Psychedelic garage rockers Unkown Mortal Orchestra just released a cover of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay”, right before they kick off their U.S. tour this week in Washington. The band recorded the cover (complete with some great whistling) live on BBC 6Music, and they’re set to return to Philly’s First Unitarian Church on October 9th, promoting their sophomore album, II. Tickets and information can be found here.

Chicago-based garage rockers The Orwells will be releasing their new Other Voices EP on June 25th, and they’ll be touring across the country this fall with FIDLAR. Although the five-piece are barely out of high school, they’ve already secured a spot playing Lollapalooza this summer. Most of the songs on the new EP are available to stream on the band’s Soundcloud page; you can listen to and download their self-produced version of the track “Other Voices” below. It’s a rollicking good time – a brash rock n roll tune that makes you wish you were at a beer soaked house party. You can catch them with surfy punks FIDLAR on October 25th at the First Unitarian Church.

Philadelphia by-way-of Scranton punk four-piece The Menzingers started off their east cost summer tour the best way possible; with a sold out show at the First Unitarian Church. The show proved this tour is not one to miss – The Menzingers commanded crowd, getting everyone in the packed audience singing along.

The band was accompanied by four other bands. The first to hit the stage was Scranton’s Captain, We’re Sinking. Their catchy brand of punk music was a great way to start the show. Next up was Philadelphia favorites Restorations who had a few tricks in store for the show: they brought on a second drummer to preform with them. Their performance was definitely something to be seen. Fake Problems, the only non Pennsylvania natives on the tour, were the last to hit the stage before The Menzingers, who put on an excellent set (and even opened up the first mosh pit of the evening).

The Menzingers east coast tour will continue till June 12 and shortly after that they will embark on a European headlining tour for the remainder of the summer. Below, watch some videos of the show.

Local success story The Wonder Years took on an awfully ambitious task to promote their fourth full length album, The Greatest Generation: preform four shows in 24 hours. This madness started in the non air-conditioned basement the First Unitarian Church, a venue these Philadelphia alums had played numerous times before becoming one of the most notable names in the current pop-punk scene. The band could have easily sold a venue twice this size, but in this 24 hour micro tour, they wanted to give back to the fans by playing intimate shows in small venues.

The show was something special; the band had not even played their first note before the first crowd surfer hit the air and it was hard to find a single person who was not singing along to every note. The band commanded the sold-out crowd with their high energy performance. The Wonder Years were accompanied by fellow Lansdale natives The Sixties, whose brand of hooky post punk opened the show perfectly. They were also accompanied by the newest members of Run For Cover Records, Modern Baseball, commanded the crowd in their own right. Straight from the basement scene, they are quickly becoming one of most promising new acts to come out of Philadelphia in recent months. You can catch The Wonder Years all summer on the main stage of this year’s Warped Tour.

Philly punk band Amanda X play Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  The all-girl trio was just added to June’s Ladyfest Philly lineup alongside the likes of Trophey Wife, Screaming Females and US Girls – no small feat for a band that’s been around for only a year.  But Amanda X demand that kind of instant attraction and admiration with their fuzzy riffs and understated vocals on debut EP Ruin the Moment, recorded at Headroom Studios.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Jackie Paper, Solid Attitude, Stiff Licks and Thelma and the Sleaze can be found here.  Watch the trio play a song at South Philly show house Motel Hell below.

The Appleseed Cast rolls into the First Unitarian Church tonight.  The post-rock threesome is touring in support of their upcoming LP Illumination Ritual, which will be released on April 23rd through Graveface Records.  Born in Southern California and later relocating to Kansas, The Appleseed Caste began as an emo project along the lines of Sunny Day Real Estate before transitioning to the more angular and affected instrumentation style they employ today.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Belgrade and Muscle Worship can be found here.  Watch a live performance of “Steps and Numbers” below.

Photo by Peter English for Shaking Through | shakingthrough.com

Indie pop quintet Glitter play upstairs at World Cafe Live tonight.  Taking cues from retro new wave pop, Glitter’s debut Wyld Hrts LP could have been the soundtrack to your favorite eighties-era tv show with its catchy guitar hooks and spacey moog synth projections.  The full-length, available on super cool clear vinyl, follows up the young band’s debut Attack On Fort Gold Paw EP (free download here).  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Joseph Mulhollen and Katie Becker & The Bricklayers can be found here.  Stream “Mirror Master” from Wyld Hrts below.

This week’s Unlocked band Restorations will play the First Unitarian Church tonight.  As we learned from Key contributor Beth Ann Downey’s introduction to the local punk rock outfit, Restorations are upfront and straightforward in every sense imaginable, from the honest and unrestrained nature of their music to their literally-titled sophomore effort LP2.  Check out the full Restorations series for Unlocked here and download “Kind of Comfort” below.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Self Defense Family, Exploded Drawings and Psychic Teens can be found here.

• Kind of Comfortby Restorations from LP2Download

Even though today’s Free at Noon with They Might Be Giants and Frightened Rabbit was sold-out, you still have a chance to see the former at The TLA tonight.  The New York nerd pop / rock duo released their 16th studio album Nanobots last month following a brief stint in the children’s music arena and 2011′s Join Us LP.  Despite the multitude of releases over their 20+ year career, the 1990 hit “Birdhouse in Your Soul” remains TMBG’s highest charting song to date.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Moon Hooch can be found here.  Below, watch the original video for “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and then stream their new single “Nanobots.”

Philly rapper Meek Mill will finally step on to the stage at The Tower Theater tonight, several months after the release of his Dreams and Nightmares record.  The quickly-rising performer had to put his tour on hold following a court-ordered travel probation.  But with all of that behind him, Meek Mill is ready to take his Dreams Come True tour across the country this spring.  Tickets and information for tonight’s event with Ace Hold can be found here.  Below watch Mill’s interview with The Fader at Sigma Sound Studio.

Also Happening: XPN welcomes Carolina Chocolate Drops to The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE; XPN welcomes Joan Osborne to The Levoy Theater in Millville, NJ.  Tickets and information for both shows can be found here.

The Cave Singers headline Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  Splitting their four full-length releases between Matador and Jagjaguwar, the Seattle based band are celebrating the March release of Naomi with this current tour.  The Cave Singers have a jug-and-washboard-folk style that is at once mysterious and authentic, walking a line between old-soul and modern sensibilities.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Bleeding Rainbow and Wrong World can be found here.  Watch the Cave Singers perform “Swim Club” at Pickathon below.

90s hard rock outfit Living Colour plays The Keswick Theater tonight, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their breakout album Vivid. The show begins at 8 p.m. with the School of Rock allstars opening, tickets and more information can be found at the venue’s website. Below, watch the music video for Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality.”

The 2011 installment (Fest 10) was Restorations’ first, aside from a one-off house show at Fest 7 before guitarist/keyboard player Ben Pierce was even in the band. It was one of the only out-of-the-Northeast shows the band was able to play with most members carrying full-time jobs. They took on the small club at the festival called Loosey’s. And to that small but packed house, they must have played the set of a lifetime because, after Fest 10, everyone started to take notice.

Through the peaking sound and shakey camera view of the video above from that very set, you can still see what Restorations does to a crowd. It was the energy that made critics at the show write, “Look for them in a larger venue at Fest 11, as the buzz is sure to only grow.” The Alternative Press Magazine writer made an accurate prediction — Restorations was slotted to play the High Dive concert venue for a 600-person crowd at Fest 11 last October. But they stopped by at Loosey’s once again for a smaller preshow event, not forgetting where their Fest hype came from. Both shows highlighted the band’s revered new bassist (Dan Zimmerman), their big label signing news (to SideOneDummy) and a few awesome new songs (from their A/B 7-inch, the video below is the band performing “A”). Their smiling faces show this crowd was anything but a disappointment.

And why should Philly punk fans care about this collection of shows played at a festival in Florida? Well, it can only be assumed that Restorations has a ton of sweat, energy and adrenaline stored up and ready to unleash on the local crowd at their LP2 record release show this Friday at First Unitarian Church. Then they will embark on their first lengthy U.S. tour with Captain We’re Sinking, Fake Problems and fellow local punks The Menzingers. That tour will also stop by the Church again on May 24.

Restorations will be ready to rip right through new tracks the video above of them playing “Let’s Blow Up the Sun” live in Brooklyn this past February. Fest may be where it started for Restorations, but only time will tell just how far this band is headed.

LP2 is the featured album in this edition of Unlocked; download the spotlighted single “Kind of Comfort” in Monday’s post, read Tuesday’s album review and check back tomorrow for an interview with the band.

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.

Philly punk band Restorations prides itself on a certain type of simplicity.

The band was formed out of the ashes of not just one failed project, but probably about half a dozen across its five members. Vocalist Jon Loudon, guitarists Dave Klyman, bassist Dan Zimmerman, drummer Carlin Brown and guitar/keys player Ben Pierce came together with the simple goal to restore their faith in music, the industry, consumers and fans.

They make albums with straightforward titles, including 2011’s self-titled LP, last year’s A/B 7-inch, and now, tomorrow’s release of LP2. But the music made by Restorations is anything but simple. The band mixes the energy of punk music with the complexity of shoegaze and the tradition of classic rock. Steady build-ups and loud break-downs take any listener through waves of instrumental and emotional highs and lows. Loudon’s deep, scratchy vocals and growls come in at just the right moment to rattle you to the core. Harmonies and guitar parts layer in ways you would have never thought possible.

Despite initial humble intentions, Restorations is blowing up among mature punk listeners, and even beyond the punk world. All this week, The Key will look into LP2 to find out what all the buzz is about as part of our weekly Unlocked series.

Today, you can download “Kind of Comfort” for free, which highlights Restorations’ inclination toward snarly guitar solos and spacey effects. Several of the album’s tracks have also been digitally pre-released to build the hype for tomorrow and Friday’s album release show at the First Unitarian Church. And check back later in the week for a review, video, interview and more.

• Kind of Comfortby Restorations from LP2Download

Photo by Abi Reimold | JumpPhilly.com

Acting as if he was playing for a small crowd (instead of the few hundred squeezed in the room), Kinsella asked if we wanted to “talk about anything” as he slugged a Kenzinger. After some murmurs from the crowd, he segued into “Oh, Evelyn…” from  2011′s Ghost Town and then “She’s a Thief” from 2004′s I Do Perceive, which complemented each other beautifully. The two songs highlighted some of the best work from his early and present career.

“Bad News” was dedicated to a member of the audience, Cody, whom Kinsella acknowledged for being genuine. “Thanks man,” Cody shouted afterwards. “That made me cry!” A song later, Kinsella’s guitar string broke and he offered to end the show early, or fix it. The church pumped intermission music while Kinsella tended to the string. Finishing up with a new track entitled “I Got High,” and then “Good Friends, Bad Habits,” Kinsella wished his audience well as they funneled out of the basement and into the night. See the setlist from the show after the jump.

Setlist
A Trenchant Critique
Broken Bones
Oh, Evelyn
She’s a Thief
The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi
One of These Days
A Bird In Hand
Love Is Not Enough
Bad News
The Armoire
Ugly On the Inside
I Got High- new song
Good Friends, Bad Habits

Simply put: Slingshot Dakota are two of the most positive people to set foot into our studio. It’s not just the music that drummer Tom Patterson and siinger-keyboardist Carly Commando make – uplifting, piano-driven, punk-informed pop songs – but also their outlook. Their current album Dark Hearts, released in the fall on Topshelf Records, deals a lot with getting through hard times, the loss of loved ones, coping with grief and struggles. But it channels those feelings into singalong refrains, bright melodies, danceable tempos; stuff that sounds as great when they played it live for us as it does on the album. Add on the fact that Patterson and Commando are two uber-friendly outgoing souls, and just fun people to record, and you can draw a connection directly through their sound, their philosophy and them as people. They play the First Unitarian Church tomorrow, opening for Owen; you should totally stop by the merch table after their set and say hello.

• Intro / Maydayby Slingshot Dakota from The Key Studio Sessions, 03.20.13Download

• Rasta Baccaby Slingshot Dakota from The Key Studio Sessions, 03.20.13Download

• Lightby Slingshot Dakota from The Key Studio Sessions, 03.20.13Download

• Gossipby Slingshot Dakota from The Key Studio Sessions, 03.20.13Download

Photo by Jerry Troiano

If you listened to the sounds of the indie/emo underground any time from the mid-90s to present, you probably know who Mike Kinsella is. Founding member of seminal post-hardcore band Cap’n Jazz, sonic adventurer in Joan of Arc, Maritime, Owls and so many more. Since 2001 or so, he’s been the solo introspective songwriter performing under the Owen banner, and later this month, Kinsella takes Owen on a short run of east coast dates, stopping at the First Unitarian Church on Thursday, March 21st.

This week we have your chance to win a pair of tickets, plus a vinyl copy of Owen’s 2011 release Ghost Town. Just tell us your favorite non-Owen Kinsella project in the comments, and we’ll announce a winner on Thursday afternoon. Ground rules: you have to leave your first and last name, and you have to enter an email where we can contact you if you win (the e-mail address will not be made public). To get you in the mood, here’s Owen performing “Too Many Moons” for Dickies’ YouTube channel.

All photos by Chris Sikich | countfeed.tumblr.com

El Paso experimental rock band Bosnian Rainbows is a collaboration between Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, formerly of At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta, and Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes. The band played Philadelphia last night with L.A. trio Marriages; check out scenes from the show in the photo gallery above.

Photo by George Miller III | JumpPhilly.com

Philly five-piece Restorations premiered a new song yesterday through national website Punknews.org. “D” is the opening track on the band’s new LP2, out on April 2 via SideOneDummy records, and it kicks off with ringing guitar notes that cut an alluring soundscape, then launches into an aggressive, snare drum slamming overdrive. Singer / guitarist Jon Loudon seems to be focused on perception, taking stock of the world around him: “Always looked at clouds like continents…always looked the cities like people.” For a band that already did epic dang well, this is epic-epic. Listen to “D” here; Restorations plays its album release show at the First Unitarian Church on April 5. Tickets and information are available here.

Vacationer bring their inaugural monthly gig to Underground Arts tonight.  The electronic dreamscape creators released their full-length Gone last March.  And though the production is totally 21st century, the album crackles and pulsates with a golden-aged nostalgia for childhood summers and excursions to exotic places.  Also playing tonight are Robert Delong and Cruiser.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.  Below, watch Vacationer’s video for “Trip.”

Local pop-rocker Shorty Boy Boy plays MilkBoy tonight.  After releasing 2006′s LP Kicking Your Ass, Then Smoking Your Grass, Shorty Boy Boy’s Josh Pannepacker announced his retirement from music “to focus on getting paid.”  The retirement eventually proved tiresome and Pannepacker was back in action in 2010 with a second LP titled Tru Luv in the works (expected out this spring).  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show at MilkBoy Philly with The Quelle Source and Seamus Browning can be found here.  Watch the video for Shorty Boy Boy’s “Closer” below.

If you were at yesterday’s Free at Noon, you know this already: it is impossible to not smile at a Free Energy show.  The dudes know how to get the crowd dancing with their catchy pop / rock songs.  If you don’t believe me, just listen to their recent full-length Love Sign and see how many beats it takes before you’re on your feet singing into a hairbrush.  Or you could check them out tonight at the Arden Gild Hall when they play with local shoegaze-inspired punks Bleeding Rainbow, who also have a brand new record out called Yeah Right.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show in Arden, DE can be found here.  Below, watch Free Energy’s video for “Girls Want Rock” and listen back to their Free at Noon performance here.

Free Energy – Girls Want Rock (Official Video) from Free Energy on Vimeo.

