Text by Jennifer Granato. Images by Magdalena Papaioannou.
Gramatik’s Epigram Tour swung through Philadelphia last weekend. Hiding behind dark sunglasses and in front of a stunning visual projection screen, Denis Jašarević, the Slovenian native otherwise known as Gramatik, played to a sold out crowd at The Fillmore.
Jašarević played new tracks from his upcoming album, Epigram, during the two hour-long set, feeding the crowd music until The Fillmore shut down at 2am. His set was relentlessly exciting, bringing the crowd up and down and up again with driving, funky beats, hard drops and surprising the audience with guest vocalists.
While Jašarević has almost completely departed from Gramatik’s original sound of hip hop and trip hop, it is still there, heard in the broken beats and twangs of electric guitar. He even had a trumpet player, Ivan Jackson from Brasstracks, join him on several songs. The relaxed, laid back tracks with old soul music samples that longtime Gramatik fans are used to have been swapped out for dubstep drops and a much harder sounding style. Judging from the tracks he played on Friday, his new album seems to further explore these new sounds. All of Gramatik’s albums are available for free download on his website.
Before Gramatik, Jai Wolf hyped up the crowd with a fun, high energy set. Known for his remixes, he played a set of some of his more popular ones for a packed dance floor, including remixed tracks of Justin Beiber, Drake, ODESZA and The Weeknd.
Mark Farina and Jenaux also opened at the beginning of the night, but in particular, Jai Wolf’s set was a reminder that people shouldn’t always write off the openers.
Madeon @ The Electric Factory.
Text by Erik Whipp. Images by Magdalena Papaioannou.
The 21-year-old French DJ and music producer Madeon rose to fame from his “Pop Culture” mashup video, where he mixed upwards of 40 pop hits in real-time for YouTube in 2011. He quickly garnered himself a cult following, producing several hits in the house music genre and being graced with the ultimate head nod by DJ legend Pete Tong.
Last Saturday night, he dropped in to Philly on the second to last stop of his “Pixel Empire Tour.”
With no openers, Madeon hit the ground running, playing energetic tunes from his vast catalogue. The DJ jumped behind his three controllers and the crowd began to dance straight away to “Pay No Mind” and “Pixel Empire.” Surveying the crowd from front to back, a sea of hands, cellphones and pits of dancers were scattered amongst the 2,000+ attendees. Madeon masterfully pressed his two light-up drum pads, which then produced tantalizing colors to accompany the already hypnotic light show and visuals on the gigantic, diamond-shaped screen to his back. He twisted and twirled knobs from left to right filtering and sweeping his sounds to create impactful transitions between songs.
Madeon did not shy away from his older material, playing songs like “The City.” Everything was fair game and the crowd enjoyed themselves. Madeon, in unison with a drop of some sort, would throw his fist in the air and the fans would follow, as they screamed words of admiration. He maintained this balance between calm and climax within his set, contrasting multiple upbeat dance tunes, with relatively slow, melancholic dance ballads.
Before his encore, Madeon stepped in front of the audience to bow, about-faced and stood with his fist to chest for 4 minutes and 17 seconds. Throughout the entirety of the his motionless embrace, the crowd did not cease to applaud and holler words of endearment. He slowly reached his arm in front of him, turned to the crowd and lifted his index finger — the crowd went nuts at the thought of an encore. He plugged his DJ controller cable back into his computer and ended the show with a piano ballad turned house music jam.
Madeon smiled as the final applause erupted, held the microphone and yelled, “Thank you for coming, Philly! I hope to see you next time!”
He jumped in front of his DJ booth, bowed and hopped off to stage left.
The beauty in Madeon’s performance was not only his showmanship but also his ability to understand his audience. Throughout the approximately 2-hour show, there was constant dancing, fist pumping, jumping and shouting. Madeon personified the larger than life DJ through his keen sense of the audience’s desires, to his flawless execution of mixing, to his extended moment in the limelight.
