Cary, NC – The 5th Annual NC Eid Festival was this past weekend at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. Contributing photographer Brooke Meyer was there.

What is Eid?

Eid, or festival, marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

NC Eid uses the celebration as the springboard for a cross-cultural event, including music and dance from many countries. This year, the Cary Concert Singers and the Green Hope High School Orchestra joined in the festivities, along with the Egypt Magic Carpet Dancers, Chinese Instrumental Ensemble, and performers from Peru, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The full day program ran from 11 am to after 8 pm.

Pictures

See all the pictures from the 5th Annual NC Eid Festival in a gallery by photographer Brooke Meyer.

Photo by Boris Tikhomirov.

Cary, NC – What with Groucho & Golf, we almost forgot to mention two other great events this weekend in Cary.

Baby Fair Meetup

Meet other new or expecting parents in Cary at the Baby Fair Meetup this Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon. Great prizes including a car seat, baby gates, all kinds of baby gear, books and a Bright Horizons package that includes $150 off registration fees for child care.

Baby Fair Meetup
Saturday, September 24, 10 a.m.-noon
Bright Horizons at Harrison Park
800 Weston Parkway Cary, NC 27513
Free

Maripalozza

Locally based Mariposa School for Children with Autism is celebrating their 10th birthday with MARIPOLOOZA at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. The festival is a a family-friendly event featuring performances by local musical and performing arts groups, great food, tons of children’s activities, a silent auction, various local vendors and more.

Event is free and open to all. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Mariposa School for Children with Autism’s Scholarship Fund.

Tickets: Free
Children Activity wristbands – $5

Maripalooza
Where: Booth Amphitheatre
Regency Park, Cary
Time: 12pm – 6pm
Doors Open: Noon

Visit www.maripolooza.org for more details.

Concert Notes by Cris Cohen.

Cary, NC – Alison Krauss could sing selections from the US Tax Code and it would sound good. Her voice is that amazing.

She and her band, Union Station, performed Thursday night at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, playing a mix of older tunes and songs from their new album, “Paper Airplane”. Their country / bluegrass music and their friendly demeanor made for a relaxed, you-are-hanging-out-with-friends feel.

Krauss’ Vocals Soar

One of the things that made the concert enchanting, though, was Krauss’ voice. And this is not to take away from Dan Tyminski’s singing. His own voice is filled with character. It has a great strength to it, which is why he was a great choice to handle the vocals for George Clooney in the movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?”. His singing brings an extra realism to his songs of struggle and hardship.

But Krauss’ voice is otherworldly. It is a special effect, the likes of which Hollywood has yet to even come close to. And as incredible as it is to hear on their albums, it is even more amazing to witness live. In these days of advanced technology where many recording artists improve their vocals with a few clicks of a mouse, you sometimes wonder what the reality is.

That is why it is something special to see this band live, to see Krauss casually step up to a microphone and let her voice soar. Sometimes it is a whisper and sometimes it is filled with power. Yet it always has this unbelievable tone. It’s like her vocal chords resonate at a frequency that has not been discovered (or at least recreated) by anything else in this universe.

Artists and Their Instruments Meld As One

There is also something magical about the dexterity of all of these musicians. Their fingers fly over guitars, banjos, fiddles, and stand-up basses. It is just as impressive to watch as it is to hear. And even when there are moving at a fast clip, massive collections of notes emanating from each instrument, they never musically step on one another. Instead each player intertwines his work with the others’.

Barry Bales and his acoustic bass serves as a kind of anchor that they all tether to. Tyminski coaxes great rhythms from the guitar and the mandolin. To borrow a line from Krauss herself, Ron Block shows the banjo who’s boss. And Jerry Douglas makes the dobro seem like one of the coolest instruments ever created.

Krauss joked about the band’s tendency to play sad songs. And in the hands of lesser musicians, the tales of loss and heartache might get tiring. But with Alison Krauss & Union Station, you find yourself wanting more. More of that incredible playing. And more of that amazing voice.

