Raleigh and the Triangle - A Visitor's and Local's Guide

[HisIceness]

You probably are best to find someone outside the arena selling tickets to be honest.

 

[whitstifier]

Anyone into the hipster/youth degenerate music scenes?

Give me all the good venues!!






Please

 

[HisIceness]

I saw a show at 'Deep South the Bar' once. Seemed pretty hipster-like to me. The walls are filled with song lyrics which is something the hipsters in the venue seemed to love.

'Kings' seems to be another one people seem to like, never been there but just FYI.

 

[geehaad]

Cats Cradle in Chapel Hill seems to get the best bands. The venue is ok.
In Raleigh, Lincoln Theater is a better venue that doesn't get the same quality of bands that Cats Cradle does.

Never understood that. Seems like a band could play a show at both, on successive nights, and make just as much without having to travel in between nights. Apparently that isn't true, otherwise they'd all be doing just that.

I saw one show at MotorCo about 5 years ago and haven't been inclined to go since, but see there's a band coming in May that I might like to see.

Kids...man, they really kill show-going.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

As @geehaad mentioned. Cat's cradle seems to get the best bands but I like the Lincoln better as a venue as well (plus it's closer). Cat's Cradle also has a "back room" which is a much smaller venue, but the two times I've been there, it was fantastic. Here are other places I've been to:

Local 506 in Chapel Hill, seems to have some affiliation with Cats Cradle. Smaller venue, but I enjoyed it. Probably holds 200 people compared to the 700ish that Cat's Cradle and Lincoln hold. I met the owners the night I was there and they seemed like really nice and genuine people.
The Arts Center in Carborro (right next to Cat's Cradle). They occasionally get some more well known bands from the past. It has seating like a theater so there's never a bad view.
Pour House in Raleigh. A smaller venue like Local 506. Probably holds a couple hundred people. Step down in terms of venue and bands compared to Lincoln, but every now and then they have a band I like.
Kings Arcade in Raleigh. Only been there once. It was ok. It's also a smaller venue, but I liked Local 506 and Pour House better.
The Ritz in Raleigh. Not downtown though. Was only there once and it is much bigger venue than even Cat's Cradle/Lincoln. I wasn't a big fan of it. It gave me that "big concert" feel, with a small concert band.
Haw River Ball Room in Saxapahaw. Love this place. Probably holds a similar amount of people as Cat's Cradle / Lincoln. It's a bit of a drive and there's not much else around their, but "hipsters" seem to love Saxapahaw.

Never been to this place but drive by it frequently. The Maywood, in Raleigh. Looks to me like it's a Heavy Metal / Head Banger type place if you are into that.

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

After hearing about Saxapahaw for years, my wife and I took an afternoon trip there a few weeks ago. It's interesting, mostly because it's the rare mill town that's doing well without the mill. Most places like it would have been left to fall over into the river, but they've managed to reinvent and reinvest. As small towns go, it's one of the liveliest you'll see.

There weren't any events happening on the day we went, so we just checked out the town and went for a walk along the river. We probably went during the wrong time of year, but even then it's worth seeing. I'm not sure I'd drive an hour from my house to get there again, but if you're passing through Burlington on 40, it's only 15 minutes off the highway. It's worth the detour.

I think part of its success is its proximity to bigger towns and cities. It's right in the sweet spot where it's close enough to bring in people (and money) from several of those places, but far enough away that they aren't threatening its small town feel. Of course, if they actually build that amusement park there, everything people like about it is going to get completely blown up.

 

[whitstifier]

 

[DaveG]

Also Haw River brewing is right by the ballroom there so that's worth checking out in its own right.

 

[bluedevil58]

Also Haw River brewing is right by the ballroom there so that's worth checking out in its own right.

I heard good things about that place. Is it worth checking out? It's right on the river right?

 

[DaveG]

I heard good things about that place. Is it worth checking out? It's right on the river right?

Have liked everything I've had from them so far and it's a great space, yeah right by the river, literally right by the ballroom.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Alright boys, just gave Spectrum the ol' f*** you after seeing our $185 bill for standard TV and 300mb internet. Keeping internet, and I can handle streaming shows/movies via Kodi (probably going to grab a Premuimize or Real Debrid), but what are my options for sports? I guess I can grab an antenna for local channels, but what to do for Canes games? (paging @Boom Boom Apathy )

 

[JCLA]

Sling is probably your best bet.

My bill went up a couple of dollars again this month too (not to your extent) and if it happens again I'm gonna have to call them. I don't understand a $4-5 spike every couple of months when nothing is changing.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

I do Playstation Vue, which includes FS Carolinas and NBCSN. For those handful of games that aren't on FS Carolinas and are on that other FS alt network, I stream FSGo onto my Chromecast for those games.

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

I do Playstation Vue, which includes FS Carolinas and NBCSN. For those handful of games that aren't on FS Carolinas and are on that other FS alt network, I stream FSGo onto my Chromecast for those games.

Exactly what I do save for Roku not Chromecast. Haven't missed a game using this set-up in 2 years.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Alright boys, just gave Spectrum the ol' **** you after seeing our $185 bill for standard TV and 300mb internet. Keeping internet, and I can handle streaming shows/movies via Kodi (probably going to grab a Premuimize or Real Debrid), but what are my options for sports? I guess I can grab an antenna for local channels, but what to do for Canes games? (paging @Boom Boom Apathy )

Antenna for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW22 and a host of other channels. All get pretty good reception where I live.
Sling BLUE ($25 / month, but you can stop /start it whenever you want) for Canes games. I would go the route of GP and Lostinalost world with the FS Go ApP and NBCSN on Roku, but my wife wants Sling for things like HGTV, Food Nework, etc... so I go that route.

