November 25th, 2009
Tonight In Shows
Pawnshop Roses
9pm, $13. World Cafe Live.
Philly’s own Pawnshop Roses’ triple guitar onslaught, led by lead vocalist Paul Keen, gives them a blues-rock punch that is unrivaled in the area. Some of the band’s tunes recall the deep, bluesy cuts of the Black Crowes, while others employ foot-stomping Nashville twang or Stones-sounding, dueling guitar licks. Despite those varied elements, the group stays true to their hometown’s do-it-yourself roots. Keen’s impassioned, warm vocals—along with blaring electric guitars—are the perfect ingredients for feel-good choruses about lovin’ and lettin’ it roll. On “The Life We Lead,” Keen wails, “When we were through, we went back home and drank ‘til 10am/ We sleep all day and do it all again.” What aspiring rock star can’t relate to that? (Kevin Brosky)
Andrew Lipke & The Prospects
8:30pm, $10. Tin Angel.
Philly singer-songwriter Andrew Lipke’s carved out a pretty fascinating music career for himself. Sometimes, you can find him in cavernous venues playing keyboards and guitar (and making a decent living) with Get the Led Out, arguably the nation’s premier Led Zeppelin tribute band. Other times—like tonight’s show—you can find the South African-born Lipke and his four-piece backing band the Prospects bringing songs from his recent, excellent Motherpearl & Dynamite to life. Lipke’s style falls somewhere between roots/folk-rock and mid-’90s Brit-pop. His wide-ranging voice soars along with the band’s appealing, anthemic melodies, which can easily take you over the hills and far away. (Michael Alan Goldberg)
Metric + Band of Skulls
8pm, $20-$22. Electric Factory.
You’ve got to give the Canadian pop/new wave band Metric a lot of credit: After nearly a decade of underground buzz, the Emily Haines-led combo managed to finally break through to the mainstream this year with an album (Fantasies) that was entirely self-financed and self-released. Of course, that wouldn’t matter for shit if Fantasies was a lame, watered-down version of the band calibrated for maximum appeal, but it’s not. Sure, the production is bigger and there are plenty of hooks, but the band remains as intense, bittersweet, and genuine as always. Fuzzy, garage-bluesy English trio Band of Skulls are pretty intense and sincere-sounding, too, so they’re probably worth getting there early for. (Michael Alan Goldberg)
Also, Phish concludes its two-night stand at the Wachovia Center [7:30pm/$50]; and Radiohead tribute band Meeting in the Aisle takes over the Khyber along with a Bowie/Ziggy Stardust tribute band opening [8pm/$10].
