Results tagged “playlistrewind”

          

Opening band Gallows was pretty damn hardcore. Lead singer Frank Carter jumped out into the middle of the floor and sang almost the entire set in the midst of the pit. But Gallows are off the few remaining tour dates because their crazy antics have beat their bodies. So the very British band (as evidenced by the amount of times Frank said the word "fuck") flew back to England. I'm still undecided as to whether I actually liked them or not, but I was pretty entertained by the spectacle of the whole thing. However, Gallows must have gotten the bad kids all riled up because before AFI got to their encore I had shit stolen.

When watching a concert, there are many thoughts that may pop into one's head. "Oh, this is pretty cool, maybe I'll buy their album." Or, "This is putting me to sleep." When I saw Shonen Knife live at Johnny Brenda's on Monday, the thought that immediately popped into my head was, "I wish I could bake this band in to a cake so I could eat them!" That's a weird thing to say, but Naoko (guitar), Etsuko (drums) and Ritsuko (bass) would totally understand I meant it as a compliment.

Rather appropriately, Prince's "Party Like It's 1999" served as ring entrance music to the the main event at The Get Up Kids TLA show. The newly reunited band is currently touring to support their Something To Write Home About 10th Anniversary CD + DVD. After the new year they're off to see our friends in Australia and Japan, but it sure was nice to have them visit us in Philly for two dates.

I saw Disney star Ralph Covert at the World Cafe Live on Sunday and I loved it.

When I previewed Stevie Wonder's upcoming performance at the Borgata, I was excited to say the very least. The event center at Borgata is large enough to hold the crowds that an artist like Stevie can draw, but it still feels intimate. My husband and I had fantastic seats and while we waited for the show to start we passed the time people-watching, which was a treat as everyone seemed to really dress up for this show. Maybe it was being at the Borgata or maybe it was the thrill of seeing Stevie Wonder in person but we felt under dressed—me in a black dress and heels and him in a suit, that's for sure. The Borgata, by the way, is one of our favorite places to catch a show when we we're down the shore. They always treat people well, especially Phillyist people, and although it's still a casino with casino-like pricing at some of their restaurants, we had no problem heading to Metropolitan and totally annihilating one of the greatest grilled cheese sandwiches we've ever had in our lives. Dinner for two (including a glass of wine apiece) was under $50.00.

Last week at the Annenberg Center, Phillyist attended a performance by trumpeter Herb Alpert and vocalist Lani Hall. Upon hearing about the show, this Phillyist's mother expressed surprise that Herb Alpert could still be alive, and indeed, the average age of the audience was remarkably high. Alpert began the show inviting these gray-haired fans to shout out questions, and by the end of the night he had realized his mistake: voices yelled, unprompted, "We love you!" or "Herb, I just want to say this: I love your music and I love your art!" Phillyist began to worry if Alpert and company would be allowed to leave the theatre at all, or whether he would be consumed in an elderly version of the finale of the movie Perfume.

       

Somewhere in the midst of the Phillies giving us one coronary after another, we lost track of the fact that we went to the Factory a couple Saturdays ago to check out a couple of our favorite live acts, Paramore (MySpace) and Paper Route (MySpace). It's not that the show was forgettable; we just get a little crazy around Phillies playoff time.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if my dad was a militant slam poet who used eardrum shattering electronic beats and industrial hip-hop to communicate his message of individualism, anti-conformity and transcending the shackles of racism that have affected him so deeply.

Tuesday night, Pearl Jam brought their Backspacer Tour to the Spectrum, the band's only stop on the East Coast. We were initially a little surprised when we heard that Social Distortion would be opening, but by the time they performed a brazen cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," we figured out why the pairing made sense (we have to admit that a few of us only knew Social Distortion from the Reality Bites soundtrack). The band came through an underground scene that infused a harder sound into the new wave of '80s punk, a movement that encouraged grunge and other alt-rock forms. We wouldn't be surprised if, at one point in time, Pearl Jam had opened for them.

This post won't be the first to bemoan the acoustical nightmare that The Electric Factory can be. In fact, I hadn't returned there since seeing Tool over a decade ago mainly because mosh pits and tinny sound are no longer my thing. But the promise of an Andrew Bird show got me back to the Factory's sticky concrete floors and tinnitus producing sound. Fortunately, Bird survived the bee stings he endured during last week's interview with Phillyist, and as always, he didn't disappoint.

We've lamented—frequently—the craptastic acoustics at the Electric Factory. The warehouse venue has made even some of our favorite acts, who we know are great live performers—The Honorary Title being the most notable example—pretty much unlistenable. Could someone, anyone, conquer the cavernous, metallic echo chamber that is the Factory?

              

We went into the Saturday Night Rebel Rockers show at the Borgata a couple weeks ago—we know, this is long overdue—with a little bit of trepidation. After all, we were really going primarily, if not exclusively, because we're big Counting Crows (MySpace) fans. We were less than familiar with Michael Franti & Spearhead (MySpace), and the one time this Phillyist saw Augustana (MySpace), I was a little...underwhelmed. All told, we thought we'd really rather have just seen a Counting Crows headlining show, but we figured we'd take what we could get—a mishmash of the three bands playing together, swapping members, each individual band (in no particular order) playing its own songs at times. There had been some good buzz on this uniquely-formatted tour, so maybe it was our curiosity getting the best of us, but we weren't really prepared to love the show.

