Event

My Philly faves Dysrhythmia kicked the ass of the packed after-party, as they seem destined to do at every show they play. They’re recording with Steve Albini next week. I can’t wait to hear what that sounds like.

On Sunday night I confirmed the Eagles’ loss before leaving for the show, securing a drive unobstructed by face-painted merrymakers overturning cars in anticipation of the Super Bowl. Today Is The Day made a whole bunch of scary noise that was way better live than it is on their records, at least the later ones. The microphone was halfway down Steve Austin’s throat for the duration of their set. High On Fire was likewise impressive;… See more →

I began the weekend’s festivities Saturday night, battling over parking with the cursed throngs of Philadelphia International Auto Show-goers, arriving just as Alabama Thunderpussy finished up and Cephalic Carnage prepared to take the stage. Neither of those bands ever really piqued my interest, so their antics merely served as mild amusement while I awaited the mighty Mastodon, whose Troy Sanders sports one of the greatest metal faces I’ve ever seen as he bellows through their… See more →

I caught the final two Andrew W.K. club dates of the year and even got kicked out of one of them (apparently the Chameleon Club in Lancaster has recently found reason not to tolerate members of the audience getting up on their stage).

I braved the Philadelphia blizzard fallout to get to the sold-out Interpol show at Gasoline and was rewarded with a terrific performance.

Okay, Tolkien by himself (or even filtered through the eyes of demigod Peter Jackson) generally bores me, but somehow the mythos of Middle Earth becomes completely tolerable when in the hands of a German power metal band. And so it was with great excitement that I ventured to New Jersey last night to see the triumphant Blind Guardian on the sixth date of the first ever US/Canada tour in their 15-year career. Since their albums… See more →

Judging by the way I was able to wring out my shirt afterwards—if not by the fact that my child-size fireman costume was still reasonably intact—I’d say a good time was had.

Skeleton Key at the Balcony was a bit disappointing, as I noticed that singer/bassist Eric Sanko is once again the only surviving founding member, and the new dudes don’t really do it for me.

I finally saw Matt Pond PA play at the Troc and they were damn good, though I thought it a little odd to play a record release show virtually devoid of new material.

Last night I went to the Philadelphia Ethical Society in Rittenhouse Square to see Mark Eitzel and the beautiful, beautiful Low. I was previously unfamiliar with Mark Eitzel and I really enjoyed his performance: intense, occasionally humorous acoustic folk, and his voice reminded me of the late Mark Sandman from Morphine. Low was awesome. Given their somewhat extensive discography, the set was perhaps a bit uneven with material almost exclusively from their last two albums,… See more →

I then headed over to the Balcony to see The Trauma Queens, who are always a great time.

Friday night was a packed screening of Stan Brakhage’s The Text of Light at the International House with a live improvised score by William Hooker, Christian Marclay, Lee Ranaldo and Alan Licht. It was very cool, but the hypnotic, non-objective nature of the 80-minute film somehow heightened my awareness of just how horribly uncomfortable the seats in that place are.

Thursday night was Wire and Oxes at Gasoline Warehouse. Oxes put on a great wireless show as usual—this time with no setlist—though they were clearly displeased with the Philly scene’s usual mundane lack of participation. As for Wire, I know they’re legends, but I just never listened to much of their stuff before, so I didn’t really have a frame of reference for their performance. From what I understand, they did mostly new stuff, with… See more →

Monday night was Andrew W.K. again, this time in Allentown at a super-cheesy club called Crocodile Rock. Best A.W.K. show yet, in spite of a stage-diving mishap that had me walking funny for the rest of the week. That guy’s energy and charisma is amazing.

Sunday night was Technician and Dysrhythmia at the Pontiac, and I’m really glad these guys are from Philly so I have plenty of chances to see them. Dysrhythmia: Complicated, technical mix of math rock, metal, punk, jazz and prog. Sounds unlike anyone else. Technician: Often compared to Shellac. Very stripped down, winding and unpredictable song structures. They’re touring together this fall, so check ’em out if they come to your town.

Saturday night was Andrew W.K. in Jersey, at this weird sprawling complex filled with teenagers called The Birch Hill Concert Hall. Not quite as much fun as the last A.W.K. show since it was so packed and I couldn’t be bothered to wade through the masses to get on the stage. Still a good time, though.

I drove 100 miles last night to see Andrew W.K. play in Towson, MD (near Baltimore). I found out about the show three hours before I left.

The show was opened by some crappy Seattle screamo pop punk band with matching tattoos called Vendetta Red, followed by the carefully groomed punkers Total Chaos (they’re still around and they’re still not joking), who were quick to inform the uninitiated that they are “a band that’s been… See more →

Tonight my friend Jason’s band The Trauma Queens played at the Khyber. Garage, blues, punk, ala The Hives. Loads of energy. Great show.

Friday night was a rewarding but ultimately forgettable show at the Troc with The Shins, Beachwood Sparks, and some horrible band whose name I didn’t bother to remember. (I should probably look into it so as to avoid accidentally seeing them play in the future.)

Ah, the Khyber. I hadn’t been there in awhile. Tonight’s crowd was just the size I like: the audience was large enough to make the bands feel loved, but small enough to allow me to breathe. Tonight’s highlight was Aereogramme (not coincidentally the band I went to see), a melancholy Glasgow rock band with loud/soft dynamics kind of similar to fellow Scots Mogwai, but also with some weird time signature power-riffing ala the sadly defunct … See more →

Great show last night at the Balcony.

Thoughtstreams kicked off the show around 10:00. I’d heard of them before (mostly from them playing shows with Dysrhythmia), but this was the first time I’d seen them. Impressive. Very technical, jazzy avant-metal, kind of reminiscent of Cynic, but less focused. I have to appreciate the genre parody of such song titles as “To Devour Ovaries.”

Up next was Technician, who I’ve been digging on for several months now,… See more →

There were five bands on the bill Sunday night, including Lightning Bolt, Deerhoof, Wolf Eyes, Thurston Moore with Carlos Giffoni, and 5ive (not the British boy band). The incomparable Lightning Bolt was the highlight of the show, opting to do their set on the floor on the right side of the club instead of the stage, actually cutting off the final song of Deerhoof’s set. Rock. Deerhoof was the only other band that really grabbed… See more →

Saturday night was The Fucking Champs, Rye Coalition, and Drunk Horse, the denser of the two shows in terms of quality. The Fucking Champs were excellent as usual, Rye Coalition was significantly more entertaining than the last time I saw them (insane energy, plus the singer put on some weight and has a kind of John Belushi thing going on that really works for him), and Drunk Horse, who I hadn’t heard of before, rocked… See more →

The evening was occupied by a show at a little DIY gallery/showspace called Detroit Contemporary. I don’t get into so much hardcore stuff these days, so I don’t have any glowing reviews to share, but the overall friendliness of the scene is always appealing, so I met lots of nice people wearing t-shirts adorned with band names that sound like Steven Seagal movie titles.