Best Shows I Saw In 2009
2009 was another great year for live music , slightly edging out last year for me with a grand total of 97 shows, in 26 different venues for 251 sets of music by 215 different bands, with 26 bands logging in 2 or more. Continuing to be one of the best live music venues anywhere, Johnny Brenda’s topped the list with 25 visits. The other places where you could have found me hanging out this past year being World Cafe Live(15),The M Room(11),Kung Fu Necktie(7) and The Khyber, The Fire and The Spectrum at 4 trips each. Enough with the numbers for now, here’s the best shows I saw this past year.
Want to throw in a very special thank you Joe @ Village Green Productions for letting me put Bag Of Songs Presents nights together and especially to all of the bands that played them this past year : Pow Wow!, DeJesus, The Skyler King, Bridges And Powerlines, Curious Buddies, Bojibian, The Shots, Sugar Canyon, Canadian Invasion, Golden Bloom, Sudden Ensemble, In Grenada, Lima Research Society, Meyerman, Halloween, Alaska, Missing Palmer West, Scott McClatchy, Dinosaur Feathers, Joe Michelini of River City Extension, Creatures Of The Golden Dawn, North Lawrence Midnight Singers, High Hearts, Matt Kresge, Acres Of Diamonds, Tall Tall Trees, Eat Your Birthday Cake, Cailin Callahan
05.12.09 Leonard Cohen @ Academy Of Music
10.22.09 Leonard Cohen @ Tower Theater
Leonard Cohen came to Philadelphia twice this past year, after having not been here since 1993. While both shows were outstanding, the May show at the Academy Of Music was hands down the best show I saw this past year and also secures a place on the list of all time greatest shows I have ever witnessed. His stage presence and connection to the audience is amazing and at 74 years old he is still performing three hour plus shows. A friend at the same show called it “a gift from god”, it really was that good.
02.13.09 In Grenada @ Johnny Brendas
In Grenada plays a percussive, guitar driven brand of indie rock, that’s often compared to Arcade Fire or The National, this show complete with double drummers was as amazing as either of those bands. A Philly band you’ll want to keep to keep an eye on.
02.14.09 Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright @ The Kimmel Center
Rufus Wainwright never fails to put on a highly entertaining show and really knows how to interact with the audience. Solo inside the confines of the beautiful Kimmel Center was a perfect show for Valentines Day. Martha’s opening set was impressive as well.
03.13.09 The Feelies @ Johnny Brendas [Listen]
The Feelies hadn’t played in Philadelphia in just over 18 years but this show proved they hadn’t lost the magic in the interim. Easily as good or better than the shows I saw them play twenty years ago and still sounding relevant, a testament to the legacy of their influence.
06.08.09 Pink Mountaintops @ Johnny Brendas
Black Mountain made my best shows list two years in a row, I wasn’t lucky enough to see them again this past but leader Stephen McBean’s other project Pink Mountaintops is equally as brilliant trading in the heavy stoner rock of Black Mountain for more of a garage rock psychedelia.
07.19.09 Dinosaur Feathers, Joe Michelini of River City Extension @ M Room
09.07.09 River City Extension @ The Fire
Two of the bands that will be making serious waves in 2010 playing absoultely stellar sets on a Sunday night. If you witnessed this one you know how great it was. If you didn’t you’re you going to wish you had. Thanks to Emma at The World In A Paper Cup for turning me on to Brooklyn’s Dinosaur Feathers whose debut disc Fanstasy Memorial is going to make some serious waves when it drops in early 2010. New Jersey’s River City Extension’s live show is nothing short of amazing and this solo set by leader Joe Michelini was absolutely spellbinding. They also have a new disc coming in 2010 to be on the watch for.
River City Extension’s full band show is non stop energy and fun. Get out and see them as soon as you can.
09.09.09 Sleepy Sun @ Johnny Brendas
This San Francisco Band had the considerable luck to have long time Bag Of Songs favorite Rachel Williams(birds.fled.from.me) join the fold. Their live show is stunning blend of trippy psychedelia.
09.23.09 Missing Palmer West @ Bruce Springsteen Birthday Tribute at World Cafe Live
In a night that was filled with top notch performances by Philadelphia musicians playing the music of Bruce Springsteen, including the Born To Run album in it’s entirety, Missing Palmer West’s breathtaking stellar performance of the epic Jungleland was the crown jewel of the evening for me.
