Hopscotch 2018 Day 1 | City Plaza — 9/6/2018
Raleigh’s annual Hopscotch Music Festival kicked off on an absolutely steamy Thursday evening in the heart of the city. It’s hard to believe that Hopscotch has brought us well over 100 bands to see, every year, for nine consecutive years. Downtown Raleigh came to life as the first performances set off the festival starting in City Plaza.
Unfortunately, if you were looking for this festival to roar to life, as it has in past years, this was not the lineup to provide that jolt of energy. Durham’s Heather McEntire (performing as H.C. McEntire) took the stage with her band and eased festival goers into their Hopscotch experience. The band played a solid set including “A Lamb, A Dove” from McEntire’s 2018 solo debut record Lionheart to a warm reception from a hometown crowd.
Real Estate, an indie rock outfit from Brooklyn, NY, took the stage next, and unfortunately they didn’t do much to raise the energy level at City Plaza. Summer festivals are already challenging in the heat and humidity, but Real Estate’s relatively dull set did little to keep the crowd engaged. As their set was ending the crowd started to mill around and change over as fans showed up early for the next act.
Hopscotch attendees’ anticipation was every bit as thick as the humid air when The Flaming Lips from Oklahoma City took the stage. Finally, the excitement at City Plaza ratcheted all the way up as the band pummeled the audience visually with smoke canons, confetti, giant balloons, and a giant, inflatable “Fuck Yeah Hopscotch” banner.
Wayne Coyne (lead vocals) ushered the band through the orchestrated chaos of their set including “She Don’t Use Jelly” which got a roar from an audience spanning several generation, including parents who brought their teens and tweens along for the fun. The Flaming Lips’ performance was nothing short of a spectacle including a giant disco ball and Coyne walking on the crowd in a giant, inflatable hamster ball as fans swatted giant balloons every which way until the end of the set.
