It was an epic night for JEFF fans, as the band—who for the past ten years has toured as a duo—debuted their expanded line-up for Philly, playing half their set as a two-piece, and half as a quartet. Early numbers were brash, rash, and frenzied, as the band tore through songs with abandon—while later ones were thick, heady, and dripping with psychedelics.

The brainchild of brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, JEFF the Brotherhood came together 12 years ago in 2001, and gigged extensively before breaking through on the indie front in 2009. Early songs were released through their own Infinity Cat Recordings label; in 2011 they signed with Warner Bros. Records to release their seventh LP, Hypnotic Nights, produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

Both early and later tunes were represented last night, as the band took the stage without a setlist, responding to crowd input and their own whims. The first half of the set saw the brothers shredding through ragers like “Heavy Days” and “Noo Sixties”—Jamin’s beats providing a solid foundation for Jake’s wily guitar licks—as well as easygoing jammers like “Mellow Out.” Clad in all white, with unshakable focus, Jamin was the band’s beating heart, while the devilish Jake, dressed all in black, with long hair and a custom-built, three-string guitar, was its impish, mischievous soul.

For the second half of the set, JEFF expanded its line-up to include a second guitarist (a regular six-stringer) and a keyboardist, whose added power allowed them to tackle more complex numbers, like the motorik-turned-electropop grower “Wood Ox” and the sludgy, Weezer-meets-Nirvana-esque “Dark Energy.” Single “Sixpack” was an easy highlight, with its fist-pumping chorus of “oohs”—while older tune “Heavy Krishna” allowed for maximum psychedelic indulgence, both brothers rocking with abandon for the equally hyped-up crowd. We love JEFF as a two-piece, but last night they proved the brotherhood includes all those who believe.

JEFF the Brotherhood might have tore the (metaphorical) roof off KFN, but early sets from Brooklyn’s Hunters and Philly’s The Bad Doctors were likewise shred-tastic. Hunters blew through the space like a wildfire, front woman Isabel Almeida shrieking and flailing like a pink-haired Karen O.—while The Bad Doctors combined metal riffs and Matt McDermott’s schreechy, impassioned vocals with electronic, new wave grooves to surprising effect. We can’t wait to experience it all over again tonight!

JEFF the Brotherhood plays Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., tonight, May 17, with Hunters and Bad Side. The 21+ show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15. More info can be found at the venue’s website.

It was quite the elegant affair at Union Transfer last night, and everyone and their mother was there (literally). Folksinger Sam Beam took the stage in a suit with slicked-back hair, followed by his band of 13 (yes, 13) who were all dressed to the nines. Backup singers in long black dresses, the horn section in dapper jackets – everyone looked ready to impress. Over the course of the 100 minute set, Iron & Wine played selections from more than 10 years of music to a very eager, if fickle, sold-out crowd.

Starting the show on an upbeat note, Iron & Wine’s horn section do-wopped and sashayed through the “The Desert Babbler” from April’s release, Ghost On Ghost. While older fans of Iron & Wine have brushed off the band’s more recent releases in favor of the beautiful melancholy that is Sam Beam’s solo work, it could not be denied that the group onstage was having a great time. The crowd, however, was reluctant to warm up until a few songs in.

Trumpet and saxophone solos abound, Iron & Wine dipped into tracks from 2007′s The Shepherd’s Dog and 2009′s Around The Well before the band faded into the background and Sam Beam returned to his solo roots. “We’re gonna do a little Iron & Wine, buffet style,” Beam said. “What do you guys want to hear?” A dozen different songs were shouted at once. The one that stood out?

“Freebird!” Oy.

“Sometimes you get what you ask for,” Beam snickered as his handsome voice transformed the Lynyrd Skynyrd hit into something unheard of.

Never expecting to hear it played, longtime fans were aghast when Beam performed “Sea and The Rhythm” from his 2003 EP of the same name. Following “Woman King” and “Resurrection Fern,” the crowd sang every word to The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” after Beam encouraged a sing-a-long. Those who trudged through adolescence to this track sang louder with each lyric.

