The Key » Hop Along http://thekey.xpn.org Discover Philly's Best Local Music Tue, 21 May 2013 16:11:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Copyright WXPN, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania Tonight’s Concert Picks: Up Up Down Down with Hop Along at Union Transfer, XPN Welcomes The City of Love Festival to Underground Arts, River City Extension at Fed Live, XPN Welcomes Bruce Hornsby to the Scottish Rite Auditorium, XPN Welcomes Morrissey to the House of Blues Atlantic City http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/01/12/tonights-concert-picks-up-up-down-down-with-hop-along-at-union-transfer-xpn-welcomes-the-city-of-love-festival-to-underground-arts-river-city-extension-at-fed-live-xpn-welcomes-bruce-hornsby-to/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/01/12/tonights-concert-picks-up-up-down-down-with-hop-along-at-union-transfer-xpn-welcomes-the-city-of-love-festival-to-underground-arts-river-city-extension-at-fed-live-xpn-welcomes-bruce-hornsby-to/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:30:41 +0000 Julie Miller http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=65254 South Jersey’s Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start reunite for a show at Union Transfer tonight.  Ten years ago the math rock / shoegazing-punk outfit released And Nothing is #1 – tonight, they will be playing the record from start to finish, appeasing fans who have patiently waited for the band to resurface after 2007′s Worst Band Name Ever.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show with A Great Big Pile of Leaves and Hop Along can be found here. Read yesterday’s interview with Steve Poponi of Up Up Down Down here.  Below, stream “By Surprise” from And Nothing is #1.

Local singer-songwriter John Francis is presenting The City of Love Festival tonight at Underground Arts, benefiting Broad Street Ministry‘s hospitality initiative.  The evening will feature sets by Philly favorites Kuf Knotz, The Districts, The Lawsuits, Sean Hoots and more.  John Francis stopped by The Leicht Lunch recently to talk about the Festival – listen back to his interview with Helen Leicht below and download his on-air recording of “Just a Moment Ago” here.  Tickets and information for the benefit concert can be found here.

River City Extension head out to Harrisburg for a show at Fed Live tonight.  At eight members deep, the Tom’s River, NJ outfit recalls the communal folk sound of The Head & The Heart or Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.  The band released their second album Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Your Anger last year, a record that represents a not-so shining time in front-man Joe Michelini’s life but that pushed the band’s sound forward in an impressive way.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Kalob Griffin Band can be found here.  Below, watch River City Extension perform “Everything West of Home/Brooklyn” live.

XPN Welcomes 13-time Grammy nominee Bruce Hornsby to the Scottish Rite Auditorium tonight.  The singer, songwriter and piano player is best known for his debut 1986 hit “The Way It Is” but is also a respected solo musician and was a touring member of The Grateful Dead from 1990 to 1992.  More recently the piano man has reached his keys into such diverse projects as a bluegrass album with Ricky Skaggs, a jazz record with Christian McBride and Jack DeJohnette and he wrote music and lyrics for the musical SCKBSTD.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show in Collingswood, NJ can be found here.  Below, watch the video for Bruce Hornsby & The Range performing “The Way It Is.”

XPN Welcomes Morrissey to the House of Blues Atlantic City tonight.  Following the break-up of The Smiths in 1987, Steven Patrick Morrissey embarked on a successful solo career that included an immediate number one album with Viva Hate.  In 2011 EMI released a retrospective of his career and he has slanted this tour in the same angle, stating that it will feature both new / unreleased songs alongside his classics.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Kristeen Young can be found here.  Below, watch Morrissey perform “Suedehead” on Later… with Jools Holland.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2013/01/12/tonights-concert-picks-up-up-down-down-with-hop-along-at-union-transfer-xpn-welcomes-the-city-of-love-festival-to-underground-arts-river-city-extension-at-fed-live-xpn-welcomes-bruce-hornsby-to/feed/ 0 Announcing The Key’s Tuesday Tune-Out Lineup (begins 1/8 at PhilaMOCA) http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/17/announcing-the-keys-tuesday-tune-out-lineup-begins-18-at-philamoca/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/17/announcing-the-keys-tuesday-tune-out-lineup-begins-18-at-philamoca/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:00:15 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=62411

The unofficial cover art to Birdie Busch's unofficial instrumental album Oh You Who Believe, which was released in 2011 (unofficially)

By now, you can probably tell that we’re devout fans of the local music-and-film showcase Tuesday Tune-Out, held every week at PhilaMOCA. Some of the best music minds in Philly have curated this thing so far – Herbie Shellenberger of Pet Milk and Black Circle Cinema; Fred Knittel from Folkadelphia; fellow bloggers and local music enthusiasts The Deli, The Swollen Fox, JUMP Philly and Bands in the Backyard. It’s totally good company, a great event that enriches the city’s music and arts scenes, and we’re super excited to join the ranks by curating the month of January.

We’ll begin January 8 with an exciting solo set by Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick, continue on January 15 with some funky noir-hop from Zilla Rocca, present an improvisatory instrumental set from Birdie Busch and Carl Cheeseman on January 22 and conclude on January 29 with a rare solo performance by Frances Quinlan, frontwoman of Hop Along. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. at PhilaMOCA, 531 N 12th St., are all-ages, with $5 suggested donation for admission. After the jump, get details about each show with links for more information.

January 8
Eric Slick

Best known as the drummer for Dr. Dog, Eric Slickis a longtime Philly multi-instrumentalist and frequent musical collaborator who also performs with Ape School, Norwegian Arms, Paper Cat, Lithuania and more.

For his Tuesday Tune-Out, Slick will perform a live / improvisatory set to “Primal Essence,” a film he’s preparing specifically for the event. The interactive short follows a day in the life of Eric Slick, and will blur the lines between film and live performance.

Short opening sets will be performed by Capillary Action and one more TBD, more information (and RSVP) at the show’s Facebook Event Page. Below, watch a Madoff Productions drummer profile on Slick.

January 15
Zilla Rocca

Philadelphia MC Zilla Rocca built a name for himself in 5 O’Clock Shadowboxers, a rap duo that creatively sampled tracks from Espers, The Velvet Underground, Neil Young and Elliott Smith.

His solo work moves in a more mysterious direction. Self-described as “noir-hop,” Zilla samples funky tracks and aggressive beats, mixed with clips from hardboiled detective films from the 1940s and 50s. He followed up last year’s Nights and Weekends EP with the new Party Like Villains, and was most recently seen collaborating with fellow rappers Curly Castro and Has-Lo in The Wrecking Crew, which released a Wu-Tang Clan homage called Wu-Tang Pulp this fall.

After his set, Zilla will screen a darkly comedic 2005 thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. For more information (and to RSVP), go to the show’s Facebook Event Page. Below, watch the music video for “Full Spectrum.”

January 22
Birdie Busch and Carl Cheeseman

Over the past ten years, Birdie Busch (http://birdiebuschmusic.com/) has proven herself a standout among Philadelphia’s vastly talented pool of folk-inspired singer-songwriters. Her songs are honest, whimsical, yearning and uplifting, and her arrangements on albums like 2008′s Penny Arcade and the new Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night are stunning.

Less known about Busch is her improvisatory, freeform side. The new album was largely born out of jams with her longtime backing band, and back in 2011 she recorded an album of instrumental compositions with versatile guitarist Carl Cheeseman.

For this very special Tuesday Tune-Out appearance, Busch and Cheeseman will improvise a live score to a film TBA, more information (and RSVP) at the show’s Facebook Event Page.

Below, watch a home-recorded video of Busch performing “Penny Arcade.”

January 29
Frances Quinlan

As frontwoman for Hop Along, Frances Quinlan writes haunting, expressive, vaguely surreal songs matched perfectly with punk-infused instrumentation and her striking, singular vocals.

The band’s full-length release Get Disowned was, in the humble estimation of this curator, the best album of 2012 – it’s music resonates just as easily for listeners who like a challenging narrative and unconventional arrangements as it does for those who want a good poppy hook to rock out to.

For this installment of the Tuesday Tune-Out, Quinlan will perform a rare solo set, testing new Hop Along songs out for the first time, digging into the band’s back-catalogue and hopefully dropping one of her trademark covers.

