Creepoid, Live @ The Level Room

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concert video, Creepoid, Creepoid band, Creepoid philly, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, Phonographic Arts, The Level Room

This is the third article in a series reviewing sets from some of the best bands in Philly at the Level Room NYE2012 show produced my Phonographic Arts. This show played double duty as the last show of 2011 and the first of 2012 and was amazing.

Creepoid is one Philly band we were eager to check out live.  Psychedelic grunge at  it’s core makes Creepoid a rather unique act in Philly – their light up drum kit makes it downright one of a kind.  The best part is that they are no one trick pony.  Listen to Dream Out for evidence of this.  The twangy guitar is a heart warming touch in a genre more known for angst.  Their songs will approach you from multiple angles. Maybe it is the psych angle that levels the ship to a perfect keel, but whatever the case may be – we love these guys and can’t wait to catch them again soon.  Peruse the Creepoid bandcamp for music and downloads.

Check out the video starting with Dream Out below.  Friggen awesome ladies and gentlemen:

Fire in the Hearts and Minds, Live @ The Level Room

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concert video, Fire in the Hearts and Minds, Fire in the Hearts and Minds band, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, Phonographic Arts, The Level Room

This is the second article in a series reviewing sets from some of the best bands in Philly at the Level Room NYE2012 show produced my Phonographic Arts. This show played double duty as the last show of 2011 and the first of 2012 and was amazing.

Not be lost in the vast NYE line up at The Level Room was the Philly standout A Fire in the Hearts and Minds. Comprised of Douglas Foulke Jr. on Guitar and vocals, Ben Roysden on bass, and Chad Hoffmann on Drums, these guys play a self-described musical amalgam of Torche, Hum, Pixies, Joy Division, bleach-era Nirvana and blue-era Weezer. In practice its pretty damn fantastic. These guys are even giving away their new album via bandcamp so you have no reason not to grab that.

Obscured in the following video is much of the stage ongoings due to very low lighting. The sound is there though and we really appreciate what these guys are doing. Check some live video [for all intents and purposes audio] out for yourselves:

Bleeding Rainbow, Live @ Union Transfer

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bands to watch, Bleeding Rainbow, Bleeding Rainbow band, concert video, HoZac, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, R5 Productions, Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow band, Union Transfer

Edit:  Article has been updated to reflect change in band name.  

Bleeding Rainbow is the Philly band formally known as Reading Rainbow from Fishtown.  The three piece has been making quite a name for themselves with their own brand of indie/punk/beach/garage/psychedelic music – a complex one with loud drums and killer guitar solos like Best Coast with more pronounced electric guitars and one girl & two dudes.

For their first Union Transfer performance on November 17th the band opened up for Los Campesinos! and delivered a solid performance in spite of questionable sound maintenance (also noted by The Swollen Fox in their piece).  We would love to see these guys in a smaller venue to really feed off the vibe, and since they are local we know this will be possible!

With multiple 7″ers out of solid singles adorned with magical artwork in addition to two Long Plays, there is plenty of music of theirs to jam to.

If you wanted to hear about a few local bands to get behind, this is definitely one.  Check out some video from their performance below and be sure to catch them at Johnny Brenda’s November 25th!:

Mannequin Men, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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Chicago, concert video, HoZac, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Mannequin Men, Mannequin Men band

Chicago’s Mannequin Men were more than just window dressing in their set at KFN in Philly on November 17th.  Hot off the release of their new eponymous album and glowing reviews by SPIN magazine among others, the quartet played a very lively and tight show for the Philly crowd.  Incorporating mostly tracks off their 2011 LP release, Mannequin Men infused the room with killer bass, guitar, drums and vocals.

Mannequin Men is comprised of Kevin Richard, Ethan D’Ercole, Seth Bohn, and Miles Raymer.  The most prevalent description of their sound (and one which we would agree with) is “If the Replacements had met Peter Sellers on the floor of a dive bar somewhere in the Midwest, they may have drunkenly thought up the Mannequin Men.” Funny, serious, and true.  Having put in incredible amounts of work over the past 7 years, the band’s efforts certainly seem to be paying off with another album that is a great listen and a live show that is as good if not better.

Mannequin Men are a treasure and should not be missed.  We only wish that they were a Philly band so we could watch them play and hang out with them more often.  Check out some video we captured from their set:

PS I Love You, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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Canadian Bands, concert video, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Paper Bag Records, PS I Love You, PS I Love you Band

The Über-talented duo PS I Love You out of Kingston, Ontario played Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on October 18th and brought with it scortching guitar and precision drumming.  They played through every single song you wish you had heard and made it their last stop on their US tour.

PS I Love You Live @ KFN

The band was originally a solo project for multi-instrumentalist Paul Saulnier (thus the initials PS in PS I Love You).  Now with Benjamin Nelson on drums, the project has involved into a sound larger than the two by themselves.  We enjoyed hearing these guys and appreciated their additions in song composition – extending guitar and drum solos and really playing to the crowd.

Now on Paperbag records and with Best New Song and an 8.1 album rating from Pitchfork credentials, PS I love You seems to be in place to garner increased critic-love now and into the future.  Make sure you don’t miss them on their next Philly stop.  Check out what you saw if you were there or missed if you weren’t below:

Break It Up, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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bands to watch, Break It Up, Break It Up Band, concert video, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band

Watch out Philadelphia. The sound of quality 90’s indie grunge with an updated take is brewing in the upstart band Break It Up. Storming the stage at Kung Fu Necktie on October 15th, Break It Up has quickly established itself as a local sound to be heard. We were privileged to be in attendance for one of their first live performances. The three piece comprised of Jen Sperling and Dan Morse on guitar and vocals, and Casey Bell bell on drums is dynamic, energetic, talented and good people. We enjoyed all aspects of the performance and loved hearing both Jen and Ben trade off on vocal duties with their well-sharpened axes.

Break It Up on stage at KFN

Rolling through a solid set, each song was as good as the next and we eagerly await catching them again and seeing where they will go. Despite breaking a string, Dan pushed forth on Jen’s powder blue guitar not missing a beat. Things like this make us like them even more: unfetteredness in practice. Add to that an engaging on-stage presence and great original song writing and we were sold. We urge you to get out and see Break It Up as soon as you can. In the meantime, check out some video we captured from the evening:

Also, be sure to head on over to Break It Up’s bandcamp to listen and download: