November 6th, 2009
This Weekend In Shows
Tonight:
Swimmers
7pm, $10. Kung Fu Necktie.
Philadelphia quartet the Swimmers celebrate the release of their tremendous new album People Are Soft—the band’s second on Drexel’s MAD Dragon Records—which you’ll get for free if you picked up advance tickets for this gig. Pretty sweet deal, because People Are Soft is an irresistible indie-pop/nü-wave platter, with synthesizers both buzzy and billowy joining up with sturdy beats, the occasional bite of guitar, and charismatic guy-girl vocals in a manner that occasionally feels like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for a new generation of romantic misfits that like to dance once in a while. (Michael Alan Goldberg)
Armen Donelian
5pm, $12-$16. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Born in Queens in 1950, pianist Armen Donelian is one of today’s unassuming jazz masters, boasting early sideman credits with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Rollins and Billy Harper. His latest output includes Grand Ideas, a three-volume solo-piano series; All or Nothing at All, a tightly focused duo album with Dutch saxophonist Marc Mommaas; Quartet Language, unearthed from 1992, with the late altoist Thomas Chapin; and Oasis, featuring bassist David Clark and drummer George Schuller, the longtime trio cohorts who join him this week at the Museum. Donelian’s got a pensive, lyrical streak a mile wide, but don’t underestimate his ability to swing hard and throw punches. (David R. Adler)Also, Twin Cities rapper Brother Ali headlines First Unitarian Church along with Evidence, Toki Wright, and BK One [8pm/$13-$15]; Toy Soldiers come to the North Star along with TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb, Backwords, the Great Unknown, and Padre Pio [8pm/$8]; Wolfmother headlines Electric Factory [8:30pm/$25-$28]; and the Walkmen and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart team up for the SPEC Fall Show at the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium [8pm/$10-$15].
Saturday:
Singer-guitarist Amy Millan (of Stars and Broken Social Scene fame) headlines Johnny Brenda’s along with Bahamas and Buried Beds [9pm/$12]; the Mary Onettes play Kung Fu Necktie [9pm/$3-$5]; the Note welcomes Pietasters, Ruder Than You, and the Bullbuckers [9pm/$14-$16]; and Dark Star Orchestra headlines Electric Factory [8:30pm/$25-$27].
Sunday:
Bottom Feeders
6pm, $12. J.C. Dobbs.
Who doesn’t love a contra-alto clarinet? Saxophonist Dan Peterson breaks out the giant horn to play with his Bottom Feeders, and the floor-rattling low notes are all the more disquieting when combined with baritone sax (Elliott Levin) and trombone (Larry Toft). They shouldn’t need a bassist, but Peterson often adds one anyway. This week, however, it’ll be guitarist Travis Woodson, with drummer Tony Catastrophe locking down rhythm. Peterson, who recently gave us the evocative suite Five Simple Worlds … And Ways of Getting There, looks to the BF’s to channel something wilder in his psyche. After this gig they play Tritone on the 18th, then hope to hit the studio. (David R. Adler)Also, Swedish indie-popsters Peter Bjorn & John return to Philly, playing the TLA along with El Perro Del Mar [8pm/$22-$25]; and Zee Avi and the Mural & the Mint play two shows (the 7:30pm show is sold out) at the First Unitarian Church Chapel [7:30pm & 9:30pm/$10].
