Rick@SXSW: Hanging With Craig Almquist From Cold Fronts.
Text and images by Rick Kauffman.
Before Cold Fronts were right back at it in Philadelphia, they spent three weeks on the road to Austin, Texas to perform in the “shitshow that is SXSW.” Craig Almquist and company had the backing and the bankroll to travel and play high-caliber shows on their partial cross-country tour, and their finale in a dive bar on 8th street in Austin was a sight to behold.
The Fleeting Ends: Our Eyes Are Peeled.
Text by Kevin Stairiker. Image by G.W. Miller III.
The first readily apparent thing after a full listen to The Fleeting Ends’ new album Our Eyes Are Peeled is that it is an album that works best as it’s presented, not in fragments. As songs end, the next ones immediately ready themselves for consumption.
WIN FREE TICKETS! See Here We Go Magic and Laser Background at Underground Arts Thursday!
We’re working with the folks at one of our favorite new joints, Underground Arts, and we’ll be giving away a ton of tickets to their shows in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, indie popsters Here We Go Magic will have the crowd dancing to their infinitely catchy tunes. Philly psych-rock-pop band Laser Background will open the show.
Like us on facebook and email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put “Here We Go Magic” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details for the show here.
A Life Once Lost and Grimace Federation @ Kung Fu Necktie.
Text by Rick Kauffman. Images by Tim O’Donnell.
Philly’s A Life Once Lost’s warmup on Saturday evening was a dubbed riff from a track off their newest album, Ecstatic Trance, entitled “Madness is God.”
The track served first to get their sound just right — a sound they’ve become all too familiar with. Kung Fu Necktie has served as home for ALOL for at least two years now. Since they tore the joint a new one with The Red Chord in 2011 and held a residency during the ten-year anniversary of A Great Artist in 2012, they don’t seem to play anywhere else.
They own this joint.
The place wasn’t packed, however. In fact, it was quiet reasonable. Nevertheless, ALOL came to lay down their personal flair of riffy, Read more…
We’re working with the folks at one of our favorite new joints, Underground Arts, and we’ll be giving away a ton of tickets to their shows in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, SpaceGhostPurpp from Miami will perform, alongside a few of his Raider Klan Mafia colleagues. It will be a few days before “Purpp Day,” the artist’s 22nd birthday on April 1, so he should be pretty amped.
Like us on facebook and email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put “SpaceGhostPurpp” in the subject line).
If you want to play it safe and get your own tickets, find details for the show here.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down @ Underground Arts.
Text and images by Greta Iverson.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down brought their upbeat bluesy folk music to the stage of Underground Arts and managed a killer turnout. Every other song they played involved a slide and the drums kicked it hard all the way through.
Cold Fronts @ The Maggot House.
Text by Jenelle Janci. Images by Ian Watson.
While cold concrete walls in a dim North Philly basement may seem less of an ideal venue than under the sunny Austin, Texas skies at SXSW, Cold Fronts didn’t seem any less excited to be playing Maggot House on Friday.
The show was the second to last stop on the band’s tour, which included a March 15 performance at the Austin festival.
The high-energy set from the York, PA natives was part of the Maggot House Spring Revue, a series of two-band shows. Rockers Traffic Nightmare opened and a there was a surprise set from Grandkids, who played an early set at Kung Fu Necktie before coming to the Maggot House.
Alt-J and Hundred Waters @ The TLA.
Text and image by Marisa Lyon.
A sold out crowd enthusiastically welcomed Alt-J to Philadelphia on Thursday evening.
The Theatre of Living Arts was packed even before opening act, Hundred Waters, took the stage. The dreamy electric/folk five piece, led by vocalist Nicole Miglis, warmed them up, but it was obvious who the crowd was there to see.
UK indie-rock quartet Alt-J was greeted by a single, center-staged light and sea of hand shaped delta signs, the bands signature. They didn’t waste any time, fittingly jumping right into “Intro,” the first song off their 2012 album An Awesome Wave. Guitarist/vocalist Joe Newman and keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton followed up with stunning a cappella “Interlude,” fading into a compelling, stripped-down version of the popular single “Tessellate” that sent the exuberant audience wild.
Text by Ed Newton. Images by Abigail Reimold.
Scattered bodies filled the interior of the First Unitarian Church basement last night for the Owen show.
The dim lighting exposed your friends for the night. They lined the walls and awkwardly huddled around your first performers of the night. At floor level, a drum kit faced a modest keyboard rig. Two-piece outfit of Carly Commando and Tom Patterson, also known as Slingshot Dakota (right), is quite infamous in this scene for their uplifting brand of keyboard-driven punk. In between delivering their songs of shining positivity, the two affirmed that this is a venue free of judgment, encouraging those who wished to dance to come forward. Their positivity created a pleasant atmosphere for the next performer, Ohio’s The Lighthouse and the Whaler.
Rick@SXSW: Fighting to See DRGN King.
Our Rick Kauffman went to Texas for the SXSW showcase and didn’t sleep for three straight days. Instead, he followed Philly bands constantly as they tried to get attention, have fun and make new fans.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 