Text and images by Tiana Timmerberg.
British rock band Enter Shikari hit the Theater of Living Arts last week as part of their 30-stop Mindsweep Tour across the United States. Joining them were Hands Like Houses, The White Noise and Chasing Safety.
Cherry Hill band Chasing Safety are no strangers to Philly and seemed very at home onstage. They played a high energy set filled with moshing and head banging, even throwing their scrims into the crowd where fans used them as trampolines.
The White Noise had no trouble maintaining the energy level set by Chasing Safety, playing loads of heavy verses and melodic choruses. Lead singer Shawn Walker’s stage presence made for a captivating set. They made sure not to leave room for any dull moments in their set and utilized the entire stage for a medley of jumping, shredding and dancing.
Hands Like Houses’ lead singer Trenton Woodley beamed while telling the crowd how excited they are to be supporting one of their favorite bands and biggest inspirations on tour, an excitement that was clear throughout their entire set. The band played a setlist comprised almost entirely of songs from their latest album Dissonants.
The subtle smell of incense burning mixed with the band’s general happiness and excitement made for all-around positive vibes during their set. They ended with fan favorite “Introduced Species,” performing to a crowd of hundreds of fans yelling the chorus back at them.
Headliners Enter Shikari walked out to strobing lights and pulsing electronic music. The band focused on feelings, explaining that their intent was to weave the crowd through as many emotions as possible. Frontman Rou Reynolds even introduced the song “Constellations” by stating his hope that this song would make as many people cry as possible.
There was no shortage of crowd surfers and the amount kept increasing as their set got progressively heavier. They seemed to really enjoy interacting with the crowd and made clear efforts to involve them in every way possible, including sending bassist Chris Batten and guitarist Rory Clewlow into the crowd to play.
Despite it being a Tuesday night, Enter Shikari had everyone going wild.
Text and images by Brianna Spause.
The first time he heard Modern Colour‘s name on the radio, it gave drummer, Tom Weir goosebumps.
Radio 104.5 has shown some love to the independent rock outfit recently, but it doesn’t end at the on-air shout outs.
When Modern Colour opened the first of the free 2016 Summer Block Party events last week at Festival Pier, it was hands down their biggest show yet.
And despite the chill of a wintry rain that beat down on dancing umbrellas and soaked ponchos throughout the crowd, the audience ate it up.
The band hit the stage with high energy, opening the set with “Try,” the single off of their latest self-titled LP.
Frontman Stephan Sirochman and guitarist Nate Ridgeway said they carefully crafted the 6-song set to “ride like a roller coaster,” incorporating their bluesy rock vibes in with songs sure to get the crowd dancing.
It was almost a public service. They had to keep everyone warm somehow, right?
The full set included “Can’t Hide,” “Mercury,” “Ridge,” “Slippin'” and “‘Till I Get My Way.”
Following their set, Ridgeway and Sirochman tossed their flannel shirts into a sea of screaming young girls. Weir followed shortly after, dancing up barefoot to toss his drum sticks into the crowd while bassist Chris Boyle just shook his head admiringly.
“I’ve never felt like I had that much power,” Weir said. “I raised my hands and the crowd came with me.”
Citing the audience’s energy and overall reception of the show, Weir said, “It was fucking awesome.”
As the Block Party wore on, the rain ceased and the crowd swelled. Aside from raising an energy that would excite the crowd for the long day of music ahead, the guys in Modern Colour played an important role in being the only band on the bill to represent Philadelphia. Kaleo, Run River North, X Ambassadors and Nothing But Thieves filled out the lineup.
Miss Modern Colour’s performance? You can catch them doing their thing on Thursday at Voltage Lounge.
As part of our partnership with Philly Beer Scene magazine, we’re documenting Philly’s relationships between music and beer. For a recent issue of Philly Beer Scene, G.W. Miller III caught up with Keith Greiman, the longtime bartender at Memphis Taproom and frontman for the funky rock group Prowler.
Two weeks after Keith Greiman got married, he went on a beer tour in Belgium.
With his friends.
Of course, he had already done the regular honeymoon stuff with his wife. The trip abroad was just another in a series of beer-related adventures with his friends, which included visits to area breweries and festivals as well as trips around the United States. He’s been to Belgium to enjoy the brews twice, actually.