Hopefully Madeon will venture across the pond once again to liven up the Philly dance floor with another unforgettable performance.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra @ Union Transfer.
Text by Shane O’Connor. Images by Teresa McCullough.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra played to a sold-out Union Transfer last week. Fans lined up around the block waiting to get into the Spring Garden Street venue, which was a big step up from Boot & Saddle, where the band played last time they were in Philly. With support from the indie dream pop band Lower Dens, Unknown Mortal Orchestra put on a fantastic show.
The venue was at about half capacity when Lower Dens took the stage. The Baltimore-based band was comprised of just a singer-guitarist and drummer. The duo played several songs that all seemed to mesh together a bit, creating a chill atmosphere that had people moving as if in a trance. “To Die In L.A.” was a standout track for me. It sounded like Beach House-Lite (Lower Dens actually opened for Beach House a while back).
Soon enough it was time for the main event, UMO. Everyone went wild when frontman Ruban Neilson made his way on stage. Neilson writes and records all the music for UMO and the songs off their latest album, Multi-Love, are some of the most personal Neilson has ever penned. The group launched right into a track off Multi-Love, “Like Acid Rain.” Turning the brief song into an extended jam that went right into “From the Sun,” UMO set the tone for the entire night. If you thought the album cuts were great, just wait until you heard what this band could do with them live.
Sometimes there is a disconnect between the album and live versions of a song when one person does all the writing and recording. It makes it hard for you to set your expectations of seeing the band in concert. But in the case of UMO, it was clear right from the get-go that this band was at the top of their game. Drummer Riley Geare delivered a tremendous drum solo right at the top of the set that had the crowd roaring for more. Later, keyboardist Quincy McCrary went on an extended piano solo which led into “Ffunny Ffrends.” Bassist Jake Portrait was rock steady, allowing Neilson leeway to shred on lead guitar. It was exhilarating to see such a cohesive, tight live performance.
UMO had no trouble pleasing the crowd with songs both old and new. There was the beautifully textured ballad “So Good at Being in Trouble” from II. “The World Is Crowded” was another standout track. Neilson jumped down into the crowd during “Stage or Screen,” creating an aisle through the throng of fans who all whipped out their camera phones to try and get a picture.
After closing with a great rendition of the title track from their latest album, UMO left the stage before returning to play an encore of “Necessary Evil” and “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone.” It’s hard to find a better closing song than “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone.” On the album, it’s a groovy, dance-y jam. Live, the tempo is much faster, the drums are front and center and it gets everybody moving. It was the perfect way to end a great night of music.
Swizzymack, Araabmuzik and Nadus @ District N9NE.
Text by Erik Whipp. Images by Magdalena Papaioannou.
All night, you could feel the bass shake the walls of District N9NE, the nightclub where Nadus, Swizzymack (above) and famed DJ and self proclaimed “MVP of the MPC” Araabmuzik performed last Friday night.
Nadus took the stage with an electrifying entrance. He appeared through smoke, with the tunes already underway. He set the stage for his performance with a remix of Drake’s incredibly popular “Hotling Bling.”
The crowd that had previously been focused on taking selfies and posting to social media suddenly transformed into a sea of dancers. Nadus brought with him an explosive trap drum sound mixed to perfection upon upbeat dance music. Nadus had the audience in the palm of his hands. He sealed the deal when he exited with a remix of the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” theme song. The crowd went nuts for Nadus, and his throwback finale.
Next up was Providence’s Araabmuzik. His unmatched skill on the MPC brought new energy to the show. Performing hits from the past and present like, “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavilion and “Antidote” by Travis Scott. The crowd screamed along to every word.
Araabmuzik played at 1,000 miles per hour, striking his buttons so fast, creating hard hitting trap drums while a producing a constant melody in unison. It is an incredible feat to anyone familiar with drum samplers. Every time he went on a tangential beat, the crowd roared louder than the music. In an odd way, Araabmuzik appeared to be superhuman, with lightning focus on his instrument throughout his set, seldom speaking to the crowd. He let the music speak for itself and the crowd was more than accepting.
With two thrilling performances completed, the audience was chanting for Philly’s very own Swizzymack. Swizzymack hooked up his laptop to the DJ controller and the crowd was, at last, appeased. A sense of déjà vu filled the air as Mack opened up with the same Travis Scott tune as Araabmuzik.
Swizzymack proved he was as energetic as Araabmuzik’s fingers were agile, asking the crowd constantly, “How ya’ll doing?” and “Are you ready for a good time, Philly?”
The crowd shook the venue, dancing as Swizzymack danced with them, throwing his arms about and repeatedly jumping to the front of the stage and back behind the DJ booth.
Although there were multiple sound issues throughout the night, it didn’t stop the crowd from tearing the venue down. There were no signs of distress or anger, a silent reminder that music is what brings these incalculable amounts of fans to shows. The howling fans never ceased to roar through the sets, a party well done by a group of especially talented group of DJs.
Animal Collective @ Union Transfer with Ratking.
Text and images by Rick Kauffman.
The bouncy, effervescent sounds of Animal Collective dripped, oozed and submerged listeners at Union Transfer Friday night. The show, which was sold out for months, was the first stop on a worldwide tour in support of Painting With, which dropped the same day.
AC has become a band with fans who will not only avoid videos of live shows online, but they will abstain from listening to a new album before seeing it performed. For those who anticipate their local show with great fervor, read no further.
Lined behind eyeball-centric monoliths and Easter Island-themed stone heads that warped and spiraled into oblivion amidst a surreal and fantastical light show, Animal Collective fostered a visually and aurally submersive experience Friday. Like Kraftwerk, who perform behind modular posts, the AC performers tweaked, fiddled, stuttered and sang behind transmorphic podiums that ebbed and flowed from the spiraling front-screen projector. Armed to the teeth with custom designed electronic equipment, backed by a touring drummer, the band laid heavy into the new jams in a show that was like a DJ-set of tracks, transitioning from one jam to an interlude to the next, drawing listeners into a drone-like trance of bright and sunny psychedelia.
After the uptempo opener ‘Natural Selection,’ the second song of both the set and the album, ‘Hocus Pocus,’ laid down thumping bass in a dancy marching rhythm. ‘The Burglars’ had a drum track laid down like the constant pattern played by the Beatles’ Ringo Starr in ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ on Revolver. Through the entirety of the set, the heavy bass laid fierce jungle-like beats which had the capacity crowd squeezed onto the ground floor bouncing in sync.
What one takes away from both their album records and live show is the fullness of their sound — making the room thick with tone. They even played ‘Alvin Row’ from the the band’s debut release Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, which predates the band’s moniker itself. According to a Reddit sleuth, this was the first time they’ve ever performed the track.
After the popularity of Merriweather Post Pavilion jettisoned the Baltimore-formed band into the stratosphere in 2009, they’ve become a top-billed act the world over. MPP was their poppiest and most accessible album to date, while managing to maintain their signature feel. The harmonies between singer/producers Avey Tare and Panda Bear create this back-and-forth juxtaposition of discordant, disjointed jibberish. While the delved back into the deeply obscure in their last release Centipede Hz, of which they didn’t perform a track from on Friday, their new release constitutes a shift back to the straight-forward and poppy hits that made MPP so popular, although the Pitchfork reviews aren’t as favorable this time around.
Avey Tare, otherwise David Portner, uses two mics to overdub his sung vocals often creating this broken and disjointed multi-tiered vocal effect, while Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) utilizes an echo-y, bouncy vocal style that has a dreamy lustre that is similarly mirrored in his solo venture.
The Geologist, who in his human form is known as Brian Ross Weitz, runs the sound manipulators and tracks the samples for the band, and is named for the headlamp he wears throughout the set. He said in an interview in The Observer that he and bandmates would meet in Philly before heading on tour. A self-proclaimed Philadelphian, referring to it as one of his childhood homes, it’s fitting the band chose the city to start off their 50-stop tour here.
Absent from the current album and tour is founding member Deakin (Joshua Dibbs), who split before the release of MPP, but had returned for Centipede Hz, which saw the band leave behind the pop sound for a return to their experimental roots. Painting With represents a return to the sound that made MPP so popular; the live show expands on their ever-evolving theatricality.
The Painting With tour will bring them pond-hopping from the continental US to Belgium and the Netherlands, and then back the states before returning to Spain, Portugal and the UK through September.
Opener Ratking was the perfect hype-up band to open for the nearly two-hour set by Animal Collective. The NYC-based hip hop group featured three vocalists—one of whom runs the sampling and beat-making with a combo mixer and percussion-based drum pad—along with a keyboardist and a saxophonist. They created a layer that melded classical and jazz-influence high tones with double and triple-time trap beats. A pit opened up during their last song, which was a solid prelude to the dance-centric set that followed.
Best Coast and Wavves @ The Electric Factory with Cherry Glazerr.
Text by Emily Scott. Images by Rick Kauffman.
Five years later, California natives Best Coast and Wavves took to the stage in Philadelphia for the second round of their “Summer is Forever” tour. This time, singer-guitarist Bethany Cosentino isn’t wearing “sweatpants and heels,” she joked about an emergency hospital visit before the Philadelphia show five years prior.
The evening opened with a new collective of California rock, Cherry Glazerr. The new faces on the block had no fear as they took the stage to play anthem-like guitar riffs off their 2014 album, Haxel Princess.
Cherry Glazerr frontwoman Clementine Creevy’s falsetto harmonies worked fittingly on the indie rock track “Had Ten Dollaz.” Creevy’s guitar solos and the vibrant synthesizer parts worked off each other in a playful manner.
During the song “Teenage Girl,” Creevy let loose by bobbing and flailing around the stage while singing a testimony to the world of pop culture. “Internalized so much, but so little/ Don’t make us feel belitted, world.”
Five-piece surf rockers Wavves opened their set with fast-paced rhythms that most concertgoers could barely shake their bodies in time.
Wavves played several newer tracks including “My Head Hurts,” off their late 2015 release, V. The driving snare hits and fuzzy guitar parts set the punk mood for the rest of their set as the crowd surfed and moshed. Singer-guitarist Alex Gates’ all-white guitar shined off the stage lights.
As thanks for the Philly cheesesteaks the bandmates ate earlier that day, the Californian group showered the crowd with matte silver balloons and blow-up alien figures.
Best Coast closed the evening as a five-piece, which meant only one thing: lots of guitar. The band’s change of sound was made clear through the tracks played off their latest album, California Nights.
They also played several older tracks off albums like their 2012 release Only A Place.
Cosentino brightly sang, “I wake up to the morning sun” alongside dancing guitar riffs.
A Garfield costume head crowd surfing caught the attention of Cosentino who then used the cartoon cat as a symbol of her “Boyfriend,” on the track named as stated. “This song is called Garfield,” she joked. Guitarist Bobb Bruno pet the feline before it was taken off stage.
The self-titled track, “California Nights,” showcased the growth of Best Coast. The shoegaze-influenced track goes through the elements in the five-minute long song, leading up to a psychedelic rock guitar solo from Bruno.
Even on the cold, windy night in Philadelphia, the Californian bands were able to bring some of that sunshine to the Electric Factory for part two of the “Summer is Forever” tour.
The Whips: “They Just Have to Rock! It’s Like a Disease!”
After three years together, performing alongside the likes of Sheer Mag, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Reigning Sound, The Whips are finally releasing their debut album Roots Rock Element.
Today, we’re premiering their video for “Coo Coo Coo,” which was crafted by the folks at Upland Film Company.
