THE SHOWDOWN: How to squeeze every last drop

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

options

THE SHOWDOWN: How to squeeze every last drop

POSTED: Monday, November 15, 2010, 6:00 PM

Filed Under: Music The Showdown

Monday: Since they don't make the rounds too often, make a special trip to go see Pink Martini. The "little orchestra" is readying a new Christmas album, so there may be some early holiday tunes on display, but last year's stunning Splendor In The Grass remains both timeless and fresh. Their classy, old-fashioned approach to songwriting makes their original numbers just as deeply affecting as the standards they take on. Even without the Christmas tunes, Pink Martini exude a celebratory, festive feeling that'll make you feel like you're living the last few scenes of a Frank Capra movie. 8 p.m., $36 - $50, Grand Opera House, 818 N. Market St, Wilmington, DE, 302-652-5577. Tuesday: Dormant for nearly four years (and taking another two years to release a new album), Azure Ray make a return that's characteristically hushed and understated. That's not to say that the dream pop duo's reemergence is not something to get excited about. Maria and Orenda's new record, Drawing Down The Moon, came out in September and offers itself less as a reinvention than as a comforting reassertion of presence. Gently constructed beats mesh with the duo's cooing harmonies, creating a sound that's at once organic and otherworldly. w/ Tim Fite & James Husband, 8 p.m., $12, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684. Wednesday: Their self-deprecating tag might be "Peggy Who?," but Brighton's Peggy Sue are a group you're not soon to forget. Leaders Rosa Rex and Katy Klaw give the band's blues-leaning tunes a generous helping of gritty swagger. The vocal interplay between Rex and Klaw is set atop instrumentation that falls somewhere between folksy and rocky. I'm not sure when all these British kids started listening to American homeland music, but if their interpretations and interpolations continue to bring us groups like Peggy Sue, then let another British Invasion begin! w/ Kate Nash, 8 p.m., $29, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011. Thursday: Some bands go out of the way to be moody, emotional and glum, and then there are bands like The Russian Futurists. With enough pep and brightness power a small town, the Canadian quartet isn't just another knuckleheaded dance band. Songs on their newly released The Weights On The Wheels (as well as older records and 7" EPs) use a ton of clever wordplay, giving you plenty to think about while you're resting from bopping. The Russian Futurists are also strongly informed when it comes to their musical past, as their sound draws from psych-pop of yore as much as modern electronica. w/ Penrose, Arches & Caboder, 8 p.m., $5 - $10, Danger Danger Gallery, 5013 Baltimore Ave. Friday: Talk about an aural assault on a regular basis. Brooklyn's Earl Greyhound should be considered an honorary local band for all the time they spend in our fair city. You might have already seen them this year, but despite their well-crafted albums (including this year's Suspicious Package), these guys need to be seen live. The riffs, the grooves, the neck-vein-busting guitar faces; Earl Greyhound's big sound comes with plenty of entertainment value. No matter which of the three members you choose to focus on, you'll be casting your eyes on someone who really knows how to squeeze every last drop of rock out of his or her instrument. w/ Frost Watson & Knights on Earth, 7:30 p.m., $10, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919. Saturday: Har har. Yeah, there's a band called Bonerama and, were it not for their sassy brand of funk, jazz and rock, the name would be the first and last thing you'd ever hear about them. The New Orleans combo boasts a full brass section and a repertoire that ranges from Dixieland classics to psychedelic rock gems. They tend to get a little on the extended jam side, but with so many players, it's only fair that everyone gets a chance to strut his stuff. Bonerama's brassy ranks will be augmented with members of The String Cheese Incident and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, as if there weren't enough people in this band already. w/ Nate Wilson Group, 9 p.m., $20 - $25, North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St. 215-787-0488. Sunday: In what could be one of the most delightfully bizarre shows this year, the Sun Ra Arkestra and West Philadelphia Orchestra will do what they both do best: subvert, enlighten and create joy. The age gap between each bands' members might be awfully wide, but the likeminded experimentation is shared bountifully. Sun Ra made it a point to create music that challenged preconceived notions of jazz and tonality, and his horn-playing friends carry on that legacy. The WPO represents the next generation of world music: equally inspired by authentic folk music and globally warped versions. Combined, it's a whole bunch of strange and beautiful. 8 p.m., free, The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, 215-573-3234.

Posted by Eric Schuman @ 6:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
NOW SEE THIS: Transit cop arrests marijuana activist for alleged disorderly conduct.
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: Indian fare rules, Dunder Mifflin lives on, Tom Jones is a god
Q&A with Goon’s Seann William Scott
SWIMMING HOLES: Some of our favorite places to get wet

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: