PhilaMOCA programmer Eric Bresler previews Cinedelphia‘s Tuesday Tune-Out series for April [link]

Meet Dante Bucci, the local musician who kicked-off WXPN’s Philly Local Busker Series at The Porch at 30th Street Station this week [link]

Watch local folk duo Maitland perform “Embers” in advance of their Friday, April 5th show at The Trocadero balcony [link]

Mayer Hawthorne‘s new song “Designer Drug” was Tuesday’s My Morning Download [link]

JUMP Magazine shared their recap and photos of Plow United‘s Saturday night show at The Barbary [link]

Stream and download Burn the Wish from local duo Great Red Spots, recorded at West Philly DIY space Sprinkle Kingdom [link]

Reed The Lost Cauze is back with a debut podcast/free download called REEF RADIO, [link]

Unlocked digs into Restorations‘ LP2 ahead of their record release show this Friday [link]

Take a listen to Wrong World‘s “See These Streets” and see them open for Bleeding Rainbow and The Cave Singers on Thursday [link]

Patty Griffin was spotlighted on XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week with “Ohio,” featuring Robert Plant [link]

NPR Music’s First Listen is streaming Kurt Vile‘s Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze before the album’s official release next week [link]

Ma Jolie

Ma Jolie

Nona

Nona

Three generations of punks came out to The Barbary for Plow United‘s record release show Saturday night.

The overlooked band that had its first run in the early 90s as part of the same wave of post-Year that Punk Broke pop-punk bands that also birthed Lifetime and Weston (among hundreds of others).

It began with Ma Jolie, all big chords and shout-alongs that sometimes remind me of The Loved Ones.

Next were Nona, originally out of West Chester, now from parts all over including Philadelphia. Fittingly, they’re made up of kids who five years ago were inspired by Plow, the Chester County legends. Their music somehow finds the place where the longing poetry of Paul Westerberg and the Replacements meets the massive riffing and soloing of the Smashing Pumpkins.

The Holy Mess are likely the last bearers of classic punk attitude we have in this city. They’re a band of true weirdoes who seem equally at home in a basement or a big stage. I think they’re benefiting from the addition of Scarier Area guitarist/folk punk guy Jeff Riddle.

Since their reformation two years ago, Plow United has been quietly become the model for how to do the “reunion thing” correctly. We’ve seen hundreds of reunions over the last decade, most barely-disguised cash-ins. Plow, however, earned this after years of their records being passed around as lost classics.

Marching Band, the record being celebrated last night, is a study in realism and being an aging punk guy. It amazingly has no embarrassing moments and really ably brings together the fast, screamed punk they perfected almost 20 years ago (and the wisdom earned in the interim).

The Holy Mess

The Holy Mess

The Plow United with Jeff Riddle

They played about 25 songs in 45 minutes and were done by 8:30. There was no bullshit, which is something every band young or old should take away from their performance.

Photo by John Vettese

Man, that was a rush. I just got back to the radio station from recording a Key Studio Session with Plow United; we were on location at the gorgeous new Studio A space in South Philadelphia. The band is sounding loud, tight and tremendous, knocking out three songs from their forthcoming Marching Band and a Siouxie and the Banshees cover in just about 12 minutes. The new material is great – if you grew up listening to Plow, like many punk rock loving folks in the Delaware Valley did, you’ll feel instantly transported a V.F.W. hall off of Paoli Pike in the late 90s.

The band is in the van as we type, heading up I-95 to appear on the Chris Gethard Show in New York tonight (check out the webcast tonight at 8). They’re going to sound great on there, and they’re going to sound great at The Barbary this Saturday — and we advise you to head over to Brooklyn Vegan right now and listen to their stream of Marching Band in its entirety. Standouts include, obviously, the two singles we’ve heard already – “Falling, Deeply” and “Human 2000” (watch a video for that one below), but also “Cui Bono?” (the “we do” coda kinda sorta maybe reminds me of the Stonecutters song from The Simpsons), “The War is Over and Our Side Won,” “Get Low” (some great co-ed vocal counterpoints on that one) and, hell, the whole dang thing.

Crank it. Watch the video below. Get information on Saturday’s show at The Barbary here. Keep an eye out for audio and video from the session when we release it in a couple months – right around Plow’s next round of east coast shows. And, for a delightful bonus, look after the jump for an illustration of today’s studio session by Studio A production assistant Pema.

