IN MY AUTUMN SWEATER: Tom Brosseau, The Fillmore, Last Night 1. Mr. Brosseau looks like a Swiss ski instructor or Owen Wilson without the bandages, but he sings like naked woman who died in a great flood a long, long time ago. 2. Mr. Brosseau wore what is quite possibly the gayest most radical sweater ever seen on a live folk performer whose name wasn’t Joan Baez. 3. The girl next to me leaning against the lip of the stage was teaching herself Icelandic from a textbook while waiting for Mr. Brosseau to appear. She plans to move there one […]
EARLY WORD: FIVE THINGS YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT NORMAL LOVE
1. At one point the band was considering calling themselves Severe Confection, which then ended up being the title of a piece they play, written by Dustin Hurt, who originally titled it “Fried Jello.” “We changed the title cause that name is dumb” said Eli. 2. Normal Love’s got two 1/2 Puerto Ricans, one half Jew, and two full Jews. “That makes us decidedly more Jew then Rican”, says Evan, “but we’re still fully down to represent as ‘Jew Rican‘: all respects to Julio Lugo.” 3. Eli likes to play the drums with his shirt off and has been told […]
EARLY WORD: Oh No, It’s The Popo!
The Popo wins Best Band Name Ever. This week anyway…
INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Need To Know About Menomena At First Unitarian Last Night
1. They have great taste in opening acts. Bucks County’s Illinois singing catchy, clever pop songs to the banjo over multiple bottles of Sailor Jerry really puts you in the mood for more music. Either that or a sock-hop. But that’s cool too. 2. Menomena is just as organic and fresh as anything else coming out of Portland. The band is comprised of three really tall musicians who produce the instrumentation of a 10-piece orchestra. It’s impressive to hear so much sound coming from such a small group of people. Like a puzzle, these sounds fit perfectly together, only it’s […]
THE EARLY WORD: 13 THINGS YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT TOM BROSSEAU
Tom Brosseau performs Thursday, November 8, 2007 at the Fillmore at the TLA 334 South Street Philadelphia, Doors: 7:00 pm | Show: 8:00 pm 1) When I was younger, I met author Louise Erdrich (Love Medicine, Beat Queen, Bingo Palace). Louise is from where I’m from- Minnesota/North Dakota, and came to my hometown, Grand Forks, for the University of North Dakota Writer’s Conference, 1987. I grew up going to the conference, reluctantly, at first, then joyfully, willingly, excited to hear the words, to see the author(s). There was a house gathering after the reading, and Louise was standing in the kitchen. […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: Obama Henchmen Killed The Colbert Candidacy Two prominent supporters of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in South Carolina called state Democratic Party officials urging them to oppose putting comedian Stephen Colbert’s name on the primary ballot, according to party officials and Obama supporters with knowledge of the calls. Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” saw his hopes to be placed on the primary ballot ended last week when the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13-3 to block his bid, with the majority of voters saying he was not a viable enough […]
JUSTICE: D.A.N.C.E.
[Hat tip to EVA LIAO]
Get Out Of That Mothership And Fight Like A Man!
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO: Led Zeppelin Mothership BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT The other day I was driving around with my oldest son when Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” came on the radio. I cranked it up — and then cranked it up further as the solo approached. I tried to square my jaw like Bill Cowher’s and show the boy what it means to be alone, not to care what the neighbors say. Little did I know the song was probably programmed to play at that particular time on that particular Classic Rock station to celebrate the […]
HEAR YE: Led Zeppelin Mothership
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO!
LED ZEPPELIN: Stairway To Heaven
During the course of our hectic day, we here at Phawker have found it highly therapeutic to pause for eight minutes and two seconds while staring at this pretty picture with the volume cranked. But that’s just us…and, well, 752,314 other people on Earth.
Early Word: How To Grow A Woman From The Ground
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO: How To Grow A Woman From The Ground ‘If David Lynch was an alt-country singer’ may not be the most original comparison in the post–Wilco world, where many a scarf-wrapped ragamuffin undergrad strums the sepia-toned magic-realism blues in the hopes of attracting the attentions of the fair maidens of academia. But when Tom Brosseau opens his mouth to sing, it becomes immediately clear the stakes are much higher than birdoggin at Starbucks, and that this man is playing for keeps. His music is very gentle — and kinda spooky, in a pretty way, and the […]
BREAKING: Man Man Signs With Anti- Record Label
Hailing from Philadelphia, Man Man are an astonishingly original quintet who have found the perfect berth for their gypsy-swamp-rock-carny-soul sound at the equally singular Anti- Records, home to other such illustrious iconoclasts as Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Neko Case. The band had the following to say about the signing: Honus (vocales/keys/etc): “Championship Rings!” Chang Wang (guitar/trumpet/etc): “Wow! Yes!” Sergei Sogay (bass/etc): “Warm Socks!” Cougar (guitar/etc): “Pizza Party!” Pow Pow (drums/etc): “Ladies Please!”