You know you're getting old when the pop stars of your youth have children old enough to be pop stars. As a critic, it gives you a very Statler and Waldorf vibe even before you reach the venue: you just know you're going to be in your seat, muttering incoherently about "these kids today" and their sorry excuse for music, vehemently demanding that they get off your lawn.

We were obviously psyched to see friend-of-Phillyist The Color Fred perform at The Barbary last week. After all, Fred would be doing a solo acoustic set, and he'd told us when we talked to him that he writes all of his songs on acoustic—so it was an opportunity to see him do his songs live in their original form, so to speak. But as we got ready for the show, we couldn't help but feel that something was a little bit off—the fact that it was an all-ages concert in a Fishtown dive, and it started at 6 p.m. It was just an odd location and format. But hey, that's where Fred would be, so away we went.

Apparently it was "90s Alt Rock Radio Weekend" here in Philadelphia. Not only did we have our favorite cornflake girl, Tori Amos, mystifying the Tower Theater, but we also had the Canadian post-grunge quartet Our Lady Peace rocking the TLA on Sunday. The fact that Philadelphians who yearn for the good ol' days could see both these acts on back-to-back nights was enough to bring back many happy memories of flannel and long hair for this Phillyist. And with a newly-formed Alice in Chains hitting Philly Labor Day Weekend, Dinosaur Jr. making a stop in October, and Pearl Jam finishing off the Spectrum with four epic performances, it appears as if those of us who reminisce about the awesome music of the Bush-Clinton era will have our fill this fall as well. Just like those toothy actors in the McDonald's commercials, this Phillyist is lovin' it.

       

Some music is just meant to be played in the summer. The Caribbean-influenced music of Jimmy Buffett, obviously, is summer music. As is the laid-back California surfer sound of Jack Johnson. And when you put those two kinds of music together, you get...Jason Mraz. August is naturally the time of year for music like Mraz's, so we were all in the right frame of mind for last Sunday's concert at Festival Pier. For added excitement, Mraz's primary support was Philly's own G. Love & Special Sauce. Score.

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Remember last week when we recommended grabbing one of the few remaining tickets to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Amanda Blank? Some of you lovely readers must have heeded our advice because the house was sold-out packed by the time YYY took the stage on Wednesday. If you didn't seize the opportunity when you had the chance—hate to say we told you so (no we don't) but you missed out big time, cause holy crap the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are great in concert. And if you tried to get in and couldn't, we are ever so sorry. Truly we are. We recommend consoling yourself with close-ups of Karen O in her glow-in-the-dark poncho and the recently released Heads Will Roll remix EP.

        

Here at Phillyist, we've been to our fair share of punk shows. We're well aware that there are certain rules that go along with attending said shows. Even though we know better, we broke almost all the rules at Rise Against/Rancid/Billy Talent. Inappropriate footwear? Check. Expensive sunglasses and camera that might get crushed in a mosh pit? Check. Thank god we brought along our ability to fling guys twice our size into the pit for our own protection.

The Rx Bandits (MySpace and Twitter) played at the Theater of the Livings Arts on South Street on Wednesday. They're touring in support of their new record, Mandala (iTunes / Amazon).

              

As you might have noticed, we were pretty damn excited about the XPoNential Music Festival happening at Wiggins Park in Camden this past weekend. With three days packed full of music, we were more than a little disappointed when unavoidable other commitments rendered us only able to attend the Friday evening portion of the event. Still, we were able to catch a bunch of great music courtesy that evening.

We strolled into Kung Fu Necktie at about 8:15 p.m. last Friday night looking forward to catching Audrye Sessions and Paper Route (MySpace). With the listed starting time being 8 p.m. and one band lower on the bill—initially listed as "TBD"; we found out early in the evening that the opener would be Brooklyn indie-pop outfit The Narrative—we figured that we were safe arriving a little late, that we'd catch the end of the opener's set and then be fit to rock with the bands we were really interested in catching. So we were more than a little surprised when as we walked in we offhandedly asked the bouncer, "The Narrative is on now, right?" and he responded, "No, it's Audrye Sessions."

        

When Reel Big Fish came to the House of Blues Atlantic City, Phillyist was pretty damn excited to be reliving those third-wave ska-punk memories of the mid-90s. We certainly weren't disappointed when RBF took to the stage and commanded their performance with all the fun, confidant, silly bravado we remembered so well. From their opening song, a kick-ass cover of "Take On Me" to the closer, their breakout hit "Sell Out," they owned the entire performance.

     

Normally, when we go to a show at a standing-room venue like the Electric Factory or the TLA, we try to get there right when, or shortly after, the doors open because, well, we're old farts and like to snag the upstairs bar stools. This is especially true when we're going to a sold-out show. Knowing that the Ben Folds show at the Factory this past Saturday was sold out, we actually arrived there a few minutes before the doors opened. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who got the memo, because the line waiting to get into the show ran through the Factory parking lot, all the way down 7th Street, turned down Willow Street, and made it about 2/3 of the way to 6th Street. So much for our master plan.

There aren't many performers who are surer bets to be worth the money you put down to see them than Eric Hutchinson (MySpace). Hutchinson is engaging, comedic, affable and, oh yeah, talented. Really freakin' talented. And at $12 (or $15 if you waited til the day of the show), his concert at the North Star this past Sunday was an absolute bargain.