THE SHOWDOWN: A small crowd in Amish country

POSTED: Monday, September 26, 2011, 1:00 PM

Filed Under: Music The Showdown

Brian Wilensky highlights the week's sure-bet live acts.

Monday: The deep gutteral screaming vocals, the distortion coursing through your floor and the unrelenting cymbal crashing of Ape!, makes for the sort of music that would be fitting to play in your car while in a demolition derby. 8 p.m., $5, w/ Minor Stars, The Wicked Tomorrow & Controlled Storms, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919.

Tuesday: Bet you saw Kenny Powers return to his bro’s pad in the second season of Eastbound and Down when The Felice Brothers’ “Frankie’s Gun!” was playing. Maybe you’ll get to hear a live version instead of through the tube. Maybe you’ll have to Netflix that all over again. 8 p.m., $20, w/ Virgin Forest, Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., 215-232-2100.

Wednesday: There aren’t too many chicks in the math rock world. But Marnie Stern sounds like she knows her numbers. Her spastic, guitar parts combined with Zach Hill accompaniment sells the tickets, her voice is what gets people to bring their friends. 8 p.m., $12, w/ No Joy, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 215-563-3980.

Thursday: The Album Leaf’s ambience and syncopated synth is now backed by a band. But Jimmy LaValle’s thoughtful melodies can break your post-rock heart just as easily as they had before. 8 p.m., $14, w/ Sister Crayon, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684.

Friday: I tripped into a little art gallery called Eckhaus in Kutztown once way back whenever, I can’t remember, Toy Soldiers were just starting their set. Their down-home jangley rock was high energy, nonstop and they were able to move even a small crowd in Amish country. 9 p.m., $8, w/ Levee Drivers, The Lawsuits, Toddler Kat & Sherman, The Fire, 412 W. Girard, 267-671-9298.

Saturday: People usually play guitars with guitar picks. Not Stanley Jordan, he just sort of taps the strings with his fingers. But he certainly made a name for himself from said technique. Since his 1985 Grammy-nominated Blue Note debut, Magic Touch, he’s been one of the forerunners in jazz guitar. 8 p.m., $33, Sellersville Theater, 24 W. Temple Ave., 215-257-5808.

Sunday: One night I lost sleep thinking about how many people in America describe Explosions in the Sky as “epic” every single day. That’s not true, but I bet that number is astronomical. 7:30 p.m., $25, The Antlers, Tower Theatre, 19 S. 69th St., 610-352-2887.

(brian.wilensky@citypaper.net)

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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