10.14.09 Bruce Springsteen @ The Spectrum
After seeing Bruce play a phoned in sloppy mess of a show back in April, where he even botched the lyrics to Promised Land while reading from the teleprompter, I almost didn’t bother to go again on the fall dates. The lure of seeing Darkness On The Edge Of Town played all the way through was too great to resist however. It was totally worth it. While the portions of the show before and after were good, the album in it’s entirety was outstanding,with Bruce turning off his work the crowd schtick for 45 minutes or so and just playing the music with the intensity it deserves. It was like being time warped back to 1978 when he still felt like he had something to prove.
10.17.09 Acres Of Diamonds,Tall Tall Trees,Eat Your Birthday Cake,Cailin Callahan @ JDMcGillicuddys
Sometimes when you put a show together it all just falls into place like magic, this was one of those times. This was the Bag Of Songs Third Anniversary Party and I can’t thank the bands enough for delivering a night of incredible music and fun all around.
10.23.09 Andrew Bird @ World Cafe Live Upstairs XPN Free At Noon
To see Andrew Bird recreate the sounds on his album in a live setting all by himself using loops and samples and multiple instruments was a truly memorable experience, and left me with a much higher regard for him as a super talented musician.
10.31.09 Pearl Jam @ The Spectrum
For the final show at the Philadelphia Spectrum Pearl Jam delivered a forty one song,three and a half hour juggernaut of that included plenty of hits,many rarities and even a special Halloween encore with the band dressed as vintage DEVO in yellow jumpsuits and red flowerpot hats
performing the song Whip It. A fitting send off to a great music venue.
11.06.09 The Swimmers @ Kung Fu Necktie CD Release Party
The Swimmers holed up for the last year or so and reinvented their sound and themselves as a band while working on their latest record People Are Soft. Their set at the CD Release Party for the disc showcased their new sound, playing one of the best and tightest sets I think I have seen them play, including a smoking cover of New Order’s Age Of Consent.
07.25.09 The Hold Steady @ XPoNential Music Festival @ Wiggins Park
In a weekend filled with some great performances form the likes of Yeasayer,Steve Wynn,Illinois,Low Anthem,They Might Be Giants,Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby and John Wesley Harding,The Hold Steady delivered a brilliant but slightly shortened set as a late evening rainstorm blazed through. The site of Craig Finn arms outstretched, singing in the pouring rain is forever etched in my mind.
I usually don’t list my worst shows of the year but this one was so exceptionally bad I thought it warranted a special mention:
10.23.09 Todd Rundgren @ The Spectrum
In what was billed as Philly sendoff for the final days of the Spectrum, Todd Rundgren shared a bill with The Hooters and Hall And Oates. After an amazing sounding and extremely tight set by The Hooters, Todd Rundgren took the stage and played an obnoxiously loud,self indulgent set of mostly obscurities that sounded like Spinal Tap gone wrong. More like a F— off than a send off tribute, maybe he intended it as a joke, I don’t know, but it cleared out most of the arena while he played,leaving everyone wondering just what the hell he was doing.