Philly’s Ape School and The Interest Group join forces tonight at Johnny Brenda’s.   Ape School is the brutally honest, relentlessly sarcastic and incredibly infectious project of man-about-town Michael Johnson.  In addition to recording LPs under that moniker, Johnson has played or recorded with a continually expanding list that currently includes Lilys, Kurt Vile, Nightlands and The War on Drugs.  Most recently, Johnson released his excellent second LP as Ape School called Junior Violence.  Meanwhile, The Interest Group will be premiering a new band and new songs at tonight’s 21+ show with Ramona Falls.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Watch Ape School’s video for “Weak in the Teeth” below.

XPN welcomes Jeff Mangum to the Strand Theater.  The reclusive frontman of indie leaders Neutral Milk Hotel announced plans for a final tour this past fall, stating a desire “to play to all the silver citizens dwelling in citys [sic] that he has yet to sing in.”  Following the dissolution of Neutral Milk Hotel in 1998, Mangum continued to make periodic solo appearances and released the live LP Live at Jittery Joe’s.  Though his elusiveness is certainly intriguing, its Mangum’s poetic lyrics and sincere delivery that keep his shows selling out in seconds.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Tall Firs in York, PA can be found here.  Below, watch a live video of Mangum performing “Oh Comely” from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea at Penn’s Irvine Auditorium.

XPN welcomes Rufus Wainwright to the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ.  The singer-songwriter continues to tour in support of last year’s Out of the Game full-length and will be performing a special solo acoustic set tonight.  Though songwriting is his primary craft, Wainwright has branched out to work in other artistic media over the years including film and opera - elements of which are discernible in his charismatic and sometimes dramatic stage presence.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Lucy Wainwright Roche can be found here.  Watch the video for “Out of the Game” featuring Helena Bonham Carter below.

Philly outfit Cheers Elephant play Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  The upbeat rock band released their third record Like Wind Blows Fire last May.   Growing up in the Philadelphia area, the band was exposed to local scene anchors Dr. Dog and The Teeth during Cheers Elephant’s formative years.  That exposure, both to the style of music and work ethic of the two bands, has definitely informed Cheers’ psych rock / pop sound, though they make it their own with hints of Arctic Monkeys-like Brit alt-pop.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with The Explorers Club and Honeychurch can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Doin’ It, Right.”

The Music Tapes – Traveling Imaginary (Trailer) from Merge Records on Vimeo.

• Deep Pocketby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 2, 2013Download

• Why Am I Not Going Under Walterby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 2, 2013Download

• The Voidby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 2, 2013Download

• Kasper Hauser Liedby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 2, 2013Download

• For Lauren Leeby Glocca Morra from The Key Studio Sessions, Jan. 2, 2013Download

Emo-inspired South Jersey four-piece By Surprise are making a rare concert appearance tonight at The Barbary, in advance of the January 15 release of their second LP, Criteria. The all-ages show begins at 5 p.m., more information is available here. Below, listen to the title track from their new album.

Lead MC of the Legendary Roots Crew, Black Thought, is playing a solo set tonight at The Blockley in University City. This gives some hope that his long in-the-works solo LP, The Talented Mr. Trotter, might see the light of day. Or it could just be an excuse for him to jam out with a stellar lineup of his friends and contemporaries, including Reef The Lost Cauze (who released the great Reef The Lost Cauze Is Dead on Christmas). The 21+ show begins at 8 p.m., more information can be found here. Below, watch vintage footage of Black Thought freestyling with ?uestlove from the 2000 documentary Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme.

XPN Welcomes quirky / funky singer-songwriter Mike Doughty to The Tin Angel for two shows tonight. The one-time Soul Coughing frontman released his latest solo effort, The Flip Is Another Honey, back in November. The 7:30 show is sold out; tickets still remain for the 10:00 show, more information can be found here. Below, watch Doughty performing “Na Na Nothing” on KEXP.

Philly party-rap duo Moosh & Twist headline the First Unitarian Church tonight. Their latest mixtape, Back To the Basement, is due out in January. For more information on the show, check our concert calendar here; for more on what Moosh and Twist have been up to, read our interview here.

