White Laces come to Philly for a show at Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  The Richmond, VA group released their debut Moves EP last year and are following up the bouncy, colorful and bristly indie rock with a 7″ this summer.  On the roster of Speakertree Records, White Laces contributed a cover of current lablemates (and former Philadelphia-based band) Lilys to a tribute compilation  - check out their version of “Radiotricity” here.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Avery Rosewater and The Interest Group can be found here.  Listen to “Deep Moves” from Moves below.

Dani Mari heads to MilkBoy Philly to perform in the Philadelphia Folk Festival Co-Op Showcase.  Chosen as a finalist alongside James Day & the Fish Fry, Jersey Corn Pickers and M’Balia, the local singer-songwriter (and one half of dream pop outfit Lockets) will be competing for a slot at the August festival.  Mari released her latest single “Only” on Someplace Called Brooklyn back in March.  Tickets and information for the showcase can be found here.  Watch the video for “Only” below.

Georgia / Philadelphia metal band Baroness take over Union Transfer tonight.  On a European tour last summer behind their latest Yellow & Green LP, the band was involved in a bus accident in which several members were injured (watch them talk about getting back on the road here).  Ready to hit the road again, their headlining tour kicks off tonight.  Tickets and information for the show with Pallbearer and Tombs can be found here.  Watch Baroness perform “Take My Bones Away” below.

Japanese Guy perform at PhilaMOCA tonight.  The less-talked about side project of a Fleet Foxes member, Japanese Guy is the experimental / noise endeavor of Skyler Skjelset with Andrew J.S. and Chris Icasiano.  The trio released their self-titled debut in January of this year after recording the 8 song album in northwestern Washington last spring.  They’ll be joined by the local avant-garde / experimental projects of Nick Millevoi and Air is Human; tickets and information can be found here.  Below, watch Japanese Guy perorm “Glass Cave” and an untitled track live.

Femme Fest heads to the Sellersville Theater tonight.  Starring The Fabulous Miss Wendy with Hear Kitty Kitty, Sara Rae and Mahi Gato, the event is a showcase of Los Angeles’ top female-led rock bands.  The Fabulous Miss Wendy is touring in support of her recent No One Can Stop Me LP, which she recorded with Kim Fowley (Runaways, KISS).  Tickets and information for tonight’s 18+ show can be found here.  Below, watch The Fabulous Miss Wendy’s video for “Jailbait.”

Cruiser headline Ortlieb’s Lounge tonight.  The sunny solo project of Philadelphia’s Andy States was discovered by Jeremy Park, the engineer behind Youth Lagoon’s The Year of Hibernation, and subsequently released a debut self-titled EP a year ago.  In recent months, the band has opened for Matt & Kim and The 1975 and played a sold-out show with Work Drugs and Night Panther.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Faux Slang can be found here.  Watch Cruiser’s video for “Moving to Neptune” below.

Local electronic artist Telequanta opens for Beacon at Kung Fu Necktie.  The moniker of J. Termini, Telequanta released his debut EP Programmable Matter last year.  The downtempo compositions found on the effort are warm and intricate with an ambient quality that is soothing and hypnotic.  Termini will be following-up Programmable Matter with a new EP soon – check out a new track called “Chala” below.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.

The Swollen Fox has announced a special 3-year anniversary concert at PhilaMOCA on July 11th with TJ Kong & the Atomic Bomb, Swift Technique and Shark Tape.  Since its beginnings, the local music blog has diligently and thoroughly covered Philadelphia music scene happenings and now runs the comprehensive XPN Concert Calendar in addition to hosting shows (like July 19th’s collaboration with XPN).  Tickets and information for the birthday show can be found here.  Check out  the bands below and learn more here.

Frontwoman Arrah Fisher – whose place of employ appeared in a great Food Network segment last night, along with Adam Garbinski of Bloodline fame and some dude wearing a Richie Records t-shirt – explained the hiatus in a post on the band’s Facebook page:

that’s right, we’re releasing a new LP and promptly disbanding! I know it doesn’t make much sense…but we’re CrAzY like that!

You see, our guitarist BELSKI is moving to Montana in June and Arrah is going to embark on some lengthy world travels come August. (but have no fear, the ferns always return in some form) So please come out to these last few shows and celebrate with us. it’s never really over.

…

We love y’all. Thanks for all the support. We’ll be around!! And hey on the upside, you get a whole new album to listen to and get sick of…

The band has two remaining gigs: a free show this Saturday, May 18th at the South Philly Tap Room’s Wheat Beer Fest (quoth the band: “Beeeeeeeer”) and an all-ages farewell at PhilaMOCA on May 24th. This show doubles as the band’s album release for their final LP Make Your Mind. Check out a new song from the LP, “Get Lost,” below.

Photo by Bo Hakala

The rapper/spoken word artist Dessa (of midwest collective Doomtree) will be performing at Sellersville Theater tonight with Philly hip-hop artist Kuf Knotz. Dessa is celebrating her newest album Parts of Speech, released on Doomtree Records. For more information on Dessa, check out a piece from The Key here. Alongside Dessa will be Philly native hip-hop artist Kuf Knotz, who blends elements of blues, rock, and other genres with his hip-hip. Tickets and information for the all ages show can be found here. Below, watch Dessa perform “The Man I Knew” for MN Original.