“It’s just something I’ve really come to enjoy,” says Greiman, an artist who tends bar at Memphis Taproom in Kensington and serves as the frontman for the funky rock band Prowler (though he claims “stay-at-home father” as his primary occupation).
A few years ago, Greiman and his crew traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts for a craft beer festival. He saw Johnnie Compton rolling a kegerator into the hotel on a luggage cart and the two became fast friends.
Compton, it turned out, was a longtime homebrewer. But he had a dream to open his own brewery.
“He’d been threatening to do it for a long time,” says Greiman.
In April, Compton officially opened his brewery, Highway Manor Brewing Company, in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. As he set to launch his four initial beers into the world, he contacted Greiman to create the label art.
Greiman had previously created label art for Vault Brewing in Yardley. Over the years, he’s been hired to illustrate a variety of ideas for numerous publications, including Fader, the Los Angeles Times, Willamette Week, Newsweek, The Village Voice and many others.
For the Highway Manor project, Greiman enlisted the help of fellow artist and musician, Nick Apice. The two began collaborating last year, working as a team they’ve dubbed Nice Futures.
The result is four labels that combine Greiman’s eccentric shapes and bold colors with Apice’s intricate sketches.
“The artwork is really popping,” says Compton, whose beers are now appearing at restaurants and bars around the region. “We have a design that is really eye-catching.”
In the fall, Highway Manor will introduce a sour stout, Funky Prowler, named after Greiman’s band.
“Music was always on the peripheral for me,” says Greiman.
He grew up in Southampton with talented friends, Mike Stazseski and Ryan Kerrigan, and they began making music in 2000. Prowler has been an on-and-off project since 2003, including a 7-month hiatus after Greiman became a father for the first time (his second child is due any day now).
“It was always silly,” Greiman says. “They are all talented musicians but I never expected anything from the band. It was just fun.”
As he approaches his 38th birthday in June, he appreciates the ability to get on stage and go crazy all the more.
“It makes more sense to me now,” he says. “We make weird, dad rock. We’re all married with mortgages. We just go for it.”
Having the beer named after the band is an honor, he says. But the bandmates didn’t have any input in creating the taste or making the brew.
“I’m not getting my hands dirty,” Greiman says with a laugh.
As part of our partnership with Philly Beer Scene magazine, we’re documenting Philly’s relationships between music and beer. For a recent issue of Philly Beer Scene, G.W. Miller III caught up with Joe Godino, the drummer for The Menzingers who also pours beer at Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company. Photo by Jessica Flynn.
Every once in a while, someone will approach Joe Godino while he’s pouring drafts at Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company’s tasting room and they’ll say, “Just so you know, I’m a huge fan of The Menzingers.”
It’s infrequent – and flattering, says Godino, the drummer for the Philly-based punk quartet.
More frequently, he says, people ask him if he knows he looks like Jimmy Fallon. He gets that at least ten times per week.
“I don’t know,” Godino says with a laugh. “Maybe it’s an older crowd?”
For the last year or so, in between touring and writing new material with his bandmates, he has been tending bar at the Croydon brewery that has so many music connections.
The Menzingers were born out of a Scranton ska/punk band called Bob and The Sagets. Godino formed the band with childhood friends Tom May and Eric Keen. They picked up Greg Barnett after seeing him playing Against Me! songs at a show with an acoustic guitar.
They became The Menzingers, releasing their first demo tape in 2006. That year, they signed with Go-Kart Records. They’ve been on a whirlwind of success for the last decade, releasing four albums and performing around the world to adoring fans.
“The brewery thing is the only job I’ve had in a few years,” Godino says. “It just fell into my lap.”
Godino knew Neshaminy’s Philadelphia sales manager, Eric Jensen. Jensen had worked at the Bucks County based punk label Jump Start Records, which was founded by Neshaminy Creek’s co-founder and head brewer, Jeremy Myers.
“I’ll mop the floors, you know, make a few bucks.” Godino remembers telling Jensen last spring.
“It all fell into place in, like, 30 seconds,” Jensen says.
Godino started working at the brewery a few days later. Many of his co-workers are also musicians, friends of Myers via Jump Start.
“Working there is like being in a band,” Godino says. “We’re all into the same stuff.”
He didn’t have a beer background but last year, when The Menzingers toured with Taking Back Sunday, Godino and his bandmates tried to find a brewpub in every city they visited. They hit more than 20 locations. That inspired him to learn more about the brewing process.
Last summer, Godino and Jensen were hanging out, talking about bands that had collaborated with breweries, like NOFX and Champion Brewing Company.
“Dude, we got to make it happen,” Jensen told Godino.
In October, the guys from The Menzingers spent time at the brewery weighing hops, stirring ingredients, taste testing and learning about the whole process. The result was a hoppy Imperial American-style Kolsch that they named Menzinger.
“It wasn’t a jab at Kenzinger. It was just obvious,” Godino says, noting that when The Menzingers moved to Philadelphia from Scranton in 2008, they had Menzinger T-shirts printed in the style of the Kenzinger logo.
In December, Neshaminy celebrated the launch of the new brew with a show that featured Barnett and May performing acoustic for around 300 people.
Godino and Keen served as celebrity bartenders.
Text and images by Sydney Schaefer.
In the beginning of April, the boys of the popular UK emo band Basement set off on a headlining US tour in support of their newest album, Promise Everything, which dropped on Run For Cover records earlier this year.
Promise Everything is the Ipswich boys comeback to writing and playing music, as it’s their first release since they announced their indefinite hiatus only weeks after releasing their second full length LP, Colourmeinkindness, back in 2012.
Basement brought along hardcore bands Defeater and Turnstile, as well as artist Colleen Green, to the TLA for a sold-out show on Friday.
Colleen Green, a one-women band, was the first to take the stage and got the crowd going early. Next up was popular hardcore band Defeater, from Boston. The crowd was riled up, crowd-surfing and stage driving to every song.
Although the crowd went nuts for Defeater, it was only a warmup for when Turnstile took the stage and all hell broke loose. These Ohio hardcore kids were running and jumping up and down the stage during their entire set. The lead singer even jumped into the crowd to join the party a couple times.
The energy of Defeater and Turnstile really got the crowd ready for when Basement finally took the stage. The UK boys kept the momentum of the crowd going by playing an hour long set, consisting of new songs and some old favorites.
All in all, it was a good night for Philly music. Basement, please come back soon!
Images by Justin Swan.
Arts collective Tiny Room for Elephants held a listening party last week for Aime, who is about to release his new project, Book of David. Aime was backed on stage by Max Swan and Eric Boss, with DJ A List on the wheels.
Into It. Over It. @ The TLA with TWIABP&IANLATD and More.
Text by Emily Scott. Images by Erin Marhefka.
Yellow shadows and blue light cast onto Evan Weiss’ face as he played for the crowd at the Theater of Living Arts last weekend. The lead singer and guitarist for Into It. Over It. has spent the last five weeks on his national tour with The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, The Sidekicks and Pinegrove.
The evening was kicked off at 7 p.m. sharp with North Jersey-natives Pinegrove. The four-piece indie rock group quickly went from playing basement shows to national tours since signing to Run for Cover Records this past October. Hall told the Sunday night crowd that this was the largest stage and crowd the band had played for to date. Since then, Pinegrove has released two albums titled Everything So Far (quite literally) and their most recent LP, Cardinal.
Lead singer Evan Hall explores mixed emotions and feelings throughout his songwriting. On “Cadmium,” a track off of Cardinal, the singer exposes the complexities of sharing sentiments. In an article from the Fader, Hall explained the song was an inspiration from the book “I Sent You This Cadmium Red” by John Berger and John Christie. Sporting his own band’s merchandise and an AOL pin, Hall sings with full force “I send you this cadmium red, one for every layer I shed.”
Hall’s twang-like voice is met with complex string picking from lead guitarist Josh Marre and classic rock riffs, which gives the band an “alternative country” sound. Pinegrove has mostly always been Evan Hall and drummer Zack Levine. With his latest lineup including Marre and bassist David Mitchell, the group has seemed to find their sound, sonically and introspectively.
Ohio-based group The Sidekicks proceeded with a powerful punch from racing bass lines on “Hell Is Warm,” from their latest album “Runners In The Nerved World.” Singer-guitarist Steve Ciolek isn’t afraid to mix his falsetto harmonies with psychedelic guitar parts.
For their closing track, the four-piece rock group brought on Evan Weiss who joked that he wanted to play with “The Greatest Rock ‘N Roll Band in America.” The band covered nineties punk track “People Who Died” by The Jim Carroll Band.
TWIABP&IANLATD is a collective of friends and ever-changing members. For this tour, they weighed in as an eight-person band.
Originally from Connecticut, TWIABP released their third full-length “Harmlessness” back in September, which explores several themes from revenge to inner honesty. “January 10, 2014” focuses on the inner battles stemming from Diana, the Hunter of Bus Drivers: a female vigilante who murdered two bus drivers in 2013 as a response to two decades of rape and homicides of women in Juarez, Mexico.
“But, don’t you quiver. I am an instrument. I am revenge. I am several women.” Synthesizer player and vocalist Katie Shanholtzer-Dvorak sang to vocalist David Bello. Throughout the track, the band mixes ambient guitar riffs with thrashing fills– something that usually may be complex for a seven-piece band, but this group cohesively works together.
Evan Weiss’ voice pierced the air as he closed the evening’s show. The Chicago-based band played several tracks from their month-old release, “Standards.” The set opened with the single from the new album, “No EQ,” which is cymbal and fill heavy, with drone-like guitar parts–it’s one large complex sound, but it is something that comes naturally with self-aware Weiss.
The Cherry Hill-native played several old tracks, fitting enough for his temporary return home to the Philadelphia-area. Weiss discussed his reasoning behind moving to Chicago in 2008 with his then-girlfriend to pursue their art. With that, he proceeded to play “Pinky Swear” from his compilation album titled 52 Weeks.
Good Charlotte @ The TLA with Waterparks.
Text and images by McCall Cox.
Good Charlotte performed at the Theater of Living Arts last week with support from Waterparks.
Waterparks opened the night with a fresh pop-punk sound. The Houston trio consists of Awsten Knight on vocals and guitar, Geoff Wigington on guitar and Otto Wood on drums with Michael Swank joined on bass.
Knight engaged the audience throughout the band’s set, joking with the crowd members about songs and their album, Cluster.
“Go buy one, make my dad proud,” Knight said of the album.
Towards the last song of the band’s set, Knight encouraged further crowd participation in the form of crowd surfing.
“Raise your hand if you think you can make it up here by the end of this song,” said Knight, beckoning fans to surf the crowd to the front of the venue.
Waterparks played songs such as “Crave,” “Mad All The Time” and “Pink.”
Good Charlotte was soon greeted by the cheers of the audience as the band walked onto the stage. The punk rock group formed 20 years ago, in 1996, and are just returning from a hiatus that was announced in 2011. The quintet is comprised of Joel Madden on vocals, Benjamin “Benji” Madden on guitar and vocals, Paul Thomas on bass, Billy Martin on guitar and Dean Butterworth on drums.
Good Charlotte opened with their old hit “The Anthem,” followed by “The Story of My Old Man,” taking the crowd back nearly 15 years to their album The Young and The Hopeless.
“They said punk rock is dead. It wasn’t. It was just taking a nap,” said Joel as the band warmed up their set. “This is our first official show back and we knew we had to start at the TLA.”
He later added that Philly has always been a special place for the band.
“We came from nothing,” he said.“We started playing shows up here and you made us feel special.”
The Madden twins bantered back and forth during songs, as well as with the crowd. When they asked what the audience would like to hear, many fans shouted tracks from the band’s first and second albums.
“’Little Things?’ I don’t even remember … do you know the words to that one?” Joel joked to a roaring audience before beginning the song.
“Thank you for singing,” Joel added at the end of a song.“You sing better than we do!”
The band also encouraged the audience to look out for one another and supported the girls attending the show, saying that it’s nice to see women enjoying a genre that used to be historically dominated by males.
“If somebody falls down, you pick them up,” Joel instructed the crowd.“Somebody looks sad, give them a hug.”
“If you were to put a bet on people, nobody would have put a bet on us,” he continued. “And the only reason we ever mattered was because you guys came to our shows and listened to our music, and that’s a fact. Every single band in the world should be fucking saying that at their shows because it’s true. Everybody starts a band but the only reason we matter is because you guys go to the shows, listen to the music and you make it matter.”
“And because I’m amazing,” Benji Madden added jokingly.
Good Charlotte only played two tracks off their new album, Youth Authority, which is slated to be released July 15. Though the band only performed the singles released from the album, “Makeshift Love” and “40 oz Dream,” they seem excited for fans to hear the record.
