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 […]

Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ Arriving at Union Transfer to see Strand of Oaks play a homecoming show felt a lot like walking into a gathering of old friends, without knowing anyone. As a self-proclaimed lone wolf, it’s a territory I have explored many times before. I’m used to tapping through my phone for non-existent text messages and notifications while being surrounded by overly affectionate couples and groups of friends who are, like, “Oh my God, so glad you came.” Still, I knew I was in for a good, interesting time. The most important thing I’d recently learned about frontman […]

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 […]

Photo by DAN LONG Nothing says ‘father/son outing’ like a Slayer concert, am I right? The ear-raping wall of guitar thrash, the blood red stage lights, the chest-thumping double-kick drum pummeling, the demonic, blood-curdling vocals. These are the building blocks of male bonding, at least in my household. So this show was on my bucket list – I wanted my 17-year-old son to see Slayer before any more of them die. I’ve been bringing him to shows since he was nine, so he’s no stranger to the scene, but this was Slayer. Scratch that, this was motherfucking Slayer! He was […]

Artist’s rendering The Academy of Music opera house in Philadelphia opened in 1857, which, if memory serves, is where and when Bob Dylan first went electric — much to the consternation of the stovepipe-hatted folkies in attendance, who felt he was selling out the purity of old-timey steam-powered protest anthems. It is said that Stephen A. Douglas was so incensed he attempted to chop the cable supplying power to the Academy stage with an axe and had to be wrestled to the ground by none other than Abraham Lincoln, who “licked him,” as Huckleberry Finn used to say. Historic records […]

Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ Ten minutes before arriving at Union Transfer to see the New Pornographers, I was dumped. Denied. Kicked to the curb. Or whatever you want to call it. Not to worry, “we can still be friends” I was told. Great. That’s just great. Having taken a crash course in the New Pornographers greatest hits and misses shortly before my arrival, I knew the show was going to feel like getting slapped upside the head with a happy stick. Great. That’s just great. But enough of me feeling sorry for myself, there were more important things to […]

Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ Last night I set out to accomplish three things: 1.) See 75 percent of Animal Collective play some tunes 2.) Milk them for any AC-related news, and 3.) Make it in and out of the Dolphin alive and not incarcerated. We started off the night with an Uber driver named Festus, who drove us through the unwelcome November snow showers, and shared with us his grievances about the whole Uber vs. PPA deal. Something, something, current events, the PPA ruled against something and he’s pissed. I tried to follow, but his angry Jamaican accent made […]

Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ At first blush, nothing about Deerhoof’s set at Union Transfer last night screamed ‘critically acclaimed band in their 20th year of music making.’ The awkwardness was tangible, from Satomi Matsuzaki’s adult-sized denim jumper and blue-dyed side ponytail, to drummer Greg Saunier’s haywire mop top and lanky boyishness. Opening with “Mirror Monster,” one of their more comparatively reserved tracks from the new La Isla Bonita, Deerhoof appeared to be holding back for bigger and better things, which soon proved true. The ensuing 16-song set was infectious and kinetic, drawing deep cuts from the full range of […]

  Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ Last night, FKA Twigs — aka The Next Big Thing out of England, and GF of Twilight star Robert Pattinson — arrived on stage for her sold out performance at Union Transfer to strains of “Preface,” the lead-off tracking from her debut, LP1. Slowly emerging from the sultry darkness of the stage, Twigs was draped in a silky white translucent robe and a matching flowing skirt, with a black caged bodysuit underneath and painfully high needle-thin stiletto pumps. Her hair, usually pulled back in her trademark space-bun style, was free flowing and used as […]

Photo by DAN LONG More than a few of my most trusted musical advisors told me “You have to go to Lanegan.” So when I heard he was playing Underground Arts I didn’t hesitate to follow suit, and I’m glad I did. For those of you who stayed home, you missed a beautiful performance that recreated choice cuts from the newly released Phantom Radio, as well as older stock like Blues Funeral and Bubblegum, to name but a few. From the gorgeous lullaby-like “Resurrection Song” to the synth heavy “Harborview Hospital” and the newly released “Floor of the Ocean,” Lanegan […]

Photo by CLAYTON RUSSELL It was a creepy, bone-chilling Halloween at the Electric Factory and just about everyone came dressed for the occasion — a cross-generational array of costumes that spanned The Fonz from Happy Days to Finn from Adventure Time. With high fives and good vibes being thrown all around the venue you could tell that everyone was ready for there to party and party hard. So hard an ambulance was on standby outside of the Electric Factory for when it gets crazy. With most EDM shows you go to there’s a person or two behind a DJ booth […]

Photo by DAN LONG Halloween came to Philly a day early with last night’s lineup of punk legends at the TLA. The night started early with a solid set of moody garage-rock from local faves A Brood Of Vipers. I always like to see a local band on the bill with a touring band, and Vipers were an excellent match for this stop on the Hallow-East tour. The crowd and the energy grew and as Seattle’s The Briefs took the stage, blasting out a solid set of buzzsaw anthems. Let the pogo-ing and raucous Buzzcocky New Wave Punk commence! You […]

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 […]