonburg roots, Lord Almighty is the marriage between classic black metal and good ole American technical harmony that you’ve always wanted. This group can go from composed and soft spoken melodic dueling guitars to ass-blasting, trve black metal at the drop of hat, leaving you pumping your fist and shouting “hell yeah!” without feeling like a cliche. Some episodes of Grizzly Man have the same effect. There’s simply no other band like them playing MACRoCk this year so make sure you don’t miss out on their set Friday night at the Golden Pony, starting at 9:10.
Humungus
Last year it was Occultist and Iron Reagan. This year taking over the role of thrash masters from Richmond are Humungus, and they are here in town to get the goddam party started. These five dudes start the chugging with a thunderous pace of unfiltered, rude, and just straight up filthy thrash metal. You’ll need a shower after this show.
Reckoner
Every year at MACRoCk you are guaranteed to see at least one band that leaves you thinking “what the fuck did I just watch?”. Please, under our recommendation, let Reckoner be that band for you this year. From Virginia Beach, this quartet goes out of their way to just, like, confuse the hell out of your brain with their combination of, well, just about everything out there, but keeping heavy (HEAVY) death metal in the fondest chambers of their black, black hearts. If you put Comus, Robb Zombie, and Eyehategod records all in a blender and then reformed the resulting solution into a vinyl, Reckoner is what you’d get. Catch them at 7:30 on Friday at the Golden Pony.
Rhin
Our neighbors from the western land just over the mountains, Rhin blasts the doors open at the Golden Pony on Friday with their driving, heavy brand of punkinspired stoner rock. If you’re not impressed by their capacity to build A LOT of sound with only three guys, let the breadth of their knowledge of all things heavy blow your brain away. All at once stoner doom, desert rock, American hardcore, and grime punk, Rhin keeps you on your toes with variations on volume, tone, and composition. These guys know what they’re doing and are definitely on the upswing of fame, so don’t miss out when they’re playing in our own backyard.
Dispellment
This trio of evil motherfuckers wear corpse paint. We don’t REALLY have to go any farther than that, but we will for the sake of journalistic integrity. Dispellment comes from the hills of Loudon County, crawling forth from the soil with trve, Nordic, blacker-than-cassiterite black metal. And you won’t have to suffer through some pointless filler to get to the metal, either. Dispellment just throws in straight in your stupid face from the first second on, and are sure to put on a memorable set.
Ostraca
Rising from the ashes of one of Harrisonburg’s favorite bands, Kilgore Trout, is Ostraca- in all of their glory. Never have I seen this group of musicians put on a boring or tedious show, as they crank out their brutal, unrelenting post-core jams with melodic screamo to break the tension in between. Ostraca is an emotional rollercoaster, taking you up and down valleys full of adrenaline and sweat and tears, and provide you with all the energy you’ll need to keep you standing throughout Saturday’s MACRoCk activities.
What other bands playing Macrock are you excited to see? Fucking Artificial Brain! Our buds in Rhin and Ostraca. Sinister Haze is tight. Groam and Joan Son of Groam are so sick.
Treatment Full disclosure: Treatment features some of Worst Week Ever’s best buddies, so when we say that you must be at their set on Saturday at the Golden Pony at 4:15, opening up the awesome heavy music showcase, we say it with not only our ears, but our hearts. Treatment displays acute technical acumen in their pursuit of hardcore inspired, mathy post-core. Each song drips with Virginia-born backwoods crust, but this trio prefers to keep you on your toes with impressive rhythm and signature changes. Be sure to catch them Saturday afternoon and say hi and buy us a beer while you’re there.
Cara Walton Photography
Saturday
Little Grill
Luray 11:00 – 11:30 Free Cake For Every Creature 10:10 – 10:40 Ameriglow 9:20 – 9:50 Uncle Bengine & The Restraining Orders 8:30 – 9:00
Collective
Luray
The product of singer/songwriter Shannon Carey, Luray closes out the perennially great Little Grill MACRoCk showcases on Saturday night at 11. Coming down from DC but borrowing the name of our neighbors to the north, Luray is a banjo driven alternative band that blends the best elements of southern folk and classic female singers like Linda Ronstadt or Loretta Lynn and the result is a finely polished sound that stays in your blood. The stand up bass resonates like an earthquake, the guitar is angry, and Carey’s banjo sings in rich notes. Close out your night at the Little Grill with Luray before you head out to any after shows.
Free Cake For Every Creature
Winner of Worst Week Ever’s MACRoCk XVIII Best Band Name Award, which is totally worth something, Free Cake for Every Creature is the beautiful brain child of Katie Bennett, a smooth and quiet alt-indie project that enters your body like hot jade tea. Displaying the same ear for simple, relatable songs like Iron & Wine, Bennett’s sounds are incredibly pillowy and relaxing. If you want a quieter Saturday night, Free Cake for Every Creature is the perfect act for you. See them at the Little Grill at 10:10.
Ameriglow Exploding out from the Greensboro scene right now are Ameriglow, who play the Little Grill at 9:20. Simply, Jacob Darden’s new act is just a dream. The group plays a fun, unique style of folk inspired alt-rock. Part Drive By Truckers, part Alex Turner, this band plays with a syrupy thickness that rolls around in your brain, and there’s a dark, poppy side to it, too. There’s no other band like them at MACRoCk this year, so go the extra distance to see them at the Little Grill.
Uncle Bengine & The Restraining Orders One of Harrisonburg’s finest institutions, Uncle Bengine & the Restraining Orders are a constant reminder of how fun classic country and western can be. The modern folk band has found it’s signature in the revitalization of Appalachia inspired rock and carry an authentic, distinct southern sound (and not in the cheesy Dukes of Hazzard sense, either). They open the showcase at the Little Grill on Saturday at 8:30.