September 3rd, 2010 9:55 am
Powerhouse 2010 — Featuring Drake, Ne-Yo, Jazmine Sullivan, Others — Is On The Way
Tickets are on sale RIGHT NOW for Powerhouse 2010, Power 99’s annual blowout at the Wells Fargo Center that’s always one of the biggest, most star-studded hip-hop/R&B events to hit the city. It goes down Friday, October 22nd, at 6 p.m., and on the bill this year are Drake, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, and Philly’s own Jazmine Sullivan and Meek Millz. Tickets range from $19.99 – $150.99, and you can get ‘em right here. But act quickly — it’ll probably sell out in no time flat.
September 3rd, 2010 9:37 am
Pavement Needs Another Guitarist For One Night…And That Guitarist Could Be YOU!
Some might argue that “getting the popular ’90s indie-rock band back together” is kind of a gimmick, and if so, Pavement has added gimmick on top of gimmick with a contest in which the winner actually gets to play guitar with them on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on September 23rd. Kind of like a one-night-only indie-rock fantasy camp. Basically, you have to video yourself playing a cover of a Pavement song, send it in by next Wednesday, September 8th, and then online voting commences on September 13th, with the winner announced on September 20th. As Matador Records noted on Matablog today:
Ever wanted to go to a TV taping? One where Pavement is playing? Stick around to try and meet the band? Go backstage? Watch soundcheck? Eat their food? Talk fantasy sports with Malkmus?
Ever wanted to, you know, get your lazy ass off the couch and JOIN PAVEMENT? Then do it, goofball. Imagine the Twitter potential!
Maybe you could even corner frontman Stephen Malkmus and demand he clarify all those lyrics that confused you back in the day, like whether it’s “career” or “Korea” at the end of “Cut Your Hair.” Anyway, here’s where you can find all the relevant info about the contest. After the jump, the approved list of Pavement songs you can cover:
Read the rest of this entry »
September 3rd, 2010 9:00 am
Tonight In Shows
Rangda
7pm, $10. M Room.
Three extraordinary musicians—Sun City Girl Richard Bishop, Six Organ’s Ben Chasny and free-jazz-Bjork collaborator Chris Corsano—aligned for a live show one weekend last year in Seattle and the results were so stunning that a record ensued. False Flag, out now on Drag City, is a searing, blitzkrieg of improvised bravado. With just six tracks, it alternates between battering barrages of noise and lyrical introspection, and closes with a 15-minute track called “Plain of Jars” that is, perhaps, the most devastatingly beautiful piece of music from 2010. All three members of Rangda are busy guys, so it’s hard to imagine the chance to see them coming around very often. Don’t miss it. (Jennifer Kelly)
Also, the Breeders play a sold out show at First Unitarian Church along with Hot Guts [8pm]; Lou Barlow and Wye Oak team up for a gig at Johnny Brenda’s [9:30pm/$12]; and Arrah & the Ferns play a record release show at the North Star along with Wissahickon Chicken Shack, Lady, and Funkslaw [9pm/$8].
September 2nd, 2010 3:25 pm
“Free At Noon” With Ben Arnold
Philly music scene fixture Ben Arnold — who killed it at Folk Fest the other weekend — drops by World Cafe Live next Friday, September 10th, for an XPN “Free At Noon” set. It’s free. It’s at noon. Want in? You can RSVP right here.
Here’s what XPN has to say about Ben:
His soulful singing and blues/folk-rock blend have made Arnold one of the most popular local artists for years. Coming in somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Randy Newman in terms of style, Arnold has yet to disappoint his growing fan base.
Arnold has worked on both major and independent labels, including his current, the groundbreaking Ropeadope. As the first singer-songwriter signed to the label, known for cutting-edge artists like King Brit and Tin Hat, Arnold has proven himself able to break the mold—or actually shape it himself.
Over the years, Arnold has toured across America and much of Europe, sometimes with a band and sometimes solo. He’s been on stage with big names such as Ryan Adams, David Gray, Ben Folds and Lucinda Williams as well as Ron Sexsmith, Randy Newman and even Townes Van Zandt. For this year’s XPoNential Music Festival, he played a stripped down set, fitting of his new record “Simplify”, which came out earlier this summer. After years of song writing, Arnold continues to put out some of the best music of his career, not only recorded but onstage as well.
[Photo by Michael Alan Goldberg]
September 2nd, 2010 2:00 pm
PLAYLIST: Hurricane Earl
Hurricane Earl may or may not slam the East Coast with any amount of fury, but if it does we hope the only local destruction it causes is to the Jersey Shore cast. Here’s a few “hurricane” songs to listen to while you board up those windows and/or consider evacuation:
September 2nd, 2010 12:01 pm
Jazmine Sullivan Skips The Gloss
Philly R&B songstress Jazmine Sullivan just issued a video for her new single “Holdin’ You Down (Goin’ in Circles),” which is from her forthcoming album Love Me Back, out this fall on J Records. The single was produced by Missy Elliott, who, like Jazmine, knows a little something about crafting a hit song. Check out the video above, which features cameos from Missy, Pete Rock, Doug E Fresh, and other hip-hop icons.
Meanwhile, the folks over at NPR’s Pop Off put the spotlight on Jazmine and “Holdin’ You Down” this week as an example of a single that “eschews the technological gloss that so many of today’s pop hits have in favor of the grittier, more distortion-filled production techniques used on R&B and hip-hop songs popular 20 years ago.” You can listen to Maura Johnston and Jay Smooth talk about it right here.
