Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, June 21 – 23

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If you’re a city dweller like myself, summertime in Philly is actually more enjoyable on the weekends as the city empties out while the rest of the local natives head towards the shore. Who needs the beach anyways? Especially when you have the surf rock tunes of Philly’s own Dry Feet to help bring in the waves of good times. The hard-rockin’ trio will be laying down plenty of sweet guitar licks this Saturday at Underground Arts when they open for sci-fi lovin’ Man or Astro-Man? and Miami’s Jacuzzi Boys. Trust me. With a show like this, you’ll never miss all the fist-pumping at the Jerzey Shore. Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., 7:30pm, $15, 21+ – Alexis V.

 
Other things to enjoy summer in the city this weekend…
 
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb
 
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Tygerstrype, Dockument, SAT Psalmships, SUN Big Horn Jazz Band
 
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Heavy Medical, Timbers, SAT Cough Cool Record Release, (Upstairs) Stereo Coma SUN Violent Society, Dopestroke, Paranoias, The Droogettes
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Song Dogs, Grip of The Gods, Parachuting Apostles, SAT Support Local Music w/Halfro, Hayley and The Fragile Hearts, The Redshift Experiment, Mad Men & More
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Khari Mateen, RoseMary Fiki, SAT Johnny Action Figure, Black Dirty, SUN Sour Mash, North Lawrence Midnight Singers, Painted Blue
 
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Val de Val, Blayer Pointdujour, Harbor, SAT Matt Santry
 
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Make Music Philly w/Arc in Round, Ang & The Damn Band, Commonwealth Choir, Heyward Howkins, Chris Cardillo, SAT Creem Circus, Riff Mountain, SUN R.G.’s 3 for 3
 
M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Ganto Barn, KMX Band, Make You Suffer, The Aristokoks, Above Connecticut
 
Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) FRI Aiden James
 
The Blockley (3801 Chestnut St.) SAT BlendMode, Catullus
 
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Blinktooth, Arms Reach, SAT Sylvia Platypus, SUN John Byrne, Rusty Cadillac
 
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Early) Make Music Philly w/Cult Choir, This Way to The Egress, David Falcone, September Call-Up, Keepin’ The Family, (Late) Killer Whale
 
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI Steve Oakley Band, Sunshine Superman, SUN Supreem & The New Experience, Supreem Da Rezarekta
 
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia) FRI Worshyper, Sun Cinema
 
JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy, Forest Kingdom
 
Teri’s (1126 S. 9th St.) FRI Ex Friends, Retreevers, Corporate Hearts
 
First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) FRI Tigers Jaw, NONA
 
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) SAT Spotted Atrocious
 
Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) SAT Fate 88, Release, Cyanide Saints, SUN Reeko Kane
 
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI The Skeleton Frames, The Sixties, Kat Madamba, SAT Hardwork Movement, Chris Shutz
 
Golden Tea House (Please contact one of the acts or the venue for more info.) SAT Ted Nguyent, Cannon, Relatives
 
Hausu (Please contact one of the acts or the venue for more info.) FRI Psychic Teens, Gunk
 
Safety Meeting (Please contact one of the acts or the venue for more info.) FRI Castellan, School Dance, The Glow in the Darks
 
Don’t Tread on Me House (Please contact one of the acts or the venue for more info.) SAT Levee Drivers, Heat Thunder, Morning River Band, The Rivals
 
Fleisher Art Memorial (Please contact one of the acts or the venue for more info.) FRI The Naked Sun
 
San Francisco

Blackbird Blackbird DJs Free Summer Solstice Event TONIGHT! – 6/21

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The popular San Francisco based songwriter and producer, Blackbird Blackbird will be DJing an intimate Summer Solstice event in San Fran tonight (June 21st). Reyka Vodka and Flavorpill Media are throwing the Reyka Summer Solstice Celebration at Swig. This event is a free happy hour cocktail party from 6-9 pm!

Do your very best to make it out to Swig! Free drinks on the first night of summer plus a Blackbird Blackbird DJ set? What more could you want!

San Francisco

Congratulations to Vela Eyes for Winning The Deli Magazine San Francisco’s Artist of the Month!

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The fans have spoken! We would like to congratulate Vela Eyes for winning The Deli Magazine San Francisco’s Artist of the Month Poll! Vela Eyes is a talented indie rock band whose recordings are sensual, well written and high quality.

With so many music groups emerging every day, Vela Eyes stands out with their impressive recordings and dignified style. Make sure you check out their debut EP, the Pleasure Sunrise. We wish them a long and prosperous future!

