Young Empires, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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bands to watch, concert video, electronic music, Haute Rock, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Spotify link, swollen fox show, Toronto, y not radio show, Young Empires, Young Empires Band

Young Empires from Toronto, Canada graced the KFN stage on March 3rd courtesy of the Swollen Fox and Y-Not Radio.  Dripping in big beat indie-electro goodness Young Empires wasted no time plunging head first into a set of mesmerizing tracks.  The energy transfer from band to crowd was ephemeral and lasted long after the last note faded out of the stage amplifiers, through the hot confines of KFN, and into the warm Philadelphia winter evening.

▲ Young Empires on Spotify ▲

Young Empires, comprised of Matthew, Aaron, Jacob and Taylor, have a sound that transcends live recording and hits with the force of a mega-ton bomb in a live arena.  Primed for future success with a new album out now and several EP’s worth of material prior, we look forward to seeing these guys get the recognition they deserve.  Young Empire’s eventual return to Philly is eagerly awaited and we feel fortunate to have been in attendance for their first go-around.  Check out some video from their set below and make sure to check out our favorite song of theirs, Enter Through the Sun:

She Came Crashing, Live @ The Level Room

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concert video, electronic music, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, Phonographic Arts, She Came Crashing, She Came Crashing Band, The Level Room

She Came Crashing continues to impress with a sound brilliantly delivered in live vernacular.  This performance was from another Philly band we feel is improving with each performance.  Despite initial sound issues outside her control, Amanda  seized ears with entangling synth-pop a la white keytar with Ray back on beats.  Dope.  Citing diverse influences such as mewithoutYou, Dr. Dog, Nero, Radiohead, Sleigh Bells, and Santigold, She came Crashing offers its own submission into the ring of good music to hear live and dance to in Philly.  Check out some video into the darkness below:

Instamatic, Live @ The Level Room

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

We caught the increasingly honed group Instamatic from Philadelphia at The Level Room on February 18th for a second time (video from the first set we caught them here).  The synthpop quartet of Steven Haslam, TJ Adams, Philip Schorn, and Rick Mitchell were in the ether this night with fantastic electro-disco stylings.  Otherworldly music emanated like a fast moving fog from the dark stage and the new-wave gods were stirred.

Our video primarily caught the house light display licking like electric flames at the ceiling accented by hot synths/keyboards and steady beat.  We like these guys more every time we tsee them.  Check out our video below – albeit more for the sound than anything else.  We need better lighting Level Room!:

** note these are the last two songs of the set although out of order.

Grimace Federation, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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bands to watch, concert video, electronic music, Grimace Federation, Grimace Federation band, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band

Grimace Federation magically combines live drums, computer samples and loops with live electric guitar and bass to compose a sound that will melt your face.  Jim, Wes, Chris, and Xack have a sound that is part jazz, part funk, part electronic, part rock and all parts awesome.  On November 21nd these Phillyites played a moving show for the KFN crowd with other-worldly sound emitting from the dark stage perforated with various light display.

The bands music is a fantastic listen and will move you heard live.  Aesop Rock has even taken to remixing it and rapping over the work.

We really wish these guys played more shows locally and look forward to seeing where they end up in 2012.  It is really good stuff and relating to it is effortless.  Their full 2010 release is available for purchase and preview on Bandcamp as is their 2008 release:

Some highlights from the evening were watching the math-rock like percussion, computer/guitar double duty and the switch off between, the layering of sounds to build both subtle and over-stated crescendos, and the flow between songs allowing for long, introspective groove lines.  Grimace Federation must have something special in the water they are drinking because this type of sound is few and far between.  Make sure you get out and support these guys when you have a chance and check out the two videos we caught from the evening (sorry for the quality: bad lights and infectious music made it hard to film)

POWER ANIMAL, Live @ Johnny Brenda’s

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concert video, electronic music, indie music, johnny brendas, live music, live philly concerts, Local Philly Band, POWER ANIMAL, POWER ANIMAL BAND, R5 Productions

Johnny Brenda’s played host to the Philadelphia collective POWER ANIMAL on November 15th.  Three members deep on this evening, POWER ANIMAL moved through multiple songs dripping in sample and drum machine goodness.  Known for using a plethora of different types on instrumentation, POWER ANIMAL attempts and succeeds at creating diverse sounds not akin to anything or anyone in particular.

