Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, Dec. 1, Johnny Brenda's

The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.

0 comments

Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains, Dec. 1, Johnny Brenda's

POSTED: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 12:47 AM

Filed Under: Music Show


Red Racket	Josh Reichmann and the Oracle Band
Photos \| Dianca Potts

Last night at JB's, a humble crowd of friends and fans mingled on floorboards and stools, drinking beer and looking sharp while West Philly’s Rad Racket warmed things up with their brand of tenacious, percussive math rock dissonance.

Catchy and tenacious and sporting genuinely explosive energy, Roman Salcic, frontman of Red Racket, crooned out tunes like "Morning Trolley" and "Babe I'm Running From You" while guitarist Adam Katz inserted shredful post-hardcore riffs amidst layers of drums, bass and synth. Though initially delayed due to a strange succession of broken guitar strings, the West Philly's band set was well worth waiting for, thrilling the humble JB's crowd of friends and fans with their gregarious, tenacious sound.

Ending things with a cover by the one and only David Bowie, Rad Racket's performance gave way to the psychedelic, jazzy Josh Reichmann and The Oracle Band. Currently signed to Paper Bag Records, Reichmann and his bandmates proved toe-tap worthy, cranking out specimens trippier than Devendra Banhardt's daydreams/nightmares. Sporting a trumpet, flute, and sax in addition to the requisite keys, bass, drums and guitar, Reichmann and Co. proved distinctively undefinable (but in a good way). Keeping attention with tracks lifted from recent and past releases — "King Girl," the metaphysically upbeat "Believe in Souls" — they set the mood for even more mind-blowing rock and roll at the hands of Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains.

Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains

Photo | Dianca Potts

Tall, sincere and friendly, sporting acid-washed jeans, skinny black suspenders and a V-neck tee with a hole near its hem, ex-Death From Above 1979 frontman Grainger and band started things off with the Costello-esque "Love Can Be So Mean." The crowd, already swaying, sang along, bopping heads to the staccatoed backbeat. They followed with "Who Do We Care For," which featured relevant lines ("Who do we care for/ Who do we make our friends/ Who do we turn to") leading into the new-classic Grainger half-yell half-moan croonage: "Who do we make our friends?" It was as if he extracted all the vocalized expression that made DFA1979 such a fire-starting success.

Their set, thankfully lengthy, also included subtle dance anthems("I'm All Rage"), more provocative tuneage ("I Am Like A River") and the presumable favorite of the night, "I Hate My Friends." After the last song, Grainger exited the stage after throwing his guitar strings down onto the floor, leaving the Mountains to tend to, nurse and tweak the residual aftermath of distortian feedback. Member by member, the Mountains filed off, leaving Brenda's balcony silent. Grainger and his cohorts soon materialized, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with showgoers, looking toward the stage and slowly lifting their hands to clap, contributing to the maelstrom of applause that marked the end of a truly epic evening.

Posted by Dianca Potts @ 12:47 AM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
PHILLY LOVE NOTES: An ode to Spruce Street
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOS: James Blake @ TLA 5/11
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.

About this blog

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.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: