Grammy Award-winner Paula Cole headlines World Cafe Live tonight.  Continuously released albums since her debut in 1994, Cole completed her sixth studio record last month called Raven.  The effort was funded by fans through a Kickstarter campaign, allowing Raven to be independently released.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.  Watch a video for “Eloise” from Raven below.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play The TLA tonight.  The Los Angeles rock band released their new album Specter at the Feast earlier this year, following up 2010′s Beat the Devil’s Tattoo.  With Specter, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club display their anthemic, arena-rock compositions over the course of fifteen tracks, released on the band’s own label Abstract Dragon.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.  Watch a live performance of “Hate the Taste” on The Tonight Show below.

Folk / pop singer-songwriter Josh Rouse performs at World Cafe Live tonight.  The Nebraska native, who now lives in Spain, is touring behind his recent The Happiness Waltz release.  Throughout his career, Rouse has perfected an up-tempo-but-hushed sound that makes his recordings both inviting and intimate.  Waltz returns Rouse to his English language roots after 2010′s bi-lingual El Turista effort.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Eleni Mandell can be found here.  Below, watch his new film noir inspired video for “Julie (Come Out of the Rain).”

Les Claypool brings his Duo de Twang to The TLA tonight. Fitting in a handful of dates before he heads out on tour with his main band Primus, Duo de Twang features Claypool and guitarist Marc Haggard in an intimate, unplugged set-up.  According to a review of a Duo de Twang show in Los Angeles, the set-list for the evening includes a mix of Primus favorites, original material and some covers as well as a significant amount of banter and story telling.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.  Below, watch the Duo (in this instance Claypool and Chris Robinson) perform “Battle of New Orleans.”

Experimental DJ Flying Lotus headlines Union Transfer tonight.  The Los Angeles-based musician / producer (real name Steven Ellison) has an impressive musical pedigree – Alice Coltrane was a great-aunt and Ravi Coltrane counts Ellison as one of his cousins – but he’s forged his own path in the electronica / hip hop world over the course of four studio efforts.  Most recently, Ellison released his 2012 Warp Records LP Until the Quiet Comes, on which he showed his ability to cross genres and blend concepts with transcendent results.  Tickets and information for the show with Teebs and Thundercat can be found here.  Watch Flying Lotus’ short film for “Until the Quiet Comes” below.

XPN welcomes Matt Duke to the Tin Angel.  The New Jersey native continues to tour behind his recent Love On a Major Scale EP, which hit #6 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart last December.  Duke has been hitting the stage hard up and down the east coast lately, and this June he’ll be heading down to the Outer Banks for Pat McGee’s Down the Hatch OBX event after getting back into the studio this spring.  Tonight’s concert will feature opening sets by Matt Santry and Zach Hurd; tickets and information can be found here.  Below, watch Duke perform “The Eyes” at World Cafe Live and download the song for free here.

Electronic composer and DJ Bonobo plays The TLA tonight.  The downtempo producer released his latest full length The North Borders in March and told NPR’s All Things Considered that the album was inspired by his frequent flights between New York and London.  The transcontinental nature of Bonobo’s career plays out in other ways on the album as well, with the DJ recording various instruments and found-sounds he encounters while traveling, giving The North Borders a world music aesthetic within the context of electronica.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Shigeto can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Cirrus.”

Chicago multi-instrumentalist Young Man brings his full band tour to North Star Bar tonight.  Colin Caulfield has been recording under the moniker for four releases, but with this week’s Beyond Was All Around Me he closes that chapter of his life.  Beyond comes as the final installment of a trilogy Caulfield began two years ago, opening with Ideas of Distance and continuing with Vol. 1.  As evidenced by the album titles and Beyond single “In a Sense,” Young Man worked within the boundaries of reflection and self-evaluation, walking the fault lines of singer-songwriter and dream pop with ease.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Peace Arrow,Gemini Wolf and Mike Bruno + the Black Magic Family Band can be found here.  Watch the brand new video for “In a Sense” below and read what Caulfield has to say about the song on MTV Hive.

Tylan will perform upstairs at World Cafe Live tonight.  Founding member of folk pop quartet Girlyman, Tylan struck out on her own last summer to record a debut solo album called One True Thing.  The effort was funded by an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign, meeting the campaign goal of $20,000 in just one day.  As her bandmates in Girlyman turned their focus towards children’s music with their new project D is for Django, Tylan recorded previously unreleased tracks written for the band and wrote some brand new songs for One True Thing.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show can be found here.  Below, watch Tylan perform “Fool Me Again” during a show at World Cafe Live last year.

Photo by Peter English for Shaking Through | shakingthrough.com

Indie pop quintet Glitter play upstairs at World Cafe Live tonight.  Taking cues from retro new wave pop, Glitter’s debut Wyld Hrts LP could have been the soundtrack to your favorite eighties-era tv show with its catchy guitar hooks and spacey moog synth projections.  The full-length, available on super cool clear vinyl, follows up the young band’s debut Attack On Fort Gold Paw EP (free download here).  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Joseph Mulhollen and Katie Becker & The Bricklayers can be found here.  Stream “Mirror Master” from Wyld Hrts below.

This week’s Unlocked band Restorations will play the First Unitarian Church tonight.  As we learned from Key contributor Beth Ann Downey’s introduction to the local punk rock outfit, Restorations are upfront and straightforward in every sense imaginable, from the honest and unrestrained nature of their music to their literally-titled sophomore effort LP2.  Check out the full Restorations series for Unlocked here and download “Kind of Comfort” below.  Tickets and information for the all-ages show with Self Defense Family, Exploded Drawings and Psychic Teens can be found here.

• Kind of Comfortby Restorations from LP2Download

Even though today’s Free at Noon with They Might Be Giants and Frightened Rabbit was sold-out, you still have a chance to see the former at The TLA tonight.  The New York nerd pop / rock duo released their 16th studio album Nanobots last month following a brief stint in the children’s music arena and 2011′s Join Us LP.  Despite the multitude of releases over their 20+ year career, the 1990 hit “Birdhouse in Your Soul” remains TMBG’s highest charting song to date.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Moon Hooch can be found here.  Below, watch the original video for “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and then stream their new single “Nanobots.”

Philly rapper Meek Mill will finally step on to the stage at The Tower Theater tonight, several months after the release of his Dreams and Nightmares record.  The quickly-rising performer had to put his tour on hold following a court-ordered travel probation.  But with all of that behind him, Meek Mill is ready to take his Dreams Come True tour across the country this spring.  Tickets and information for tonight’s event with Ace Hold can be found here.  Below watch Mill’s interview with The Fader at Sigma Sound Studio.

Also Happening: XPN welcomes Carolina Chocolate Drops to The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE; XPN welcomes Joan Osborne to The Levoy Theater in Millville, NJ.  Tickets and information for both shows can be found here.

Co-headliner and Abington, PA native ZZ Ward hit the stage next, leading led her tight band through an exciting hour of her smooth mash-up of Blues, Hip Hop and R and B. Highlights were a touching acoustic “Last Love Song” and set closer “Move Like U Stole It” that had the crowd grooving along.

North Carolina’s Delta Rae closed out the night. They made the full house sweat on a cold wintery night with a powerful performance full of roller coaster emotional highs and lows and glorious harmonies. Early in the set songs “Morning Comes” and “Holding Onto Good” were high points but they saved the best for last. For their encore they headed out into the crowd for an exuberant, sweaty acoustic sing-along version of “Hey Hey Hey” that featured back-up vocals from everyone in the crowd.

As NPR writes, “… if The Lone Bellow breaks big, which seems like a decent possibility, it’ll be with songs of survival and redemption, written out of necessity rather than opportunity.”  The Lone Bellow will perform at The TLA on February 12th for To Write Love On Her Arms’ Heavy & Light Tour; tickets and information can be found here.  Head over to NPR Music to stream The Lone Bellow and watch the video for “Two Sides Of Lonely” below.

Modern Inventors | Photo by Alicia Brown

Los Angeles indie-folk duo Homesick Elephant returns to the city of its birth tonight to play a set at The Fire. The duo of Sara FitzSimmons and Kevin Kelley got started by playing the venue’s open mic nights before they moved out west, and since they’ve been away they’ve recorded a handful of EPs and a great full length (2011′s The Pilgrim and the Pen). More information about the show is available at the WXPN concert calendar (powered by The Swollen Fox). Below, listen to “Quiet As A Mouse” from The Pilgrim and the Pen.

Philly rapper Chill Moody caps off a tremendous year tonight by headlining The TLA on South Street. He’s also celebrating the release of his latest album, RFM. Tickets to the show are $16 at the door, more information is available here. Below, listen to Chill’s homage to A Tribe Called Quest, “A Tribe Called Nice Things,” and read our interview with him from yesterday here.

XPN Welcomes The Hold Steady to the Musikfest Cafe in Bethlehem tonight. The ever-evolving rockers are on a round of dates to wrap up 2012, and also play Union Transfer tomorrow. Tickets and more information can be found here.

The Key: What does it mean to you to be playing the TLA?

Chill Moody: It’s everything. It’s a great way to end this year. It’s a been a great year for my career. We had word we’d get this show around June when it first got in talks, and I found out for sure in October. But I figured I should keep rolling throughout the year, and use it to put on a big show at end of year. It’s good to be looked at as the main attraction in your own city, and people who’ve been following me and my career know this is huge for me. They’re proud of me.

TK: Seems like it’s going to be a big lineup – Mic Stew, Jade Alston – I heard The Astronauts are involved. Did you hand pick the artists who are with you?

CM: Yeah, it was a mixture of people who I’m fans of their music and also fans of them as performers. They’re people where their music transcends to their live performance. It’s not like people coming to this show will come just to see me. If you get there on time, you’ll get a good show front to back, and be excited that whole time up until I get on stage. When I found out I got this show, I said the first thing I needed to do was get Mic Stew and from there everything else fell into place.

TK: You’re releasing a new project with the show, RFM. First of all, dumb question – what’s that an abbreviation for?

CM: I haven’t told anyone, and I probably won’t. Nobody will find out until the show. It’s something me and my cousin Hank McCoy came up with. We needed a cool name for this project, something that encapsulates where I’m at in my career, the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced, where I’m at in my life today. So we put RFM out there, and just left it at that – since we felt like adding some type of mystique to the project. We had a Twitter contest to guess what RFM means, and it’s to the point where people who are actually on album don’t know what it means. It’s fun for me watching them squirm and guess things that are good guesses but are things I’d never call the project. [laughs]

TK: I feel like I’ve seen you and some others talk about this project in terms of being an “album” versus a “mixtape.” Is this a next-step thing for you?

CM: Yes, definitely. I’ve always called my projects albums anyway, because it’s all original beats. I don’t rap over industry beats, I don’t rap over whatever the hot single is. They’re cohesive, and I put themes to them a lot, whether it’s about girls [Who Do You Love? and the ongoing Valentine's Day series] or being a rapper [Freshman Take Cover]. That said, this isn’t going to be a free download like the others – I’m going to put it on iTunes and it’s going to be my first official album-album, and hopefully my introduction to national hip-hop scene. I’m thinking about doing some bigger things too – like printing 1000 hard copies, a collectors’ edition. And the iTunes version will be a deluxe edition, so even if you have hard copy, iTunes is going to have extra stuff. Plus, there will be liner notes – I’m a big geek for that. When I get a new album, I can’t wait to pull it out, read who they thank, who produced what tracks, who the guests were.

TK: I saw some Instagrams of you in the studio with Freeway. Is he doing a spot on the album?

CM: Yeah, Free is my only guest. I joked and said RFM is my most selfish album of all time. I have no other rap features except Freeway. And that came about because we’re always in the same venues; every time I’ve had a show for past year and a half, somebody else has always brought him on as a guest spot. So we got to talking, and he’s dropping jewels on me, telling me things about the industry. It’s very big brother / little brother. So the song he’s on is called “Change Coming,” it’s produced by Joe Logic, and we’ll probably shoot a video for it soon.

TK: What are your hopes for 2013?