Folk musician Jesse Sparhawk plays PhilaMOCA tonight for Yvynyl’s Tuesday Tune-Out. Sparhawk’s last release was in August of 2012, a single entitled “Hummingbird”. You can check out a Fokadelphia session Sparhawk did here. Tickets and information for the all ages show with Strawberry Hands can be found here. Below, check out a video of Sparhawk playing his song “Hummingbird”.

Canadian shoegaze band No Joy play Kung Fu Necktie tonight. In April of this year the band released their newest album, Wait to Pleasure on Mexican Summer. Playing a similar style as bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Whirr, No Joy’s music is dissonant and atmospheric. Tickets and information for the 21+ show with Psychic Teens and CASSAVETES can be found here. Below, watch No Joy perform their song “Ghost Blonde” on KEXP.

Local singer-songwriter Lucy Stone performs at PhilaMOCA tonight.  The Drexel University student has had busy year, recording and touring with Rusted Root last fall, working on her own new full-length currently and accepting accolades like The Deli’s Artist of the Month last year and and an Independent Music Awards nomination for her Would You? EP earlier this year.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Cruiser and Former Belle can be found here.  Below, watch an acoustic performance of “Out of Time.”

Not yet a month old, new kids on the Philly indie / electronic scene Dokument play Underground Arts tonight.  Fronted by Jarrett Zerrer and rounded out with Julian Wallace and Pat Lieberman, the band formed after Zerrer parted ways with local electro / pop duo City Rain.  Tickets and information for the 21+ show with Chalk & The Beige Americans, DOTS and DJ Blueshift can be found here.  Alas, there are no recordings from Dokument yet, but you can check out Zerrer’s work with City Rain in this performance of “Real Good” from The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 4.

XPN welcomes leader of the goth-punk circuit and former frontman of Bauhaus Peter Murphy to The Trocadero tonight.  Although he recently released a solo record called Ninth, the British musician will be performing selections from Bauhaus’ discography to celebrate the band’s 35th anniversary.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show can be found here.  Below, watch Murphy perform “Hollow Hills” with Bauhaus live in London.

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.

XPN welcomes Johnny Marr to The Trocadero tonight.  The former Smiths guitarist is currently promoting his first solo effort The Messenger.  Following the break up of The Smiths in the late 80s, Marr has worked on recordings with The Talking Heads and J. Mascis and contributed in large part to the score of Inception.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with ALAMAR can be found here.  Check out an interview The Key did with Marr here and watch him perform “Sun and Moon” at Coachella below.

U.K. singer-songwriter Tom Odell plays Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  Now touring in support of his 2012 debut Songs from Another Love EP and an upcoming full-length called Long Way Down, Odell got his start shlepping his keyboard to open mics night after night in Brighton before being discovered by Lily Allen.  He’ll be support by Jeremy Messersmith, who recently signed to Glassnote Records in anticipation of his new album.  Tickets and information for the 21+ can be found here.  Watch Tom Odell perform “Another Love” on Later… With Jools Holland below.

PhilaMOCA‘s Tuesday Tune-Out and the Cinedelphia Film Festival have teamed up with local experimental rock project Pattern is Movement to present the duo’s “album screening party.”  Set to scenes of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, the audience will get a full preview of Chris Ward and Andrew Thiboldeaux’s new album, as well as an inside look at the past four years of recording with a Q&A session after the screening.  Learn more about the listening party in an interview with Ward here.  The event is free – more information is available on the Facebook page here.  Watch a trailer for the event below.

Experimental rock / psych musician Julian Lynch teams up with Montreal’s The Luyas for a collaborative tour that stops at PhilaMOCA on June 10th.  Acting as both backup and support while alternating headline slots, the two bands will be promoting recent releases with The Luyas’ 2012 effort Animator and Lynch’s recently released Lines.  Lynch, who grew up in Ridgewood, NJ, is often musically connected with his childhood friends in Real Estate and Titus Andronicus.  Tickets and more information for the all-ages show will be available here.  Below, watch Julian Lynch’s video for “Gloves” followed by The Luyas’ clip for “Fifty Fifty.” Stream Lynch’s new album below.

Julian Lynch – Gloves from Sarah Kinlaw on Vimeo.

Cinedelphia Film Festival‘s month of curating Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA continues tonight with a screening of Loud! Fast! Philly!.  With its rare footage from the early 80s through today, the film uncovers and recalls Philadelphia’s hardcore punk history through the lens of bands and fans that were (and are) integral parts of the cultural environment.  Bands featured in Loud! Fast! Philly! include The Dead Milkmen, McRad, Decontrol and more – check out a preview of the film below.  Tickets and information for the 10:30 p.m. and showing can be found here (8:00 p.m. is sold out).

Liz Longley performs at Burlap and Bean tonight. Although now living in Nashville, Tennessee, the singer/songwriter is a Philadelphia native and will be coming home to play some of her songs in anticipation of her upcoming album entitled Liz Longley, and her new single “This Is Not The End” released on April 16th available through iTunes. She has also been The Local Pick Of The Day back in October 2010 with her song “Free”. Longley will be touring steadily through April, May, and June throughout the US. Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Seth Glier can be found here. Below, watch an acoustic session with Liz Longley playing her new single “This Is Not The End” from her upcoming album Liz Longley.

Pattern Is Movement | Photo by John Vettese

When Philly experimental rock duo Pattern is Movement went into the studio to record its first album in five years, the pressure was on. Keyboardist-singer Andrew Thiboldeaux and drummer Chris Ward wanted to make sure whatever they did held up to their revered past work. And Ward, who worked on the record as a performer and in post-production, came up with an innovative method to test the music out. On Tuesday the 30th, PiM is throwing what they’re calling an album screening at PhilaMOCA for Cinedelphia’s Tuesday Tune-Out. Basically, the free event will be an album listening party – the guys aren’t actually performing live – where the public can hear PiM’s as-yet untitled new album for the first time, with visuals care of P.T. Anderson’s dark western There Will Be Blood. After the album plays, Thiboldeaux, Ward and producer Dave Downham will take part in a Q&A moderated by Weathervane Music‘s Peter English – to get details. Last week I caught up with Ward over Google Chat – he was on the tail end of his tour drumming for Strand of Oaks and opening for Phosphorescent. Find out more in our interview below, and see what’s in store / hear some brand new Pattern music in this event trailer.

The Key: How did you come to match the album with the film?

Chris Ward: I was part of the mixing team for the record and I wanted to experience the record outside of being a creator of it (as well as an engineer). I had the idea – when we finish a mix, let’s sync scenes of the movie that I choose to songs and see if they emotionally resonate. I wanted some distance, and it fucking worked. I look at it as a tool in the mixing process, and it helped us re-envision the record actually.

TK: So was the idea with that experiment to see if the music carried strong enough emotion or mood that it could change the way you look at There Will Be Blood, which already has a very defined mood?

CW: Not exactly. The idea of the experiment – or exercise as I call it – was to see if the songs could carry their weight against a film of that magnitude. A lot of that film is not speech, but rather landscape and body language / non verbals. That is why, IMO, Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack is so powerful. Because it’s as landscapey as the film. So – to summarize – it was more a test for our songs. And it passed. But it also helped us realize the songs were there, but the production / energy was not. So we scrapped a lot of that first mix.

TK: What did you feel was missing, sound-wise? I feel like the new music has more low end than the previous three Pattern records.

CW: You are right on the money – the new record has low end that we never had before, and that is partly due to this exercise with the film. Bass to me is a non-verbal – something most people don’t think about because of its frequency resonance – but I can bet that when you hear a song and you are crying, the bass is a huge factor in it!

TK: So taking it beyond the mixing exercise and into the full-scale production at PhilaMOCA on the 30th, you’re going to play the studio version of the album through the PA, synced up to scenes from There Will Be Blood?

CW: Yup! It’s a quasi listening party, plus a film screening. We’re calling it an album screening.

TK: How long have you and Andrew been working on this record?

CW: We began working on it in 2009. We did a tour-only EP at Jeff Zeigler’s, and that was the beginning of the album.

TK: With this set of songs, since it’s so electronics-oriented – and the orchestrations in that dept are so complex – how did the songs come together? Did Andrew bring you ideas that you added beats to?

CW: Andrew wrote the songs / lyrics, tracked them from the ground up and then did vocals. I played drums last.
After the drums, he re-did some vocals and then we mixed it once. Then we changed some drums, some arrangements, added that bass, and then we mixed it a second time.

TK: When can we expect it to be released?

CW: It will be released on Hometapes in mid October – home of Matthew E White, Bear in Heaven, Megafaun, etc. It’s un-named at this point.

Pattern is Movement’s album screening party takes place Tuesday, April 30th at PhilaMOCA. The free, all-ages event begins at 7:30, and is sponsored by Pizza Brain – which doubtless means delicious refreshments.

Joseph A. Gervasi has been a mainstay in the Philly DIY scene for more than two and a half decades now, between his work with ’90s punk promotion agency the Cabbage Collective and DIY film companies Exhumed Films and Diabolik DVD (in addition to countless other forays). For his latest project, LOUD! FAST! PHILLY!, he combines his dual loves of music and film to explore and document Philly’s hardcore punk scene from the 1970′s to today. The result is a project presented in two parts: a screening of rare punk footage, which will be supplemented live with commentary from different members of the scene—and a still-growing audio archive of intimate, unedited interviews between Gervasi and myriad interviewees—discussing memorable shows, experiences  and what the punk scene meant to them. Gervasi will post a new interview every day throughout the month of April; each interview will be accompanied by two portraits of the subject by photographer Karen Kirchhoff. The screening and live commentary will take place on Tuesday, April 23 at PhilaMOCA, as part of the Cinedelphia Film Festival.

Though the project is retrospective in nature, Gervasi explains that it is not a documentary—a film that employs interviews and footage to prove a thesis. Rather, LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! aims instead to present simply the facts, while eschewing nostalgia and avoiding revisionist history. I caught up with Gervasi to find out more about the project’s evolution and goals—and where he thinks the Philly punk scene is headed in 2013. In keeping with Gervasi’s own conventions, I present the entire interview unedited. 

Gervasi

The Key: When did you first have the idea for this project?  Did you always conceive it as being in two parts: the screening and live interviews, and also the audio archives—or did this decision arise during the process?

Joseph Gervasi: When Eric Bresler of Cinedelphia told me he was planning to do a film festival some months ago, I knew whatever he came up with would reflect his unique personality. It would be eclectic and unlike any film festival this city has ever hosted. I was invited to present a movie screening with the group I’m a part of, Exhumed Films, and to do a “solo” event. My shows outside Exhumed better represent my personal interests and passions. There were prospective events that didn’t come together, but the one that stuck was assembling a collection of rare footage of Philly hardcore punk bands and having some participants speak during a screening of the footage. When faced with the ephemeral nature of a live event that would be screened to a finite number of individuals in a very particular location, I knew I wanted to contribute something more lasting to the documentation of Philly’s punk scene, which was a scene I’ve had an active engagement with since I was sixteen.

