Monday, April 5, 2010

April 5th, 2010

So this is a really interesting update. I am lucky to have a good friend of mine, Kristen Leake, bringing you a show review, thus bringing a fresh perspective to the webzine. Kristen writes a new blog entitled, Outside The Mosh Pit, so make sure you check it out (especially since she had some nice things to say about Self-Aware). Kristen will be writing some stuff in the summer/fall issue of Self-Aware zine so as long as the spring issue comes out at the end of this month or early March you should see her contributions sooner rather than later. Thanks once again and enjoy!!!



Until March 31st, I felt like the only Charlotte native who has not seen The Junior Astronomers live. The Local 506 in Chapel Hill had a free show consisting of O’ God The White Whale and The Junior Astronomers.

O God The White Whale performed first and I just wasn't feeling it. Granted, I talked to a couple of kids who were there solely to see them. So I suppose it just wasn't my preferred style of music. The band is hardcore with metal undertones... and one of the songs will surprise you with a 10 second rap. What I enjoyed most about their set were their song titles (e.g., I Love Jesus But Sometimes I Drink, I asked her to Dance She Asked me to Die). Nevertheless, I was happy when their set ended. I don't think I was the only one because when The Junior Astronomers stepped on stage, the number of people inside doubled.

Seeing them live was worth the drive to Chapel Hill. These guys are not your typical indie rock band. Their distinctive vocals make it difficult to put them in a general music category. The band's overall sound is raw and unrefined. All of their songs are upbeat so don't be surprised if you unconsciously tap your foot to the beat of each song. This is going to sound old school but I honestly felt like two-stepping during their set! Everyone was dancing. Note, I said dancing and not moshing. No jumping on top of each other, no running into each other, no doing spin kicks or whatever kids do in the pit these days... It was a different atmosphere compared to what I'm used to. Half of the crowd was jumping up and down, and the other half was bobbing their head while swaying their body from side to side. The crowd reciprocated the positive energy The Junior Astronomers emitted. I did not want their set to end... After playing their last song the crowd and I chanted for more. Being the cool guys that they are, they played a couple of requests before calling it a night.



After the show, I talked to a couple of the guys in the band--who by the way, are very nice and easy to talk to. I mentioned how I wished Flavorless Candy was on the set list and they apologized. Terrence (the vocalist) actually looked around for an acoustic guitar to play the song for me. There wasn't one in sight... bummer, but that just shows how genuine the guys are. If you don't know already, they are raising money to buy a trailer so they can tour in the near future. Until that time comes, make sure you see them...even if you have to drive an hour or two. It's well worth it.