Philadelphia

Jukebox the Ghost Releasing New Album on Yep Roc Sept. 7

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Jukebox the Ghost recently announced that they’ll be releasing Everything Under the Sun, their long-awaited follow-up to Let Live and Let Ghosts, on Yep Roc. Their scheduled release date is Sept. 7. Yep Roc is also home to fellow Philly transplants Drink Up Buttercup. (It looks like someone else besides Matador is giving Philly a little love.) Jukebox the Ghost attempted a musical tour of NYC’s five boroughs yesterday to promote their upcoming release. They had planned to perform a single song from the album in each borough at pianos stationed throughout the city as part of the public art installation “Play Me I’m Yours”. However, they had to cancel their final stop to Staten Islands Children’s Museum due to Tommy Siegel completely losing his voice. (It’s Staten Island. No one really wants to go there anyways.) The band kept their followers/stalkers updated on their location via Twitter throughout the day. They’ll also be making the rounds at a few of the festivals this summer which includes a stop at Lollapalooza so expect many tweets about that. – H.M. Kauffman
 

 

Philadelphia

Party Photographers and Post Post at Kung Fu Necktie June 23

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Clamoring low fidelity rock is alive in Party Photographers. With singer Elisabeth Roger’s emphatic vocals wrapped in fuzz these guys fit well into the chick-singing-garage-pop crews like Las Robertas and Dum Dum Girls. They’ll be joined by darling indie pop youngsters Post Post. Now I am not going to lie, I am crushin’ pretty hard on this band. They are the musical personification of gummy cola bottles. (Remember those?) They write hooks like they are going out of style, and their energetic live show is contagious. Post Post’s Resident EP, the follow-up to their well-received debut EP Meta Meta, will be coming out on August 7, which should keep their star rising. These local up-and-comings will be performing tonight at KFN for a Phrequency.com showcase. Come see these bands in a cozy venue while you still can. Think about the future – not like the time you got that “dinosaurs with erections” half-sleeve. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 Front St., 8pm, $8, 21+ – Adam G.
 

 

Philadelphia

The Dichotomy of The Homophones at FU Side Chapel June 22

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David Byrne is my hero. I know him well. But how well can you really know someone that you’ve never met? I know him well enough to know that The Homophones’ Jason Ferraro knows him well as well. There is a certain theatrics in Farraro’s performance. It’s the kind of metamorphosis that Byrne would unfold on stage to his audience. And yes, some of those dance moves do look familiar. But with Malkovich-like intensity, he delivers classic gems like “you think you’re better than me/cause you got some fuckin’ degree/from a university like Emory” are lyrics worthy of the intellectual snobbery that it mocks. The Homophones’ music can sway, rock and enlighten you. It brings you back to the times when life was innocent and carefree, but it’s not afraid to slap you in the face with the uglier side of it, however, with a sense of humor. And that’s why you should be at the First Unitarian Side Chapel tonight. First Unitarian Side Chapel, 2125 Chestnut St., 8pm, $10, All Ages – Q.D. Tran
 

 

Philadelphia

XPN Drops Y-Rock from the Air

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We were sad to see in the City Paper that XPN had experienced a bunch of layoffs which included Josh T. Landow, Y-Rock’s champion through all its media format changes in the past few years. Gone with Landow are the Wednesday-through-Friday evening on-air programs that Y-Rock contributed to the station. It amazes us with how quickly the indie rock scene is growing, especially in our own city, that we are still losing a voice in our own community. DIY maybe overused these days, but it still remains a necessary part in fostering the arts.
 