The “glammed-up,” “power-pop sleaze” band includes members of Far-Out Fangtooth and The Tough Shits. They’ll celebrate the cassette release on Sunday with a show at Boot & Saddle with Louie Louie and Wild Jim Banfill Group.
We spoke with The Whips’ enigmatic manager, Bobby Lasagna.
Who are The Whips? Where did you all come from?
The Whips are a bunch of weirdos. Grey is from Wisconsin, which is weird because, like, who else do you know from Wisconsin? Jug came from Upper Black Eddy, PA, which is the weirdest place I’ve ever heard of. Joe and Rusty are from NJ, so it’s weird as fuck that we even let them in the band.
Far-Out Fangtooth and The Tough Shits are still around though, aren’t they?
Who?
Why create The Whips?
The boys couldn’t help themselves. They just have to rock! It’s like a disease!
Power-pop sleaze? Where does the sound come from?
Well me and the boys used to all work at The Forum on Market Street, which was the last porn theater here in Philadelphia, until it closed in 2012. We used to have a tape of Desolation Boulevard by Sweet that we played in the break room constantly. When The Forum closed, we missed that tape so much the boys started playing their own songs to compensate. I never played no instrument before, so I figured I’d be their manager.
What’s up with the song?
It’s pretty cool right?
The video is oddly mesmerizing. What’s the inspiration?
Well, Jug’s been watching “The Brady Bunch” like non-stop since they put it on Hulu, and Rusty told me he’s been really into grapefruit recently, so he wanted to capture that on film.
What should we expect from the release show?
Well we got WILD JIM BANFILL & HIS ROLLING ROCKS to play their first show, so that will probably suck. And then next, we got those lovely ladies of LOUIE LOUIE, and then The Whips boys’ll probably play a bunch of stuff off their legendary, debut record ROOTS ROCK ELEMENT.
And you can see me, Bobby Lasagna, at the merch table. Pick up a copy on cassette. I heard them toying with the idea of just jamming “Sister Ray” by the Velvets for the entire 45 min set. You’ll have to just come and see what kind of whacky shenanigans they get into!
Philly Reps Hard At The GRAMMYS Tonight.
The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards is tonight and our city is well represented. While some of the nominees are no surprise, there may be a few either up for awards or who worked on projects up for the trophy that you may not be aware of.
In service to the nominees, the city and to you, here is a condensed list of categories and nominees to pay attention to Monday night when you tune in.
**UPDATED with winners!
Album of the Year
Andrew “Pop” Wansel, producer, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly
Best Dance Recording
Diplo, “Where Are Ü Now”
Winner!
Best Dance/Electronic Album
Diplo, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü
Winner!
Best Traditional R&B Performance
Jazmine Sullivan, “Let It Burn”
Best R&B Song
Jazmine Sullivan, “Let It Burn”
Best R&B Album
Jazmine Sullivan, Reality Show
Best Rap Song
Rennard East, writer, Kanye West’s “All Day”
Best Musical Theater Album
Tariq Trotter and Ahmir Thompson, producers, Hamilton
Winner!
Best Opera Recording
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, musical director, Mozart’s Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Diplo
Even though they aren’t mentioned or up for the GRAMMY themselves, many local music industry folk were a part of productions that are up for an award. Matt Campy played trumpet on Alejandro Sanz’s Sirope up for Best Latin Pop Album.
James Taylor’s Best Pop Vocal Album nominee Before This World has tracks Milkboy worked on. The Philadelphia Orchestra was led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and backed pianist Daniil Trifonov who tries to snag the award in Best Classical Instrumental Solo with Rachmaninoff Variations. Questlove was highly involved with D’Angelo’s album Black Messiah which is up for Record of the Year and Best R&B Album.
And while Andrew “Pop” Wansel was named for an award, he also contributed to other works nominated including Nicki Minaj’s The Pinkprint, J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly (all up for Best Rap Album), as well as Miguel’s “Coffee” (Best R&B Song) and Wildheart (Best Urban Contemporary Album).
