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Archive: June, 2008
Dance Dance Revolution Oh boy. Playing Music in Motion makes me feel like it's 1997 and my old college friend is trying to tell me that techno is so great, but I just don't get it. That argument lasted for four years, but it was never resolved. This game is a little weird, but it's a neat concept. It's a side-scroller, so, as the little astronaut-looking guy, you'll run and jump and try to escape the ever-encroaching edge of the screen. As you do so, blocks corresponding to notes in the music will appear in front of you, impeding your progress. You'll have to hop over them to reach the boss and move on to the next level. I played for a bit, but it never seemed to get too difficult. Somebody call Josh Wink, though. I think he could make this a bit more interesting. Get out your glow sticks and play Music in Motion here.
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Monday: Dawn Landes uses a banjo well and does an excellent “I Won’t Back Down.” She’s at the Fire tonight with Balthrop, Alabama and the Spinning Leaves. Doors at 7 pm, tix $8
Tuesday: The highly prolific Will Johnson and co. record and tour behind both Centro-matic and South San Gabriel. With all that practice, you figure their live show has got to be good. Centro hits up Johnny Brenda’s tonight with the M’s and Shearwater. Doors at 8 pm, tix $10.
Wednesday: Re-live college rock from the past three decades at the Mann Center with the National, Modest Mouse and the ultimate: R.E.M. Be careful of the contraband or the RA will totally write you up. Doors at 7 pm, tix $35-39.50.
Thursday: You could always prolong last night’s college throwback by giving it up for the kid who always wore the same Marley t-shirt and liked hackey sack just a little too much. Reggae/Dance-haller Capleton and Richie Spice play at the Troc as part of the Soul Roots Reggae series. Doors at 10 pm, tix $35 in adv., $40 at the door.
Friday: The Popped music fest kicks off at the Troc with he man with the plan (and the eye patch) — Slick Rick. Check him out and congratulate him on his recent pardon. Doors at 8 pm, tix $15.
Saturday: Continue your Popped weekend with the indie-Afro stylings of buzzband Vampire Weekend and the sweet girl-boy pop of Mates of State (among others). $32.50 for single day or pick up a three day pass for $65.
Sunday: Genius? Total nutjob? Equal parts of both? You decide. Daniel Johnston closes out Popped at the World Café Live. Get your tix here.
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| Not at the Church. |
Mark Kozelek is hot. Dude's barely into his second song at the Church when he requests a towel to mop off the sweat. "I'm 41," he says, by way of explanation for why he can't remove his heavy long-sleeved shirt, which he occasionally tugs at and eventually unbuttons. It's strangely captivating to see the man behind Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon � whose meaty, sulky voice already makes him sound so dark and emotional � actually suffering before our eyes. In this stuffy, air-conditioner-less room, his vocals seem to quiver and soar all the more dramatically. He's got an acoustic guitar with him, which he deftly finger-picks, but what really matters here is his wonderfully sad singing. He plays all the good stuff: reliably pretty new songs ("Moorestown," "Heron Blue"), stripped-down Red House Painters favorites ("Summer Dress," "Three-Legged Cat"), gentle covers (AC/DC's "Rock 'n' Roll Singer") and Sun Kil Moon crowd-pleasers ("Glenn Tipton," "Carry Me Ohio"), with an impressively lengthy encore, considering the temperature.
Gonna be honest, though. Kozelek's not the only one wrestling with the heat. It takes strength not to leave (as weaker souls around me do), and during the second half of the set, I'm just trying to remain conscious and keep my head from lolling like a ragdoll. That said, awesome show. (For the love of God, R5, get some fans!)
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| Photo | Brian Howard |
Saw this on a bike ride Friday morning. "One of my favorite murals in the city," said my riding buddy Justin Bauer.
Where is it?
Snyder Ave, around 6th or 7th
Danzink: Sixth and Snyder is correct. (Check it here on Google Maps street view)
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| Photo l Deesha Dyer |
Count 'em - This is not my first, second, or even third time seeing Jamie in concert. Yes lovelies, this is my fourth! I dig his music, his personas and the silly stage presence. The first time I saw him the ticket was 12 bucks, while last night after the success of 2 albums, that price has doubled. What can I say? He's quite infectious and in a weird way....kinda cute.
I'll get right to it. I was a little worried, since Philadelphia was near the end of his tour. Worried that the show would reflect natural exhaustion - nope! Last night was what a concert should be - giving people an actual show full of entertainment and just raw talent. The addition of the live band to his show magnified the soul and definitely enhanced the sound. Not much I can say will do the night justice, so it is best to check out the pictures and setlist. Most tracks were from his new album, Jim, but he also threw in several from his second hit album, Multiply.
The man is just amazing really as far as being an entertainer, musician and singer. I know it isn't easy to bust out a meaningful, soulful ballad with a TV box on your head. That's just how JL gets down.
Songs played...that I remember: - Little Bit of Feel Good - Another Day - Multiply - Game of Fools - Out of My System - Where'd You Go - You Got Me Up - Figured Me Out - Wait For Me - Green Light - The City - Little Bit More
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| Photo l Deesha Dyer |
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| Photo l Deesha Dyer |
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| Photo l Deesha Dyer |
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| Photo l Deesha Dyer |
Workin' on a mystery. Goin' wherever it leads.
Tom Petty gave the crowd exactly what they were looking for: a straight up rock show. He didn’t spend much time telling anecdotes or introducing songs; this was a no-sense hit parade from all eras of his career, from Breakdown (1976) to Saving Grace (2006). Actually, it was more of a sing-along than a concert. The crowd helped out with almost every song, at times directed by Mr. Petty himself like full fledged backup singers. The moment they detected the opening cords to Free Fallin’, you got the sense everyone was clearing their throats. It’s this level of participation I think helped to counteract the distant, anonymous vibe of typical arena rock shows. After noticeably long break, the encore included crowd-pleasing familiars like “Running Down a Dream" and "American Girl.”
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This just in from CP's Justin Bauer:
I assume at this point you're aware . . .
. . . that the new Hold Steady record is up and streaming on their myspace page, right?
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It was supposed to be my moment of triumph!
I can't get this song out of my head, it's so weird and misshapen and catchy. "The World is in the Turlet" was composed by Ted Leo in about two hours after Tom Scharpling (of WFMU's The Best Show) and his listeners cobbled together some lyrics. I'm confident in the skills of Ted Leo and his hairy Pharmacists — they broke into "Day Man" last time they played Philly — but as the show proceeded, things kinda rambled forward with little regard for meter, and I was pretty skeptical:
Big Steve is on the drum set
Counting it four by four
Little Jimmy jamming the six-string
Giving the people more
Count Violence bringing the low-end
Cuz that's all that he knows what to do
And my name's Ted
That's what I said
Nuts. But, thanks to a big chanting chorus (from which the song derives it's title) and Ted Leo's sheer enthusiasm for the project, the song ended up strangely classic sounding. More than that, it almost feels like it has a point. See verse two:
Nothing to drink I've got nothing to eat
I'm barely alive I'm dead on my feet
The East River boiled and belched up a cadaver
The corpse walked to Enid's for a drink and some palaver
Really nuts. But it really rocks. Listen.
[audio:http://stream.citypaper.net/music/theworldisintheturlet.mp3]
Hear how the song came about here.
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