Every week, intern Matthew Albasi brings you his musical selections for the coming days …
This weekend is shaping up to be one filled with new releases. We’ve got two new full-length albums coming out from local musicians Luther and Ryan Tennis. On top of that, we have a locally produced movie Jacob’s Ladder making its premiere on Sunday with the bands that made the soundtrack opening the event. It should be a pretty awesome weekend to liven up your record collection with some new local tunes.
FRIDAY
Cuddle Magic, a six-piece band from Brooklyn and Philadelphia, makes some pretty awesome tunes. Their vocal harmonies are on point and the drummer is amazing. I’d love to see these guys packed onto the tiny stage at Tin Angel, but since I can’t make it this video of them (above) crammed in a stairwell will have to do.
Luther, Static Radio, The Arteries, Scarier Area and Idiot Kid @ The Fire
Philadelphia favorites Luther are celebrating the release of their new LP, Let’s Get You Somewhere Else. This show is also the last one Static Radio will ever play in Philadelphia so, get out and show your support.
SATURDAY
Oldermost, Fenster, The Great American Canyon Band and Mock Suns @ Johnny Brenda’s
This show brings together some really talented bands who all have a similar spooky/beautiful indie sound. Locals Oldermost are headlining and, also local, Mock Suns are opening. The rest of the night will be rounded out with the strange, strange people of Fenster, a weird-pop band from Berlin.
Ryan Tennis and the Clubhouse Band, GRiZ and Brittany Ann @ Milkboy Philadelphia
Milkboy will be alive with the sound of local folk music Saturday night with three big local names. Ryan Tennis is celebrating the release of his first full-length album, “Pack Light but Bring Everything.” GRiZ has been making music in Philly for as long as I can remember and he just gets better every day. Brittany Ann Temple student/folk genius will be playing as well.
SUNDAY
Three Man Cannon, Fellow Project, The Cell Phones and Amanda X @ The Cracker Factory
I always love house shows and this one should be no exception. Three Man Cannon has an awesome lo-fi sound with a touch of pop punk and a tad of thrash. It’s the perfect kind of music for the imperfect sound of a house show. Fellow Project is coming down from New York and The Cell Phones are coming in from Chicago. The all-girl beach punk band Amanda X will also be there.
The Quelle Source and The Chairman Dances @ Filmtech
This show will be interesting. J. Randolph Brown, a local director, is premiering his new short film, Jacob’s Ladder at Filmtech in South Philly. Before the movie starts, the two bands that made the soundtrack, The Quelle Source (above) and The Chairman Dances, will be playing a show. Eight bucks gets you in and lands you a copy of the split CD soundtrack. Can’t beat that.
I hope you all enjoy your new albums from these awesome bands. Have a good weekend, Philly. See you next week.
Wednesday Fun: Free Energy, Edison and Modern Inventors!
Out of Town Films, which is operated by JUMP senior staffer Colin Kerrigan and contributor Michael James Murray, is throwing a party featuring Free Energy, with Edison in support. Click here for tickets.
Edison drops their debut album this week. You can stream it here:
At the TLA tonight, Modern Inventors will open for Ben Sollee, the indie rock cellist. Click here for tickets. And listen to Modern Inventors brand new track:
John Oates: Back With A Whole New Perspective.
Legendary and acclaimed songwriter/musician John Oates, one half of pop-duo Hall & Oates, spent yesterday afternoon at his alma mater, Temple University. He was kind of enough to have a sit-down interview with our Bryan Wallace, and he talked about his days of old in Philadelphia, turning points in his life and what he hopes to accomplish as an artist. Photos by Marie Alyse Rodriguez.
In typical John Oates fashion, you are currently on the road. Do you feel that hitting the road is the tried and true way for musicians to get their material out there?
You know I think it has always been traditionally the best way to engage your audience to get better at what you do, to hone your craft. From the beginning of music as we know it, musicians have played live and it is interesting that with the way the recording business has evolved over the years, that it’s come full circle. It’s come back to live performance because record sales are so limited now. That really, it’s imperative to play live in order to gain an audience, to keep an audience and to keep them engaged. I think the focus was on recording in the 60s, 70s and 80s. From the 90s and on, the recording business has been on a steady decline. The live music business has really gotten better. There are more venues, there are more small boutique venues opening up in different cities all over the country and it is really great for all different levels of artists. They all have places to play. Daryl and I never stopped touring. There was a period of years in the early 90s when we didn’t tour too much, but we never really stopped. And because we have never stopped, that is why we are still out there and people are still interested in what we are doing because we never became a nostalgia band. Read more…
Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg @ The North Star Bar.
