July 31st, 2009

Happy Birthday, Chuck D.!

Happy birthday early to Public Enemy’s Chuck D. — in my opinion the greatest rapper of all time — who turns 49 on Saturday, but bounded around the stage at the Roots Picnic in June like he was 25 years younger. Tell ‘em, Chuck!

July 31st, 2009

Bethlehem Musikfest Starts Today

In case you were looking to get out of city at some point in the next 10 days and/or check out a ton of music, the nearby annual Bethlehem Musikfest gets underway today and runs through August 9th. There’s 14 indoor and outdoor stages — 11 of them free — and more than 300 musical acts playing, including a whole bunch of local and regional artists. Among the headliners: Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Commodores, Rufus Wainwright, Yes, Pat Benatar, Blondie, Chris Isaak, David Cook, the Wallflowers, Joan Jett, the B-52’s, Third Eye Blind, George Thorogood, Jonny Lang, Martin Sexton, and Leon Redbone.

And it’s all for a pretty good cause, too:

Musikfest is presented by ArtsQuest, a community-focused nonprofit arts organization founded to “celebrate arts and culture” in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.

Proceeds from the event go to the Banana Factory, ArtsQuest’s community arts center and gallery located in South Bethlehem, as well as other nonprofit groups in the region.

Go here for full line-up, ticket info, show times, venue info, directions, and all that shizz.

July 31st, 2009

Damn, The New Raekwon Is Slammin’

Just leaked: Raekwon’s “House of Flying Daggers,” featuring Inspectah Deck, Ghostface, and Method Man (from Rae’s upcoming Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II). Killer!:

July 31st, 2009

Ten Questions With: Ritual — Philadelphia’s Jane’s Addiction Tribute Band

I didn’t make it out to see the reunited Jane’s Addiction when they came through town recently. And it’s just as well — I heard they sucked Navarro balls. Hardly surprising, really. Those guys burned brightly for about six years, broke up at arguably the height of their powers in 1991 (although 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking remains my favorite album), and then have spent parts of the nearly 20 years since trying (and pretty much failing) to recapture old glories. Sad, really.

So to be honest, these days I’d much rather catch Ritual, Philadelphia’s brand-new Jane’s Addiction tribute band, than the real thing. These guys truly sound like vintage Jane’s. We caught up with Ritual guitarist Ted Richardson — who also runs Cedar Street Studios in Port Richmond — the other day for a quick chat:

When and why did you decide that you wanted to pay tribute to Jane’s Addiction in such a fashion?
[Singer] Jude, [drummer] Steve, and myself have been in a few bands together. We had always covered a few Jane’s Addiction tunes, and everyone said we should cover more, so we decided to finally do it.  [Bassist] Brett came with the truck.

How do you get “into character” in the minutes and hours leading up to the show?
Just going over the music gets us into character; so do the bottles of red wine.

What are your favorite Jane’s songs to play, and why?
We all have our particular favorites, but as a band the whole set is a blast to perform.

What are the particular challenges of mastering Jane’s Addiction material?
Picking the arrangements for songs is difficult because there many versions to choose from. Jane’s Addiction are definitely a live band, even with their studio recordings. We really try to replicate their live feel.

Who in the band gets the hottest groupies?
Brett gets every single one.

If your bass player ever quits, would you consider replacing him with Flea?
Yes, but only if he will perform for free.

Do you guys use all the same instruments and amps and effects pedals and other gear that Jane’s Addiction is known to use?
It really is about the feel, not the instrument or gear. But we do try to get as close as possible with our equipment selection, and we are pretty damned loud.

What are the pros and cons of being a tribute band in Philadelphia?
Pros: People who come out to the show will know what they are coming to see and already like the material, so it’s easy to put on a confident show. Cons: Jane’s Addiction aren’t releasing any new material, so we are limited to the songs they have. But it makes for one hell of an hour-and-a-half-long set.

Have you heard from anyone in Jane’s Addiction yet about your band?
Nope, have you?

Do you guys plan to break up and get back together 19 times like Jane’s Addiction?
Well, we have only been together as a band for four months and have broken up twice, so average it out.

Ritual plays the Note in West Chester tonight at 9pm. $10.

July 31st, 2009

This Weekend In Shows

Tonight:

Cass McCombs
9pm, $8. Khyber.
Cass McCombs pretty much lives the indie boy cliché, writing soft, wistfully pretty guitar tunes about the rough edges of love. Still, someone’s got to be the king of this stuff, and McCombs has lately made a move with Catacombs. On his fourth full-length, songs like “Dreams-Come-True-Girl” and “You Saved My Life” open out subtly, with bright pop nods to Dylan, Roy Orbison, the Beach Boys and Morrissey. Don’t expect theatrics, though. The video for “You Saved My Life” consists entirely of shots of the singer’s back, and live, McCombs sometimes spends his entire set turned away from the audience. (Jennifer Kelly)

Soft Power
7:30pm, $10. Kung Fu Necktie.
Armed with her distinctively husky, sometimes sinister voice—one that’s been much emulated in the alt-rock world over the past two decades—D.C.-born singer-guitarist Mary Timony’s journeyed through some pretty fascinating musical phases. First came the jagged, skewed art-rock of her Boston-based Helium, which gained lots of attention with 1995’s The Dirt of Luck. Following that, she embarked on a solo career that delved into dirge-y prog-rock and freak-folk obsessed with faeries and magic and the like. These days she’s leading the fantastic new ensemble Soft Power, which splits the difference between craggy, Helium-style guitar-rock and trippy, Ren Faire psych-rock weirdness. (Michael Alan Goldberg)

Also, Alexa Ray Joel — daughter of you-know-who, who’s in town this week with Elton John — shows off her stuff at Tin Angel (7:30pm/$12]; Lil’ Wayne headlines the sold-out Susquehanna Bank Center [8pm]; and Johnny Brenda’s hosts the triple bill of Foreign Born, the Veils, and Faces on Film [9pm/$10].

Saturday:

The Answer
9pm, $10. Khyber.
When classic rock finally died, it seems nobody told Europe. And now, Northern Ireland—land of strife and shit-tons of rain—is the home to a shining light on the path of classic rock revival. Thing is, dudes from the Answer still think Bon Scott is still alive. Worse, they appear to think he’s their singer. It doesn’t help that they are the openers on AC/DC’s latest world tour. If only their songwriting skills could match their swagger, we might have something. Still, this is more about cock and less about innovation. Who really cares about music as much as they care about their genitals? Eh? (John Cramer)

July 31st, 2009

Beres Hammond & Friends

July 31st, 2009

Lyrically Fit with Madd Illz, Scanz, Karinah, Ko The Knockout & Edible, D-Rellz, more