Photo by DAN LONG First, a word to the haters – you know who you are – and then we’ll be done with them: F*ck y’all. Keep movin’, nothin’ to see here. Now, about that U2 concert last night. Full disclosure: I have seen every Philly U2 concert since The Unforgettable Fire, with the exception of the Pop Mart tour, which I am fine with, and no, I wasn’t cool enough (or old enough) to see them at the Bijou in 1980 when they were just four no-name dorks from Dublin. U2 remains a sorry/not sorry guilty pleasure. I am […]

Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Thunderstorms were forecast for Friday night, but mother nature stepped aside, allowing Icelandic dream merchants Sigur Ros to roll into the Mann Center and electrify the audience with a distorted, bowed electric guitar, thunderous malleted drumming, ponderous piano, and ascending falsetto singing in Hopelandic — a hodgepodge of Icelandic, English and emoted syllables. Earlier in the day, I daydreamed about the sound of rain falling on the cavernous wooden covering overhead, the electricity from thunderbolts commingling with the electricity from the amplifiers and speakers on stage. After the show, though, it was clear that a thunderstorm […]

Photo by DYLAN LONG “We don’t give a shit,” declared James Hetfield, frontman of the heavy metal machine known as Metallica, to the sold-out crowd Lincoln Financial Field last night. Hetfield then elaborated, stating that Metallica doesn’t care what you look like, what you’re wearing, what religion you practice, or your political beliefs. “We’re here to celebrate live music and being alive. This is family.” It was a touching and beautiful moment between Hetfield and the crowd, a moment which of course would be followed by imminent doom and riffs from the bowels of hell. Kicking off the night with […]

Photo by JOSH HELTA-PELLER/KOALA FOTOGRAPHY If the name Chairlift doesn’t ring a bell, search your memory banks for “Ch-Ching” and/or “Bruises,” both of which appeared on Apple commercials and probably burrowed into your brain. Still don’t recognize them after a quick Google search? Well, that’s too bad, because the band’s breaking up, and their show at Union Transfer on Friday night was their second-to-last. There’s good news, though, and it’s twofold; 1) we live in a digital world in which their music can be easily accessed, and 2) the art-pop duo is breaking up on good terms, so that bassist/drummer […]

Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER/KOALA FOTOGRAPHY Why? is a band that I usually appreciate most while drinking alone in some dimly lit room, curled up in a ball, leaning into masochistic tendencies I picked up as a teenager. A musical project that started out as sound collage experiment, and evolved over the years into a white-guy-rap, post-rock, indie-pop amalgam, Why? won me over with Yoni Wolf’s nasal-vocals that never shied away from taboo subjects like suicidal ideation or masturbating in the bathroom at the art museum. The authenticity of Yoni’s voice in Why?’s bizarre, genre-fluid music engendered the band with a […]

Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER/KOALA PHOTOGRPHY There is a certain kind of concert review you see from time to time wherein the too-cool-for-school critic goes to some obviously lame concert with the intention of trashing it and comes away humbled by the sheer humanity of, say, fans of the Dave Matthews Band. In the interest of full disclosure I went to see John Mayer at the Wells Fargo Center Friday night fully expecting to write the exact opposite of that kind of review afterwards, i.e. I was planning on really laying into him from on high. And I still may! But […]

Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Even if you’re agnostic about Beach Slang’s brand of super-catchy, radio-ready punk anthems, there are two reasons that you’d still lose out if you took a dare not to enjoy their show. First, James Alex, Beach Slang’s mop-topped frontman-singer-songwriter-guitarist, bleeds openly with a genuine joy and gratitude for the living he gets to make doing what he does, and seems not to be able to help but share that joy and that gratitude effusively for all who hear him play. There’s no irony or cynicism, no arrogance to accompany his newfound celebrity and national attention. For […]

Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER “Our drummer quit.” Pissed Jeans drummer, Sean McGuiness, was running a little late last night. The other three members of the band, vocalist Matt Korvette, bassist Randy Huth, and guitarist Brad Fry, stood on stage at the Boot & Saddle, hands visoring the stage lights from their eyes as they peered deep into the sold out crowd, searching for some sign of their missing drummer. It wasn’t too long before McGuiness appeared and made his way up front, wading through the crowd. Once all the components were in place, Korvette produced a copy of HELP! by […]

Photo by DYLAN LONG Parquet Courts are a rugged rock n’ roll four piece from New York City with the wind at their backs. Fresh off a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package that stemmed from the personal artwork of co-vocalist Andrew Savage, Parquet Courts were more than ready to keep the ball rolling with a headlining U.S. tour. For their first stop of the tour at Philly’s Union Transfer, the place was near-sold out on a Tuesday night, with the second floor balcony packed shoulder-to-shoulder and the downstairs GA […]