Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, October 2 – 4

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As the weather may start to settle down outside this Sunday, there will be a storm a brewing inside at Ortlieb’s. The mighty Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel are kicking off their October residency with special guests Bardo Pond. The local drone-psych legends always captivate and entrance while building their wall of sound on stage. It can be endearing while at the same time tumultuous, as vocals and instrumentation dance and clash, finding their way into our subconscious. They’ll also be joined by experimental guitarist/composer Loren Connors. Ortlieb’s, 847 N. 3rd St., $10, 8pm, 21+ – Alexis V.
 
Other places to stay dry (or not so dry) this weekend…
 
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Shakai Mondai 
 
The Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Bird Watcher (Record Release), Madalean Gauze, Tyler Burkhart
 
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Roof Doctor, Friendship/Rosu Lup, Dirty Dollhouse, Shakai Mondai/Gash, Shy Boyz, SAT The Pink Angels, Frontyards/Allarms, Rexedog/The GTVs, Scantron, SUN Janelle, Coin Purse, Wetbrain
 
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) SAT The Divine Hand Ensemble, Northern Arms
 
Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St,) SUN Superheaven
 
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI I Vampyre, Ashes of Our Sins, Seraph in Travail, Suicide Conspiracy, Ketosis, Ashes to Vanity, Corners of Sanctuary
 
Bourbon and Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Mia Johnson, Hurricane Hoss and the Perfect Storm (Record Release), SAT Jackie Thousand, Darla, Josh Miller Band (EP Release), SUN Manny Slay A Verse, Nobody Yet
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.)  FRI Mimos, Man Illuminated, Soul Eater, SAT Andra Taylor & Nate Dodge, Chickabiddy, Keely Sibilia, SUN Girl Dog, Humanshapes
 
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Soraia (Release Show), The Good Excuses, The Droogettes, SAT Sad Actor, Easy Creatures, Hold Down the Ocean, Seagrave
 
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St) FRI JJL, Heavy Temple, SAT Passion Crimes (EP Release), Uncle/Father Oscar, Wax Future, SUN Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band, Bardo Pond
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.)  FRI Gene Wildest, Eliza and the Organix, Kat C.H.R, SAT Chalk & The Beige Americans, Blue Hippopotamus
 
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI DJ Dav, Reed Streets, SAT DJ Deejay, SUN Mutomb0
 
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI Franky’s Foxes, with DJ Chris Urban SAT The Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret
 
The Fillmore Philly (1100 Canal St.) SUN Dotcom
 
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SUN Rusty Cadillac
 
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St) FRI Josh Dronyi, Ryn Pascale/Three Fourteen, TheWay, SAT (12pm) Diff’rent Folks, The Dispersions, Hyper Inc./(7:30pm) Next To None A.D.D.
 
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St) FRI Amy Faden, Ashton John, SAT Decontrol, Missile Toads, Infant Mortality
 
The Grape Room (105 Grape St) FRI McRad, American Dinosaur, The Parameters, Tom Mackell, SAT Stellar Belly, The Good Mess, Grand Strangers
 
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.)  SUN Jam for Sam Benefit
 
W/N W/N (931 Spring Garden St,) SUN Moor Mother Goddess, Marcelline Mandeng
 
Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) SUN Vanillalord, Total Discharge 
 
Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St., Suite 76) SUN Collect Yourself, Anna Ladd
 
LAVA Space (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Grower, Disinterest/Unguent, What Nerve, Philiac
 
Hong Kong Garden (1712 N Philip St) SUN Goodbye Party (Solo), Telepathic
 
Full House (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Kississippi, Tombo Crush, Hipps, Coping Skills, Little Tyrant
 
Pilam (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Bad Canoes, The Pretty Greens, Blowdryer, Girl Dog, David Phosphor Walrus
 
Safety Meeting (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Joe Jack Talcum, Power Animal, OhBree
 
Milhouse (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Kississippi, Edelweiss, Little Tyrant
 
Mantua Yacht Club (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI The Sixties, Water Polo, Buster, You’re Making A Scene, Housecat
 
Cha-Cha’razzi (1918 S. Bancroft St.) FRI Black Urn
 
The DAD Chapter (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Sad Boys, Grandapas On Acid, Kyle Bosler, Wyndwood, A Day Without Love
 
Philadelphia

Free Download: “The Thrash Particle” – Modern Baseball

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Modern Baseball’s latest “The Thrash Particle” hits home with the struggling tug and pull of a relationship. Its personal/relatable anecdotes lock you in. Then, that intimacy flips into proactive, streamlined instrumentation and a hook that gets “stuck inside your head.” Catch Modern Baseball on Saturday, December 12 with at PUP, Jeff Rosenstock, and Tiny Moving Parts at Union Transfer!

Philadelphia

Let Kississippi Give You Shelter From the Storm at Milhouse Oct. 2

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So, just in case you haven’t heard, Hurricane Joaquin is fast approaching the East Coast. We are lucky that Philly will (hopefully) only feel its effects with a damp, dreary beginning to autumn. Don’t let the weather stop you from heading down to Milhouse this evening though. In fact, let it serve as a thematic prep for a night of dreamy, relaxing and melodic bedroom-pop courtesy of Kississippi. The Philadelphia-based outfit, featuring Zoë Reynolds and Colin Kupson, will provide the perfect audible backdrop for such weather. Their music is reminiscent of Frankie Cosmos and Mitski in its enveloping sense of calm, precision and emotionally intelligent lyricism. Alongside Kississippi, local math-y electro-rock/pop quartet Edelweiss, folk-punk singer-songwriter Little Tyrant, and New Jersey alt-pop/psych rockers Dollys will add layers and nuance, while maintaining a set focused on introspection and the expressive quality of the vocal performance. Milhouse, (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.), 7:30pm, $3-$5, All Ages – Blake Oetting

Philadelphia

Fight Amp 7″ Release Show at Everybody Hits Oct. 1

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The power trio of Fight Amp has been hard at work, and tonight at Everybody Hits, their embattled, intense sludge-noise rock combination smashes, celebrating the release of their new 7”. Available as the fourth installment of Reptilian Record’s Keystone Noise Series, “No Trace”/“Hide Your Teeth” were recorded during the same sessions that resulted in Constantly Off (Brutal Panda). The band exhibits a physical prowess that spills over with spellbinding focus, unleashing a raw and refined uppercut. Local doom-metal quintet HIVELORDS drag you deep into an experimental cavernous underbelly with their gloomy sonic exploits, while the riff-loaded roar of Sunburster stomps in, unleashing the heavy. Everybody Hits, 529 W. Girard Ave., 8pm, $7, All Ages (Photo by Freddie Ross) – Michael Colavita

Philadelphia

The Deli Philly’s October Record of the Month: Everyone Make Happy – Shelf Life

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Everyone Make Happy, the debut LP from Shelf Life, via Lefse Records, finds an absorbing lyrical yet comforting instrumental balance. Scott Leitch (ex-Pirouette/recent drummer for Alex G) cultivates songs that gently sway with internal warmth, while placing listeners in a deeply personal, somber state.
 
Space-warping synths smoothly land on the surface in “The Curse,” the initial introduction to Everyone Make Happy. Those glowing synths fade to the background as the airy, easily-assimilated acoustic guitar provides shimmers of daylight onto the song’s anguished lyrical tone – “bathe in sister’s blood/talk to the ghost of my dad’s mom/about nothing but heaven and the cancer in her gut.”
 
Pushed by its percussion, “Mark II” delivers what appears as subtle instrumentation, penetrating beyond the surface as a tight bedroom-pop sound. What starts drearily – “wake me up, when my lungs, start to pump normally” – lifts the shades to the point of optimism. “There’s always something in the sunlight,” riding a casual, almost accidental groove along the way. The album continuously stares directly into sadness, observing a very real place of grief. In “Creature” with its road-worn, country-folk twang , Leitch addresses the questioning nature of a sickness as a somber cloud hangs overhead. “I ask myself what my Father would do/he’d fold his hands lean to belief/but the creature inside him is not inside of me.”
 
“Low Key Lumber Theft” forebodingly spirals forward as the last dashes of daylight fall below the horizon. The guitar crisply cuts through dusk, venturing further out of sight as it gains momentum and then coolly concludes. With a daydreaming-psych vibe, “Time Traveler” moves into a nostalgic familiar space, which although consoling – “I am meeting the past/it is just how I thought/I have found what I lost” – still cuts – “You had gone away.” An anecdotal throwback, “Double Dare” soaks into your mind with its direct lyricism and catchy melodies, a la Alex G, while “Sinking Just Right” lulls you into a submissive calm of internal self-doubt – “does everybody hate me, just a little, little, little bit” – drifting until your “sinking just right.”
 
