Metronomy @ Union Transfer.
Text by Devin M. O’Toole. Images by Teresa McCullough.
Metronomy, the Totnes, London four-piece, are looking to make the leap. Albeit polarizing, what were once three, awkward white dudes crafting glitch-pop, bedroom instrumentals in the mid 2000s, has ballooned into a robust ’60s camp collaboration.
With the bombastic addition of flat-topped bassist, Gbenga Adelekan and the steadying 4/4 disco presence of drummer Anna Prior (of Lightspeeed Champion), Metronomy’s rhythm section has rounded out a visually pleasing presentation.
Banned Books: Making Music That Will Make You Argue.
Text by Rich Coleman. Images by Marie Alyse Rodriguez.
It’s a little after 1 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and Zane Kanevsky and Matt Dermond — who make up the entirety of the freak-out, noise-rock outfit Banned Books — are both sweating in Dermond’s basement, going through their setlist for an upcoming show.
For any casual passer-by, this could just be the sound of some band practicing. But this ritual is different. Watching the guys efficiently run through songs again and again to make sure everything is just right, one can sense an aura of excitement they’re giving off, as if this two-piece is entering somewhat unbridled territory.
It wouldn’t be too far off. Since Banned Books has slimmed down and tightened up into a two-piece, practices and songwriting sessions have increased exponentially.
“There was a year when we played maybe 75 to 100 shows but we maybe practiced once,” Kanevsky says of the three-piece era of Banned Books, a time when he and Dermond shared guitar, bass and keyboard duties while Cameron Vance managed drums.
The time spent coordinating practices began hurting the group’s creative process, though you wouldn’t know it by listening to the textured melodies, experimental instrumentation and off-the-wall, stop-start rhythms they recorded at the time.
Still, after a while, Dermond says it began to grow stale.
“It did feel kind of weird for a little while because it was like, ‘Well, all right, I guess this is what we do,’” he says. “‘We do this and we just keep doing this.’”
The complacency that might have been brewing as a three-piece for Banned Books is now replaced with enthusiasm, long days of practice and tackling new challenges that come with being a two-piece band. Kanevsky now sings and drums. Dermond works at crafting highly-detailed sounds and melodies armed only with a guitar and a rack of effects.
The duo, who has made music together in some way or another for the past 10 years, couldn’t be more excited to take on these challenges.
“Now with just the two of us, it’s like both of us want to spend our free time doing this or make more free time doing this,” Dermond says. “Right now we have the most potential. The past couple of months have been our most productive months of our songwriting ever.”
Established fans are no doubt used to the jarring, keep-you-on-your-toes nature of their past work. But what’s most interesting is how Banned Books is currently shaping its approach to songwriting and performance. There’s less of an emphasis on the weird in favor of more straight-ahead style of rock.
“There are still freak-outs and it’s still noisy,’” Kanevsky says. “‘But I feel a little less caught up in trying to be really chaotic or really spazzy and instead writing songs that rock.”
The stop-start freak-outs were beginning to become a crutch, he admits, letting inherent chaos hide any mistakes.
“I think we got caught up for a while in purposefully putting those things in our songs instead of letting them happen because we always fuck up,” Kanevsky says with a laugh. “There’re always parts where everything falls apart and no one can ever tell because we don’t stop. We just try to make it sound as good as it possibly can, regardless of the fact that one or both of us are completely not doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
It’s no doubt an exciting time to hear Banned Books. Pitting older songs like “Human Head” next to the newer pieces like “Crown Fragment” shows that the band is focused on refining its sound, making everything more purposeful. The group may be structuring more conventional songs as of late but the objective is still to be a band that fans and their friends will want to actually discuss after a show.
“You go to a show and see a band and rather than everybody saying, ‘Oh yeah, that was great’ or ‘that band sucked,’ it’s way better to have everyone leave and fucking argue,” Kanevsky explains. “I think that a lot of bands just want to please everyone or take it the complete other way and piss everyone off. And neither of those things are really exciting. It doesn’t keep you on your toes. It either bothers you or keeps you complacent.”
If there’s one thing Banned Books is fighting against, it’s complacency. With a handful of shows under their belt as a two-piece and their first full-length LP due out this year, they’re winning that battle with ease.
Amen Dunes @ Boot and Saddle on Tuesday.
Text by Michele Zipkin. Images by Tuomas Kopijaakko.
Tomorrow, May 13th, marks the release of Amen Dunes’ third full-length album, Love, via Sacred Bones Records. Having previously performed under a couple different monikers, Damon McMahon is the man at the musical helm. Jordi Wheeler and Parker Kindred contribute piano and percussion to this project, respectively. The band will headline at South Philly’s Boot and Saddle tomorrow night in celebration of their newest creation. Far-out Fangtooth and Jackie Paper will also take the stage tomorrow evening.
Text by Gabi Chepurny. Images by Jesse Marass.
The Revolver Magazine Golden God Tour stopped by to bring some seriously heavy metal to the Electric Factory last week.
Butcher Babies, from Los Angeles, began the night with a mosh pit, an impressive feat for any opening band, but even more so from a group that’s only a few years old. Lead singers Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd impressed the crowd with heavy screams and heavier growls as they delivered a stage performance on par with bands three times their age.
Supergroup Devil You Know were a sight for sore eyes, as lead signer and ex-Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones had spent some time away from Philly. Before launching into “The Killer,” Jones gave some background on the song off their new album, The Beauty of Destruction. Being the honest man hat he is, the frontman explained that he, “royally screwed over,” every single girl he’s ever dated, leading to the content of this song.
Before starting it though, he asked for every guy in the audience who’s ever done the same to a girl to make some noise. Afterward, he said with a laugh, “I’m sure your parents are so proud right now.”
Down’s frontman Phil Anselmo tore up the stage while simultaneously paying tribute to his fallen brother, Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered by a deranged fan in 2004. In the middle of their set, Anselmo showed us his soft side when he made note of “the kid with the kid.” A fan that had brought their son to the show allowed the boy onstage. The boy, who looked to be around six, was gifted with guitar picks and drumsticks from the band, and threw up the devil horns while he rocked out with Anselmo as the band launched into “Hail the Leaf.”
Headliners Black Label Society (in the top image) arrived in plumes of smoke to the sound of police sirens. Halfway through the set, frontman Zakk Wylde launched into a 10-minute guitar solo that everyone except us was into. The heavy metal gods then paid their own tribute to Dimebag with their song, “In This River.” A banner with the guitarist on it dropped from the amplifier wall and Anselmo watched from the side of the stage.
He looked out over the crowd, gave an approving nod, then turned back to finish watching the tribute, 10 years after Dime’s death.
Text by Gabi Chepurny.
Last Tuesday was a night for punks at The Trocadero.
Openers Big Eyes from Seattle flew through their set, with strong female lead vocals and grooves that sounded like what could have come out of the garage space Nirvana practiced in during the early 90’s.
Bay Area staple, Tony Molina, took the stage with minimal between-song banter but got the crowd dancing. This was good news for the one kid in orange, who simply couldn’t contain himself. As Molina and his band powered through their set, the room filled with denim vests covered in DIY-patches and an overwhelming feeling of acceptance.
Headliners Against Me! arrived to crushing applause. They made sure to deliver songs spanning multiple albums, while lead singer Laura Jane Grace flashed a wide, genuine grin at the craziness that is Philadelphia fans.
“This is fucking fun, I love Philly!” she said in surprise.
Grace’s endearing performance screamed honesty and a sense of personal comfort. In a departure from previous performances, the trans frontwoman was open about her identity, like when she introduced the song “Pretty Girls” by telling us, “I wrote this song when I wasn’t very comfortable with myself.”
More importantly, it was obvious she wanted everyone else in the room to feel comfortable with themselves, too. After explaining how society, our friends, parents, and most everyone else expects us as people to fit into predetermined boxes, she said, “Beyond boxes, beyond what’s between your legs, we’re all human beings.”
Before the end of their set, Grace explained that they were recording every performance from the tour and first asked that everyone make as much noise as possible. Afterward, she asked that everyone yell the name of the first person they slept with, so that it could be “recorded and cemented in time.” We’re going to go ahead and say that this was the best, band-crowd interaction ever.
The Man Man Experience Experience.
Text by Megan Matuzak. Images by Micheal Bucher.
For as long as the members of Man Man can remember, singer Ryan Kattner, aka Honus Honus, hasn’t been shy about donning the most flamboyant dresses and capes to make his gaggle of characters come to life.
His fashionista spidey-senses tingle when he sees clothing more akin to grandma outfits for important rituals like bingo games or church outings, Kattner remarks. But more important than his best Tina Turner or Liza Minnelli impersonations is what lies beneath it all – a refined sense of performance and what a performer should be.
“If I am uncomfortable, I should be more uncomfortable and push myself,” Kattner says. “Once you can throw yourself out on a limb, it can go places.”
Floor @ The Barbary.
Text and images by Chad Sims.
Sometime after midnight at the Barbary, the heavy riffs began. A few minutes later they stopped. Floor’s guitarist and vocalist Steve Brook’s amplifier had ceased functioning. After a brief delay and changing of amps the riffs resumed.
Floor is a Miami, Florida based doom metal band with a penchant for melodic vocals. The band had broken up in 2003 with Brooks going on to form the pop metal group Torche.
Floor had a brief reunion in 2010, and last year they announced that they would be releasing a new album. This album, Oblation, dropped just a few weeks ago. Despite forming in 1992, this was only the band’s third full-length album, but that does not mean they don’t have a prodigious output considering the 2009 compilation of their singles, EPs, splits, outtakes, and live performances, Below & Beyond, was 8 CDs long.
I am not entirely sure why the show was all ages and started at 10 PM on a Tuesday night, but those who stuck around to see Floor will tell you it was worth it. Floor’s low tuned guitars let the audience not just hear but feel the riffs to the center of their beings, however the heaviness of the music is not all about anger and aggression. Instead Brooks’ sung vocals float over the riffs and create a soft counterpoint to the epic riffs.
Hopefully, the next time Floor comes to town they will play at an earlier time and with better maintained amps so all-ages will actually get to experience this great band. On the other hand, some of the band’s banter is definitely not for all-ages (there was some discussion and pantomime of mustache rides at one point).
Hot Victory and Darsombra opened the show.
Text by Kyle Bagenstose. Images by Darragh Dandurand.
When a band’s latest album drops, there’s a reason why fans will trudge to the record store – come rain, shine or zombie apocalypse – to buy that nice, big, shiny vinyl package. It’s the same reason they stand at the merch table after shows, carefully deciding which T-shirt they want to throw $20 at and rep around the neighborhood that weekend. It’s because music is really about more than just music; it’s about what it represents.
And how best to represent your music aesthetically? That’s where brothers Jon and David Swartz, owners of Black Ink Art, come in.
“It’s definitely important to have artwork as part of the package,” says Jon Swartz, the older of the brothers. “Album art is the first thing that grabs your attention. Most musicians have a certain visual language that they want to speak in. I like to think we help them with that.”
Text by G.W. Miller III. Images by Grace Dickinson.
After nearly 30 years, the stalwart Liberties bar, part of an earlier wave of Northern Liberties revitalization, has shut down and reopened as a comfort food haven featuring live music on the second floor.
The new spot, Bourbon & Branch, presents 80 varieties of whiskey and 17 beers on tap, in addition to a menu with no entrees costing more than $20. The newly constructed upstairs venue can hold more than 100 people for live events.
WIN FREE TICKETS: Neulore and More @ Underground Arts for the Communion Philadelphia Showcase!
The monthly Communion event at Underground Arts is packed with talent for this go around, and we have free tickets for you.
The event on Thursday features Neulore (above), Bootstraps, Busy Living, Cub Sport, Joey Sweeney & the Long Hair Arkestra, Our Griffins and Heyward Howkins (below).
Hit us up at FreeJUMPstuff@gmail.com (please give us your full name and put “May Communion” in the subject line). We’ll announce winners in a few hours.
If you don’t want to take a chance, you can purchase tickets here. Tickets are only $9.50!
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 