Brennin Cummings is CaryCitizen’s Journalism Intern this summer. She heads back to Ithaca College in just a few days. Photo by Ashley.

Cary, NC – “You’re a quiet bunch, huh?” asked Death Cab For Cutie’s front man Ben Gibbard to a lackluster crowd at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary.

Unfortunately, he was 100% right. The crowd stood stiffly in the general admission pit section, barely moving at all, let alone jamming out or dancing.

Sound of Settling

I started listening to the band in 8th grade and fell in love with their earlier albums but haven’t kept up with their later albums as much. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t know any of the set list, but I was pleasantly surprised.

They played a great mix of songs from their newest CD, Codes and Keys, as well as some older jams that I remembered from 8th grade, like “Sound of Settling”, “Soul Meets Body” and “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”. Ben Gibbard’s voice also sounded spot on, just like the CD.

Hey, Down in Front!

The audience however, wasn’t really responding at all. Most people were just standing with their arms crossed, barely even bobbing their legs. This was especially upsetting to me because I’m 4’10” and concerts are pretty difficult for me.

Usually when the crowd is dancing, it’s easy to either move closer to the stage or see through people’s heads, but with the crowd acting like a brick wall, either of those things was impossible. I eventually got to a point where I could stand on my tippy toes and make out Ben Gibbard’s head. Even setting aside my height problems, the lack of energy from the crowd brought down the entire atmosphere of the show.

Admittedly Death Cab For Cutie isn’t club music, but it’s definitely groovable, so I was disappointed in the almost bored crowd.

Out of Place

The venue also left something to be desired. The distinction between General Admission Lawn seating and General Admission Pit Seating was way too rigid, and there were people sitting in the Pit when there were people in the lawn who wanted to get up close and dance.

I’m sure the different sections were implemented for a reason, but as far as I could see, the restrictions kept people from really getting into the music.

There were also complaints about the restrictions the amphitheater had on noise. The band sounded slightly muffled and had to stop playing right at 10pm, leaving me wanting more.

“I almost want to get punched in the face”

For the most part, the show was enjoyable. I love Death Cab and the music sounded great. However, the overall concert just wasn’t memorable.

My older brother, who came with me, probably had the funniest quote from the evening: “I almost want to get punched in the face or get in trouble just so I can have SOME story from tonight.” Sure, he was exaggerating, but he was right.

Nothing was exciting enough to take away from the whole experience as an awesome story or memory, not the concert nor the crowd. And isn’t that why people go to concerts in the first place? They go for a personal connection with the band or to bond with other people who share the same passion, but Monday night’s concert didn’t really offer either of that.

Cary, NC – This weekend the heart of rock ‘n’ roll will be beating in Cary. On Sunday, July 24, Huey Lewis & The News will take the stage at the Booth Amphitheatre.

Huey Lewis spoke with Cris Cohen about the new album, the fun of recording live, and the evolution of his voice.

Huey Lewis Interview

During their 30+ years together, Huey Lewis & The News have created songs that were Top 10 hits (“I Want A New Drug”, “If This Is It”, “Hip To Be Square”), albums that reached #1 on the Billboard Charts (“Sports” and “Fore”), and tunes nominated for Academy Awards (“The Power of Love”).

Now, the band has gone from “Heart And Soul” (off of their album “Sports”) to “Soulsville”, their new album that pays homage to their favorite Southern soul and Memphis soul recordings from the ’60s and ’70s.

Cris Cohen: First off, to jump into this new album, to jump into “Soulsville”, what was the goal in creating this album?

Huey Lewis: The last thing you want to do is a pale imitation. So first of all, the selection (of songs) was important. We wanted to make sure that rather than do the chestnuts and render them some contemporary treatment, we thought we would go deeper in the catalog and play some recognizable things, but also some things that maybe people hadn’t heard. And try to capture them faithfully. And although we did change them kind of from the inside out a little bit, we only did things that we thought they would have done if they had had more time. (Laughs)

And we cut it in Memphis at Ardent (Ardent Studios is where many of these songs were originally recorded). So the goal was to really capture the stuff faithfully. And I figured we’d know whether we had or not by the reaction of the people around the studio.

CC: And what was it like recording in Ardent, recording in the center of where all of this magic originally took place?

HL: It was wonderful. I mean, I fly in on a Sunday and who checked me in to the hotel, but Nicole Hayes, Isaac Hayes’ daughter.

The stars really aligned for us as it were. We cut five songs a day in two studios. We cut them live. Basically we did everything live. We cut 20 songs in about four or five days.

Recording live is more fun. It’s more musical.

I want people to own (this album) and use it. If you’ve got a little barbecue in the summer time happening. You just throw this thing on. It works. Believe me. (Laughs)

CC: But was there an intimidation factor in recording this music that you listened to and a feeling of “Oh my God. I’m taking this on.”?

HL: Definitely. And when we worked the songs up right from the get go … we worked them all up in California in our little garage studio. We picked batches of five and had two-day rehearsals for the first batch and two-day rehearsals for the next. Band one day. Horns the next day. And then we recorded it.

We sounded very natural on this stuff. It was surprising that way. And you know, it is not too risky to record the stuff. It is only risky when you release it.

One problem was picking an Otis Redding song. You gotta pick an Otis Redding song. And so what Otis Redding song? A few of them are untouchable I think. So we picked “Just One More Day” and I was worried. I thought, “This is gonna be tough.” And the first day at Ardent Studio, John Fry comes in. He was the engineer on all of these songs and he now runs the studio. And I thought, “We’ll know how things are going if John Fry starts coming in the studio and we’re in trouble.”

We put the horns in one studio and a four or five piece rhythm section in the other studio, with me in the booth. And we just cut live. There were no overdubs at all. “Just One More Day” has no overdubs at all. It is a complete performance. And I think it sounded pretty good. I hadn’t sung that song that much, but I just kind of channeled it. And I took it as a sign from the Soul gods.

CC: And is there a whole different feel, is there a whole different energy when you are recording live like that?

HL: Oh yeah. It’s awesome. Plus these songs were arranged back in a day when they couldn’t do overdubs.

CC: Has this experience affected how you perform your own songs at all?

HL: Well, maybe incrementally. Not really. What’s interesting about it, though, is … we tried to stay faithful to the original recordings. We labored to keep it just right. And then oddly enough – and a few critics have said this – on playback a couple of these (songs) sound like Huey Lewis and the News (songs). And I suddenly realized how much I in fact was influenced by Johnnie Taylor and Otis Redding without even realizing it. I mean, I don’t think of myself as that way, but I know I love that stuff. I don’t think of myself as being an Otis Redding kind of singer, but there are parts when I am listening to the Otis Redding song, some of those parts sound like Huey Lewis songs to me.

CC: Well, I am guessing it was always some sort of subliminal, subconscious influence going around in your life.

HL: It is as simple as “the music you like to listen to”. That’s always the stuff I like to listen to. Even when I was in bands. We played all different kinds of stuff, but that’s the kind of stuff I like to listen to.

CC: So you’re at home, you’re hanging out, you’re driving in your own car – this is the kind of stuff you gravitate towards.

HL: Yeah. All music is fun to play. Some music is more fun to listen to than others. It’s really true. I mean, you think about that fusion stuff. It’s a ball to play that stuff. But it can be hard work listening to that sometimes. (Laughs)

I think this is some of our best work, though. I’m really proud of it. And we are coming to Cary, North Carolina to sell those records one at a time. I will come over to your house and wash your windows if you buy the album. (Laughs)

CC: And I don’t know if this was a plan but, for instance, you listen to some of those screech metal guys who sang really high when they were young and can’t hit those notes anymore. Whereas you are in this zone, your style of music – the personal songs you play as well as the covers you do – it seems like your voice is getting better for the music you play. It’s getting that smokey, gravelly quality and I am wondering what’s it been like as your voice has evolved?

