A couple of pretty cool psych rock bands are going to be playing Johnny Brenda's tomorrow night. We're talking about Thrill Jockey label mates Arbouretum and Pontiak. Pontiak is made up of three brothers from the Blue Ridge farm country of Virginia. Pontiak's latest and second full length release, Sun on Sun, was literally recorded in a log cabin, and alternates between eerie, groovy, guitar-driven rock and atmospheric instrumentals. Also, there's an organ! Arbouretum is......

It's surprisingly difficult, if not downright impossible, to get biographical information about The Fratellis (MySpace). Much like the Ramones did way back when, each of the three members of The Fratellis use their band's name as a surname, but as to who they are really, or what they did prior to the band's formation in 2005? Well, even Wikipedia isn't helping. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, because this trio......

Artists have used the expression "This one's for the fans" to excuse any number of musical atrocities, from crappy concert set lists to shitty albums that only a fanboy or girl could love. In the case of NIN's The Slip, the phrase was an excuse to give away the band's eighth major album. In May, lead singer Trent Reznor made available the entire album for download, as a gift to fans for years of support.......

The Omaha electro-pop quintet The Faint is coming to the Trocadero this weekend, and we suggest you check them out. We've been listening to the latest album from the band, Fasciinatiion, and we're pretty impressed. Fasciinatiion is the band’s first album in four years, and the first on their newly formed label, blank.wav—which is a great name for a label, btw. The band has something of a knack with titles, actually; they got on our......

When we go to see a band that's been around for awhile, we usually find ourselves excited to hear them play our old favorites (because the new crap they've been putting out just doesn't measure up), or we're excited to hear the new material (because it took the band a couple albums to find their stride, but now they're putting out really killer stuff). But with Counting Crows (MySpace), we're excited to hear everything,......

Fresh off a triumphant performance at last weekend’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, in which lead singer Kele Okereke sported a fetching Barack Obama T-shirt, English dance-rock foursome Bloc Party rolls into town tonight to play a sold-out show at the TLA, along with opening act Does It Offend You, Yeah? and its annoying, grammar-check-baffling moniker. This show should be anticipated for several reasons. First, there is the opportunity to see if Bloc Party’s sailor’s-knot-tight rhythms......

Singer and guitarist Thalia Zedek has been active in the American music scene for almost thirty years. She's been through a lot in that time—many band formations and break-ups, and even a heroin addiction—and it shows in her ragged, evocative voice, a voice that's been described as "a frightening tool for conveying existential despair and nothing-to-lose freedom." Now she's got her own band—the Thalia Zedek Band—and a new album from Thrill Jockey, Liars and Prayers.......

These New Puritans (MySpace) only just put out their first full length (Beat Pyramid) back in March, but they're already being hailed as the next big thing from the UK. And after listening to the record a couple of times, we can sort of see why. They have a fascinating, eclectic sound; they've been compared to, or inspired by, such disparate folks as the Wu Tang Clan, The Fall, Franz Kafka, Elizabethan magician John Dee,......

Liverpool-based band Clinic (MySpace) is playing Johnny Brenda's this Friday with BBQ (which is actually just the name under which Mark Sultan performs, and not a tasty, belated Memorial Day celebration). We mention this because we've been listening to Clinic's latest, Do It! (released early last month), and it's pretty darn good. The music is solid indie rock with a strong beat and a deep sound, but it also has a unique '60s flavor,......

We'd be the first to admit that Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band is an incredibly unwieldy and pretentious name for a band. Said band is Canadian, which might explain a little. The group was formed in 1999, and three of its seven members are also involved with Godspeed You! Black Emperor (at least, according to the Wikipedia page, although, as the page itself mentions, singer and guitarist for the band,......

It's no secret that we at Phillyist positively adore Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, both as individuals and as collaborators—better known in that context as The Swell Season. And so it should be no surprise to you that we'll be at Glen and Mar's show tonight at the Tower Theater. When last we saw The Swell Season, they were playing to a half-full crowd at the TLA. What a difference an Oscar (Best Original Song,......

"But aren't most swords made of metal?" you might ask. And we might say, "Quiet, you!" The point is, The Sword (MySpace), a heavy metal band formed in 2003 in Austin, Texas, is awesome. We've been listening to their most recent release, Gods of the Earth, over and over again, and it's so face-meltingly good we're not sure how our flesh has remained attached to our skull. It's brilliant, fantastic, rocking, stomping, old school, epic,......

Nobody in the five-piece English indie rock band The Long Blondes is blonde. You may remember them from the controversy they kicked up a while back when they said, "We do not listen to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, or Bob Dylan. We chose an instrument each and learnt to play it." Their point was that music had gotten derivative and they were trying to do something new. In fact,......

The Death Set recently released their first LP, Worldwide, and it's crazy. It's 18 tracks, but only takes about 25 minutes to listen to, because the average song length is about a minute and a half. The tracks are fast-paced, dirty, screamy pop-punk; the best are probably "Impossible" and "Day in the Wife." Death Set is playing Johnny B's tomorrow night with Bonde Do Role, Rad Racket, and GANG. Sounds like a fun line-up to......

We hope you're already aware that Sara Sherr, Philly's own friendly neighborhood music writer/show booker/show promoter/DJ/karaoke hostess/performer, has a regular event called Sugar Town highlighting the work of lady rockers and DJs, and that the next entry in the series takes place this Saturday night at Tritone. But we wanted to highlight this particular Sugar Town, as it features some folks we've been listening to a lot lately: H*E*R and Alice Cohen. H*E*R is a......

Remember The B-52s (MySpace)? Of course you do. They're probably best known for their fifth album, 1989's Cosmic Thing, featuring the singles "Roam" and "Love Shack" (whose video helped to introduce the wider world to Ru Paul). Well, nearly twenty years after their most successful release (god, we're old), and sixteen years since their last studio album, The B-52s are back with Funplex. The album proves that they haven't lost any of their quirky spunk......

The Duke Spirit Giveaway
3/31/08-4/4/08...

Mass Shivers' stated intent: "to create a sound that induced human convulsions in large groupings." We were about to say their second full-lenth, Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy, didn't induce any convulsions in us, but we're listening to it as we type this, and we're twitching back and forth and up and down in a pretty alarming fashion, so maybe they're onto something after all. Crazy infectious, mesmerizing, tribal beats and licks form themselves into some......

This Phillyist would like to thank a certain pink-haired girl for introducing me to one of the greatest bands to come out of Southern California in the '90s: The Mountain Goats. Singer-songwriter John Darnielle is pretty much the only permanent member of the band, although he's been accompanied by Peter Hughes for quite a while now, along with a shifting group of other people. The lyrics are powerful, intelligent, character-driven, and literate—but don't worry, there's......

Looking for something to do tonight? February boring you? Feel a primal need to fight the snow and the ice bearing down on our fair city? Check out The Bravery (with guests The Switches and Your Vegas) at the Fillmore at the TLA. No less than the Village Voice has proclaimed them 'New York's Next Big Thing' and the venerable Auntie Beeb called them 2005's (okay, we know it's 2008) most promising act. We'll see......

The Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire is finishing up this weekend with two big shows tonight, another tomorrow night, and the climactic Radiohead Tribute Sunday night. It all sounds awesome to us, but we wanted to give a particular heads up to you guys about one of the many bands playing Saturday night: Peasant. Peasant is actually less a band and more a guy: Damien DeRose of Doylestown. We've been listening to......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Some Art for the Wall: 5th Annual Emerging Artists and Emerging Leaders Art Auction, with entertainment by local guitarist Marisol Rampolla and an open bar, at Drexel University - Paul Peck Alumni Center (32nd and Market), 7PM. $10 There Are Some Who Aren’t?: Local author Lynn Hoffman reads from his novel bangBANG, the story of “a feisty Philly waitress,” at Molly’s Bookstore (1010 S. 9th), 7:30PM. Free......

Despite their name, NYC four-piece Vampire Weekend (MySpace) is not a shoe-gazing, emo goth band. In fact, their self-titled debut LP, just released at the end of last month, is perhaps best described as "sunny" - the very antithesis of a vampire's idea of a good weekend. This band, beloved of many blogs (including us), performs bouncy, funny, clever, retro indie/punk/pop/New Wave songs about love. Their music is so fun it feels like there has......

Ah, it's a bad photograph of a car! And that can mean only one thing: the Philadelphia International Auto Show is almost here! We're finding it hard to believe that it's already that time again, but it must be true, because whenever we go within a four block radius of the Convention Center, we see dozens of large trucks full of cars. And we snapped this shot this morning of one classic specimen already......

OK, we'll admit, the title of this post is deliberately sensationalistic, but every part of it is true, in one way or another. Anyway, it got your attention, right? What we're talking about here is the Super Furry Animals/Holy Fuck show tomorrow night at the Starlight Ballroom. We're sure you've heard of twelve-year-old British indie weirdo band Super Furry Animals. But you might not know they're doing a pretty cool thing on this tour:......

Just in time for tonight's party (will you be there?), Phillyist adds another new writer to the mix, this one the very talented—and extensively published—Joshua Valocchi. We'd like to emphasize that we brought him on as a writer long before he said nice things about Editor Jill's place of employment in a Philadelphia Weekly article, and that said article has nothing to do with his new position on the staff. Although Editor Jill may just......

They may not actually save your soul, but the Soulsavers (MySpace) - an English production and remix team comprised of members Rich Machin and Ian Glover - do have a spiritual (though not so spiritual agnostics, like this Phillyist, can't enjoy it) new album out now (It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land, their second) which will at least entertain you, and they're coming to the mighty North Star tonight to......

Mike Doughty Ticket Giveaway
11/15/07-11/16/07 ...

Fun around town, for $10 or less: At The Church: Heavy Heavy Low Low, Dance Gavin Dance, Foxy Shazam, and Tera Melos at The First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut), 7:30PM, courtesy the folks at R5. $10 An Unreasonable Man: Preview of the Independent Lens film An Unreasonable Man at the WHYY Technology Center (150 N 6th), 6PM. Free (RSVP online) Life’s Joys, Life’s Disappointments: Reception for Michael Grothusen’s new sculpture Life’s Joys—Life’s Disappointments at the......

This Sunday, a music legend comes to the World Cafe Live. And he's not just coming to play. Bob Mould (MySpace) will take part in a special Q&A session before performing an intimate acoustic set. Then he'll step aside for a screening of his first concert DVD, Circle of Friends. If that doesn't sound cool, there's something wrong with you. Bob Mould is, of course, the mastermind behind punk/college rock band Hüsker Dü and......