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)
Also, Billy Joel and Elton John conclude their sold-out two-night stand at Citizens Bank Park [7pm]; country superstars Taylor Swift and Keith Urban take over the Wachovia Center [7:30pm/$20-$79.50]; and power-pop supergroup Tinted Windows — featuring current and former members of Cheap Trick, Hanson, Fountains of Wayne, and the Smashing Pumpkins — finally makes its way to Philly, headlining the TLA along with our own Free Energy opening up [9pm/$17-$19].
Sunday:
Steve Earle
8pm, $33.25-$58.75. Susquehanna Bank Center.
Steve Earle was just 16 when he met Townes Van Zandt at a show in Houston where the older songwriter heckled him mercilessly for not knowing how to play “The Wabash Cannonball.” Earle shut his tormentor up finally by demolishing Van Zandt’s technically challenging “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold,” and the two were friends until Van Zandt’s death in 1997. Van Zandt songs like “Pancho and Lefty,” “Lungs” and “White Freightliner Blues” have long been a staple of Earle’s set list. Now with the 15-song tribute Townes in the stores, Earle expands the repertoire with recently learned cuts like “Marie,” “Rake” and “Colorado Girl.” (Jennifer Kelly)
