“Young Folks,” the whistle-rific hit from Swedish indie-popsters Peter, Bjorn & John, turned 10 last month. Where does the time go? In the decade since, they’ve released four more albums. Couldn’t tell you a thing about any of them. I’m sure they are all very Nordic and turtleneck-friendly. PB&J play the Troc on Friday September 23rd in support of their new album, Breakin’ Point, which came out in June. We have a pair of tix to give away to the 667th Phawker reader who sends us an email @ Phawker66@gmail.com with the correct answer to the following PBJ trivia […]
BEING THERE: Cat Stevens @ The Kimmel Center
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: At 68, Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens (aka Steven Demetre Georgiou, son of a Greek), has entered the taking-stock/legacy curation chapter of his life, which explains why his current tour, nicknamed A Cat’s Attic, is sort of a live-action memoir with a classic, precision-rendered soundtrack. Thursday night at the Kimmel Center, the stage set was the bifurcated attic of Stevens’ home, set against the rooftops of London, beneath a gently smoking chimney, in the glow of a full moon, where Stevens sipped tea and poked through the dusty stacks of memory, providing running […]
BEING THERE: The Longest Review Of Bruce Springsteen’s Longest U.S. Show Ever Written*
BY DAVID R. STAMPONE Let’s say a vet music journo gets to freely review a Springsteen show. In fact, it’s an historic “Philadelphia Special” Bruce & the E Street Band gig, exactly like Wednesday night’s down at Citizens Bank Park: a diversified, mostly dazzling, protean stroll-sprint-walk-run through 34 oft-extended songs — and at 4:04:49, the Jersey guy’s longest-ever concert in the USA, second longest of his career. (Were you there in Helsinki for all 38 songs on 7/31/12? Do tell.) The scribe’s inclination might be to write the review in quasi-”think-piece” form, waxing 1st-personal, braiding in “Me & Bruce […]
Win Tix To Culture Club @ Electric Factory Tonight
Iconic 80’s New Romantics Culture Club plays the Electric Factory tonight to the secret delight of Gen X nostalgists everywhere. We have a pair of tix to give away to the 62nd Phawker reader to email us @ Phawker66@gmail.com with the correct answer to the following Culture Club trivia question: What is Boy George’s real name? No Googling allowed! And we can tell if you did. Put the magic words KISSING TO BE CLEVER in the subject line. Good luck and godspeed! CULTURE CLUB PLAYS THE ELECTRIC FACTORY ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH
Win Tix To See Amos Lee @ The Academy Of Music
Philly homeboy Amos Lee just released his sixth album, Spirit, and will mark this auspicious occasion with a concert at The Academy Of Music on Sunday. And it just so happens that we have a pair of tix to give away to some lucky reader. What’s that you say? You never heard of Amos Lee but would like to learn more? Well, this is your lucky day. As per Wikipedia: Lee was born as Ryan Anthony Massaro in 1977 and was raised in Kensington, Philadelphia. He moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey at age 11 and graduated from Cherry […]
CINEMA: ‘The Who Fell To Earth’ Turns 40
DAVIDBOWIE.COM: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Nicolas Roeg’s iconic movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth, we’re delighted to announce that the film will return to UK cinemas in 4K this September. MORE NME: The soundtrack of David Bowie’s classic film The Man Who Fell To Earth is to be available for the first time since its original release 40 years ago. First available in 1976, the soundtrack features specially composed music by Japanese prog-rock musician Stomu Yamash’ta and John Philips, who was the main songwriter for ‘60s pop band The Mamas And The Papas. However, the master tapes […]
Win Tix To See Bayside @ The Electric Factory
Since their 2000 inception in the suburban wilds of Long Island, Bayside has cranked out seven albums of moody, melodic, guitar-driven emo. Let’s face it, you need more moody, melodic, guitar-driven emo whether you know it or not. Lucky for you we have a pair of tickets to see Bayside — along with The Menzingers and the wonderfully-named Sorority Noise — at the Electric Factory tomorrow night. To qualify to win them, send an email to Phawker66@gmail.com with the correct answer to the following question: What is the name of the Bayside drummer who was tragically killed 2005 when […]
INCOMING: The Complete Big Star Third Sessions
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a nearly decade-long search for unheard session recordings from Big Star’s Third LP, the results are finally in. Recorded in 1974 but not released for the first time until 1978, Third would be subsequently re-released, renamed and re-sequenced many times over the years. While some demos and alternate versions and mixes of songs have dribbled out on various compilations, all extant recordings made for the famed album are presented for the first time on Complete Third, due out on Omnivore Recordings on October 14, 2016. Set includes every demo, rough mix, alternate take and final master […]
BEING THERE: Mad Decent 2016
Photo by DYLAN LONG Welcome to one of the hottest fucking days of my entire life. Let’s get this out of the way before we go any further: This year’s Mad Decent Block Party was excruciatingly hot. Triple digits. Insane humidity. The last time I can remember sweating that much in one sitting was when I participated in a Sweat Lodge Ceremony, a Native American tradition in which various participants gather into a small hut filled with steam and sweat their dicks off for several hours. Aside from sweating non-stop for what seemed like eternity, here’s how the day went […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See X @ Underground Arts
To live and die in L.A., indeed. From the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s, X was the poetic conscience of the City of Angels, declaring that beneath all the hot sunshine and white teeth, it was in fact the city of the damned. Up to Ain’t Love Grand, X was everything you could ever want from a rock band (and even though they were punk-identified, they were so much more than the just safety-pinned pogo merchants). Smart, literate, versed in all manner of American roots music, X was arguably the finest band to ever emerge out of Los […]
DOWN WITH THE CLOWN: Author Steve Miller Spills The Faygo On Insane Clown Posse & Juggalos
BY MEGAN MATUZAK In 2011, the FBI and the DOJ issued a National Gang Threat assessment which designated the widely detested Insane Clown Posse’s fanbase of self-described Juggalos as a gang that was as dangerous as the Crips and the Bloods. The report cited violent lyrics, iconic symbols like the Hatchet Man and the fact that it seemed increasingly common for criminals to wear ICP shirts when they committed crimes. “Police departments across the country were already figuring that the Juggalos were easy targets, marks for their well-funded gang units to justify their existence,” writes Steve Miller [pictured, below right] […]
BEING THERE: Coldplay @ The Linc
Photo by BEN BRINKER BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER “I can’t tell you how happy we are to be in the City of Brotherly Love,” declared Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who for reasons unclear ran around the Linc all night with an American Flag hanging out of his back pants pocket. “We are going to put on the best show we have ever put on!” For the next two hours, Martin and co. essayed the high water marks of their back catalog. Highlights included the beatific mopery of the aforementioned “Yellow,” the Olympics montage-worthy “Clocks,” the Woody Guthrie-esque benediction […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Chris D’Elia @ The Troc
Chris D’Elia is an American stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, writer and comedy singer. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom Whitney and for the role of Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom Undateable. He also does a hilarious Drake diss (SEE BELOW). Tomorrow night he kicks off a two-night, three-show stand at the Troc. There are two shows tomorrow — a sold out 7:30 pm show and a 10 pm show, and a sold out Friday show. We have a pair of tix for the 10 pm Thursday show to give away to some lucky […]