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Philly Music & Nightlife:• Seun Kuti keeps Egypt 80 going In 1997 Seun Kuti's father the larger-than-life Nigerian Afro-beat founder and outspoken political figure Fela Anikulapo Kuti died of AIDS. At the time Seun who brings his father's great 15-piece band Egypt 80 to World Cafe Live on Saturday was just 14. >> read more or comment • Casino shows and concerts Casinos Atlantic City Hilton Boston & the Boardwalk Atlantic City; 609-347-7111. www.hiltonac.com. The Beach Boys. 7/4 6 pm. Three Dog Night/Shorty Long Band. 7/5 5 pm. Beach Party - Concert by Bruce in the USA radio broadcasts & bikini contest. 7/6 10 >> read more or comment • Concert Previews Ian Walsh Like Jack Johnson before him 19-year-old Ian Walsh is a good-looking surfer-turned-songwriter with his eyes trained on mainstream success. He may hail from Hockessin Del. and tend toward moody full-band rock but his glossy new album Please >> read more or comment • Concert and club listings In Concert America's Keswick 601 Rte. 530 Whiting; 732-350-1187. www.americaskeswick.org. Gretchen & Reg Dunneman. Donations accepted. 7/6 3 pm. >> read more or comment • Enjoyable despite everything Former Clem Snide front man Eef Barzelay soldiered through an under-attended gig at World Cafe Live on Tuesday suffering technical difficulties and a somewhat indifferent audience. The show was moved from the venue's downstairs space to its smaller upstairs stage and was pushed forward an hour to make room for the previously scheduled show that followed. >> read more or comment • Black Crowes show Southern swagger Before there was My Morning Jacket the Shins and such there were the Black Crowes. They made the pop world safe for stoned soul and hippie-ish rock steeped in the legacy of hillbilly blues gospel and country. >> read more or comment • Black Crowes brilliant at TLA Before there was My Morning Jacket The Shins and such there were the Black Crowes. They made the pop world safe for stoned soul and hippie-ish rock steeped in the legacy of hillbilly blues gospel and country. >> read more or comment Philadelphia City Paper - Music Picks:• Music Picks: RZA aka Bobby Digital hip-hop ADVERTISEMENT Mon. July 7 9 p.m. $22.50 with Stone Mecca Trocadero 1003 Arch St. 215-922-5423 thetroc.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Dengue Fever rock/pop
Over the course of three albums Dengue Fever has evolved from a frisky quickie between a Cambodian pop chanteuse and California surf-rock boys into a solid union based on shared values and two-way communication. Their latest Venus on Earth (M80) shows the Los Angeles sextet as nimble as ever with moodier grooves and a deeper connection between frontwoman Chhom Nimol and guitarist Zac Holtzman. The singers' flirtation spans two continents on the English-language "Tiger Phone Card"; even better is the slinky "Sober Driver" in which he gets wise to her feminine wiles. More often though Nimol sings alone and in Khmer most seductively on the horn-y "Laugh Track." Time seems to stop when she pines for a long-gone love and you don't need to be bilingual to catch her drift. Her keening voice drips with yearning and regret in whichever tongue suits her at any given moment. But as the Farfisa-driven instrumental "Oceans of Venus" proves Dengue Fever's charms transcend words. Mon. July 7 8 p.m. $10 with Chicha Libre Johnny Brenda's 1201 Frankford Ave. 866-468-7619 johnnybrendas.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: The Chapin Sisters Folk/Pop
With the Chapin Sisters' debut Lake Bottom LP (Plain) playing in the background it's a coin toss as to whether I'll finish this preview or slit my wrists. The Sisters put their lovely three-part harmonies in service of the most over-the-top melancholy this side of Edward Gorey. In a sense it's a family affair: Abigail and Lily Chapin are daughters and nieces of respectively folkies Tom and Harry; half sister Jessica Craven is the daughter of horror maven Wes. Their morbid lyrics combine those bloodlines marrying "Cat's in the Cradle" wistfulness to Last House on the Left hopelessness. The album begins with all three intoning "My baby hates me and it's nobody's fault but mine/ He said he'd leave me but he sure is taking his time." It's a typical blend of self-loathing and contempt for others that dead-ends in violence throughout the bipolar disc. Live the dour humor of these Gashlycrumb madrigals can't help but emerge. Tue. July 8 7 p.m. $7-$10 with Margillian Pepi Ginsberg and Hacienda Green Line Café 4426 Locust Ave. myspace.com/greenlinecafeshows. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Silver Apples rock/pop