Download B.C. Camplight‘s BBC Radio 6 session featuring two new songs [link]

Juston Stens and the Get Real Gang bring rock and soul to their Key Session [link]

Listen to Free Energy‘s new album Love Sign at Consequence of Sound [link]

Thrash out with a new Surgeon track; they play Kung Fu Necktie next month [link]

The collaboration between Ground Up and The Lawsuits continues in a HotBox session [link]

David Bowie releases a new single for his birthday [link]

Chill Moody releases his latest album, RFM [link]

Get psyched for Zilla Rocca‘s Tuesday Tune-Out with his new Wrecking Crew video [link]

Download The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 6, our new 17-song compilation [link]

Stream the new album from The Lone Bellow, a Georgia-bred close harmony trio [link]

Stream a new EP from Philly’s Acres of Diamonds, who play PhilaMOCA next week [link]

Plow United announces the details of their all-ages album-release show at The Barbary [link]

Download Anais Mitchell‘s Folkadelphia session [link]

The WXPN Philly Local Show expands to three hours [link]

For The Key’s year-in-review, we asked our trusted sources – our writers and photographers, XPN’s on-air staff, fellow bloggers in the Philly scene and even a few musicians – to send us their Top Five Whatevers. Could be the traditional music route – albums, songs, concerts of the year – or it could be only loosely connected. We’ll be sharing these recaps every day through to the end of the year. Today, Plow United bassist, Ex-Friends singer-guitarist and occasional Key contributor Joel Tannenbaum shares his top music news headlines* of 2012.

5. Julio Iglesias releases Saludos desde Asbury Park, NJ, a song-by-song rebuttal to Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. 

4. Joey Sweeney releases digital-only retrospective spanning his 80+ year career.
Early vaudeville material largely ignored.

3. The Spin Doctors’ “Two Princes” certified top-selling mini-disc single of 2012.

2. Ben Nichols of Lucero cast as Eddie in Ang Lee’s Eddie and the Cruisers remake.
Other members of Lucero not cast as Cruisers.

1. Chris Christie realizes lifelong dream of meeting Glenn Danzig.
Meeting facilitated by President Obama during Hurricane Sandy aftermath.

*entirely fabricated

Thanks to Justin Agnew and Tom Kretchmar.

About a year ago, Plow United stopped by the XPN studios for a Key Studio Session where bassist Joel Tannenbaum (an occasional contributor to The Key) and guitarist Brian McGee talked about working on a new album.  That new album has now been titled Marching Band will be released in April 2013 on vinyl, CD and digitally through Jump Start Records, fifteen years after the band’s last offering.  Stream the first single, “Human 2000,” below and check out a full track-listing on Jump Start Records’ Bandcamp page.

I knew that I dug what these guys were up to as soon as I saw their video of Ages playing in the back of Johnny Brenda’s. In the year and a half since then, they’ve faithfully documented the Philly scene in videos that range from lo-fi immediacy to multi-camera productions, showcasing the town’s up-and-coming acts as well as buzzing national bands that make their way through. I’m happy to welcome them to this space to talk about what they have in store for the December Tune-Out. All events are at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th Street), start at 7:30 p.m.

From Kyle and Dave:

After hearing about the series from John V. at XPN and checking out Pet Milk when Herbie curated we thought it was a really cool idea and contacted Eric at PhilaMOCA about getting involved. We were offered December, so here goes…

Tuesday 12/4
Nightlands performing to 2001: A Space Odyssey – $14 admission

Nightlands is Dave Hartley from The War on Drugs. All of us at BITBY love Nightlands so naturally he was the first person we asked. Dave was super excited to do this when we asked him to participate and he knew right away he wanted to do 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yes, the whole movie, on the big screen, with the dialogue from the film accompanied by an original score performed live by Nightlands. There will be an intermission and we will be serving Narragansett Beer. Jeff Ziegler will be joining Hartley as well. We really wanted to be able to bill the show as Nightlands doing a score to 2001:A space Odyssey and in order to that we had to buy the rights to screen the film for the night which is costly, that is the only reason tickets are a bit pricey for this show. It will be well worth it, though. The super talented Mikele Edwards from Arc In Round will perform a short set before the screening as well.

Tuesday 12/11
Thee, Idea Men with Katie Frank

Two bands we have been seeing a lot of at BITBY lately are going to make this show a fun night. Thee, Idea Men are awesome and we love having them play shows. They are always full of energy and get the crowd going. Katie Frank is the latest release on our BITBYmusic label and her debut Coverd Bridge Road EP will be available at the show. Katie rocks and you will instantly fall in love with her, trust us. After two quick sets from the bands, a classic Cusack film will be shown.

Tuesday 12/18
Ex-Friends

Last in our series we have Ex-Friends (featuring members of Plow United). Awesome punk rock from awesome people. The movie will be announced the day of the show.

Hope to see everyone out at the shows!

Thanks
Kyle, Dave and the rest of BITBY.tv

Australian indie rockers The Temper Trap will be playing tonight at Union Transfer with The Neighbourhood. The Temper Trap, whose 2009 record Conditions skyrocketed to popularity with the single “Sweet Disposition,” released their self-titled sophomore album earlier this year. The show tonight begins at 9; further details can be found here. Check out their video for “Trembling Hands” from The Temper Trap below.

