Ben I.R. started Le Fit when he was studying for his MFA at Mills College in California with some friends enrolled in its music program who were working on avant-garde compositions at the time. They eventually laid down some tracks that would make-up the band’s debut album Near Fit, which was mixed by Jonathan Segel (of Camper van Beethoven). Creating seemingly effortless indie pop gems, the band received some mild success in the Bay Area. But after experiencing disheartening sales for their sophomore album Sportif, the college buddies went their separate ways, and Ben moved to Philadelphia in 2008. Well, he has managed to put together a new version of Le Fit from the pool of talent floating in our local music community. They’ll be headlining tonight at Kung Fu Necktie with support from In Grenada and Gerhardt Koerner [of (The Sound of) Kaleidoscopes]. Honestly, within the first listen of his intelligent well-crafted pop tunes, you’ll be able to hear why it might be worth showing up this evening to see what Ben has been up to lately. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 Front St., 8pm, $8, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

 

A newly configured Cold Cave returns to Philly tonight at the TLA with The Kills! If you are interested in catching the show with a friend, a love, a family member, or even an enemy that you’d like to be friends with, then we are giving away a pair of tickets for you to do so. Just email us at thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line “Cold Cave Kills”, and we’ll get back to you with details on how to pickup your tickets if you’ve won. Good luck! – The Deli Staff

 

This is going to be a great show! We’re proud to present it and to be able to help out Rock to the Future, a free after school music education and youth development program open to Philadelphia students ages 9-14. We hope that you can find it in your hearts to do the same and join us. Help save the arts and the children in our community because you know that our government won’t! Much love! – The Deli Staff

 

Matador Records just announced that Kurt Vile & the Violators will be heading out on a short tour with Thurston Moore as well as Hush Arbors. Unfortunately, mostly all the dates are on the Left Coast with a stray one in Minneapolis. You can check out the Moore-Vile-Hush Arbors tour schedule below in case you’re interested in hopping on a plane or taking a road trip. Vile will be back home on Sunday June 12 at First Unitarian Church with Pissed Jeans and Meg Baird. – The Deli Staff

 

7/18 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre
7/21 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
7/23 Portland, OR – Alladin Theatre
7/26 San Francisco, CA – Great American Hall
7/28 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
7/29 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
7/30 San Diego, CA – Casbah

 

After taking a hiatus, Ports of Call have regrouped with a bit of a lineup change and just released a new EP last month titled Fractals, which was produced by Jeff Zeigler (Uniform Recording) and is available on limited edition 12” orange vinyl and digitally HERE. The band still has elements of dream pop and shoegaze (that helped them become former Deli Featured Artists of the Month) but with more of an indie rock edge. They’ll be opening for much-buzzed-about Smith Westerns (Fat Possum) and recently signed label mate Unknown Mortal Orchestra a.k.a. Ruban Nielson (who sounds pretty rad) so tonight is a show that you’ll want to make. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10 adv/$12 door, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

 

Blackhawks just released their debut recordings on a split cassette with Minneapolis’ Radiators Girls titled Black Girls via Two Michael Jordans, which is the label’s fourth release. Blackhawks feature members from local outfits BAnanas Symphony and Nude Beach. (You might remember when we first came across the Spaceman 3-influenced act HERE.) Well, the new cassette contains four tracks from the Fishtown crew, which includes three originals and (of course) a cover of Spaceman 3’s “More Rainbows (Come Down Softly)” (on side A). It also has four tracks from Radiator Girls, which are really killer as well. The cassette comes on yellow, blue and chrome tape, and is available digitally HERE. – The Deli Staff

 

Below is a music video for The War on Drugs’ “Comin’ Through” from 2010’s Future Weather EP. It surfaced today (special thanks to PW’s Making Major Moves who brought it to our attention), and was actually posted two months ago. We’re not really sure if it’s the song’s “official” music video because there was no mention of its existence by The War on Drugs or Secretly Canadian, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was, and Adam Granduciel just didn’t bother telling anyone. (Well, at least we know that he has finished his new album.) Whatevs – enjoy! – The Deli Staff

 

Update: Heard from The War on Drugs camp that this is NOT the official music video for "Comin’ Through", and no permission was asked or given. However, they did seem impressed by the effort so maybe it will be someday. Also expect to hear news about the release of their new album next month!

 

Last Friday night, there were good vibes all around for such a bittersweet evening. The Extaordinaires headlined at Kung Fu Necktie, and it was founding member and bassist Matt Gibson’s last show with the band as an official member. As you may have learned from our interview with Jay Purdy last week HERE, Gibson will be leaving The Extraordinaires to join Man Man for their next extensive tour(s) in support of their upcoming album Life Fantastic. However, there wasn’t any ill will as the rest of the band and Gibson played their hearts out alongside new bassist Adam Ravitz. In fact, it was quite touching to watch Purdy and Gibson’s interaction throughout the evening on stage which culminated in a loving embrace where they were locked shoulder-to-shoulder towards the end of the set as they sang “Warehouse Song” (which was rather fitting, especially for me, because it was probably my first introduction to The Extraordinaires’ music). Helping to celebrate this momentous occasion were former Dr. Dog drummer Juston Stens and The Get Real Gang (who served up a rollicking set and proved that their early studio recordings truly don’t do them justice) and Gold Crowns (featuring members of The Invisible Friends, Dark Horse and The Carousels, and Sweatheart). You can check out the rest of our pics from the evening HERE. (Photos by David Turcotte) – Q.D. Tran

 

Acid Kicks’ brand of “dream punk” defies the cliché while managing to remain relatively moody with a pinch of what could be called angst. With the numeric equation of 3+1 (3 bassists, 1 drummer), this four-piece’s tracks surprisingly feel holistic, despite the lack of guitar. For Acid Kicks, the backbeat’s essential is best proved by “Pyramidic Valley” and its shuffling quick consistence alongside raspy dissonance. Similarly so with “When You Dream At Night, Nothing Is Real”, Acid Kicks’ bass/drum cohesion floats somewhere between brooding and surreal. Paired with lo-fi lovebirds Reading Rainbow who recently returned from tours opening for The Dodos and Dum Dum Girls with a stop at SXSW for numerous shows, Acid Kicks’ 3+1 antics will just be the beginning of a promising evening of music. Danger Danger Gallery. 5013 Baltimore Ave. 7pm, $7, All Ages (Photo by Sam Levine) – Dianca Potts 

 

It’s Philly Tech Week! It’s a week-long celebration of technology and innovation in Philadelphia created by Technically Philly. But you came here for music. So why should you care? Well, there are plenty of events for those on the cutting edge of technology to geek out to, and there will also be music-related events that you might really want to check out like Drexel’s “Music Technology Research” seminar, RJD2 and two.one.five Magazine’s Tayyib Smith speaking about “The Future of Music at Uarts”, and 8static’s “Chip Music Showcase” at PhilaMOCA. More details for all the events can be found HERE. – The Deli Staff

 

We were excited to hear that Black Landlord will have a new EP coming out soon. It was recorded at Milkboy Recording, and you can check out a video preview of the album below which features nifty footwork by bassist Bruce Reckahn. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

 

Below is a video recap of Diplo/Major Lazer and friends “being lame” during their recent run of shows in Philly, Reading, Hartford and Wellesley. Enjoy (or not…ha)! (Photo by Daniel De Las Casas) – The Deli Staff