Following Quinlan’s set will be a screening of a 1950s Fellini movie that one of Hop Along’s early songs was named for. For more information (and to RSVP), go to the show’s Facebook Event Page. Below, watch Hop Along performing “Young And Happy!” at Death By Audio earlier this year.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/17/announcing-the-keys-tuesday-tune-out-lineup-begins-18-at-philamoca/feed/ 0 Does cover art make the album? (plus 10 great album covers from the Philly scene in 2012) http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/10/does-cover-art-make-the-album-plus-10-great-album-covers-from-the-philly-scene-in-2012/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/10/does-cover-art-make-the-album-plus-10-great-album-covers-from-the-philly-scene-in-2012/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:58:11 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=60823 Hideaway

Hideaway Music in Chestnut Hill uses album art as wall art

We can all agree (I hope) that the old “can’t judge a book by its cover” adage applies just as easily to albums. From Magical Mystery Tour to Rumours, The Talking Heads to The Smashing Pumpkins, and even this year’s standout Cat Power LP Sun, there’s a rich history of great music hiding behind heinous artwork. So does album art matter?

I think no and yes. “No” in that it’s about the music, not the packaging. In a world of digital listening, we interact with the songs themselves more immediately than ever before – there’s not that barrier of a bizarro / ugly sleeve to “get over,” in the event you find the sleeve bizarro and / or ugly. But also, “yes” in that cover art is still a way an musician represents themselves and their work. It may no longer be a first impression, but it is an impression, and you can almost look at it as an indicator of how much care they put into their overall project. And even on a more practical end, sure, physical releases no longer drive sales, but they are prized by collectors – the 180 gram vinyl editions and so forth are the sort of thing where people use the download card, then frame the LP cover and hang it on their wall. Would you really want to have Grimes’ frantic scribbled acid freakout hanging in your living room? (Okay, maybe you do.)

This week, UK music and culture blog The 405 listed their worst and best album covers of the year – lively reads, always – and it got me thinking about the role album art plays in 2012. Do you ignore it? Do you (like me) get antsy when your iTunes doesn’t have artwork for all its mp3s? What was the worst decade for album covers? (Hint: the 90s.) Which album covers blew you away this year? Which made you wretch? Discuss in the comments section, and check out some standout Philadelphia album covers from 2012 after the jump.


Cough Cool – Lately (Bathetic Records) – This album cover is just so Philly, from the vintage shot of our hometown team smack in the center to the fact that it’s surrounded by that very specific shade of Phillies red. I’m not even a sports person and I love this. And sure, it doesn’t have a lot to do with the scuzzy lo-fi rock contained within, but it doesn’t not have a lot to do with it – and it certainly draws me in.


Family Band – Grace and Lies (No Quarter Records) – On the other hand, this cover has everything to do with the music. There is a lot of mystery, mystique and uncertainty in the atmospheric tones and surreal lyrics of recent Philly transplants Family Band. Words written on eyelids, startled and brethlessly gazing outward, gets it about right.


The Wrecking Crew – Wu-Tang Pulp (Three Dollar Pistol) - Illustrated album covers tend to be more impressive than photograph-based ones. This release from The Wrecking Crew goes a step further – it’s not just some impressionistic painting, it’s remarkable comic book style renderings of Philly MCs Zilla Rocca, Has Lo and Curly Castro, who this year nerded out over their own personal Beatles, Wu-Tang Clan.


mewithoutYou – Ten Stories (self-released) - Long-standing Upper Darby post-rock outfit never disappoint with their album covers, which often feel more like they should be on a museum wall than in a plastic shrink-wrapped case. For Ten Stories, which loosely tells the story of an 1800s circus train crashed in the wilderness, we get a rich illustration of the scene to help us connect the dots of the album’s narrative.


Lushlife – Plateau Vision (Western Vinyl) – Like Family Band, I’m drawn to the mystery on this one. One could easily dismiss it as blurry-arty-black-and-white-photo, but it seems an apt fit for Raj Haldar’s stream-of-consciousness raps and his imaginative backing tracks. It’s clearly a stage we’re looking at, and on Haldar’s stage, just about everything can happen.


Aaron and the Spell – Sing (self-released) – Another impressive painting; here, Aaron Brown is rendered as a wandering serenader, a nomadic musician somewhere in between the world of the living and the dead. Or maybe it’s more just an illustration placing him on the grounds of his grandparents’ Florida church where he first was inspired to sing. In any case, it’s a lovely cover for a lovely record.


Everyone Everywhere – Everyone Everywhere (self-released) - Photograph of a photograph. But more important, an illustration of vicarious living. The woman in the lower left loves the majestic mountain peaks and tall pines, but is content to experience them through a poster on the wall. Like Cough Cool, not particularly tied to the music, but it does get you thinking.


Sun Airway – Soft Fall (Dead Oceans) - Something about this reminds me of a Pink Floyd LP jacket. Intricately art-directed and highly surreal, this work the band commissioned from the N-A-M photographic collective is an otherworldly image for otherworldly music.


Heyward Howkins – The Hale and the Hearty (self-released) - I’m not sure how many photographs were shredded and geometrically arranged to create this striking, sky-blue illustration for Heyward Howkins’ debut LP. But if we are to assume that a major function of the album cover is, like we said, to draw you into the music, this one brings you directly in to the center and through the sleeve into its brilliant new folk character sketches and metaphorical musings.


Hop Along – Get Disowned (Hot Green Records) - My favorite LP of the year on a number of levels, and its album art couldn’t be more appropriate. Get Disowned‘s songs are covered in layers of sound – instruments, voices, noisemakers – and its lyrics can be as uncertain: the character Frances Quinlan follows is at once tormented, confused, frustrated and haunted. You just don’t know what’s going on, even after dozens of listens, and the image of a dense foliage, a vortex of leaves we can’t see beyond, fits. But like Howkins above, this cover draws you in, to the center, through the sleeve and beyond.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/10/does-cover-art-make-the-album-plus-10-great-album-covers-from-the-philly-scene-in-2012/feed/ 2 Just Announced: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start playing Union Transfer on 01/12 http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/03/just-announced-up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start-playing-union-transfer-on-0112/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/03/just-announced-up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start-playing-union-transfer-on-0112/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:51:03 +0000 Julie Miller http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=59445 South Jersey Math-rockletes Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start are reuniting and playing a show at Union Transfer with A Great Big Pile of Leaves and Hop Along.  Up Up Down Down resurfaces after several years of hibernation – their last release was 2007′s Worst Band Name Ever, recorded at New Jersey studio The Gradwell House.  Word has it, this reunion show will celebrate the nerd band’s 10th anniversary of and Nothing is #1.  Tickets go on sale Friday, December 7th at noon; find out more information at the new XPN Concert Calendar.  Below, watch the video for “I’ll Thank You Later” from Worst Band Name Ever.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/12/03/just-announced-up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start-playing-union-transfer-on-0112/feed/ 0 Tonight’s Concert Picks: Hop Along and Kite Party at The Fire, RNDM at Union Transfer, Now Now Opening for Motion City Soundtrack at TLA, Milk Carton Kids at Tin Angel http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/11/04/tonights-concert-picks-hop-along-and-kite-party-at-the-fire-rndm-at-union-transfer-now-now-opening-for-motion-city-soundtrack-at-tla-milk-carton-kids-at-tin-angel/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/11/04/tonights-concert-picks-hop-along-and-kite-party-at-the-fire-rndm-at-union-transfer-now-now-opening-for-motion-city-soundtrack-at-tla-milk-carton-kids-at-tin-angel/#comments Sun, 04 Nov 2012 15:30:34 +0000 Skye Leppo http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=54856
Hop Along and Kite Party will be performing tonight at The Fire. Hop Along released their debut full-length album Get Disowned earlier this year in May, while fellow local band Kite Party have the entirety of their first album Hand Claps Music available as a free download here. The all ages show tonight starts at 6:30; tickets are available here. Below, watch Kite Party performing “Buried in Dogs.”

RNDM is the newly formed bluesy alt-rock brainchild of singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur, drummer Richard Stuverud from Three Fish, and Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament on bass. The supergroup will be performing tonight at Union Transfer fresh off the release of their debut album Acts, which dropped last week. Fans listening will recognize that Acts is heavily influenced from the bandmembers’ other projects, with nostalgic lyrics and rhythms and Ament’s mesmerizing bass lines on tracks like “Darkness” and “Cherries In The Snow.” Tickets for the 8:30 show are available here. Watch the video for “Walking Through New York” below.

