This is going to be a short post and for no other reason than this band snuck up on us so fast that we stood trying to put together what we were witnessing. The Improbables have been playing together for several years now from what we can gather. They are an AC/Philly combo who’s sound is really good. Maybe a surprise is misplaced – their Facebook about section simply says “We’re better than your band.”
The four piece consisting of Joe, Kevin, Dave, and Tom delivers a Garage Rock blend with all around talented musicians. To be honest, the vocals are some of the strongest we’ve heard in awhile. A huge regret here is only getting one video and not knowing more about them.
We really cannot wait to see them again. Check out the loneliest one video below and prepare to have your mind blown:
Listening to the DZ Deathrays album as I peck out this review makes me press the keys with extra ferocity. The whole delivery is a sonic boom at 1,000 feet and their live set exceeded this. The Australian band took the stage at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia dispatching a dense fog of drum beats, guitar chords, and effortless vocals. A clear Death From Above 1979 influence permeate some tracks – the comparison is meant to commend the sound DZDR’s delivers as DFA1979 is one of our all time faves. Their efforts are finally garnering Pitchfork attention at a time when the sirens have already lured in so many.
Immaculate execution on numerous tracks off 2012’s Bloodstreams, DZDR’s left us wanting an encore. Bones rendered in electric garage punk rock, Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley delivered a thrashed first performance in Philly and one that everyone in the room should remember for a time to come. Dig some videos we took below:
Mariachi El Bronx is the Mariachi incarnation of the punk band The Bronx hailing from LA, CA. After an acoustic set was requested in 2008, the band decided to take it a completely different direction and infused their sound with a very Latin influence – one of the Son Jaliscience typification. 2009 would see Mariachi El Bronx releasing its first of, now, two albums in this style all of which was written and arranged while on tour.
The current Mariachi El Bronx live setup includes full Mariachi charro regalia and true-to-genre instruments. There is no faking it and their sound is authentic enough for us. Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. The band utilized traditional instruments such as the violin, guitarrón, guitarra de golpe, vihuela, guitar, trumpet, and incorporated a tailored set of drums with their logo emblazoned.
The band stays true to its punk attitude though with Matt pandering to the crowd before and after each track as can be seen in some of our videos. Pretty hilarious. Matt Caughthran, Joby J. Ford, Jorma Vik, Ken Mochikoshi-Horne, Brad Magers, Vince Hidalgo, and Ray Suen put on quite the show and deviate fantastically from your standard show fare. Truly a sight to behold, get out and support them and check out our videos below:
The formidable trio of Rick Froberg, Sohrab Habibion, and Greg Simpson comprise the scorching garage punk band Obits. Formed in 2006, the band comes by way of BK and has past independent projects Drive Like Jehu, Edsel, and Hot Snakes under it’s belt. Seminal to say the least. Playing Johnny Brenda’s in Philly on March 15, 2012, the band laid down numerous tracks off their 2011 release Moody, Standard and Poor along with tracks from 2009’s I Blame You.
A performance we are relieved not to have missed, Obits blasted in-your-face instrumentals with disgustingly good vocals. We felt every sound and were compelled to dive in head first. Check out some video below to see what you may have missed:
Bleeding Rainbow played Johnny Brenda’s in Philly on March 30th to a sold out crowd. The band had taken to facebook prior promising a trashing performance and dammit, they delivered. It seems that every time we see them, their configuration is slightly different. On this night, Sarah switched between guitar and bass. Regardless who is playing what, Bleeding Rainbow always brings intense psychedelic shoegaze punk to bear. Add to that the obvious fun they are having doing what they do and Bleeding Rainbow is a Philly band to be seen – I know we have said this before, but we will continue to say it until they grow out of our beautiful city.
Check out some video from the JB’s performance and peruse these previous performances for more info on the band (NYE Show, Union Transfer Show). Also, be sure to get out and see them April 13th at PhilaMOCA!
Far-Out Fangtooth, the best-named band in Philadelphia and recently voted one of the top 12 best musically by The Deli, ferociously closed out a truly psychedelic evening at KFN on February 8th. The band is well known around the city for putting out a sludgy, guitar driven psych-punk sound. Certainly one of our favorite acts to catch, FOFT put out a new album at the end of 2011 which you can please your ears with below:
On this evening, Far-Out Fangtooth was dressed to impress and they wasted no time getting into their groove. Laying down blistering guitar solos and the usual stand-up drumming (pun intended for those familiar with FOFT’s drummer, Vince), it was another solid performance from the four: Joseph Kusy on Guitar/Vocals, Tania Mesterhazy on Bass, Vincent Alvare on Percussion/ Vocal and Nicholas Kulp on Guitar/Vocals. Delivered from the dark KFN stage, back-lit only by the usual red beading along the curved ceiling and a spotlight of their own inclusion, the sound was truly the star.
When you see Far-Out Fangtooth on the bill, do yourself a favor and go see them if their racket is up your alley. Great music coming out of our city for sure. Check out some of our video below:
We have written about Slutever before. They are amazing and we enjoy them very much as we did also on this evening, NYE2012, at the Level Room in Philly. Another awesome set that is clouded in mystery by the low lighting as can be seen in the three song video below:
This is the fourth 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.
Also on the bill was Bleeding Rainbow. We’ve written about them before and hate to tread old ground. To summarize, Bleeding Rainbow is .. well .. Philadelphia’s own Bleeding Rainbow – one of those local bands everyone wants to see and for good reason. Their sound is awesome. Their effort is legendary. Their music is all just really good. Live it’s the same and on NYE2012 Bleeding Rainbow brought down the house despite the efforts of an over-zealous drunk dude who thought it was funny to repeatedly jump on stage and shout shit into the mic. Perhaps it was funny… In any event, the band killed it from from to back and to be able to see them without a million people in front of us is sick. Catch em before they get huge and tour constantly. Youv’e been warned. We got 4 Bleeding Rainbow videos for you this time:
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:
In case anyone had a doubt, and I really hope they didn’t, The Dead Milkmen are still goddamn amazing. We were fortunate enough to be in attendance for their sold-out in 1 hour The King in Yellow album release party at KFN in Philly. Playing through each of the 17 tracks on their new album plus a bonus cover of Cars by Gary Numan as well as another cover, Control by VNV Nation and topped off by multiple classic tracks, The Dead Milkmen showed that they still have all most of it after 28 years. RIP Dave Schulthise. They even closed the set with their 1990 classic Christmas song, Christmas Party. How fucking nice. Rodney Anonymous owned the stage as usual, jumping off it to make a point and spraying spit with his in your face lyrical styling. Joe Jack Talcum laid down serious guitar solo’s and vocals – his skills still strong as ever. Dean Clean on drums was the man, smiling through most of the set as he worked away in the back. Dandrew held it down on bass, and with his contributions to the new album and their live sets since 2008, is now certainly a full member of the band.
For those of you that don’t know, The Dead Milkmen are Joe Genaro aka “Joe Jack Talcum” – guitar, vocals, keyboards (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present), Rodney Linderman aka “Rodney Anonymous” – vocals, keyboards, tin whistle (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present), Dean Sabatino aka “Dean Clean” – drums, percussion, vocals (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present), and Dan Stevens – bass guitar (2004, 2008–present). Formed in our own Philadelphia in 1983, The Dead Milkmen’s satirical punk rock style continues to inspire and grow as seen in their fantastic new release – their first in 16 years.
The Dead Milkmen - The King in Yellow
The King in Yellow is the 9th album put out by The Dead Milkmen. We thought it sounded great via headphones, particularly the track Hangman, but hearing it live made us fans of the whole piece. You can google reviews on it if you like but we will spare you the need to read through ours. Instead, just watch this video of their recent KFM performance and judge for yourselves. Oh, and you have to buy their album so they keep playing.
Video Listing: Hangman, Anderson, Walkman, Buttholes, and How!, Solvents (For Home and Industry), Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song, 13th Century Boy, Passport To Depravity, Christmas Party ::
Live Philly Concerts 