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Pi Lam announces line-up for Human BBQ XXXVI, including Slingshot Dakota, Laser Background, Alex G and more

Slingshot Dakota | photo by Ryan Russell | www.ryanrussell.net
Slingshot Dakota | photo by Ryan Russell | www.ryanrussell.net

West Philly’s punk frat house Pi Lam has announced the line-up for its 36th annual Human BBQ, taking place Saturday, April 5th.  The 18-band, day-long festival will feature performers from across the genre spectrum, including Haverford fan favorites Alex G, psych-Americana outfit Heat Thunder and “rotten fuzz punk” four-piece Mumblr.  Heading up the meat and music event are upbeat pop punkers Slingshot Dakota, post-hardcore emo outfit Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe and indie rockers Cold Fronts.  The mostly-local bill is filled out by Laser Background, Roof Doctor, ScooterJinx, Told Slant, Is and of The, No Stranger, Memorial Gore, The Interest Group, David Phosphor Walrus and Teenage Bigfoot.  More information can be found on the Facebook event page here.  Check out music from some of the acts below.

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You Blew It!, Prawn, Crying, Marietta, and Secret Plot bring ‘The Emo Revival’ to the Fire

You Blew It! | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo
You Blew It! | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

The Fire held an all-emo showcase Sunday night, bringing together Florida punk four piece You Blew It! alongside New Jersey’s Prawn, New York’s Crying, and Philly’s  Marietta and Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe. Each band brought their emotional cues forward in their own way, showcasing how creative and loud they can be with the copious amount of tiresome energy that come through in their music.

Secret Plot To Destroy The Entire Universe | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo
Secret Plot To Destroy The Entire Universe | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

Secret Plot opened up the night with a set of their vocally-driven and abrasive songs. Teetering in that delicate spot between destructive and beautiful, this band sure knows how to get their feelings across, especially live. New songs filled their performance, and the band mentioned that an album is in the works. Keep an eye out for that, and check out their other stuff on Bandcamp.

Local emo four piece Marietta was up next, playing a set of tracks from their debut album Summer Death. Their twinkly riffs and huge crescendos made for a terrific sing-a-long experience. The band plays faster and yells a little harder live, which really showcases their punk influence and how invested these guys are in the feelings of their songs. Drummer Andrew Weigel was especially crazy to see live; during some of the build ups he would be absolutely pounding on his toms while also shouting the lyrics at the top of his lungs. Listen to Summer Death here. Continue reading →

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Tonight’s Concert Picks: Phosphorescent at Union Transfer, You Blew It! at The Fire, and Potty Mouth at Kung Fu Necktie

Photo by Dusdin Condren
Photo by Dusdin Condren

WXPN welcomes folk / Americana luminaries Phosphorescent at Union Transfer tonight. Rescheduled from a snowed-out show last month, the show will feature singer-songwriter Matthew Houck and his bandmates showcasing material from last year’s critical favorite Muchacho, as well as the band’s extensive back-catalog. Tickets for tonight’s all-ages show are $18 and can be purchased here.

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Twinkly pop-punkers Marietta and Secret Plot rekindle at The Fire this Sunday

marietta
Marietta plays at the Golden Tea House this past January | photo by Jasmine | facebook.com/whereismarietta

Not one, but two Philly pop punk favorites will be playing together this Sunday at The Fire. Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe and Marietta will be playing with out-of-staters state punkers Crying, Prawn and You Blew It!

After a month-long tour together along the Northeast, Marietta and Secret Plot will reunite for the show. Though Secret Plot hasn’t released any new music since its last album, I Only Miss You When I Want To, came out in December 2012, they might share some of the new material they’ve been working on for a reported full-length on Kit Kat Records. This will be one of Secret Plot’s last shows in town until they return from a month-long March tour.

Joining them are twinkly pop punk band Marietta, who released their 8-track album Summer Death appropriately in October. In late January, the band announced a limited-edition new pressing of the eight-song album on marbled “red and white wine” vinyl in honor of “Wineuary.” The reissue will come out via Soft Speak Records.

The all-ages show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10, or in advance for $8 here.

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Tonight’s Concert Picks: GZA at Electric Factory, Lockets at Boot and Saddle, Dads at The Barbary and more

Photo courtesy of the artist
Photo courtesy of the artist

Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA will bring his raw lyricism to the Electric Factory stage tonight. After a six-year break, the emcee will release his new space-themed album Dark Matter this year. Watch the rapper preview his new album at the University of Toronto below and get tickets here.

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Kat Kat Records announces line-up for Phest Two, happening 12/28 to 12/31

Lemura | photo via www.facebook.com/lemuriapop
Lemuria | photo via www.facebook.com/lemuriapop

Add this to your list of New Year’s Eve celebrations: Kat Kat Records presents Phest Two on December 28th-31st at The Fire and various other locations around town.  The indoor festival will span four days with seven shows featuring forty bands during both matinee and late night events.  The line-up includes local acts The Hundred Acre Woods, Mumblr, Nicknames and Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe alongside touring bands Lemuria, Elvis Depressedly, Swan of Tuonela and more.  This year’s Phest Two will also mark the second much-anticipated NYE Stinky Smelly reunion, following last year’s midnight set at Maggot House.  Check out the full-lineup and get four day passes here.  Check out some of the performing bands below.

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Can you scream-sing and carry a tune? Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe can. (playing Siren Records on 7/16)

0001440353_20Until Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe, I thought it was impossible to scream-sing and still have a coherent and melodic voice.  “I Only Miss You When I Want To” is a hardcore emo song about lost love and loneliness, someone trying to escape the past only to run right into it.  Check out the slow-burner from this Philly band below.  The group plays a show at Siren Records in Doylestown July 16th.

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Watch My Basement is a Sh*thole, a student-produced documentary on Philadelphia’s DIY scene

Photo by Teresa Salinas
Photo by Teresa Salinas
Students at Temple University produced a short documentary on Philadelphia’s basement show and DIY scene, examining the culture’s trajectory from the seventies (mentioning when WXPN had a hand in hosting punk shows) to today.  The film was created by Evan Lescallette, Luke Proctor, Ayanda Sithole, and Tina Lam for their Genres in Media Studies class and features interviews with Joe Reinhart (Algernon Cadwallader / Headroom Studios), John Redden (The Barbary) and Mark Walsh (Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe / IHOP / Double Deuce) as well as live set clips of Rasputin’s Secret Police, Pill Friends, Bleeding Fractals (pictured above) and more.  Check out the documentary below and visit DIYPHL for a comprehensive list of house / DIY shows in the Philadelphia area.

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