Joshua Marcus plays folk that makes you want to weep. The local acoustic artisan can churn out grievingly beautiful but deviously complex porch-grown Americana both as a burgeoning solo artist and part of a band (after all, he did lead the Fan of Friends helm with emotive polish). It’s a talent he’ll put on display tonight at the M Room, where’ll his old FoF band mates will riff on the axe along with members of Raccoon, National Eye, Dr. Dog, The War on Drugs, American Altitude, Rifle Nice, and the Royalty as Mitch Fiction. Throw in the drunken blues of Brandon Morsberger and headlining New Jersey natives The Roadside Graves, and you’ll be walking the dusty trail as a swelling free spirit – or, rather, it’ll feel that way. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., $8, 8pm, 21+ – Annamarya Scaccia
Multi-faceted entertainer Mike Taylor (formerly Tu Phace) will be performing tonight at The Blockley. Under his old stage name, Taylor was signed to Epic/Sony Records for his abilities as a straight-up hip hop emcee, and along with the change in name came a change in musical direction. However, Taylor was always much more than your average emcee. He is also a talented singer, songwriter, and producer. And he can definitely bust a move. You can download his latest release From The StarsHERE for free. Joining him will be Elevator Fight, an eclectic band whose sound is a mix of elements from classic rock, psychedelic, and modern indie pop [but you can check them out for yourself along with our other current Featured Artist(s) Poll nominees by clicking on to the headphones in the box at the top of the column to the right]. The packed “New Designer Drug Tour” lineup also includes DJ PHSH, who recently joined the Illvibe Collective, and Suzi Analogue, who mixes retro soul/jazz vocals with hip hop and electronica tracks to create what is certainly her own unique sound, as well as J*Davey, Kalae All Day, Def Sound, and DJ Bubbles. The Blockley, 3801 Chestnut, $10, 8pm, All Ages – Dan Brightcliffe
Death is an ending of unremitting struggle, a dreamless sleep, a vast and implacable emptiness. To choose immersion in this gives life its only consistency. In blindness, so easily invoked by the closing of eyes, closer, a warm darkness envelops. A slow moving, viscous tar where repose is foetal. Suspended animation with only demons for company. Bad drinking partners. Worse lovers they make! And the source, the source of all this numbing futility is laughingly celebrated as "life".
That is what you’ll find in the Description section of the band Nothing’s Facebook page. Cheery, right? But what do you expect from a band named Nothing? However, after meeting their seemingly laid-back, friendly frontman Domenic “Nicky” Palermo, the statement above may lead you slightly confused on where all the doom and gloom talk comes from. But as we peeled back the layers of his complex life and thoughts in our recent interview HERE, it was easy to see how Nothing is more than just a band to Palermo. It is a cathartic outlet for him to deal with “life”. Well, light may be piercing through the darkness lately for Nicky and the hometown crew. The band will be celebrating the release of their new EP Suns and Lovers tomorrow night at Kung Fu Necktie with Creepoid and Arc In Round (who will be a stripped-down version of themselves with bassist Chris Coello on tour with Nightlands). The album has production contributions from Kyle “Slick” Johnson (Modest Mouse, Fischerspooner, Wavves, Creepoid, etc.), Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold and Kris Lapke of Hospital Recordings. The 12” vinyl will be available via Japanese label Big Love, who is responsible for releases by Cold Cave, The XX, Young Prisms, and Ariel Pink among others. They also must be feeling more than “nothing” inside because the band was kind enough to donate their vinyl copies to Big Love’s Japanese Tsunami relief fund so unfortunately, they won’t have any available for us at the show, but you will be able to grab limited edition cassette versions of the EP or free digital copies HERE.
U.S. Girls a.k.a. Meg Remy recently released a new music video for “If These Walls Could Talk” from her split 12” with Toronto’s Slim Twig (a.k.a. Max Turnbull) via Palmist Records (sister imprint of FatCat) that will be available on June 20 in Europe and August 16 in North America. You can check it out below. Special thanks to Altered Zones for bringing it to our attention. Enjoy or should we say feel a little sad! – The Deli Staff
Your Children is Beautiful love Northeast Philly, WAWA, PALL MALLS, awesome friends, the fact that we have lived here forever, the Phillies, $5 movies on weekdays at Franklin Mills Mall, Steve’s Prince of Steaks, Five Guys, basement shows are fun, graffiti, the 76ers when they had Iverson and they were good, and bands that are amazing but never get any recognition. We hate the accent (even though we kind of have it), aggressive drivers, the 58 and the 22 bus, The Greater Northeast, middle-aged men, Mayfair, getting robbed/mugged, cops, and bands that are amazing but never get any recognition. Join us when we perform Wednesday, June 22 at PhilaMOCA with Coma Cinema who play delightful and memorable pop tunes, which is nothing surprising being that they are good friends of nearby neighbors Toro y Moi. They are on tour with Modern Man, and this show is something you will not want to miss. Locals Bronze Floater will also be on the bill. Doors open at 8pm, and show starts promptly at 8:30pm with $7 – $10 donations. (From The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and MP3s here.)
“Beer battered garage” outfit Faux Slang is comprised of Rick Hass, Adam Herndon (A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Pet Milk), Dan Verechia (all former members of This Radiant Boy), and Ian Nauroth. Their self-titled EP is infectious, upbeat, and fast. Recorded in South PHL and produced by Josh Meakim (A Sunny Day in Glasgow) and the band, Faux Slang, released by RIPE Records, fills the auditory gap between Goner Records rebels like Quintron and the polished poise of the Soft Pack (ex-the Muslims). Possibly more on the polished side, the EP oscillates between reckless abandon and concise psych pop.
With the shrieking chords of “Ha Ha Bang Bang,” Faux Slang’s organ intro accents the crash of cymbals and relentless guitar. Despite the psyched out vibe of their opening track, Faux Slang’s vocals come off crisp, with a slight disconnect from its instrumented counterpart, leaving the cohesion between its chords and vocal diction distanced. Thankfully, slight reverb licks via guitar cuddle close to layered vocals redeeming the easy to discern divide between the band’s nearly clean-cut diction and delectably retro riffs. Easing seamlessly into “Golden Throats,” the album’s first serves as a befitting prologue to it’s second. Coupling trebly organ with subtle tambourine, “Golden Throats” is melodically moody and mellow, fashioning itself as a subdued but heartfelt chant amidst relatively less pensive tracks. With hints of surfy undertones, the core of “Golden Throats” brings to mind the chilled out soundscapes of more pop-based acts like West Palm’s Surfer Blood or Beach Fossil’s pre-mastered EP cuts, yet with more texture, tension, and edge. “Curious Prudes” is an instant charmer with percussive warmth that permeates throughout the song’s advance. Jangly in all the right ways, “Curious Prudes” harbors feelings of longing, yet with a clear-headed energy often lacking in post-punk EPs. Here, Faux Slang is straightforward, yet with the finesse of a poet. It’s uncomplicated, but captivates. Equally jangly with a more fuzzed out feel, “Human Heroes” is a ready-made single, lacking the disconnect that impedes the potential of “Ha Ha Bang Bang.” “Human Heroes” flows without flaw and ends all too soon. The final track of Fang Slang flickers in like a flame from a lit match. With its staccato drumstick clicks and steady guitar strums, “Settin’ Fire” keeps the interest of its listener yet feels less full than its prior track (“Human Heroes”). Subtle distortion near the three-minute mark deepens the impact of its progression, leaving its latter half near-instrumental psych. Just shy of five minutes, “Settin’ Fire” is a charismatic closer to an all-together notable EP. You can purchase the self-titled EP digitally now HERE and/or pre-order the 12" vinyl, which will be available on July 5, via RIPE Records. – Dianca Potts
Sun Airway just posted a remix of Bear in Heaven’s “You Do You”. You can check out the track and download it below as well as what they had to say about the remix via their website. (Photo by Mike Fleming) – The Deli Staff
Last october, when we were gearing up for our tour with bear in heaven, I thought it would be cool to remix one of their tunes and use it to promote the tour. But as often happens, things got crazy, busy-ness took over and I never finished it. I opened it back up recently and it sounded pretty close to done, not sure why I didn’t just polish it off back then! Anyways, I finally got around to sending it over to them and they posted it on their soundcloud. Have a listen…gives me good 90s dance vibes.
?uestlove recently reached his 1.6 millionth Twitter follower. To celebrate the occasion, The Roots recorded an instrumental cover of Madvillain’s “Accordion”. They also asked “Weird Al” Yankovic and his trusty accordion to join them. You can take a listen to their collaboration HERE. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff
Fans of hip hop – just wanted to give you a heads up on a performance that you don’t want to miss! Flash Mob Productions is proud to present the return of the thought-provoking Mr. Lif to a Philly stage near you. Well, actually it will be the intimate stage of Kung Fu Necktie on Friday, July 1 so grab your tix in advance HERE because you don’t wanna be the sucka shut out at the door. It’ll also be the perfect beginning of a long 4th of July weekend where The Roots will be taking over Philly – seriously. You’ve been warned. – The Deli Staff
Hot on the heels of the initial lineup announcement for POPPED! Music Festival, the 2nd Annual Philly F/M Festival revealed their initial lineup as well. The 4-day festival will run from September 22 – 25 throughout the city. This year’s lineup includes hometown favorites like The Dead Milkmen, Reading Rainbow, Hoots and Hellmouth, The Menzingers, Hezekiah Jones, and many more as well as national/international acts like Deadmau5, X, The Head and The Heart, Sharon Van Etten, Marissa Nadler, and more. There will also be music-related films for you to enjoy such as Better Than Something (Jay Reatard Documentary) and Beatboxing: The Fifth Element of Hip Hop. Event tickets, day passes, and all-access passes will be available. For more info about the events, you can check out www.phillyfmfest.com. – The Deli Staff
A limited number of Early Bird two-day passes ($90) and Early Bird two-day VIP passes ($175) are on sale now, which you can purchase HERE, through Thursday, June 23rd, at 10 p.m. (Use Codes: POPPED for two-day passes and VIPPOPPED for two-day VIP passes.) VIP passes include a special viewing area near the stage, a separate entrance, bar/food/restroom areas. Regular priced two-day passes ($110) and two-day VIP passes ($200) go on sale this Friday, June 24th, at 10 a.m. You can also charge by phone at 800-745-8000 or swing by Electric Factory Box Office located at 421 N. 7th Street to avoid service fees with cash purchases.
Friday, September 23rd
The Shins
Cage The Elephant
Panda Bear
Elbow
The Hold Steady
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
Company of Thieves, and More
Saturday, September 24th
Pretty Lights
Girl Talk
Foster The People
Rakim
Cults
Kreayshawn
Black Thought & J. Period Mixtape
Charles Bradley
Titus Andronicus
It looks like things are moving forward or at least expected to be sorted out by the fall for Union Transfer (formerly Spaghetti Warehouse), the new music venue from Bowery Presents (the New York-based club operator and concert promoter run by former Live Nation exec Jim Glancy) with help from R5’s Sean Agnew. Wild Flag, the punk rock supergroup that includes former Sleater-Kinney bandmates Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, Helium’s Mary Timony, and former Minders member Rebecca Cole, recently announced their upcoming tour schedule (in support of their new self-titled debut album) which includes a stop in Philly on Wednesday, October 19 at Union Transfer. Niiiiice! (Photo by Philadelphia Ghost Sign Project) – The Deli Staff