CM: Hopefully everything I’ve done this year, next year will take that to a national level. If this show goes right and we sell it out, somebody will take notice. Hopefully we’ll get a tour going, get a lot of things happening outside of Philly, and bring it back home again at the end of next year.

Chill Moody plays The TLA, 334 South Street, on Friday, December 28 at 10 p.m. Tickets to the all-ages show are $16 and available here. RFM will be released worldwide on iTunes on Tuesday, January 7.

This edition of Double Booked is nostalgically tinged, primed to give you the urge to dust off your old cd wallet, JNCO’s, and get back to the good old days.  Really though, those days were pretty humiliating in retrospect.  Sometimes, revisiting music that you grew up with can be fun while you reminisce, but it also can be disappointing, and filled with thoughts of,  ‘I can’t believe I listened to this’.

Crowd:

Everclear: I remember first watching that movie Loser, starring the pastry-violating ‘comic’ Jason Biggs, and thinking, this guys would love Everclear.  Don’t expect every person to be humping a pie at the concert, but watch where you step.  Alexakis and Co. have created a serious body of work for themselves, so expect a mix of people there who have followed the band their whole career, and those who really just want to hear ‘I Will Buy You a New Life.’

Typical Crabcore guitar stance

New Found Glory: New Found Glory is a rare breed of pop-punkers who have stayed active from their heyday in the early 00’s up until the current resurgence. A number of their peers have been existing by breaking up and reuniting ad nauseam, where as New Found Glory has (unfortunately?) decided to stick it out and continue to make music for teenagers despite being well into their thirties. The crowd, then? Probably a bunch of teenagers, and thirty year olds who wish they were still teenagers, holding on to every last strand of youth they have by reliving the ‘golden years’ when Adam Lazzara and Jesse Lacey were Gods and CrabCore didn’t exist.

Verdict:  We are going with a Tie on this one, because they both sound pretty terrible.

Will They Be Back Soon?:

Everclear: Alexakis reformed the band in 2009, recruiting mostly new players, and jumping into recording for the first time in about five years.  They just released their eighth studio album, and first in six years called Invisible Stars. That is quite the hiatus, and there is no telling how long their next break will be, given that it all seems to rely on Alexakis’ whims.  To be honest, I never though there would be opportunity to see Everclear and Eve 6 separate, let alone together, in 2012, so you never know.

New Found Glory: This is somewhat of a loaded question for this instance. In all likelihood, yes, you will be able to see New Found Glory live until they rename themselves The New New Found Glory with only Cyrus, the original drummer, remaining in the lineup. This show, similar to 2010’s The 10 Year Anniversary of the Self-Titled Record Tour, is giving 2002’s Sticks and Stones the 10 year re-issue and related tour treatment. Unless NFG stick around to do 20-year anniversaries, this will probably be your only time to ‘mosh’ to “My Friends Over You” in its natural resting place.

Verdict: New Found Glory is doing the whole album thing, which by default, is a more rare experience.  Really, you can probably see both of these bands again soon though.

Band Cred

Everclear:  On So Much For The Afterglow, Everclear has a song called ‘One Hit Wonder,’ which was totally not about them at all.  Everclear is closer to a three to four hit wonder.  They are halfway to a ‘Best Of E.P.’.  So Much For The Afterglow was Everclear’s most commercially successful, but the album really is a good one. They have done some genre morphing, starting as a grungier rock group and ending in the pop game with homies Matchbox 20. They hit their sweet spot in between the two with So Much For The Afterglow, and the mainstream responded. I would be remiss not to mention their first single ‘Santa Monica’, which sounds like all the other Everclear singles and landed them an opening spot for the Foo Fighters.  Not a bad start. Having an eight album, 20 year spanning career is a rare commodity in music, and something that Alexakis should be proud of it… I think?  I am not sure if they gain or lose bonus points for having a song called ‘You Make Me Feel Like A Whore.’

New Found Glory:  Uh, well, they have a lot of Punk-Pop Cred?  They are basically royalty when they take part in Warped Tour, which is something.  They are stalwarts in a genre of ephemeral bands that break up and reform like a bunch of angsty nuclear reactions. They have seven albums, but their first three were special for helping in defining the genres sound and influencing countless bands to form or gain notoriety.  The genre has sprouted many terrifying sub-genres, but New Found Glory were a big part of the good old days.  Of course, that is just nostalgia speaking, but that the whole point of this tour, so mission accomplished. These Pop-Punk dinosaurs have been a band for SIXTEEN years.  It feels a big weird gushing about that after writing about Neil Young’s successes, but it is all relative.  These cats are in rarified air, and if there was a punk-pop hall of fame, these guys would be at the top of the ballot.

Verdict: Everclear takes the cake on this one, but mostly for that appearance in Loser. 

Openers:

Everclear:  EVE 6 IS OPENING THIS SHOW…I REPEAT…EVE 6 IS OPENING THIS SHOW. No, this is not a dream. No, I am not playing a cruel joke on you. This is actually happening, and your phone is correct, it is 2012.  Will people demand a refund if they don’t play ‘Inside Out’?  Is that song bigger than ‘Sex and Candy’ or ‘Brick’?  Neither of these questions will be answered at the show, because they will definitely play ‘Inside Out’, hopefully multiple times, and OMG I can’t believe this is actually happening.  Someone pinch me.

New Found Glory:  I am not sure who these openers are, but more importantly they are NOT Eve 6.  That is really all that matters here.

Verdict:  If I can get an Eve 6 autograph, I might get a tattoo of it somewhere weird on my body.

The Winner:  Everclear technically wins, but pick your poison, ladies and gentleman, you are about to go back in time.

Los Angeles-based garage punk opener FIDLAR ripped through its set like an angsty, intoxicated teenager. Two-piece hazy rock outfit JEFF The Brotherhood, like a token stoner 20-something, took the stage to a cloud of smoke and played multiple tracks from their summer release, “Hypnotic Nights.”

Then, to a mass of colorful lights and a wall of reverb, headliners Delta Spirit invited the audience on to what felt like a rock-and-roll UFO. In the family mix, the band would be that weird uncle, heartbroken and laden with the scars of life, who always put on the best records and had the best stories to tell.

Forming in 2005 but gaining recognition most recently with the March release of their self-titled third album, Delta Spirit exuded the perfect blend of energy and experience. Frontman Matthew Vasquez rarely seemed in control of his extremities as his feet stomped and arms flailed throughout the set, but he had no problem thrusting the mic stand above the crowd for a rowdy sing-along during “Tear It Up.”

Still capitalizing on their alt-country and other eclectic attributes, Delta Spirit also delved deep into their discography. Highlights included multi-instrumentalist Kelly Winrich bringing that shiny tin lid front-and-center for “Trashcan” and the crowd response for old favorites like “People C’mon.”

Doing everything from head banging to swing dancing, the large TLA crowd was no indication that rival touring act Sufjan Stevens was playing a sold-out Union Transfer the same night. Just as the acts before them, Delta Spirit thanked Philadelphia for their attention and support before finishing up with popular arena-ready single “California.”

It was a fine night to feel like one, big, happy family.

PhilaMOCA‘s Tuesday Tune-Out series continues with curators JUMP Philly bringing in Blonde Gang and DJ Lisa Love to help celebrate the launch of the magazine’s winter issue.  The Philadelphia via Los Angeles Blonde Gang are a collective of musicians and artists with a singular goal of making people happy, which they achieve with their eclectic mix of dance/hip hop/rock music. DJ Lisa Love, a Philadelphia institution who has DJ’d for Jill Scott and LL Cool J, will be on hand to spin alongside one of her DJ school proteges.  For the film portion of the evening, Blonde Gang will screen an 80′s break-dancing sequel called Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.  The Tuesday Tune-Out is open to all-ages and there is a $5 suggested donation at the door.  More information can be found here.  Below, watch Blonde Gang’s video for “Red Light Green Light.”

Kung Fu Necktie will play host to Thee Nosebleeds tonight.  The West Philadelphia trio makes thrashing rock music that’s every mosh-pit enthusiasts’ dream, fronted by Kermit Lyman III’s “gluttonous tone” and backed by “the nastiest rhythm sections this side of The Cramps.”  Thee Nosebleeds will open for Screaming Rattler and Clamfight; doors open at 8:00 p.m. for the 21+ show.  Tickets are $8 and more information can be found here.  Below, listen to “Valhalla Express” from Thee Nosebleeds latest album Brown Liquor for Blood Brothers.