Now Now, formerly known as Now Now Every Children, will be opening for Motion City Soundtrack tonight at Theatre of the Living Arts. The midwestern indie rock trio released their second full-length album, Threads, in March. Jukebox The Ghost, who previously toured with Now Now supporting Hellogoodbye’s winter tour last year, will also be performing tonight. Tickets for the 6 pm show are available here. Below, check out Now Now’s video for the title track from Threads.

XPN Welcomes The Milk Carton Kids to Tin Angel tonight.The folk duo, which is Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, released two albums in 2011, Retrospect and Prologue, both of which are available as free downloads on their website here. Tickets for the 21+ show tonight can be found here. Watch The Milk Carton Kids perform “Michigan” as part of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert Series below.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/11/04/tonights-concert-picks-hop-along-and-kite-party-at-the-fire-rndm-at-union-transfer-now-now-opening-for-motion-city-soundtrack-at-tla-milk-carton-kids-at-tin-angel/feed/ 0 Listen to a Daytrotter Session from Kite Party (playing The Fire on 11/04) http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/10/23/listen-to-a-daytrotter-session-from-kite-party-playing-the-fire-on-1104/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/10/23/listen-to-a-daytrotter-session-from-kite-party-playing-the-fire-on-1104/#comments Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:26:57 +0000 Julie Miller http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=53283

Photo by Sire Press | sirepress.tumblr.com

Local pop/punk quintet Kite Party stopped by the Daytrotter studios in Rock Island, Illinois while on tour with Glocca Morra over the summer.  They recorded five tracks for the session, which Daytrotter members can download for free here.  If you don’t have a Daytrotter membership, Kite Party are not leaving you empty-handed; head over to the band’s Bandcamp page and grab a free download of their first record, Hand Claps Music.  Kite Party will play a show at The Fire on November 4th with Hop Along, The Sidekicks and Johnny Foreigner.  Tickets are $10 for the 21+ show, and more information can be found here.  Below, watch a live video of Kite Party performing “Buried in Dogs” off of their latest LP Baseball Season.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/10/23/listen-to-a-daytrotter-session-from-kite-party-playing-the-fire-on-1104/feed/ 1 Tonight’s Concert Picks: Echo Orbiter w/ Break it Up and Trouble Everyday, El-P w/ Killer Mike and Asher Roth, Roger Waters, Hop Along, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/07/14/tonights-concert-picks-echo-orbiter-w-break-it-up-and-trouble-everyday-el-p-w-killer-mike-and-asher-roth-roger-waters-hop-along-and-the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/07/14/tonights-concert-picks-echo-orbiter-w-break-it-up-and-trouble-everyday-el-p-w-killer-mike-and-asher-roth-roger-waters-hop-along-and-the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart/#comments Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:00:58 +0000 Rachel Barrish http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=37427 Saturdays are for raging, and there are some rockin’ shows happening this evening that you would be wise to attend. But there are so many to choose from! Here’s our list of some awesome ragers:

Echo Orbiter play with Break it Up and Trouble Everyday (reunited!) at Kung Fu Necktie. Bands in the Backyard recently did a short backyard session with Echo Orbiter, which you can view below, and Trouble Everyday was featured in this week’s Key Studio Session. Tickets to this 21+ show are $8, doors at 8 PM.

Over at the Troc, El-P plays with special guests, Killer Mike and college boy, Asher Roth. This show is all ages and starts at 9 PM, tickets are 20 smackeroos.

Roger Waters “The Wall” tour makes a stop at Citizens Bank Park tonight. You can purchase tickets to the show here, show starts at 8:45 PM.

Hop Along recently had their CD release show for Get Disowned at First Unitarian Church; they play tonight at Johnny Brenda’s with Secret Mountains and DRGN KING. Tickets to this 21+ show are $10.

The Saturday free concert series at Morgan’s Pier continues this evening with a performance from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. This 21+ show is free and starts at 5 PM.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/07/14/tonights-concert-picks-echo-orbiter-w-break-it-up-and-trouble-everyday-el-p-w-killer-mike-and-asher-roth-roger-waters-hop-along-and-the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart/feed/ 0 Hop Along playing Johnny Brenda’s in July with DRGN KNG and Baltimore’s Secret Mountains http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/05/hop-along-playing-johnny-brendas-in-july-with-drgn-kng-and-baltimores-secret-mountains/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/05/hop-along-playing-johnny-brendas-in-july-with-drgn-kng-and-baltimores-secret-mountains/#comments Wed, 06 Jun 2012 01:21:26 +0000 Bruce Warren http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=33690

Hop Along

DRGN KNG and Baltimore’s Secret Mountains are performing with Hop Along at Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday, July 14th. Hop Along recently released the excellent Get Disowned. Go here to download a new song from the album. Below, watch the video that Secret Mountains recorded at Converse Rubber Tracks for the song “Weepy Little Fingers.” Kelly Laughlin, lead singer of Secret Mountains, fronts the band like a modern day Grace Slick while the band plays out their shoegazy tendencies like The Verve. With DRGN KNG in the mix, this is going to be a show you won’t want to miss. Go here for tickets and more information about the show.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/05/hop-along-playing-johnny-brendas-in-july-with-drgn-kng-and-baltimores-secret-mountains/feed/ 0 Weekend Picks: Trombone Shorty, The Kopecky Family Band, Hop Along, The Roots Picnic, JBM and the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/01/weekend-picks-trombone-shorty-the-kopecky-family-band-hop-along-the-roots-picnic-jbm-and-the-appel-farm-arts-music-festival/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/01/weekend-picks-trombone-shorty-the-kopecky-family-band-hop-along-the-roots-picnic-jbm-and-the-appel-farm-arts-music-festival/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:38 +0000 Bruce Warren http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=33350
In case you missed this article on Pitchfork this week about the 20 Essential Festivals of Summer 2012, of the ten they chose for North America, two are right here in Philly. While we need to actually make it through their choice of the Jay-Z curated Labor Day Made In America festival to see whether or not it will turn out to be “essential,” one thing we know for sure: their choice of The Roots Picnic tomorrow and Sunday is right on target. For the last four years The Roots have thrown one of the best festivals in town and this year, they’ve expanded the picnic to two days (Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd) at the Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing. The lineup features The Roots, De La Soul, Rakim, Danny Brown, St. Vincent, James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem), Diplo, Major Lazer, Kid Cudi, Chill Moody, OCD: Moosh & Twist, tUnE-yArDs, Shabazz Palaces and more. Two day and single day passes are available here. You can find the complete lineup here.

FRIDAY, June 1st
One of our favorite new Philly band record releases is the album from Hop Along called Get Disowned. The band is having its record release party and is headlining the First Unitarian Church tonight with Band Name, Little Big League and Mary Lattimore. (Doors: 8:00 p.m / Show: 8:30 p.m.; all ages; $10). Also playing: The Kopecky Family Band play at today’s Free At Noon and perform tonight at Milkboy Philly at 8:30 p.m. with The National Rifle and MyNameIsJohnMichael. Tickets to the 21+ show are $10-$12.

SATURDAY, June 2nd
WXPN Welcomes the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival featuring Dawes, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rodney Crowell, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Sara Watkins, Jukebox The Ghost, Cheryl Wheeler, Mason Porter and more. (11:30 a.m.; all ages, $5.00 for kids ages 3-12; $40.00-$50.00 for adults).

WXPN Welcomes Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue to the Keswick Theatre. (8:00 p.m., all-ages show, the show is sold out).

SUNDAY, June 3rd
Singer-songwriter JBM returns to town and plays Milkboy Philly with Tim Rogers of YOU AM I. JBM (real name: Jesse Merchant) JBM’s new album, Stray Ashes, is a gorgeous and haunting collection of songs that recalls the sparse beauty of records by Jose Gonzalez. (Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm; tickets to the 21+ show are $12). Below, watch the video produced by Philly’s Out Of Town Films they did with Jesse when he played at Jonny Brenda’s several weeks ago.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/06/01/weekend-picks-trombone-shorty-the-kopecky-family-band-hop-along-the-roots-picnic-jbm-and-the-appel-farm-arts-music-festival/feed/ 0 Download a new song, watch a new video from Hop Along (playing the First Unitarian Church tomorrow evening) http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/31/download-a-new-song-watch-a-new-video-from-hop-along-playing-the-first-unitarian-church-tomorrow-evening/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/31/download-a-new-song-watch-a-new-video-from-hop-along-playing-the-first-unitarian-church-tomorrow-evening/#comments Thu, 31 May 2012 19:46:37 +0000 Bruce Warren http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=33310
One of our favorite new Philly band record releases is the album from Hop Along called Get Disowned. The band is having its record release party and is headlining the First Unitarian Church tomorrow evening, Friday, June 1st with Band Name, Little Big League and Mary Lattimore. It was a year ago when Hop Along came in to the WXPN studios to record a Key Studio Session. You can listen to that session here. The center piece of Hop Along is lead singer Frances Quinlan, whose extraordinary voice brings to mind a young and restless PJ Harvey, and the intensity of Kristen Hersh. Along with her brother Mark on drums and bassist Tyler Long, the trio recorded their album over the last two years. Get Disowned is a glorious mess of melody, cacophony, soft/loud Pixies-esque guitar playing and France’s intense and enchanting vocals. The rhythm section adds more than just the right amount of punch to anchor the songs and Frances wraps her voice around the sounds with a deep emotional expressiveness. Go here for more information and tickets to tomorrow evening’s record release party. You can stream and buy the album in its entirety here. Below, download the song “Sally II” compliments of the band and watch Hop Along’s new video for “Tibetan Pop Stars.”

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/31/download-a-new-song-watch-a-new-video-from-hop-along-playing-the-first-unitarian-church-tomorrow-evening/feed/ 0 Listen to interviews and performances by The Spinto Band, The Menzingers, Chill Moody and more on XPN2 on Memorial Day http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/24/listen-to-interviews-and-performances-by-the-spinto-band-the-menzingers-chill-moody-and-more-on-xpn2-on-memorial-day/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/24/listen-to-interviews-and-performances-by-the-spinto-band-the-menzingers-chill-moody-and-more-on-xpn2-on-memorial-day/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 18:54:49 +0000 The Key http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=32957 The Menzingers

The Menzingers

Next Monday, May 28th, XPN2‘s Eric Schuman will be reaching into the archives to play interviews and performances by bands (both local and out-of-town) who have recently appeared in the studios. The full lineup can be found below:

Noon – The Spinto Band
1 p.m. Stevie Jackson
2 p.m. Hop Along
3 p.m. The Menzingers
4 p.m. Zammuto
5 p.m. Chill Moody

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/05/24/listen-to-interviews-and-performances-by-the-spinto-band-the-menzingers-chill-moody-and-more-on-xpn2-on-memorial-day/feed/ 0 The Key Studio Sessions: Little Big League http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/04/25/the-key-studio-sessions-little-big-league/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/04/25/the-key-studio-sessions-little-big-league/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:00:29 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=31043 Photo by Shamus McGroggan Photo by Shamus McGroggan Photo by Shamus McGroggan Photo by Shamus McGroggan Photo by Shamus McGroggan Photo by Shamus McGroggan Feat

With its debut 7″ celebrating a release this weekend, and only a handful of local live shows under its belt, some might say it’s jumping to gun to get all super psyched about Philly indie foursome Little Big League. On the other hand, you can just tell sometimes when a band is going to do great things. I’m opting for the latter in this case. Sure, the group has an impressive pedigree – former members of Post Post, Golden Ages and Titus Andronicus – so it’s almost like we sort of know them already. But joined as one, they do something else entirely. It puts an east coast megalopolis spin on the slow-burn woodsy tones of Built to Spill and early Death Cab (“Holes in Shape,” and that debut single mentioned above, “Tokyo Drift”), then catapults into spunky, soaring power pop (“My Very Own You,” and the spirited “St. Johns”). Two of the four songs the band recorded for its Key Studio Session are unreleased, and I’m thrilled to be presenting them to you for the first time. But if you’ve seen them live, you’ll totally remember hearing them, since they really are that catchy. If you haven’t caught them live…well, fix that already. Little Big League plays this Sunday, April 29, at Kungfu Necktie (8 p.m., 21+, $10), and then joins the stellar bill at The First Unitarian Church on June 1 for Hop Along’s record release show.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/04/25/the-key-studio-sessions-little-big-league/feed/ 0 Listen to the new Hop Along song, “Tibetian Pop Stars” http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/01/29/listen-to-the-new-hop-along-song-tibetian-pop-stars/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/01/29/listen-to-the-new-hop-along-song-tibetian-pop-stars/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:30:51 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=26063

After nearly two years working at Head Room Studios in North Philly arts space Big Mama’s House, local art-pop trio Hop Along wrapped up work on its next full length album, Get Disowned, just last week. On Sunday, singer-guitarist Frances Quinlan announced on the band’s Tumblr “OUR NEW ALBUM IS DONE (and I am delirious)”; on Tuesday, she appeared after-hours on WKDU’s Mike Bell Show to chat and premier the album version of “Tibetian Pop Stars” (their Key Studio Sessions recording of it having already generated some buzz since its release last summer); and last night, the band posted the track as a free download on its Bandcamp page. It’s a kind of epic collision of the band’s preferred styles: overdriven punk, singalong folk and hooky pop. Give a listen below, check out Hop Along’s whole Key Studio Session here, and keep a close watch on this space for more on Get Disowned as its release nears.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2012/01/29/listen-to-the-new-hop-along-song-tibetian-pop-stars/feed/ 1 Download the new Key Studio Sessions Compilation Volume 2 for free http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/09/08/download-the-new-key-studio-sessions-compilation-volume-2-for-free/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/09/08/download-the-new-key-studio-sessions-compilation-volume-2-for-free/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:45:55 +0000 The Key http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=18813

The Key Studio Sessions Compilation Volume 2—which you can download for free here —features one exclusive track recorded at the WXPN studios by 17 local acts, including Arc In Round, Dutch, The National Rifle, Denison Witmer, Hop Along, Matt Duke, Catnaps, Penrose, Arches, Lantern, Nicos Gun, Restorations, Ages, Sisters 3, The War On Drugs, Sonni Shine And The Underwater Sounds, and Work Drugs.

Want to hear more? Click here to listen to the full sessions by all 17 local acts. You can also download the previous edition The Key Studio Sessions Compilation, Volume 1, in its entirety as a .zip file here.

]]> http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/09/08/download-the-new-key-studio-sessions-compilation-volume-2-for-free/feed/ 0 The Key Studio Sessions: Hop Along http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/06/01/the-key-studio-sessions-hop-along/ http://thekey.xpn.org/2011/06/01/the-key-studio-sessions-hop-along/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:16:49 +0000 John Vettese http://thekey.xpn.org/?p=12599

Frances Quinlan always wanted a band. You could hear it on Freshman Year, the 2006 debut record she released under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis. Its sparse structures were dressed up in noisemakers, train whistles, toy sounds—stuff you might expect to hear on early Daniel Johnston tapes. Over time, Quinlan’s act evolved, bringing her brother (and powerhouse drummer) Mark into the fold, along with a rotating cast of others (currently including Tyler Long on bass). Nowadays truncated as just Hop Along, the band seems poised to explode with massive Big Muff riffs, serpentine lyrical puzzles, and music as rooted in punk as it is in DIY folk. At least that’s how it sounded at the band’s Key Studio Session, recorded last month with guest engineer Madeleine Lesperance. The set is a showcase of what Quinlan and her cohorts have done over time—the roomy autoharp take on her early number “The Breakfast Song”; the massive guitar epic “Sally,” from 2009’s Wretches EP. It also takes a peek at what they’re doing next: two new songs, the teasingly playful “Kids,” the heart-wrenching “Tibetan Pop Stars,” from the full-length Hop Along plans to release in the fall. Stream the songs below, tune in to Y-Rock’s Philly Local Second Shift on June 9 to hear my interview with the band, as well as Quinlan’s solo acoustic cover of Johnston’s “True Love Will Find You In the End.” Then, catch Hop Along on June 10 when it plays the First Unitarian Church with Dangerous Ponies.

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