Photo by DYLAN LONG Mac DeMarco’s spacy yet genuine personality, well-crafted slacker rock and full-on bozo performance style has led him a long way. The line to get into Mac DeMarco’s way sold out show at Trocadero Theater last night stretched down an entire block of Arch street from 10th to 11th streets and continued around the corner, studded with eager teens rocking tucked in t-shirts, five panel hats and multi-colored denim jackets. Opening act Walter TV (a project consisting of several of Mac’s own band members plus Simon Ankenman) delivered 45 minutes of strange yet enjoyable melodies punctuated by […]
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BEING THERE: A$AP Rocky & Tyler The Creator @ Festival Pier
Photo by DYLAN LONG What do you get when you take one of the most vulgar and provocative rappers in the last 10 years and put him on a bill with one of the biggest and baddest members of Harlem’s hip hop collective A$AP Mob? The answer is quite simple: The Rocky and Tyler Tour. Several thousand fans from far and wide descended upon Philly’s Festival Pier last night to witness a mixture of well-crafted versifying, Tyler The Creator dancing like a man covered in honey and fire ants and A$AP Rocky effortlessly wooing every female in the house with […]
FORGET IT DAD LIFE’S ALRIGHT: A Q&A w/ FIDLAR Guitarist Elvis Kuehn, Son Of A T.S.O.L.
Illustration by PAUL GRANESE BY DYLAN LONG Ever since the skate-punk legions began massing on the West Coast in the early 1980s, the members of FIDLAR have had themselves a wonderful blend of punk rock and skateboarding culture to blast as they spent their days pounding brews and landing wild tricks. Having shared the stage with bands like The Black Lips and The Hives already, FIDLAR has been on the rise for quite some time, welding all different realms of punk rock together to form a crushing, I-don’t-give-a-fuck powerhouse of low-production melodies. In advance of their show at Union Transfer […]
BEING THERE: The Foo Fighters In Camden
Photo by DYLAN LONG Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters have had a hectic last couple of weeks, to say the very least. Dave experienced a tumble for the ages in Sweden resulting in a majorly broken leg, forcing the cancellation of many upcoming gigs, including two shows at the prestigious Wembley Stadium. In the hospital, Dave conceptualized an innovative and kickass throne prototype to support him on stage, which his crew wasted no time in bringing to life. The Foos were quickly back in action playing a grandiose 4th Of July throwdown at the RFK Stadium in DC celebrating […]
INCOMING: The Foo Fightins
Despite being strongly urged by his doctors to cancel The Foo Fighters’ impending four-month/40-date US tour and let his broken leg heel, Dave Grohl is going to bravely soldier on like the bold rock warrior that he is. Which means The Foo Fighters will be at The Susquehanna Bank Center on July 6th and then again on the 13th. We’ll be sending our intrepid cub reporter Dylan Long to cover it. Here’s a video of Dylan getting a stage-side handshake from Dave Grohl at the Wells Fargo Center back in 2011 — when Dylan was all of 14. On July […]
BEING THERE: Shamir @ Making Time
Photo by DYLAN LONG Making Time celebrated its 15th anniversary in grand fashion last night at the Philly gayborhood’s Voyeur Nightclub, with a highly anticipated headlining set from dance-pop’s biggest and newest up-and-comer, Shamir. The 20 year-old sensation from Las Vegas has set himself apart from the pack with his breathtaking countertenor, lovely persona and vibrant variety of songs. Popping up on stage a few minutes after midnight to an immense roar from the hyped up crowd, Shamir knew exactly what kind of time the club was looking for as he kicked off his set with a pep in his […]
THE BEING THERE: Dillinger Escape Plan @ UT
Photo by DYLAN LONG Anybody who knows anything about thrash-y Jersey mathcore avatars The Dillinger Escape Plan went into Union Transfer last night expecting non-stop moshing, crowd surfing and acrobatic stage diving. But last night the barrier that usually separates the fans from the stage at these sort of shows was duly absent, which of course only further encouraged reckless stage-diving havoc while packing the front three rows of fans together smack up against the front of the stage like smelly, headbanging sardines. Mutoid Man, the supergroup consisting of members from the heavy hitting Cave In and the legendary Converge […]
MAXIMUM R&B: Q&A With Marc E. Bassey
BY DYLAN LONG Last weekend, I had the pleasure of sitting down with bay-area rapper Marc E. Bassy (as in, slapadabass, Bassy) at the 8th annual Roots Picnic. Bassy is currently out on the road promoting his new East Hollywood EP. After sitting down and letting him known this was my first real and legit interview as I’m only 17, he smiles and replies, “You’re only 17 man? Want some of my beer?” How could I refuse? PHAWKER: You worked with people such as 2 Chainz, Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa… MARC E. BASSEY: Just to set the record […]
REVIEW: Major Lazer’s Peace Is The Mission
Thomas Wesley Pentz, AKA major DJ/Producer Diplo and his moombahton dancehall mega project Major Lazer dropped Peace Is The Mission, their third album just before embarking on their massive Mad Decent Block Party tour taking place this summer. Featuring names such as DJ Snake, 2 Chainz, Mø, Ariana Grande, Chronixx and Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer successfully put together an intricate and progressive slew of tracks that range from your typical four-on-the-floor EDM to very detailed, traditionally written songs that journey through quirky yet smooth melodies and breakdowns. While tracks like “Roll The Bass” and “Blaze Up The Fire (ft. […]
BEING THERE: SBTRKT @ The TLA
Photo by DYLAN LONG Let’s face it, playing the TLA requires a slight recalibration of expectations if you played the Governor’s Ball in NYC the night before, but apparently nobody told the man behind the mask known as SBTRKT because he brought the house down on South Street last night. SBTRKT, a masked multi-skilled musician hailing from Britain, wasted no time behind his (count ‘em) three unique synthesizer pads, kicking off a beautiful and experimental set backed by drums, piano and his collaborative vocalist Sampha, whose high octave, soulful voice perfectly matched up with the tropical and electronic grooves being […]
BEING THERE: The Roots Picnic 2015
[CLICK HERE TO VIEW] BY DYLAN LONG Year after year without fail, The Roots have managed to wrangle just the right combination of iconic — and destined to be iconic — artists from the realms of hip hop, rap, reggae, R&B, electronica, indie and soul, to showcase at their annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia. This year was no exception. The eighth annual Roots Picnic kicked off Saturday with sets from the soulful Marc E. Bassy and Donn T, the little sister of Questlove, The Roots Don Dada, drummer and all-around ambassador of good vibes and goodwill. Mr. E. Bassy, hand-picked […]
BEING THERE: Jane’s Addiction @ The E-Factory
Photo by DYLAN LONG Jane’s Addiction is plumbing its history — and the latent demon of nostalgia — by touring the nation, playing each and every track of its first studio album “Nothing’s Shocking,” the 1988 album that helped the band graduate from L.A. scenesters to legitimate international alternative stars. It’d be easy to say that Jane’s, at least this incarnation, has aged about as gracefully as the music industry itself, but that’d be a lie. What transpired on Saturday night at the Electric Factory was, in fact, a snapshot of a band — its historical record firmly rooted — […]
BEING THERE: Decibel Mag Tour @ Union Transfer
Photo by DYLAN LONG The Decibel Magazine Tour made its Philadelphia stop this past Saturday at a packed-to-the-brim Union Transfer, as hardcore and metal fans flocked from far and wide to experience the likes of Vallenfyre, Pallbearer, Converge, and At The Gates. Each band brought a unique sound to the table, all while sharing the communal staples of headbang-inducing riffs and sympathy for the devil. Salem, Mass. hardcore heads Converge exploded onto the stage as openers for At The Gates, but it’s fair game to say that these guys stole the show. Vocalist Jacob Bannon spent the set in a […]