The name Cuddle Magic should already hint to you what you’ll be in for this evening, as their airy tunes will warmly hug you with delicate arms of experimental folk-pop. You can probably guess that it’s a love fest when the Brooklyn/Philly outfit comes together under one roof. The twelve (sometimes plus) musicians (and their three foot plastic penguin buddy) will be starting their Fall Northeast U.S. Tour at JB’s tonight. It must be close quarters on the road, but I have a feeling that these ladies and gents don’t mind. They’ll be opening for Anti- Records’ Lost In The Trees. Below is a video of a stripped-down live performance of “Expectations” from their latest album Pictures on FYO Records – talk about bedroom recordings. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Yes, we know. It’s October, and the fall season is upon us with plenty of darker, drearier days of winter to come. Well, we here at The Deli have been working on some sweet shows to make sure that this won’t be your season of discontent. And let us tell you that October is going to be nuts! We’ll be starting it off this weekend when we co-present with Dock Street Brewing Co. Grandchildren’s Album Release Party on Friday, Oct. 8 at JB’s with special guests San Fran’s Little Teeth, Hermit Thrushes and The Armchairs. But don’t blow your load to early and save some energy for the rest of the month because we’ll be back the following week at JB’s on Friday, Oct. 15 for The Deli’ Anniversary Party with very special guests The Extraordinaires, An American Chinese and Power Animal as well as DJ Jersey Dan and visual art by Meredith Edlow. We are super stoked about this show and will have plenty of more surprises for you! It is going to be legen-…wait for it…-dary!!! But the fun doesn’t stop there because our favorite holiday, Halloween, is coming up, and there will be no rest for the wicked that weekend. The Deli will be presenting Grimace Federation’s Album Release Party on Friday, Oct. 29 at JB’s with West Philadelphia Orchestra and Univox, and our buddy TJ Kong (a.k.a. Dan Bruskewicz) has asked us to bring in this most fun and sexiest of holidays with him and a bunch of his music friends for the TJ Kong_Halloween_CostumeBall_RockandRoll_Murdershow on Sunday, Oct. 31 at the Ukie Club. This is a big one to close out a most excellent October! You’ll be treated to performances by Toy Soldiers, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, The Spooks, Cheers Elephant, Busses, Ugh, God, Da Comrade!, The Powder Kegs, The Yes Way, Penrose and Flamingo as well as more special guests (if that wasn’t enough), games, costume prizes, free food and cheap beer. October is going to be RAD! – The Deli Staff

 

Cool – this broke earlier today on CP’s The Clog, The Roots will be opening for Barack Obama at his “Move America Forward Rally” on Sunday, Oct. 10 in the park next to Robert Fulton Elementary School. You don’t need a ticket, but you must RSVP here. Guessing this will be a mob scene (hopefully not a flash mob scene) in NW Philly after all it’s The Prez and The Roots. But if you are brave enough to maneuver yourself through the sea of people, then check out the following deets. Robert Fulton Elementary School, 60 E. Haines St., 3pm doors/4pm starts, FREE w/RSVP, All Ages – The Deli Staff

 

Otherworldly shoegaze by suburban four-piece Soars feels just as haunting live as it does on their debut. Re-imagining the underpinnings of lo-fi pop, Soars’ perfectly gloomy anthems pair scratchy synth with melancholy, resulting in a sound that is simultaneously felt and heard. Half heart, half sensation, the vapid space between each note fosters longing for the next ethereal chord or riff. Nearly hush-hush vocals echo alongside reverb that shifts, sinks, and soars. It would be impossible not to think of terms like dark wave or psych pop when listening to their LP. Comparable but completely different, Soars sound settles beyond the genre’s limits, resulting in eight tracks of deliberative exploration that pushes past familiar and embarks on something further, something unpredictable, fresh, and new. Released on La Société Expéditionnaire, Soars is a transcendent full-length from oscillating intro to end.

 

With a quick thump and crisp clicks, “The Sun Breaks In Every Way But One” sounds out with laidback surf-like riffs and coolly calm but vibrant vocals. A relatively upbeat track, Soars first open’s the album with optimism buried beneath a weathered awareness that accompanies lessons often learned by disillusionment, loss, or pain. “Throw Yourself Apart” is rhythmically hypnotic. Washed out vocals settle above a swirl of guitar mechanical buzzed out beats. Previously released as a single, “Throw Yourself Apart” is an easy favorite and a perfect snapshot of Soars at their best. Ending in full-out distortion, this track’s final seconds defy all things sentimental, leaving listeners fumbling for afterthoughts outside the jurisdiction of its deliberately messy outro. The lengthy and dirge-like “Escape On High” gives way to “Ditches” a moody yet well-orchestrated pop ballad that ripens and blooms in its latter half, fading out atmospheric and memorable. “Ditches” unfolds like Chairlift’s “Territory” only with more emotive diligence, evident in its chorus and caustic yet symphonic swell. The psyched out start of “Figurehead” is a well-fashioned downer in comparison to the album’s start. Far from cheerful, “Figurehead” is brooding and brilliantly dark, save for its shining guitar riffs. Synthy interludes in “Young Adult” bring to mind Numan’s Pleasure Principle while the album’s final track “Monolith” sweeps in with nearly tribal backbeats that ease into mournful chords and vocals well worth the song’s namesake. A gorgeously somber debut, Soars does more than impress.

 

Soars’ self-titled album will be officially available tomorrow Oct. 5, but it looks like you can order it via La Société Expéditionnaire if you’d like right now.

 

– Dianca Potts

 

Today Dock Street Brewery celebrates its momentous 25th anniversary of being in Philadelphia, as well as its 3rd year as being a part of West Philly community. To celebrate both milestones the popular brewpub will be throwing an outdoor festival that might even be bigger than the West Philadelphia Music Festival that they threw over the summer. During DOCKtoberfest, the craft artisanal beer will be flowing inside, the streets will be paved with music thanks in part to Dock Street worker and Grandchildren percussionist, Roman Salcic. Roman recruited some good friends from Brooklyn in both avant garde gypsy rockers Skeletonbreath (which features Grandchildren’s Tris Palazzolo on drums) and tropical pop rockers Dinosaur Feathers (who might just feature Roman behind the drums). Both bands have been no strangers to rockin’ out at the neighboring Danger Danger Gallery, and should drive in some exciting performances. The Homophones have been invited back after their stellar performance at the West Philadelphia Music Festival. The stylish band was last seen driving in an exciting dance filled performance at our showcase for Philly F/M Festival opener last week, and should bring in another balloon massacring winner. Also on the lineup is the trip-hop collaboration between singer-songwriter Liz Fullerton and Jedi Mind Trick’s Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, Dutch. Lastly, on the bill are The National Rifle, who have been at the top of their game ever since releasing Vanity Press over the summer. Dock Street Pub, 50th & Baltimore Ave., 2pm, All Ages – Bill McThrill

 

Drawing inspiration from a time when hip hop had seen its better days, Philadelphia Slick specialize in tight deliveries and plenty of jazz and funk samples – think A Tribe Called Quest if Q-Tip’s flow was a little less chill and a little more spastic. And of course, the fact that they have a live band might make you think of The Roots, but clearly these guys are more concerned about having fun than laying down some social commentary (not to say The Roots can’t have fun). Also stoking The Fire tonight are fellow hip hop acts JJ Demon and MH the Verb. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave, $7, 9pm, 21+ – Joe Poteracki

 

Spanning the globe and through several musical genres, Clean Equations are creating ambient shoegazey orchestrations of songwriter/engineer Michael Nyhan. The group is a musical collective that also hails from NYC and as far Melbourne, Australia, and has found its home base for creating enchanting melodies in Philly. Nyhan released a self-titled EP in 2009, and has been hard at work on his first full length People/Variables for the better part of the year. And he even had some help from the likes of seasoned guitarist Nero Catalano and songbird Dani Mari. It was released on August 31 through State Capito Recordsl. Tonight’s show at Johnny Brenda’s marks the special vinyl release party. Joining them will be soulful South Philly rockers and Carriage House alum, The Great Vibration, who have been most impressive in their own right since the release of Purple Stuff. Rounding out the lineup is the ever impressive West Philly ghoulish indie popsters Conversations with Enemies, whose debut album Nowhere, OK came out just last month, and they managed to pull double duty creating an exciting graphic novel. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N, Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill

 

 

Grandchildren is a six-piece tour de force when performing live, brought together by the initial solo efforts of Aleks Martray. After cracking his electric guitar in half during the summer of 2007, he picked up an acoustic guitar that he found in his basement and infused its sounds with the sampled beats that he had been experimenting with. Thus, the foundation for what would become Grandchildren’s debut full length Everlasting (Green Owl) was laid.