In 1967 Danny Taylor and Simeon Coxe III made their Silver Apples into a tersely minimalist furiously frightening electronic duo that — when plopped into the tender center of the Summer of Love — was like dropping a fireball into a bucket of gasoline. What made Silver Apples' sinister oscillation so potent was a synth built by Coxe called "The Simeon" that produced its creaky principal sounds. Add in Taylor's economic metronomic rhythm and you got a pre-Krautrock pre-Suicide burst of noise that still manages 30-plus years later to enthrall and disgust. Taylor died in 2005 but Coxe continues on in the name of all things sour Apple-y. For this show Philly's far-nicer-sounding Asteroid #4 aid in adding a pleasant atmosphere to the proceedings. Fri. June 27 9 p.m. $12 with Asteroid #4 and Loto Ball Show North Star Bar 2639 Poplar St. 866-468-7619 northstarbar.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Burning Brides rock/pop
It's been a rough honeymoon for the Burning Brides since they relocated from Philly to Los Angeles "the new Atlantis of the sea" as Dmitri famously put it. This isn't the Brides' first return to the place where they were "born" (the Khyber) since Dmitri and Melanie tied the knot but it is their first since dropping Anhedonia a tight frenetic burst of hard rock energy tailor-made for a beer-soaked night. As with the band's previous output expect the salty dark tones and underpinnings in the songs to contrast perfectly with the giddy schoolyard crush looks Mr. and Mrs. Coats exchange onstage. Dmitri howls convincingly on "Lovesick" but he'll betray it all with a smile and glance in Mel's direction. Good reason to come out and toast the Brides' union Anhedonia and many happy years to come. Cheers. Thu. June 26 9 p.m. $10 with Year Long Disaster and Love City Khyber 56 S. Second St. 215-238-5888 thekhyber.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Ahleuchatistas
Asheville N.C.'s Ahleuchatistas has always played brutal Beefheart-ian metal. But the trio named for both a Charlie Parker song and a Mexican revolutionary organization is at its best when keeping its music lean yet rhythmically complex. Across instrumental albums such as What You Will On the Culture Industry and Even in the Midst Ahleuchatistas prove over and over that they like repetitive themes — melodies breaks counterpoint — in a manner reminiscent of minimalist composer Philip Glass but with improv-core blasts of noise ripping through its quietest passages. Even without lyrics the band does its best to say something — like naming What You Will's most dramatic track "Remember Rumsfeld at Abu Ghraib" and giving it a smothered liquid vibe that could be the soundtrack to waterboarding. It's that intense. Mon. June 23 8 p.m. $8 with Planets Altamira and Motel Bible Black Lodge 1508 Brandywine St. 215-988-9338 blacklodgeproductions.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Thalia Zedek rock/pop
Thalia Zedek has spent most of her solo career raging against her demons but her new solo album Liars and Prayers turns that anger back on the outside world particularly the lame-duck leaders who have lied and prayed the country into a death spiral. "Don't talk to me" she howls on "Begin to Exhume." "I can't believe anything." Shot through with public and private disillusionment Liars approaches the noisy fury of Zedek's work with the Boston quartet Come returning bassist Winston Smith to the fold while retaining the mournful piano and keening violin of her previous solo records. Zedek's raspy slur is the voice of one who's been to the dark side and come back beaten but alive. It's not a journey you'd want to repeat but you can't tear yourself away as she tells the tale. Sat. June 14 9 p.m. $10 with Major Stars and Neighbors on the Moon Khyber 56 S. Second St. 215-238-5888 thekhyber.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Scary Monster rock/pop/farewell
It's a tragicomedy of poor timing. For a year and a half indie pop romantics Scary Monster played bars and basements all over town made old men dance on the boardwalk shrugged off the twee had fun and won hearts. Now that their debut full-length is ready to go they're breaking up. The quartet's appearance at the Barbary on Saturday doubles as a record release for Makeout Party at Werewolf Club (Modern Soul Records) and a farewell show since singer/guitarist (and CP contributor) Neal Ramirez is packing his bags and heading to L.A. as soon as it's over. On the upside at least he's not moving to Brooklyn. And the album left behind is a great showing band-wide. You've got drummer/Philly Girl About Town blogger Carly Marcoux whose playing is precise and whose dulcet voice totally owns one of the album's best songs ("Julianne Francis"). Bassist Steve Beach and guitarist Christian Elton fit tightly into the cozy chemistry. And for somebody who's been a part of Philly's indie pop scene for a decade Ramirez sounds more confident and cheerful here than he ever did with the Snow Fairies or the Skywriters. A more upbeat Ramirez is tough to believe but trust us. We'll miss the music and we'll miss the man. But we'll go dancing one last time like we used to. Sat. June 14 6:30 p.m. $10 all ages with Tullycraft and Surefire Broadcast the Barbary 951 Frankford Ave. r5productions.com 866-468-7619. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Alex's Lemonade Stand Benefit rock/pop
