Ever since the first pictures of one of the cutest dogs ever surfaced throughout several Philly media outlets, the City of Brotherly Love has become impassioned by Lentil, a fighter who has been dealing with a severe cleft hard/soft palate since birth. This inspiring Ambassadog has been helping to change the way that people view clefts in animals and humans, and has even been the inspiration for a festival that benefits French Bulldog Rescue, Street Tails and CCA Kids. Juston Stens & the Get Real Gang and others already rocked the The Blockley as part of it on Thursday, and North Bowl threw a silent auction and celebrity bowling tournament last night. And after everyone hits up Liberties Walk for the flea market portion of the festival today, they’ll be ready to scoot on over to The Fire, which will be hosting a double header of concerts over the weekend. Tonight will feature the dance-rock vibrations of Nicos Gun, as well as the amplified hip-hop hustle of both Reef The Lost Cauze and Kuf Knotz. And tomorrow will be injected with a bit of soulful country rock thanks to The Lawsuits, North Lawrence Midnight Singers, Sean Hoots, and Toy Soldiers, but will also be induced with some sultry, soulful beats from Attia Taylor – all for a good cause. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave, 8pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill
The aptly named Free Energy is bringing their guitar-driven power pop to the North Star Bar tonight. With upbeat rock that makes you want to groove, the band has toured with the likes of Mates of State and Weezer, now in support their latest LP Love Sign, which was released earlier this year via the group’s own label. There’s something about Free Energy’s carefree lyrics and punchy guitar riffs that make the music so much fun and perfect for this gorgeous weather. It doesn’t hurt that they know the cure for rock ‘n’ roll fever is more cowbell. Also featured is the LA-based duo Deap Vally, who Free Energy have been roaming the landscape of America with. These two ladies have their own energy to share with their grungy, blues rock ensuring the night to be a rollicking good time. Also ready to help the crowd freak out will be locals Prowler. North Star Bar, 2369 Poplar St., 9pm, $12, 21+ – Shaylin O’Connell
The fact that PhilaMOCA is hosting its first R5 Productions show tonight is a pretty big deal all around, especially since it will be headlined by current indie sensations Parquet Courts (note: hopefully you got your tickets early, but if not be prepared because this one will be SUPER packed!!!). And buzz-worthy artists Scott & Charlene’s Wedding and Household should make it even more of a killer show. But the sole hometown band on the lineup, Amanda X, isn’t to be missed either. You might have come across Cat Park when she performs as part of the fast-paced power rock trio Bandname. But her new all-female rock three-piece (which suitably debuted on Halloween) is an impressive act, which channels pleasant memories of Sleater Kinney. And with them set to play bigger shows like Ladyfest Philly over the summer, you’ll definitely be hearing more from them in the future. So consider tonight a refresher course. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill
Ugh…it’s wedding season! Now, don’t get me wrong – I love a good wedding. However, I love live concerts and festivals slightly more. I’m already missing Hopscotch Fest because I’m in a wedding (Erpel – you’re lucky that “YOU’RE MY BOY BLUE!”), and tonight I’ll also have to miss the Grandchildren Philly Album Release Show with The Lawsuits, Laser Background and DJ Pow Pow for a wedding that I am not so excited about (ha…luckily I doubt the couple knows that The Deli exists so they won’t see this post). Well, just because I won’t be able to be there, it certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. The show is going to be a rad time, and the Grandchildren guys are super talented, awesome fellas so come out, cheer loudly, buy their record, and wish them all the best from me! – Q.D. Tran
Other things that aren’t weddings this weekend…
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI (Downstairs) Cousin Brian, (Upstairs) Horace Mann, SAT (Upstairs) Jackie Paper, Idle Idols, SUN Goner
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia) SAT Amanda X
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Candy Volcano, SAT Alo Brazil, Giovana Robinson Band
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Royal Noise, The Way Home, SAT Free Energy, Prowler
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Lentilfest! w/Kuf Knotz, Nicos Gun, Reef The Lost Cause, Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner, Brady and the Bear, SUN Lentilfest! w/The Lawsuits, Spirit and Dust, North Lawrence Midnight Singers, Anjuli Josephine, Attia Taylor, Sean Hoots
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Les Professionnels
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI North Lawrence Midnight Singers, SAT Jeff Zeigler
M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Jah People, I Yahn I Arkestra, SAT Ominous Ominous Ominous, A Blue Sky for Isis
Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) SUN Divine Hand Ensemble
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Tiny Cities, SAT Tinmouth, Bueno and the Goods, Acres of Diamonds
The Blockley (3801 Chestnut St.) FRI Control For Smilers, BAM!, Burn Switch, SAT Les Professionnels
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Hired Guns Blues Band, SAT Jersey Corn Pickers, SUN Rusty Cadillac
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT Theopolis James, The Lux, Skyline Cinema, Amber Jacobs
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI The Wayside Shakeup, The Maine Street Band, Prima Donna, Five Times Famous, SAT Cold Roses, Modern Colour, John The Conqueror, BAM!, Looseleaf Trio, Rowboat Casino, The Matt Lyons Band, Leoce
Some of you may or may not know that I enjoy roaming around the city always looking for a good hang. I ran into a bunch of friends last Sunday at a neighborhood bar, and we ended up heading out to a backyard grill/clam bake in South Philly. That’s where I met a recent transplant from Williamsport, PA named Josh Hines. He’s the guitarist and lead vocalist of a music duo that is new to Philly called Maitland, which also includes his long-time friend Jeff Mach on drums and backup vocals. Hines asked me to check out his band, and certainly wasn’t pushy about it ( which all artists should take note of that). I did, and was pleasantly surprised. Maitland’s EP (from a cabin in the woods) is aptly named, especially since it was recorded at Bear Run Hollow (a.k.a. The Cabin), but it also does have that isolated in the woods feel that is found on Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and Family Band’s Grace & Lies. Actually, the album possesses a combination of the two resulting in some beautifully spacious atmospheric folk. You can take a listen to it below in its entirety. The duo is also opening up their home, a.k.a. 17Q9, in North Philly (near Temple’s campus) tonight for a show with Kwesi Kankam and Sauce. If you want to find out more details about it or the band, shoot an email over to joshhines@gmail.com. – Q.D. Tran
Les Professionnels recently dropped a booty-shaking remix of Nicos Gun‘s "Dirty Girl," the opening track off their LP Plush. It’s definitely catwalk/pole-worthy! Les Professionnels will surely be spinning it this weekend when they perform tonight at MilkBoy Philly and Saturday evening at The Blockley. Now, if you want to hear the original version live, Nicos Gun will be performing this Saturday at The Fire for the first half of Lentilfest!
