Results tagged “previews”

No World Series game tonight, folks, which means that you can head out to see what's actually going on in the Philadelphia area—as long as you aren't relying on SEPTA to get you there.

Hang on, baseball fans. This week, the city's spotlight belongs on the Spectrum, where it will shine for four nights on the men of Pearl Jam and the fans who kept the venue in business for over 55 years.

The first time I heard these words, I was in a nightclub in North London. My first reaction was, "Europeans really do listen to some weird shit...and I dig it." At the time, I had no clue that what I was hearing wasn't really European at all, but decidedly American, as these were the opening lines of "Danger! High Voltage" by Detroit rockers Electric Six (MySpace). That was the beginning of a four-month long borderline obsession with the disco-funk-pop-rock outfit responsible for such catchy, politically incorrect numbers as "Gay Bar" and "Infected Girls."

We have a confession. Let's just get it out there, because the truth will set us free, right. We're not 16-year-old angsty girls, and yet we still find Paramore (MySpace) inexplicably compelling and listenable. There, we said it. We feel much better now.

If you don't know singer/songwriter Erin McCarley's music, you should. Like, right now. You can start by listening to her full album on MySpace, and then coming to see her this Sunday, October 11, at World Cafe Live. Tickets are $13, which is a helluva bargain. (Her album, Love, Save the Empty, is only her first. Give her a year or two to really catch on, and tickets prices are going to skyrocket.)

Looking to kick off your weekend with a bang? A headbang, that is. Well, you'll have a prime opportunity to get a jump on your self-induced weekend migraine when the hardDrive Live Tour hits the Troc tomorrow night. HardDrive Live is the inaugural national tour from syndicated hard rock radio show—wait for it—hardDrive. And for its first foray into a live concert tour, hardDrive has packed in some top-notch acts.

It's been three years since Regina Spektor (MySpace) first charmed the world with her vocal stylings on her breakout single "Fidelity." For years, she'd been building an audience under the radar with her superb musicianship and eclectic sound, but that song really put her on the national map, at least for a brief time. Could she keep people's attention, or at least regain it after the buzz of "Fidelity" died down a bit?

Canadian musicians The Weakerthans are one of the few bands (actually, the only one we have found so far) that can tug so effectively at your heartstrings while singing from the perspective of a cat.

What's that you say? Phillyist really digs Rhett Miller (MySpace), frontman of the Old 97's? No! Why would you say that?

Let's face it: Phillyist is never going to stop encouraging you to check out Matt Duke (MySpace). He's one of our favorite performers, and a local, so we're just going to keep plugging his shows until the world—or at least the entire City of Brotherly Love—takes notice. Philadelphia gets its next opportunity to embrace Duke on Sunday night, when he'll be playing an acoustic set at World Cafe Live in support of his recent release, the songs on the acoustic EP take on a totally new life with Duke's stripped-down reinterpretations. Especially poignant are the acoustic versions of "The Father, the Son, and the Harlot's Ghost" and "Walk It Off," which are both notably different than their full-band incarnations.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

Phillyist's quick-picks for your evening agenda.

A day after the legendary Flaming Lips grace the Festival Pier, WMMR brings in the hard rock for Jaxon's Low Dough Rock Show. Okay, there really isn't any correlation, we just really like the Flaming Lips. But we also like Chicago trio Chevelle (Myspace), playing on Sunday with Staind, Shinedown, and Halestorm (PA's own slightly heavier version of Paramore).

About a year ago—the last time we saw Counting Crows (MySpace)—we lamented the too-short sets Counting Crows play on their frequent co-headlining tours. (Last summer was with Maroon 5, but this Phillyist has also seen them on double-bills with Live and The Goo Goo Dolls.) The band has too much strong material, and they're too excellent of performers, to play only for a little over an hour.

Saturday night, the Tower Theater hosts Tori Amos (MySpace) in what is guaranteed to be a gorgeous performance. This Phillyist has seen her perform many times, including once in a solo performance at the Tower, and each time has been remarkable. Amos seems to have softened her lyrics with age and wisdom, and her music no longer seems consumed by rageragerage overtones, as it was through the 90s. Her tenth album, era and show Amos reconnecting with the piano. As a longtime Tori Amos fan, it is so refreshing to hear a new album with "vintage" Tori.

In case you missed this past weekend's XPoNential Music Festival, you missed out on a lot of great music. (Unfortunately, so did we.) But luckily, many of the great artists featured at the festival are local acts who play frequent gigs in the area. And one of those artists is Bucks County's Illinois (MySpace). Just coming off a Saturday afternoon set at XPoNential, Illinois will be playing at Johnny Brenda's Wednesday night along with The Builders and the Butchers (MySpace) and The Horse's Ha.

A couple months back, we told you about tickets going on sale for this year's XPoNential Music Festival. So did you get tickets? No? Well why the heck not? XPoNential kicks off tomorrow evening, and there is a ton of music worth catching, so it's time get moving and get your tickets—which are an absolute steal at $25 per day or $60 for a pass to all three days (with a discount for WXPN members). The event will feature 25 acts, plus a crafts village with vendors selling their handmade wares, and a Village Green where festival-goers can learn about sustainable and eco-friendly products that are the forefront of the Delaware Valley's green scene.

If memory serves me right, it's been a little over two years since we first caught local pop/piano-rock outfit Fooling April (MySpace), at the WXPN Philly Locals Lonely Hearts Club Band concert. Fooling April wooed us not just with their impressive takes on some of our favorite Beatles tunes, but also with the original material from their then-newly released . And they followed that up a few months later with a killer set at the 2007 WXPN Musicians on Call benefit show.

Phillyist has long been a fan of the Warped Tour, and this year is no exception. Tomorrow's tour brings over fifty bands to various stages in what will be a *hopefully* sunny day of rock and roll. We love going to Warped Tour because you can always bet on there being bands you know and love, as well as some up-and-comers and little-known groups to discover and enjoy. It's gonna be a great day.

So the last time we tried to encourage you to go check out Paper Route (MySpace), we had a bit of a fail, as Paper Route had to cancel the last few dates of that tour. But we shall not be foiled this time! Paper Route is back in town—for real—tomorrow night at Kung Fu Necktie. This will be our first chance to hear them play material from their debut full-length album live, and we're looking forward to seeing how well the material from their excellent album plays to an audience.

We've mentioned before that Reel Big Fish is one of the most entertaining acts in music today. The power and energy of their live show really shines on 2006's live CD/DVD , later this month.

When we get an e-mail from a publicist describing a band as "Matt and Kim in a punky blender with Tegan and Sara, we can't help but be curious. It could be either really good, or really really bad. Fortunately, the band that e-mail was about, An Horse (MySpace), turns out to be really good. We don't know about the "punky blender" part, but there's definitely a similarity to Matt and Kim.

Classic rock + psychedlia = Quest for Fire. This band out of Toronto somehow manages to do long jams that aren't boring. Their self-titled release (which hits physical and digital store shelves tomorrow) is an epic journey in the form of six solid tunes. You can check them out live with Pink Mountaintops at Johnny Brenda's tonight.

This Phillyist likes his metal epic, brutal, thrashing, and fast-paced, and that's just the way Iron Age delivers it on their latest album, The Sleeping Eye, scheduled for release on August 4th of this year. You could also call their music "hardcore" or even "punk," but it's loud and fast and there's screaming, so we just call it metal. Iron Age is playing as part of a packed bill of hardcore bands at the Barbary this Sunday night, so if you feel like banging your head, get out there.

Back in February, we encouraged you to pounce on tickets to see The Decemberists (MySpace) right when they went on sale. The show is now a couple days away, and if you didn't take our advice then, you're in luck, because there are still some tickets left for Saturday night's show.

Last summer, we had the opportunity to cover Paper Route (MySpace). The scheduling could have worked out poorly for the band, at least as far as we were concerned, because they were the opener of a lineup that also included Phantom Planet and Jack's Mannequin (one of our favorite bands to see live), and we were seeing The Honorary Title (ditto) and Paper Rival (ditto, R.I.P.) the same weekend. We were very pleasantly surprised, though, that Paper Route put on a memorable—if very abbreviated, but such is the life of an opening band—show.

For a lot of people, Memorial Day means summer. Of course, Memorial Day really means things that are very much more important than summer. But informally, it is the kickoff to a few months of oppressive heat and humidity nice weather and getting absolutely nothing done at work good times. So it's time to start thinking about summer concerts. One of this summer's sure-fire best events is the XPoNential Music Festival, put on by our friends over at WXPN.

Freshness: we has it, in the form of neighborhood food co-ops.

Beware, oh industry hipsters.

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