[Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA] DEAD MAN TALKING: Steve Earle, Johnny Brendas, last night. BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Steve Earle would be the first to admit he’s no saint, but by my tally he’s been going to bat for the angels ever since he tamed his demons – a nasty drug habit that ended in a prison sentence – nearly 20 years ago. Earle is just old-fashioned enough to think that folk songs can make a difference and protest singers should put their money (and their downtime) where their mouth is. Case in point, Earle performed Sunday night at […]
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We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
Roger Waters’ THE WALL, Wells Fargo Center, Last Night by SCOTT COLAN BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Thirty years after its release, The Wall still looms large on the cultural horizon, a forbidding totem marking the zenith of rock’s commercial and artistic ascendancy: never before (and probably never again) would a double album of such dark and potent ideas — the brutal profiteering of war, the magnetic allure of suicide, emotional fascism of celebrity — become a mega-selling pop music blockbuster. That it happened once still beggars belief, and yet the album has gone on to sell 11.5 million […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
LCD Soundsystem, Making Time, Last Night by JONATHAN VALANIA BY PELLE GUNTHER If Daft Punk met an indie rocker and had one beautiful electro indie child, LCD Soundsystem would most definitely be that child. The concert was held in the Philadelphia Naval Yard at the Naval Cruise Terminal. It was like something out of a raver’s dream, giant warehouse, full of DJ’s, dance music, lights and people, most of whom were tripping a little, even if it was just from the sheer noise and wild light shows. Coming off their very successful new release, This Is Happening, the band had […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
GOLD SOUNDZ: Pavement, The Mann, Last Night, BY TIFFANY YOON DAN DELUCA: The quality of Pavement’s shows was always determined by Malkmus’ mood, and on this night the 44-year-old Portland, Ore., auteur was gracious and engaged, and willing to deliver rarities such as the early single “Box Elder” and choice cuts such as the hummable Smashing Pumpkins-dissing “Range Life.” He was also keen to remind people that Pavement is a great guitar band. Crooked Rain’s “Elevate Me Later,” an early set highlight, was Exhibit A. But it was not all about Malkmus. Kannberg’s songs “Kennel District” and “Date w/IKEA,” were […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
[Photos by JEFF FUSCO COPYRIGHT 2010] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR ROLLING STONE Like France, the picnic remains proof positive that, despite wild-eyed Tea Party protests to the contrary, socialism actually can work. Everyone brings something, we all share, and everyone live relatively happily ever after — sometimes anyway. Such was the case at Saturday’s third annual Roots Picnic at the Festival Pier in Philadelphia. Senegal’s horn-y, percussion-heavy Baja and the Dry Eye Crew brought the world beats. Face-painted, ukulele-strumming one-gal-band TuneYards brought the weirdness. New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica brought the conspiracy theories (specifically the damning federal indictment of “Candyman”). […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN: Asteroid #4, Kung Fu Necktie, Last Night [Photo by TIFFANY YOON] BY WILL HANNAN Drugs make for better music. Whether you’re playing in a stoner metal three-piece ripping bongs and noodling on your Gibson or you’re in a throwback psychedelic band eating acid and drooling on a friend’s vinyl collection, the introduction of psychotropic substances will inevitably make your music more interesting. If you don’t trust me, take it from the two bands that played Kung Fu Necktie last night: The Asteroid #4 and Gondola. Gondola, a Sabbath-inspired bass, guitar, and […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
READY, STEADY, GO: Craig Finn, The Hold Steady, Xponential Music Festival, Last Night [Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA] *** ZEE AVI: Honey Bee WIKIPEDIA: Zee Avi (born Izyan Alirahman,[1] also known as KokoKaina; b. 1986) is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player. She was born in Miri, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. She moved to Kuala Lumpur when she was 12.[2] She studied fashion design at American InterContinental University in London.[3] Zee originally posted a video of her first song on YouTube because one of her friends had missed her first performance in Kuala Lumpur, so she created a […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
KILLER WALES: Los Campesinos, TLA, Last Night BY MICHAEL DONOVAN You’ve got to hand it to Los Campesinos! — the little Welsh band that could —they sure know how to cater to an American audience. Fast songs with infectious hooks that anyone can dance too? Check. Attractive-yet-prickly bass player who rejects Joe Fraternity’s professions of love from the back of the venue? Check. References to robots? Check. Los Campesinos! have discovered the formula for across-the-pond success, and it doesn’t hurt that they’ve pumped out two stellar albums in the past year, either. After solid opening sets by Sky Larkin and […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
HAIL, HAIL ROCK N’ ROLL: M. Ward, Trocadero, Friday [Photo: TIFFANY YOON] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER The first time M. Ward performed at the Trocadero, back in 2004, he was low man on the totem pole of an inspired three-headed bill that included Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. Three acclaimed solo albums of languid torch-folk later, an opening slot at the Tower with Norah Jones, not to mention a turn through town with She & Him (Ward’s endearing duet act with Zooey Deschanel), he’s selling out the Troc all by his lonesome. Such […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Saturday night at the sold out Wachovia Center, Metallica gave no indication they plan to give up the ghost any time soon, despite the four large metal caskets hanging precariously over their heads, a visual riff on the funereal cover art of the new Death Magnetic. Scurrying out onto the darkened stage like black-clad ninjas, illuminated by a two-story high mesh of lasers, Metallica launched into the new “That Was Just Your Life” with the conviction of men who have learned the hard way that no one here gets out alive. Sounding at times […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
RABBIT REDUX: Frightened Rabbit, JB’s, Last Night [Photo by CHRIS Z.] BY CHRIS ZAKORCHEMNY As Scott Hutchinson struck the first chords of “The Modern Leper,” adrenaline shot through my spine. It’s that moment of a quiet verve that feels like hope in your lungs. Judging by the smiles, ‘woos’ and out of tune singing of the sold out crowd around me, it was as if each one of us had “a disease I can’t shake.” Not that we wanted to. The song blistered through its four minutes, and had me wondering what this band was doing at Johnny Brenda’s last […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
I’M RICK JAMES, BITCH: : King Khan & The BBQ, Johnny Brendas, Last Night BY TIFFANY YOON I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Love City, the opener for Johnny Brenda’s Black Friday show, but unfortunately, I missed their set, which is supposed to pull influences from psychedelic 70’s punk, 90’s grunge and 80’s new wave. I did catch some words with the bass player Patrick outside, and he said they had some technical difficulties anyways. He seemed pretty upset, and to top it off Jamie, the lead of Love City, walked by looking miserable and fairly wasted […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
MEXICALI: Calexico, TLA, Last Night [photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]