Local punk band Ex Friends, led by Plow United’s Joel Tannenbaum, are playing at North Star Bar tonight. The group’s first 7” for Paper + Plastick Records, No Wonder We Prefer The Dark, was released in September. Their 21+ performance tonight starts at 7 PM; more ticket information can be found here. Below, listen to Ex Friends’ new track “The Legend of the Holy Drinker” from their new EP.

Telford indie band Former Belle is performing tonight at The Balcony at the Trocadero in anticipation of their first full length album, Cathedral. The band released two EPs in 2011, Sounds From The Ground and Ancient Drum, and are prepping material from the new album they’re currently recording. Tonight their 21+ show starts at 9; more details can be found here. Watch the video for “Amsterdam” from Sounds From The Ground.

Who would have guessed twelve months ago that Plow United would be back together and ringing in 2012 at West Chester’s The Note? The reunion of the cult favorite power trio from the late-’90s Delaware Valley punk scene was one of the most unanticipated headlines in Philly music news this year. To watch the guys pull it off with such gusto after 13 years, from their introspective Key Studio Sessions set to an explosive performance at Riot Fest East, has been all the more of a treat.

When they appeared on XPN2 back in September, guitarist Brian McGee and bassist Joel Tannenbaum announced their reunion would continue with more shows (an appearance last night at The Bouncing Souls’ Home for the Holidays show, and tonight’s gig at The Note), as well as a new album for 2012. Yesterday, the band shared its first two demos for that album. True to Plow form, each clocks in at well under two minutes, moving at pointed breakneck pace:

The World is a Slum by plowunited

The War is Over and Our Side Won by plowunited

After posting the demos, Tannenbaum tweeted:

If anybody cares, “The War is Over and Our Side Won” contains shout-outs to Anonymous, outlaw biker gangs, the Arab Spring…

…and whoever in West Philly made those TOFU HOAGIES MAKE ME GAY bumper stickers.

Keep an eye on the band’s Soundcloud page for more. In the meantime, tickets are still available for New Year’s Eve at The Note with The Crash, Third Year Freshmen and Jake and The Stiffs, and Plow United.

DRGN King

The Key Studio Sessions Compilation Volume 3—which you can download for free here—features one exclusive track recorded at the WXPN studios by 18 local acts, including DRGN King, Blayer Point Du Jour, Plow United, Weston, Surgeon, Break It Up, Black Landlord, Crills Wilson, Psychic Teens, The Bad Doctors, Ben Smith, The Tressels, Saturn Never Sleeps, White Birds, Andrew Lipke, Ports Of Call, mewithoutYou, and Young Statues.

Special thanks to all of the bands for coming to our studio, and to John Vettese for recording them. We’d also like to thank volunteer production assistants Zachary Deveraux Fairbrother, Jake “Rabid” Nisenfeld
Jeremy Quattlebaum, Joshua Pannepacker, and Maureen Walsh, as well as photographers Eric Ashleigh, Michael “Kraus Phade” Béon, Kate Bracaglia, Michelle Holshue, Mattias Nilsson, Eric Schuman, and Rachelle Lee Smith for sharing their work.

Click here the download the 18-track compilation in its entirety as a .zip file. Want to hear more? Click here to listen to the full sessions by all 18 local acts; you can also download The Key Studio Sessions Compilation Volume I and Volume 2.

Track listing:

DRGN King, “Holy Ghost”
Blayer Point Du Jour, “Mansion Party”
Plow United, “Martin”
Weston, “Love And Rockets”
Surgeon, “Greed”
Break It Up, “Subterranian”
Black Landlord, “Last Night”
Crills Wilson, “Grifter”
Psychic Teens, “Red”
The Bad Doctors, “Sisyphus And The Gate”
Ben Smith, “Love Potion No. 10″
The Tressels, “Cold Blue Eyes”
Saturn Never Sleeps, “Hearts On Fire”
White Birds, “Floating Hands”
Andrew Lipke, “Sleep Like A Child”
Ports Of Call, Ballinora
mewithoutYou, “Tie Me Up! Untie Me!”
Young Statues , “Athens”

All photos by Madeleine Lesperance

Plow United at Riot Fest East

This weekend, cult favorites of the late-’90s Wilmington/Philly punk scene Plow United played its first show in 13 years at Riot Fest East. (Check back on The Key later this morning for a full photo recap by Maddie Lesperance.) If you missed the festival, you did not completely miss out, as the Plow reunion is proving to be more than a one-off thing.

When they appeared on The Key Studio Sessions hour on XPN2 last Thursday, singer-guitarist Brian McGee and bassist Joel Tannenbaum told us about a year-end engagement the power trio has on its calendar. On Dec. 31, Plow will ring in 2012 at The Note in West Chester; tickets for this show went on sale yesterday. For scene heads, the lineup is a treat: also playing are Wilmington’s The Crash and Pike Creek’s Jake And The Stiffs (both reuniting for the occasion), along with West Chester studio head and occasional acoustic provocateur Tom Martin performing as Two Days Ago I Turned Punk Rock.

“This is basically a show at The Barn Door in 1996, transposed across state lines, and space and time, to The Note in 2011,” said Tannenbaum.

McGee and Tannenbaum also talked about plans to head into the studio next year for the first time since 1997 to record a new album. “We’ve been writing seperately, but that was always the tradition,” said Tannenbaum. “We’d each come into practice with songs that were 80 percent finished, and the rest of us would polish them off.”

“It’s almost like recording a first album,” Tannenbaum continued. “Because, you know what? We’ve had almost a decade to work on it. It better be good.”

Listen to “The World According To Me” from Plow United’s recent Key Studio Session below.

• The World According to Meby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

Joel Tannenbaum (left) and Brian McGee of Plow United

With a hard-hitting lineup split between two stages at the Festival Pier, there’s no doubt that this weekend’s punk rock extravaganza, Riot Fest East, is going to be an exciting, exhausting, exuberant day. For fans of the Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley Scene circa 1996, it will be especially so, since cult favorites Plow United and Weston reformed to play the big show. Both groups stopped by WXPN this month for semi-acoustic Key Studio Sessions; Plow took a rockabilly/folk approach with theirs, moving in step with singer-guitarist Brian McGee‘s impressive body of work as a solo artist, while Weston’s performance wound up floating in a dreampop reverie (they even play an unreleased new cut called “Love And Rockets”). Neither group sounds like you’d expect them to when your point of reference is loud amps and pounding drums, and that’s exactly what I love about these recordings. Tune in to XPN2 tomorrow at 7 p.m. for an extended Key Studio Sessions Hour; you’ll hear both band’s full sets (which included covers of Sam Cooke and The Pixies), Jake Rabid’s interview with Weston, and my interview with Plow—wherein they make a big announcement or three. (More tracks by Plow United, Weston, and Brian McGee after the jump.)

• Martinby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• The World According to Meby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• Heather Lewisby Weston from The Key Studio Sessions 09/21/11Download

• Love and Rocketsby Weston from The Key Studio Sessions 09/21/11Download

• Lightersby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• Headerby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• Plowby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• Hands Offby Plow United from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

• Hold Swayby Brian McGee from The Key Studio Sessions 9/21/11Download

James Snyder (left) and Jesse Short of Weston

• Little Mileby Weston from The Key Studio Sessions 09/21/11Download

• Record Shopby Weston from The Key Studio Sessions 09/21/11Download

• Feelings, Stupid Feelingsby Weston from The Key Studio Sessions 09/21/11Download

Photo by Shawn Scallen

The folks at Paper + Plastick Records have just announced that the label will release a Plow United retrospective in October. The Wilmington/Philadelphia-based pop-punk trio—which originally formed in 1992 and released two full-length albums before breaking up in 1997—is currently scheduled to perform at Riot Fest East this weekend. (Full lineup and ticket information available here.) According to Paper + Plastick, the collection, titled Sleepwalk: A Retrospective, will be available as a limited edition six-panel CD at Riot Fest, and as a double record with gatefold cover this October.

Here’s the word from the label:

After a five-year run that came to an end in 1997, rumors of reunion shows and a new album circulated in the punk community, but were quickly dispelled by the band, who disbanded on friendly terms. The three band members last shared the stage in 1998, though there were many offers to play shows over the past thirteen years. Plow United bassist Joel Tannenbaum notes a few factors that lead to the band’s decision to reunite at Riot Fest East this weekend. “Everything fell into place – the show itself, the timing, [vocalist/guitarist] Brian [McGee] moving back to the mid-Atlantic and his solo career starting to take off, just everything,” he says, adding “And who in their right mind would say no to sharing a stage in Philly with the Descendants and X?”

The four-sided vinyl features the band’s three full-length releases, the self-titled debut (Creep, 1995), Goodnight Sellout (Creep, 1996), and the posthumous Narcolepsy (Creep, 1998). The D-side of the retrospective features songs from various compilations or singles the band released, including the unreleased instrumental “Monte.” Though rumors have swirled about for over a decade regarding new material, the band can finally confirm they are working on new music. “There will be another album,” admits Tannenbaum. “It’s about half written. I think that’s actually what the three of us are more psyched about than anything. Writing songs was always our favorite thing in the whole world.”

If you can’t wait until this weekend to hear the recently reunited Plow United, check back in with us tomorrow for our Key Studio Session with the band.