The band was brought back onstage, but not before Beam called the crowd out for not dancing. “It’s okay. You can do it. You can dance. Nothing stops them,” he said jokingly, referring to the side-stepping horn section. The rest of the set pulled a better level of energy from the crowd, who were on a natural high from Beam’s “you-call-its” solo intermission. The band zoomed through the next eight songs until their closer, “Baby Center Stage,” also the closing track on “Ghost On Ghost.” Sadly, only one track was played from 2004′s Our Endless Numbered Days, which put Beam on the Pitchfork map back in the day.

Gracious and happy, Beam came out for a one-song encore, pleasing diehards once again with “Upward Over the Mountain” from his 2002 debut, The Creek Drank The Cradle. He gave hope to a thousand adoring fans last night – 13-piece band or not, the man knows how to get back to his elegant, handsome roots. Beam, bring your Iron & Wine buffet back to Philadelphia soon.

Setlist
The Desert Babbler
Carousel
Kingdom of the Animals
Low Light Buddy of Mine
Tree By the River
Belated Promise Ring
Grass Widows
Sixteen, Maybe Less
Free Bird tease (solo)
The Sea and the Rhythm (solo)
Woman King (solo)
Resurrection Fern (solo)
Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover, solo)
Caught in the Briars
Sundown (Back in the Briars)
Jezebel
Grace for Saints and Ramblers
Passing Afternoon
Singers and the Endless Song
Lean Into the Light
Your Fake Name is Good Enough for Me
Baby Center Stage

Encore
Upward Over the Mountain (solo)

All photos by Rachel Barrish | RaddRhapsodies.com

It was billed as a hyper-rager, and it certainly did not disappoint – the March edition of Dave P‘s Making Time was a stacked triple-bill, with noisy Montreal synth rockers Doldrums, expressive R&B crooner Autre Ne Veut and Spanish dance-rock outfit Delorean.

After Doldrums’ colorful set involving puffy knit headwear and trashcan percussion, Autre Ne Veut took the stage to a tightly packed room. The project of Brooklyn’s Arthur Ashin played Philadelphia this winter on a reportedly sparsely-attended lineup at Johnny Brenda’s – a drag, since his intense style of performing both requires a crowd to vibe off of and deserves a crowd to take in. The teeming crew on the Voyeur main floor seemed like a just recompense, and Ashin strutted the front row, pumped his fist in the air from off the monitor, fell to his knees, made emotive faces and sang acrobatic vocal riffs. The three-piece band worked wonders on tracks from this year’s Anxiety - particularly “Ego Free Sex Free” and “Play by Play” – and while they didn’t venture particularly far from the album arrangements, Ashin’s stage presence elevated the songs to a whole other level.

While Autre Ne Veut confirmed the live reputation I’d been hearing so much about, Barcelona’s Delorean were a total surprise. The band makes sweetly shimmering synthpop, the sort of thing that typically-speaking sounds great coming out of headphones but falls flat in performance. Not these guys, though. Their onstage energy was massive, carrying hints of torch-bearers New Order and Erasure and contemporaries Hot Chip – artists that can make electronic pop work in a band context – and the riled-up crowd totally fed off of it. Points also for slaying the late 80s club nugget “Ride on Time” by Black Box. Check out photos of the night in the gallery above.

Photos by Rachel Barrish | raddrhapsodies.com

Scottish indie rockers Frightened Rabbit headlined a sold-out Union Transfer on Saturday night, touring in support of their new LP Pedestrian Verse. With an impressive light show and an interactive rapport with the crowd (singer-guitarist Scott Hutchison asked the crowd to hold a G note en masse as they led into “Good Arms vs. Bad Arms”), the band raced through a 20-song setlist. Hutchinson performed “Scottish Winds” and “Poke” solo acoustic, while Canadian openers Wintersleep joined the band onstage for the closing song “The Loneliness and the Scream.” Check out scenes from the show in the photo gallery above and see the set list after the jump.