HL: Well, I think that’s very perceptive. And it’s true. But I’ve also become a better singer. I’m a smarter singer. I make better note choices I think. I’m still improving at this ripe old age (Mr. Lewis just turned 61). But I think you’re right. And it is not only just the sound of the voice. We started pre-television, pre TV music. When we started, it was all audio. There wasn’t a thought of (visual) presentation. And the idea was to make the songs non-age specific. Make them timeless. Why be trendy when you can be larger than that? But now it’s served us well interestingly.

CC: So you said you’re a smarter singer. Would you mind explaining what you meant by that?

HL: It’s like with high notes. If you see a high note coming up in a song, rather than go up to that high note, sing through it. 80% goes as far as 100%. It’s the same with a golfer or a pitcher. A pitcher will throw as hard as he can and the ball won’t go as fast as if he relaxes and throws at 85% and accelerates the motion. Go through the note.

But you learn some studio technique. You learn how to sharpen your voice or flatten your voice. You get smarter about controlling your voice.

And that’s just one facet. Another one is where to breathe and how to stay in breath. You need to map your breaths out on a song.

CC: It’s almost like playing a horn.

HL: Exactly like that.

CC: It also seems like you picked a really good time in your life to record this album. When you were younger, you had a great voice, but it wasn’t as smokey. And it’s like your voice has evolved and gotten even weightier as you’ve matured.

HL: Yeah, I think that’s true. And I thank you for saying that. It’s all about tone. It isn’t brain surgery. We’re not singing opera here. It’s not that tough and there’s not that many notes. But it’s all about the sound of those notes. What did you like about these songs originally? It’s the tones. And what do the tones tell you? It’s when the singer sings the song, he ain’t kidding. When a guy sings “I’m goin’ to Kansas City. They got some crazy little women there. And I’m gonna get me one”, you gotta believe he’s been to Kansas City. He knows about the crazy little women.

CC: Yeah. You don’t wanna hear these songs from Tiny Tim, because it’s not going to come through.

HL: Probably not. Although, that would be an interesting rendition. (Laughs)

CC: Well, I think that might fall under the category of: Fun to play, but not that much fun to listen to.

HL: Yeah. Maybe.

But it’s the singer and the song and the marriage of those two. That’s what it’s always been.

CC: Is there anything about the music that no one has asked you about, that you would really like to discuss? That no one seems to pick up on?

HL: That’s a really good question. In years past it was really true. They (interviewers) never used to ask me how we made the records, which is always the interesting part to me. In the old days in the ’80s, when it was about CHR radio, it was really about making a record. Making a hit record. And we did that rather well I thought. All on our own actually. Figured it out for ourselves. We actually assembled those records. Piece by piece. There weren’t any Pro Tools in those days.

And we’ve gotten better at our craft. And I’m proud of that.

Cary, NC – If you grew up in the 70’s, chances are you listened to the “Lido Shuffle” on your car’s FM radio as you cruised around town. For a time, his music was everywhere.

Do you have a “Boz Scaggs Experience,” some memorable moment from the past that’s connected with the music of Boz? Think back.

Tell us the story and you could win 4 tickets to Boz at Booth on July 15.

Win 4 Tickets to Boz

We want to hear your stories (family-friendly of course), and if you can tell us a great Boz Scagg’s story, not only might we publish what you write, but you will most certainly win 4 lawn tickets to enjoy the show on July 15^th at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. And, because we can, CaryCitizen will throw in 4 VIP passes to boot.

To Enter:

• Deadline for receiving stories via email is July 1.
• Write your story in 500 words or less.
• Send it to Lindsey Chester at Lindsey.chester@carycitizen.com
• Include your name, phone number and address for mailing.
• Winners will be notified by phone on July 2.
• Tickets will be mailed to you on July 5^th.
• Your story will be published on July 13 in advance of the concert date.

To find out what other concerts and events are coming to Cary, visit Events at  Booth Amphitheatre.

