Photo by DYLAN LONG Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs cast a spell over the capacity crowd at the Tower Theater Friday night with their celebrated brand of ethereal guitar rock. Their first song of the night, the gloriously woozy “Under Pressure,” is also the lead-off track of their highly-acclaimed 2014 LP Lost In A Dream, which was fitting considering that the runaway success of that album was the reason they were playing the Tower instead of Johnny Brenda’s. Granduciel’s Dylanesque vocals and wobbling tremolo-ed guitar echoed off the walls and the tall, broad ceiling of the Tower, creating a lush […]
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BEING THERE: Meek Mill @ Wells Fargo Center
Photo by DYLAN LONG Last night, Meek Mill, one of the most opulent and admired self-made rappers to emerge from the 215, brought the roof down at Wells Fargo Center. To be fair, he had some help: namely the likes of French Montana, Rick Ross and P Diddy. From the second Mill’s rise-to-fame introductory video played across a massive LED backdrop, his intense presence and persona threw the sold-out arena into a trapped out frenzy. His massive Philadelphia fan base came out in full force, rapping along at the top of their lungs to every single track he played out. […]
BEING THERE: Excision @ The Electric Factory
Photo by DYLAN LONG Last night at the Electric Factory, dubstep demon Excision and partners in crime Protohype & Minnesota collectively tore the Factory and its sold out crowd all a new one. 150,000 watts of PK sound and the Executioner stage setup served for a visceral assault of screeching synths and physically violent sub bass, which sent massive vibration through the bones, esophagus and eyeballs among other body parts. Every kick was a punch in the throat as Excision blew through a 90 minute attack of overwhelming visuals and bass, constantly sending the crowd into in-sync headbanging frenzies with […]
BEING THERE: Hozier @ The Electric Factory
Photo by DYLAN LONG To say that last night’s sold out performance at the Electric Factory by Irish pop sensation Andrew Hozier-Byrne — known simply as Hozier — was “highly anticipated” by most, if not all, babysitter-aged young ladies in the Tri-State area is an understatement on par with “invading Iraq might have been a bad idea” or “Dallas Cowboys fans are assholes.” Last night, Hozier’s tight brogue and loose man-bun had teenage girls in the front row squealing and swooning as he effortlessly cruised through his set like it was a 90-minute victory lap, taking time between nearly every […]
BEING THERE: Moosh & Twist @ The TLA
Photo by DYLAN LONG Hometown heroes DeQuincy Coleman McRae (Moosh, right) and Oliver Feighan (Twist, left) have gone from local rappers/Friends Select alums to globe-trotting recording artists who collaborate with the likes of Hoodie Allen. Friday night at the TLA kicked off with South-Philly up-and-comer Major Van Winkle and the Philly-bred live hip-hop act Ground Up, who recently sold out the Union Transfer with their vibrant-yet-dirty bars & heavy hitting drums. At half past 10, OCD: Moosh & Twist took the stage and unleashed their heavy and intricate bars, mixing in oldies — “Hold It Down,” “Take Me Back” and […]
BEING THERE: Cherub @ The Trocadero
Photo by DYLAN LONG The “Strip to This” Winter 2015 Tour stopped by the Troc last night for a night full of grooviness and vibes, hosted by the catchy electro-bro duo Cherub. The combination of their irresistible, hook-filled, but empty calorie electro-pop paired with the zero fucks they gave culminated in a night of sweat, smiles and dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. After an intriguing set by opener Mystery Skulls, a one-man-band from LA that traffics in live vocals/turntablist hybrids, Cherub took the stage and dove straight into a super-groovy and incredibly energetic set. Jason Huber, Cherub’s frontman, spent […]
BEING THERE: CRUISR @ The Barbary
Photo by DYLAN LONG Last night, fresh off of their incredibly successful support slot for The 1975’s North American tour, hometown hero indie-popsters CRUISR rocked a sold-out throwdown at The Barbary along with the likes of Cold Fronts & Needle Points. The Barbary is a small joint with a big sound system, and the openers wasted no time setting an upbeat vibe for the night with loud melodies and catchy breakdowns. CRUISR took the stage at 9pm and took their sweet time working through a setlist that hovered around a mere eight or nine songs. Lush guitar riffs swept over […]
THIS IS OUR MUSIC: Our Favorite Albums Of 2014
We said it before and we’ll say it again: Quoth the Chairman Of The Board, it was a very good year. So was last year, and the one before that and the one before that and so on. Why? Mostly, we can thank the disruptive, game-eating power of the Internet. The best thing that ever happened to music was the web-abetted collapse of the music industry’s one-size-fit-most paradigm and the death of radio as the prime determinant of what people like. Now people find music everywhere, it literally rains out of everything with an electric pulse, which has triggered […]
BEING THERE: Modern Baseball @ The TLA
Photo by DYLAN LONG The TLA was jam packed last night for Philly’s very own Modern Baseball, homegrown pop-punksters known for their melodic leanings and turn-on-a-dime breakdowns. Opening up the sold-out show was a well-stacked lineup of buzzy bands, including Chicago pop-punkers Knuckle Puck and Beantown grinders Somos. Security had a busy night scooping up crowd surfers left and right while blaring, buzzsawing guitars had fists pumping skyward as the crowd’s energy continued to build. Brendan Lukens, Modern Baseball Jonah Hill-esque frontman, walked on stage a bit past 10, and cut to the quick: “Let’s just get started, we’re gonna […]
BEING THERE: The 1975 @ The Tower Theater
Photo by DYLAN LONG Last night in Upper Darbyland, 69th Street was crawling with fans anticipating one of the U.K.’s edgiest up-an-coming indie rock bands, The 1975. With just one studio album under their belt — anchored by raw, electrifying singles such as “Robbers”, “Chocolate” and “Sex” — the group is in the midst of a lengthy North American tour that brought them to the Tower last night. The electricity of the crowd was evident from the moment the doors of the Tower Theater opened ’til the last of the fans trickled out onto 69th & Ludlow. Young Rising Sons […]
BEING THERE: Weezer @ The Trocadero
By DYLAN LONG We can all agree that Weezer needs no introduction, nor did they get one this past Saturday night at the Trocadero. Instead, after almost an hour and a half of fans trickling in to fill the joint to capacity, Weezer mainman Rivers Cuomo meekly appeared on the lip of the dimly-lit stage in front of the curtain and kicked off an acoustic set that mixed deep cuts (“You Gave Your Love To Me Gently,” “Why Bother”) with the classics (“El Scorcho,” “The Good Life” and of course “Buddy Holly”). Each song seemed to lure another Weezer member […]