Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati indie rockers The National will be stopping by The Mann Center on Friday, June 7th. The Non-COMM alums released their much-loved fifth studio album High Violet in 2010 and are still going strong with tours supporting the anthemic record. They will be joined by Dirty Projectors, the experimental rock project of David Longstreth. The Brooklyn outfit released Swing Lo Magellan last summer followed by an appearance at Made In America in Philadelphia (watch a video of them performing “Offspring are Blank” from the festival here). Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 1st at 10:00 a.m. More information will be available at the XPN Concert Calendar. Listen back to The National’s 2010 Non-COMM set here and watch their video for “Bloodbuzz Ohio” below.
The Mann Center
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Just Announced: The Postal Service will play The Mann on 6/17
Following the announcement of a 10th Anniversary Give Up reissue and the release of a brand new track, The Postal Service have scheduled a North American tour that brings them to The Mann Center on June 17th. The Benjamin Gibbard / Jimmy Tamborello partnership released Give Up in 2003 with widespread acclaim thanks to stand-out tracks “Such Great Heights” and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” The reissue, out through Sub Pop on April 9th, will include all ten original slots along with a second disc of remixes, covers and a pair of new tracks including the just-released “A Tattered Line of String.”
The accompanying summer tour sees The Postal Service bringing along Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) to add some guest vocals to the mix. Tickets and information for the all-ages show at The Mann on June 17th can be found here. Below, stream “A Tattered Line of String” and view the full reissue tracklist here.
The Disco Biscuits release their sets from City Bisco to download
The Disco Biscuits are probably still recovering from last weekend’s massive City Bisco jam festival at The Mann Center. The multi-stage event included guests Diplo and The Manhattan Project, among others, and this week the Biscuits made their three sets of the weekend available as downloads here. Below, you can watch an overview of the crazy jam sesh before buying the tracks.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: Neil Halstead at World Cafe Live, Animal Collective at The Mann Center, Nick Waterhouse at Johnny Brenda’s, Polica at Union Transfer, Ben Harper at The Merriam Theater
British singer-songwriter Neil Halstead will be at World Cafe Live tonight. A founding member of indie-folk group Mojave 3 and shoegazers Slowdive, Halstead has spent the last ten years building a solo career and released his latest record, Palindrome Hunches, in September. Also playing tonight are Jim Hanft with Samantha Yonack. Tickets are $15 at the World Cafe Live website; doors open at 6:00 p.m. with music beginning at 7:30 p.m. Watch Neil perform “Tied to You” off of Palindrome Hunches below.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: 2nd Street Festival, Steve Kimock w/ Bernie Worrell at WCL, and New Edition w/ Salt-n-Pepa and El Debarge at The Mann
The Fourth Annual Second Street Festival kicks off today in Northern Liberties. The section between Germantown and Green Street will be closed off from noon to 10 p.m. for a free concert, festivities and fun. There will be musical acts on four different stages, sponsor tables, vendors selling food, drinks, jewelry, clothes, and other goodies. At 3 p.m. there will also be a pie eating contest at the Germantown stage. I might very well be entering, so that will be quite a sight to see.
Some of the featured performers for this year include headliner Man Man, as well as Blayer Point Dujour and the Rockers Galore, The Spinning Leaves, The Great Unknown, Lushlife, and many more.
If you’re planning on not staying too late in Northern Liberties, head over to World Cafe Live to see Steve Kimock‘s Summer Tour. Kimock is known for his improvisational stylings ranging from jazz to world fusion to funk and anything that inspires him at the time. He will be performing tonight along with Bernie Worrell. The show starts at 8 p.m., tickets are $20-30. Below watch a short video preview of the tour.
Blast to the past! Look back to 1995 when wearing plaid outfits was hip and boy bands were popular. Some of the all stars of decade will be featured in Party in Fairmount Park, including New Edition, Salt-n-Pepa, and El Debarge. Tickets to the show at The Mann Center range from $39.75-125; doors open at 6 p.m.
Just Announced: Foster The People to perform at The Mann on June 14, 2012
This just in: Foster The People (along with openers Tokyo Police Club) will perform at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts on June 14th, 2012. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 20th, at 10 a.m. via ticketmaster.com, AEGLive.com, MannCenter.org, TicketPhiladelphia.org, or The Mann box office.
From NPR Music:
Los Angeles’s Foster the People seemingly appeared out of nowhere, taking the blogosphere and Top 40 radio by storm with the viral single “Pumped Up Kicks,” a breezy summer jam with a subtly sinister edge.
Bandleader Mark Foster grew up in Cleveland and moved to Los Angeles after high school to pursue his dream of becoming a professional musician. After years on the fringes of the industry, Foster and his band finally broke through with the polished, genre-hopping sound that made them a WXPN “Artist to Watch.” Foster the People’s debut album, Torches, continues to ride high on the pop charts. Hear the band perform songs from its new album on today’s World Cafe.
You can listen to Foster The People’s recent appearance on World Cafe here.
Weekend Picks: TV On The Radio + Broken Social Scene at The Mann Center, Peter Bjorn And John at The Trocadero
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Though the members of Broken Social Scene resist the term “super-group,” they’re the closest thing contemporary indie-rock has to a Traveling Wilburys-type meeting of the minds. Founded and driven by Kevin Drew, Broken Social Scene has at various times included Feist, Amy Millan (of Stars), and Emily Haines and James Shaw (of Metric)—part of an ever shrinking and expanding line-up. The band has had incarnations both as an intimate quartet and as a stage-filling 19-member troupe. Broken Social Scene’s latest album, 2010′s Forgiveness Rock Record, continues the tradition built by previous records: layered songs about heartbreak, this time with a cohesiveness that was missing in earlier releases. Broken Social Scene performs with TV On The Radio at 7:30 p.m. at The Mann Center; tickets to the all-ages show are $25–$39.50. —Kiley Bense
Also playing: Steely Dan at Tower Theatre (8 p.m., $76–$429); Lightninging + Tutlie, Your Electric Instinct, Study Electricity at Kung Fu Necktie (7 p.m., 21+, $8); These United States + Southeast Engine, Goodnight Lights at Johnny Brenda’s (9:15 p.m., 21+, $10); Two Door Cinema Club + Bombay Bicycle Club, The Lonely Forest (7:30 p.m., $33.25)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Although Peter, Bjorn and John joined the ranks of famous whistlers such as Beck, Bowie, and Axl Rose with the song “Young Folks” back in 2006, the band’s 2011 tour is centered around a different type of crowd pleaser: food. To promote PB&J’s sixth and latest album, Gimme Some, the band is offering giveaways from food trucks throughout the country. Sadly, Philadelphia is not one of the chosen cities. (At least you can still trudge over to the Wawa around the corner from The Trocadero for a hoagie.) The band is currently dealing with other tour issues, having to cancel two recent gigs due to drummer John Eriksson’s case of rotators-cuff tendinitis. According to a recent post on the band’s blog, Eriksson can’t lift his right arm. No news yet on whether tonight’s WXPN Welcomes show will be canceled as well—but fingers crossed Eriksson’s arm will be up and running well enough to play the album’s fast-paced (if whistle-less) tunes. Peter Bjorn And John performs with Memoryhouse and Work Drugs at 9 p.m. at The Trocadero; tickets to the all-ages show are $18.50–$21. —Marielle Mondon
Also playing: Steely Dan at Tower Theatre (8 p.m., $76–$429); NewVillager + Coup Couroux (7:30 p.m., 21+, $12); The Early November at Electric Factory (7 p.m., SOLD OUT)
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Kid Dynamite + No Friends, Spraynard at First Unitarian Church (5 p.m., all ages, SOLD OUT); Grave Babies + Xray Eyeballs, Moon Women at Danger Danger Gallery (8 p.m., all ages, $5–$10)