It's tough to say no to a puppy-dog-eyed kid who wants you to buy lemonade to fight childhood cancer. It's frigging impossible to say no to a solid lineup of local rockers demanding the same. The Cobbs do their space-psych thing Dark Horse and the Carousels do their hooky-mod-rocking thing and It's a King Thing do their eh king thing — the So' Jersey emo kind to be exact — all in the name of charity. A.R. Duvall and An American Chinese round out the bill and for the thirsty fear not as there will be lemonade. Mixed with vodka. Three-dolla special with proceeds going to the Wynnewood-based nonprofit. Drink up. Rock out. Do good. Fri. June 6 8 p.m. $10 The Khyber 56 S. Second St. 215-238-5888 thekhyber.com. ... read more >>• Music Picks: The Roots Picnic hip-hop
June 21? Burn your calendar. Summer starts Saturday when hometown hip-hop hometown godfathers the Roots bombard Penn's Landing with support from all over the musical spectrum. One of the most anticipated openers of course is Gnarls Barkley and the big mystery is who Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo will show up as. The duo is as well-known for playing dress-up as for their progressive twist on hip-hop. My suggestion? Keep it Philly-themed: Hall & Oates Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince Donovan McNabb and T.O. Something like that. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings will also come correct with some old-time soul and big-band instrumentation. The bill also includes funk/new wave duo J*Davey indie rock experimentalists Deerhoof and Hollertronix alums Diplo and Santogold. Don't be surprised if a whole lot of surprise guests pop up as well. But act surprised. Festivities continue at the official Tastytreats afterparty at Fluid where ?uestlove will man the decks and pay tribute to Prince on the occasion of his 50th birthday. Sat. June 7 2 p.m. $49.50 with the Roots Gnarls Barkley Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Diplo J*Davey Santogold Deerhoof the Cool Kids Esperanza and more Festival Pier at Penn's Landing Delaware Avenue and Spring Garden Street 215-336-2000 livenation.com; afterparty 10 p.m. $7 (ladies free until 11 p.m.) Fluid 613 S. Fourth St. 215-629-3686 fluidnightclub.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Circles rock/free jazz ADVERTISEMENT Fri. May 30 8 p.m. $5 with Notekillers and Soft People PiLam 3914 Spruce St. myspace.com/thepilam. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Be Your Own Pet rock/pop
Thank goodness for prolonged adolescence. Half the members of Be Your Own Pet turned 20 between their 2006 debut and their follow-up Get Awkward (Universal/Ecstatic Peace!) but speed-craving ravers like "Zombie Graveyard Party!" and "Food Fight!" suggest the kids from Nashville aren't in any rush to grow up. Jemina Pearl's sense of justice comes from late-night movies; watch riveted as she snarls sneers and spits her way through references to Heathers RoboCop Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and any number of horror films. By the time she demands "Let me eat your brain" zombiehood sounds like a viable — nay enviable — state. Better than adulthood that's for sure. Sat. May 31 8 p.m. $18-$20 with She Wants Revenge the Virgins and Switches Fillmore at the TLA 334 South St. thetla.com. ... read more >>• Music Picks: Dark Meat rock/pop
