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Music
From all accounts, I'm double glad I skipped the debate for a dose of pan-Celtic music.
Carlos Nuñez is from Galicia, an under-celebrated Celtic nation contained within Spain. He was championed as a piping prodigy by the Chieftains when he was just into his teens. Like them he has travelled the world, ferreting out lost connections in places where the Celtic Diaspora put down roots, like Mexico and Brazil and Cuba.
Me, I love hearing hot playing to set pieces with a great deal of charming explication in between. My Celto-phile companion was less charmed; she wanted more of a session. Not what you'd expect on the first night of a tour, particularly not one to support a Sony two-CD collection, Discover. They chose some great tunes, but since they are pulled from a range of themed recordings and seemingly mixed at random, one day when I have time I'll separate the orchestral stuff (eh) from the Cuban (yes!) and trad.
If you like a little teaching mixed with music, try this Nuñez live show, which will take you back to the 13th century, featuring a cantiga played on hurdy gurdy and sung by Don Pancho Alvarez. Alvarez is also front and center in the 21st century running his bouzouki through a stomp box on other songs, playing a booming bass simultaneous to delicate string lead, courtesy the marvels of processing. Speaking of processing, my companion is the mother of percussionists and she was alarmed by the lengths that Nuñez' brother Xurxo went through to tart up his drumming. The pride of Boston, fiddler Katie McNally played her fiddle straight and strong.
WHO: Flosstradamus, DJ Sliink, DJ Swizzymack, Krueger and Copout
WHAT: On their latest tour, Chicago’s on-fire DJ duo is set to hit Philly with the freshest trap bangers and club smashers. Flosstradamus (aka J2K and Autobot) has been rockin’ parties worldwide for over eight years and have dropped releases on Fool’s Gold, Mad Decent and other labels. Expect a wide variety of sounds, pushing the envelope but always keeping it thumping. This night is sure to be out of control in this intimate venue, and each DJ in the supporting lineup is sick in their own right.
WHEN & WHERE: Thu., Oct. 4, 10 p.m., $8-$10 door, Barbary, 951 Frankford Ave., 215-634-7400, r5productions.com.
WHY: The ADA suggests you Flosstradamus at least once a day.
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Charlie Miller says he’s tired. No wonder. Four years ago he was the mastermind of a folk-for-Obama fundraiser that produced $4K for the campaign.
"It was a lot of work to do in one night with multiple bands,” says Miller. “Since then the house concert movement has really been growing with a number of artists making a comfortable living at it, so we decided to give that a try."
“We” being Miller and Jefferson Berry. Last night was Miller's turn to host. "We had 40 people, two bands, [JB's] Urban Acoustic Coalition and Boris Garcia, plus Shelly Quigley sang some of her parodies. It went till 11 and we raised $1400."
There are four more intimate shows coming up. In the name of community-building, these fundraisers are all also pot luck meals about an prior to the music. But you can feel free to come just for music if you prefer. Tonight Psych-A-Billy and Hippies and Hillbillies hold forth in Hollywood, PA, at 7 p.m.
Nothing like a sing-songy, heart-string-tugging hit with disturbing imagery —”cut open my sternum and pull my little ribs around you” — to get everyone humming as they shuffle out of the venue.
The melody puts in perspective the passion and romance of those lines, so, if you haven’t yet, I guess you would have to hear it. Purity Ring’s Fireshrine is an ear worm you won’t want to get rid of.
Really, its bass-booming, hip hop-inspired beats guide a chorus of enchanting vocals. The duo swooned the audience with an entirely organic encapsulation of all that these two Alberta, Canada natives have created and ready-or-not gone viral with in the past year or so. Other than a few barely-notable glitches, their set was as seamless and electronically charged as the recordings.
Corin Roddick manipulates the sound boards while singer Megan James saunters back and forth across the stage, charming the dance out of the crowd. She and Roddick are both armed with drum sticks, for virtual purposes only. They work as wands commanding the light display that they’ve carefully constructed — a series of color-changing paper cocoons dangling down over the stage and a ring of paper bulbs surrounding Roddick, which work as drum pads/touch lamps.
James is quite comely with a sort of home-town girl appeal — endearing curls springing from her pony and draping around her slightly nervous-looking expression. Nervous, in a sense, it seems, that can be attributed to the band’s unintentional rush to stardom. James looks a bit overwhelmed at times, mostly when the music stops. But when she’s in the song, there’s no denying she’s in heaven and everyone in the crowd is buzzing that she sings like an angel.