Moosh and Twist caught audiences by surprise in 2011 with a fresh perspective on following dreams and keeping cool under pressure with addictive tracks like”Possibilities” and  ”Take Me Back.”  After the explosive success of their debut mixtape, Up Before The World, Moosh and Twist continued recording and started popping up in different venues throughout the area, which landed the pair to a tour with Aer this past summer. In the midst of the chaos preparing for their upcoming headlining tour, we swapped e-mails with Moosh and Twist to get the skinny on how they started, what they’ve got coming up projects and their shared excitement about performing.

The Key : So how did you two start rapping together?

Moosh & Twist: Well, we started rapping together in seventh grade with our Spanish teacher at The Philadelphia School. We would record in the basement of our school, and that’s really where our desire to become musicians started.

TK: When did you guys start performing in public?

M&T: We would perform for a few small birthday parties every now and then for our friends early on in high school, but we didn’t seriously perform until our junior year in high school.

TK: Was it difficult to stay friends and record music while going to different high schools?

M&T: Music really kept our friendship together. We’re pretty sure we would have remained best friends and all, but without the music there’s really no telling where we’d be.

TK: What in particular is it that you think makes the two of you work so well together?

M&T: We’re very different which creates a really healthy balance with everything. When it comes to music, business, or just life on the road, we agree and disagree a lot. It’s great to have such a dope friendship as our foundation because we can disagree and settle on a compromise, which usually results in making the right decision.

TK: Where did the nicknames “Moosh” and “Twist” come from?

M&T: Well, Moosh has always been Moosh–his family gave him that nickname. And Twist came from Oliver “Twist.”

TK: What’s it like to hear fans singing along with tracks like “City Kids” or “Possibilities?”

M&T: It’s a really crazy feeling watching fans’ faces when popular songs like those come on. Everyone in the crowd gets hype before we even do anything. It makes it really easy to take the energy coming from the crowd and use it on stage.

TK: What inspires you as musicians?

M&T: From gospel to soul music to alternative rock, everything inspires us. In hip hop, our major influences would be Outkast, Kanye West, and Drake.

TK: What was it like touring with Aer?

M&T: It was awesome–they’re the homies now! We had a lot of fun, and we wish them all the best.

TK:  Who would you like to collaborate with or is that something you’re not really interested in?

M&T: We did a track with Black Thought of The Roots, which was an honor. The Roots have always held it down for Philly, so working with him was amazing. And we really don’t do many collabs…there’s never much room on a song because every song is basically OCD featuring Moosh and Twist anyway.

TK: What was your favorite show you’ve done so far?

M&T: Oh man. We’ve had a lot of crazy shows, but the favorite would probably be the TLA last January in Philly. It was sold out, Twist’s birthday, we just released The Vestibule, …the whole night was pretty emotional. It was really crazy to see our names on the marquee because we grew up looking at other artists names on there. The whole night was just surreal.

Moosh & Twist have just wrapped recording for their newest mixtape, Back To The Basement, which they plan to release in early 2013, and their next tour starts up again in February. Tickets for Saturday’s all-ages show at First Unitarian Church are available at our concert calendar here; doors open at 7:30. You can download Up Before The World here, and below watch Team OCD’s video for “Victory” from their A3C Volume 2 album.

Rising spectral rock gang Ladies Auxiliary is opening for Churchill tonight at North Star Bar. The trio released their album On The Shadow last year, which you can grab for a name-your-price cost here. Tonight’s 21+ concert starts at 8; go here for tickets and information. Below, watch Ladies Auxiliary’s performance of “I Haven’t Been” from First Unitarian Church last spring.

Folk artist Dan Bern and his International Jewish Banking Conspiracy crew are performing tonight at Puck Live. The singer-songwriter, who released his latest album, Doubleheader, earlier this year, is something of a renaissance man, having built a career recording, writing, and painting for the last sixteen years. His familiar “talking blues” approach to performing has made Bern’s rambling-song style stick out in a generation below greats like Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Go here for tickets to the 21+ show tonight, and below watch “Marilyn” from Bern’s self-titled 1997 album.