Wednesday, May 15
7 – 7:25 p.m. Gabriel Kelley
7:30 – 8:10 p.m. Steve Martin & Edie Brickell (video webcast)
8:10 – 8:35 p.m. John Murry
8:40 – 9:20 p.m. Tom Tom Club (video webcast)
9:25 – 9:55 p.m. Kurt Vile
10:00 – 10 :45 p.m. Phoenix (Phoenix will NOT be broadcasted live)
10:50 – 11:20 p.m. Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside

Thursday, May 16
12:00 p.m. – A Special Mississippi Blues Project Free At Noon 12 featuring
the Homemade Jamz Blues Band and Super Chikan and The Fighting Cocks (video webcast)

7 – 7:20 p.m. Mount Moriah
7:25 – 7:55 p.m. Mavis Staples (video webcast)
8 – 8:20 p.m. Wild Belle
8:25 – 9:05 p.m. Tom Jones (video webcast)
9:10 – 9:40 p.m. The Last Bison
9:45 – 10:15 p.m. José James
10:20 – 10:55 p.m. David Wax Museum
11 – 11:45 p.m. Robert Randolph
11:50 -12:20 a.m. Foxygen

Friday, May 17
12 – 1:00 p.m. Free At Noon Concert: The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Bobby Long

7 – 7:25 p.m. Wild Feathers
7:30 -8 p.m. Laura Mvula
8:05 – 8:35 p.m. The Lone Bellow
8:40 – 9:10 p.m. Free Energy
9:15 – 9:45 p.m. Kopecky Family Band
9:50 – 10:30 p.m. The Olms featuring Pete Yorn
10:35 – 11:05 p.m. Marie Miller
11:10 – 12:00 a.m. The Relatives

Post-punk quartet Parquet Courts headline an eclectic line-up at PhilaMOCA tonight.  Back in Philadelphia for the third time this year, Parquet Courts continue to tour in support of their debut full-length Light Up Gold, which just got a proper label release through indie label What’s Your Rupture.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Amanda X and Household can be found here.  Watch Parquet Courts perform “Master of My Craft” and “Borrowed Time” live on WNYC below.

One of the stand-out bands at March’s SXSW, Sir Sly make their way to Philadelphia tonight for a show at Johnny Brenda’s.  With an EP plus a few more tracks released, the band has quickly made it clear that they will operate in the realm of expansive, catchy pop hooks.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with JMSN and The Last Royals can be found here.  Watch a new video for “Found You Out” below and download “Gold” here.

Local Brazilian band Alo Brasil plays Underground Arts tonight.  More than just a performing band, Alo Brasil features an interactive live show influenced by African rhythms like samba, maracatu and more.  Though often accompanied by costumed dancers, for their recurring “Underground Sessions” Alo Brasil has a refreshed line-up of musicians.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show can be found here, or on the Facebook event page here.  Watch a promo video for Alo Brasil below.

Lentil Fest continues at The Fire tonight, with performances by Kuf Knotz, Nicos Gun, Reef the Lost Cauze, Mike “Slo-Mo’ Brenner, Gedeon Luke and Brady & the Bear.  In support of Lentil the french bulldog (born with a cleft pallate), all proceeds will benefit the French Bulldog Rescue Network, Street Tails Animal Rescue and ccakids.org.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Watch Kuf Knotz perform at the 2011 XPoNential Music Festival below.

Also happening: XPN welcomes The Smithereens to The Sellersville Theater; XPN welcomes Free Energy to the North Star Bar.  Tickets and information for both shows can be found on the XPN Concert Calendar.

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]

Free Energy | Photo by John Vettese

Philly pop-rock good ol’ boys Free Energy are wrapping up their winter tour in support of the new Love Sign LP, and just announced a new local show – Saturday, May 4th, playing the North Star Bar with L.A.’s Deep Vally. Tickets for the 21+ show are $12 and on sale now. Free Energy will also be playing WXPN’s NonCOMMvention the following week at World Cafe Live. Below, watch the color-splattered video for “Electric Fever” from Love Sign.

Illustration by Johnnie Cluney for Daytrotter

Free Energy recently stopped by Daytrotter to record a session. The band played “Hey Tonight,” “Girls Want To Rock,” “Electric Fever,” and “Hold You Close.” Listen to the session here.

Free Energy | Photo by John Vettese

The SXSW PHL showcase wasn’t the only place to see musicians from the Delaware Valley last week. A wide variety of musicians from the region made the trek, with a wide variety of approaches. For instance, Wilmington’s New Sweden took the barn-burning powerhouse approach, not only playing a packed tour on the way down, but jamming in an impressive (and as yet unquantified) number of SXSW showcases into its itinerary between Monday and Saturday. Other artists took it light, by comparison.

Vacationer | Photo by John Vettese

We caught Kenny Vasoli’s Vacationer in their last show of South By Southwest on Saturday night at the infamous Hype Hotel venue, sponsored by The Hype Machine. It was the breezy electronic pop band’s second of two shows, and the relaxed pace left Vasoli in the most exuberant of exuberant moods during their set.

“This has been the best experience I’ve ever had at South by Southwest,” he reminded the crowd at uber-frequent intervals. Like, seriously, in between every song of their 30-minute set. “It’s been such a great few days, and I’ve got all of you to thank for that.” Back in his old pop-punk band The Starting Line, Vasoli probably got swept awat in the hammering gauntlet that the industry festival can be – hence the easygoing approach this time. He’s not alone.

Grandchildren | Photo by John Vettese

“We’ve come to South By every year for the past five years,” Alex Maryls of Grandchildren told me as he and his bandmates packed up the van after their only official showcase – Thursday night at the Meduse Lounge. “We only did two shows this year. Tomorrow we play a festival in Oklahoma on the drive back to Philly. It’s so much better this way.”

Maryls says he too got caught up in the barnburner, fill-your-day-with-shows approach earlier on, but realized how exhausting it can be – and, as his band grew in complexity (and instrumentally), how logistically tough as well. “This is much more enjoyable,” he says. “We saw our label, we saw our friends, and we played a couple good shows.” The last one of which had Ryan “Honus Honus” Kattner of Man Man cheering them on.

Lantern | Photo by John Vettese

By comparison, Lantern took a more filled approach – at least a show a day – and had a generally positive experience. I caught up with them at a few points (Philly writer and regular Key contributor Elliott Sharp was tagging along with them, working on a long form independent piece on the festival and touring in general), and I finally took in a full Lantern set on Saturday afternoon when they played the Third Man Records Rolling Store showcase.

If you’re not familiar with this oddity of Jack White’s label – it’s a basically big yellow van with a PA built in, microphone inputs on the outside and a mixing console behind a sliding glass window. It pops up at random spots with bands in tow – this time, Lantern was featured along with Pujol performing in an East Austin parking lot.

New Sweden | Photo by John Vettese

“This show and the showcase yesterday for Tiny Mix Tapes were probably our two best,” singer-guitarist Zachary Fairbrother told me. “Or the most positive. We played one showcase for [blog name redacted] and there were maybe 500 people there, but they were just there for the scene, they’re not listening and you can tell. The crowd at these past two have been here for the music. It’s a much better environment.”

Free Energy (pictured up top) played an exhuberant Saturday night set to a packed crowd at The Iron Bear – the scene of Bleeding Rainbow’s equipment carnage of last year, an uncanny coincidence since both bands appeared on a recent show at Arden Gild Hall. (Free Energy did not smash anything, however.)

In another coincidence, on Saturday evening I headed down Austin’s 6th Street – a scene of mayhem and madness that falls somewhere between Mardi Gras and the Philadelphia Folk Festival campground – making my way to a bar / venue called The Lodge to catch TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb. When I arrived, the stage was still being set up, but I heard a very recognizable blend of acoustic punk fervor and violin in the near-distance. I poked my head next door, and saw New Sweden, wailing away to a packed bar for their final show.

TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb | Photo by John Vettese

I watched Kong and their gritty folk brethren and thought about their respective tactics: New Sweden playing near-constantly all week, Kong popping in and out at the end of the week. Each has their merits – getting your name out there as much as possible, versus playing it cool and avoiding burnout. Both played to crowds bobbing along to their raucous and enjoyable sound (especially to folks indulging in pre-St. Patrick’s Day whiskey drinks). Both handed out free CDs.

And both are probably in the same predicament in the end – the music may be listened to by people who have been grabbing free CDs all week, the crowd may remember them in a way more specific than “that cool folk band we saw on Saturday,” the band may have a somewhat bigger crowd the next time they play Austin on tour. Or their southwestern fan base may remain at the same level, and this will have just been an exercise in performing live and having fun on the road.

Which is all part of the gamble of the South by Southwest festival, and of a music career in general. When you have name recognition of Vacationer, Free Energy and Grandchildren – and the label support that two out of those three artists have – it’s easier to be relaxed at SXSW. When you’re going it your own, you’re playing by your own rules, and going H.A.M. like is an admirable and respectable option. But in the all-around scheme of things – the knowns, the lesser-knowns, the hectic and relaxed – all of these locals in Austin did Philly proud.

Photo of Kate Crutchfield of Waxahatchee by Rachel Del Sordo

The Hot Philly 15 is a completely subjective list of Philly-made and Philly Local music happenings we love this week. It’s somewhat informed by what we’re playing on the radio, what we’re blogging about and what you’re talking about.

1 – Waxahatchee: With an excellent new album, Cerulean Salt, a fantastic Key Studio Session, a high profile upcoming gig at SXSW with NPR Music, and Best New Music on Pitchfork, we’re in love. You should be too.

2 – The Delfonics – Who would have thought 45 years after the release of “La La Means I Love You,” William Hart would still be kickin’ it? Listen to Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics here. Download the new song, “Enemies” here.

3 – Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel: Philly Bands heading to SXSW include: DRGN KNG, Blayer Pointdujour and The Rockers Galore, Creepoid, Lantern, Bleeding Rainbow, Norwegian Arms, A Life Once Lost, Dangerous Ponies, The Fleeting Ends, Lushlife, The Kalob Griffin Band, Katie Frank & The Pheromones, Nothing, Cold Fronts, Free Energy, Thee Idea Men. If we forgot you, sorry. We never got your press release.

4 – Chill Moody: We want him to be the mtvU Freshmen Video of the Week. Vote for him here.

The Lawsuits | Photos by Matthew Smith | Montage by Bryan Schreck

5 – The Lawsuits Key Studio Session – listen to it here.

6 – Heavy Rotation: The Fleeting Ends release their poptastical new album, Our Eyes Are Peeled, on March 22nd. It’s getting lots of advance play in the office here.

7 – The Hotbox Studio (video) Sessions recently kicked back into action with Cheers Elephant and Grandchildren

8 – Tayyib Ali dropped his new mixtape, Keystone State Of Mind 2. Download it here.

9 – Tara Murtha’s Philly Weekly cover story on the closing of Fluid. Read it here.

10 – Stereogum premiered a new jam from our friends Free Energy. Download it here.

11 – Questlove and D’Angelo get down at the Brooklyn Bowl here. Okay, so the Brooklyn Bowl isn’t Philly. Neither is D’Angelo. But Quest is.

12 – Mike Slo-Mo Brenner gets all world music on our asses with a new collection of Indian slide guitar music he recorded in Calcutta.

13 – Duet of the moment: Juston Stens and Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Strange Love.” Download it here.

14 – Entertainment Weekly debuted the new Purling Hiss video for the song “Mercury Retrograde” here. It’s psychedelic, baby.

15 – Work Drugs: The Philly smooth-fi music machine drops yet another new single, “Sunset On High Street.” Download it here and don’t miss them tomorrow night with Night Panther at Kung Fu Necktie.

Photo by John Vettese

This story is wonderfully entertaining and written at a level appropriate for young readers, however there is a darkness in the content that will the sting the hearts of older, more cynical readers who might realize that they’ve inadvertently sacrificed their personal dreams and fantasies for the crude, fleeting satisfactions of the material world.

Read Sprangers’ entire book review, and download the song “Get Ready” at Stereogum.