Highwire Gallery ushers in their 2nd annual outdoor music festival this Saturday, and it’s set to be a widespread cultural explosion that features quite a diverse bill of music (and that’s just the way we like it :o). Rampant mega jam masters Birds Of Maya headline with their epic shredding guitars. Gallery regulars Jesse Sparhawk & Eric Carbonara will provide their ethereal 60 string (22-string upright chaturangui guitar & 38 string lever harp) compositions. Meanwhile the ladies of Bad News Bats will be bringing their distorted garage rock, and Acids Kicks will preview songs from their debut 7”, while The Sea Around Us will be showcasing their dreamy multilayered folk music. Add in Chris Forsyth, Kohoutek, Magnetic Dog, SplitRed (featuring members of Shot X Shot, Cuddle Magic, Sonic Liberation Front, Bird Fly Yellow, and Live Like A King) and more, and you have a stacked lineup for what should be some beautiful weather. And certainly don’t forget to swing by R5’s Punk Rock Flea Market this Sunday to pick up anything and everything! Highwire Gallery (Outdoors), 2040 Frankford Ave., 12pm – 8pm, FREE, All Ages

 

Other things that you can do indoors…

 

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Reef the Lost Cauze

 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI American Speedway and Backwoods Payback, SAT The Claw and Coffin Dust, SUN Bearings

 

North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Man Like Machine, SAT The Great Unknown and Ron Gallo

 

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI St James & The Apostles, Anchor Boys, SAT Delco Nightingale, SUN (All Ages) This Way to The Egress, SUN (Late) Ron Gallo

 

M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Southwark and Somg Dogs & The Nightjar

 

Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI Vintage Kicks, SAT Gold Crowns and Bedroom Problems, SUN Testa Brothers

 

Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) FRI Philadelphia Ukulele Orchestra

 

The Blockley (3801 Chestnut St.) SAT Ground Up Sounds, The Wyldlyfe, Sela, SUN I Yahn I Arkestra

 

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Loretta Allen and John Galla

 

Danger Danger Gallery (5013 Baltimore Ave.) FRI Chris Kasper, SAT Clark Park Festival Benefit w/Edo, Spinning Leaves, Big Wizard, Mountjoy, Fuck Face

 

Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Pistolia and +Church+

 

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI Philly Gumbo

 

The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI Chowder and Epic Exposure, SAT Sinners Saints and Live Not On Evil, SUN Of Wrath & Ruin

 

Triumph Brewery (117 Chestnut St.) FRI City Music Project

 

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia) SAT Golden Ages, Netherfriends, Hop Along

 

JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI The Midnight Beat

 

The Barbary (951 N. Frankford St.) SUN Halo of Snakes

 

Broad Street Ministry (315 S. Broad St.) SAT Cop Problem

 

South Philly Tap Room (1509 Mifflin St.) SAT Wheat Beer Fest 2011 w/The Extraordinaires, Adam & Dave’s Bloodline, Arrah & The Ferns

 

Theatre of Living Arts (334 South St.) SAT Philly NORML Presents 2011 Philadelphia Freedom Festival Benefit w/Synth Sircus, I Yahn I Arkestra, Psychedelphia

 

Spruce Caboose (Please contact one of the acts for details.) SAT Worshipper, Ominous Black, Heavy Dirt

 

The Shorehouse (Please contact one of the acts for details.) FRI Choose Your Poison, Nightfall, Teen Wolves

 

House Show (Please contact one of the acts for details.) SAT The Weenies, Cousin Brian, Gaston, The Sniffles

 

Dads Haus (Please contact one of the acts for details.) SUN Kicking Spit, The Eeries, Trip Ruiner, Cousin Brian

 

Below is a new music video from Power Animal for the track “Dear My Body…” from their album People Songs (which was easily one of our favorite albums from last year). The video was directed by Jordan Smith. People Songs was originally released on Waaga Records (an offshoot of Lefse Records), and the album is being re-released via Human Kindness Overflowing, which is a charitable organization and label whose “goal is to work with artists, musicians, labels, and generally good people to help raise money for various causes” and was started by Paul North (Sunnybrook) and Power Animal mastermind Keith Hampson. You can purchase People Songs HERE which will also include two new bonus tracks of remixes. Profits from the album will be split with 50% going directly to the Japanese Red Cross and the other 50% to funding future charitable projects. Please pay it forward and purchase a copy! Also keep a look out for Power Animal’s new Exorcism EP, which will be a 100% charitable release featuring remixes from Golden Ages, Teen Daze, Botany, Melting Season, Spirituals and Truman Peyote. Much love! – The Deli Staff

 

 

 

Philly hip hop duo and former Drexel students Chiddy Bang released their first major label EP called The Preview back in October and has been on a fast ride to the top ever since. With an endorsement deal with Taco Bell’s Feed The Beat program, a Guinness World Record, festival dates at Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits, and a new mixtape and full-length album coming soon, it looks like it going to be a very busy summer for Chiddy Bang. But Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresinwere nice enough to take time out of their hectic schedules yesterday to chat with us and fill us in on what’s been going on since the last time we spoke to them. You can check out what went down HERE.

