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.

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.

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.

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.

Los Angeles indie rock duo Broken Anchor play MilkBoy tonight.  With sing-a-long melodies and dusty percussion, Broken Anchor’s debut EP Broken Anchor Vol. I was described as “Budweiser tallboy music, best heard coming from the stereo of a used Cadillac.”  It’s true that the three tracks on the EP recall blue-eyed rock ‘n’ roll of the golden days refocused through a folk lens, but its polished production gives the overall sound the depth and atmosphere of modern recordings.  Information on tonight’s 21+ show with Heyward Howkins, Stone Cold Fox and Sunset Recorder can be found here.  Below, watch Broken Anchor’s video for “Leave the Light On.”

Everyone Everywhere have returned home for an album release show at The Barbary tonight.  Their eponymous record came out last summer but the Philly emo outfit promptly hit the road for Europe.  The new effort sees the four-piece shifting its gaze from the small-time concerns of 2010′s (also) self-titled debut to the larger-than-life philosophical queries of tracks like “Wild Life’ and “Big Hat” on 2012′s.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Glocca Morra, Slingshot Dakota and Band Name can be found here.  Below, watch Everyone Everywhere’s video for “Queen Mary II” and revisit their Key Studio Session from this week here.

Mississippi’s The Weeks will play MilkBoy Philly tonight.  Led by twin brothers Cyle and Cain Barnes, The Weeks sing autobiographical songs about life in the Delta against a backdrop of influences ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Wilco to At the Drive In.  2012′s Gutter Gaunt Gangster EP has a refreshingly punk take on Southern rock, a blend of genres not unusual for the band – since their formation in 2006, The Weeks skittered the lines of folk before settling in with the Nashville punk scene.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Shark Tape and Junior Astronomers can be found here.  Below, watch The Week’s video for “The House We Grew Up In.”

Roots rocker JD Malone performs at Burlap and Bean tonight.  The Vermont native relocated to Phoenixville and became active in the Philadelphia music scene, recording with producer and musician Pete Donnelly and winning a Philadelphia Songwriters Association contest.  Most recently, Malone and his band The Experts released 2011′s Avalon, engineered by famed Butcher Bros. producer Phil Nicolo. Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Leo DiSanto can be found here.  Watch JD Malone perform “For You and I” below.

XPN welcomes Lee Fields & The Expressions to World Cafe Live tonight.  The soul phenomenon got his start just over 40 years ago with his debut in 1969 and hasn’t let up since.  Fields released a new record in 2012, Faithless Man, on Brooklyn’s Truth & Soul Records and continues to inspire a new generation of R&B artists with his James Brown-esque funk and suave stage presence.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with DJ Shawn Ryan can be found here.  Watch a video of Fields performing “Faithful Man” for Yours Truly below.