TK: How involved were you personally with the scene you describe? Why did you decide to focus on it?

JG: I was very involved with punk and, to a considerably lesser extent, I’ve always remained involved in the scene. I started going to shows in Philly in 1987 at Club Pizzazz and other venues. It wasn’t long after that that I wanted to become an active member of the scene and try to compel some small part of it to live up to the egalitarian ideals I was voraciously reading on lyric sheets. A couple years later, my brother Bull, Chris Fry, and I were doing shows at the Harwan Theatre in Mt. Ephraim, NJ. By the early 1990s, we created a group called the Cabbage Collective to host DIY shows in Philly that were inclusive of everyone and fun for attendees. The Cabbage Collective hosted shows regularly through the ’90s. Concurrently, I was editing a ‘zine, NO LONGER A FANzine, and traveling around with bands, friends, or solo and visiting different punk scenes in the U.S. and Canada. I saw North America from the perspective of Greyhound buses, filthy couches, dilapidated squats, and balanced precariously between heavy sound equipment in a wheezing van. Punk opened pretty much every door for me and invited me to step in. I’ve always kept that door open. I think at its best the scene nurtures creative people and encourages them to be their best. That aspect of punk is so tremendously important to so many people that I wanted to focus in on it in order to hopefully encourage others to gain inspiration from it even if they have little interest in the music or the scene itself.

TK: What do you hope to achieve with this project, in terms of the legacy of hardcore punk in Philly? 

JG: I want to create a mosaic of voices that, when assembled as a whole, present some of the life experiences and thoughts of a diverse collection of individuals who have spent their lives in active engagement with their times. I want the people who listen to a few or all of the interviews to take away something of the unique perspectives of the folks I had the honor to talk to at length.

TK: How did you decide who to interview? Was it difficult to track anyone down? Is there anyone you wanted to interview but couldn’t?

JG: It was important to me that the interviews, when seen as a whole, reflected the diversity of both the punk scene and the city of Philadelphia as a whole. I interviewed men and women who were my peers when I came into the scene, those who were my contemporaries during the time of my most active involvement, and those who came into the scene after me and continue to uphold its ethos while adapting to the world of the present. There are some people I’ve not been able to track down because they’ve completely fallen off the radar. Some folks proved problematic to interview because they are dead. Some others have left the city but have agreed to sit down with me when they visit Philly or I happen to be wherever-the-hell they live now. A few people I asked to talk to expressed disinterest, but that was—fortunately—rare.

TK: How did you locate the video footage? How much overlap is there between the video footage and the audio archives?

JG: We put out a call for video footage a few months ago and got in a lot of amazing material. Much of what we’ll screen has never been seen by anyone other than the attendees at the shows that were filmed and the folks who shot the footage. Some of what we’ve assembled has been taken from ancient VHS tapes that could easily have been lost forever. In one case Eric [Bresler] had to digitize on-site at the More Fiends’ house while I conducted the interview in another room. We’ve digitized and edited the footage so it’s enjoyable for a seated audience not “blessed” with combat boots to the cranium, stinky human bodies in motion, cigarette smoke, and tinnitus-inducing sound barf. There’s a fair amount of crossover between the live footage and the audio interviews, but the video footage was largely limited to what we could amass in a short time, and what of that we felt would work for an audience. Those who grumble about certain bands missing from the live event will likely find better representation in the ever-expanding audio interviews series.

TK: What’s your favorite interview?

JG: Gah! That’s telling (and there are still so many more to come). A few highlights among the many were: the marvelous Fiends, Elizabeth and Allen, who are truly inspiring Philly eccentrics; the twin scene legends named Chuck (Treece of McRad and Meehan of himself); the Harvard educated and simultaneously cerebral and spiritual Glenn Wallis of Ruin, and so many more.

• Interview with Elizabeth and Allen of Fiendsinterview by Joseph GervasiDownload

TK: Your goal with this project is to present the things unedited, without projecting a thesis. Is there anything you encountered, either in the interviews or the footage, that, looking back, you think might portray the scene in a way that is incongruent with your own personal definition?

JG: I’ve sometimes had a tough time keeping me out of the interviews and while there is no implicitly stated or clearly defined thesis, there is, in effect, something of a constant that I’ve seen in nearly every interview subject. That is, they seem to glow with an abiding enthusiasm and forward-thinking drive. These are the people who’ve done things, not just watched others do things, and it comes through in their daily lives (lives that are often far removed from the punk scene). I had the opportunity to talk to some people who I felt would represent the scene poorly and elected not to speak with them. There are parts of hardcore punk that I personally find uninteresting at best and repellent at worst. I’ve no desire to focus on big dumb dudes who look like they’d rather bench press the PA than read a book, or the lamely sexist trash culture strain of punk, or the drug- and alcohol-addled crusties or chaos punks. I want to talk to those who contribute something of value, not a refection of the more repugnant and destructive facets of our society.

TK: In your opinion, where is the Philly punk scene headed in 2013?   

JG: After talking with some of the younger people I interviewed (the youngest of whom was 20 years old) and seeing the fine and principled work the DIY PHL folks are doing, I think that a certain segment of the scene—the segment that favors the DIY ethos over anachronistic punk fashions, empty sloganeering, or thuggish dudery—is moving ever forward. The one thing that I mentioned over and over again in assembling this project is that I have NO interest in nostalgia. The past was great when it was the present. From the past we in the present should learn. But when it comes to how to live life in the now, we should always be looking and moving ahead while making sure those we care about don’t fall behind.

TK: We couldn’t agree with you more.

The LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! Cinedelphia Film Festival event occurs Tuesday, April 23 and 8:00 and 10:30 p.m. at PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12 St. The 8:00 showing is sold out, but tickets for the 10:30 showing are available here. The audio archives and portraits are available here.

Bazonkers indie pop collective Oh Bree plays North Star Bar tonight. Comprised of ten (!) musicians, the band released its latest full-length We Miss You, Edward, Come Home in October. The sprawling and boisterous album is self-described by the band as “love lost, love won, medieval eulogies, fancy rhymes, a million piece horn sections, vibra slap, slide whistle, dystopia, shouting, bum-bidely-bums, and a shit ton of aye-aye-ayes.” Tickets and information on the 21+ show can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar. Below, listen to Oh Bree’s song “Swallow Pt. 1.”

The band formed in late 70s London after the dissolve of a formative group called The B-Sides. The frontman of that group, Stuart Goddard, went on to become Adam Ant; two of his mates, monickered Bid (offstage name Ganesh Seshadri) and Lester Square (Thomas W.B. Hardy), continued forth in a nervy and eclectic direction with The Monochrome Set.

Its ever-in-flux sound echoed the uneasiness and paranoia of contemporaries Television Personalities, Young Marble Giants and Wire, then evolved to bridge that world with the arty pop songwriting of XTC and The Smiths, and even the emerging twee sounds coming from The Vaselines. So, in general, they worked in tandem with lots of cool, revered artists, and paved the way for even more cool, revered artists. Check out a selection of music videos and audio tracks from the band’s vaults below, and get tickets and information for the band’s May 30th appearance at PhilaMOCA’s website.

“Eine Symphonie Des Grauens” – performed at Minneapolis’ M80 festival in 1979. This garagey number, released as an early 7″, mixes a loopy minor key eastern-influenced refrain with some sinewey guitars and a stomping beat.

“He’s Frank” – another early single, the juxtaposition between bouncy swagger and uneasy tension on this one reminds me of the XTC classic Drums and Wires.

“Strange Boutique” – The title track from their 1980 debut is a mix of punkish dissonance and distress with a very classic Crampsy underbelly, making its 50s rock tones swerve dark. Gotta love also the complexity of the chord and tempo changes on this one. If this band was going to play pop, they didn’t want to make it easy to swallow.

“The Man With The Black Moustache” – going poppier still on Love Zombies, The Monochrome Set’s sophomore album from 1980.

“Jet Set Junta” – with vaguely political lyrics and a catchy surf rock keyboard line, this 1983 single feels cinematic and retro before “retro” was necessarily a thing. Dig the haircuts on this music video too.

“Golden Waters” – from the 1990 reunion album Dante’s Casino, this drum-free television performance seems like it might have fit nicely on the then-emerging Slumberland label.

The Monochrome Set appears with Farquar Muckenfuss at PhilaMOCA on Thursday, May 30th. The all-ages show begins at 9 p.m., tickets are $12, more information can be found at the venue’s website.

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Mano Divina’s Divine Hand Ensemble will be presenting  their film 21st Century Classical Music at PhilaMOCA tonight for Cinedelphia’s Tuesday Tune Out. The film chronicles the group’s first year playing together and their desire to continue classical music in the modern era. The film was shot throughout Philadelphia and will show the group playing together, as well as a inside look into the group themselves. Tickets and information for the debut of the film can be found here. Below, watch the Divine Hand Ensemble cover The Specials’ “Ghost Town”.

XPN Welcomes Philadelphia native Mike “Slo Mo” Brenner” at World Cafe Live Tonight. Brenner has been playing music for years, as he was a member of Flight of Mavis and the Low Road, and has also recorded numerous tracks with numerous record labels. He began his career as a music writer, and then continued to tour with bands such as Ben Folds Five and Barenaked Ladies. He gained the nickname Slo Mo when he began to play with electronic beats. With a recently-released album of Indian slide-guitar music, Brenner plays World Cafe Live tonight. Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Sonny Landreth can be found here. Below, watch Mike “Slo Mo” Brenner covering Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”.

This month, the MOCA hosts its inaugural Cinedelphia film festival – we’ll tell you more about that in an indepth interview with Bresler tomorrow – and it lined up a hefty five weeks of Tune-Out programming. After nearly a year of featuring events at his venue, we’re thrilled to welcome Bresler to this space to talk about the music and movies in store. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30pm and are $5.

From Eric:

I always enjoy finding out about the personal interests of musicians that I like – the movies they watch, the places they hang out – so I thought it would be fun to invite a single musician or band every week who would perform and then screen a film of their choosing that somehow influenced their sound or approach towards making music.  Despite the crowds that PhilaMOCA events get, the city at large is still unaware of the space so I came up with the idea of rotating monthly curators as a means of introducing new segments of Philly’s populace to PhilaMOCA.  So the audience for, say, 8static is very different than the audience for BITBY or Folkadelphia, thus by the end of the month there are several bands that have played the space for the first time that have brought out their own crowds who may be visiting the space for the first time.  We’re really proud of the TTO series and seriously appreciate every guest curator and performer that has come out to support it.

Tuesday 4/2
Sweatheart with an 80s teen classic

I’m a big fan of Sweatheart and Brian Langan of Langor and numerous other Philly bands – he’s been a big help to the space, so I try to get him and his people involved whenever I can. They chose the film and its quite indicative of their sound. They do have this weird 80s-like party frat rock vibe, but they all dress like RPG characters! It’s a strange gimmick that’s all over the place, but its all cohesive. We’re not going to reveal the name of the film, but here’s a hint.

Tuesday 4/9
Divine Hand Ensemble with21st Century Classical Music

Divine Hand Ensemble is one of my favorite local bands. They’re led by Mano Divina, a Moog sponsored theremin player. They’re basically a chamber orchestra band that replaces lead singer with theremin, and I love that concept. And they don’t take themselves too seriously They’ll do the Highlander theme, stuff like that, but also classical pieces and original pieces too. This is the premiere screening of a documentary on them that’s several years in the making.

Tuesday 4/16
Farquar Muckenfuss playing a Monkees cover set with a screening of Head

Farquar Muckenfuss features members of Dead Milkmen and Mercury Radio Theater. The singer-guitarist F Woods and I, we go way back, and The Monkees were a frequent talking between us for many years. When I approached them about doing a Tune-Out, he suggested the Monkees, and I was thrilled. I’m doing the visuals that night, and I’ll be syncing up clips from tv series to their set, and then we’ll be watching the Monkees movie Head.

Tuesday 4/23
A screening of Loud! Fast! Philly! with appearances by many participating bands

I worked on this one with Joseph Gervasi of Exhumed Films, and he put on shows as the Cabbage Collective in the late 90s. It’s basically a visual history of Philly punk, from 1984 up to current house shows. It features at least 20 bands, many of whom will be in attendance, and we’ll show live clips and band members will come up and talk about it. The 7:00 screening is sold out, but we just announced a second screening at 10:30 the same night.

Tuesday 4/30
Pattern is Movement performing their new album synced to There Will be Blood

The band is getting ready to release its new album and There Will Be Blood inspired it, so they’re going to perform to scenes from the movie. This one is a free event, and sponsored by Pizza Brain.

Philadelphia’s Sweatheart will be playing PhilaMOCA for Cindelphia‘s Tuesday Tune Out tonight. Sweatheart isn’t just a rock band; they are an avant garde ’80s revival band. Groovy guitar parts, upbeat drums, and synth are just a couple of the methods the band uses to acquire the aesthetic. The group released their single Keeper of the Blood in December of last year. The show tonight will also screen the “greatest of all 80′s teen films” to add to the nostalgic ambiance. Tickets are available at the door, for more information on the all-ages show, you can check out the Facebook event and flyer here. Below, listen to the group’s single Keeper of the Blood.

PhilaMOCA is hosting an interesting event tonight, as local art-rockers Auctioneer will be live scoring two local film artists. First, Jesse Gorham-Engaard will be displaying samples from Peter Campus’ Double Vision, and then Chris Thomas will be providing improvised kaleidoscopic visuals – both projects being scored by Auctioneer. It’s a pretty rare showing of local skills in collaboration, and the opening act Heyward Howkins is just one more reason not to miss out. Howkins plays an eccentric yet earnest blend of indie, soul, folk, and rock, and is currently working on the follow-up to last years expansive The Hale & Hearty. This is the last installment of the Philly Area Music Showcase’s Tuesday Tune-Outs; the all-ages show begins at 7:30 p.m., admission is $7. Below, watch Auctioneer’s Shaking Through session.

Grammy Award-winning Country Music icons Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have reunited for the first time since 1975, and will be playing at the Academy of Music tonight along with the Richard Thompson Electric Trio. The show is part of a three week tour of the east coast, as well as visits to Chicago, Toronto, and St. Louis. Harris and Crowell are supporting their new record, Old Yellow Moon, which was released at the end of February. Tickets and information on the show can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar. Below, watch a video of Crowell and Harris performing at the Public Radio Rocks SXSW Showcase.

The series focuses on group performances in delicately forgotten places across Oregon, including an old showboat still floating off of the Columbia River. The boat had no apparent owner and was in serious disrepair.

Zac Pennington, PG founder (and only remaining original member), says that the boat was even selling for one dollar on one of the websites they found. “We kind of stumbled upon this ship. Rodrigo Melgarejo, who was the director for this project, was trying to figure out a location that would be interesting and would fit dramatically with this idea of different notions of what privilege means. [Melgarejo] spent some time looking up urban exploration forums on the internet and he was deep in this thread of Portland area abandoned structures. We tried to get a hold of the people who owned it and we couldn’t find anyone.”

The ship shoot is the first installment in the series and features the androgynous front man in crisp white gloves, rainbow scarf and earmuffs bellowing “Curtains” with visible breath. His glamorous, dinner theater-like showmanship is the antithesis of the bleak, crumbling space and maybe the only glimpse of life that the retired vessel has seen since its heyday. It’s a perfect moment in two different times, a perfect contrast.

And then something even more perfect happened.

“About a week after the video came out we got a message on our Facebook page from a woman who had I guess been [searching for] the ship,” Pennington says, kind of still in awe. The woman turned out to be the granddaughter of the ship’s previous owners, who ran it as a restaurant. Pennington was nervous that this woman might be angry that they’d used the ship for the shoot, but she was the opposite.

“She was very excited [about the shoot] and upset about what had happened to the ship [since her grandparents sold it]. She told me she would be sending me photos of the inside of the boat so we could all see what it looked like in it’s prime. It was a very important part of her childhood.”

Favorite Places #3: Parenthetical Girls – “Curtains” from INTOTHEWOODS.TV on Vimeo.

The group is currently touring for Privilege, calling it a “compiled, abridged version” of the five EPs that the group previously released (which were “hand numbered in blood, real fetish pieces” Pennington says).

“These are the 12 songs on the album essentially because it made sense to us to have it be a cohesive album. The other records were so limited that the audience was fairly small for those songs and we felt good enough about these [particular] songs that we wanted to have them next to a larger audience.”

While Parenthetical Girls has been around for over 8 years, the current roster has only played together for a few of the more recent ones. Pennington teamed up with drummer Paul Alcott after, he admits, the previous formation kind of “imploded.”

Amber W. Smith (vocalist) started out as Pennington’s pen pal.

“It’s Portland, you know? Needlessly antiquated forms of communications. She knew about Parenthetical Girls and I sent her a package, she bought a CD online and I realized it was [being shipped] four blocks away. She even wrote me a ‘thank you’ note in response and we sort of got to talking and developed a pen pal-ship.”

Proof that the good ol’ fashioned internet isn’t the only way a search can furnish results.

Parenthetical Girls plays PhilaMOCA, 12th and Spring Garden, with The So So Glos and The Interest Group Saturday March 23rd at 8 p.m. More information can be found at the venue’s website. Be on the lookout for the rest of the Parenthetical Girls’ series to be released at intothewoods.tv, including the third installment, which was filmed on an old fashioned carousel during the off-season at a Portland amusement park, and the final episode that’s inside of a freaking volcano.

Photo by Danny Clinch

XPN welcomes legendary blues musician Charlie Musselwhite to The Sellersville Theater tonight.  Over his almost 50-year career, Musselwhite has released over 20 records in addition to collaborating on efforts by Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits and others.  Following the success of his 1966 debut, the 2010 Blues of Fame inductee moved to San Francisco where he and his unique blues-harp playing stood out against the counterculture backdrop. Most recently, Musselwhite collaborated with Ben Harper for 2012′s Get Up!.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Deb Callahan can be found here.  Below, watch Musselwhite perform “Blues Why Do You Worry Me?” live.

The Philadelphia Area Music Showcase brings Amanda X and Point Breeze to PhilaMOCA for tonight’s Tuesday Tune-Out.  Amanda X is an all-girl punk trio that manages to be both raw and catchy on their debut Ruin the Moment EP (free download here), which reflects the time of year it was recorded (August 2012) with heavy, humid percussion and hazy, distorted guitars.  Point Breeze is also a new punk trio on the scene, having released their quickly sold-out cassette debut Armchair Activist last October.  The two sets will be followed by a screening of 1994 indie punk film Half-Cocked.  More information for the all-ages show can be found here.  Below, watch Amanda X perform at Motel Hell in South Philly.

Local acoustic emo / punk outfit Modern Baseball play The Barbary tonight.  The band has been caught up in a flurry of activity this year, first signing to Run For Cover Records and announcing the re-release of their debut Sports LP, and subsequently being listed in Alternative Press‘ 100 Bands You Need to Know in 2013.  Check out a review of their recent appearance at The Fire here and watch the band perform “Play Ball!” on a rooftop below.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with John Nolan (Taking Back Sunday / Straylight Run) and Connor Byrne can be found here.

Following today’s Free at Noon performance here at XPN / World Cafe Live, Django Django go the other side of town for a headlining appearance at Union Transfer.  The British four-piece released their well-received self-titled debut LP last year, placing the psychedelic / electronic outfit at #26 on Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Albums of 2012.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Night Moves can be found here.  Taken from their incredibly creative collection of music videos, watch a take for “Default” below.

Norwegian Arms play PhilaMOCA tonight for a rare all-ages show.  The Philly duo is still riding high after the release of their debut full-length Wolf Like a Stray Dog and members Keith Birthday (vocalist / mandolin player Brendan Mulvihill) and Dr. Awkward (drummer Eric Slick) recently stopped by Brighton Sound Studio in North Wales, PA to record three of their Siberian-inspired tracks including the LP’s title track, which you can watch below.  More information for this show with Scott Churchman, Laser Background and Circadian Rhythms can be found here.

Lancaster, PA folk / alternative band Brethren play The Grape Room tonight.  The band of brothers and friends has been recording together for ten years and released their Gone a Little Wrong  EP in January.  Informed by harmonic folk projects like The Avett Brothers, Brethren incorporate tight three-part harmonies with their high energy instrumentation that results in songs that are fun to sing along to.  More information for tonight’s show with Lion in the Mane, Illinois and A Better Class of Criminal can be found here.  Watch a studio video for “Stepping Stone” off of the latest Brethren EP below.

You’ve seen Nikki’s byline here on The Key somewhat regularly; she also an editor for JUMP Philly, and runs her own music blog, Philadelphia Area Music Showcase, which is curating this month at the ‘MOCA. I’m pleased to welcome Nikki to this space (as an interviewee, rather than an interviewer) to tell us what’s in store. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30pm and are $5.

From Nikki:

Coming into the whole Tuesday Tune-Out, I had two goals. One, I wanted to make sure I highlighted bands that weren’t playing out as much, but should – bands that people should know about and be able to hear. And two, I wanted to make sure every single night was compact. If you’re going, you’re going because you like this specific sound, and you’re not going to be let down by either of these bands.

Tuesday 3/5
Edison and Air is Human with film footage TBD

I thought it would be cool to get an instrumental band in the mix to have the video as well as this background music. If you’re more into what’s playing, or if you’re more into the band, you can switch back and forth. So with Air is Human, a two piece that does sci-fi instrumentals and ambient pieces, I think it’s going to be a good combination. And with Edison, I was looking for a band that would compliment the ambient, but also who had lyrics and vocals, because I figured an entire night of instrumentals would get droney. My friend Colin Kerrigan of Out of Town Films recommended Edison [Michael James Murray of Out of Town Fims plays guitar in the band - ed.], so I listened to them, and I liked their music as well. It’s going to be a stripped down set for them, but they’re going to put together a montage that they’re going to perform to. And we’re going back and forth about screening a movie afterwards or just playing a set of videos of past shows or atmospheric stuff.

Tuesday 3/12
Amanda X and Point Breeze with a screening of Half-Cocked

I like some harder punk, but for the most part you have to have something catchy in you that’s going to reach me. And the first time I heard South Philly’s Point Breeze, it was like this is a great band that’s easy to listen to. And Amanda X, they’re another cool new punk band; two Cats and a Tiffany who play power jams with Corin Tucker-style vocals. We’ve actually announced the film we’re screening for this one: Half-Cocked. It’s a black and white movie that was shot on 16 mm film, and its basically about a young twentysomething that lives in a punk flophouse. She wants to move, she doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life, so she steals her brother’s band’s van and makes a fake band with her friends so they can stay on the road. It’s cool, beautiful, and has some funny characters. And it fits! They’re both DIY Punk Bands, and this is a total DIY punk movie!

Tuesday 3/19
Cruiser and Younger Me with a film screening TBA

Originally I wanted it to be beach themed, I wanted this to be my summer show. Cruiser does hazy, warm-body, summer morning music, and Younger Me is eccentric, multi-instrumental bop-pop. But Cruiser is going to be playing to found footage that Andy States from the band put together, and they may play a movie afterwards, that’s still up in the air.

Tuesday 3/26
Auctioneer and Heyward Howkins with a video installation

Shaking Through: Auctioneer from Weathervane Music on Vimeo.

Craig is the first person I asked; I actually met him with the interview I did for The Key. I loved Auctioneer‘s music from the start, knew he was working on a new album. He’s been playing out a lot, and has been in the studio every single day from like 10 to 10 or something. As far as I know, the album should be coming out in the next two or three months. And with Heyward Howkins they’re both autumnal, they got the same vibe. And Heyward, I love how all of his lyrics are so visual, he tells such a good story with all his songs.

Craig’s inspiration with the movie was the Nightlands set that Bands in the Backyard did. He siad I don’t want to do just a movie, I want to do something super interesting and creative and off the wall. And I was like “I trust you completely.” He’s enlisted two local filmmakers, Jesse Engaard and Chris Thomas, and they’re going to do a multi-projection installation, six of Jesse’ short videos at once with Chris doing live video mixing.

Broad Indications from Jesse Gorham-Engaard on Vimeo.

Mardi Gras may have been last week but Philly funk ensemble Swift Technique are bringing Bourbon Street to The Blockley tonight.  Celebrating their fifth year as a band, Swift Technique have traveled far and wide and have shared the stage with many top-tier acts, including The Meters, Questlove and The Fela! Band.  The seven-piece also recorded a Key Studio Session last summer, which you can stream and download here.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Earphunk, Dirk Quinn Band and Black Stars can be found here.  Listen to “Route One to Route One” by Swift Technique below (it was the most-listened to track of The Key’s Volume 5 compilation last year).

Philadelphia-via-Boston folk trio The Gallerist play Kung Fu Necktie tonight.  The project of singer-songwriter Mike Collins, The Gallerist released their debut album A Falling Waltz in 2011.  The traveling roots of the band may have anchored in Philly’s terra firma for now, but A Falling Waltz betrays The Gallerist’s roaming desires with gypsy-esque rhythms and lyrics of faraway places like the Delta.  In recent months, the indie outfit has been playing a tight show circuit including an appearance at January’s intimate Sofar Sounds event.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Tan Vampires, Old Abram Brown and The Sun Flights can be found here.  Below, watch The Gallerist perform “Old Skin” at Sofar Sounds.

Divers

Chipocrite is the performer for tonight’s Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA, curated by 8static.  An exuberant fan of The Big Lebowski, Chipocrite will be performing a Dude-themed set of electronic, video game-based tracks followed by a screening of the movie.  Admission for the all-ages show is a suggested $5 donation at the door.  More information can be found here.  Below, watch Chipocrite perform at MAG Fest 11.

XPN welcomes the 2013 Northern Liberties Winter Music Fest at The Fire with a Van Morrison Tribute show tonight.  The event features a cavalcade of local singer-songwriters and rootsy bands including Reverend TJ McGlinchey, John Francis and special guest Ben Arnold, all honoring the Belfast Cowboy’s discography with old favorites from Astral Weeks, Veedon Fleece and more.  Tickets and information for the 21+ can be found here.  Below, watch a video of Van the Man performing “Tupelo Honey,” which The Fire claims you will definitely hear tonight.