Everyone out and playing music deserves a mention so here’s the full list:
100 Monkeys,A Distant Second,Absolute Zeroes ,AC Newman,Acres Of Diamonds,Adam & Daves Bloodline,Adam Arcuragi,Aimee Mann ,Amy ,An American Chinese ,Andrew Bird,As Tall As Lions,Asteroid #4,Audible,Autolux,Bad Flirt,Bad Religion ,BC Camplight,Ben Arnold Band,Beretta76,Bishop Allen,Black Landlord,Bojibian,Bottle Rockets,Bridges And Powerlines,Brother JT,Brown Recluse Sings ,Bruce Springsteen,By Surprise ,Cailin Callahan ,Cale Parks ,Canadian Invasion,Chairlift,Cheers Elephant,Chris Huff,Chris Kasper,Coltrane Motion,Cordero,Creatures Of The Golden Dawn,Curious Buddies ,Custom D 3,Cynthia Mason,Dan May,Danielson,Darwin Deez ,Dead Meadow,Deadstring Brothers ,DeJesus ,Dex Robweber,Dinosaur Feathers,Donna the Buffalo,Doomed To Obscurity,Drummer,Early Day Miners ,East Hundred,Eat Your Birthday Cake,Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes ,Fanfarlo,Fang Fang,Faux Slang ,Felice Brothers,Folklore,Frankie V & Kitchen Sync,Free Energy,Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus Of Dreams,Golden Bloom ,Goldspot,Grammar Debate,Grant Hart,Ha Ha Tonka,Hall & Oates,Halloween Alaska,Heirloom,Hesta Prynn,High Hearts ,Hoots And Hellmouth,Hop Along Queen Ancelais ,Horses Mouth,Ice Palace,Illinois,In Grenada ,Instamatic,James Maddock,Jeff Kessler ,Jeff The
Brotherhood,Joe Michelini of River City Extension ,John Gorka,John Train featuring Mike Brenner,John Wesley Harding ,John Wesley Harding and the English UK,Jotto ,JP05,Justin Townes Earle,Katie Herzig,Kitten Disaster ,Lambchop,Leonard Cohen,Lima Research Society,Longwave ,Lopez,Low Anthem,Lucero,Lucky Day ,M Ward,Marianne Faithfull ,Martha Wainwright ,Matt Gauss,Matt Krefting ,Matt Kresge ,Matt Santry,Matt Spitko,Meyerman ,Mini Mansions ,Minus 5,Missing Palmer West,Monsters Of Folk,Mount St Helens Vietnam Band,Nervous Rex,New Model Army,New Motels,Nicole Atkins,North Lawrence Midnight Singers ,Nothingberry Plasma,Oasis,OK Go,One Eskimo,Papertrigger,Pearl Jam,Persona ,Pete Yorn,Phil Roy,Phill-E Street Band ,Pink Mountaintops,Post Post ,Pow Wow!,Qatsi ,Quest For Fire ,Ray Morin,River City Extension,Robbie Fulks,Robes,Robes ,Rosewood Thieves,Royal Bangs,Rufus WainWright,Ryan Adams ,Scott McClatchy,Scott McMicken of Dr Dog,Serena Ryder,Sharon Little,Shonen Knife ,Shrinking Islands,ShyDog,Sisters 3,Sleepy Sun ,Spinto Band,Static Jacks ,Steve Forbert and the Windfall Prophets,Steve Wynn,Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra,Sudden Ensemble ,Sunset ,Superdrag,Tall Tall Trees,Team B,Ted Leo,The Armchairs,The Bacon Brothers,The Baseball Project,The Big Jangle,The Black Fortys ,The Broken West ,The Bye Byes ,The Bynars,The Capitol Years,The Depreciation Guild,The Doughboys,The Feelies,The Friggs,The Great Unknown,The Hold Steady ,The Hooters ,The Lampshades ,The Lemon Treasures,The New Time,The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart,The Popo,The Rigbees,The Shots,The Skyler King,The Subjects,The Swimmers,The Tough Shits,Them Vultures,Theotis Joe,They Might Be Giants,Those Darlins,Throw Me The Statue,Todash,Todd Rundgren,Tom Hamilton’s American Babies,Tommy Keene,Tommy Womack,Trained Attack Dogs ,Univox ,Upsincefriday,Victor Victor Band,Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby,Yeasayer,Youth Group
The Feelies Live At Johnny Brenda’s 03.13.09
The Feelies, Then(1991) and Now (2009)
It’s been a little over 18 years since The Feelies last graced a stage in Philadelphia but Friday night’s show at Johnny Brenda’s showed that in the intervening time, they haven’t lost any of the power earned them their influential underground legend status. The band Qatsi kicked off the festivities with an enjoyable opening set of jangle pop. Then, touching on songs from all of their records plus a couple new songs, The Feelies played a finely tuned set that gradually built in intensity and culminated with the frenetic one two punch of Raised Eyebrows and Crazy Rhythms that left the crowd in a frenzy for more. They then upped the energy level a notch by kicking off each of their three encores with blistering covers of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Neil Young respectively and ending the night with The Modern Lovers’ I Want To Sleep In Your Arms.
But don’t just take my word for it, here’s a nice recording of the whole show for you to enjoy as well.
The Feelies 03.13.09 @ Johnny Brenda
The Feelies
03.13.09 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia PA
01 On The Roof
02 High Road
03 Nobody Knows (new)
04 Let’s Go
05 Invitation
06 Deep Fascination
07 Higher Ground
08 The Final Word
09 Time Is Right (new)
10 Away
11 Slipping Into Something
12 Doin’ It Again
13 Too Far Gone
14 Raised Eyebrow
15 Crazy Rhythms
Encore 1
16 She Said, She Said (Beatles)
17 Sooner Or Later
Encore 2
18 Paint It Black (Rolling Stones)
19 Fa Ce La
Encore 3
20 Barstool Blues (Neil Young)
21 I Want To Sleep In Your Arms (Modern Lovers)
Best Live Shows Of 2008
Black Mountain at Johnny Brenda's
Some of the numbers from a busy concert year here at Bag Of Songs, in the ensuing months since last year’s best shows of the year recap I’ve been to 90 shows in 21 different venues adding up to 240 sets of music by 195 bands. Johnny Brenda’s once again topped the venue list with 24 shows followed closely by The M Room(16),The Khyber(13) and World Cafe Live(10). 25 bands logged more than one appearance, with the always amazing Cheers Elephant topping the list at 9 times, followed closely by Creeping Weeds and The Swimmers at 5 each. So without further ado and in chronological order here’s the best shows I saw in 2008.
DEC Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings @ TLA WXPN Free At Noon
In a year that saw funk and soul continuing to make a strong resurgence, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings were at the forefront. Coming onstage to a packed TLA in the middle of the day, they packed the energy of a full set into a condensed 45 minute sweat soaked funk workout.
JAN Drink Up Buttercup,Cheers Elephant,The New Motels @ The Khyber
Three of Philly’s finest on the same night, part of a Drink Up Buttercup / Cheers Elephant residency that was a precursor to the serious momentum both bands would build up during 2008.
FEB Black Mountain,Bon Iver @ Johnny Brendas
A study in brilliant contrasts, Bon Iver’s live show far exceeds their recorded work and is a study in the power of silence and hushed intensity while Black Mountain is the total opposite psychedelic thunderous and rhythmic.
MAR Roky Erickson @ Maxwells
In a special small venue appearance, Roky Erickson, well back on the path to some sense of normalcy, aided by his scorching backup band The Explosions, blazed through a set of his classics that showed why he is the legend he is.
MAR Holy Fuck,A Place To Bury Strangers @ Johnny Brenda’s
My original review of this show described A Place To Bury Strangers like this:
Taking the stage in total darkness, coming on like the bastard children of Jesus And Mary Chain and Sonic Youth, they proceeded to tear into a mind numbing aural assault of what can best be described as melodic white noise. Fueled by powerhouse drumming with guitar and bass turned up well past the distortion point, it was as mesmerizing as it was loud. Holy Fuck then came on and pushed it all a notch even higher and turned the place into a dancing frenzy. Incredible.
JUN James Hunter @ World Cafe Live Free At Noon
James Hunter also did his part to help give a kick to the old soul revival. James is the ultimate showman and pured 110% onto his stage show. A must see if you haven’t had a chance to catch him yet
JUN REM,The National @ Mann Music Center
I’d seen REM a number of times early on, and they were always a good but not great live band. They obviously had worked at it in the near twenty years since I’d seen them last as they tore it up in a way I’d never seen them do before. Bonus points for having Eddie Vedder come out and join them for a song during the encore. I was not really a big National fan going onto this show but their live set was impressive.
JUN The Ting Tings Dan Deacon @ Popped Festival Drexel
When the Ting Tings were booked to open this show a few months before it happened, they were still relatively unknown, by the time June rolled around the buzz behind them could have fueled a headlining slot. They kicked it all off with one of the best sets of the 2 day festival and set the bar high. In a set I can only describe as mix of Romper Room and a Rave, Dan Deacon set up in the middle of crowd and pushed the energy level through the roof as they obeyed his every command. One of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.
JUN Gildon Works @ Popped World Cafe
Gildon Works played the main stage of World Cafe and deliverd set of shoegazey pop that sounded massive enough to fill a stadium. The undisputed best set I saw on day two of the Popped Festival.
JUN Mission Of Burma @ First Unitarian Church
Playing Signals,Calls and Marches in it’s entirety as well as many other songs from that era, Loud, fast and furious,Mission OF Burma made it undeniably clear why they are legends.