We have also received many emails regarding Roger LaMay’s statement on how he’s particular stoked about them starting a blog that is "100 percent focused on local music". Our response: What took you so long? We are glad that we are making an impact on our beloved music community and that more people are following in our footsteps. There are plenty of music lovers out there who can choose whatever they want to read. We all read different publications and blogs. We all read some of the same publications and blogs. And if you’ve been paying attention to what we write about, do you really think that whatever XPN’s blog with the “Philly-centric name” will actually cover the exact same shit that we do and in the way that we do it? We hope not. If they do, then we might have some beef. ;o) (Photo by Evan M. Lopez, City Paper) – The Deli Staff
 

 

Philadelphia

Preview The Roots’ How I Got Over for FREE & New Video “Dear God 2.0”

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The Roots will be releasing their eleventh album How I Got Over tomorrow June 22. You can check out the entire album for FREE at their MySpace page. Standouts for me are "Dear God 2.0" (Jim James, Monster of Folk), "Radio Daze" (Blu, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez) and "Right On" (Joanna Newsom, Sugar Tongue Slim). I’m sorry. But is it really necessary to have two tracks with John Legend? Does listening to him ever make you feel like cutting yourself? Hehe…just wondering. Check out the new video above for "Dear God 2.0", which was directed by Jason Goldwatch. – H.M. Kauffman

 

 

Philadelphia

Thanks Again!

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Just wanted to thank all who contributed to a fun, long Summer Solstice weekend. It started early Thursday evening with the private Punk Rock Payroll Potluck which included some tasty homemade dishes and intimate performances in PRP’s HQ/Frede’s living room with The Extraordinaires, The Armchairs and Chrissy Tashjian (Dangerous Ponies). Molestice also rocked like I knew it would! Special thanks to Delia, Erpel and Brendan for all your hard work in putting this event together and allowing me to do what I do best: picking bands that I’d like to hear and getting fucked up. Also much love to Chang Chang (watch out for those Four Locos, buddy – that shit will kill you), Hair Rocket (we can always count on you to bring the pyrotechnics), Attia Taylor ( for your sweet vocals and sharing your backline with the rest of the acts) and Rick(?) (for making and generously sharing your home-brewed kegs of Belgian-ish sour ale giving me a good reason to use my stolen Chimay glass from Brussels). Good times! Good Times! – Q.D. Tran
 

 

 

Philadelphia

Summer Solstice Festival at Kimmel Center June 19

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I’m a less-is-more gal (well, for certain things), but when I guess that you are as big as the Kimmel Center and hoping to fill it all day and evening on a day where there is an abundance of things to do, more is better (for them). Well, I know that you might want to get away from the children’s face painting and adult contemporary stuff. Luckily, you can take a quick stroll to the Molestice Block Party (N. Mole St. between 15th/16th and Race/Cherry Sts.) from the Kimmel Center and grab a glass of home-brewed beer while listening to tunes that make you feel young again. Don’t worry – you’ll make it back in time to catch Philly’s Queen B of Hip Hop Bahamadia. Looks like the female protégée of Gangstarr’s Guru (R.I.P.) is back on the scene, and she’ll be dropping her fourth global release HERE this summer. Other things that might make you want to pop in: Toy Soldiers, The Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra, Gina Ferrera, The ReBel Yell, PhillyBloco and The Fleeting Ends as well as First Person Arts Story Slam and Bob & Barabara’s Drag Show. Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St., 3pm – Dawn, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
 

 

Philadelphia

Clark Park Festival’s 40th Anniversary June 19

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Clark Park is just a cool place to have outdoor concerts. If you enjoyed hanging out for the day in the park at Best Fest, then you’ll have your chance again when they celebrate Clark Park Festival’s 40th Anniversary with the funky albeit cringingly white dance outfit Prowler who will be headlining the event. Each time I hear these guys it’s something new I find perplexing about their sound from the percussions versatility to the music’s urgency or splintered vocals, but somehow it all works out. They’ll be joined by the ghoulish indie pop of Conversations with Enemies as well as The Josh and Pete Band, Upsincefriday, The Spades and many more. Clark Park, 43rd and Chester Sts., 12pm – 8pm, Free, All Ages – Adam G.

