Mountain Goats/Mac McCaughan/Greg Cartwright/Tara DeFrancisco @ Motorco Supporting Protect our Families

On April 6, Hopscotch sponsored a free concert with Real Estate, Twerps & Old Bricks at the Lincoln Theatre in order to get donations and raise awareness about North Carolina Constitutional Amendment One, an amendment that not only would prevent gay couples from marrying, but would also hurt families of all sorts.  The organization that got the money to use for more events to promote knowledge on North Carolina's Constitutional Amendment One, was The Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, a non-profit organization against Amendment One.  You can learn more about the organization and the way that Amendment One negatively impacts all families Here.


On April 19, they will be at it again with a concert at Motorco Music Hall in Durham, North Carolina.  The Mountain Goats, Mac McCaughan, Greg Cartwright and Tara DeFrancisco will be playing.  The tickets are $20 and go towards The Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families' goal of defeating Amendment One.  Simply put, the money goes to lobbying against Amendment One and promoting events like these to reach out to other voters.  It's for a great cause, and I'm as apolitical as they come: in my opinion, it's a common sense issue - if two people love each other, it's simply wrong to keep them apart.  But this blog isn't for politics, it's for music.  The other great thing about the concert is the performers!  I cannot believe how fantastic this lineup is.

The Mountain Goats are native to the plains

The Mountain Goats have been around for a long time.  John Darnielle, singer-songwriter of the group, is typically thought of as one of the premiere lyricists in the world in music at this time.  His folk-based music is inspired by everything from contemporary Christian music, like the album "The Life of the World to Come," to folkier narratives, like in his album "Tallahassee."  John Darnielle is also a metal-head.  He writes in metal columns frequently and wrote the 33 1/3 book for Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality."  He's released hundreds of songs, none of which I would consider bad.  As he continues to write music, his arrangements have become more complex, but his music retains a great pop-sensibility.


Listen to their song "No Children" Here

Mac playing at Pitchfork Music Festival

Mac McCaughan not only runs Merge Records, but was the frontman and guitarist for Superchunk (that really really awesome indie-rock band from the 90s?)  His music comes from a refined power-pop and a great energy for the music he makes.  Seeing him live just makes you understand how much fun indie-rock is.  Mac looks like he's having a great time all the time.  Superchunk never put out a bad album.  Their newest. "Majesty Shredding" of 2010. is good as well and a great place to start for those who haven't listened to Superchunk.  Honestly, though, you can't go wrong with anything by this band.


Listen to the Superchunk song "Hyper Enough" Here

Greg Cartwright Playing his Git-Box

Greg Cartwright, or Greg Oblivian to you garage-heads, is based out of Asheville, North Carolina and has been in the garage-rock music scene since the 90s with his band The Oblivians.  But recently, he has recorded with The Reigning Sound, who played the Local 506 last year, and The Parting Gifts.  This guy is royalty and I've heard many well-respected people say that he is the best songwriter in Garage-rock now.  He is currently producing Last Year's Men's new album and continues to be a strong force in the garage and punk music scenes.

Tara not getting any service

Listen to The Reigning Sound's take on the classic song "Stormy Weather" Here


Tara DeFrancisco isn't a musician, or at least not that I know of, but is a great improv comedian who has worked at the famous iO (ImprovOlympics) and Second City of Chicago.  Pretty sweet.  She still works in Chicago, but also tours.  She's sure to have a great bunch of things to say for you stand-up-yuppies.


All in all, it's going to be a great evening with great entertainment for a great cause (and there's food trucks, so just get the ticket!"




You can buy your ticket Here