Styx photo by Chris Adamczyk.

Cary, NC – The excitement is building for the 2011 Cary Scavenger Hunt. Did you know the Grand Prize for Adult teams is 10 VIP tickets to Styx at Booth Amphitheatre?

Get in the Hunt!

Imagine calling up your friends and saying “I got 10 VIP tickets to Styx. Want to come?” It could happen to you! Join the 2011 Cary Scavenger Hunt, coming to the new downtown Cary Arts Center on Saturday, July 23.  It’s a day of adventure, fun, civic pride and glory – and the “VIP treatment”.

Teams compete in two categories – Adult and Family. Grab three friends or round up the clan and sign up your team now.

Lots of prizes and treasures along the way for all the participants. (b.t.w., the Grand Prize for families is a Private Party for 20 at Movies By Moonlight, but that’s another story.)

A Cary Tradition

Last year, over 100 people raced around town solving clues and collecting souvenirs, and they all “had a blast”.

Teams made a pyramid out of firemen, found the Page family, visited a real farm supply store and discovered a dragon in a Cary park.

Comments from Last Year

Here are some comments we received from a survey of Scavenger Hunters last year.

“It was a great time. The whole day for less than the price of a movie and 10 times as fun.”

“We had a very fun family day. We all learned a lot about Cary. The kids are still talking about it.”

“Great experience. We had a blast.”

The 2nd Annual Cary Scavenger Hunt promises to be even better – more clues, celebrity judges, more prizes and just plain more fun. If that’s possible.

Visit the Teams & Sign-up page now.

Tony Kishman (center) performs Paul McCartney songs at the Live & Let Die concert at Booth Amphitheatre June 18

Cary, NC – Who knew June 18th was Paul McCartney’s 69th birthday? The NC Symphony’s Live and Let Die program at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary was a fitting tribute.

As part of Booth Amphitheatre’s Summerfest Series, the symphony partnered with conductor Martin Harmon and singer/recording artist Tony Kishman to perform many of Sir Paul’s best known hits.

Driving Rain

Just as  the crowd was comfortably enjoying their picnics, the skies opened up for about 15 minutes. Our bottoms were damp, but not the crowd’s spirit. The packed audience settled in to enjoy 2 ten song sets of some of Paul McCartney’s greatest hits from a career spanning over 50 years.

One can’t deny the remarkable likeness that lead vocalist Tony Kishman has to McCartney, and he plays it up with the addition of a studied Liverpudlian accent between songs. Kishman’s repertoire includes six years in the Broadway hit Beatlemania and his own Beatle’s tribute tour of Twist and Shout.

When We’re 64

The first set began with a quick medley and jumped right into Hello Goodbye. The greying Cary audience appreciated When I’m 64 winks all around.

Sprinkled throughout the set were a few Wings hits (Listen to What the Man Said, Uncle Albert), and a rousing rendition of Live and Let Die. Even my 17-year-old knew that one – although she’s familiar with the Guns and Roses version, I’m afraid.

The pairing of the rock guitars and  Paul McCartney songs with the NC Symphony was brilliant. I had forgotten how many Beatles songs actually have symphony musicians playing back-up. The Long and Winding Road, always featured Phil Spector’s love of violins, and here it was superb. And who can forget the haunting quality of Eleanor Rigby and the use of strings there?

The second set opened with Jet, and the audience “ooo-ing” along in all the right places. I Saw Her Standing There had the oldsters and young-ins alike getting up to dance.

Kishman began Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da- by asking everyone to “put your hands together” and the audience felt the groove of 1968. A rousing Get Back followed and I couldn’t help but envision the Beatles atop the old Apple recording studio in the filming of Let It Be.

The balance of the set was more subdued with the Beatles’ Yesterday, and then Baby I’m Amazed and My Love from Paul’s solo days after the Beatles broke up. A few songs later, the mega-hit  Let It Be. Here the audience obviously knew all the words.

