Philly metal band Surgeon will release their new album tonight at Johnny Brenda’s Kung Fu Necktie (the show was moved due to a water main break).  Chemical Reign has been a long time coming for the local four-piece: we first got a sample of the new songs back in 2011 when the band stopped by for a Key Studio Session, a few years after their 2008 debut Angry Guest was released.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Swarm of Arrows, Ominous Black and Skeleton Hands can be found here.  Below, watch a live video of Surgeon performing “Greed.”

Photo by Kevin Mazur

This just in from Billboard.com: John Mayer announced his first tour in three years in support of his 2012 LP Born and Raised. He heads out this summer and makes three regional appearances; at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on August 23rd; at The Great Allentown Fair on August 27th; and the Borgata in Atlantic City on September 1st. Onsale information for all of these shows will be announced shortly.

In the meantime, you can listen to Mayer’s 2012 interview with David Dye on World Cafe here (via the WXPN media player), see all of Mayer’s tour dates at Billboard, watch his tour announcement video from last night below, and hear the new song “Dear Marie” by skipping ahead to here. After the jump, you can also check out a new documentary on the making of the Born and Raised album art below.

A week ago, music blog Stereogum weighed in on the “secret weapon” of Mumford and Sons: frontman Marcus Mumford’s right foot. Or, more specifically, the kick drum at the front of the stage that keeps time on the majority of the band’s songs.

Seeing them perform night one of a sold-out two-night stand at Susquehanna Bank Center last night, it was immediately evident how integral that kick drum is. For a pop-rock band with folksy instrumentation (upright bass, banjo, acoustic guitar), the London band sounded more massive with just its four core members – Mumford, banjo player Winston Marshall, keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane – then it did with the horns and strings and full-kit percussionists that joined them on the set centerpieces like “Lover of the Light.”

Foot-stomp beats are common in the folk revival – from Philly’s Hoots and Hellmouth and Columbus, Ohio’s Saintseneca up to bigger names like The Avett Brothers. With Mumford, it breaks through to another plane. On those scaled-back moments, the beat was at its strongest; pulsing, resonant and easy to get swept away in.

Maybe they just happen to be in possession of the best kick drum microphone on earth. Or maybe it’s Mumford’s way of keeping things direct and engaging for the crowd. Their folk-pop peers The Lumineers, we saw a few weeks ago, are the band everyone sings along to. Mumford and Sons are the band everyone claps along to – and the kick guides their way.

The setlist was lively and diverse, mixing the band’s trademark high-drama crescendos (the opening one-two punch of “Babel” and “Little Lion Man”) with quiet breathers (the nearly a capella “Timshel” and its lovely four-part harmonies) and moments of utter bombast (the minor key “Thistle and Weeds”, where video screens atop the stage made it possible to watch sweat bead up on Mumford’s forehead in black and white HD). The loudest numbers necessitated the greatest recovery periods, and the band would take longs pauses between many songs. But the crowd had their back – clapping in time over the silence, awaiting the next kick drum entry.

“Holland Road” was a high point, combining Mumford’s brooding, dramatic tendencies with an affirmative melody on the refrain; “Roll Away Your Stone” had a hoedown energy to it, with Lovett and Dwane leaping in the air on either side of the stage; and the bright “Whispers in the Dark” was a crowd-pleaser, with lots of hands in the air and hand-made signs being waved around. (Reportedly, a music video for “Whispers” was being filmed at this show.) “Dust Bowl Ballad” ended the main set on kind of a downer, Mumford behind the full kit bashing out intense, cave man beats under deep red light. But the encore revived the mood.

After early hit single “The Cave,” the band brought opening acts Ben Howard and Haim out on stage. “Well, we’re technically in New Jersey,” Mumford said – he was minimally conversational all night, mostly just chatting to point out that they knew they were in Camden and not Philly – and with that final acknowledgement, they launched into an eight-minute, elegant jam on Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” swapping verses and instrumental solos while the crowd sang (and clapped) along. Tune in to WXPN tonight beginning at 8 p.m. to hear a broadcast of tonight’s Mumford and Sons concert.

Setlist
Babel
Little Lion Man
Winter Winds
Below My Feet
White Blank Page
Hopeless Wanderer
Timshel
I Will Wait
Lover of the Light
Thistle and Weeds
Ghosts That We Knew
For Those Below
Roll Away Your Stone
Whispers In The Dark
Dust Bowl Dance

The Cave
Atlantic City

When London folk revivalists Mumford & Sons announced their two-night stand at Susquehanna Bank Center shortly after their sophomore LP Babel dropped in the fall, both shows sold out in seconds. For those who didn’t get tickets, WXPN is broadcasting the band’s set on Sunday night the 17th in its entirety. The night begins at 8 p.m. with host Mike Vasilikos live from the Susquehanna Bank Center while Haim and Ben Howard warm up the crowd. When Mumford goes on, we turn the airwaves over to the stage as the band works through songs from Babel and its 2009 debut Sigh No More. Tune in on the radio at 88.5 FM in Philadelphia or online at XPN.org. Below, check out a video of the band performing “I Will Wait” sold-out show at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn – clearly, the local crowd is in for a high energy mass-singalong whether it’s on-air on in the flesh.

Feelin’ a little country? Catch Philly singer and songwriter Ali Wadsworth as she graces City Hall tonight with her blues-infused ensemble as they perform new music to be released on her upcoming solo album. Wadsworth, who previously sang in Goldiebox and Unlikely Cowboy, is currently competing on this season of NBC’s The Voice . Tonight’s show is free and starts at 5:30. Listen to the new singles ”Where Is Your Love?” and “All Due Respect” below.

Melodramatic black and white war paint will make a glorious return to the tri-state region tonight as KISS and Motley Crue rock the Susquehanna Bank Center. Smear on some eyeliner and join the KISS Army as the band celebrates their latest album, Monster, due out October 16^th.  The two bands, who launched THE TOUR 2012 in March, will be performing tonight beginning at 7 p.m. Below, watch KISS playing “Detroit Rock City” at The Spectrum in Philadelphia circa 1987.

West Philly folk collective On The Water will open for Frontier Ruckus tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. On The Water, who released their EP Anchor last November, have been playing shows back in Philadelphia hometown since the conclusion of their 30-day The Motorcycle Castle Tour across the United States. Check out the track “An Elephant’s Memory” from Anchor below.

Finally, happy 30th birthday wishes are due to Philly guitar player, songwriter and producer Ross Bellenoit! He celebrates tonight with a show at Fergie’s Pub, also featuring Good Night Texas. and The Really Cooks. The free show starts at 10 p.m., Fergie’s is located at 1214 Sansom Street in Center City.