For this set the band chose to go with electronic sounds to match the mood of the show in general.  To accomplish this, Keith manned the sample machine, drum machine, keys, xylophone, and vocals with Marie on toy piano and vocals and lastly a drummer (we feel terribly bad that we don’t know his name but would like to add it if you shoot us a message).

POWER ANIMAL is a fun band to listen to with a certain brand of magic behind their musical compositions.  We look forward to catching them again to see who will be on stage with them and what the instrumentation will consist of.  A local NE Philly gem, get out and catch them whenever possible.  Check out some video we captured from their Balam Acab opening set:

 

Check out more POWER ANIMAL over at LPC on YouTube!

Casiokids, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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Casiokids, Casiokids Band, concert video, electronic music, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Norwegian, polyvinyl, R5 Productions

The Casiokids of Bergen, Norway were at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on October 18th and we feel very sorry for those who missed this exciting performance.  Boasting 6 members on this night, the core group of Ketil Kinden Endresen, Fredrik Øgreid Vogsborg, Omar Johnsen and Kjetil Bjøreid Aabø blew us away with their delectable synth pop sound.  Though the songs weren’t in English, we all understood what we were hearing – a sound that has truly gotten tighter and tighter in it’s evolution since 2005 and one which permeates the soul with electric precision.

Playing mostly tracks off their new album, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen, Casiokids made many new fans on this evening.  We were fortunate enough to get a copy of the album digitally beforehand as it was just released this month in North America so we were very excited at what we might hear.  This new collection of songs was written in conjunction with each other making it the most cohesive album yet.  Hearing it come to life was truly an honor.

A little background on their new album title comes courtesy of their website.  We loved this explanation:

Why was “Aabenbaringen over aaskammen” chosen as the album title?

The song themes and sounds on the album are shaped around and inspired by the story of adventurer Dr. Tarzan Monsoon, and his discovery of a hidden rainforest. ‘Aabenbaringen’ translates to ‘the revelation’, and ‘over aaskammen’ as ‘over the mountain’, something that appears from over the mountain top. Two of the words are written in old Danish-Norwegian with the double A, instead of the more common modern-Norwegian Å, and a ‘B’ to replace the more modern-Norwegian ‘P’ in ‘aabenbaringen’. This gives the title a hint of being older, in Norwegian grammatical terms, 100 years or so.

The show and the story of adventurer Dr. Tarzan Monsoon was immense fun and the Casiokid sound made dancing irresistible.  The multi-talented band would switch off instrumentation duties culminating in a full scale switch finale wherein everyone changes instruments and jammed out (video to follow).

We hope that these Norwegians will return to the city of brotherly love soon as sounds like theirs seldom pass through.  Casiokids played this final night in the states (outside of New York CMJ performances) and will next head to Japan for their first tour in that country ever.  We hope you enjoy some video from the evening:

Fool’s Gold, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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concert video, electronic music, Fool's Gold, Fool's Gold Band, IMASOUND, IMASOUND Records, indie music, kung fu necktie, LA, Lewis Pesacov, live music, live philly concerts, Los Angeles, Luke Top

Certainly not pyrite, Fool’s Gold put on a 24 karat performance at KFN as the September 20th headliner.  This Los Angeles collective was formed in 2007 around the talents of Luke Top (vocalist and bassist) and Lewis Pesacov (lead guitarist) to explore musical genres such as Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malian Rock music. The remaining influences are Krautrock, Hebrew, and 80’s influenced pop music, combining to create a glorious collection of sounds that comes through in live performances and recordings.  Those concerned about being lost in the translation need not worry as the influences are worked effortlessly into music most anyone could enjoy.

Playing songs from their 2009 and 2011 LP’s, Fool’s Gold was a top notch act to catch having played on such hollowed grounds as The Hollywood Bowl, The Summerstage in Central Park NYC and The Black Sessions in Paris as well as having played events such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Oya, Austin City Limits Music Festival and London Calling Fest (Amsterdam).

