Philadelphia

Happy Halloween & Don’t Get Arrested!

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We love Halloween; however, we’re also not always the greatest planners. For those who actually have a costume but still aren’t sure where they’ll be getting into trouble tonight, please allow us to make a few suggestions. Surprisingly, the weekend before Halloween was rather a disappointment this year. We’re guessing that with the holiday falling on Thursday, people figured that it was close enough to the weekend to make it a long one. Hopefully, you were able to take off work tomorrow to fully enjoy the festivities. Or at least, you have a cool enough boss who can forgive you smelling like a dive bar while still having some residue of zombie makeup on at work.
 
Well, a good place to be where there will be no judgment this evening is the 4th annual TJ Kong Halloween Costume Ball Rock N Roll Murdershow at Underground Arts with Kong and the Atomic Bomb, Cold Fronts, Johnny Showcase, Purples (ex-Teeth), Manterial Girl and DJ Breakfast (Jonas Oesterle). This will surely be the place for fine up-and-coming local acts, drunken debauchery and human sacrifices – if you’re into that sort of thing like we are. If you’re looking to spend Halloween in a bigger space, the Philly staple for live concert craziness, Man Man, will be closing out their two-night Halloween run at Union Transfer with King Khan & The Shrines, MELT-BANANA and Hell Shovel. Another traditional Philly favorite is Making Time with this year’s party dubbed “Pure Halloween.” You’ll find the usual suspects raging to futuristic sounds.
 
Now, those are the bigger events on our radar. So if you are feeling like doing something kind of off the beaten path, there is Mercury Radio Theater, who will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album The Death and Life of the Undead Boy, at Johnny Brenda’s with local burlesque mainstay Miss Rose and her lovelies. And for those who are in a giving mood on this unholy of evenings, you can find likeminded people at The Mitten for the Halloween Cover Show to Benefit the Philadelphia Student Union and at The Boot & Saddle, where our friends Iron will be hosting a benefit show for BuildOn.org, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.
 
All these events should have you covered for tonight – just don’t get arrested. Have a happy and somewhat safe Halloween – cheers! – Q.D. Tran
 
Philadelphia

Album Review: Cool Cool Cool – The Lawsuits

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Cool Cool Cool, the full-length debut from quintet, The Lawsuits, captures the group’s innate ability to traverse through a wide landscape of genres. Enlisting the services of renowned local producer Bill Moriarty (Man Man, Dr. Dog, etc.), the record demonstrates that The Lawsuits aren’t bound to any specific style; rather, the tie that binds is their united musical output – one that incorporates strong storytelling, crisply built up instrumentation, and heartfelt vocals. These components infused with an omnipresent energy create songs that creep into one’s head for the long haul.
 
Lead single “Onion” begins with a ringing lap-steel guitar, leading into a casual boogie piano as Brian Dale Allen Strouse does his best Randy Newman impersonation. The song gradually builds momentum, gaining strength with every verse particularly in the paired vocals of Strouse and Vanessa Winters – “Well it’s alright now, because you’re all mine now” – set off by rolling downhill instrumentation.
 
“The Workings of You” begins with a somewhat funky soul combination of drums, bass and keys, setting a groove before the slide guitar comes in adding just that right twang. Strouse’s vocals are a fine blend of spoken authority with a touch of earnest soul, as the perfectly smoothed-out backing vocals provide contrast. The song remains at a constant flow before the guitar launches into a raunchy electric honky-tonk solo. Speaking of honky-tonk, “25W A19 120V Blues” is a down-home, rugged, up-tempo boogie complete with a hip-shaking groove and a nasty, whiskey-drinking guitar solo.
 
“Odd Like a Hymn (Flies in the Butter)” immediately grabs you with its powerful, anticipatory drum/guitar combination, but is reeled in by the keys. Strouse’s vocals take the lead role, but the song finds its force in the intertwining of Strouse/Winters vocals – “I’m a freight-train coming for you” – blended with electric guitar runs and the tumbling avalanche of percussion.
 
The album closes with the soulful, heartfelt ballad “You Won’t Love Me if You Don’t.” Winters takes the reins amid percussion-and-keys-fronted instrumentation, bearing her soul at full force – “She lives to deceive you. She doesn’t deserve to say your name.” The song takes an uplifting tone as Winters repeats the refrain – “you won’t love if you don’t/I won’t ask you if you won’t…” – leaving you smitten.
 
