The Barbary

Tonight’s Concert Picks: XPN welcomes Aimee Mann & Ted Leo to World Cafe Live at The Queen, Sparks at The Trocadero, Modern Baseball at The Barbary

XPN welcomes Aimee Mann and Ted Leo to World Cafe Live at The Queen tonight. After sharing a bill last fall while Mann was promoting her latest Charmer LP, the singer-songwriter and Ted Leo teamed up for a proper collaboration called #BOTH earlier this year. The pair will return to their usual roles for this tour, however, with Leo filling in the support slot and probably reprising songs from the discography of his band The Pharmacists, as well as possibly (and hopefully) previewing songs from a new album he’s been working on. Tickets and information for the Wilmington, DE show can be found here. Below, watch Aimee Mann perform “Labrador” on Conan with help from Ted Leo.

Sparks headline The Trocadero tonight. The LA synthpop duo got its start in the early 70s, subsequently making their mark with over 20 albums. Their quirky stage presence is reflective of their quirky songwriting style, as the band of brothers Ron and Russell Mael have become known for their witty lyrics and cultural references. Sparks latest studio release was 2009′s The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman and they put out their first ever live recording, titled Two Hands One Mouth, last month. Tickets and information for the all-ages show can be found here. Below, watch the band perform “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both of Us.”

Local band Modern Baseball play The Barbary tonight. Recent headlines for the punk / pop four-piece have made references to their signing with Run for Cover Records, a reissue of their wildly popular Sports debut, a Valentine’s Day split for highly-regarded label Topshelf records and their ability to draw a crowd when they play a show. Currently on tour along the East Coast, Modern Baseball will help out fellow Philadelphians The Wonder Years with their record release show in May (more information here). Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Light Years and Safe can be found here. Below, watch Modern Baseball perform “Broken Cash Machine” for Maggot House Records‘ Piss Couch Sessions.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Aimee Mann, Lilght Years, Modern Baseball, Safe, Sparks, Ted Leo, The Barbary, The Trocadero, World Cafe Live at The Queen

April 1, 2013 | 4:49 PM | By John Vettese

From the Pages of JUMP: Plow United headlines a slamdancey, screamalongy show at The Barbary

Cult favorites of the Delaware Valley punk scene Plow United headlined The Barbary on Saturday evening. It was a packed, slamdancey, screamalongy sweaty show in celebration of their brand new LP, Marching Band. The all-around bill was solid, with fellow Philadelhpians The Holy Mess, NONA and Ma Jolie on the bill. JUMP Philly’s Joseph Gallagher was in attendance, along with photogrpaher Jessica Flynn. Check out their report after the jump. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Concert Reviews, Events, Ma Jolie, NONA, Plow United, The Barbary, The Holy Mess

March 27, 2013 | 4:40 PM | By John Vettese

Listen to Plow United’s Marching Band on Brooklyn Vegan, watch their “Human 2000″ video, see them thrash The Barbary on Saturday

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.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Recordings, Plow United, Studio A, The Barbary

March 27, 2013 | 2:00 PM | By Julie Miller

VIDEO

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

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.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Scene, Algernon Cadwallader, Bleeding Fractals, DIYPHL, Headroom Studios, House Shows, Pill Friends, Rasputin's Secret Police, Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe, The Barbary

March 24, 2013 | 10:30 AM | By John Vettese

TONIGHT'S CONCERT PICKS

Tonight’s Concert Picks: Reef the Lost Cauze at The Blockley, Modern Suits at The Barbary, Satellite Hearts and Black Stars at World Cafe Live

Preeminent Philly MC Reef the Lost Cauze performs tonight at University City’s The Blockley. Following up the release of Reef the Lost Cauze is Dead, he recently dropped an instrumental / remixed version of his early SnowGoons-produced project Your Favorite MC. Joining him on the bill is up-and-coming Philly names Grande Marshall, Assad and the inimitable DJ Afrodjiak; the 21+ show begins at 8 p.m., more information at the venue’s website. Below, listen to Your Favorite MC’s Favorite Beats.

Philly pop-punk / modern rock five-piece Modern Suits headline The Barbary tonight. The band recently released its debut EP Promises, which you can listen to below. The all-ages show with Pretty and Nice begins at 6 p.m., more information can be found at the XPN concert calendar.

Philly rockers Satellite Hearts and Black Stars play upstairs at World Cafe Live tonight. Black Hearts is celebrating the release of its new self-titled EP. Tickets and information on the show can be found here. Listen to their song “Raise Your Soul” below.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Black Stars, Modern Suits, Reef The Lost Cauze, The Barbary, The Blockley, World Cafe Live

March 12, 2013 | 8:30 AM | By Julie Miller

Tonight’s Concert Picks: XPN Welcomes Charlie Musselwhite to The Sellersville Theater, Amanda X with Point Breeze at PhilaMOCA for Tuesday Tune-Out, Modern Baseball at The Barbary

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.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Scene, Amanda X, Charlie Musselwhite, Connor Byrne, Deb Callahan, John Nolan, Modern Baseball, Philadelphia Area Music Showcase, PhilaMOCA, Point Breeze, Sellersville Theater, The Barbary, Tuesday Tune-Out

March 6, 2013 | 3:19 PM | By John Vettese

AUDIO

Listen to “Falling Deeply,” a new song from Plow United (playing The Barbary on 3/30)

Plow “Something brings me back,” sings Brian McGee. “But I can’t count on where, or who, or why.” This line from “Falling Deeply,” a new Plow United song premiered this afternoon on The A.V. Club, seems to parallel the way that, when we least expected it, these cult favorites of the late 90s Philly hardcore scene (and beyond) reemerged. First for a one-off reunion for Riot Fest East in 2011, then for a handful of other shows, then for their new LP, Marching Band, due out on Jump Start Records in April. The mix sounds massive, but the song – like previous single “Human 2000″ – sounds like good old Plow – crunching guitars, thoughtful lyrical introspection, heavy beats. Listen to “Falling Deeply” here. Get information on the band’s all-ages show at The Barbary here. And below, watch video from Riot Fest.