Five Amazing Music Experiences of 2013.

It’s a pretty amazing job that we have here at JUMP. We go out and experience stuff and then tell you about it.

During this past year, I was fortunate enough to sit down with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino and discuss the zen of reality. It was probably the most amazing conversation I’ve been involved in – the man sees connections in everything, from music and art to people and places. I had many beers with Dom Angelella of DRGN King one night and then he started rapping. I watched Toy Soldiers do a pop up show in their new studio, Meth Beach, which was the former home of Dr. Dog. I saw Birdie Busch perform at a Tuesday Tune-Out event at PhilaMOCA in January. The silence between her songs was simply stunning. She mesmerized the crowd with her delicate voice and unusual instruments.

Sometimes, we don’t do the events justice in words and still images – it’s hard to bring to life events like the Kickback series, which provides stage time and a huge audience for rising young hip-hop artists. But we try.

Anyway, here are five amazing things I experienced this year.

– G.W. Miller III, publisher of JUMP

Eric Slick, drummer for Dr. Dog, Norwegian Arms and other projects, performed as a a self-produced video ran on a large screen behind him. It was an interactive experience – he provided the soundtrack to the film and the audience participated. Easily the most interesting event I saw last year.

I got to meet the man behind Martha Graham Cracker, Dito Van Reigersberg, and I watched Martha and her cabaret on several occasions. First of all, they really put on the best show in town. Second, Dito is a brilliant person despite the fact that he kept slipping into his Martha character during interviews.

I went to Ortlieb’s in July to see Japanther, one of my all-time favorite bands. I figured the weird stage set-up at the club would make for a great experience – when you are in front of the stage, you are practically on the stage with the band. Right after I arrived at the club, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! took the stage. And they were awesome – full of energy, forcing everyone to participate. At one point, they draped a huge parachute over the crowd in front of the stage and created a mini dance party under the tent. So much fun.

Reef the Lost Cauze (above) and Sugar Tongue Slim, our two cover artists from the summer 2013 edition, did a free show at the Hard Rock Cafe for us in October. The room was packed and Reef, who had not performed in town for a while, was on fire. So was Slim, who always puts on a good show.

The guys from Commonwealth Choir were nice enough to cram into the back of a Chevy Suburban for us and then play music as we drove them around the city (it’s a long story but we made an awesome video … check it out here). A few days later, they invited us to their Fishtown backyard for a Fourth of July celebration/concert. It was a great day to get drunk in the sunshine, surrounded by great music and a lot of friends.