This album delicately balances the weight of emotional darkness with a glimpse of the light, from outside pushing in through the cracks. – Michael Colavita

Philadelphia

Debut August John Lutz II EP Available for Streaming & Purchase

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Soulful country crooner August John Lutz II recently released his debut solo EP O’ My Foolish Heart, which you can stream and purchase below. It was recorded by The Lawsuits‘ Brian Dale Allen Strouse and Josh Friedman with backing vocals from Chelsea Mitchell (Dirty Dollhouse). Lutz will be headed down to Water Valley, Mississippi this fall to record the Levee Drivers‘ upcoming album with Andrew Bryant (Water Liars) at Dial Back Sound.

Philadelphia

“Intimate” Tour Warm-up w/Kurt Vile at JB’s Sept. 30

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Kurt Vile and R5 Productions surprised everyone this past Monday with the announcement of this evening’s show at Johnny Brenda’s. Vile is getting ready to head out on the road on Friday, where he’ll be performing in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand throughout 2015 into 2016 in support of his latest Matador release believe i’m goin down…. Tonight will serve as an "intimate" warm-up gig for the hometown crowd, and he’ll be joined on the sold-out bill by pals Dark Blue and Watery Love. Kurt Vile will also be making an early pitstop home during his tour on Friday, October 9 at Union Transfer for another sold-out performance with Waxahatchee and Luke Roberts. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $15 (Sold Out), 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Philadelphia

New Videos: “Serious Things Are Stupid” & “Madame B” (Live at Little Elephant) – Cayetana

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Cayetana chilled in Toledo, OH during their travels, and recorded a couple songs at Little Elephant. You can take a listen to the ladies rockin’ out "Serious Things Are Stupid" and "Madame B," off 2014 debut Nervous Like Me (Tiny Engines) They are currently wrapping up their latest tour that included dates with Beach Slang, Against Me!, A Place To Bury Strangers, and Doomtree, and are already signed on for The Loved Ones’ Keep Your Heart 10-year Anniversary Show on Saturday, February 20 at Union Transfer. (Photo by Mary Ferrigno)

Philadelphia

New Track: “Titchy” – Spacin’

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In true Spacin’ fashion, we have a new track and news from our favorite Philly psych-garage outfit, but the band didn’t bother to tell anybody so I guess we’ll have to do it. Check out their latest single "Titchy"! It’s grimy, catchy with classic melodies and hooks that burrow into your eardrums. There are few (if any) records that we are more excited about hearing, and the follow-up to must-have-for-your-collection Deep Thuds finally has a title, Total Freedom, and a release date, which will be November 15 via (what we’ve been told to be) local indie label Richie Records. Enjoy!

Philadelphia

Bondage & Discipline Opening for Superhumanoids at JB’s Sept. 29

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Bondage & Discipline will be leaving the confines of Cambridge Sound Studios this evening, where the trio has been recording its debut album. The band, who originally came together as part of raucous indie-rock outfit The National Rifle, has left behind its beer-drenched, adrenaline-fueled past for a polished synth-pop sound that wanders through waves of longing. The bravado of the group’s previous life has been dismantled, leaving the band exposed but ready to unveil its next sonic adventure. Bondage & Discipline will be opening for LA dream-popsters Superhumanoids tonight at Johnny Brenda’s with Brooklyn’s Rush Midnight in tow. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $12, 21+ (Photo by Jon Stars) – H.M. Kauffman

Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Happy Joyful Life” – Fight Amp

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Sludge-metal trio Fight Amp has a new schizophrenic music video for the track "Happy Joyful Life," found on Constantly Off (Brutal Panda). The song features guest vocals by Multicult’s Rebecca Burchette, and the video was edited by Matt McGinnis (of Headache Heroes). Fight Amp also has a new 7" for the Keystone Noise Series available via Reptilian Records, and the band’s rescheduled release show will be happening this Thursday, October 1 at Everybody Hits. (Photo by Dante Torrieri)