Intern Matthew’s Weekend Picks: Happy Anniversary! And Other Fun Reasons To Party.
Every week, intern Matthew Albasi brings you all the shows he wishes he could go to.
It seems like it’s a weekend of annual events. We’ve got anniversary celebrations for Bands in the Backyard and The Boom Room, and there is the annual Zombie Prom. So, make sure you bring some birthday candles with you before you set out for a weekend full of awesome shows.
FRIDAY
Vacationer, Cold Fronts and City Rain at Underground Arts
Philadelphia Indie music at its finest. This show has an awesome lineup of Philly-native indie bands. It will absolutely be a blast. Vacationer will be headlining this show with their atmospheric, percussion-heavy sound. Cold Fronts have been on tour for the past year. So, you can expect their set to be wonderfully polished. Bringing up the rear is City Rain whose dancy electronica will have everyone moving.
BITBY One Year Birthday Bash with Faux Slang at Johnny Brendas
Bands in the Backyard has been making their La Blogotheque-esque videos for one full year. If you watch the videos you can see how far they have come and all the great work they have done. They’ll be celebrating this accomplishment with a concert featuring some of their past video stars like Turning Violet Violet, Heyward Howkins and, of course, Faux Slang.
SATURDAY
The Boom Room’s First Anniversary with Camp Lo at The Boom Room
Fishtown/Kenzo’s own private recording studio is turning one year old. There are too many bands to mention them all, but it will undoubtedly be an amazing event. Aside from Camp Lo, there will also be tons of local bands like Grimace Federation and Black Stars, DJ sets from the likes of Lina Luv, and even aerial acrobatics and fire performances. You can’t go wrong with this show.
Zombie Prom with Live Not on Evil and The Young Werewolves at The Troc
Eat more brains! What more can I say? The annual Zombie Prom will lure the undead hordes to Chinatown for a night of slow dancing and mayhem. Grab your undead sweetheart and crawl the night away.
SUNDAY
The Antlers and Port St Willow at Union Transfer
The Antlers newest album, Burst Apart, gave them a distinctive new sound; one punctuated by soulful electronics and meandering tunes. They will be bringing this new sound (and hopefully a few old songs) to Philadelphia. The opening band will be another New York based indie group, Port St Willow (above in a photo by Colin Kerrigan).
Moira Smiley & VOCO at Calvary Center
I can’t say that I have ever listened to a band lists “body percussion” in their description but I’m totally into it. Moira Smiley & VOCO bring together a bunch of different styles of music along with multi-part vocal harmonies, a cello, a banjo and body percussion. The end result is ridiculously cool. I can only imagine that seeing them live would be great. You can check out a few of their tracks here.
Ground Up on The Happy Hour Tour: Saturday @ The TLA.
Philly hip-hop trio Ground Up sold out the TLA in March and they’re headlining the venue for the second time, on Saturday, as part of their Happy Hour Tour.
The performance will feature tracks from their latest project, Supernatural, which was released on September 18. Each track on the mixtape has their signature chill-yet-heavy flow with a tinge of more attitude.
Our Sofiya Ballin spoke with Azar, Malakai and Bij Lincs about life since they sold out the TLA. Top image by Michael Beon. Lower image by Caitlin Morris.
How’s The Happy Hour Tour going?
Azar: The tour is about to begin and we couldn’t be more excited about it. The idea of traveling all over to share our music is still surreal to us. The tour includes 13 stops as far north as Toronto, Canada and as far south as Columbia, South Carolina. We’ve worked tirelessly to incorporate a live band into our set, something we believe has improved our show ten-fold. The band playing along side us also calls Philadelphia home. They go by the name of The Lawsuits and are talented to say the least. Above all else, The Happy Hour Tour will be a great experience for everyone in attendance.
As your fan-base gets larger, do you see a more widespread tour in the near future?
Malakai: That’s always been a goal of ours and always will be. As amazing as it is to travel up and down the East Coast and perform for our fans, we’re by no means satisfied. We’re well aware of the fact that our fan base reaches much further than where we have been able to travel in the past. Our goal going forward is to share our sound with everyone, no matter the distance.
Your new project is the Supernatural series. What was the vision for this project? Tell me about the sound and why that name?
Malakai: I like to think that this is our most adventurous and complete project to date. I say that because we consciously took risks, broke boundaries and scrutinized every second of every song until it was perfect to us. The name itself was a product of an inspirational weeklong trip we took to Amsterdam where we performed two shows alongside fellow-Philadelphian, Reef The Lost Cauze. Inside one of our favorite coffee shops, we noticed a sticker posted up that simply read, “Supernatural.” For whatever reason, we felt as though that sticker was so representative of where we were at that point mentally and creatively. It may not always make sense, follow rules, or be logical, but our music works. It’s supernatural.
Read more…
Nothing: The Darkness.
Text by Brian Wilensky. Image by Kyle Costill.
“Basically we just want to make music that makes people just want to quit,” says Domenic Palermo, singer and guitarist of Nothing.
He sits on the roof deck of his Old City apartment, drinking Crispin cider. It’s a cider kind of evening because a close friend from the U.K. is in town and that’s all his friend drinks. But it doesn’t seem to be the cider that’s getting him to open up about his band. Palermo is confident and clear about his latest band’s intentions and his message within the music.
Nothing is a bit of a stretch from his hardcore roots with Horror Show. But working with a different longtime friend, local guitarist Brandon Setta, has been just right for Palermo. Setta knows how to layer guitar sounds for Palermo’s bleak lyrics.
“There have been times that I’ve shown him stuff and he’s just like, ‘Damn, that’s dark,’” Palermo says.
Sure, there’s been some strife in Palermo’s life: two years in prison for getting into a fight that led to him stabbing someone, coming home and finding out an ex-Horror Show bandmate had been killed in a motorcycle accident, then three childhood friends from the Frankford/Kensington area dying in a four year span. But he uses such crushing experiences to fuel his work.
“I can’t say my life has been worse than anyone else’s,” he says. “I thought coming home from prison was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Then, with everything else that happened on top of that, I just wanted to laugh and say, ‘Seriously? Is this even real? Or is this a joke?’ So a lot of that definitely comes through in my writing.”
Even though the lyrics are a big part of Palermo’s role in Nothing, he sings a bit airy and often somewhat indistinctly when playing live. He says he wants the words to be audible but he modestly says that knowing the lyrics almost ruins the experience.
“As someone who just wants to send a message across,” he says, “they’re just another sound in the scheme of things.”
Their upcoming EP, Downward Years to Come, which will see an October release on Baltimore’s A389 Recordings, follows in the steps of last summer’s Suns and Lovers EP that came out on Japan’s Big Love Records. That’s because they finally found the lineup and sound they like with drummer Anthony Rossi and bassist Richie Roxas of Pet Milk, who filled in over the summer. Thematically, things are looking to be just as dismal.
“The song ‘Downward Years to Come’ is mostly about the culture I come from and the people who come from similar places as me,” Palermo says. “Every other song on the EP is about a poet who had killed himself. I make reference to them in the lyrics and I think anyone who knows those poets would recognize them in the lyrics.”
He mentions he’s never attempted suicide, and then takes a swig of his cider.
“It’s always in the air,” he says. “It’s natural. I have family members who have done it and they never came across that way. It’s just always there. This is my nod to those people who have done it. They wanted to leave something behind, and they did. I have more respect for that than any of this bullshit we deal with every day. It’s the least I could do.”
Wild Nothing and DIIV @ Union Transfer.
Text and images by Grace Dickinson.
A double dose of Brooklyn took the stage Monday night at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer. Jack Tatum of headliner Wild Nothing (above) remarked that UT was the “most beautiful venue stop on the tour so far.”
Though Tatum took the typical indie musician path to Williamsburg after the success of his first album, much of his latest, Nocturne, was written in Savannah, Georgia during what he calls a laid back period of his life. This warm Southern ease can be picked up in the dreamy pop guitar that defines the sound of Wild Nothing.
The live performance was filled with electric riffs capable of drawing your mind completely into the music. Yet each time Tatum opened his mouth, his love-filled lyrics would bring you back and make you ponder the story behind his words.
Tatum’s success actually started in the remote town of Blacksburg, Virginia during his college kid days at Virginia Tech. There, he released Gemini, which put him on the map as a lyrical mastermind.
Brooklyn band DIIV also began as a solo project, one from Beach Fossils guitarist Zachary Cole Smith. Smith later added three more members to form the grungy, long-stranded group that opened for Wild Nothing on Monday.
The quartet looked as though they could’ve walked straight out of Lord of the Rings, which almost complemented their extenuated electric, and at times, atmospheric, jams. Long stretches of few words, with the occasional unidentifiable wail into the mic by Smith, also made for a hazy, dream-like performance.
DIIV released their album, Oshin, back in June of this year. Both this album and Wild Nothing’s Nocturne were given the nod from Pitchfork as “Best New Music.”
WIN FREE TICKETS: The Afghan Whigs @ The Electric Factory Thursday!
Want to see alt rock legends The Afghan Whigs for free this week? Email us at FreeJumpStuff@gmail.com to enter to win a pair of tickets (give us your name and put Afghan Whigs in the subject line).
School of Seven Bells (below) will open the show. Should be a great time.
The Epic Kings and Idols Tour: Devin Townsend Project, Katatonia and Paradise Lost @ The TLA.
Text and images by Chad Sims.
At first glance this tour might seem like something of an odd bag to metal fans. Co-headlining would be Devin Townsend the former front man of Strapping Young Lad who disappeared from the music scene for awhile to sober up, and Katatonia, a legendary Swedish metal band who are relatively unknown in the US. Paradise Lost, the oldest of these bands and the one with the most recent US success, was opening. If nothing else this show had variety.
Paradise Lost (right) has been around since 1988, and they have gone through a number of stylistic transitions over the years. While their newer music is well-constructed goth rock, I found them to be a bit bland live. I am not that familiar with their more recent albums so maybe it is the kind of music you have to know to really appreciate live.
Katatonia was up next and the band I was most interested to see. Like Paradise Lost, Katatonia have been around for a long time, forming in 1992. They too have gone through a number of stylistic changes over time – they started as sort of a doomy black/death metal band and eventually evolved into what they are today which is a more technical metal band with many atmospheric parts and songs as seen on their newest album, Dead End Kings.
They didn’t play any of their very early material, as expected, because singer Jonas Renkse is no longer able to sing in the guttural howl characteristic of that material. They did however play a blistering set of songs from pretty much all of their other albums. Overall, I enjoyed best the songs where they switch between heavy and dreamy parts.
Before the show I was not particularly excited to see the Devin Townsend Project. I never loved Strapping Young Lad, I wasn’t terribly well associated with his solo music, and what I had heard I thought often lapsed into a brand of silliness I didn’t find amusing. After Devin (right) took the stage, however, he quickly changed my mind.
Gone was Townsend’s tough guy demeanor of his Strapping Young Lad days. It was replaced by an energetic, charismatic showmanship. Unlike some people in recovery, Townsend didn’t seem like he was clinging to positivity in-order to stay sober but instead that he had a new lease on life and was showing his true self for the first time.
Of course, Townsend’s true self is now the clown prince of metal. He even came out wearing the uniform of 1990’s comedians – jeans and a black blazer. I also can’t shake the idea that he looks like Iron Chef Michael Symon (also a notorious goof), with his newly shorn head replacing his trademark long hair.
The band’s set spanned the bizarre territory of metal, rock and roll, and show tunes but somehow they managed to pull it all off. Townsend demands energy from the crowd and responds with bombastic performance which few can match.
Before the show, I got a chance to sit down and talk with founding member and guitarist of Katatonia, Anders Nystrom, about touring the USA, their new album, and the band’s influences. Read more…
FREE SHOW FRIDAY: Chill Moody and Beano @ Love Park.
Speakers blared, drums banged and laughter was spread last week through the halls of Burndown Studios on the 4700 block of Stenton Avenue. Friends gathered as West Philly rapper Chill Moody and singer Beano prepared for their upcoming live performance at Love Park in Center City for the third installment of their Valentine’s Day project Who Do You Love?
On September 28th at noon, enjoy a free concert as the duo performs songs from the album with a five piece band.
Who Do You Love? was inspired by a combination of Moody, Beano and producer Hank McCoy’s relationship experiences.
Check out the trio behind the scenes during rehearsal in the video above, and learn what inspired some of your favorite cuts.
Middle Fingers and Country Shit: Big K.R.I.T. @ The Blockley.
Text by Sofiya Ballin. Images by Michael Bucher.
The floor of the Blockley was littered with rolling papers, drops of sweat and a fake eyelash. It was natural to assume a fight broke out.But it didn’t.
Big K.R.I.T.’s “Live From The Underground Tour” officially rolled through Philly Friday night. The tour’s namesake is in honor of his first studio album, which was released in June.
Local artist, Kidd Fresh and Dosage kicked the show off completely a cappella.
Soul Rock Ent. took the stage next, and led the crowd in a synchronized two-step to “Swaggin.” Their contagious amounts of energy kept the audience’s hype level to the maximum.
“It was electrifying,” Bucky Da Heatbreaka said. “This feeling is like no other.”
Mic Stew (right) was next. Stew’s fast delivery, teamed with a mean stage bounce, won the crowd over. He performed “That’s How You Say It” from his upcoming project, Peaceworld. Stew ended his set with a freestyle, blowing the audience away with the incendiary line, “Haters hop off my scrotum and my penis!”
“He’s nice right?!” yelled an audience member.
Mississippi rapper, Big Sant (right) strolled on and the South was officially in the building. Every song ended 
with a resounding “Biiiiiiiiiiiiittch!” from the crowd.
“It was great,” Sant said. “People were really receptive to Southern rap.”
However, Sant is no stranger to Philly hip hop.
“I like Meek Mill,” he said. “And Freeway. I really like his beard. I want mine like that.”
Slim Thug also took the stage, repping Houston, Texas in his deep drawl. There was a surprise appearance from the people’s champ, Paul Wall, tippin’ on four fours with Slim Thug.
