Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, October 21 – 23

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Dream-punkers Acid Kicks are having a record release party for their 7” Life Dreams this Saturday night at Little Berlin. By now, you should know that the four-piece is made up of 3 bassists and a drummer (with occasional wails and dissonant trumpet accents), which may sound like the beginning of joke about musicians, but the joke will be on you if you don’t come tomorrow night to the DIY art space. They’ll be joined by South Philly psych rock outfit True Gold, who will be releasing a split album with Acid Kicks in the near future via Phonographic Arts, Mindless Attack, and a solo set by Al Creedon (Reading Rainbow, Swimmers Ear). Come underground and live the punk dream! Little Berlin, 2430 Coral St., 8pm, All Ages – Alexis V.
 
Other places to go and people to see this weekend…
 
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Ang and the Damn Band and Gold, Crowns, SUN Population Zero
 
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI The New Connection, SAT Buried Beds and Geology, SUN Creepoid
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Folklore
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Warhawks, SAT Linghtninging, Restorations, Kite Party
 
M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) SUN Oh Pears! and Attia Taylor
 
Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI The Peace Creeps and The Lawsuits, SUN I Am Not The Universe and Playboy Bunny Savage
 
Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Ecomog and The Trademark Experience
 
Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) FRI Pat McGee
 
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SAT Nobody Yet and The Kiera Plan, SUN Taking the Chance and Seek to Thrill
 
The Blockley (3801 Chestnut St.) SAT Mike Greenfield (Lotus)
 
The Barbary (951 N. Frankford St.) SAT Luther
 
Danger Danger Gallery (5013 Baltimore Ave.) SUN *Surprise Headliner*
 
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI Dime Street Joker, SAT Conversations With Enemies, Revolution I Love You, Parachuting Apostles
 
Triumph Brewing Company (117 Chestnut St.) FRI Psychedelphia
 
Voyeur (1221 St. James St.) FRI Free Energy
 
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) SAT Mason Porter, Andrew Gray, Ron Gallo
 
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) FRI Mason Porter, Andrew Gray, Ron Gallo
 
L.A.

A gritty kind of love: Mojo Stone at the Mint 10/14/2011

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The Mint, nestled inbetween Culver City and West Hollywood, is the epitome of the smoky blues club, using fog machines to create the smoke in the atmosphere because, after all, you can’t smoke indoors basically anywhere anymore. But that presents no authenticity problem, because stepping into the dimly lit space is like taking a step back in time.

Which seems only appropriate, since last Friday night, the nostalgic sounds of local group Mojo Stone graced the stage with their music that seems to exist in another era. The group consists of students from Loyola Marymount University, who’ve turned their college project into a full-fledged band. The group even went on a tour of the South this past summer and are doing shows locally in LA while school is back in session.

They streamed in, one at a time, to take the stage and once the music started, the buzz around the room all turned their undivided attention to the whirlwind happening onstage. One of the things you notice right away about Mojo Stone is that they are a combination of big personalities. Nobody is content with blending in. Guitarist/vocalist David Donaldson is dapper in his pirate style blousy shirt, bassist Neil Wogensen is the bandanna-donning renegade, guitarist Henry McGill is spiffed out in a suit, and enigmatic drummer Pedro Honess makes the beats in the background. (It also seems that the Pedro fanclub showed up to the show, with choruses of “Pedro we love you” erupting from the house after nearly every song.)

It’s a band of distinguishable characters, and that is no exception when it comes to their main vocalist, Natalie Meadors. She seems to be the glue that holds the manic energy together, even though she is jumping on speakers and dancing around too. Her sultry vocals weave in and out of the pounding guitar lines, with an onstage confidence that is incredibly enrapturing. You can’t help but watch as the frantic chaos on the verge of total collapse manages to hold on, and you feel the catharsis of just letting go and getting swept away.

They’ve really tightened up their sound since the early days of playing open-mic nights at their school, whom now manage to capture the sweetness of an old folk record with the intensity of a hard rock group thrashing around onstage. A few songs in, the crowd was fully warmed up and there was dancing going on all around on the floor, especially to the inescapably upbeat “Keep My Man.” Mojo Stone invites you into their overwhelmingly sensory environment, where to dance and move will cure any temporal blues.

“We’re gonna have no breath left after this next one, so hold on one second,” Meadors said before going into their last song and then following up with an unplanned encore of “Gritty Love Blues”, making sure that nobody in the crowd left the venue still breathing either. – Taylor Lampela

L.A.

Satnam writes eloquence over beats

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To describe the music on his EP, poet and rapper Satnam says that it is about a girl "who deserves more than just the average pickup line." And in a way he has the same respect for his listeners. Satnam’s favorite topic may be women, but his style of expression is not that of an ordinary rapper. The Orange County native released the four-track EP, called "The 18th Letter Diaries", last year, which showcases his ability to flatter the ladies with his verses. The songs are full of elegance and references to basketball and movies, making them witty and fun to follow along. Most impressively, and for some upmost pop culture cred, he also manages to name drop Pavement and Drake in the same song. Keeping up with current affairs, Satnam released a single earlier this year called "Stop Cryin’, Yo!", which was inspired by a friend who committed suicide. In response to that and a recent wave of suicides across the nation, he has pledged to donate all the money earned from that single to a handful of charities who work to prevent and provide support to combat suicide. The single will also be part of Satnam’s upcoming album, called ‘Heart of a Lion.’ The new album is set to be released later this fall. – Karla Hernández

 

Philadelphia

FYI on DIYs in PHL: Bands in the Backyard (BITBY)’s Kyle Costill

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This is a first for us. We wanted to do an interview with Bands in the Backyard (BITBY), and they requested to send us a video response. You can check out their answers to a scaled down group of our questions that we sent them below, and make sure to swing by Little Bar tonight where we’ll be presenting with them the premiere of BITBY’s October Episode featuring Arc In Round as well as live performances by Ages, Renderers, Sore Eros, and Not Fur Longs and DJ sets from the BITBY crew, Faux Slang, and Arc In Round. There will also be a tasty beer special provided by our sponsor Sixpoint Brewery. Go outside by going inside Little Bar this evening! Little Bar, 738 S. 8th St., 8pm, $6, 21+ – Q.D. Tran

Philadelphia

Free Energy Returns to Making Time for The Rapture at Voyeur Oct. 21

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After exploding onto the Philly and national music scene, it has been pretty quiet in the Free Energy camp (except for a handful of big shows), which has been most likely due to their search for a permanent new guitarist with the exodus of Geoffrey Bucknum this past spring. Well, the boys are back at Making Time tonight, and it should definitely be a hyper-rager when they party down with The Rapture (performing at their fourth MT), Metronomy, Class Actress, and Still Corners. This evening will make your decision to skip CMJ a very wise one. Voyeur, 1221 St. James St., 9pm – 4am, $15, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Philadelphia

Rock to the Future Open House

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As it heads into its second year, Rock to the Future, the organization that provides free music education and academic assistance to underprivileged youth, has made some admirable strides towards improving our community. In this short amount of time, it has gained its non-profit status, has had its students perform showcases on stages like World Café Live, and is officially moving into a brand new performance space on East Cumberland Street in Fishtown. The organization will be celebrating the new space in style today by hosting its very first Open House. As you tour the space and check out its impressive mural, you will be able to enjoy refreshments, hear about RTTF’s success stories, and check out student bands and local musicians as they perform each hour. You will also be able to learn more about the fundraiser drive that they’re doing for this 2011-2012 season. So come out and learn a little bit more about them and show your support HERE! Rock to the Future, 2139 E. Cumberland St. – 2nd Floor, 4pm – 8pm, All Ages – Bill McThrill
 
Chicago

Man Is Man

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Do you remember the duo Puerto Muerto? I am not sure how you could forget. Christa Meyer is now in a band called Man is Man and over the summer they performed an acoustic show on the West Side. She also raised funds through kickstarter back in August to record her debut album as Man Is Man. Below is the video for "The Horse".

 

San Francisco

One to Watch: Plastic Villains

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Five San Franciscan friends who make solid garage rock instead of just bumming around like friends normally do? I can dig it. Which is why I’ve really been enjoying Plastic Villains. Their album Shades For the A-Bomb remind me of a certain hometown high school band I spent countless weekends supporting at all different under 21 venues in my suburb. Being filled up with pleasant youthful thoughts is a total bonus in my book, so check out their song “Fish Hook Esquire” below and wallow in psych rock delight.

-Justine Fields