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.

Local quartet Divers perform at The Fire tonight.  Comprised of Emily Ana Zeitlyn, Ross Bellenoit, Todd Erk and Thomas Bendel, the young band of seasoned Philly musicians has been steadily packing shows under their belt in recent months.  The three songs posted on Divers’ website offer up some post punk / dark wave sensibilities at certain points and catchy indie pop at other points, with Zeitlyn’s vocal delivery evoking a female Morrissey.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Paper Castles, Brad Hinton and Todd Henkin can be found here.  Below, stream “Wild Thing.”

• Wild Thingby DiversDownload

R&B performer Janelle Monae will take part in Penn’s Spring Fling tonight.  The Kansas City native caught the attention of Diddy’s label Bad Boy Records after the independent / self release of The Audition in 2003.  Monae’s breakthrough effort The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) was released via Bad Boy in 2010 and featured the instant hit and Grammy nominee “Tightrope.”  Monae will be joined by mash-up artist Girl Talk and rapper Tyga at Franklin Field tonight.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Tightrope.”

David Bromberg Quartet performs at the Landis Theater tonight.  Bromberg has been a mainstay of the music scenes in Philadelphia, New York and Wilmington since his days at Columbia University thanks to his skilled guitar playing and humorous lyrics.  Over the  years, the Philadelphia-born multi-instrumentalist has recorded on albums by Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Jorma Kaukonen and more.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show in Vineland, NJ can be found here.  Below, watch the David Bromberg Quartet perform “Fifty Dollar Wig” live at the 2012 Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Netherfriends stops by Church of the Advocate tonight.  Spearheaded by Chicago resident Shawn Rosenblatt, Netherfriends is a melodic indie pop project that embarked on a “50 Songs 50 States” project recently, which will be presented on July 4th as an interactive map.  Last spring, Rosenblatt joined Norwegian Arms and other Philly area bands for a show benefiting Calcutta House, a resource for homeless men and women suffering from AIDS.  Tonight, Netherfriends will be joined by DC’s Drunken Sufis and local bands Rasputin’s Secret Police and MOSS.  Admission is at the door; more information can be found on the Facebook event page here.  Below, watch Rosenblatt perform “St. Louis, MO” from his recent Middle America LP.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Photo by John Vettese

Last week at the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas, The Key editor, John Vettese, and I saw a collective 58 bands in 3 days. Here are ten that stood out:

Sir Sly – This five piece from Los Angeles have a confident and charismatic front man, grooves and hooks galore.

Little Green Cars – Dublin’s Little Green Cars charmed us with their gorgeous harmonies and finely honed control of rock and roll dynamics. Lead singers Stevie Appleby and Faye O’Rourke are like the Buckingham/Nicks of Ireland.

PAWS – This three piece from Glasgow play very catchy, garagey, fuzzy, guitar driven pop-rock. Just the way we like it.

Nick Cave kicked off NPR Music’s SXSW shows on Wednesday night at Stubb’s with full force. He plays tonight at the Keswick.

Charles Bradley, the “Screaming Eagle Of Soul,” brought the house down at Austin City Limits during the Daptone Records Revue and at WXPN’s Public Radio Rocks The SXSW Day Stage broadcast on Friday. We needed towels to dry off after the show, and we weren’t even on stage.

Philly’s Lantern were among many local bands who ventured down to SXSW. Their show as part of Jack White’s Third Man Records Rolling Store showcase was a perfect dose of rock and roll medicine for their Saturday afternoon 80+ degree and sunshiny Austin showcase.

Small Black played the Jagjaguwar Records showcase on Friday and brought their fuzzy / psych-pop to life in a big way with body-moving basslines and massive disco beats.

Rhye – the New York smooth operating duo of Mike Milosh and Danish producer/songwriter Robin Hannibal were accompanied by a four piece who played intoxicating indie-cosmopolitan songs that owe a debt to Sade, the Blue Nile, and Roxy Music’s Avalon. We swooned along to every second of their celestial set.

Autre Ne Veut is Brooklyn R&B singer Arthur Ashin. At the hipster #MEGABLAAG party at the Empire Control Room, Ashin played material from his excellent new album, Anxiety. During the set, he sang his heart out, accompanied by a female vocalist, Crist Jo Zambri a drummer and pre-recorded tracks and samples from the album. It was one giant singalong as Ashin channeled a bit of The Weeknd and Stevie Wonder on Midnight Love. Yes, that good.

The Specials took over the Hype (Machine) Hotel for a non-stop journey through the past, delivering one hit after another from the band’s super ska-studded past. For 50 minutes, they brought the Pogo back.

Watch the full video at Baeblemusic.com

Photo by Jody Rogac

Punk outfit Cusses come to Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  Hailing from Savannah, GA, the trio released their self-titled debut last year with a sound that ranges from an edgier Paramour to total Runaways thrash outs.  Cusses may have found a mainstream audience when they won an MTVU video contest last month for their song “Don’t Give In” thanks to their strong hometown following but at their core they are a pure rock & roll band with riot grrrl attitude.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Slutever can be found here.  Watch the video for “Don’t Give In” below.