 

 

Philadelphia

Music For Headphones Album Release at M Room June 19

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Pull out your old Bauhaus records and ripped black jeans in preparation for Music For Headphones’ album release tonight with Folklore at the M Room. With dark and winding psychedelic guitar strums, and walls of power chords reminiscent of Sonic Youth noise rock, the Headphones whip out the defibrillator for the dying genre of new wave and goth rock, adding their own experimental twists along the way. Jonathan Allen’s stark vocals echo the heyday of Ian Curtis’ sweaty underground performances, and with the right accompaniment you may experience déjà vu. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 9pm, $8, 21+ (Photo by Maria Watson Meredith) – Katie Bennett
 

 

Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, June 18 – 20

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Yes, there are tons of things to do on Saturday, but if drinking kegs of home-brewed beer, eating tasty food and listening to live performances by Deli favorites like Attia Taylor, Hair Rocket and Chang Chang for FREE sounds as much fun to you as it does to us, then you have to join us at the 26th Annual Molestice. And for all those who have been to Molestice before, we know that we’ll see you there. Cheers to daytime drinking! Molestice, N. Mole St. (between 15th/16 and Race/Cheery Sts.), 12pm – 8pm, FREE, All Ages

Other things to do when you are not at Molestice…

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Goodnight Lights, The Quelle Source 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Steve Goldberg & The Arch Enemies
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Josh Olmstead
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Atomic Age and The Noid, SAT The Fallen Troubadours
 
M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Music For Headphones Album Release w/ Folklore
 
The Khyber (56 S. 2nd St.) FRI Panic Years, SAT Blood Diner 2
 
Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI Mondo Topless, SAT Buddhafest 39
 
Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Cricket Joe
 
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Notekillers, Mose Giganticus, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb
 
JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI Lux Perpetua, My Mind, Invisible Friends
 
Murph’s Bar (202 E. Girard Ave.) SAT Sideshow Prophets
 
Greenline Café (4239 Locust St.) FRI The Josh & Pete Band
 
Highwire Gallery (2040 Frankford Ave.) SAT Northern Liberties, Circles, Signals
 
Clark Park (43rd and Chester Sts.) SAT Summer Solstice Festival w/Prowler, Conversations With Enemies, The Josh and Pete Band, New Pony, The Spades and more
 
Kimmel Center (260 S. Broad St.) SAT Summer Solstice Festival w/ Toy Soldiers, Bahamadia, Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra, The Fleeting Ends, and more
 
 

 

Philadelphia

A Win-Win Situation at The Troc June 18

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Philly/Brooklyn three-piece the Notekillers craft cinematic jams, making the most of their instrumentals. Originally fixtures of the ‘70s punk scene, their 7” The Zipper created a legacy of sorts, influencing fans and acts like Sonic Youth. After taking a lengthy break from what began in ’76, the Notekillers resurfaced, rocking harder than before. The surfy vibes of “Papers” rush in with surging riffs and cymbals while the jangle beats of “Eyelash” revive the golden days of rock ‘n roll with dizzying brilliance. Darker but with equal shredibility, West Philly’s Mose Giganticus is a force to be reckoned with. Mose Giganticus is the result of Matt Garfield’s creative genius. A little angry with synthy interludes – tracks like “Legacy” and the nearly robotic “My Machine” will get your fists in the air with ease. He’ll be releasing his debut album on Relapse Records, Gift Horse, towards the end of this July. Coupled with the raucous folk-blues tunes of TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, tonight’s lineup is eclectically win-win. Miss out, and you’ll regret it. The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 10pm, $10, 21+ – Dianca Potts
 

 

Philadelphia

Lux Perpetua and Friends at JR’s June 18

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O, the little hole in the wall that is JR’s! Is this what we really have to call a music venue in South Philly!?! But in its defense, it has been doing a good job at bringing in some of our beloved local up-and-coming artists. Tonight you have the comforting tunes of Lux Perpetua (a.k.a. Justin Wolf), but expect his songs to get some extra sonic juice with Phil Pardell and Matt Gibson (The Extraordinaires) filling spaces in already cramped quarters. Badmaster’s My Mind will also be assaulting the senses as they use their spastic compositions to leave an eternal buzz in your head. JR’s, 2327 S. Croskey St., 9pm, $5, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman