February 9th, 2010 10:49 am
Snowpocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo
As you’ve likely heard, we’re about to get walloped with yet another major snowstorm beginning later this afternoon. So once again we highly suggest that if you’re planning to go to a show tonight that you call the venue ahead to make sure they’re still open and hosting the gig. Last weekend’s storm canceled or postponed most of the shows around town, so we’d hate to see you risk life and limb in your vehicle — or trudge for blocks and blocks in the snow — only to find locked doors and a deserted club at the end of your hazardous journey. We care about you like that.
Meanwhile, here’s your “weatherman’s ill-advised snow joke” for the week:
February 9th, 2010 9:16 am
Dr. Dog Premieres New Song Today
Keep your eyes on Stereogum today: That’s where Dr. Dog will unveil their brand-new song “Shadow People” — the first tune they’re releasing from their upcoming album Shame, Shame — for your streaming pleasure. We don’t know what time it’ll go up, but the band promises it’ll be there today.
February 9th, 2010 9:00 am
Tonight In Shows
Mountains + Tape
8pm, $12. First Unitarian Church Chapel.
Get your heady, experimental soundscapes in two forms tonight. First, there’s Mountains—the Brooklyn duo of friends-since-middle-school Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp—who’ve taken inspiration from the likes of Christian Fennesz and Brian Eno and make sprawling, lovely, and often quite haunting music with acoustic instruments (guitars, strings, pianos), electronic loops, clicks, glitch/noise and a host of found sounds and field recordings. Then there’s the Swedish trio Tape, who take an approach similar to Mountains in terms of the instruments used, but to more concise (yet equally gorgeous) ends, crafting tunes of a more psych-pop nature that are dreamy and exceptionally inviting. (Michael Alan Goldberg)
Metal As Art Tour
9pm, $10. Khyber.
Once upon a time, metal had zilch to do with “art”—unless you were drawing bloody, spike-impaled skulls alongside the Iron Maiden logo on the back of your spiral notebook in third-period social studies class. Somewhere during the past 15 years or so, however, the heaviest of metal cross-pollinated with art-rock, and now we’ve got the “Metal as Art” tour. Proving their monstrous-yet-intricate music is for beard-stroking intellectuals as much as Schlitz-swilling mongoloids are Lancaster grindcore merchants This Or the Apocalypse (we’ll take “this”), French ambient-metal masters Hypno5e, Canadian prog-metalcore quintet Starring Janet Leigh and D.C. melodic shredders Fallen Martyr. (Michael Alan Goldberg)
Also, the North Star’s weekly “New Music Series” welcomes Counter Riot, the Warhawks, Rogue House, and Blood Diner II [7pm/$7]; and Delta Spirit plays a sold-out show at Kung Fu Necktie along with Willowz and Joey English [8pm].
February 8th, 2010 3:47 pm
Dr. Dog Changes Drummers
You may have heard — or even noticed if you’ve seen them live recently, perhaps at their “secret” show at Johnny Brenda’s last month — that Dr. Dog has a new drummer. Here’s the official word about Juston Stens’ departure and Eric Slick’s arrival straight from the Dog’s mouth, via their MySpace:
Hey Now Everybody,
We’d like to take a moment to let you know about a pretty major change in the Dr Dog world. After 5 years of working and playing together we’re saying farewell to our long time friend and drummer Juston Stens. Juston is moving on to pursue his own musical journey. He’s in the middle of making his first proper full length album right now. For more details you can follow his progress here:
http://www.myspace.com/totalposermusic
Juston has been traveling all over the United States, stopping at some of his favorite studios to lay down tracks with some of his favorite people and the results have been pretty awesome. We’ll likely give you updates from time to time as the Juston Stens album is closer to completion and a tour is announced. We’re all rooting for Juston and can’t wait to hear what this album sounds like.
Filling Stens’ throne is Teach who we welcome with open arms. Teach ((aka Eric Slick) (we swear that’s his real name)) is monster dressed as a human and we’re convinced he will at some point he will burst from his skin and eat one of us whole. We can only hope you’re there to see it.
peace,
Dr.Dog
February 8th, 2010 2:11 pm
U.S. Air Guitar Philly Regionals In April!
Sure, we might be in the throes of some nasty winter weather, but spring is right around the corner. Before you know it, the flowers will be a’bloomin’, the Phils will be gearing up for the 2010 season down in Clearwater … and the air guitars will be blazing! That’s right — the U.S. Air Guitar Philadelphia regional championship is once again a go, happening on April 8th. Last year it was at the Khyber, the year before that the TLA…but we hear it’s gonna be at Johnny Brenda’s this year. We should have confirmation of that this week, along with ticket onsale dates and whatnot. But the big questions: Will Fender Splendor return to defend his title? And will the mighty Windhammer — the former Philly air guitar champ narrowly defeated by Fender Splendor last year — come back to reclaim the throne? Hopefully we’ll have answers soon. Until then, feel free to re-live last year’s Air Guitar Philly regionals in photos and words…
February 8th, 2010 1:12 pm
High On Fire Hits The Church
When the above arrived in my mailbox the other week, it rocked my world — yes, it’s the new High on Fire album Snakes for the Divine, out February 23rd, and it completely slays (as you would expect from the nation’s premier power-metal trio).
You can hear the eight-minute title track in its entirety right here.
And now, even better, High on Fire is coming to First Unitarian Church on Tuesday, April 6th along with the equally awesome Priestess (and Black Cobra and Bison BC, too). Given HOF’s oft-demonic imagery and lake-of-fire riffs and rhythms, and the Church basement’s reputation for being a dank inferno (especially when it’s packed to the hilt for metal and punk shows), this is a perfect match.
Tickets are $15 and go on sale this coming Friday, February 12th, at midnight.
Meanwhile, here’s some photos of High on Fire I shot a couple years ago when they came to the TLA behind their last album, 2007’s tremendous Death is This Communion:
February 8th, 2010 10:50 am
Sara Sherr Expands Her Philly Karaoke Empire
Our pal Sara Sherr — longtime Philly show promoter, DJ, and karaoke hostess with the mostest — just dropped us a line to let us know she’s expanding her karaoke empire to two new venues (in addition to her regular Monday night gig at the Khyber).
Tomorrow night at 9 p.m. kicks off a regular Tuesday night gig at 12 Steps down in the Italian Market (9th & Christian). And starting February 25th, she’ll have a regular Thursday night gig at PYT in the Piazza — she’ll preview that with a special event this coming Sunday, Valentine’s Day, at 9 p.m.
All these events are FREE. So if you ever wanted to get your karaoke on, now you’ll have at least three solid chances a week.
