We were totally looking forward to seeing Break It Up’s debut performance tonight at Kung Fu Necktie, where they would’ve opened for London’s noise-pop trio Male Bonding. After all, the new trio features Wigwams guitarist Dan Morse and former Conversations with Enemies keyboardist Jen Sperling on dual guitars & vocals, so we know Break It Up would have been killer on stage today. But, alas, because of Hurricane Irene’s bucketing tour through the city, the show was cancelled, and it’s not the only one, either. Other cancelled Sunday gigs include World Café Live’s The HYPE’s (Almost) End of Summer Bash, the Rivers of Nihil/Snake Road/With Life In Mind show at the Barbary, and Making Time Forever (under) 21 with Far-Out Fangtooth. We know it’s bummer, so we leave you with Break It Up’s first single, “Excavate” – an infectious stripped down tune with post-riot-grrrl appeal.
And while we’re on the subject of Irene, it was no joke, even if it seemed like a letdown around some parts. Apartments above a Chinese food joint in North Philly collapsed, a large tree in the Northeast fell and crushed a car while in motion (the driver is thankfully OK), the Schuylkill River crested at record levels, flooding Lincoln Drive, and thousands of local residents lost power. As for the rest of the East Coast, in addition to flooding, road closures, and tornado touchdowns, Irene claimed 14 lives in six states. So we hope everyone is safe and hasn’t experience too much of Irene’s damage and devastation.