Blues
There are definitely a lot of exciting festival happening in our region this summer including the 49th annual Philadelphia Folk Festival.
I love Led Zeppelin. I used to hate Led Zeppelin. I might end up hating them again. That’s just the nature of a relationship with a band.
At the tender age of 12, I decided that it was time to stop all the tomfoolery and pick up that guitar that sat in my closet with a new intent. My dad is an old school six-string strummer, which initially inspired me to play, but to him a perfect evening contains open chords and a capo, the exact opposite of the rebelliousness that I felt running through my rock n’ roll veins. It was time to find a guitar teacher.
» More RETROactive: Led Zeppelin
Sometimes you just need a slower pace-- something stripped down, authentic, easy to appreciate. An evening with Scott McMicken (of Dr. Dog), Birdie Busch and Annie and the Beekeepers sounds just about right.
WXPN’s ringing in the New Year right, if not a little early today. As part of the Free at Noon series, Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam are back.
The band will be performing their regular New Year’s show at World Café Live downstairs at 10 p.m. with Christine Havrilla, but also playing for free at noon (obviously). Both shows will be available to listen to live online at www.xpn.org/listen-live.
View galleryAnd here we have Rain Machine, TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone’s solo project and product of the Great TVOTR Hiatus 2009. Malone released the Rain Machine debut on Anti- earlier this year. From the press release: “Malone recently described Rain Machine as a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined - some rhythm some rhyme.” While “full spectrum of frequencies” might be a bit of a stretch, it’s hard to argue the full spectrum of awesomeness that is Malone’s beard, or the full spectrum of WTF that is the debut’s album cover. Jersey born/Brooklyn based Sharon Van Etten of Drag City opens.
Congratulations to local singer-songwriter Kurt Vile, whose Matador debut Childish Prodigy was released today. We dedicated this week's Sample Rate to "Hunchback," a single from his latest record.
» More Phrequency TV: The Sample Rate
This past weekend marked the beginning of what could be deemed “Kurt Vile Week” for the city of Philadelphia. Every alt-media outlet in the city has gone to great lengths to cover Vile and the exciting journey that he has taken to get here. The local hero and, of course, “constant hitmaker” will release his debut full-length album Childish Prodigy for the legendary Matador Records tomorrow and we couldn’t be more excited.
A sizable crowd gathered in Rittenhouse Square last night to see Kurt Vile & The Violators and Mondo Topless perform a free concert.
Blues abound last night at the Vox Populi gallery, where local acts Kurt Vile and the Megajam Booze Band met Queen’s Blues Control for an evening of noisy grooves, long drawls, and slick riffing.
» More A night of "Vile" blues and acoustic guitars at Vox Populi