Perennial songwriting favorite Duncan Sheik brings The Sunset Sessions Tour to World Cafe Live tonight.  Sheik’s recent projects include writing the music for the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening and releasing an 80s cover album, which he remixed this year and released as Covers 80s Remixed.  Also performing is Laura Warshauer.  Tickets to the all-ages show are $23-$33 and doors will open at 6:00 p.m.  More information can be found here.  Below, watch Sheik perform “Half a Room” for The Song That Changed My Life series.

Philadelphia indie psych outfit Jackie Paper plays The New Music Series at the North Star Bar tonight.  The project of Joshua Dowell, Jackie Paper pulls bits and pieces of influence from psych-rock bands and shoegazers, landing their April 2012 EP in the realm of a dusty Western shot in outer space.  Also featured in tonight’s New Music Series are Dirty Cartoons, Sonja Sofya, The Externals and Nicholas Piccari.  Tickets are $7 for the 21+ show, and more information can be found here.  Below, watch Jackie Paper’s video for “All is All.”

TheKey Studio Sessions – Chill Moody from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

Chicago singer-songwriter and Pitchfork darling Angel Olsen plays a Folkadelphia presents show at Studio 34 in West Philadelphia tonight. Olsen recently released her acclaimed debut Half Way Home on Bathetic Records. Joining her tonight is Philly space rock explorer Brendan Codey, and haunting singer-songwriter Meg Baird, playing her last show as a Philadelphia resident before moving to San Francisco (read our exit interview with Baird here). The show begins at 8 p.m., tickets and information can be found here. Below, watch Olsen’s music video for “Acrobat.”

The Tuesday Tune-Out continues at PhilaMOCA tonight with November’s curators, JUMP Philly Magazine, bringing Southwest Philly hip-hop collective The Astronauts to the gallery, along with a screening of the locally-produced documentary Tailor Made: The Bucky Davis Story. The all-ages show begins at 8 p.m., tickets and more information can be found here. Below, watch the music video for “High Top Fade,” a song they collaborated with Chill Moody on.

From indie rock goddess to disco siren, Mirah has covered a lot of ground in her twelve-year career (get an overview in our interview here). Recently relocated back to the east coast, she plays Johnny Brenda’s tonight with Mount Moriah. The 21+ show begins at 9 p.m., tickets and information can be found here. Below, watch Mirah’s 2010 music video for “The Forest.”

Long-standing Canadian five-piece The Tragically Hip return to Philadelphia tonight for a performance at The TLA. The band is touring in support of Now for Plan A, released in October. The all-ages show begins at 7 p.m., tickets and information can be found here. Below, watch the band’s clever video for “The Lookahead.”

Setlist
When My Train Pulls In [video]
Don’t Owe You A Thang
Please Come Home
Third Stone from the Sun Jam (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
If You Love Me Like You Say (Albert Collins cover)
Ain’t Messin ‘Round
Oh Pretty Woman
Blak and Blu
Bright Lights [video]

Encore:
Travis County
Worryin Blues
Numb [video]

Last night, Jukebox the Ghost returned to Philadelphia for a co-headlining show with Minneapolis pop-punkers Motion City Soundtrack. Opening the show was fellow Minnesotan newcomers Now, Now; check out a photo recap of the night in the gallery above.

Photo by John Vettese

Gearing up for their show at The TLA on Wednesday, local song-crafters Modern Inventors have released the single to their upcoming debut album Trains & Aeroplanes as a free download on Soundcloud.  “Hello” is a catchy, well-built rock song with hints of Wilco and The Hold Steady woven throughout the guitar riffs and punchy drum line. The band also recorded an acoustic version of the song when it appeared on the Leicht Lunch this summer, and you can stream and download both versions below. Trains & Aeroplanes will be released in December.  Go here for tickets and more information about Modern Inventors’ show with Ben Sollee at The TLA.

• Helloby Modern Inventors, recorded live on the Leicht LunchDownload