AUG Creeping Weeds,BOAT,Drink Up Buttercup,Greyhounds @ Johnny Brenda’s
Creeping Weeds are one of Philadelphia’s best bands and their show with BOAT’s at Johnny Brendas to kick off their summer tour together was outstanding. All four bands delivered top notch sets that night, and made me realize that I need to see Greyhounds more often.
AUG Sonic Youth,The Hold Steady @ TLA
The Hold Steady are easily one of the best American bands going today and their opening set for this show was a bit short, but never let off the pedal for a second, Sonic Youth has obvious ly sold their soul to the devil because I don’t think any of them have aged in the past twenty years. They played a set heavy on Daydrem Nation songs that made even the most skeptical in the audience believers.
SEP The Major Labels,Hypernova @ M Room
The Major Labels Aquavia is one fo the best power pop records of the year and the live show matched or exceeded it every aspect.
Hypernova is a rock band from Iran the comes on like a hyped up version of Franz Ferdinand, watch for them in 2009.
SEP Robert Pollard’s Boston Spaceships,The High Strung @ Johnny Brenda’s A three hour marathon of non stop excellent songs and excessive drinking, This show also contained some of the scariest moments I saw all year when near the end of the set people started throwing pint beer glasses around like they were plastic cups. I saw a more than a few shatter on the balcony and spray broken glass into the crowd below.
OCT Swift Technique @ World Cafe Live Upstairs
NOV Swift Technique @ M Room BOS Night
My biggest holy shit live moment of the year when I just happened to be at World Cafe Live where Swift Technique was playing a showcase set. Absolutely amazing, They blew me away with what’s best described as a horn infused blend of funk and hip hop. One of the tightest bands I have ever seen. Their set at the November Bag Of Songs night was equally as impressive and left quite a few more believers in it’s wake. Watch for these guys to explode in 2009 as the word spreads.
NOV King Khan BBQ Show,Vivian Girls,Jacuzzi Boys,Love City @ Johnny Brendas
A excellent garage rock blowout all around, see my recent recap here.
Those are some of the highlights but so as not to leave anyone out here’s the whole list in alphabetical order:
A Place To Bury Strangers, Action Set, Adam & Daves Bloodline, Aderbat, After Dark Band, An American Chinese, Anthony Lattanze Band, Apples In Stereo, Ar Duvall, Arc In Round, Aspiga, Bc Camplight, Beach House, Bears, Beaten By Them, Ben Purcell, Bitter Bitter Weeks, Black Angels, Black Joe Lewis, Black Mountain, Blitzen Trapper, BOAT, Bon Iver, Bright Lights, Broken Trees, Brother JT, Brothers And Sisters, Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears, Canadian Invasion, Carbon/Silicon, Cary Ann Hearst, Cass Mccombs, Cassavettes, Caterpillar, Cedarwell, Chairlift, Cheers Elephant, Colour Reporter, Creaky Boards, Creeping Weeds, Dan Deacon, Dan Malloy, David Copa, Dear Althea, DeJesus, Devon Williams, Drink Up Buttercup, Duke Spirit, East Hundred, Eastern Conference Champions, Elf Power, Eli Paperboy Reed and The True Loves, Except After Sea, Extra Golden, Fang Island, Fleet Foxes, Future Tips, Ghosty, Gildon Works, Gogol Bordello, Grammar Debate, Greyhounds, Ham 1, Holy Fuck, Hoots and Hellmouth, Hymns, East Hundred, Hypernova, I Am The Heat, Illinois, Impossible Hair, Intergalactic Incense Burners, It’s A King Thing, Jacuzzi Boys, James Hunter, Jealous Girlfriends, Jen, Johnny Action Figure, Jonah Delso, Jotto, JP05, Jukebox The Ghost, Jukebox Zeroes, Kate Nash, Kevin Devine, Kimya Dawson, King of Siam, Langhorne Slim, Levee Drivers, Los Campesinos, Love City, Mahogany, Map Of The World At Night, Matt Pond PA, Minor White, Missing Palmer West, Mission Of Burma, Mitch Hood, Modest Mouse, Mr Lif, Mural And The Mint, Murder Mystery, National Eye, Nervous Rex, New Motels, No Hate Train, Panda Riot, Papertrees, Pattern Is Movement, Peasant, Pete Best Band, Phonograph, Photon Band, Pico Vs Island Trees, Poison Control Center, Ports Of Call, Public Record, PWRFL Power, Randall Of Nazareth, Rarebirds, Ravens and Vultures, REM, Rick DiFonzo, Rio Vouga, Robert Pollard’s Boston Spaceships, Rogue Thief, Roky Erickson, Roomtone, Rosewood Thieves, Ruder Than You, Run Runner, Scary Monster, Sea Wolf, Secret Life Of Sofia, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Shawn Fogel, Six Organs Of Admittance, Sky Drops, Slot Cars, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Sonic Liberation Front, Sonic Youth, Sparky’s Flaw, Squaaks, Stone Thrown, Successful Failures All Star Cover Band, Superdrag, Surefire Broadcast, Swift Technique, Takka Takka, The 500s, The Annuals, The Brakes, The Bye Byes, The Capitol Years, The Chimeras, The Colorfield Theory, The Donkeys, The Figgs, The Friggs, The High Strung, The Hold Steady, The King Khan & BBQ Show, The Major Labels, The National, The New Motels, The Novenas, The Percocettes, The Ribeye Brothers, The Shaky HAnds, The Shots, The Smithereens, The Sparklers, The Spinto Band, The Squaaks, The Swimmers, The Thirteen, The Ting Tings, The Vandelles, Thee Minks, Thinking Machines, Throw Me the Statue, Tickley Feather, Tullycraft, Upsincefriday, Versus, Via Audio, Vivian Girls, Warlocks, XYZ Affair, Yeasayer, You, You, Me And T Rex, Young Knives, Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer
LIVE: 05.25.08 Hymns,Pico Vs Island Trees & Shawn Fogel @ M Room
A few photos from last night’s Bag Of Songs Night at The M Room with Hymns, Pico Vs Island Trees and Shawn Fogel.
Shawn Fogel kicked the evening off with a solo set alternating on electric and acoustic guitar and comprised of songs from his latest EP,One Day In The Desert as well as a bunch of excellent new songs and a few choice covers including Matthew Sweet’s Holy War and the obscure John Strohm/Velo Deluxe gem Angel. Pico Vs Island Trees were up next, lead singer Bryan Carter reminding somewhat of a young David Johannsen with the stage presence to go along with it. They delivered a rocking high energy set, personal highlights for me were their new single Open Doors and a blistering version of McCartney’s Jet joined by Jason of Hymns on backing vocals and tambourine. Hymns were up next and continued the McCartney theme by opening their set with a killer version of Band On The Run. Big, big thanks to all of the bands for a fantastic night of music all around.
If you missed it, Hymns will be back in Philly on June 2Oth with The Annuals at The Mill Creek Tavern. Pico Vs Island Trees will be delivering the goods next to their hometown crowd at Nashville’s Mercy Lounge on June 7th. Shawn Fogel plays next with his full band May 28 at Piano’s in New York City.
Be sure to check out Jessica’s excellent review of Shawn Fogel’s set over at pop wreck(oning)
Hymns [WEBSITE] [ MYSPACE]
Pico Vs Island Trees [MYSPACE]
Shawn Fogel [WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]
Monday Morning Blues : Live Southern Culture On The Skids
Tapping the Live Music Archive today for a smoking hot down and dirty set from Southern Culture On The Skids to start your post Easter work week off with a kick.
Southern Culture On The Skids
11.18.06 Tractor Tavern Ballard, WA
Skullbucket
Mojo Box
Voodoo Cadillac Blues
Nitty Gritty
Doublewide
White Trash
Corn Liquor
King of the Mountain
The Wetspot
House of Bamboo
Liquored Up and Lacquered Down
Cheap Motels
Biscuit Eater
Greenback Fly
Banana Pudding
Dirt Track Date
MexiMelt
Shotgun
Daddy Was A Preacher But Momma Was A Go-Go Girl
Eight Piece Box
Camel Walk
feedback/crowd
Fight Fire
Soul City
???
The Great Atomic Power
LIVE: Roky Erickson 03.02.08 at Maxwells
A couple photos from Sunday night’s Roky Erickson show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken NJ. Roky and his band The Explosions blistered through a set of songs that made him the legend he is today. Opening with A Cold Night For Alligators and tearing through a set of his classics like You’re Gonna Miss Me, Bermuda,Two Headed Dog , Starry Eyes and more.