Setlist
Holy
The Modern Leper
Old Old Fashioned
Late March, Death March
December’s Traditions
Nothing LIke You
Backyard Skulls
Head Rolls Off
The Oil Slick
My Backwards Walk
State Hospital
Scottish Winds
Poke
Good Arms vs. Bad Arms
Swim Until You Can’t See Land
Acts of Man

Encore:
The Woodpile
Living in Colour
The Twist
The Loneliness and the Scream

PhilaMOCA programmer Eric Bresler previews Cinedelphia‘s Tuesday Tune-Out series for April [link]

Meet Dante Bucci, the local musician who kicked-off WXPN’s Philly Local Busker Series at The Porch at 30th Street Station this week [link]

Watch local folk duo Maitland perform “Embers” in advance of their Friday, April 5th show at The Trocadero balcony [link]

Mayer Hawthorne‘s new song “Designer Drug” was Tuesday’s My Morning Download [link]

JUMP Magazine shared their recap and photos of Plow United‘s Saturday night show at The Barbary [link]

Stream and download Burn the Wish from local duo Great Red Spots, recorded at West Philly DIY space Sprinkle Kingdom [link]

Reed The Lost Cauze is back with a debut podcast/free download called REEF RADIO, [link]

Unlocked digs into Restorations‘ LP2 ahead of their record release show this Friday [link]

Take a listen to Wrong World‘s “See These Streets” and see them open for Bleeding Rainbow and The Cave Singers on Thursday [link]

Patty Griffin was spotlighted on XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week with “Ohio,” featuring Robert Plant [link]

NPR Music’s First Listen is streaming Kurt Vile‘s Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze before the album’s official release next week [link]

This band’s ability to generate a wall of sound is what made the generation of “grown-up” punks gravitate toward Restorations, building their reputation after the release of their self-titled LP in 2011. But close listeners of any Restorations song will pick up on more than just the overview, the surface. They’ll hold on to a subtle but notable guitar lick, a slamming bass note or a simple, poignant lyric that in turn gets stuck in your head for days.

This week’s release of LP2 will not disappoint long-time fans. The sophomore full-length not only crashes over the heads of listeners, but sweeps you away into the sea of complexity, maturity and the band’s full-blown ability to rock. They’re brand is much different from the fuzz rock phenomenon of today. The crispness and thoughtfulness behind each layer and effect are heightened under the direction of producer Jon Low, who mixed self-titled and produced Restorations’ last two 7-inch records. These also aren’t the loud-and-fast, two-minute bursts that often characterize a “punk song.” They’re sometimes slow and steady, with hills and valleys that still lead you somewhere very, very loud by then end.

The band does embrace a faster, heavier and less subdued sound on LP2 compared to past releases that hits you straight off the bat with the opening track, “D.” It’s hard not to imagine a captivated audience slowly bobbing their heads when that triumphant solo guitar blasts into their ears, and then going crazy when the drums and bass finally kick in. The album’s second track, “Let’s Blow Up The Sun,” is an early release hold-out and should prove spectacular to hear live (especially when the band plays it at the First Unitarian Church this Friday), with an irregular beat and dissonance in the chords.

Heaviness and advanced production does not leave LP2 without nuance. There’s “The Plan” and its folky lean, and “Kind of Comfort” with guitars and harmonies buoyant enough for your ears to swim in. Lyrical and instrumental narratives are both present and shine through the ups and downs of “New Old,” and we physically follow the band on the road in Gainesville, Lansing, Charlotte and Montreal in “Quit.”

The nearly six-minute end track “Adventure Tortoise,” (with its two-and-a-half minute instrumental opening) is expectedly the most epic. It reads like an abstract story of short fiction when frontman Jon Loudon sings of a journey to a place “where nobody knows your name, where nobody’s heard of your town.”

Restorations has been compared to a variety of tastemakers and contemporaries – from Goo Goo Dolls and Gaslight Anthem to Bad Religion and Brand New. The scope of these comparisons shows there’s been something about this band that critical listeners could never quite put their finger on or pin down. LP2 is a sign we should all stop trying.

No track on this album is a skip-through or a cast off. Restorations was able to show growth in their sound while staying true to their roots and unique qualities. It’s a refreshing, reassuring thing to see, even after the band’s first stroll with major label SideOneDummy. This band should be happy with the record they produced. And if you’re a fan of loud, straight-forward and emotional rock music, LP2 will make you happy, too.

LP2 is the featured album in this week’s edition of Unlocked. Download “Kind of Comfort,” the album’s highlighted single, in yesterday’s post, and check back tomorrow for its video and an interview with the band later in the week.

Ma Jolie

Ma Jolie

Nona

Nona

Three generations of punks came out to The Barbary for Plow United‘s record release show Saturday night.

The overlooked band that had its first run in the early 90s as part of the same wave of post-Year that Punk Broke pop-punk bands that also birthed Lifetime and Weston (among hundreds of others).

It began with Ma Jolie, all big chords and shout-alongs that sometimes remind me of The Loved Ones.

Next were Nona, originally out of West Chester, now from parts all over including Philadelphia. Fittingly, they’re made up of kids who five years ago were inspired by Plow, the Chester County legends. Their music somehow finds the place where the longing poetry of Paul Westerberg and the Replacements meets the massive riffing and soloing of the Smashing Pumpkins.

The Holy Mess are likely the last bearers of classic punk attitude we have in this city. They’re a band of true weirdoes who seem equally at home in a basement or a big stage. I think they’re benefiting from the addition of Scarier Area guitarist/folk punk guy Jeff Riddle.

Since their reformation two years ago, Plow United has been quietly become the model for how to do the “reunion thing” correctly. We’ve seen hundreds of reunions over the last decade, most barely-disguised cash-ins. Plow, however, earned this after years of their records being passed around as lost classics.

Marching Band, the record being celebrated last night, is a study in realism and being an aging punk guy. It amazingly has no embarrassing moments and really ably brings together the fast, screamed punk they perfected almost 20 years ago (and the wisdom earned in the interim).

The Holy Mess

The Holy Mess

The Plow United with Jeff Riddle

They played about 25 songs in 45 minutes and were done by 8:30. There was no bullshit, which is something every band young or old should take away from their performance.

Restorations | Photo by Beth Ann Downey

Collaborate Philly hosted its first annual Philly Beergasm charity fundraiser last night, and the event proved to be just as exciting as its title.

The networking collective for the local creative community joined up with Beer Cakes Philly to throw the beer and food tasting party at Yards Brewing Company, with proceeds benefiting Philabundance.

Though the chill hang and networking vibe permeated throughout most of the evening, live acoustic sets from End of America and Philly’s own Restorations were the highlight of the entertainment.

Restorations played through some of the stripped-down stock from their new album LP2, which drops on Tuesday. They serenaded the slightly craft beer buzzed audience with tracks like “New Old,” “A” and even old favorites like “Nonlocality.”

A raffle of beer-related apparel from Triumph and other local breweries ended the event. Whether it was the beer, the prizes or the live music, few in the small audience seemed to leave unsatisfied.

Free Energy

Local rapper Mic Stewart releasing PEACEWORLD on April 23rd, shares his new video for “I’m Not From Brooklyn” [link]

Moon Palace takes part in this week’s Folkadelphia Session, recording a selection of songs with a full band [link]

Dar Williams, Steve Forbert, Stephen Kellogg and more have been scheduled for this summer’s Bryn Mawr Twilight Concert series [link]

Wilkes Barre, PA’s Cherokee Red and their song “Vaya Con Dios” were Monday’s My Morning Download [link]

Sensual soul duo Rhye and their beautiful track “Open” were featured on this week’s XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week [link]

Download a free remix EP from Mock Suns, a local alt-psych trio that opened for Hey Marseilles at Johnny Brenda’s Wednesday night [link]

Weathervane Music shared this month’s Shaking Through episode with Night Panther; get a free download of “Fire” and watch the session video [link]

Anjuli Jospehine stopped by for a Key Studio Session and plays The Tin Angel this Saturday [link]

A student-produced documentary takes a look at the basement and DIY show scene in Philadelphia [link]

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts kicks-off tonight and will run through April 27th with performances, lectures and exhibitions looking back at historic events in time [link]

Kurt Vile is throwing a parade this Saturday and wants you to be there [link]

Check out photos and a review of Kate Nash‘s appearance at Johnny Brenda’s [link]

Of course, there’s a downside to making a record as intricate and delicately arranged as Phosphorescent‘s Muchahcho. The higher you set the bar for your listeners, the harder it is to live up to your own ambition.

On the first night of tour, with a new lineup of players in tow, Matthew Houck told a sold-out Johnny Brenda’s last night that the collective was admittedly rusty and working out the kinks. “Right on!” one fan screamed – presumably making a request for “Ride On / Right On,” a standout track from the new album, and not sharing some odd enthusiasm over the singer’s humility. But Houck deferred. “Yeah, that song’s got a lot of rust,” he said.

“Ride / Right” never did get played. And of the 90-minute / 13-song setlist, only four drew from Muchacho, with mixed results. Opener “Terror In The Canyons” was amped up from the forlorn pedal steel ballad we hear on the album. Its swirl of keys and guitar licks blazed onward to a powerful jam of “The Quotidian Beasts.” Things, at this point, looked and sounded great. And then the set took a sharp dive with a particularly weak performance of “Song for Zula” – the moving, heartrending, Johnny Cash-referencing vibey number that many are already calling song of the year. In its recorded version, the track really is that good – the meditative string loop carries the music into an otherworldy plane as Houck ponders love and loss. Last night, the string part was played through a synthesizer preset that carried none of the album’s allure, deflating what might have been a transcendent six-minutes of the set.

A stellar version of “Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly)” from 2010′s Here’s To Taking It Easy followed, giving the band a brief rebound. Like “Terror,” the spacious album version was transformed into a rambling highway rocker, with staccato piano chords and solo upon solo. The song wrapped to thunderous applause, and its conclusion signaled two things. One, Phosphorescent began its trip into its extensive back-catalogue – which the fans packing the floor seemed massively appreciative of. Two, it began to jam. And once the players onstage entered jamming mode, everything kind of blended together in a leveled-out tone and timbre and tempo. The set, pretty much, coasted downward from here.

Which isn’t to say moments didn’t stand out. Houck spotted his friends Jonny Ollsin and Kim Krans of Family Band at stage left, calling out for “Los Angeles” from Here’s to Taking It Easy. As it happens, the duo is relocating from Philadelphia to L.A. very soon – “When are you leaving, tomorrow?” Houck asked them. “Wednesday?” – and this was the last show they were seeing in their short stay as Philadelphians. Houck brought them up onstage to sing backup on the song, and while it sounded like something out of the bonus DVD from The Last Waltz (read: fun but more than a little chaotic), it was a touching sight to see.

After closing the main set with a so-so take on fan favorite “Wolves” (it improved once the swell-to-crescendo started on the second verse), Houck returned to stage to perform a few solo numbers – covers of Willie Nelson (“Reasons to Quit,” which appeared on 2009′s To Willie and became a full-house singalong) and Waylon Jennings “Storms Never Last,” and a request for his own “Cocaine Lights.” These unadorned performances carried more power and potency than anything else we’d heard all night, but the full band returned (and jammed once more) to wrap the show on “At Death, A Proclamation.”

The general letdown can be attributed, mostly, to the rustiness Houck spoke of – the band sounded decent, they just didn’t sound amazing, and their style of playing only worked with maybe half the songs. For every rousing moment like “Quotidian,” there were meandering moments like “A New Anhedonia.” Hopefully the rust will be shaken off when Phosphorescent swings back around, which we can only assume will be later on this year.

Setlist

Terror In the Canyons
The Quotidian Beasts
Song for Zula
Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly)
A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise
Los Angeles
A New Anhedonia
Joe Tex, These Taming Blues
Wolves

Encore:
Reasons To Quit (Willie Nelson)
Storms Never Last (Waylon Jennings)
Cocaine Lights
At Death, A Proclimation

Philly two-piece Strand of Oaks played a tremendous opening set, handily outshining their tourmates. Unlike the new Phosphorescent configuration, Oaks main man Tim Showalter and drummer Chris Ward have been playing together for more than a minute. They’re locked in, confident and vibe off one another in way that serves the songs – whether it’s a hammering version of “Diamond Drill” (where Ward played so hard his glasses fell off) or an aching revisit of “Daniel’s Blues.” The band just released the Darker Shores EP – a synthesizer-based companion to 2012′s Dark Shores – and some of that ambiance was soaked up and reflected in performances of “Satellite Moon” and “Spacestations.” This is a path I’m excited to see the group chase further.