 

In Everlasting’s first three tracks “Cold Warrior”, “Winterlude” and “Heartbreak”, you find the original essence of the album. Once they were three sections to one song, but now have fissioned to become the majority of the first half of the album. You’ll find thematic melodies intertwined in this trio. There are many contrasting compositions built up throughout the album – most of which are comprised of over 30 tracks of instrumentation creating dense multi-layered blankets of sound. Opening track and first song written for the album, “Cold Warrior” (a tribute to Martray’s military father), assaults you with a barrage of drum samples before the bouncing bass line kicks in and Aleks Martray’s soothing echoed vocals welcome you in. The sparse introductory guitar picking in “Winterlude” lulls you in a trance before tossing you to and fro by the shifting melodies of the instrumental. Yes, it certainly does feel like a long intro for the next track as the outtro dissolves into splattered samples leading into the apathy of love lost found in “Heartbreaker”. The first single released from Everlasting,“Saturn Returns”, often resembles the score to an interstellar Greek battle of the gods as armies march and attack to Martray’s galloping acoustic guitar lines. Other standouts include hypnotic tracks like “Toss & Turn” with its pulse pounding drumbeats and 8-bit bleeps and the seductively silky smooth “OK I’m Waiting”.

 

While the album is grounded in pop sensibilities and melodies, Everlasting takes plenty of risks moving Grandchildren closer to the realm of buzz-worthy underground art rockers, but I’m guessing that it’s in their DIY nature to begin with anyways. Trust me. They won’t remain underground for long. This is only their launching point. Sky’s the limit for the Danger Danger Gallery crew! You can purchase Everlasting by Grandchildren here. – Q.D. Tran

 

When it comes to shows at The Fire the fantastic lineups of Philly artists that it brings in wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for main booker Derek Dorsey. Derek has tirelessly worked hard to promote several bands and songwriters throughout the scene, and has given a countless amount of musicians their break into the Philly music scene. Unfortunately, Derek has been going through rough times of late due to a recent car accident, and has been feeling some low times. So to help him on the road to recovery some of his friends will be coming together on Sunday to throw him a special benefit. And since so many of Derek’s friends happen to be so musically inclined, it’s a big event full of The Fire alumni for you to capitalize on. Hezekiah Jones will be bringing plenty of beautiful melodic folk to the stage, as well as what is sure to be an all-star cast from the many supporting members of the Jones family. Meanwhile Kuf Knotz will be bringing the funked out hip hop beats that helped him get signed to Mad Dragon Records recently (you can preview his entire new album, Boombox Logic, out later this month here), and labelmates Toy Soldiers will be bringing their specialized blend of bluesy roots music. Songwriter veteran and co-creator of Franzschubert & the Schuubs, Andrew Lipke, will be on hand to play tunes from his innovative new album Motherpearl and Dynamite. The indie heartthrobs who are led by sexy songstress Beril Guceri, East Hundred, will also be on hand as well as Chris Kasper, Sisters3, Arrah & The Ferns, Spirit and Dust, and American Babies. There will also be a special raffle that features art from local artists and gift certificates from area restaurants. Not too shabby for just $8! The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 8pm, $8, 21+

 

Other places that you can hide from the flooding and see some live music…

 

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Oh! Pears and Missing Palmer West, SAT Clean Equations Vinyl Release Party w/The Great Vibration and Conversations with Enemies, SUN Toy Soldiers

 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Ladder Devils, SUN Baptist Preachers and Alright Junior

 

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Fallen Troubadours, SAT Philadelphia Slick

 

M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Philly Metal One Year Anniversary Party w/Monolith, Bubonic Bear, Ominous Black, Gholas, SUN Rarebirds (Farewell Show) and Happy Accident

 

Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI Honah Lee, SAT Broken Prayers

 

Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) SAT Kenn Kweder

 

JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI Gondola, Screaming Rattler, The Company Corvette, Hott Tubb

 

Pterodactyl (3237 Amber St.) SAT Boy’s Life Closing Reception w/ Sure Juror, The Lawsuits

 

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI Among Criminals

 

Electric Factory (421 N. 7th St.) FRI Gang

 

Dock Street Brew Pub (701 S. 50th St.) SUN Docktoberfest w/The Homophones, Skeletonbreath, Dinosaur Feathers (w/Roman Salcic of Grandchildren), Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Jedi Mind Tricks), Liz Fullerton, The National Rifle

 

The Blockley Pourhouse (3801 Chestnut St.) FRI The Blue Method

 

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Hired Gun Blues Band, SAT 722

 

The El Bar (1356 N. Front St.) SAT The Improbables and Mr. Unloved

 

Whoops…we’ve been so busy getting ready for a fun-filled October that we almost forgot that the fun can start for you tonight at the Electric Factory. The thrift store fashionistas Gang will be living out a dream this evening when they open for one of their music idols The B-52’s. Congrats y’all! Let us know what happens in “The Love Shack”. Electric Factory, 421 N. 7th St., 8pm, $39.50, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman