Photo by Abi Reimold
Photo by Abi Reimold
Photo by Abi Reimold
Photo by Abi Reimold
Photo by Abi Reimold
Photo by Abi Reimold
All photos by Abi Reimold | Abireimold.22slides.com
About a year ago, the snappy and warped psych-pop band Literature relocated to Philadelphia from Austin, Texas with an awesome LP called Arab Spring in tow. Hard tourers, sharp dressers and a buzzing name on the indiepop circuit, they specialize in a sound that’s a bit more direct than the washed-out hazy dazy Pain of Being Pure At Heart aesthetic of a few years back. There’s a lift to their sound (though still a reverb’d surface) and a galloping-out-the-gate energy (with some oddball lyrical diversions). For their Key Studio Session, Literature recorded four new “barn burners” in the words of guitarist Kevin Attics, including their latest 7″ a-side “Tie Dye” and a couple unreleased numbers. “Grifted” slowed down the pace and dipped back to their LP, but kept the momentum going enough that it may as well just plow straight into the Johnny Brenda’s show they’re playing (and KDU is hosting) next week. They’re opening the night on May 22nd, with Key Session alums Pet Milk headlining; tickets and information can be found here, while the session is available for your streaming and downloading (and bopping around the room) pleasure below.
For more than 25 years, Kristin Hersh has been a steady source of stunning music, from intensely expressive art-rock with Throwing Muses, the band she founded with her cousin Tanya Donnely in 1985, to haunting songs as a solo singer-songwriter and straight-ahead thrash in 50 Foot Wave. If you’re not familiar, this great Q&A in last Wednesday’s Philadelphia Weekly oughta get you up to speed – it touches on Hersh as a songwriter, guitar wizard and author (her 2010 memoir, Rat Girl, is a fantastic read and highly recommended). Tonight’s show at World Cafe Live is billed as a solo appearance, which for Hersh can mean just about anything – songs from her mid-90s catalog, throwbacks to the early days of the Muses, new pieces she’s workshopping and posting to YouTube for her fans to weigh in on. You can watch a video of one of those below, a number called “Chipping Teeth” that’s tense on the verses, catchy on the refrain and somewhat mysterious on the outro. Kristin Hersh and James Maddock play World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street, tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets to the all ages show are $16 and available at the door.
Newly relocated to Philadelphia, Family Band – singer-guitarists Kim Krans and Jonny Ollsin, plus a sea of collaborators – is celebrating the release of their excellent new record Grace and Lies (No Quarter) with an appearance at the First Unitarian Chapel tonight. Labelmate Jennifer Castle opens, and the resonant room ought to serve both artists well, as they make use of dreamy tones and emotive sonic space. Check out an interview with Family Band in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, see a video they shot for Free People below and check back to The Key later today for a download from their Folkadelphia session this past weekend. Family Band and Jennifer Castle perform at the First Unitarian Church Chapel, 2125 Chestnut St., tonight at 8:30 p.m. Tickets to the all-ages show are $10.
Family Band “Lace,” An Exclusive Acoustic Performance from FreePeople on Vimeo.
Carnivalesque indie pop ensemble Dangerous Ponies hit up Johnny Brenda’s tonight for their last show until autumn. With a slew of new songs in their setlist, the band plans to take the rest of the summer off for recording and other summer-y things. We can’t wait to hear the new record this results in. Meanwhile, listen to their song “Bumbershoot” below. Dangerous Ponies perform with Green Paper and Ghost Light at Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave, tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets to the 21+ show are $10.
And finally, tonight is the final night of Herb Shellenberger’s month curating the Tuesday Tune-Out series at PhilaMOCA. Joining him are the band Literature, who recently relocated to Philadelphia from Austin, and filmmaker Shawn Kornhauser, who will screen a series of shorts. Find out more information at Shellenberger’s guest VJ post from earlier this month. Tuesday Tune-Out happens at PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., tonight at 7:30 p.m. Admission to the all-ages show is $5.
Tonight PhilaMOCA continues its music-and-film summer series, Tuesday Tune-Out, with Herbie Shellenberger coming in to curate the month of July.
From booking shows to performing in bands (currently with Pet Milk; formerly of Brown Recluse) and screening films (his day job is in the programming wing of the Ibrahim Theater at the International House), Herbie is a longtime player in the Philly indie scene with a wealth of knowledge both musical and cinematic. We asked him to put together a guest VJ post previewing the musicians and the films he’s picked out for the next four weeks.
From Herbie:
I was asked by Eric Bresler of PhilaMOCA (also of Cinedelphia) to curate a series of live music + film/video on Tuesdays in July. I have also been thinking about starting my own screening series, so it was a good time to inaugurate Black Circle Cinema. John Vettese asked me to share some videos on The Key so here’s a guide to that series with accompanying videos. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30pm and are $5. Continue reading