Having a viewing party?
Let us know. Maybe we will crash it with some beer and celebrate the winners.
Rozes: “Music Was Just My Thing, Always.”
We learned about Rozes a few years back as she was starting to dig into the music industry. Then we caught her performing with The Chainsmokers on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (and The Roots!).
We missed her jam-packed record release show last week at Boot & Saddle so we decided to drop her a line to learn more about the homegrown talent who has the number one dance track in the country.
Who is Rozes? Where did she come from?
I’m a 22-year-old singer songwriter, who made my surface through electronic dance music, although that is not where I intend to stay with my career. I’m from the Philly burbs (Montgomery County), where I still currently live, but work in Fishtown, Delaware, NYC and LA.
How did you get started in music?
Music is in my blood. Everyone in my family plays at least two instruments, including my parents, who both come from musical families also.
I grew up on Jazz music, and singing standards with my dad in our music room as a kid. I started piano lessons when I was 6, and then violin around the same time. I’d like to say music is my second language but it’s really my first. I was in a world traveling children’s choir and started playing saxophone and guitar in 7th grade.
Music was just my thing, always.
You don’t see a lot of pure dance music coming out of Philadelphia. A lot of your stuff sounds like it would be huge in Europe. What are your inspirations?
Thank you! As I said, I grew up on jazz, so my inspirations have always been Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and more currently, Amy Winehouse. I also draw inspiration from Fleetwood Mac, Adele and The Police.
You are already writing stuff and performing for people around the world. How did that start?
I went through a really bad break up in high school (typical), and since music was always my escape, I figured I would try writing my own. I got to a point where singing other peoples words/music wasn’t enough anymore.
Writing was just something that came naturally to me. I always knew what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. I guess I have that kid to thank for breaking my heart.
You’ve been on The Tonight Show. You sold out your release party. Where do you go from here?
I leave for LA and I’ll be there until about mid-March doing some writing and playing some shows. When I get back, I head to Texas for SXSW which I’m totally stoked about! Then from there… new music is to be released ! It’s a journey that never ends.
The Disco Biscuits and Swift Technique @ The Fillmore.
Text and images by Chip Frenette.
On Saturday night, The Disco Biscuits played the last of their three shows at Philly’s newest big venue, The Fillmore. Along with the Biscuits, whose origins are in Philadelphia, was local funk act Swift Technique.
The Disco Biscuits are known for their stunning laser and light effects and they did not stray from the norm Saturday as they played their fusion of jam band and electronic music. The genre bending sounds of the Biscuits brings out a crowd that is just as eclectic and entertaining as the audible journey the attendees witness.
“I never miss them if they are within 100 miles of my house,”said Marc Clemmon, 26 of Abington. “It’s not just because the music. It’s always a dope scene and I always make new friends.”
Swift Technique kicked off the party. They paraded out with a booming horn section and put on a very energetic show.
The night started with Nik Greeley holding down the vocals and leading the stage antics. After a few songs, he was joined onstage by singer Chelsea ViaCava.
ViaCava was all hair and skin tight red pants and when she joined Greeley and the rest of the band onstage, Greeley asked, “Where you been?”
“I came straight from the 70s baby!” said ViaCava.
Another of the many highlights of the Swift Technique set was a plastic penguin featured front and center. Greeley and ViaCava regularly engaged the inanimate object, holding it over their heads. They then used the penguin to introduce their next song.
“You gotta pay respect to the bird!”ViaCava said. “So put your hands up and show your respect.”
The band then played their rendition of “The Bird” by Morris Day and The Time, a track made famous by the movie Purple Rain.
Greeley was really happy to open for the Disco Biscuits and it was obvious. After their set, he was beaming.
“Last year, we played the after-party for The Disco Biscuits at Voltage after their show at the Electric Factory,” he said. “This year, we are opening.”
Swift Technique’s next local show will be at Johnny Brenda’s on March 5 with the West Philadelphia Orchestra.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 