Like a Rock Show

For a bit of humor Kishman began Rhinestone Cowboy with a few chuckles before breaking into the closing song, Hey Jude.

And like any good rock show – the crowd encouraged an encore with raised phones and lighters. The band came running back out, and launched into Can’t Buy Me Love and closed with Birthday in honor of Sir Paul’s 69th.

Its been years since the Beatles broke up, but the music is timeless. You hear them in the grocery store, the elevator, a commercial. For the Baby Boomers, there seemingly does not exist a time when we did not intimately know their entire song catalog. A band, mind you, that only existed for less than a decade. In fact McCartney has made far more hits and music as a post Beatle, but will forever remain that cherubic Paul for most of us.

Booth Amphitheatre  picked a winner with this show.  It was more than a pops concert, it was a pops event. Parents, grandparents and kids young and old all enjoyed the entire evening.

Cary, NC – This Friday, June 3, rising country star Miranda Lambert is coming to Cary for a show at Booth Amphitheatre. Is she the next Taylor Swift or the next young star swiftly forgotten? 

The New New Country

Ten years ago, New Country meant Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks and the Mavericks. Old Country meant Hank Snow and Hank Williams.

Back then, New Country put a rock and roll beat underneath the traditional chords and melodies.

Miranda Lambert is part of the next generation of country stars, further broadening the vocabulary of country both in terms of the musical influences and the subject matter.

Just Like You – Only Prettier

One thing hasn’t changed about country music – Ms. Lambert is packaged as the Blond Bombshell. The second coming of Marilyn Monroe with an electric guitar. Who could live up to that?

What’s interesting is Lambert’s own commentary on country music stereotypes. One example is the song Only Prettier.

The tune starts with steel guitar and a definite feeling of the Fifties. Lambert plays two characters in the video: the pampered blond belle and her bad-girl brunette doppelganger.

Well I’ve been saved by the grace of Southern charm
I got a mouth like a sailor and yours is more like a Hallmark card
And if you wanna pick a fight
Well I’m gonna have to say goodnight
I don’t have to be hateful, I can just say bless your heart

Lambert’s other songs span a range of characters from a rough girl who burns down her house in the mega-hit Kerosene to a prodigal daughter in The House That Built Me.

Musically, Lambert’s band has more Texas in it than Appalachia, but they certainly manage to weave in a wide range of country styles. The New-New Country is pretty eclectic, with a fine sense of history but not much sense of place. It’s at home on the radio from Lumberton to Los Angeles.

The one constant is Lambert’s voice – strong, unvarnished and generally dry-eyed. She has a taste for irony and an ear for sarcasm.

See Only Prettier on YouTube.

Miranda Lambert in Cary Friday June 3

Miranda Lambert will be in Cary at Booth Amphitheatre on Friday June 3, 2011 with Special Guests Josh Kelley & Ashton Shepherd. It promises to be an entertaining evening and a fine opportunity to see this rising country artist under the stars in one of America’s finest venues. Get tickets.

Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary has added several more shows to the Summer line up.

Styx

If it’s classic progressive rock you’re after, get some tix for Styx on September 16.

If it’s been too long or your can’t remember anything prior to 1990, Styx had big hits with Lady, Come Sail Away and Mr. Roboto.

Watch a Styx Mix on YouTube.

Temptations & Four Tops

Nothing says good-times like the music of Motown. And two of Motown’s best will be sharing the bill at KBA on Saturday July 30.

Just to refresh your memory, the Four Tops had hits including Standing in the Shadows of Love, Bernadette and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch. Listen to some classic Four Tops on YouTube.

The Temps had a massive string of hits including My Girl, Ball of Confusion, Get Ready and Cloud Nine.

Watch a clip of the Temptations from 1965 performing My Girl on YouTube.

Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne may not be a household name like the Temps or the 4 Tops, but you’d probably recognize his hit song Trouble. LaMontagne is a singer-songwriter from Maine with a husky voice that sounds a little a blend of soul and Cat Stevens.

Watch Trouble on YouTube.