Photo by PETE TROSHAK Last night, reggae legend and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Jimmy Cliff and his merry six piece band filled the Keswick Theatre in support of 2012’s aptly-titled Rebirth, his first proper album in more than a decade. Opening with “Bongo Man” and segueing into “Rivers Of Bablyon, Cliff and his band proceeded to deliver, a 23-song testament to his career sequenced in chronological order. With a newsboy cap pulled down over his eyes and his guitar slung upside down and left handed, Cliff appeared younger than his 65 years. He strutted and danced joyously like […]

Photo by PETE TROSHAK Neko Case and her magic band took the stage Wednesday night to the pinging sound of submarine sonar and launched into a shimmering “Where Did I Leave That Fire.” Behind them was a green backdrop of an underwater scene featuring electric eels and an assortment of pointy weapons aimed at the Fiona Apple-esque title of her new album, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You.” Case wore a hoodie, jeans and a t-shirt and when she grabbed the mic she showed off recent forearm tattoos that […]

Photo by DEREK BRAD “Yeah, you know, it’s the band with Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and some other guys.” This was a direct quote I overhead while waiting in line to enter the Liacouras Center, where Atoms For Peace kicked off its first U.S. tour last night in support of their debut LP, Amok.  Formed in 2009, Atoms for Peace is a supergroup created by Yorke and longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Goodrich. Last night the line-up was rounded out by Flea on bass and go-to-guy Joey Waronker (Beck, REM) on drums. Yorke seemed […]

Photo by PETE TROSHAK Lucinda Williams planted some seeds of the Alt-Country movement with her influential 1988 self-titled debut album. Williams and her band rolled into the Keswick Theatre on Saturday night to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of that album and her future. She took the stage dressed in a tight black outfit and leather boots and kicked the show off with a sunny but yearning “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad.” The rest of her debut was played in order, sounding even better than the original versions due to some stellar guitar work from Wallflowers’ guitarist Stuart […]

Jonsi, Sigur Ros, @ The Mann last night by DEREK BRAD Like the last 10 minutes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but for two hours. All I could do was smile. — JONATHAN VALANIA

Photo by DEREK BRAD So I’ve literally played rock shows all over the world and I am here to tell you that as indie-rock venues go, the Skyline Stage at the Mann is peerless in terms of bookings, comfort, price, amenities (food trucks, craft beer, squeaky clean bathrooms with no lines) and mellowed-out asshole-free security. Last night was another enchanted, splendor-in-the-grass evening at the Mann’s Skyline Stage: A cool, clear night, an incandescent harvest moon, an arresting view of the Philly skyline, a Sierra Nevada in hand, snuggling with your baby on a blanket while Vampire Weekend — whose remarkable […]

Photo by ALEX BISIGNARO In 2006, a young group of Brits exploded out of England’s underground music scene with the bratty petulance and raw crunch of a proper British punk band, and the style and showmanship of a proper British rock n’ roll band. This band was of course the Arctic Monkeys who have managed to pump out five solid albums in only seven years. While their debut album, Whatever People Say About Me is Exactly What I’m Not, remains their most critically acclaimed, the band’s other four albums, including the just-released AM, are nothing to sneeze at, which is […]

Photo by PETE TROSHAK The Yeah Yeah Yeahs blitzed the stage at the Plaza at Penn’s Landing and took no prisoners during an energetic fifteen song set last night. Lead singer Karen O was a red and yellow blur in a yellow shirt bearing Keith Richards’ face and a Opry-ish sequined red pants and frilly jacket combo. She hopped like an 80’s aerobics instructor, bounding from one end of the stage to the other dispensing high fives to the front row and smiling from ear to ear the whole set. Occasionally she would stomp a trigger on the stage and […]

Photo by PETE TROSHAK Sleepy-eyed 19-year-old Brit-folk troubadour turned in a convincing, believe-the-hype Philly debut at a packed World Café Live last night. The buzz of excitement and high expectations in the room was palpable. The crowd ranged from age 15 to 60 and many of them lined up hours in advance to get a good spot. Bugg, a dead ringer for a young George Harrison, wore a grey tracksuit and swapped guitars almost every song. He was aided by a tight rhythm section for a 16-song run, including three new songs and one ballsy cover song. He wooed the […]