It’s a good weekend to be outside, and there is a lot of live music happening outdoors this weekend. Also a few great shows indoors. Here are our suggestions for the next few days:
FRIDAY
Dani Mari and Rev. T.J. McGlinchey launch their summer series at FDR Park today, with Griz and Kevin Killen performing at the bandstand near the pond. Festivities start at 7.
The West Philadelphia Orchestra will jam as many people on the stage at Johnny Brenda’s as possible tonight, and that’s always good fun. See here for details.
SATURDAY
The Northern Liberties Music Festival has free music and bottomless cups of beer (with $15 donations) at Liberty Lands, on 3rd Street just north of Poplar. Here is the lineup:
4:30 – 5:00: Cheezy and the Crackers
5:15 – 5:45: Nick Andrew Staver
6:00 – 6:30: Chalk and the Beige Americans
6:45 – 7:15: E-Rx
7:30 – 8:00: School of Rock
8:15 – 9:00 Dong Johnson
Bleeding Rainbow (above) and Creepoid will play a free show at Morgan’s Pier at 6:00 pm. See here for details.
SUNDAY
Hoots & Hellmouth (above) headline the free Dock Street Music Fest in West Philly. Also performing are O’Death, The Extraordinaires, Street Walkers and Tsunami Rising. See here for details.
Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff headlines the daylong Reggae in the Park at the Mann Center. See here for details.
Modern Inventors, the project that began with Josh Benus and Matt Kass (also of The Brakes), will perform at the World Cafe Live on Sunday with James McCartney.
Diplo @ Morgan’s Pier.
After performing at the Roots Picnic on Sunday, Diplo and the Major Lazer crew ran down to Morgan’s Pier where they continued the party. Photos by Teresa McCullough.
James Murphy @ Morgan’s Pier.
After DJing a set during The Roots Picnic on Saturday, James Murphy, formerly of LCD Soundsystem, hopped down to Morgan’s Pier and DJed a set there at the after-party. Photos by Teresa McCullough.
The Cribs @ Johnny Brenda’s.
The Cribs have long been a Brit buzz band, as the West Yorkshire lads’ loud, garage punk rock has always been irreverent yet witty. The English love that combination. Johnny Marr, the legendary guitarist who gave The Smiths their rhythm, loved The Cribs so much that he became their guitarist for several years.
Marr left the group in 2011 but the band continues to rock, and rock hard. Last night, The Cribs played an ear-shattering set at Johnny Brenda’s as they began the latest leg of their North American tour.
Much of the set featured tracks from their newest album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, which was released last month. But they also dug deep into their five-album catalogue and played several songs off their self-titled debut album from 2004.
The band members – three of whom are brothers, including a set of twins – said little to the crowd throughout the night. They mentioned that they had not played Philly in two years, and they talked about Bruce Springsteen being from Philadelphia. That elicited boos, and singer Gary Jarman corrected himself, saying,”I guess I’m thinking about that song, ‘The Streets of Philadelphia.'”
Their final song was a long, cacophony of guitar shreds, and then the band walked off the stage with their guitars kicking shrill feedback to the audience. There was no encore.
Jessi Teich @ The Roots Picnic.
Day two of The Roots Picnic was heavy with hip-hop, rap and electronica.
But the opening act on the main stage (aside from afroDJiak spinning to the early arrivals) was the soulful, Philly-based balladeer, Jessi Teich.
While she has played on stages around the region, few things could have prepared her for the experience of the huge crowd and the giant stage (with an amazing view of the Ben Franklin Bridge off in the distance).
But Teich handled the situation like a pro, bantering with the crowd between belting out songs, including a few from her debut album, Barely There. She was charming, flirtatious and confident, and she engaged the audience – many of whom seemed to be at the picnic to see an entirely different style of music.
After her performance, she received loud applause and at least one person screamed, “I love you!”
Chill Moody @ The Roots Picnic.
We first met Chill Moody last fall when he performed at Milkboy during a special, invite-only opening night and we were impressed.
Chill rhymes with passion and swagger, but he also seems to be having fun. He smiles while on stage, something you see so few rappers do these days. There is a humility about him that you can’t help but enjoy, especially as he rises in popularity in Philly and beyond. Plus, he constantly gives shout-outs to his beloved West Philly, and his West Philly-based friends and family who are always in attendance at his shows.
So, it was a huge thrill to see Chill perform in the tent at the Roots Picnic on Sunday. He had a tough slot – performing after Major Lazer and before Rakim took the main stage. But Chill killed it in front of thousands of fans, including his mom, who cheered from the front row.
He performed with a live band (including Tim Sonnefeld from GANG on drums). Mic Stew, Beano and Cody Kahmar made cameos, as did Cody’s daughter Honovi, who grabbed the mic and sang a few lines as the crowd cheered.
Keep your eyes and ears open for more big stuff from Chill in the near future. This young man is on the come-up.
Rakim and The Roots @ The Roots Picnic, Day 2.
The old school vibes flowed Sunday night when Rakim (above) flowed through his classic album Paid in Full with The Roots backing him and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (below) spitting Eric B.’s lines. It was pure gold.
Things got a little dicey after the Rakim performance when Black Thought announced to the crowd that Kid Cudi, the evening’s headliner, was trapped in Las Vegas because of private jet problems.
Where other concerts might have ended, and fans might have left disappointed, The Roots didn’t let that happen. For more than an hour, they jammed through some of their greatest hits and invited local rap legends Freeway and Jakk Frost to perform.
Some young folks in Kid Cudi T-shirts seemed sad, and even angry. But the thousands of people who stayed through the evening – despite the massive rains – were rewarded by the world’s greatest live band who burned through song after song as though this was their plan all along. It was most impressive.
Things People Said at The Roots Picnic.
Our Sofiya Ballin wandered backstage at The Roots Picnic and talked to some of the great Philly music characters about The Picnic. Images by Rick Kauffman.
The 20-year old Temple student who is touring with OCD: Moosh & Twist, who performed Saturday
Were You At The Roots Picnic Saturday?
Our Grace Dickinson did some people watching during the first day of The Roots Picnic. Check out the crowd.
Major Lazer @ The Roots Picnic.
Early on during day two of the Roots Picnic – before the rain poured down, before Rakim and The Roots jammed through all of Paid in Full and well before Kid Cudi bailed , Major Lazer rewarded the crowd with a massive dance party.
Walshy Fire hyped up the audience, crowd-surfing several times, as Diplo manned the turntables. The Major Lazer dancers fiercely slithered all over the stage, bending their bodies in ways that are impossible to emulate.
Diplo followed up that set with solo set inside the side tent. Then, he held an after party at the new Morgan’s Pier.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 