Cool Cool Cool is an album that proves The Lawsuits get it – telling stories that are worth hearing and delivering them in a manner that demonstrates how each word and moment is close to their heart. It’s really not about genres; it’s more about expressing emotion through every song. – Michael Colavita

Philadelphia

Grandchildren Opening for Man Man at Union Transfer Oct. 30

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Tonight, West Philly ensemble Grandchildren will be opening night one of Man Man’s two-night run at Union Transfer. The two groups have had mutual crushes on each other for a while since Honus Honus name-dropped them back in 2010 as his favorite local band. Later, Man Man made things official by taking Grandchildren out on tour in support of their 2011 album Life Fantastic. Since then, both bands have kept busy releasing new albums. Grandchildren’s latest effort Golden Age, a bourgeoning collection of tight compositions and complex syncopation, came out earlier this year on Earnest Jenning Record Co. The band toured for a while with Yip Deceiver so this is a good chance to see the sextet back on their home turf.  These guys are notoriously badass in the live setting, and have been honing their set on the road, so you won’t be disappointed with this last minute addition. 
 
From “Werewolf (on the hood of yer heartbreak)” to Wolf Blitzer in “End Game,” Man Man has managed to become a respected and beloved band talked about on Pitchfork and Anderson Cooper alike – all without restraining any of their endearing weirdness. Instead, they have matured, continued to experiment, and five albums in seem to be finding their sound more than ever before. You know that Man Man is going to pull out all the stops for this Halloween run, so get that face paint and headdress ready, and don’t be afraid of a little confetti and fake blood. Or maybe real blood? Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., 8pm, $20, All Ages – Adam G.
 
Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Beyond Your Bones” – Far-Out Fangtooth

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Far-Out Fangtooth premiered a new music video for the track "Beyond Your Bones" yesterday over at Stereogum to coincide with the release of their new LP Borrowed Time (Siltbreeze). The revealing, tripped-out footage was edited and directed by "Scuba" Rob Orlowski and the band, and you can hear them flesh out this tune and many others from their latest offering this Saturday, November 2 at The Boot & Saddle.

Far-Out Fangtooth – "Beyond Your Bones" 

Philadelphia

New Rich Mystics Album Available for Streaming & Purchase

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Here’s a new album entitled Pastiche Soul Machine from Rich Mystics, an offshoot from Nicos Gun‘s Barney Cortez and Nick Bockrath. The duo also received some help on drums from Eric Slick (Dr. Dog), Tom Hamilton (Brothers Past/American Babies) and David Butler. You can stream and purchase the record below.

Philadelphia

Tuesday Tune-Out w/Psychic Teens at PhilaMOCA Oct. 29

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Drexel University’s WKDU will be wrapping up their series of shows this month for PhilaMOCA’s Tuesday Tune-Out. Closing things out this evening is gothic post-punk trio Psychic Teens, who should be the perfect act to get you in the mood for all the upcoming Halloween festivities. With bludgeoning tunes from their latest LP COME (SRA Records), the band just might scare out whatever remaining spirits may still be residing in the former mausoleum. Also, don’t forget to stick around after their performance for some campy B-movie horror flick goodness. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $5, All Ages – Alexis V.

Philadelphia

Ticket Giveaway: Thee Oh Sees, The Blind Shake & OBN III at Underground Arts This Wednesday

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We’ve been looking forward to this for a while, and we have a pair of tickets to help you get into trouble too on Mischief Night this Wednesday at Underground Arts with Thee Oh Sees, The Blind Shake and OBN III. To enter for a chance to win, just send us an email at thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line “Looking for Trouble” Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency).
 
Philadelphia

Rosu Lup Providing Warm Harmonies for This Fall Chill at North Star Bar Oct. 28

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Local indie folk quartet Rosu Lup will be providing warm harmonies to protect you from the fall chill tonight at the North Star Bar as part of its Victorian Dining Room Acoustic Series. After capturing our attention with their latest EP The Current, the group is planning to return to Miner Street Recordings once again to record their next release, which you can probably get a preview of this evening in its bare-bones state. Rosu Lup will also be joined by soft-spoken Lehigh Valley singer-songwriter DJ Brown, a.k.a. Our Griffins, and bushy-haired, lanky “song and dance man” Ron Gallo (of Toy Soldiers) so now you have a place to hideout at for the rest of the night. North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 9pm, Free, 21+ (Photo by Doug Seymour) – H.M. Kauffman