Having wound down from a productive several months – fundraising, recording, getting ready to release their new self-titled album – Birdie Busch and The Greatest Night released a video last night as a thank you to the fans who contributed to their PledgeMusic campaign last fall. In the campaign, Busch and the band brought in enough money to fund the recording of their new album and donate to West Philly’s Music and Mentorship nonprofit. In the video, we see a crafty and colorful look at handmade, homemade trinkets done up diorama style by Angela Miles of Carpe Diem Contstruction co. with a crew of hands that included Busch, most of her band and Rob Berliner of Hoots and Hellmouth. Posting to Facebook late last night, Busch wrote “we made this in my kitchen on an iphone fueled by friendship, lentil soup, and a trashpicked bbq grill turned puppet theatre.” Watch “These Banks” below.
Birdie Busch
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Tonight’s Concert Picks: Birdie Busch at PhilaMOCA, Surgeon at Kung Fu Necktie, WXPN Welcomes Robert Earl Keen at Abbey Bar, WXPN Welcomes Iris DeMent at World Cafe Live
Curated by none other than The Key, this week’s Tuesday Tune-Out at Philamoca welcomes Birdie Busch with Carl Cheeseman. This particular Tuesday evening, Birdie Busch and Carl Cheeseman will perform a solo instrumental set, followed by a screening of a documentary about hobos. A $5 donation is suggested for this all-ages event and tickets are available at the door. Event information can be found here. Below, watch Busch and Cheeseman performing a song called “Vamp Ire Meadows.”
Unlocked: Get to know The Greatest Night in this montage of tour footage
All week, we’ve been exploring Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night on Unlocked, The Key’s regular series on new and significant releases from Philadelphia-area artists. Like we said at the beginning of the week, this is an album that’s less about Birdie the solo artist and more about – like the title says – Birdie and The Grestest Night, her band. (That’s bassist Todd Erk, guitarists Ross Bellenoit and Carl Cheeseman, keyboard player Craig Hendrix and drummer Thomas Bendel.)
In this montage of candid tour video, shot when the ban toured with Dr. Dog last year, we really get a peek at the personas among this group of friends – guitarist Ross Bellenoit, who joined them on this tour, mugs for the camera. Erk teases Busch with party masks. Busch drives the van. They whole gang settles in to share a couch and inflatable matress. It’s set to “Penny Arcade,” a fantastic track from her 2009 offering Pattern of Saturn. Watch it below, and catch Busch and band tonight at Johnny Brenda‘s for the 2013 Philly Opry. (Busch also plays an instrumental set with Greatest Night guitarist Carl Cheeseman at The Key’s Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA on January 22.)
Unlocked: Birdie Busch on hip-hop, live recordings, and what the greatest night in history means to her
There’s something so warm and so likeable about Birdie Busch, West Philly’s whimsical, verse-weaving siren—that hearing her sing is like being greeted with a wave of energy. Her lyrics are quirky, candid, and refreshing, and she infuses each song with a real sentimentality that makes you think she’d make a great listener and a great best friend.
So when she croons—voice breaking like the sun’s rays through the trees—to “settle in for the greatest night in history,” as she does on new tune “Sitgreaves Pass”—one can’t help but wonder exactly what she’s referring to.
“It’s part this extremist idea of what anyone’s greatest night would be individually,” she remarks ponderously, over coffee at G-Ho’s Ultimo. “But then there’s also this idea of getting through a tough time.”
Celebration and struggle are two themes present on Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night, Busch’s fourth record, out now—which also delves into issues like finding time for your passions, staying focused, and staying true to yourself.
But on “Sitgreaves Pass,” Busch is mostly focused on describing a personal “great night”…spent with a friend in the unassuming town of Bisbee, Arizona. Continue reading
The Week So Far: 12 must-read stories on The Key
Birdie Busch‘s latest LP, Birdie Busch and The Greatest Night, gets profiled in Unlocked [link]
World Cafe‘s Sense of Place series explores the musical heritage of Memphis [link]
Philly synth-poppers Vacationer announce a monthly music showcase at Underground Arts [link]
Gracie releases a free download and EP details [link]
Emo four-piece Everyone Everywhere records a Key Studio Session [link]
My Morning Jacket’s Jim James announces a solo appearance at Johnny Brenda’s [link]
Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic gives Bleeding Rainbow a shoutout via Twitter [link]
Catnaps premier a playful new music video for “Cherry Lips” [link]
Shorty Boy-Boy also premiers a video for the ultra-catchy “Closer” [link]
Download a song from Kurt Vile‘s reissued Hunchback EP [link]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds release a lyric video for “Jubilee Street” [link]
Brooklyn singer-songwriter Jason Myles Gross appears in a Folkadelphia session [link]
Unlocked: Watch Birdie Busch’s Random Tea Session
You’ve got to hand it to singer-songwriter Birdie Busch – she knows how to pick day jobs that fit her artistic persona. Waiting tables at concert venue World Cafe Live, she’s surrounded by music. Working at Northern Liberties’ Random Tea Room, she’s immersed in an environment of wonderment, creativity, and zen-like tranquility. There’s music at that job, too – last month, the cafe launched it’s own web video series, the Random Tea Sessions. Busch, naturally, was one of the first performers, and surrounded by vintage lamps, porcelain cups and steeping pots of tea, she and The Greatest Night delivered a soothing rendition of “Be The Arrow.” Check it out below.
Unlocked: Read The Key’s review of Birdie Busch and The Greatest Night
2013 is shaping up to be a great year for Philadelphia and the musicians who craft the soundtrack for the city. One early indicator is the new album from Philly singer-songwriter Birdie Busch and her band The Greatest Night. Birdie’s fourth full-length album further embraces her charming storytelling, but amidst a sonic backdrop that is all at once more confident and dynamic.
Recorded partly in Philadelphia and partly in Brooklyn, Birdie Busch and The Greatest Night greets us the first week in January. One can only guess after spending some time opening shows for fellow Philly indie-rockers Dr. Dog, the excitement of playing with a band rubbed off on Birdie. In fact, she enlisted Nathan Sabatino to record the new album. Nathan was the engineer for Dr. Dog’s Be The Void release last year. Most of Birdie’s new album was recorded live with the band and the result is batch of songs that breathe in a lot of open space, creating a dramatic musical canvas for her to craft her stories upon. It’s easy to get as consumed in the sonic space of songs like “Far from the Tree” and “Part of Apart” as it is Birdie’s clever songwriting. There are sweet, charming moments like “This Must Be” and quirky, vibrant songs like “Body Body” that keep making hit the repeat button. Continue reading