Belle and Sebastian and Yo La Tengo are playing the Skyline Stage at The Mann on July 10th. Yo La recently played a Free At Noon and were on World Cafe with David Dye. Listen to the Cafe session here. Ticket info coming soon. Below, watch the Pitchfork TV special about the making of Belle and Sebastian’s classic album, If You’re Feeling Sinister.

Photo by Pete Troshak | flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets | twitter.com/shak74

The lineup for the 6th Annual Roots Picnic includes Gary Clark Jr., Lushlife and more [link]

Dave Hartley‘s Top of the Key returns to tell you why the NBA should #LetBonnerShoot [link]

Folk-inspired Philly songwriter Gretchen Lohse records a stunning Key Studio Session [link]

The latest album from Joe D’Amico gets the Unlocked treatment [link]

Portland dance-rock artist ONUINU chats about his upcoming show at Kung Fu Necktie [link]

Get your vote on in The Deli and Tri-State Indie‘s year-in-review polls [link]

Pitchfork gave Bleeding Rainbow‘s new LP a bad review, then premiered it anyway [link]

UK pop singer Jessie Ware played Union Transfer, reminisced about World Cafe [link]

Listen to Simian Mobie Disco recorded live on Making Time RADio [link]

Elder grunge statesmen Soundgarden brought their reunion tour to The Tower Theater [link]

Listen to Yo La Tengo cover The Spinners’ classic “I’ll Be There” from Free at Noon [link]

Ohio singer-songwriter Dolfish is spotlighted in this week’s Folkadelphia session [link]

Setlist
Ohm
Cornelia and Jane
I’ll Be Around
Is That Enough
Before We Run
I’ll Be Around (The Spinners cover)

We’re excited to have Yo La Tengo join us for WXPN’s sold-out Free at Noon double-header this Friday with Bat for Lashes. While you’re getting psyched to see the performance at World Cafe Live (or hear it on the WXPN airwaves), get a taste of the sublime new material the Hoboken eclectic rock trio has in store. Fade is a great set of songs with expressive arrangements and low-key guitar tones reminiscent of the band’s 2003 album Summer Sun. It’s also streaming on Pitchfork until it’s January 15 release date. Listen to it here.

For more photos by Eric Ashleigh, visit eashleigh.com.

Wye Oak – Holy Holy from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Kaplan, in pure Pat Sajak fashion, proceeded to give the unsuspecting crowd a quick run-down of the entertainment options for the evening. Among the possible outcomes were the following: “Sounds Of Science Pt. 1” (a collection the group put together to score an oceanographic documentary), “Dump” (a set composed of songs written by bassist James McNew’s solo project), “Songs That Begin With the Letter ‘S’” (self-explanatory), “Sounds Of Science Pt. 2″, “Sitcom Theatre” (to which Kaplan quipped, “Don’t ask”), and finally, “Condo F****s” (a set of covers the band recorded under said alias). The brave participant licked her lips, wiped the sweat from her brow, placed her hand upon the spindles of the wheel, and gave it a whirl as the onlookers looked on with hope.

A silence presided as the wheel clicked past “Sitcom Theatre” and “Songs That Begin With The Letter ‘S’” before finally resting—to the dismay of many—on “Sounds Of Science Pt. 2.” A collective groan went up from the masses; Kaplan admitted that, when they decided on the wheel concept, “One of the things [they] anticipated most was hearing the groans from the audience.” Undeterred, Kaplan and Co. obeyed the wheel’s prophecy, and launched into an instrumental set, conjuring up visions of wind-swept waves with their first number, and gradually progressing into more dissonant, Jaws-invoking feeding frenzies. Around the 20-minute mark, Kaplan grabbed his guitar and recaptured the audience’s attention with an ear-splitting wave of distortion, which signaled the highlight of the first set: a descent into slimy-sounding guitar effects, murky funk bass, and drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley’s tom fills, culminating in a deafening wall of noise.

The second set (which felt almost like an apology of sorts) was by far the highlight, peppered with fan favorites from earlier years, such as “Autumn Sweater,” the heart-string-yanking, “Last Days Of Disco,” and the bass-line driven “Moby Octopad.” The band also paid tribute to Sun Ra before closing with a 20+ minute rendition of “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind”—during which, ever the showman, Kaplan proceeded to de-tune his guitar, swing it by its neck, and beat it into submission. The encore, summoned by poly-rhythmic-clapping, found McNew trying his hand at the Devo classic “Gates Of Steel,” and Hubley timidly intoning the final number, an acoustic rendition of “Tom Courtenay”—an apropos conclusion to an evening punctuated by chance and consequence. —James Porter

Sharon Van Etten performs at Johnny Brenda's

Yeah, we’re going to go ahead and toot our own horn: Tonight, WXPN Welcomes presents a trio of shows. At Johnny Brenda’s, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten—who recorded her first two albums right here in Philadelphia (as detailed in her recent Q&A with Philadelphia Weekly) headlines a three-act bill that also features local acoustic-guitar-slinging troubadour Timothy Showalter of Strand Of Oaks. (Go here for more Strand Of Oaks-related coverage, including Showalter’s recent Key Studio Session.) Meanwhile, Yo La Tengo performs over at The Trocadero; if you weren’t the lucky winner of our Yo La Tengo ticket giveaway earlier this week, you’ll be pleased to know that there are still a few tickets available for the show. Finally, Lyle Lovett performs with John Hiatt at Merriam Theater.

Sharon Van Etten performs with Julianna Barwick and Strand of Oaks at 9 p.m. at Johnny Brenda’s; tickets to the 21+ show are $12. Yo La Tengo performs with William Tyler at 8 p.m. at The Trocadero; tickets to the all-ages show are $21. Lyle Lovett performs with John Hiatt at 8 p.m. at Merriam Theater; tickets are $45-$75.

Yo La Tengo announce crazy concept tour (playing The Troc) “Coming to a city near you (if you’re lucky) in January or February is a new kind of concert, one that is not decided by the musicians taking the stage, but rather by a large game-show-esque wheel. I’ll let Yo La Tengo describe it for you…” (The Swollen Fox)

Spectrum Memories W/Tommy Conwell & DJ Jazzy Jeff “Speaking of the Spectrum and the fact that in a few weeks from now it’ll be demolished and gone forever, except from our memories (and given how easily in our advancing age we forget shit that happened even just yesterday, that’s a bad, bad thing), we spoke a while back with some Philly artists about their memories of the Spectrum. Here’s what Tommy Conwell and DJ Jazzy Jeff had to tell us…” (Make Major Moves)

Krispy Kreme Returns to Philly, Opening a Store in Fox Chase on November 9 “Seven or eight years ago, there was quite a bit of fanfare when Krispy Kreme brought a handful of stores and their “Hot Doughnuts Now” signs to the Philadelphia area. I vividly remember those openings, primarily because I had a couple of friends who had recently gotten married and so made a pilgrimage to the new store in order to eat with abandon, because they no longer had to worry about fitting into their wedding dresses.” (Uwishunu)