Youth Lagoon @ Union Transfer.
Text and images by Grace Dickinson.
Youth Lagoon has come a long way since 22-year-old musician Trevor Powers first came to Philadelphia back last October. By the time he played his second Philly show in November at Milkboy, the Boise native was already bigger than the band (Gardens & Villa) he originally opened for here at Kung Fu Necktie a month earlier.
Now more popular than ever, Powers made his way back for a third visit this past Monday, stopping at the city’s newest music venue, Union Transfer.
“Every time, this place reminds me of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater,” said Powers before delving into one of the tracks off his 2011 album, The Year of Hibernation. “Not sure why. It’s a great city.”
Playing alongside his “good friend” Logan on guitar, Powers pulsed over his keyboard, looking like one of those inflatable dolls you see at car dealerships that continuously bounce with the wind.
His innocently expressive lyrics about growing up, interspersed with campground ventures, rooftop hangouts and campus love, were sung to a crowd made up mainly of young hipsters and college kids who could easily relate.
“What are you all drunk on?” Powers called out to a group of drunk, barely-20-somethings standing near the front. “Who said PBR?” “PBR’s great stuff. You’re my man.”
MACH22: “Don’t You Give Me.”
Check out the new track (below) from MACH22‘s forthcoming album. And check out our story about Lamont and the guys from the winter issue of JUMP.
A Cool Stick: Keeping It Fresh.
A Cool Stick has come a long way since their triumphant appearance at their first battle of the bands contest when they were in college. They moved from Baltimore to Philadelphia and they’ve released three different projects, including their 2011 LP, Bird’s Eye View. The four-piece, alternative hip hop act has shared the stage with the likes of Drake, Big Sean and Sammy Adams.
A Cool Stick continues to spread positivity and optimism through their music, and they shared their thoughts with our Kiara McKnight.
I know you won the battle of the bands contest at your school and that set the stage for your career. Describe that moment.
Luke O’Brien: That moment was beautiful. It was the first time we ever were on a big stage playing. It was a rush – and a rush that I’m addicted to.
Brian Aranda: That moment that we won is pretty much why I’m here. It was an awesome moment for sure. No regrets at all, it’s been awesome.
You released your first mixtape in 2009 and your latest mixtape in 2011. How has the band progressed from then until now?
Luke: The first one we did was called ACoolStick.com. It was kind of all over the place. In a word, it was really elementary for us. And now we’ve grown into our own sound. The latest LP we put out, we’re super proud of. I hoped in a couple years that I would be doing something that would suprass what I was doing at the time in 2009 and this kind of exceeds my expectations. Our latest LP is awesome.
What kind of message are you trying to spread through your music?
Brian: To me, the message of the music is to be honest and have fun and do what you want in an honest way. Love your life, seize the day. We don’t try to be anything we’re not on the back end of the music and the front end of the music. Its just, “Love life.” That’s what I always want to get out of the music.
What can fans expect to see from your shows?
Luke: One thing we always try to do is hold ourselves to putting in new songs so that the set is always fresh for our fans. It’s our obligation to them to keep it fresh.
What can we expect from A Cool Stick in the future?
Luke: Definitely new videos, new songs. We’re working on a collective celebration of musicians we know and we’re bringing them all together on a blog exclusive to these acts and we’re calling it “The Camp.” And it may be launching pretty soon.
Brian: New drumsticks.
Polica @ Kung Fu Necktie.
Text and images by Grace Dickinson.
“I used to live by a Girard Street back in Minneapolis,” recalled Channy Leaneagh of Polica to a sold-out crowd at Kung Fu Necktie Saturday, just a block away from Philly’s own Girard Avenue.
It was her second time in the city, delivering the bold, reverbed vocals that give her album, Give You The Ghost, a very characterized sound.
Playing her way through many of the songs on their 2012 album, including “Wandering Star” and “I See My Mother,” Leaneagh’s voice rang true to her recorded tracks.
Alongside a very talented bassist and two drummers who coordinated surprisingly well, Leaneagh sang a few new ones as well. All had that signature electronic vocalization that strays away from the Leaneagh’s clean-cut vocals in her old band, Roma di Luna.
Polica was opened by Shai Halperin of Sweet Lights (bottom image), another reverb-heavy vocalist who echoed through room in between creative bouts of what seemed like subliminal messaging. The Philly native’s one-man-band drew a surprising crowd, packing the room pretty early on.
Polica is currently on their way to play a couple sold out shows in NYC but look for them on May 16 when they’ll be swinging by Philadelphia again to play at Johnny Brenda’s.
Reggae Revival Show: Toots and The Maytals @ The Blockley.
Top image by Andrew L. Mendelson. Text and other images by G.W. Miller III.
Toots Hibbert walked onto the stage at The Blockley Saturday night and casually strolled through one of the greatest reggae/ ska tunes of all time, “Pressure Drop.” He smiled, holding the mic about a foot from his face, and barely moved, allowing that powerful and unmistakable voice do all the work. It gave the impression that the rest of the performance might be a tame show, a legend running out the clock.
Within a few songs, however, Toots was fired up by the jam-packed crowd that bounced constantly throughout the rambunctious, two-hour long set. 
He was part James Brown, shuffling his feet frantically, and part evangelist, beckoning to the audience to respond loudly with each of his prompts. He crooned and jammed on his guitar and he toyed with the audience like the master musician he is.
It was an amazing performance, especially considering that Toots and the Maytals had their first hit, “Bam Bam,” in 1966. Toots is 66-years old and his band has legendary reggae musicians like Rad Dougie Bryan on guitar and Paul Douglas on the drums. Together, they have recorded some of reggae’s greatest songs – Toots is even credited for taking the term reggae, which was the name of a dance, and spinning it into a musical genre. It evolved from one of his hits, “Do the Reggay.”
Toots and the band performed that classic, along with “Sweet and Dandy,” “Louie Louie,” “Monkey Man” and “Reggae Got Soul.”
He teased the crowd by ending the set without playing his signature tune, “54-46 That’s My Number.” But he returned to the stage for a four song encore that ended with the classic – and it lasted about 20 minutes for the one song. He challenged the crowd to give it to him ten times, and they did. So he bellowed, “Give it to me 13 times.”
And when the crowd accurately responded, he admitted, “That’s the first time anyone ever did 13 times. I love you.”
Odd Future @ The Electric Factory.
Text and images by Chris Malo.
Frank Ocean wasn’t there. Or Syd the Kid. Or Earl Sweatshirt.
But the rest of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All massively took over – or better yet, assaulted Philadelphia on Friday night. Just two days after the release of their long awaited follow up mixtape, The OF Tape, Vol. 2, and the shutdown of their last show in Boston by the police, the Cali collective fed their frenzied fans. The only thing crazier then the group itself is their insatiable fan base.
This wasn’t their first trip to Philly. Their first trip was a wild show at the Barbary, well documented by Mtv. Then, there was a show at the recently opened Union Transfer. By 7pm this past Friday, there was a line around the block of the Electric Factory. Earlier in the day an OFWGKTA pop up shop at Exit Skateshop went down. If you missed it, the OF Sweatshop will be open and have Odd Future merchandise for the rest of the weekend. But back to the show…
About halfway through their U.S. tour, the fact that Tyler the Creator’s voice was shot and even raspier than usual, or the fact his one arm is in a cast (as is Left Brain’s), or the fact that somehow the late March evening was unusually warm and muggy, did not dampen the energy level at all.
I actually got there a little late. Doors opened at 8:30, and I heard they were showing some of their upcoming show on Adult Swim, Loiter Squad. By the time I arrived the show had already started. Walking in, the venue was mobbed. I would venture a guess to say the median age was 17 or 18. This translated to a super-packed floor. (The bar upstairs was pretty empty, requiring 21+ ID. But the merch table, manned by Lucas Vercetti whose face also is plastered on the the drape behind the stage, was packed all evening.).
Hot, sweaty and not giving a fuck, the crowd was a mix of hipsters, skaters, rap fans, preppie kids, suburbanites, black, white, Asian and almost any other demographic you might imagine. (Yes, there was a healthy amount of people rocking Supreme gear, possibly only rivaled by those wearing Odd Future tees.)
The commonality was an allegiance to Odd Future, rapping right along with every track that Tyler, Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats and Mike G went through, as Taco provided the music. These kids knew their mixtapes. The OF dudes have several different flows, and watching 16-year old girls spit word for word with a frenzied Hodgy was pretty impressive. The biggest surprise of the night was not when people went bonkers when Tyler did the group’s biggest “mainstream” song, “Yonkers” (above), but watching the house go ape-shit when they did “Rella.”
One of the things that is infectious about the Odd Future hype is you can really see that they are all close friends just having fun. There was no set list. They just went with whatever Taco threw on. And at different points, various members of the click climbed up to mess with the Macbook supplying the songs, to pick out something they wanted to do. With so many members in the group, and official and unofficial releases, plus several mixtapes between them, there is a lot of material to choose from. In between songs, there was banter back and forth with the fans. Hodgy and Tyler ended up jumping into the crowd. At one point there was nearly a scuffle but best believe this was a fucking party.
After 90 minutes, the party came to a close. Odd Future puts on a great show. It would be hard to argue anyone left feeling disappointed.
Ava Luna @ Kung Fu Necktie.
Text and images by Grace Dickinson.
Kung Fu Necktie’s dimly lit back room was barely half-filled as the main act paraded out on stage. An eight-foot gap stood between the band and the audience, making a walk towards the stage easier than getting a drink at the bar on most Saturday nights.
It was an intimate scene that likely won’t occur much longer for Ava Luna, a group of six who made their way to Philadelphia yesterday for the second time 
this year. The four guys and two gals who just got off tour in SXSW are definitely going somewhere, and not just because Pitchfork says so.
Growing up as the son of a ’70s soul DJ, Carlos Hernandez ditched a short stint in the noise-punk scene and returned to his roots to form Ava Luna. His background shines through in the band’s R&B vocals paired with indie-electronic backdrop, definitive of their Brooklyn base.
They’ve got a funk that makes you want to groove, playing off the strong vocals of Hernandez and jazzy harmonies from the back-up singers that are reminiscent of ‘60s and ‘70s bands.
It’s only a matter of time before these guys blow up. But in the meantime, the Twitter-sphere tells me you can catch these guys keeping it casual. You might even see them chowing down late-night style on Taco Bell. ($30.76 worth of Taco Bell to be exact, thanks to some handy gift cards from everyone’s favorite Darwin Deez).
Grimes and Born Gold @ The Church.
Text by Marissa Jane. Images by Grace Dickinson.
“I’m dripping sweat,” the baby-faced Claire Boucher, who performs as Grimes, screamed at an audience of paper brown bag-wielding 20-somethings in the basement of the First Unitarian Church Thursday evening. “This is a fucking sick show!
A 20-something year old herself, the Montreal-based “grave-wave” artist was ecstatic to see all the kids jiving to her short set list of dreamy homemade, vocal-based beats.
Opening act Born Gold accompanied her on the boards. This Backstreet Boys-on-party-drugs trio, also from Canada, danced on and off the stage in a lit-up Michael Jackson-esque leather jacket, stilts, black masks, and electric oriental fans. The poppy beats were kept in check by heavy bass drops through an explosion of never-ending electronic tracks from their album, Bodysongs.
Grimes gained fame through the re-tumbling of tracks “Genesis,” “Vanessa” and an awesome video for “Oblivion,” but we weren’t sure if the pint-sized musician was just a caricature of the blogosphere.
Grimes released her first two albums, Geidi Prime and Halafaxa under Arbutus records.
After collaborating with a few less-known artists and touring in North America with Lykke Li, she released her new album in the U.S., Visions, through UK label 
4AD.
Listed under Pitchfork’s Best New Music category as well as Stereogum’s best video of the week for “Oblivion,” Claire Boucher is going big things.
Her bleached cropped bangs and shoe-less performance was reminiscent of someone younger than 20 and the crowd loved it.
Claire Boucher is certainly not just a figment of the hip imagination.
She’s here to stay.
The Cold Roses @ The Trocadero.
Text and images by Michael Bucher.
A
s
St. Patrick’s Day festivities continued around the city, a party erupted at the Trocadero Saturday night.
Philadelphia blues/ country rock band The Cold Roses played a short but energetic set, part of a show presented by Praying Mantis Entertainment that featured Path Of Motion, Lions Club, Under Red Lights and Red Letter Life.
After entering the stage wearing a pair of Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses, lead singer, guitarist and occasional harmonica player Rob Clancy brought life to the crowd through an engaged and animated performance.
With Jamie Brigs on drums, Brandon Porter on bass guitar and Steve Lynn on guitar, Cold Roses played a stomping set including such songs as “Got No Lovin,” “After Midnight,” “Let Me Go’” and “If I ever Loved a Woman.”
They also played a few new, unrecorded songs, including “Ordinary Friend” and “Loose that Man.”
The Cold Roses have been aggressive in writing music and playing gigs wherever possible. Formed in late 2010, the band has made its rounds in the Philly music scene with shows at Kung-Fu Necktie, North Star and The Legendary Dobbs.
Between songs, Clancy announced that the band would be headed to Atlanta in a few weeks to record their first EP.
Publisher’s Note: It’s Happening In Philly.
The reality is that you can live just about anywhere today.
We live in a mobile age, when we connect with friends via Facebook more than we do over beers. You can buy stuff from around the world instantly, and have it sent your house – overnight if needed. You can telecommute, and never have to set foot in a cubicle hell.
Globalization and technology have changed everything, including the music industry. It’s frightening and exciting, all at once. The traditional ways we’ve done stuff are no longer the tried and true paths to success. For instance, if you want to make it in the music business, you don’t have to go to New York anymore. To be the next great indie band, you don’t have to live in Brooklyn. Or Portland. Or wherever.
You can live here. And you should.
There is amazing stuff brewing in Philadelphia. There are new venues, labels, studios and organizations popping up all over the place. New bands are formed constantly. There is energy.
And yet, it still feels like the beginning of something absolutely incredible. It’s not quite there. We’re still on the cusp.
“It’s tough to feel the buzz when you’re sitting in it,” says Milkboy Recording’s Tommy Joyner. “What’s going on in Philly is really exciting.”
He lists off a few bands doing Philly right: Dr. Dog, Nicos Gun, OCD: Moosh & Twist (below). These folks play shows across the country, jamming venues, all the while repping Philly. And then they come home to Philly.
As we talk, Marsha Ambrosius is recording in the studio adjacent to where we sit. Every time the studio door opens, the most wonderful sounds waft out. Ambrosius hails from the United Kingdom. But she lives here now.
“Outside of our world, people look at Philly as a big deal,” Joyner continues.
Tommy Joyner (above) moved to New York from his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina for music. He played in a band there for a few years and he ran a small studio in Brooklyn. Then, a friend suggested he move to Philadelphia. So he did. In 1994, Joyner launched Milkboy Recording, operating out of the old Zapf’s Music shop in Olney.
He eventually needed more space and moved his operation to Ardmore. Then, he and business partner Jamie Lokoff opened a coffee shop/ music venue. Last fall, they opened a Philly outlet for their growing empire – a bar/ coffee shop/ music venue at 11th and Chestnut. And in January, the Milkboy crew took over Larry’s Gold’s legendary recording studio on N. 7th Street.
We have world-class facilities here, including Milkboy’s new studio, which has been drawing talent for a long time now (see our story about Khari Mateen, pictured at right). We have wonderful incubators, like our friends at the School of Rock – who helped educate members of our back page cover band, Cheers Elephant. We have young, creative minds who experiment and push boundaries.
You don’t need to go anywhere else.
It’s happening in Philly.
*** Find all the stories from the spring 2012 issue here.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 