There are also less reputable streaming option out there, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Antenna for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW22 and a host of other channels. All get pretty good reception where I live.
Sling BLUE ($25 / month, but you can stop /start it whenever you want) for Canes games. I would go the route of GP and Lostinalost world with the FS Go ApP and NBCSN on Roku, but my wife wants Sling for things like HGTV, Food Nework, etc... so I go that route.

There are also less reputable streaming option out there, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

Just saying, BBA, HGTV and Food Network are both on PS Vue and they also stream live NBC and ABC channels now. CBS and Fox they still don't have yet, but I could see that being added in time.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Just saying, BBA, HGTV and Food Network are both on PS Vue and they also stream live NBC and ABC channels now. CBS and Fox they still don't have yet, but I could see that being added in time.

Hmmm. Some questions: What does PS Vue cost (both initial investment and ongoing)? Looking at the website, it says $39.99 / mo. for access and $49.99 /mo. for Core plan?

I get great reception over the antenna where I get HD CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, CW22 and a host of other channels (I think about 25 total). Then Sling is only $25 on top of that ($20 when I switch to orange plan when Canes season is over). That seems cheaper than Vue, unless I'm missing something or don't understand the pricing?

Is Vue like Sling where you can start/stop at any time? I usually stop Sling for most of the summer months.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Hmmm. Some questions: What does PS Vue cost (both initial investment and ongoing)? Looking at the website, it says $39.99 / mo. for access and $49.99 /mo. for Core plan?

I get great reception over the antenna where I get HD CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, CW22 and a host of other channels (I think about 25 total). Then Sling is only $25 on top of that. That seems cheaper than Vue, unless I'm missing something or don't understand the pricing?

Is Vue like Sling where you can start/stop at any time? I usually stop Sling for most of the summer months.

I think you might be misunderstanding some of their terminology. The $39.99 "Access" fee isn't for access to Vue itself, but is what their lowest content tier costs (akin to basic cable, I think - NBC, ABC, Fox on Demand, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Bravo, etc.). The lowest content tier you'd want is the Core tier and that's $44.99/month (and a little extra if you add HBO/Showtime). That's the only thing we pay ongoing and there was no initial cost. In your case, since you already have the HD antenna, Sling is probably a better option going forward. For us, at least, since we already had a PS3, it made more sense to go PSVue.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I think you might be misunderstanding some of their terminology. The $39.99 "Access" fee isn't for access to Vue itself, but is what their lowest content tier costs (akin to basic cable, I think - NBC, ABC, Fox on Demand, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Bravo, etc.). The lowest content tier you'd want is the Core tier and that's $44.99/month (and a little extra if you add HBO/Showtime). That's the only thing we pay ongoing and there was no initial cost. In your case, since you already have the HD antenna, Sling is probably a better option going forward. For us, at least, since we already had a PS3, it made more sense to go PSVue.

Got it. Yeah, I don't have any gaming consoles, and with a $50-$60 antenna that I stuck in my attic, I get great HD reception (except during bad storms for CBS in particular). The $20-$25 for Sling makes more sense than the $40-$45 per month for Vue. Thanks for the input.

Other than Canes games, an occasional NFL game and some news, I rarely watch any TV. I watch a few shows (such as Blacklist) but do that on the NBC app or other apps which is free. I'd probably forgo sling and find other means to watch hockey if my wife didn't want to watch her shows.

 

[LostInaLostWorld]

I read in a different forum that the Sling login, both Orange and Blue, won't work on FSGO as far as when the game is on the alternate Fox Sports channel that pops up now and again. Perhaps the Sports Extra package will work.

The Core package jumped from $35 to $45 this year. Still worth it.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I read in a different forum that the Sling login, both Orange and Blue, won't work on FSGO as far as when the game is on the alternate Fox Sports channel that pops up now and again. Perhaps the Sports Extra package will work.

The Core package jumped from $35 to $45 this year. Still worth it.

It works for me. I used my sling (blue) login on Roku FSGO and it worked just fine.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Antenna for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW22 and a host of other channels. All get pretty good reception where I live.
Sling BLUE ($25 / month, but you can stop /start it whenever you want) for Canes games. I would go the route of GP and Lostinalost world with the FS Go ApP and NBCSN on Roku, but my wife wants Sling for things like HGTV, Food Nework, etc... so I go that route.

There are also less reputable streaming option out there, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

Thank you, sir. Looking like Antenna + Sling BLUE will be my best bet. There are Kodi add-ons with decent streams for nationally televised games, any FS Canes streams are junk.

 

[tomdundo]

I also go the antenna and Sling blue route. The antenna is used for Panthers/NFL games, and Sling so that I have a TV provider for Canes games. I usually watch on FSGo on my laptop so I don't fight for the TV with my girlfriend.

I don't really watch much else of anything on Sling as there is really nothing on live TV that is must-see to me. Netflix/Hulu/HBO Go covers all that I'd need or want to watch.

Regarding the alternate Fox Sports channels dilemma -- I haven't had an issue using FSGo with my Sling login. I have, however, had the game not show up on any of the additional channels on Sling. That isn't a concern because I usually just use FSGo anyway.

 

[RodTheBawd]

I take back my comment about some other streams being junk. I went that route last night and it was perfect quality. Now I need to figure out how to integrate those streams with Kodi.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Just be advised, if you are a big ESPN junkie, that's not on Sling Blue. It's only on Sling Orange.

I don't care for it much so it's not a problem for me.