Results tagged “frankfordave”

Maybe you're all indie'd out and you're tired of the minimalist, navel gazing shite that got you through this bi-polar winter. Maybe you're tired of smacking yourself in the head, realizing that you could've seen a kick-ass band in the cozy comfort of Johnny Brenda's rather than the hips-to-asses crappy acoustics Electric Factory a year from now. Or maybe, it's Wednesday night and you want to tie one on and rock the hell out like it's Friday.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Reelblack: Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan and Chief Rocker Busy Bee: The Architect Vol. 1 at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $7 Armed America: Author Kyle Cassidy speaks about his book Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes at Germ Books and Gallery (2005 Frankford Ave), 7PM. Free Margot & The Nuclear So and So's: Margot & The Nuclear So and So's, Le...

Enon Tickets
11/5/07-11/9/07

It's rare that we get to talk about an indie rock show that features more than one band that we're familiar with and impressed by, but we're getting that chance today. Tonight at Johnny Brenda's both Film School (MySpace) and Eulogies will be playing, along with Cloud Minder and Minipop. Eulogies, on their self-titled release, plays a melancholy (but fun) alterna-pop that one might describe as emo - although we'd rather not, since emo has bad connotations, and we actually like Eulogies. (Download their track "One Man.") The vocals will remind you of J Mascis, and indeed the music has a vague Dinosaur Jr. flavor to it in general. Meanwhile, Film School, on their latest release, Hide Out, are putting out a fun, droning, new New Wave kind of indie pop, with a strong beat and a Yo La Tengo feel, and with brilliant track titles like "Sick Hipster Nursed by Suicide Girl" (a song that manages to be just as excellent as its title). (Download "Lectric," a kick-ass track off Hide Out.)

Country is usually a musical genre we studiously ignore, but Castanets do country that's something else. It's a strange, eerie, sad, atmospheric alt-country, with singer-songwriter and central member Raymond Raposa contributing intriguing, froggy vocals reminiscent of Bob Dylan's, and music that's deep and slow and thoughtful. In the Vines, the latest album from Castanets, is what we're basing these comments on, and it's a pretty interesting album, as it's partially "based on a Hindu fable about being trapped in an inescapable fate, with death and the limitations of our physical lives closing in from all corners." The rest of it is based on Raposa's own odd, wandering life. If that doesn't give you an idea what you're in for with this band, perhaps these tracks—both off of In the Vines—will:

Maybe 2007 has been the blankest year for you. Perhaps you’re not as popular as you want to be. By some mistake, maybe you’re not the starting quarterback.

When we get press releases about bands we've never heard of, we'll occasionally contact our friends in their cities of origin to see if the bands are worth catching when they come through Philly. Chicago-based band OFFICE is one such band. We talked to a friend of ours who used to write for Chicagoist, and he told us that we had to, had to, had to, catch OFFICE, because they were bound to go places, and we needed to check them out before they got too big.

The Cave Singers are a new trio out of Seattle, and their music is being described as "haunting," as "folk music approached by way of punk rock," and as "sparse, melodic, and simultaneously creepy and alluring." Those last two quotes are from Brian Barr of Seattle Weekly, and we have to agree with him pretty much 100%. We've been listening to their debut full length, Invitation Songs, and we're pretty impressed. Particular favorites of ours include the romantic "Helen," the excellent, foot-stomping "Dancing on Our Graves," and the eerie and slightly menacing "New Monuments." If you think you'd like to try these guys out for yourself, well, you're in luck! They're playing Johnny Brenda's this Friday night with Black Mountain.

Some album titles really grab you and stick in your head, and Moo, You Bloody Choir is one of those. It's the latest release from Australian band Augie March (MySpace), and happily, the music on it will really grab you, too. Their lyrics, courtesy of singer-songwriter Glenn Richards, are clever poetry, and their music is pleasant indie rock, with a bounce, a jangle, and even the occasional banjo. Favorites of ours include the whirling, enveloping, romantic opening track, "One Crowded Hour" (which you can see/hear them performing in the video included in this post), and the rocking "Just Passing Through."

Rachael Yamagata, singer/songwriter, is headed to the Johnny Brenda's tonight. If you can't make it tonight, you can see her on Tuesday, July 24th or Tuesday, July 31st. Yep, that's right - she is playing three times in Philly, a short residency of sorts. Yamagata is known for her dark, raspy alto voice and being highlighted on numerous TV shows and movies. Recently, she contributed a song to Mandy Moore's new CD, Wild Hope. On...

This is just a quick note to let you know that Ben + Vesper are playing Johnny Brenda's tomorrow night, as part of a packed bill of indie rock that also includes MV & EE, Greg Weeks, and Festival. We can't speak from firsthand about all the bands, but we've been listening to Ben + Vesper's recently released full-length All This Could Kill You, and we find it to be a lovely little recording, full of beautiful harmonies and pleasant guitar strumming. Ben + Vesper is another one of those bands that consists of a quirky married couple doing the indie rock thing. And we haven't met one of those we didn't like yet. See if you like them by downloading their song "An Honest Bluff" in mp3 format right here.

It's Thursday. That means, you have to start thinking about what you are doing for this weekend. We are going to be at Johnny Brenda's this Friday night to catch Califone. Honestly we didn't know a lot about this band, but we checked out their MySpace page and dug their music.

You may not know this, but there's a band called The Fucking Champs. They used to be called just The Champs, but they changed their name. How come? Well, swing on by their CAQ (Constantly Asked Questions) and you can find the answer:

a few months ago. So imagine our delight when we discovered that they'd be at Johnny Brenda's tonight. And that they wouldn't be alone, but that they'd actually be with the rather kick-ass band The Comas, who we've only just gotten into but we've discovered we totally dig.

If you didn't know anything about the band Trans Am (which, just for yucks, let's assume we didn't), and were basing your preconceptions of them entirely on their name, you might think they're a straight-ahead classic rock outfit with lots of guitars and songs about engines. But in fact their latest disc, Sex Change (released in February on the Thrill Jockey label), is filled with instrumental, synth-heavy, poppy post rock, and is overall pure bouncy fun. We like!

Check out Deerhunter tomorrow night at Johnny Brenda's. The band has followed up the much-fellated Cryptograms with the equally-fellated Flourescent Grey EP.

We know, it's snowing (or something like it) and yes it's still April, but we have a great band for you to go see tonight. Some of you won't want to venture out tonight, but we definitely think it will be worth it. Screw the snow/slush/rain and come out tonight to see the Headlights perform in the middle of two other bands, Page France and The Trolleyvox. All three bands are a mix of infallible...

Land of Talk Giveaway
3/28/07-3/29/07

Drunken calisthenics. That's really the mental image that the Black Lips imparts on Phillyist. See for yourself, then come back. Let the whole clip play, even the bits at the end, then tell us that this band won't be freaking awesome live.

Not only is that the title of the latest album from Philly's own The Capitol Years, but it's also what we feel the need to do this weekend after reading that a guy tried to fly from LA to Philadelphia with a magnet and some wires up his ass. Magnets are the new butt plugs.

Yo La Tengo isn't the only cool indie band in town this weekend; Texas/NYC band Calla will be playing Johnny Brenda's this Saturday with Favourite Sons and Philly's own The A Sides. Calla's got an album called Strength in Numbers coming out on Beggars Banquet on February 20th, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on a preview copy. Verdict: good stuff! Vocalist Aurelio Valle's whispery, emotion-choked voice floats over some solid, lushly romantic pop rock, composed of Valle and Peter Gannon's jangling guitars and the steady march of Wayne B. Magruder's drumming. Johnny Brenda's has video clips and mp3s from all the bands on their site, so swing on over there for a quick listen.

Have you heard of these guys Esque, out of Memphis? The name is pronounced like the suffix, meaning "like" or "having the characteristics of." And what are they like? They're only like the best post-punk, New New Wave band we've heard in a long time is what. We've been listening to their 5-track EP Everyone's Playing, and there's not a track on it we don't love (although "The Escape Artist" is a particular favorite). It's super-fun, extremely danceable, totally tasty pop goodness, and we're not sure why it's not all over the radio right now. Lucky for you, Esque is playing Johnny Brenda's this Wednesday night, so you don't have to wait for radio to catch up: you can go check them out for yourself, along with Gemini Wolf and Leopulde. So go on, and tell them Phillyist sent you!

¡Forward, Russia! Giveaway
11/24/06-11/27/06

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Fun around town, for $10 or less: