Connie’s Ric-Rac

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Sherman release live video from The Fire (playing Connie’s Ric Rac tonight)

ShermanSherman show off their skills as a live band in their new video for “Two Side Roads” recorded earlier this year at The Fire.  The trio quietly starts up, with an echoing guitar riff, a near silent bass and delicately tapped drums but quickly build in tempo and volume as they reach the chorus.  Sounding at times like Bruce Springsteen with a touch of Real Estate, Sherman rock the song for three and a half minutes, closing with a lengthy guitar solo.  Tonight, you can watch Sherman go live again at Connie’s Ric-Rac with Rasputin’s Secret Police, We Are in Envelopes and Snoozer.  For more information, click here, and if you want some studio action from this Philly band, Sherman recently released their LP Ghosts on Grass, which you can check out on their bandcamp.

Sherman // Two Side Roads from Kustom Kitchen on Vimeo.

Download a new free EP from Toy Cannons (playing Connie’s Ric Rac on 1/19)

Philly five-piece Toy Cannons take a scuzzy, lo-fi approach to 50s style pop. It sounds innocent, but don’t be fooled – the charming harmonies and pretty melodies that open their new EP are actually singing about whips, chains and switchblade knives. Get the EP as a free download here; catch them at Connie’s Ric Rac on January 19 with Drake City, Bite Size Giant, The Sewing Machine War and Spice Hound Music Co. More information on the show is available here.

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Johnny Showcase at Connie’s Ric Rac, The Districts at Fergies, Frog Holler at Union Jack’s and like a billion other things

Wait, what’s that? You thought you were off the hook that easily? Like it’s been so many days of holiday cheer that the plan was just a quiet night at home with board games and DVDs? No no no, my friend – there is fun to be had and live music to be seen. Let’s start with a couple accidental omissions from our New Year’s Eve roundup post from the other week. Johnny Showcase and The Lefty Lucy Cabaret – the funky campy ultra-catchy ensemble of Philly dudes and ladies rallying around one central crooner’s aspirations of Tom Jones (or Midnite Vultures-era Beck) – joins forces with West Philadelphia Orchestra at Connie’s Ric Rac for a New Year’s dancing extravaganza. More information can be found here; below, check out Showcase’s video for the ultra-addictive “Sensual, Parts 1 & 2.”

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Download the debut full-length from South Philly country-rockers The Sparklers (playing Connie’s Ric-Rac tonight)

The Sparklers are a new alt-country four-piece from South Philadelphia who this weekend are celebrating the release of their debut full-length, Crying at the Low Bar. Named for the matchbook-sized pub that was a go-to hang for the Passayunk Avenue crowd of the early ’00s, the record is a tribute to late nights and hoarse throats done up in rumbling guitars, honky-tonk piano and Replacements-style catchy hooks. Stream the album below, grab a pay-what-you-wish download over at The Sparklers’ Bandcamp page, and catch the show tonight. The Sparklers with Creem Circus and The Naked Heroes play Connies Ric Rac, 1132 S. 9th Street, June 29 at 9 p.m. Admission to the 21+ show is $10, or $15 including a CD and 7″.