When it came time for Big K.R.I.T., the crowd flooded to the stage. K.R.I.T. entered with a smile and got right into it, giving a performance like no other. Massive circles of pumping arms and mean mugs began to form. Middle fingers were flung up like weapons while water was splashed into the crowd fueling the excitement. K.R.I.T. jumped up and down on stage, performing the anthem-like song “I Got This.”
K.R.I.T. even jumped off the stage, into the center of the crowd and joined in. Then, it didn’t matter if you were Philly bred or Southern picked. Everyone got BUCK.
Big K.R.I.T.
Paul Wall
Slim Thug
This Way to The Egress @ The Fire.
Text and images by Matthew Albasi.
As a general rule, when you walk into a bar and you’re greeted by a man in short shorts, high socks, a smoking jacket and glittery glasses, you know it’s going to be a good night. Last Thursday was no exception when This Way to the Egress brought their circus inspired gypsy tunes –and sartorial savvy audience– to The Fire.
If you’ve never seen Egress play live, it is startling to see them take the stage. They are dressed in all manner of attire. They filled the fire’s stage all the way to the back wall. The drummer was barely visible because he was pushed so far back by his bandmates. Accordions, tubas, trombones, violins and banjos all begin to be uncased. It’s intimidating. It’s exciting.
The crowd was a bit sparse, but it was energetic. People were dancing and hooting along to the songs, clapping their hands and kicking their feet. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Oh yeah, the man in the smoking jacket? He was front and center leading the whole dance.
The bill was rounded with more carnival carnage from Frenchy and the Punk from New York, Hellblinki from North Carolina and The Absinthe Drinkers from Philadelphia.
Wendy Rollins from Radio 104.5: The Radio Lifer.
Text and images by Brandee Nichols.
Wendy Rollins traces her love of radio back to her high school days, when she lived and breathed for the local alternative station, 99X in Atlanta.
“One day I tuned in and they were playing Jane’s Addiction,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘What is this? I’m into this!’”
From then on, she was hooked. She even recorded the station on cassette tapes while she was at school. Rollins began listening to more than the music, paying attention to what the DJs were doing as well. She was astonished when she learned that one of the female DJs was also the program director.
“Wait a minute, there’s a woman running this?” she remembers thinking. “That blew my mind. So I just decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
That essentially launched a career in radio that has bounced her across the country and back. Rollins is now the assistant program director at Radio 104.5 here in Philadelphia. She helps run the station, organizes studio sessions and giveaways, keeps up with the website and works on the Live at 5 sessions, a weekly studio session for local bands. And she hosts a weekday show from noon to 6.
“Everybody says – and it’s true, ‘Once you get into radio, you really can’t get out,’” Rollins offers.
She started her radio career while in college working on her communications degree.
“I always tell people you don’t have to have a degree in communications,” she says. “You just have to have hands on experience. You have to be involved. That will get you further than anything.”
After interning at WCHZ in Augusta, Georgia for all of two weeks, she was asked to fill in on the overnight shift. During her second night on air, there was a nearby carjacking where someone was shot. The blood trail led to the station.
“I called up my boss,” Rollins recalls. “I was most concerned to let him know that I didn’t have any dead air.”
After college, she DJed in North Carolina for a few years. By then, she knew she wanted to become a program director. She did a brief stint in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and then became program director at an alternative station in Reno, Nevada. Despite having the highest ratings the station had ever seen, her position was eventually cut.
Rollins moved back home to Atlanta and took an office job. But it wasn’t long before the world of radio came knocking on her door. For the next year, Rollins worked her nine-to-five office job during the week and all weekend at 99X, the station that spawned her love of radio.
She eventually moved on to a station in Charleston, South Carolina. Then, in 2007, Radio 104.5 launched and program director John Allers offered Rollins the assistant program director position.
Now, she’s the go-to contact for the local music scene at the station.
“I think there’s a lot happening,” she says. “I’ve been pretty impressed with what’s out here in comparison to some of the other towns I’ve been in. There’s definitely some talent out here.”
Rollins also does a lot of the band and artist interviews for the station, including a memorable session with Courtney Love (above, in an image Stephen Eckert).
“I was really terrified of that one,” Rollins remembers. “Courtney’s team was like, ‘We just want to give you some warning because if it goes wrong, she might hit you.’ They literally said that to me!”
Despite half the interview being pure gibberish, the conversation flowed.
“When she left,” Rollins says, “she gave me a hug and was like, ‘I don’t know your name. It’s been very nice meeting you.’”
The station just celebrated its’ fifth birthday, meaning this is the longest run Rollins has had with any station.
“I just don’t really belong anywhere else,” she says. “I feel like I still have work to do here.”
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
