Results tagged “starlightballroom”

I've got to admit, when I go looking for some good music to listen to, I rarely consider instrumental music. It's not that I don't like jazz, classical, or instrumental rock; in fact, I'd list certain jazz albums among the best records of all time. It's just that I really prefer some words with my songs. It probably has something to do with my general obsession with words. Anyway, I point this out by way of explaining why Mogwai isn't my usual cup of tea. The Scottish post-rock band's latest album, The Hawk Is Howling (which gets its official release on Monday), has no lyrics whatsoever—although it does have some pretty interesting track titles, like "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead," "I Love You, I'm Going to Blow Up Your School" (one of the best tracks on the disc, along with "Batcat"), and "Thank You Space Expert." Still, it does have lots of guitars roaring away, and some really fantastic music, so I'm going to go ahead and recommend you see Mogwai when they play the Starlight Ballroom tonight with experimental group Fuck Buttons. We're betting they're even better live than they are recorded. But if you'd like some recordings first, just to whet your appetite, swing on over to R5 Productions (who are presenting the show) to download some samples.

Eight o'clock Tuesday night, coming onto 9th street, off the rugged and drug-addled artery that is Spring Garden and into the Starlight Ballroom, you probably wouldn't notice much life stirring. When at the picnic table in the foyer the young man from R5 Productions checks your name on the will-call list or when the dread-locked bouncer rips your ticket, you hear The Extraordinaires in the other room singing their silly pop-folky tunes overdone with sweet harmonies. You're at a night-club with a sub-par sound-system and with the look of a renovated bowling alley or laser-tag arena and inside you are watching another ambitious, mediocre band. Most likely you are wondering if you'll have to check your watch through the Dirty Projectors, too, before Man Man comes to rock the house.

Man Man and Dirty Projectors, two bands as different from each other as Tang from chocolate milk, tigers from koalas, Harley Davidsons from hangliders, or—we may as well end on a musical note—as potentially incompatible as Captain Beefheart and Elton John, are nonetheless both playing Starlight Ballroom tonight and are sure to show you through some wild sonic safaris.

Here's hoping that on the next album and tour, she takes the Middle Way.

The last time I saw Cat Power perform was the first and only time I saw the entire Trocadero fall in love at once. Her voice and her persona could only be described as haunting yet powerful. Some people showed in the hopes that she'd fall apart, as she has been wont to do, but a lot happens in a decade. Much more centered by the time The Greatest dropped, Chan Marshall prowled the stage like a sexy animal that was caged no longer.

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?

Still riding the good vibes of their 2006 releases, Girl Talk and Dan Deacon come to town this evening for an R5 show at Club Polaris (AKA the Starlight Ballroom).

Saturdays are for shopping. There's something about a slow Saturday afternoon that lends itself to kissing discretionary income goodbye. This weekend, you can shop 'til your wallet cries mercy, all while supporting your local DIY concert promoters, R5 productions. The Punk Rock Flea Market takes over the Starlight Ballroom from 10 to 5, which gives you plenty of time to soak up someone else's air conditioning, buy random stuff, and eat vegan cookies. View the full list of tables here. From records to real art, seems like they've got everything covered. All proceeds go toward the equipment and supplies needed to keep putting on shows at the Church.

Venue: Starlight Ballroom

It isn't for a little while now, when the weather will hopefully be a little bit warmer (although Phillyist makes no promises to that end), but we figured that the POPPED! festival, April 9-15, needs to be on your radar already.

Tired of sifting through that same-old same-old at your local shops and malls? Get your holiday shopping done tomorrow, flea-market style. R5 Productions is hosting the holiday edition of its Punk Rock Flea Market at the Starlight Ballroom. Almost 100 tables will be filled with new and used fare, from wearable art by local artists to used vinyl and CDs. We find ourselves especially interested in table 56, which promises to be full of "kickass...

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

Thursday is certainly tempting and titillating this week, as not one, but two events feature the beast with two backs tonight:

Annuals/Art Brut
Ticket Giveaway
10/17/06-10/19/06

Big music night coming up. On Thursday, a slew of acts signed to the Barsuk music label are taking over Philly. World Café Live will play host to The Long Winters with Menomena and What Made Milwaukee Famous, and Mates of State with the Starlight Mints will be playing at the Starlight Ballroom.

Two music festivals are hitting the Philadelphia area this weekend, and they couldn't be more different. The first is R5 Productions' This Is Hardcore 2006 fest. It starts Friday night at 5:30PM "*SHARP*," goes from noon until who knows when on Saturday and Sunday, and it's at the Starlight Ballroom all three days. We must not be hardcore enough, because we recognize pretty much none of the artists on the bill (which you can find here - along with links to buy tickets - if you scroll down a bit). We like the name Fearless Vampire Killers, though, despite the fact (or perhaps because of the fact?) that there's a really bad Roman Polanski vampire sex comedy with the same title. And anyway, isn't that what fests are for: discovering bands you've never heard of before?

The lucky ones who got tickets before the multiple sell outs will gather together tonight at the Starlight Ballroom to mourn the passing of a great rock band: Sleater-Kinney. Yep, the girls are going on "indefinite hiatus" after this tour, so for all intents and purposes this will be their last show in Philly.

If you read Phillyist's daily Frugal Fun Alerts, you'll have seen the name R5 Productions. That's because this Indie show promotion agency puts on several multi-band shows a week (oft-times all-ages) - many of which fall below the coveted $10 frugal cut-off mark. To help off-set show expenses, they host a biannual Punk Rock Flea Market, and the next one is this Saturday at the Starlight Ballroom (9th and Spring Garden). Worried that, like...

Is it silly to preview a show that's sold out? We don't know. But we're going to do it anyway, because this is Sonic Youth. That's right, Sonic Youth, the gigantic, mighty ancestors of today's indie scene. It's their 25th anniversary and they're still rocking the hardcore experimental punk/indie stuff. Just look at their latest album, Rather Ripped, which came out yesterday. It's the same kind of amazingly powerful, imaginative art-music they've been doing for years. Which is both exciting and a bit boring at the same time. But still, it's Sonic Youth!! They are it. They are a huge cornerstone in the foundations of rock. They made cool. Everybody should see them at least once.

Fun around town, for $10 or less:

UPDATE: Oops. Yeah, this show is not tonight. Uh, heh heh. That's what happens when you put a post up too quickly, folks! Thanks to justin for pointing out our mistake.

Crazy indie band Of Montreal (portrait at left) is at the Starlight Ballroom tonight with Philly locals The Lilys (who are out behind their new album, Everything Wrong is Imaginary), and The M's, and you might want to stop by. Of Montreal is in fact not from Montreal at all; the singer, lead guitarist, and creator of the band, Kevin Barnes, is actually from Athens, GA. The name comes from the fact that when Barnes started the band, he was just coming off of a break-up with a woman from Montreal. Despite that sad origin story, Of Montreal's latest album, The Sunlandic Twins, is a ton of pleasant, silly, harmonic fun in the form of 13 regular tracks and four bonus tracks. Barnes produced, arranged, composed, engineered, and mixed this album, as well as playing most of the instruments...so he's certainly the one to blame if you don't like it! Although we can't imagine why you wouldn't. Of Montreal's music is a tasty combo of '80s new wave, '60s pop, and recent indie rock flavors, and it's definitely worth tasting.

A quick note about that sold-out Stars show we mentioned yesterday: turns out it's not so sold-out after all, and it's moving! Stars will now be playing, appropriately enough, at The Starlight Ballroom, less than a block away from the original venue, and more tickets are now available at Spaceboy Music (704 South Street), or online at R5Productions (direct ticket link here). Oh, and it's an all ages show now. Got all that?

Thursday night at Beyond Nightclub you can catch one of the more exciting recent indie acts, Stars. (That is, if you've already got your tickets; sorry, we're a little late telling you about the show, and it's already sold out!) Stars is out of Montreal (although they are not to be confused with Of Montreal) and features members of one of Phillyist's favorite indie bands, Broken Social Scene. Head on over to R5 Productions' shows page and scroll down to find some MP3s of their romantic, moving music (or, if you're feeling lazy, use the direct links here). Opening for Stars is a Norwegian fellow performing under the name Magnet (more tracks from the R5 website).