When asked how the show went, “It was hot,” was her response, “Good, and hot.” The church basement is a notoriously sweltering box reeking of beer and bodies, but it only added to the power of the performance.
In an era where success can be counted by Youtube hits, Purity Ring has reached millions and been forced to get it together, get touring and get ready to have hoards of fans trying to get a moment with them at the merch table. Seeing these kinds of over-night successful bands can obviously go one of two ways, and these guys killed it on first impressions. If they can pack the church on a Thursday night and bid good night to a room of satisfied faces, bets are on that they’ll be back and on to bigger venues soon.
It’s fortunate that the Susquehanna Bank Center is an outdoor venue, otherwise Florence Welch’s booming voice would have blasted the roof off on Tuesday. Here are some pictures from the Florence and the Machine show courtesy of Reed Reish.
Punks unfamiliar with radical queer collective Gender EDGE can figure it out quick at this eardrum-pounding shouting at Turnerdome. From Baltimore comes Sexgender, tearing through the sound barrier with a noisy hardcore of which the reverberating vocals are marked by such titles as “Christs and Queers” and “The Phallus.” Hive Bent, also of Baltimore, continues the energetic aural assault with a suitable self-description: “loudness.” Fear not, locals, for Philadelphia finds representation in new act Heather Holepuncher and Gender EDGE’s own EX. by V. Of the latter, songs destroy the distinction between thrash, punk, noise, and spoken word — suitable for a night spotlighting readings in addition to the musical mayhem.
Fri., Sept. 21, 7 p.m., $5 suggested donation, Turnerdome. We can't really tell you where that is.
WHO: DJ Kash
WHAT: The ladies of Pulse Events host this '80s- and '90s-themed dance party, featuring a promised setlist of songs by many of our childhood faves — from Salt-N-Pepa (P-push it real good!) all the way up to the Spice Girls (Tell me what you want, what you really, really want!). The three guests who deck out in the best '80s and '90s gear will win prizes, so pull out your headbands and prep-roll those jeans like there's no tomorrow.
WHEN & WHERE: Sat., Sept. 22, 10 p.m., $5, Smokin' Betty's, 116 S. 11th St., 215-922-6500, facebook.com/pulseeventsbiz.
WHY: Because you're curious to see if Aqua Net can still work wonders on that modern hipster haircut of yours.
WHO: Robotique DJs
WHAT: The recently revamped Trestle Inn hosts a far-out disco dance party every week, rockin’ a blend of classics, boogie and proto-house. This go-round features the talents of Robotique DJs, and Broadzilla, MatPat, Julian Process and Tony Modica are scheduled down the road.
WHEN & WHERE: Sat., Sept. 22, 10 p.m., free, Trestle Inn, 339 N. 11th St., thetrestleinn.com.
WHY?: You've been looking for a chance to check out the Trestle Inn's updated digs.
words: Michael Blancato | photos: Nora Quinn
The members of Bloc Party haven’t toured together in almost four years, but you wouldn’t know it based on Saturday’s show at The Troc. In fact, their set (see below) felt like a blast to Silent Alarm past, as the Londoners powered through 18 of their most anthemic songs, ditching keyboards for guitars in all but two of them. The result was a visceral journey through the band’s heavier hits with a few softer songs sprinkled in for good measure.
The bulk of Bloc Party’s set was comprised of material from Bloc Party’s newest album Four, but fans enthusiastically sang along to older jams “Hunting for Witches,” “Banquet,” and “One More Chance.” Even singer Kele Okereke’s short rendition of Rihanna’s “We Found Love” was met with uproarious applause that turned to rhythmic claps as the band transitioned into the dancey electronica of “Flux.” But these were exceptional moments – distorted guitar chords often accompanied Kele’s soaring choruses.
One consequence of EDM dominating the airwaves in recent years is a yearning for more guitar-based music, a return to times when bands rocked rather than bounced. Bloc Party rocked on Saturday night, stopping to acknowledge the electronic sounds of Intimacy only occasionally. This show was a reminder of what made Bloc Party an indie rock juggernaut years ago: thundering riffs, electrifying solos, and explosive drums. It’s good to have the old band back.
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