“I can’t wait for you to hear the rest of it,” said Joel. “[This album] made me want to do music again.”
Benji also took a moment to impart some wisdom on the crowd, telling a story of an audience member who had told him before the show how much Good Charlotte has meant to them.
“Never underestimate the influence you can have on someone,” Benji concluded.
Good Charlotte also passed along support to Waterparks, saying the newcomers are a favorite new band. Benji Madden helped to produce the opening act’s latest EP, Cluster.
“I’m having a really good night because of you guys,” said Joel. “Tonight has been so special, so thank you so much for coming out and making this possible.”
Good Charlotte played other hits including “The River,” “Girls & Boys,” “Dance Floor Anthem,” and “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.”
Following the show, Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth said he is looking forward to playing with the band again.
“It just feels fresh because it’s been a long time,” he said. “Back then, we never stopped. To walk away from it has been good. Now, we’re all just really inspired and happy to be around each other. It feels new, even playing the old songs.”
Bassist Paul Thomas agreed, saying, “I think when you step away from something for a while and revisit it, it has a whole new light to it. It looks totally different.”
Thomas also spoke about the differences he’s noticed.
“I feel like the energy that was at the show tonight,” he said. “It’s bigger than it ever was. These kids have been listening to us for ten years and these songs are so embedded in them.”
Thomas also noted the difference in touring now.
“Before, we never established our own lives,” he said. “We were just constantly touring. And now we have things to leave. We have families and houses. It’s hard. I don’t think we’re stopping for a while now.”
Dr. Dog @ The Fillmore with Speedy Ortiz.
Text by Jared Levy. Images by Kelly Smith.
Dr. Dog returned to the The Fillmore for the second time in about four weeks, this time sharing the stage with Speedy Ortiz, which is sort of a Philadelphia band now.
Speedy Ortiz opened with songs from their full length albums, Major Arcana and Foil Deer. Both feature clever lyrics from songwriter Sadie Dupuis, a recent transplant to Philly.
“You guys have good bagels,” Dupuis told the crowd and then corrected herself, adding, “We have good bagels.”
After Speedy Ortiz’s set, Dr. Dog walked out to electronic music, stylized from the 80s. The backdrop was black with grey squares. It was a dated, sci-fi aesthetic.
They started with a fan favorite “The Beach” from their fifth album, Fate. Bassist and vocalist Toby Leaman snarled into his microphone. As usual, he wore a beanie while guitarist and vocalist Scott McMicken and guitarist Frank McElroy wore dark sunglasses. Leaman grabbed his microphone off the stand, swung his bass around his back, and leaned into the crowd. The band followed with another familiar tune, “That Old Black Hole” from Be the Void.
A man in the crowd lifted the sides of his Dr. Dog beanie to look like a sailor’s cap and danced with abandon, as many others did.
The third song was “Distant Light.” Later they played a new one, “Bring My Baby Back,” from their latest album, The Psychedelic Swamp, a recovered side-project. These songs seamlessly blended into older ones like, “Phenomenon” and “Shadow People,” where McMicken played guitar with windmill strums like Pete Townshend. He and McElroy traded licks. They played “The Way the Lazy Do,” highlighting that a pleasure of seeing Dr. Dog live is hearing their expert harmonies.
For the encore, Leaman asked for requests from the audience. He got “Say Something” while McMicken got “Nelly.” There was barely a pause from the request to the song. It was impressive to see a band prepared to play anything from their catalogue. They did it easily. It’s a wonder whether they do this for every crowd.
They gave a lot to this performance. As they sang about Philadelphia, in songs like “Alaska,” it felt that much closer to the audience’s experience. There was an audible enthusiasm for these native sons. They played brilliantly at The Fillmore as they usually do when they come home.
Alex G and Porches @ Union Transfer.
Text and images by Patrick Clark.
Alex G and Porches headlined a sold out concert at Union Transfer last Thursday. The show came on the tail end of a nationwide tour with Kansas’ Your Friend. All three acts toured in support of albums released in the past year.
Porches brought out introspective dance tunes from their February release, Pool, which treads upon new territory for Aaron Maine’s genre-bending project.
Following Porches, Alex Giannascoli made his return to Philadelphia for the first time since playing Everybody hits during the Kat Kat Phest in December. He had an energetic set that concluded with an encore in which friends of the band danced on stage and Giannascoli played “Change,” a fan favorite.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 