We’re slowly, but surely finding our way back to normal. Hopefully we’ll be all caught up sooner than later. Below is a new video of an in-studio performance by Laser Background for Brighton Sound Sessions of an unrelease song called "Magic Dust" that will be appearing on their upcoming LP Super Future Montage. You can catch them live tonight at Johnny Brenda’s opening Grandchildren‘s album release show.
The raw inspirations that TJ Cowgill, a.k.a. King Dude, draws on for his new 7” Holy Trinity showcases the artist’s dark rockabilly-structured roots and all the while still focusing on more of a heavy folk take on the horror genre that we expect from him. Songs like the album’s opener “Please Stay (In The Shadow Of My Grave)” have a very grim mood, which throws a nod back to his days in black metal outfit Black Earth. It all makes sense after all, because these songs are from the earlier days of Cowgill’s career. The old tunes sound great with the new mix, especially juxtaposed next to his previous release Burning Daylight. The EP was recorded with the members of his new band adding some background feed and percussion, and in the end, it makes for an exceptionally well-rounded sound with welcomed extra reverb. Standout track “Don’t Want Me Still” really shines through with its Bowie-esque vocals, possessing a mournful tone with a speck of hope, as it tramples through the graveyard all the while looking for its meaning. The album is a really nice collection of tracks from Cowgill that are more forgiving in the sense that it is meant to revel in the horrorbilly realm, but relies more on structure and less on despair. It provides fans with a new take on their old favorites and new fans with a foundation into King Dude’s signature shadowy sound, produced without the gimmicks that are usually found throughout the genre. – John Clements
For those who decide whether to come or go based on the first forty seconds of an album, Restorations’ LP2 is practically tailor-made for snap judgments. After a chiming, anthemic guitar opening, the band already known for fist-raising jams lets all hell break loose with “D,” their most unrestrained opener yet. The drum kit-mauling, earth-shaking bass lines and ascendant guitar riffs can only be described as complete sensory overload, and make it clear that the following eleven songs are going to be fueled by pure viscera. If your preferences run towards structure over huge sound, this release may leave you cold; LP2’s predominant means of exploring the band’s wealth of ideas are stadium-sized instrumentation and endless waves of atmospherics, as well as a dose of ennui.
This is a murkier, more inward-looking Restorations than we’re used to. Everything that was there before, musically, is blown sky-high this time around. They’ve managed to pack ideas into every iota of the song list, aided by Jon Low’s miles-deep production; the density of the music itself is offset by an album-long meditation on place, belonging, and the ramifications of leaving the familiar behind, which makes the outsized sound that much more of an interesting direction. Juxtaposing the existential discomfort with more sophisticated, complex forays into Restorations’ sonic wheelhouse.
The spiraling guitars, one of the album’s specially prominent features, are everywhere, serving various purposes in each song. “Kind of Comfort”’s jittery glam rock aspirations accompany lyrics of searching and wanderlust. Even the more downbeat cuts (“In Perpetuity Through The Universe,” “New Old”) are propelled beyond their subject matter by the songs’ barely-concealed restless energy. At its more pensive moments, like the folk-inflected “Civil Inattention,” there is a restless undercurrent of texture and volatility that never quite lets up.
Album closer “Adventure Tortoise” is all monster buildup laced with extraterrestrial effects, kicking off into a sort of requiem for the band’s neighborhood. “I’d really like to stay to help this place,” growls Jon Loudon through his teeth, but the allure of letting it all go is too strong to resist. The longing for a place “where nobody knows your name” isn’t quite all-consuming enough to inspire real action, but it is definitely the new paradigm Loudon means.
It takes guts to pull off a release that feels ten minutes long but contains more emotional and musical texture than most records. Restorations cover a whole lot of ground on LP2, and for the most part, pull off their ambitions. A bit too sanguine for shoegaze, and maybe too heady for punk, Restorations’ second full-length album brings an intriguing palette of aspirations to their open road-ready sound, prepared to try anything and everything. – Alyssa Greenberg
Bad Braids (a.k.a. Megan Biscieglia) released her bewitching new full-length album, Supreme Parallel, today via Austin-based indie label Haute Magie. You can stream the record in its entirety below. Bad Braids will be heading on a month-long European tour with Mike Bruno starting this month.
Below is a beautiful remix from Odesza of fellow production duo Beat Connection‘s "Saola," which you can download for free. The Seattle electro-pop brethrens will be hitting the road together this May.