 

Crills Wilson merges gritty country folk with rockabilly tinged punk, and has just the right ingredients to get you off your ass and stomping in a good old-fashioned hootenanny. After four years of honing his skill, the artist is all set to release his debut LP, Solid Gold. The album is a 10 song homage to country great Steve Earle. It was mixed and mastered by Todd Mecaughey, who also produced Cheers Elephant’s Man is Nature. Wilson and his backing band that features members of Smoker and the Rollers, The Danger O’s, and more are getting ready to celebrate their release tonight at Kung Fu Necktie. They’ll be joined by the Brothers Murphy of Penrose who are gearing up for their upcoming NO EXCUSES Summer Concert Series at Danger Danger Gallery. Also on tap will be the surf-pop blended gypsy folk of Conversations With Enemies. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $8, 21+ – Bill McThrill

 

Free Energy just announced that rhythm guitarist Geoffrey Bucknum has recently left the band. Below is a statement from Bucknum.

 

 

The band will have a “mystery stunt guitar player” shredding with them for their next few shows in May.

 

Free Energy will also be holding auditions in early June for a new rhythm guitar player so if you’ve always wanted to be in a touring rock band or if one of your buddies has some rock ‘n’ roll dreams, then hit them up at freeenergy@punkdafunk.com. Also a link to some video footage of you or your buddy performing will help get you on the road to rock stardom a little quicker. Good luck! – The Deli Staff

 

The Homophones have been rather quiet lately, but you’ll be happy to know that they are currently putting the final touches on a new EP. Well, if you aren’t happy, I certainly am. And The Deli will hopefully have a little sneak preview of it for you next month, but until then, I highly recommend that you make it out to Kung Fu Necktie tonight. That is if you are into having a good time. If you aren’t, then come out anyways because The Homophones will teach you how it’s done. It will certainly be where you’ll find my drunk, stoned ass this evening, which should be the right state of mind for opener 60’s influenced indie pop psychedelic shoegazers and recent Deli Featured Artists of the Month The Tweeds as well as ambient experimental instrumental outfit Legs Like Tree Trunks. Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em folks! Cheers! – Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, 21+ (Photo by Jon Rehr a.k.a. Chang Chang) – Q.D. Tran

 

Congrats to former Scranton crew and now Philly-based punk outfit The Menzingers who just announce that they signed to Epitaph Records, which is owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz! You can personally give them a little Philly love this Thursday when they open for Title Fight at the First Unitarian Church. Cheers! – The Deli Staff

 

Barbara Gettes connected with Raph Cutrufello via Myspace while she was living with her boyfriend in New York. They met in a park, and she remembers being so nervous that she was practically shaking. After a few years of collaboration and development, they decided to put this project together. The album is labeled: The Spinning Leaves and Hezekiah Jones performing as…Hezekiah Leaves & The Spinning Joneses. Gettes’ father recently passed away a year ago, and a number of her songs off of the album are dedicated to him. 

 

The show started with Nic Esposito of The Savage Detectives telling a story about an ant’s perspective of the world, followed by trapeze artist Annie Plick gracefully floating over the seated crowd and a short acoustic set by Joshua Park. The Extraordinaires also did an AWESOME set of music to a seated crowd (which was rather lame). The Extraordinaires’ booker Monika Julien, my friend Dorian and I were pretty much the only ones standing near the front of the stage until the last two songs of their set when the band got people’s feet moving after much urging. Hezekiah Leaves & The Spinning Joneses played a pretty long set of charming little ditties while an artist did sketches next to the PA system. Sorry, I had more photos of the evening, but I’m pretty OCD about lighting and had some equipment issues so a lot of them didn’t come out the way I’d hoped. However, you can check out the ones that made the cut HERE. – David Turcotte 

 

A Stick and a Stone is the moniker of local singer-songwriter Elliott Harvey. Whether performing solo or with his multitude of collaborators, Harvey’s hauntingly captivating vocals and intimately unique storytelling can bring you to that rare place between awake and dreaming. And when her music stops, silence never sounded so abrasive and unwelcomed. A Stick and a Stone will be joined this evening at Highwire Gallery by experimental guitar daredevil Dan Malloy. The Elkins Park native describes his instrumental compositions as “folk music when I play the acoustic and when I play the electric its music for people who use to do drugs who want to feel like they are on drugs.” But he really shouldn’t forget about the people who still like to use drugs. Highwire Gallery, (Please contact one of the acts for details.), 8pm, $6, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman