Deaner a.k.a. Dean Ween a.k.a. Mickey Melchiondo, Jr., guitarist for avant-pop outfit WEEN, has been fishing his whole life. He recently got his captain’s license to run his own big craft. He has been chartering fishing trips on his boat in the Delaware River and will be doing so this spring on the Atlantic Ocean out of Neptune, NJ so if you ever dreamed of hanging out with Deaner, this might be your golden opportunity. Below is his first fishing report of 2011 which also comes with some video footage (not for the eyes of PETA folks). – The Deli Staff

“We just got back from an amazing fishing trip for Bluefin tuna on the ‘Tuna Duck’ out of Hatteras Inlet, NC. My good friend Nick Honachefsky was writing a cover story for Saltwater Sportsman Magazine on jigging and popping giant Tuna and I was lucky enough to get to tag along and fish as well. We had some very sharp anglers on the boat in Sami Ghandour and his partner Paul Chua who together own Saltywater Tackle Co. These guys have been involved in importing the top jigging tackle from Japan as this style of fishing has gained popularity. After witnessing it firsthand I think it’s safe to predict that the days of fighting these fish on 130 wide reels are numbered. This is a fun and effective way to land these fish instead of just trolling around and watching someone fight a fish for hours in a fighting chair. We left the inlet at sunrise on Saturday to be greeted with 8 foot seas that eventually subsided a little throughout the day. The good news is that we were on a 55 foot boat and it kept a lot of other smaller boats off the water. We pretty much had the tuna grounds all to ourselves. We had constant action with small Blackfin Tuna and False Albacore and we also managed to bring 5 Bluefin to the deck, all about 90-100 lbs. I had the first fish of the day at about 100 lbs and we finished the day going 5 for 8 on Bluefin and released all our fish. Sunday was a different story with beautiful weather and light seas and a lot of boats. We boated another 5 fish including 2 fish over 200 lbs. Sami managed to bring his 250 lb. beast to the deck in only 12 minutes on a 5 foot spinning rod matched with a Shimano Stella 20000. He is about my size and weighs probably 25 lbs. less. Watching him put the boots to this beast of a fish was one of the more impressive rounds of angling I’ve ever witnessed and I learned a lot from this guy. Hopefully we get to fish again together.” – Dean Ween

Nicos Gun will be taking a Philly stage for the first time tonight at Johnny Brenda’s since their adventures down at SXSW. The stylish crew brought their psychedelic dance rock to the Austin festival full of aspiring “next big things”. Well, the often times exacerbating trip wasn’t all for naught because Nicos Gun did manage to catch the attention of someone from Spinner causing them to tweet, “If #sxsw is where the world meets the future, then we’d like to introduce the future to Nico’s Gun.” Now let’s see how long the future takes to catch up with Nicos Gun (without an apostrophe). South Philly locals Faux Slang (who feature former members of This Radiant Boy as well as current member of A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Pet Milk, Adam Herndon) have a self-titled vinyl/digital EP coming out on May 24 that was produced by A Sunny Day in Glasgow’s Josh Meakim. You can take a sneak peak at the first track available from the upcoming EP below. It’s a most enjoyable anthemic rocker called “Golden Throats”. Both Nicos Gun and Faux Slang will be opening this evening for Portland’s Morning Teleportation. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ (Nicos Gun Photo by Julian Mackler) – Q.D. Tran

Reading Rainbow have a new one-sided 7” titled Cover the Sky coming out April 12 via Italian label Hell, Yes! with a U.S. release date of April 26. There will be only 400 limited edition hand-numbered copies available. You can pre-order the album HERE or at Insound. You can also listen to “Cover the Sky” below, which was premiered on Gorilla vs. Bear. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

"Cover The Sky" by Reading Rainbow

Moon Duo recently came to Philly at Kung Fu Necktie in support of their new album Maze. The band also had a remix album in tow packaged with their latest effort that included contributions from Sonic Boom, Psychic Ills, Cave, Gary War, and our very own Purling Hiss. You can listen to Purling Hiss’ remix of "In The Sun" below. Special thanks to Altered Zones/Raven Sings The Blues for bringing it to our attention. – The Deli Staff

"In The Sun (Purling Hiss Remix)" – Moon Duo

Below is the new video for Kurt Vile’s “Jesus Fever”, which was debuted on MTV Hive. It was directed by Ricardo Rivera and produced by Klip Collective. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

Grandchildren will be heading out on a Midwest/Northeast U.S. spring tour which includes a bunch of shows with Brooklyn’s O’Death. The tour will be hitting Philly on Thursday, April 14 at Kung Fu Necktie. We’re already really looking forward to that one. The West Philly crew will also be opening for Peter, Bjorn & John on May 1 at TLA if you’d prefer to see them on a bigger stage. You can check out the rest of the tour dates below. – The Deli Staff

The War on Drugs will be making a hometown stop tonight at the First Unitarian Church. They’ll be opening for Dan Bejar’s much-buzzed-about Destroyer. He’ll be performing with a full band. This evening’s show is part of their month-long U.S./Canadian tour. I hope to hear some new songs from The War on Drugs’ upcoming full length that the band completed about a week before their current tour started. But I certainly don’t mind hearing the oldies but goodies that I know and love. (Below is one of them, “Arms Like Boulders”, from The War on Drugs’ sold out release party for Future Weather at Kung Fu Necktie in December.) This should be a fine show, but don’t count on being able to get tickets at the door. According to a tweet by R5 yesterday, there are only about 50 tickets left. You’ve been warned. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 8pm, $13, All Ages (Video by pilgrimsprogress) – H.M. Kauffman

This Friday was filled with surf-y riffs riding high on waves of reverb at Hong Kong Garden. Named after a Banshees song, the makeshift space housed its biggest show yet. Critically-acclaimed Nashville duo JEFF the Brotherhood was in town and helped the sisterhood of Slutever celebrate the release of their Pretend to Be Nice 7” with Dry Feet and The Eeries. The warehouse was packed with people from all over the Tri-State Area. Originally scheduled at the OX, it was nice to see residents from the much-beloved space roaming around looking stoked for the show. Like I said, it was packed so I couldn’t see SHIT by the time JEFF the Brotherhood hit the tiny space designated for them. Here are a few shots of Slutever and the fuckin’ sea of heads that I couldn’t see over…ha. – Emma Branson

So Record Store Day (April 16) is less than two weeks away, but we wanted to give you a heads up about Pissed Jeans doing an UNPLUGGED performance at Beautiful World Syndicate on Passyunk Ave. Intrigued? Yes, we certainly are too. They’ll be joined by The Men (Sacred Bones) and Leather (Jade Tree).  It’s a free show, and there will be free beer – even better! (Photo by Morgan Keuler) – The Deli Staff

From bluegrass through the streets of New York to the indie pop fusion sound that they have honed with the release of their Empty Side EP, The Powder Kegs are a band who aren’t afraid to explore and evolve. With their newest effort, The Amanicans, you find a bit of an edgier outfit letting loose on tracks that still remain radio-friendly. The album was produced by Philly producer/engineer Jonathan Low (whose engineering credits include Dr. Dog, Twin Sister, and Sharon Van Etten). Tonight The Powder Kegs will be celebrating the release of The Amanicans at Kung Fu Necktie. They’ll be joined by another band that keeps getting better and better with age in Busses and infectiously sexy, tripped-out synth outfit CSLSX, who will also be delivering a DJ set after the performances. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $8, 21+ – Bill McThrill

Common sense should tell us there’s a demand out there for songs about getting drunk and finger bangin’, and Sweatheart are very happy to fill that void. It makes even more sense that these pastimes should be communicated via high-octane riffs and sing-along choruses in the vein of all the ‘70s hard rock favorites your parents probably danced to. The benefit this time around is that Sweatheart isn’t, you know, serious. Their ridiculous live show (in which you might get humped by the band members) is all about thrills, chills, and drunken laughter that might end in crying. Also dishing out the bombast tonight is Andrew Jeffrey Wright, the visual/performance artist who’s helped to make Sweatheart the over-the-top experience it is, and whose talents include a comedy act that he’s used to open for everyone from Lightning Bolt to Fred Armisen. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave, 9pm, $10, 21+ – Joe Poteracki

Local area label Evil Weevil Records is having quite an all ages showcase this afternoon into the evening at The Fire. The event is being presented as “Road to Ruin” and will feature an abundant amount of the label’s artists from different eras. Those gearing up for tonight’s showcase will be hometown crews Everyone Everywhere, The Eeries, The Holy Mess, Dry Feet, Restorations, Lighten Up and West Chester’s Spraynard while Richmond’s Sundials and Brooklyn’s Big Eyes and Big Soda will be imported to add fuel to the fire. It’s early, and it’s sunny, but I doubt many of those rays will make it into the room with all those bands and fans. However, I’m guessing that’s just the way they’ll like it. The Fire, 412 E. Girard Ave., 3pm, $10/$12, All Ages – Alexis V.