Text by Brittany Thomas.
There have been a lot of legendary names of rock ‘n’ roll and punk rock making their way through town in the past few months (The Vibrators, Cock Sparrer, Cockney Rejects, Walter Lure of Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, to name a few), and as exciting as that can be for die-hard fans looking for just a glimpse of the by-gone days, there’s always the second-rate, out-of-date, clearly-milking-it-musicians who come to town, crush peoples dreams, piss people off and leave a salty taste in the mouths of former admirers.
That’s what singer Michael Graves did for a lot of the true Ramones fans on Friday when the former Misfits fill-in singer performed the songs of the late Joey Ramone.
“It seems like he misses the Misfits a lot,” said Bill Coburn, singer of the opening band Mean Streets. “It sounded like the replacement Misfit playing the replacement Ramone.”
Well, that’s exactly what it was, literally. But what he means is the sentiment that most of the fans felt that night: this guy made zero effort to sound like a Ramone, despite the fact that he’s playing in a Ramones cover band with a former member of the band (Marky Ramone — not the original Ramones drummer but the replacement for Tommy Ramone for the final 15 years of the band).
This guy has clearly been more interested in projecting his own image and stage persona far more than he ever cared about giving tribute and respect to legendary vocalists Glen Danzig and Joey Ramone. Graves even went so far as to bring out an acoustic guitar and upstage the entire performance in arrogance by doing a solo set after the Blitzkrieg wrapped up the encore.
If it wasn’t already before, it is now confirmed: Graves is a douchebag.
“The irony of Michael Graves singing this Joey Ramone song ‘The KKK Took My Baby Away’ is just,” says Eddie Gieda, Guitar Army DJ and longtime Ramones fan. “Clearly this guy is here taking Joey’s baby away.”
Not to take away from the entire night and focus on the disappointing frontman — Marky still nailed it. Hearing the clink, clink, clink, clink of those sharp as hell 16th notes on the cymbals made it easy enough to close your eyes, try to tune out Graves and channel Joey’s energy and vocals in your mind.
They also played every hit a fan could ask for (“I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Beat on the Brat,” “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” etc.) and even some slightly deeper cuts. The kick drum was pounding heavy enough to drive a jolt of adrenaline straight to the stomping heels of the crowd and induce incontrollable head banging; Marky’s expressionless demure and mastered metranome-on-speed wrist definitely conjuring imaginary flash-backs of an early 1980’s CBGB’s show.
Marky’s rockstar attitude was a bit disappointing though. In addition to not saying a word to the audience during the performance and charging people $50 for after-set meet-and-greets, he also completely blew off the opening bands, the ones they had on the bill since March, the ones who helped promote the events ever since. Other than some through-the-grapevine direction on how to run the show, Philadelphia power pop group Mean Streets didn’t get so much as a handshake from the man.
“I mean when you get old I guess you kind of want things to go your way,” said Coburn. “Maybe when I’m older, maybe I’ll expect things to run a little smoother for me, too. But who knows. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to him so he could have been a great guy. Who knows?”
At the end of the night, Coburn was still grateful to have the privilege of sharing the stage with a Ramone, Gieda was psyched on
getting a few old records signed (through the bands touring manager) and the crowd seemed to leave satisfied.
The overall consensus:
1. The Ramones rule and always will.
2. Michael Graves ought to bury his attempts at assuming the roles of punk rock idols.
The Mountain Goats @ The TLA.
Text by Kevin Stairiker.
Barely 24 hours had passed since Waka Flocka Flame and his Royal Brick Squad had gone hard in the TLA’s hallowed paint when the Mountain Goats took the same stage, playing to a mildly different audience.
Playing in support of their new album Transcendental Youth, the core trio of John Darnielle, bassist Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster came together for a show that pleased both fanatics and new fans. Joining the trio on a few cuts from the new album were opener Matthew E. White’ horn section, dubbed by Darnielle as “The Nameless Dark Three.”
The show began with the powerful Transcendental cut, “Lakeside View Apartment Suite,” and didn’t let up until the show ended an hour and a half later.
The crowd itself stayed mostly reverent for the band, with only the occasional call for deep cuts and “No Children” (which was surprisingly left off of the setlist). However, there was one briefly awkward call and response with one rowdy crowd member, after Darnielle gave a shout out to Jon Wurster.
Random Audience Member: “Jon Wurster is the tits!”
John Darnielle: “Can you rephrase that please?”
Same Random Audience Member: “Boobs are the tits!”
Though the phrasing was off, the unfortunate audience member was right on point with his sentiment. Wurster’s traditional drumming style is always a treat to see and on songs like “Harlem Roulette” and the title cut from Transcendental Youth, he was able to let loose a little and impress mightily. The same went for dapper bassist Peter Hughes, whose fretless bass oozed over every song he was featured on. Though most tend to forget that the Mountain Goats have been a cohesive unit for years, Wurster and Hughes remain a vital part of the sound that Darnielle has been carving for two decades now.
As for the man himself, Darnielle made sure to throw in lesser-known songs like “Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident” and the non-album, Bride of Frankenstein-inspired “Bride.” The focus was clearly on the new album however, with all but three songs played from it. The surprise of the night came in the form of a solo cover of Wye Oak’s excellent “Civilian.”
One of the few disappointments of the show was the audience itself, as they were usually became too used to standing still for the slow songs to dance or move at all during upbeat songs like the power-pop rager “The Diaz Brothers.” Darnielle more than made up for their lack of bodily enthusiasm though in the form of stomping, jumping and yelling throughout the course of the set, all with a smile on his face.
Though Darnielle was the obvious centerpiece of the night, the newly minted horn section that joined the band was one of the biggest thrills. They joined in on the fun exclusively on songs from the new album until the last song of the encore, instant crowd pleaser, “This Year.” The horn arrangement was apparently only a few days old, which was confirmed by the look of unbridled giddiness on Darnielle’s face as he played it. The crowd knew their part, shouting the triumphant, “I am going to make it through this year/if it kills me” hook (and every other word) at the top of their collective lungs. When the lights came up, every face appeared to be exhausted in some capacity, whether it was physical, mental or spiritual.
Intern Matthew’s Weekend Picks: How To Have Fun on $45 (or Less)!
Every week, intern Matthew Albasi brings you his musical selections for the coming days …
Last week was so full of amazing concerts that I’m tapped out. I’m broke. So, let’s see if we can still have an awesome music-filled weeked without spending more than what I have in my pocket … $45.
FRIDAY
Jackie Paper, Puta De Cava, The Dead Tenors and Traffic Nightmare at Connie’s Ric Rac
This is an all local show at my favorite Italian Market venue. Well, almost all local. Puta De Cava is from Jersey, but with a name like that how can we hold it against them. Not to mention, their etheral, psychedelic sound is pretty great.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Traffic Nightmare frontman Kevin Stairiker is a JUMP senior staffer and all-around good guy.
Price: $7
Tryin’ to get purple? I am. Gwar, will be sacrificing effigies of your most hated popular figures on stage. They will offend you and cover you in awful, colored “bodily fluids.” The only thing that makes this show even better is the price. Because it is the E Factory’s 17 anniversary, tickets are only $17. You can’t beat that price with a giant rubber dick.
Price: $17
SATURDAY
Prowler, Sunny Ali & The Kid and Busses at Johnny Brenda’s
Another show filled with incredible local talent. Prowler brings their dance-y beats to promote their new EP and say “good bye” as they go on a hiatus. Sunny Ali & The Kid are always ready to get you rocking to their lo-fi rock and roll sound. Also, Busses is taking a break from recording a new album to come play this show. They should have a lot of pent-up energy to get out, so make sure you’re there early to see them.
Price: $10
Peelander-Z, Electric Eel Shock, Cousin Brian and Molly Rhythm at North Star Bar
The aliens from planet Peelander are descending! Peelander-Z brings punk rock and j-pop together into one glorious mess all while dressed like a cheap, knock-off Power Rangers. What’s better than that? Local rockers Molly Rhythm will be opening for these guys too. So, come out and show some support.
Price: $12
SUNDAY
Zoe Muth & The High Rollers and Heather Maloney at The Tin Angel
The Seattle-born country/folk singer Zoe Muth plays what I think is the best sounding room in the city at Tin Angel. Heather Maloney puts a modern twist on the classic singer-songwriter formula. The show is cheap, but whether or not I can resist eating at the restaurant downstairs, Serrano is a different story all together.
Price: $12
The Big Horn Jazz Band at Johnny Brenda’s
If a bunch of old dudes playing jazz sounds like a good night, than this is the show for you. This band was formed by a local real estate mogul to pay tribute to his favorite musician Maynard Ferguson. It is now filled with some amazing local horn talent (that is a sentence I never thought I’d write). I am not sure if the crowd will be filled with geriatrics doing the Charleston or hipsters swing dancing, but either way it should be interesting.
Price: $10
There you go, a weekend full of fun for less that forty-five bucks. Even if you hit up the most expensive concerts on this list you’ll still have money left over for beer. Go out there and support some local music, or at least watch Gwar impale an effigy of Mitt Romney. Have fun, Philly. See you next week.
As part of our partnership with Philly Beer Scene magazine, we’re documenting Philly’s relationships between music and beer. For the most recent issue of Philly Beer Scene, G.W. Miller III learned about Tracy Stanton, co-owner of The 700 Club, and how beer and music helped build the Northern Liberties we know today.
Before The 700 Club came along, Northern Liberties was a sketchy place with a landscape that featured chicken rendering plants and vacant lots overgrown with weeds.
A character named “Shank” donned women’s sunglasses and hung out near the corner of 2nd and Fairmount, where the 700 is now. He reputedly earned his moniker after stabbing a guy in prison.
“Everyone thought we were totally crazy to open a bar here,” says Tracy Stanton, a New York native who bought the two-story property with business partners Kurt Wunder and Chris Sey in 1997.
Their vision was for a comfortable corner bar with a lounge upstairs for music.
At the time, the Druid’s Keep was The Newport, a bar catering to black lesbians. Standard Tap was the Bull’s Head, a hangout for meth-dealing bikers, according to Stanton. “It was the type of bar where everyone turned and looked at you when you entered,” he remembers.
Silk City, the diner and club on nearby Spring Garden Street, was open then and it was a hub for happening DJs and new musical acts. But few people ventured into the actual neighborhood for entertainment until the 700 opened up. And that sparked a renaissance in the neighborhood, which has since become a mecca for nightlife.
“We made it safe for normal, middle-class kids,” Stanton says with a laugh.
He and his partners had worked together for years at the Khyber Pass when the Old City joint was the place for beer and music. Stanton was a tech guy who also performed in bands like Mel’s Rockpile and the Mark Boyce Combo. He currently plays several instruments for Blood Feathers and plays bass for Dong Johnson.
While the options in Northern Liberties have multiplied exponentially over the past 15 years, the 700 remains popular. Loyal, longtime neighbors patronize the main bar – many are there every day, and after 10, the cool kids come for dancing upstairs.
“It works out really well,” Stanton says. “You come downstairs if you strike out upstairs. If you’re downstairs and you get bored, you go upstairs to try your luck.”
They offer beers from around the world. On tap, they have poured a wheat beer, a white, a European pilsner, an ESA, an American IPA and two local brews since the day they opened.
Stanton, along with bar back and fellow musician Ed Farnsworth, helps book music for the twice-annual neighborhood music festival, a fundraiser for the community-owned park. Farnsworth also worked at the Khyber back in the day and has been with the 700 since it opened. He lives around the corner.
“I work two jobs,” says Farnsworth, who also works at a nearby publishing company. “I’m here at 2nd and Fairmount and my other job is two steps away. I rarely leave the neighborhood.”
“I love Northern Liberties,” Stanton adds. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Stanton owned a music shop called Dot Dash Records, located across the street from the 700. He sold the store to pay for his wedding. Now, he and his wife are raising their 5-year old son, Dashiell, in the neighborhood.
“We all moved here because it was quiet and we could get some space,” he says. “There was no community. We really created a community.”
Dong Johnson will play a hardcore house show on Friday in West Philly. Details are here.
Japanther @ Goldilocks Gallery.
Art/punk rockers Japanther blasted through a late night set Saturday at Goldilocks Gallery that had the small crowd bouncing, slamming and screaming along. It was a raucous atmosphere in a fabulous, unorthodox space (to get to the bathroom, you walk through the kitchen, past the green room, where the musicians chilled before taking the stage).
Drummer Ian Vanek and bass guitarist Matt Reilly sang into old pay phone handsets that acted as mics, giving them an eerie, retro sound. The only time they stopped jamming was when they needed to change their cassette tape backing tracks. And during those moments between songs, Vanek muttered, “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” into the mic (the duo stopped by Pizza Brain before heading to the show).
The only problem with the night was that Japanther’s set was wicked short. Vanek and Reilly unceremoniously walked off the stage, seemingly mid-song. Reilly said something about coming back to Philly again soon, and with amplifiers next time. Vanek was drenched in sweat.
Fortunately, the brief but lively Japanther performance was preceded by a fun-filled set by fellow Brooklynites, Ninjasonik. Ninjasoniks’s pair of MC’s – Jah Jah and Telli – rapped old-school, party style, blending pop culture references with random music samples. They invited the crowd to sing along, and one young lady shook her ass on stage for an impressively long time.
Two Philly bands, Hirs and The Worms, opened the show (but sadly, we missed them).
Can’t wait to see more shows at Goldilocks, which, oddly enough, is located above the posh Stephen Starr joint, Morimoto.
Ninjasonik
The We Shared Milk @ Kung Fu Necktie.
Text and images by Matthew Albasi.
The We Shared Milk (hereafter referred to as TWSM to save this lowly writer precious keystrokes) played Kung Fu Necktie last Thursday to promote their new album, History of Voyager & Legend Tripping. It was the second day of their month-long tour with NYC locals The Dig that will take them all the way to California and back.
KFN was, sadly, rather empty the night of the show. However, the scant turnout did not affect the performance of any of the bands. For TWSM, this was particularly evident. They had all the vigor one might expect from a band playing to a room full of people. Their guitar riffing was done to perfection; their drummer was flawless. The show they put on was spectacular.
But you all missed it.
At this point in the review I should start telling you about all the songs they played and how excited I was to hear them play my favorite. The fact of the matter is I didn’t have a favorite and, chances are neither do you. So we’ll we streamline this section of the review with a quick sentence. Almost every song TWSM played made me and the handful of other people in the room bob our heads and clap enthusiastically. You should have been there. You would have loved it.
I think there is a grander point in all of this that should not be overlooked. Three bands played Thursday night: Krass Brothers, The We Shared Milk and The Dig. All of these bands were exceptional. One might even say spectacular. But prior to this show I had almost no knowledge of any of them.
You know what I did? I went out anyway. And by doing this I found three awesome bands that I will forever jump at the opportunity to see.
The point I’m trying to make is this: it doesn’t fucking matter if you know the band. Show up anyway. Philadelphia has such a dense concentration of talent that lives and plays here that it is hard to find a show that sucks. There should never be an empty music venue in Philly and it’s your responsibility to fill that space.
Get your friends and go to a show. You’ll thank me for it later.
Polica with Gardens and Villa @ Union Transfer.
Text by Marissa Jane. Images by Grace Dickinson.
Channy Leaneagh of Polica (top image) humbly spoke to the audience last Wednesday, saying the band had “a special place in their hearts” for Union Transfer, where they had played one of their first-ever shows just a year ago. They had been the openers for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in what was also the first show ever played at the year-old venue.
Polica was back in Philly for their third time since. Santa Barbara quintet Gardens and Villa opened the night, with singer Chris Lynch remarking (like Wild Nothing‘s Jack Tatum did last week) that, “This is the most beautiful venue we’ve ever played.”
Villa’s synth-filled pop choruses presented awesome grooves that turned even awesome-er when Lynch periodically whipped out a bamboo flute from his backpack. Not one sound was produced by a computer, not even the haunting chants or well-polished percussion.
While some of the music on Polica’s tracks were pre-recorded, talented dueling drummers and a solo bassist set tight R&B tracks against the electronic waves. But as soon as Leanaugh started singing, the blues groove transformed into a soaring, otherworldly tune pinned down only by expertly-crafted rhythm and bass.
Leanaugh performed shoeless with her tattoos (one of the word “gypsy”) clearly visible. Her face contorted to execute every auto-tuned note she sang, simultaneously spewing sadness and joy all over the audience.
Polica is a well-oiled machine – an incredible band coupled with Leanaugh’s searingly honest caged-bird songs. It’s easy to see why Justin Vernon of Bon Iver called Polica “the greatest band I’ve ever heard.” Polica is destined to soar to much higher world recognition.
With only one studio album, Give You the Ghost, expect to hear more from this indie-rock band from Minneapolis soon. Their encore contained two new songs, “Tripping,” and “Spilling,” which added more synth but stuck to the elegiac melodies of tracks like “Dark Star” and “Maker.”
They’re set for a European tour with Phantogram next month.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