A few things you should know about Athens Ga.'s epic ensemble Dark Meat. One: If you're seeing them at Space 1026 tonight you'll probably want to bring earplugs since they're precisely as loud as you'd expect a 17-member rock band to be. Two: A humid loft gallery where 17 people are loudly filtering Neil Young CCR and Let It Bleed-era Stones through a lotta hallucinogens and circus theatrics — the horn section blaring in your ears the backup vocalists tossing streamers over your heads singer Jim McHugh flipping his sweaty Chad Channing hair in your face — sounds hellishly uncomfortable but it's totally going to make you want more. Three: If you're over 21 you're in luck. Proceed directly to Johnny Brenda's and pick up a copy of the band's reissued/expanded 2006 debut Universal Indians (Vice) to listen to as you cool off en route to their late show. Keep that adrenaline flowing with the seven-minute jams "Freedom Ritual" and "Three Eyes Open." A final thing: Two performances in one night isn't going to be enough. As the amps whirr down and the staff sweeps up the mess from the floor you'll seriously consider leaving your loved ones a crazed "goodbye" voicemail hopping in the van and joining the circus for the summer. Thu. May 29 7 p.m. $7 all ages with Quiet Hooves Space 1026 1026 Arch St.; and 9 p.m. $10 with the Po Po Johnny Brenda's 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 866-468-7619 r5productions.com. ... read more >>• Music Picks: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band rock
Trembling strings and slowly bashed drums loping guitar and an agitated Canadian recounting the sins of bankers and policemen. With Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band the ingredients are fairly standard. In any given movement the question's not what goes into the pie but whether it's meant to be shared among friends or smashed in some smug authoritarian's face. The Montreal collective's latest record 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (Constellation) is heavy on crust but doesn't forgo the fruit filling. "The hangman's got a hard-on the pretty minstrels sway" Efrim Menuck yelps on the title track. "The pundit reeks of coffin/ The banker rapes a maid." Once you've endured Menuck's moaning his abrasive guitar feels downright soothing. "BlindBlindBlind" builds from uncertain minimalism to transcendent cacophony then caps the hourlong disc with an a cappella choir swooning "some hearts are true." Romance may be just a pie in the sky but Silver Mt. Zion's full-throated endorsement of hard-won love won't make you gag. Thu. May 22 8 p.m. $12 with Vic Chesnutt First Unitarian Church 2125 Chestnut St. 866-468-7619 r5productions.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Marcin Wasilewski Trio jazz
Trumpeter Tomasz Stanko is known for his gorgeously airy atmospherics an expansive palette capable of conjuring vast ethereal landscapes. One thing he's not known for is Prince covers. But when the head cat is away ... The young Polish trio led by pianist Marcin Wasilewski was culled by Stanko fresh out of high school and have comprised three-quarters of their mentor's quartet for nearly a decade creating several albums of elusive beauty. The trio's second ECM CD apart from Stanko January is full of that sense of weightlessness a comfortable tension not of suspense but of precarious invention. But there's also "Diamonds and Pearls" a tender ballad take on Prince's New Power Generation tune. While not a tremendous departure from their wintry aesthetic (the purple-clad Minnesotan knows a bit about the cold season after all) it's a relatively sunny choice suggesting that these childhood friends retain a sense of playfulness underneath all that asceticism. Thu. May 22 8 and 10 p.m. $15 Chris' Jazz Cafe 1421 Sansom St. 215-568-3131 chrisjazzcafe.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Brass rock/pop ADVERTISEMENT Fri. May 16 9 p.m. $8 with Zelazowa Captain of Industry and Metroplex Khyber 56 S. Second St. 215-238-5888 thekhyber.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Los Campesinos! rock/pop
If you're the kind of person who goes apoplectic at the sight of an exclamation point in the middle of the sentence Welsh septet Los Campesinos! will still charm the skirt off you with their boisterous boy-girl vocals manic glockenspiel jags and improbably muscular guitars. Aleksandra Ellen Gareth Harriet Neil Ollie and Tom sing of drowning in Dewey decimal outrage over improper adjectives and the hidden heartbreak of correctly used apostrophes but their first full-length Hold on Now Youngster ... (Arts & Crafts) isn't just mood music for word nerds. "You! Me! Dancing!" nails the joy of flailing ineptly to Bis songs with that special someone while "This Is How You Spell 'Ha Ha Ha We've Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics'" is a gleefully bitter breakup letter. Los Campesinos!'s punk-ass punctuation may give you pause but consider it a blessing. Their favored breakneck pace doesn't allow much time for catching your breath so take it when you can. Sat. May 17 9 p.m. $10 Johnny Brenda's 1201 Frankford Ave. 215-739-9684 johnnybrendas.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Liam Finn/Laura Veirs rock/pop
