THE SHOWDOWN: Always a lover, foremost a punk

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THE SHOWDOWN: Always a lover, foremost a punk

POSTED: Monday, November 23, 2009, 9:00 PM

Filed Under: Music The Showdown

Monday: Rockabilly music walks the fine line between either slick or horribly cheesy. It doesn't take much to cross that line and fall tragically into cheese-dom. Jon Spencer, one half of Heavy Trash, would never allow that to happen, though. No, he's going to churn out some sexy rock that has an ever-present threat of self-destruction. Always a lover, that Jon Spencer, but first and foremost a punk. With Jukebox Zeros & Delco Nightingale, 8 p.m., $8 at Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St.

Tuesday: My biggest complaint regarding N'Dambi is that I only recently heard her music. Somehow I overlooked her booming voice that is at times gigantic, and then delicate and intimate. Pink Elephant, her most recent album, has got plenty of sass, though it never feels unwarranted. The blues here are balanced by a bit of funky tracks that keep up the whole momentum of the album. With Natural Selection, 8 p.m., $11-$13 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.

Wednesday: There are plenty of options for the night before Thanksgiving, so choose wisely. If it's music you want, then Metric should definitely make your list. Emily Haines's voice is what gets me every time. She sings like a girl who knows too much, and can't un-learn what it is that torments her. And yet the vocals are paired with a pop sound that makes for catchy songs that don't leave your head. With Band of Skulls, 8 p.m., $20 at the Electric Factory, 7th and Willow streets.

Thursday: Spend some time with your family maybe.

Friday: Julian Plenti is Paul Banks of Interpol. Paul Banks of Interpol is Julian Plenti. But everyone was already clear on that, right? His solo work still has that dirty, sexy ' sometimes skeevy ' edge to it that we're used to from Interpol. But there's less brooding here. It's like someone cheered him up ' a little. At first this prospect made me nervous, but it didn't take long to realize that the man knows what he's doing, and he does it well. With I'm In You, 8 p.m., $12 at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St.

Saturday: Since I didn't give you anything for Thursday, I'll give you two choices for tonight:
Jay Reatard will fix your itch for a loud, raucous show that is bound to be pumping with testosterone, set to the sound of blazing power pop. With Screaming Females, 9 p.m., $12, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave.

If you'd rather listen to songs about Bible verses'the coolest songs about Bible verses, that is'then check out the Mountain Goats. Singer John Darnielle's voice is haunting and will make you feel guilty all over, but you won't be able to pinpoint why. With Final Fantasy, 9 p.m., $18-$21, TLA, 334 South Street.

It's times like these that I curse modern technology for not yet discovering a way for me to be in two places at once.

Sunday: The jangley, spastic music of Ladyfingers doesn't fall square into one genre of music. Avant-garde, sure. Jazz? Yeah, at times definitely. Folk, blues, rock and a touch of vaudevillian? Yes, all of the above. With Rough Hands, 9:30 p.m., $5 at Tritone, 1508 South St.

Amy Kuhre

Posted 2009-11-24 14:09:52

Sounds sweet! Too bad I'm not there to bar hop with you before blessed Turkey Day! You rock, Julia. 

Love, 

Stilettos.

morgan

Posted 2009-11-24 03:20:50

Get your favorite  music CDs/VCDs at

http://www.smartpunk.com/music.html/

and all at an affordable rate

Posted by Julia West @ 9:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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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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