|
|
|
Archive: September, 2007
 |
| Photo | Tami Fertig |
Everywhere you look, teenage girls. They’re screaming, they’re excited, they clearly idolize Regina Spektor. It’s a teeny bit baffling, all these kiddies singing along, doing their best and boldest Regina impressions, but can you blame ’em? Girl rocks the piano hard tonight, and on top of that, she looks dazzling, complete with dreamy, flow-y black dress and this cute little giggle whenever she messes up (yeah, she messes up a few times, but nobody minds). Take the time she effs up her guitar string during the part of “Bobbing for Apples” that goes, “Someone next door is fucking to one of my songs,” and rather than stopping the song short, she just repeats that one line five or six times. Awesome. Other highlights: a slowed-down, stripped-down, oh-so-pretty version of Better; simultaneous piano-playing and drumstick-on-piano-bench-playing during Soviet Kitsch’s “Poor Little Rich Boy”; opening band Only Son (aka Jack Dishel) doing human beatbox next to Regina for the encore’s “Hotel Song.” All the big hitters — “Fidelity,” Samson,” “That Time” — sound excellent, but it’s the little things, like those strange, satisfying tongue clicks and throaty noises and whimsical flourishes she makes, that remind everybody why they fell in love with Regina in the first place.
 |
| PHOTO | John Vettes |
There's something endearing about a room strung with paper mache hangings, a band that cracks jokes and laughs at one another between songs, a singer that barely stops smiling. Todd Erk fingers an upright bass, Devin Greenwood seems walled into a corner by his keyboards and Birdie Busch plays lots of songs from her awesome new Penny Arcade (listen right now for free). More photos after the jump...
 |
| Photo | Matt Hotz |
It would have been hard to fit any more people into the Troc for this show, especially considering that a significant number of those present hadn’t had their growth spurt yet. The downstairs was packed all the way back to the lobby doors. Upstairs, your only shot at getting a beer involved navigating the slender aisle between those leaning along the back wall and the three rows of fans sitting Indian style on the ground. Most in attendance had to work hard to find a sightline through the rolling tide of bobbing heads to catch a glimpse of Jenny in her light silver tights and sequined silver hotpants or Blake looking dapper in a pair of dark dress pants, white dress shirt, black tie and silver vest.
The highlight of the show was a two-song sequence midway through: Jenny and the rest of the band surrendered the stage to Blake for “Ripchord,” his earnest ukulele and restrained vocals slowing the pace and causing the crowd murmur to drop to a whisper. As the song trailed off, the opening chords of “With Arms Outstretched” drew the biggest audience reaction of the night, sparking a handclapping sing-along out of the appreciative and impeccably mannered crowd. The only other song to garner a similar reaction was “Spectacular Views,” the last song before the two-song encore. Hopefully, the band noticed that the love from its fans was at its loudest during a couple of songs from The Execution of All Things.
they are a great live band. id hire them to play my wedding.
 |
| deesha dyer |
As Mayor Street finished his speech about how beautiful and wonderful Philadelphia is at the Campus Philly Kick Off in LOVE Park today, Reef spit the above words in a scheduled performance of his song, "Sound of Philadelphia". The faces of the Temple cheerleaders and the suited up men was priceless - Oh My God, did he just say that? DJ's Skipmode and Statik, both from the Ill Vibe Collective held down turntable duties while Reef rhymed at a lecture podium. He appeared very scholarly and made jokes while waiting out the awkward moments to perform (by this time people had scooted to the side of the stage for a photo op with Street). Reef closed out his short set with track, "Big Deal", before stealing a page out of the standard Presidential campaign leaflet and jokingly announcing that he's taking the show on the road to Washington, New Hampshire, and Iowa. Overheard on the way out was the Philly Car Share guys and how one of them wouldn't have performed "Sound of Philadelphia" with the Mayor and all the officials there (out of respect). I don't know what is funnier - the fact that people with green make-up and tight green outfits were saying this or the fact that respect was associated with politics. More Photos Campus Philly Kickoff Reef the Lost Cauze MySpace
 |
| Photo | Deesha Dyer |
It takes a lot for me to listen to a female pop/rock singer in this day and age. Mainly because they all sound the same and no one can ever top my dear Fiona or Tori - but, when I heard the voice of little Cali girl, Sara Bareilles - I knew I found someone worth giving a try. Strolling over to Borders to see her do a mini-performance at lunch yesterday confirmed my instinct. Accompanied by a percussionist and guitarist, Sara sat at the piano and belted into 3 songs off her studio release, Little Voice (Epic). First came upbeat single, "Love Song", next was "Many the Miles", which provided a nice platform for harmony courtesy of the band vocals. Last was "Gravity", a heavy and depressing track that almost made me shed a tear right then and there (not really). This song defines what a classic ballad is supposed to sound like. After the short set, Ms. B signed some autographs, took some pictures and headed to World Cafe Live, where she opened for Jon McLaughlin. She'll hit the majors opening for Maroon 5 later this year. Although she appears almost too innocent, Sara's performance was a short and sweet afternoon delight for an otherwise dull and standard working Monday.