Check out some video from IMASOUND Record’s Fool’s Gold and their recent performance in Philly below:

AM & Shawn Lee, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie

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AM, AM & Shawn Lee, bands to watch, concert video, electronic music, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Rough Trade, Shawn Lee

The crazy-talented duo of vocalist AM and beat maker Shawn Lee came through the city of brotherly love on September 20th and wooed all those in attendance with well crafted songs and mesmerizing hooks.  Their on-stage performance consisted of three including a backing keyboardist and sample manipulator with AM switching guitars throughout the set and Shawn Lee playing double duty on percussion and bass.

We simply cannot believe these guys are not more popular than they already are.  The fact that we were able to witness them in such an intimate venue was a privilege.  After all, their music has been featured in such shows as HBO’s “Big Love” MTV’s “The Hills”, and ABC’s “Brothers and Sisters” (**full disclosure: these are facts that we discovered from our research as we have never seen any of these shows)  Having toured with the likes of AIR, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Caetano Veloso, AM & Shawn Lee are no strangers to large venues with a sound many times larger than that of the KFN stage on which they played this evening.

Drawing sound and writing influences from the Beatles, Badfinger, Curtis Mayfield and Jorge Ben while harnessing the power of Philly soul, folk-rock pop and some funky R&B, AM&S owned the room’s attention.  Those who take the time to delight their ears with AM&S’s available recordings will feel the same but it is no substitute for seeing these guys live.  A truely memorable performance, we encourage you guys to get out and see them whenever they come around again.  Check out AM&S playing their tracks “Dark Into Light” and “City Boy” below:

Preview and buy their new album, Celestial, through Bandcamp:

Starfucker, Live @ FUC

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concert video, electronic music, fuc, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, polyvinyl, starfucker

Starfucker is Joshua Hodges (vocals, keyboards, guitar, drums), Shawn Glassford (bass, keyboards, drums), and Keil Corcoran (drums, keyboards, vocals) and hail from the great city of Portland.   Having released 2 LP’s, 2 EP’s and singles, Starfucker has created a phenomenal catalog of music so far.  Having been featured in national commercial music, Starfucker has kept it’s name and not given into the pressures of corporate rank and file.  Using audio samples from Alan Watts in several of their songs is just another clue into the genius that is Starfucker.

We were very stoked to see them perform at FUC on September 13th and even more excited to hear them run through most of their eponymous album which they did.  Their energy was palpable and the audience hung on every synth line, guitar cord, drum beat, and vocal.  Add to their sound a dazzling light display and the experience was a trippy joy ride through their musical repertoire.  This band is one not to miss and should certainly be experienced before they move to large scale arenas or your little cousin is playing it on their iPod – something we greedily hope doesn’t happen.

Check out some video from the show and enjoy the ride:

More Starfucker video at LPC on YouTube

Alexico, Live @ FUC

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alexico, concert video, electronic music, fuc, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, unsigned artist, world music

“Hi.  I’m Alexico from Mexico.”   With that we knew we were in for something special.

Alexico, hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, began his set as a one man wonder-show playing the keyboard, guitar, singing, and working the pedals.  His enthusiasm was contagious and won the sluggish crowd over quickly.  Singing in Spanish, Alexico’s sound was multi-lingual and easily interpretable even to those who don’t know the language.  As his act progressed, members of Starfucker (for whom he was opening) came on stage to lend backing guitar and drums.  The sound coming from Alexico at this point was contagious and everyone in the audience had caught it.  Culminating with a final member, Chance on bass, Alexico closed out to great applause and recognition of the diversity his act brought.  Keys, guitars, vocals all combined to bring home a solid performance on September 14th at the First Unitarian Church in Philly.  I could not more strongly encourage you to catch Alexico while he is still on tour in the states.

Alexico made one final appearance during the Starfucker encore in which he came on stage, picked up a drum near his size and crowd surfed with it tucked tight against his body.  Truly a sight to behold!  We have included a video of this stunt below so that you can.  We wouldn’t tell you about it and not show it, would we?