Philadelphia

TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb Opening for Lily & The Parlour Tricks at Underground Arts June 21

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It’s hard to imagine ever needing someone to sum up your craziest nights and the miserable mornings after, until hearing TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb.  They put all the mess and mistakes of that one night into song and make you want to relive it all over again. Playing blues through a veil of morning whiskey breath and stale cigarette smoke, vocalist Dan Bruskewicz’s rough croon offers clarity through the haze. Instrumentals that include violin, harmonica and upright base all crash together in crafted chaos, the end result being a raucous and strangely uplifting good time. Also on tonight’s roster is Lily and The Parlour Tricks, a band rooted in Americana who also know how to swing.  Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., $10, 8pm, 21+ – Shaylin O’Connell

Chicago

CD of the Month: Handsome Tyrants

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The debut ep from the e.d.m. trio known as Handsome Tyrants is impressive and unique for the genre. The six song released blends elements of dream-pop, ambient soundscapes, and an array of mind blowing sounds and textures. The lead track "Hannibal" leans heavily on drone with an creepy trumpet cutting through the mist with a repeated broken wail. "Lighthouse" breaks the drone as it build methodically into a steady dance track. The sparse vocals add more traditional element to the track as the ghostly vocalist laments, "Where are we now?". The ep third track, "Random Call", moves even closer to a traditional rock feel almost completely abandoning the sonic haze of the first two tracks.

Through out the ep the trio plays with beats, sounds, and distant vocals to create an atmosphere that is unique and impressive for a debut.

You can catch Handsome Tyrants at Hostel Earphoria on July 13th with Shapers, ONO, C. Batteries, & El is The Sound of Joy or at Empty Bottle on Aug. 5th with Chandeliers, Gel Set and Spider To The Fly.

Philadelphia

Elevate w/Worshyper at PhilaMOCA June 21

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If you’ve ever experienced Keith Hampson’s harmonious project Power Animal performing live with multiple musicians, then there’s a good chance that you’ve caught the members of Worshyper behind a drum kit, guitar or xylophone. And now as a part of Hampson’s ambitious record label, Human Kindness Overflowing, and charitable organization that strives to team with artists and musicians in an effort to raise money for special causes, Marie Nicolo, Kevin O’Neill and Matt Hampson have managed to come into their own since the tail end of 2012. And if songs like “Knot” are any indication, the group’s upcoming follow-up to their Happened EP should help to elevate them to a whole new level. So tonight’s show at PhilaMOCA will be a good chance to catch this quirky, fledgling R&B trio. They’ll also be joined by Fishtown rockers Sun Cinema, who will be opening the festivities, and Brooklyn brother duo Katabasis. Philamoca, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $7 – $10 Donation, All Ages – Bill McThrill

NYC

A bill of emerging NYC bands headlines Mercury on Saturday July 6: Honey Wild, Hani Zahra, Howth, Whale Belly

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This bill at Mercury Lounge on July 6 caught our attention mostly because we rarely see 4 very diverse local emerging bands booked on a weekend night at the prime Lower East Side small venue. While we already covered melancholic poppers Howth and animated folk rock revivalists Whale Belly in this blog (check them out!), Honey Wild and Hani Zara are names we are foreign to – and we are going to fix that right now.

Hani Zahra (pictured) is definitely the quirkier artist on this bill – and we like that. On record they sound like an electro pop band with the added bonus of charismatic vocals, an element so often missing from a genre generally shy in the singing department. This being said, the band presents itself live as a quintet, so we can expect a real show. Opening track Roll Roll Roll (streaming below) is particularly fun, with a mangled plodding organ sound and cheeky vocals between Wall of Voodoo’s elegant 80s melodies and the theatrical antics of an Ian Dury.

Honey Wild (in the picture) is a more serious band, but not necessarily more predictable. All the tracks from their recently released second EP "Mea Culpa" develop under our ears in surprising ways while building in urgency, without sounding forced, skillfully playing with tension and release contrasts – which is what rock’n’roll is all about. The vocals are particularly good for an emerging band – definitely a band keep an ear on!

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

See the night’s Facebook event for exact set times.

NYC

From the NYC submissions: Bury Me A Lion – Live at Arlene’s on 06.28

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What if Jeff Buckley had played with a punk band? What if he had found his band members on Craiglist, and been a big Radiohead fan too? While I’m not sure if Mr. Buckley had Internet (or Craigslist) access, it’s the reason Bury Me A Lion found each other, and probably why each member of this quartet sounds so entirely different from one another, while just happening to come together so well. Latest EP ‘Year of the Lion’ demonstrates how the band is able to find a place for roof-tearing vocals amidst a clash of jangly guitars and booming drums. Tracks like ‘Dinosaur’ and ‘One Arm for Another’ especially rip through the album’s setlist with a crash course urgency, pitting rock abandon against huge, powerhouse vocals. Check it out and see the band when they play Arlene’s Grocery Jun 28. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This artist submitted their music for review here.

Chicago

From Our Open Blog: Polarizer release EP Lightscapes

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Polarizer is a Chicago alt-rock band, formed at the end of 2011. The band’s debut EP Lightscapes is available June 21, 2013. Lightscapes was recorded at Rax Trax, and mastered at Gravity studios in Chicago.

Polarizer is celebrating the release of Lightscapes with a live performance at Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Chicago tonight, June 21. Doors open at 8:00pm. Visit the Polarizer website for ticket information or to stream and purchase Lightscapes.