If all you know of Liam Finn is the tedious parade of press likening his music to his dad's — that would be Neil of Crowded House — it might astonish you to hear that the younger Finn is way more "Baby Britain" than "Something So Strong." Last year's I'll Be Lightning (Yep Roc) is a delightful set of jangly jaunty indie rock recalling Elliott Smith and fellow Aussie Ben Lee with none of CH's '80s overgloss (and minimal stylistic similarities). While the famous last name probably hasn't hurt his career too much the difference between how Liam is sold and how he actually sounds is refreshing. At World Café next week Finn will be joined by Oregonian Laura Veirs (pictured) another artist thriving on the element of surprise. Following a string of pleasant but unremarkable releases Saltbreakers broke out strong pop melodies to coalesce with the established storytelling smarts making the tour de force one of 2007's best. Aided and abetted by a tight backing ensemble Veirs proves that singer-songwriters can rock too. Wed. May 21 7:30 p.m. $19 World Café Live 3025 Walnut St. 215-222-1400 worldcafelive.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: Aunt Dracula rock/pop
Within a year of its existence Philly's Aunt Dracula (Ash Andrien Scott Daly) went from playing odd frightened psychedelic folk to creating an edgier irked noise pop that comes across like Tom Zé fronting Can. Frantic is the word. Yet their debut CD Face Peel (produced with Jeff Zeigler of local shoe-gazers Relay) makes that meeting without losing a hint of the gentility or somnolent weirdness that we love about our dear old Aunt. "It's a 45-minute episodic sonic exploration of the connection between beauty and darkness" says Daly. "Some of it came from a pretty strange place in my life. I guess to me it's kinda the sound of death and rebirth if that makes sense." Scott. Your band's called Aunt Dracula. Everything makes sense. And don't be late to the show. Yeah CP has already clued you in to Papertrigger but enough can't be said about the mad angular psych-folk sounds of Philly's Hermit Thrushes or its brilliant bristling recent CD Benaki. Sat. May 10 8 p.m. $8 with Papertrigger and Hermit Thrushes Johnny Brenda's 1201 N. Frankford Ave. 215-739-9684 johnnybrendas.com. ... read more >> • Music Picks: New Philadelphia Classical Symphony classical
It is pretty much impossible to assemble a concert of typical American music these days. The field is just way too big and diverse and this is a good thing. For the all-American closer of the New Philadelphia Classical Symphony season director Karl Middleman has chosen music that represents a European style as filtered through the American experience. That is the formal structure of the music is old world while the details and accents are new world. The American influence in the music of David Diamond Thomas Canning and especially Leonard Bernstein may be heard in an open sound studded with glimmers of folk jazz and church music. This concert will also feature a premičre of a work for which the composer can claim special bragging rights as American music. Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate is a member of the Chickasaw tribe and his new work Rounds is derived from native sources. Tate will speak about his work in a talk that will precede the concert by one hour. Fri. May 9 8 p.m. $15-$35 Trinity Center for Urban Life 22nd and Spruce streets 610-664-8481 classicalsymphony.org. ... read more >> Phillyist:• Feed has moved This feed has moved to http://feeds.gothamistllc.com/Phillyist >> read more or comment Current Exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art:• Live Cinema/Carlos Amorales: Four Animations Five Drawings and a Plague • Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan • Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose (1882-1966) • Emerging to Established: 25 Years of the Center for Emerging Visual Arts • Turned and Thrown: English Pottery 1660–1820 from Local Collections • Imagining Cathay: 18th- and Early 19th-Century Chinoiserie Textiles and Embroideries from the Collection • Transcending the Literal: Photographs by Ansel Adams from the Collection • Curious and Commonplace: European Popular Prints of the 1800s • From the Renaissance to the Surreal: Gifts to the Library and Archives • Designing Modern: 1920 to the Present • Cornucopia: Recent Acquisitions in Japanese Art • Notations: Gilbert and George • Marvels of the Malla Period: A Nepalese Renaissance 1200–1603 • Multiple Modernities: India 1905-2005 • Renaissance Lombardy in the John G. Johnson Collection • The Fix on Colonial Philadelphia Furniture: A Secret Guide to Cabinetmakers’ Prices << Next Page >> |
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