LIVE : 02.29.08 Scary Monster and It’s A King Thing At The Tritone
Some photos from this past Friday night, Leap Day, February 29th with Scary Monster and It’s A King Thing at Tritone In Philadelphia. Going with an orange theme as the what to wear color of the night, Scary Monster started it off with a rocking set of indie pop songs from their upcoming CD. New Jersey’s It’s a King Thing followed with their blend of guitar power pop, sort of sounding like a cross between Weezer and Nada Surf. Brian from It’s A King Thing was getting shocked by the microphone so he ended up covering it with the drummer’s sock right off his foot as you can see in the photos and singing into it the whole night. Made for some entertaining humor from the stage for sure. A great night of music all around.
MP3: Scary Monster - True Love, Good Morning
More At Myspace
MP3: It’s A King Thing - My Mini Van Just Died
Buy It’s A King Thing
Monday Morning Blues : Robert Randolph Live
Tapping the Live Music Archive today for an incendiary performance from pedal steel guitar virtuoso Robert Randolph. Robert is a New Jersey native that began playing the steel guitar in the House of God Church worship services and has since gone on to tour alongside the likes of Eric Clapton, North Mississippi Allstars and others.
Robert Randolph And The Family Band
March 3 2002 at Fox Theater, Boulder, Colorado
Calypso
Run For Your Life
The March*
Squeeze
Pressing My Way
Shake Your Hips+^
Lovelight+^~
I Don’t Know What You Come To Do
Tears Of Joy
Voodoo Child
The whole show in one zip file
* with Danyel on rhythm guitar & Andy Hess on bass
+ with Neil Casal on guitar
^ with Bill McKay (Leftover Salmon) on organ
~ with Shannon McNally on vocals, and Dan Fadel on drums
[WEBSITE]
The Best Live Shows Of 2007 I Saw
Just so no one is left out as I can’t honestly saw I saw too many sub par shows this past year, the list above is all of the bands I’ve seen at the roughly 75 or so shows I’ve seen since January. A couple I didn’t get to see were Arcade Fire and The National, two I would really have liked to.
The Philadelphia music scene is just amazing right now and my favorite venue of the past year hands down goes to Johnny Brendas, where I saw over twenty shows. Rolling Stone magazine named it in their recent Hot issue as Hot Music Club and it is well deserved, it is outstanding on all counts.
The list below represents my standout shows of the year in roughly chrononlogical order.
The Hold Steady @ The Stone Pony and The TLA - The Hold Steady is out playing good old sweat drenched rock and roll, and the communal experience at one of ther shows is amazing. One of the best American bands playing live today.
Snow Patrol @ The Tweeter Center - Snow Patrol’s album was one of my favorites of 2006, this was my second time seeing them and although the first was in a smaller club this one delivered.
The Clientele @ Johnny Brendas [More]- Went to see this on a whim on a Monday night, mostly songs from their excellent new God Save The Clientele cranked up a notch for a live setting.
!!! w/ Holy F*ck @ The TLA - I expected a non stop funk filled dance fest from !!!, but Holy F*ck was one of my great surprises of the year and were as good as or maybe even better than !!!
LCD Soundsystem @ The TLA [More]- a free Myspace sponsored show in a club. They took one of the best albums of the year to an even higher level live.
Ryan Adams @ World Cafe Live Free At Noon - Ryan Adams return to form with a breathtaking all acoustic set.
David Vandervelde w/ Blitzen Trapper @ Johnny Brendas [More]- This was on a Monday night coming after three days in a row at the WXPN music fest having just seen some 25 or so great bands and it still blew my mind.
The Cribs @ Johnny Brendas [More]- Do not miss this band if you have the chance, one of the true “holy shit !” performances I saw this year. A three piece band that comes at you with the in your face live fury of The Ramones.
Illuminea CD release party w/ The Swimmers @ Johnny Brendas [More]- Two of Philadelphia’s finest playing stellar sets on the same night.
The Format @ The Trocadero - The Format have one of the best high energy fun shows going.
Josh Ritter @ World Cafe Free At Noon [More]- Josh Ritter kicks it up a notch with a band for this tour and just absolutely delivetrs apon all counts. Phenomenal. An acoustic cover of Springsteen’s The River was one of the single best performances of any song I witnessed all year by any band.
The A-Sides CD Release Party w/ The Capitol Years,Bitter Bitter Weeks @ Johnny Brendas [More]- Philadlelphia bands sharing a bill know how to bring out the best in each other and this was no exception. Top notch performances by all three of the bands.
Bruce Springsteen @ Wachovia Center (10/6/07) - The second night of two for Bruce in Philadelphia, while the first night was marred by horrible sound and an average performance, this night was classic Springsteen and just tore the roof off.
Black Mountain @ Johnny Brendas [More]- I’ve been waiting nearly two years for Black Mountain to head back out on tour, and this was worth the wait. A rhythmic, psychedelic tour de force. A friend I took with me who had never heard of them walked out saying it was one of the best club shows he’d ever seen.
The Creeping Weeds @ The Khyber and Johnny Brendas [More & More]- Another of Philadelphia’s finest, the opening and closing nights of their summer tour were both brilliant.
Jealous Girlfriends @ The Khyber,Tritone & Johnny Brendas [More]- The first time I saw the NYC’s Jealous Girlfriends I was blown away. Every show after that lived up to the high standard set by the first one. An excellent live band.
The Shots @ The Khyber [More]- Another Philadelphia band, I just happened to catch these guys on an opening slot in which they blew the two bands that followed of the stage.
My newest Philly band to watch out for.
LIVE: The A-Sides at World Cafe Live 9-20-07
Philadelphia’s The A-Sides new album Silver Storms is a shimmering, glorious, epic sounding pop record released this past Tuesday. This afternoon they brought their equally amazing live showto the World Cafe Live for a live broadcast on WXPN.
Here’s a couple pictures and a link to the archived live show on NPR’s site.
Next week they embark on a tour that will bring one of Philadelphia’s finest to all the corners of the country. Head on out and see it for yourself when they come your way.
Click here to listen to the archived live broadcast
Upcoming Tour Dates
Sep 25 2007 8:00P Numbers w/ Pinback Houston, Texas
Sep 26 2007 8:00P House Of Blues w/ Pinback New Orleans, Louisiana
Sep 27 2007 8:00P Club Downunder w/ Pinback Tallahasee, Florida
Sep 28 2007 8:00P The Social w/ Pinback Orlando, Florida
Sep 29 2007 8:00P Common Grounds w/ Pinback Gainesville, Florida
Oct 9 2007 8:00P The LC Pavilion w/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Columbus, Ohio
Oct 10 2007 8:00P The Gargoyle w/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists St. Louis
Oct 11 2007 1:00P DAYTROTTER SESSION! You can listen at http://www.daytrotter.com/ Iowa City, Iowa
Oct 11 2007 7:00P The Redstone Room Iowa City, Iowa
Oct 12 2007 8:00P Metro w/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Chicago, Illinois
Oct 13 2007 8:00P First Avenue w/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 14 2007 8:00P The Aquarium w/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Fargo, North Dakota
Oct 15 2007 8:00P THE A-SIDES - SAY HI - VELVET TEEN 28 CITY NATIONAL TOUR DRIVE DAY
Oct 17 2007 8:00P Bottom Of The Hill San Francisco, California
Oct 18 2007 8:00P Troubadour Los Angeles, California
Oct 19 2007 8:00P Glass House Pomona, California
Oct 20 2007 8:00P Plush Tucson, Arizona
Oct 22 2007 8:00P Halley’s Denton, Texas
Oct 23 2007 8:00P Emo’s Alternative Ausitn, Texas
Oct 24 2007 8:00P The Proletariat Houston, Texas
Oct 25 2007 8:00P The Red Star Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Oct 26 2007 8:00P Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama
Oct 27 2007 8:00P The Earl Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 28 2007 8:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Oct 30 2007 8:00P Black Cat Backstage Washington DC, Washington DC
Nov 2 2007 8:00P Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 3 2007 8:00P Knitting Factory New York City, New York
Nov 4 2007 8:00P The Middle East(u) Cambridge, Massachusetts
Nov 6 2007 8:00P Zoo Bizarre Montreal, Quebec
Nov 8 2007 8:00P Sneaky Dee’s Toronto, Ontario
Nov 9 2007 8:00P Subterranean Chicago, Illinois
Nov 10 2007 8:00P Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 11 2007 8:00P Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska
Nov 12 2007 8:00P High Dive Denver, Colorado
Nov 13 2007 8:00P Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 15 2007 8:00P Crocodile Cafe Seattle, Washington
Nov 16 2007 8:00P Doug Fur Lounge Portland, Oregon
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