Sara Bareilles' MySpace
The title of her album is Little Voice. Thought that was an important oversight.
 |
I love Rilo Kiley. Love 'em. But this new album, I dunno... Let's go track by track.
1. “Silver Lining”
The open with prefabby beats that’s supposed to say “shake your hips” but comes off closer to “Hey Mickey.” Still this is that forlorn, wistful Jenny Lewis voice that made her solo album so good. And the tinny, plinky backdrop (a guitar doing a mandolin impression) is pretty sweet.
2. “Close Call”
The verses are nursery rhymey and easy, but the chorus is nice, and the ooh oohs are solid. This one’s really redundant though.
3. “Moneymaker”
Ah. At first the discomagic vibe kinda bummed me out, but the more I listen, the more I find my self digging the sleazy riff and strangely funky bass. This was the song with the dirty video (preceded by interview with porn stars).
4. “Breakin’ Up”
There was a time when all I wanted from music was a chick singer, some lyrics about relationships and music that sounded like a Gameboy. This has all that but it’s kinda soft rock. Redundant to the max, and I’m not buying the big-haired Diana Ross backup singers thing.
5. “Under the Blacklight”
Whatever sketchiness the lanky synths and dark lyrics are supposed to conjured up are completely undermined by the innocuous chorus. There’s nothing wrong with maudlin, but come on, if you wanna say you’re a black widow you gotta sell it a little. This is your title track?
6. “Dreamworld”
This would be the best Elected song of all time, but for Rilo Kiley it’s kind of an offtopic B-side.
7. “Dejalo”
Now, if we’re listening to a band sink into some kinda of Madonna quicksand, this is “La Isla Bonita.” A Spanish lullaby? I guess. It’s songs like this that make me wonder whether this isn’t some kind of break up album but a money grab, a push to see if Rilo Kiley can meet marketability halfway. It Jenny can play Leno, why can’t her band?
8. “15”
The deep cuts are usually Rilo Kiley’s wheelhouse, but this ode to statutory rape is blandiose.
9. “Smoke Detector”
Love this song. I mean it’s a bit edgeless and redundant like most of the album, but the sleaziness has finally defined itself. Is the smoke detector a dance (like the frug)? I don’t really get this song but it’s just right.
10. “The Angels Hung Around”
Excellent song. Hey, maybe we’re in a rally.
11. “Give A Little Love”
Nope. Game over.
Rilo Kiley plays the Troc tomorrow.
Sunday's Trenton Times had a large headline about a band called Kilo Riley. Whoops. Scan available on demand.
 |
| Photo|Patrick Rapa |
You know, Get Lonely was the first Mountain Goats album that ever had to grow on me, and it didn't end up growing on me that much. It was too somber, too restrained. John Darnielle's developed a supreme skill
for the the pretty and haunting, but I like his voice better when it's all worked up. At the North Star, the dude brought it. "Cubs in Five," obviously. The hellacious "Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton," of course (with some killer bass by Peter Hughes). But also the jangling chandelier that is "Shadow Song." And hell yes, he did "Grendel's Mother." The new songs sounded great. The next album will apparently feature the return of Rachel and the Bright Mountain Choir. Things are looking up up up. And I will love you again like I used to.
And now, more photos and some video from the show...
Video | Brian Howard
All that singing along...wow. It felt great, but kind of gave me vibes of (eek!) Dashboard Confessional. Everybody knows every word to most songs, and depending where you were standing in the room, John's voice got buried beneath it all. That said, shrieking "Hail Satan" with everybody in a sold out North Star Bar was one of the best feelings of my life. Props on the videos, Bri.
Thanks man!
I was really feeling the energy at this show. I've heard recordings of his shows where sometimes it just seems like nobody is into it, the crowd sounds deflated and I was worried as this was to be my first Goats show...but everything turned out pretty well...except for that girl standing in front of me who screamed out that she wanted to hear 'i hope we both die'...ugh.
...oops..meant to put this too... Anybody have a bead on the full show anywhere?
No, we didn't send anybody to Genesis. But YouTube has some highlights. Like this 30 second clip of a Phil Collins drum solo that looks like a Close Encounters YTMND. Eh.
Yes. This is Critical Mass, City Paper's new A&E review blog.
It's where we'll review concerts, CDs, DVDs, plays, video games, artsy things and whatever else catches our eyes and ears. Scene & Heard is dead.
Critical Mass seemed like a solid name for it, since the A&E section in the paper version of the paper went by that title for years. Yeah, we know about the bike thing, and the book thing. We like books and bikes quite a bit.
For a whole other introduction that says a lot of the same things but also explains the tiny robot, click here.
 |
| Dan Deacon fans are skull fuckers: Deacon, who you can't see in this photo, is somewhere in the vicinity of the green skull with Sean Agnew (directly beneath skull). |
| Photo | Brian Howard |
Dan Deacon had to take several time-outs during his spaztastic set at the Starlight to ask the crowd to chill, stop crowding him and to actually dance rather than just push side-to-side. "With apologies to Pearl Jam, knock this fucking moshing shit off," he said, or something to that effect, before asking the crowd to repeat "Chill vibes" ten times, then "The people around me are my friends." He wasn't angry. You get the sense this is par for the course for Deacon, the maniac, electronic-grooving freak-folk artist from Baltimore who plopped himself down on the floor in front of the Starlight Ballroom stage beneath a flashing green pole-mounted skull and ripped into a gadget-driven set of bleeps, bloops and video game anthems. He invited kids up on stage do dance behind him (these 50 lucky souls were likely the only ones in the audience save the circle right around him on the floor who actually got so see Deacon). The set, interrupted only by a brief equipment failure (this is what happens when you invite the crowd onto the stage) was like one big epileptic seizure, sort of an ADD rave, as Deacon ripped through new faves like "Okie Dokie" and "Crystal Cat" and kids danced around like fidgety Charlie Brown characters. When Deacon announced he'd be ending his set after what seemed like only 30 minutes (but was probably longer) the enclosing throng booed, prompting Deacon to "extend" his set with a rendition of "Wham City" (video after the jump) that killed, aided by the fact that everyone in the audience seemed to know every word.
Video and more photos after the jump.
 |
| Beach party or Dan Deacon show? |
| Photo | Brian Howard |
- Activism
- Arts
- Arts Events
- Books
- Dance
- First Person Fest
- Last Chance
- Museum
- On the Fringe
- Philly Artists
- The Curator
- Theater
- Visual Art
- Arts News
- Artist Profile
- Arts Preview
- Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- LOL With It
- Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- Film Fest
- Movie Review
- On set
- Scenester
- screening
- trailer!
- Music
- 10 Track Mind
- Album
- Album Review
- Concert Review
- DJs
- Local Support
- Now Hear This
- One Track Mind
- Philly Bands
- Show
- Somebody Else Was There
- Song
- The Showdown
- concert photos
- jazz
- DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- Coveted
- Fashion
- What We Heart
- TV
- 24
- Idol Hands
- Mad Men
- ProjRun
- True Blood
- Useless Lost Recaps
- Couch Potato
- Shore Trash
- Turned ONN
- TopMod
- Video Games
- Free Online Game
- PSP
- PlayStation 2
- The 1-Upper
- Wii
- Web Junk
- CAGE MATCH
- Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
