David Schwentker tapes and reports:
You would think that a band that has been around for less than a year, put out one 7″, and has only played about 20 shows in its existence, would be one of the opening bands, kicking off the night at Hopscotch Music Festival. Patois Counselors, however, is no ordinary “new” band. A sort-of supergroup from Charlotte, NC, the band has generated a lot of excitement in a short time period. The creation myth is that front man Bo White, a veteran of multiple bands (notably Yardwork), wrote a couple of new songs and threw them up on Bandcamp. He was quickly offered the chance to do a 7″ for the Negative Jazz label, so he put together a full band featuring members of other Charlotte-area bands like Brain F?, Blossoms, HRVRD, and Moenda. Before the 7″ was even released, there were a lot of people circling the Patois Counselors set on their Hopscotch schedules. The record finally came out in August and showed a group that has hit upon an urgent, catchy post-punk sound that is set apart by their burbling, dueling synths and White’s half sung/half spoken vocals. The band drew a packed crowd to the prime third slot at Slim’s on the festival’s first night, and they left no one disappointed in their 11:30 PM choice. Showing off three songs from the single, along with new material destined to come out on an upcoming 7″ for Sorry State Records, as well as a full length LP in the future, the band closed the set with an excellent cover of The Fall’s “Couldn’t Get Ahead.” Check out their debut 7″ on Negative Jazz, while it is still available, and be on the lookout for much more to come from Patois Counselors.
Slim’s is a small club where not all of the instruments are even mic’d, so this recording was captured by a pair of Church Audio omni mics mounted in the ceiling above the crowd. While this recording may be a little less polished than much of what is offered, it’s a great representation of what it was like to be squeezed into the crowd, almost falling into the band.
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]
Stream the complete show:
Patois Counselors
2015-09-10
Hopscotch Music Festival
Slim’s
Raleigh, NC USA
Recorded and produced by David Schwentker
Church Audio CA-1 (omni) > Olympus LS-10 > WAV > Audacity (track, mixing) > Trader’s Little Helper (conversions) > FLAC (level 8) > foobar2000 (tagging)
Tracks: [27:19]
01. [intro]
02. Guidelines For Schooling
03. Free Jazz Complaint
04. Last Heat
05. Repeat Offender
06. Clean Skits
07. Target Not a Comrade
08. The Modern Station
09. Couldn’t Get Ahead [The Fall]
Support Patois Counselors: Negative Jazz | Buy their 7″ via Bandcamp
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