Archive for the 'bands to watch' Category
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Keith Kenny CD Release Party: Limit is the Sky
June 17, 2008- Keith Kenny is a band that instills new respect for music’s ability to expand one’s horizons and way of viewing the world. Aptly titled, “Limit is the Sky,” Keith Kenny’s first CD (http://keithkenny.net/) is a celebration of classic blues rock combined with country influences, skilled musicianship and demanding instrumental part writing.
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read comments (0)The Dodos-Visiter
Author: Steven
A few prerequisites before naming your band “The Dodos”:
1. More than 50% of the band should be relatively good looking in an effort to avoid too close of a connection between the band name and the band members
2. Your music should be pretty good so as to avoid the label of a “joke band.” (Note: Most bands should strive to meet this prerequisite, though not all of them do.)
3. You should not take yourself too seriously. I mean…you call yourself The Dodos.
4. I should hope that you really love animals. And not just extinct ones.
Having met these requirements, these two boys from San Francisco (The Dodos!) create a perfect blend of light-hearted music, substantial lyrics, and anthemic drive. Tasteful irony is alive and well in the music world. Read the rest of this entry »
Editor’s Picks from Jersey Stock
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
June 10, 2008: Last week was my last post as a blogger for Prex. This week is my first post as one of the newly appointed Editors of the Blog, making this my first Letter from the Editor. A response from a reader stated, “I for one am interested in learning about new and upcoming acts, I’m just interested in those that are a little off the edges of typical American pop music.” These are the Editor’s Picks from Jersey Stock 2008 (‘Jersey’s version of Bamboozle): 5 reviews of up and coming local ‘Jersey bands.
Rilo Kiley Live at The Electric Factory
Author: Liz Kantner
Thursday night Rilo Kiley played at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia with Benji Hughes and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Rilo Kiley is one of my favorite bands and I have been listening to them for years, but this was the first chance I’ve had to see them live. Despite the tickets being a bit pricey, it ended up being one of the greatest concerts I have ever been to. Read the rest of this entry »
Summer Concerts Abound, Gas Prices Be Damned!
Author: Jeff Boule
As someone penning for this blog has already asserted, the summer concert season is upon us. For this reviewer, it is a highly pregnant season with many, many promising, quality, not-to-be-missed performances. You can pretty much rest assured, if I am interested in these shows, they are not your run-of-the-mill American Idol loser tours (read: I got your diversity right here!). Read the rest of this entry »
Not So “Sly”!
Author: Dee
Back in late November, 2006, while I was still digging on “The Information” by Beck, there was one song that caught my ear.
Sherazada: Honest, Epic, Solid
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Alternative Rock/Post-Hardcore brings back solid alternative rock, honest musicianship, epic-romantic lyrics, and a quality stage show
June 3, 2008: Sherazada (Bergen County, NJ) was still in its forming stages when I met Stephen Nahorniak, lead singer of Sherazada, at a party at The College of New Jersey in December 2006. Six months later, he sent me an invite to the Sherazada Facebook group. I first saw them perform at the Bogota VFW in September 2007: I blew off tailgating at a TCNJ football game to drive an hour and 45 minutes to see them perform a short set on a small stage. On May 28, 2008, I was listening to “Let it Go” downstairs, my brother heard the song, came down from upstairs and asked, ‘what band is that?’ I said, ‘Sherazada.’ He said, ‘I know the lead guitarist.’ I said, ‘I know the singer.’ My brother and I never agree on anything; but on that Wednesday, we agreed that Sherazada should have played Bamboozle 2008.
Second Bananas!
Author: Dee
It’s sad to say, but most opening acts are treated like the cousins of your family that you really don’t like, while the headliner act is given all of the glory.
Even worse, there’s usually one huge musical disconnect between the opener and the main act.
A couple of years ago, I waited almost three hours for a Ryan Adams show. The opening act were two teachers from the local school system who tried their best, but…
They couldn’t sing, nor could they play their way around the block. And yes, they were just bloody awful, but I’ll give them all of the credit in the world for trying their act out in a very small venue all filled up with liquored up Ryan Adams fans.
A couple of years ago, Wilco played a show at the most awful, fan-unfriendly place in Philly called “Festival Pier”, which is one huge slab of concrete set on the banks of the Delaware River, with very few pleasantries (meaning that the good “Flying Fish” beer ran out early).
Guess who opened up for Wilco? My Morning Jacket, and I swear there were only 100 of us dancing around the front of the stage to this band, hair, beards, Chucky T’s and all. Jim James said, “Wow, this is like playing a backyard barbeque!”
So, last Friday, Paul and I went to see Danielia Cotton at “World Café Live”, and we love her!
But, her opener, a band called “The Alternate Routes” really perked up my ears. I picked up both of their CD’s at their merch table, and it’s clear to see that this band has both songwriting and pure musicianship ready to go…with a full band or an acoustic one.
So, don’t ever make the mistake of showing up late for a show just because you’d care to miss the opening act.
You just may miss the “next big thing”!
Keith Kenny: Part 1
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
May 27, 2008: I first met Keith Kenny when they performed at The College of New Jersey on Friday April 26th, 2008. Self-named after the lead singer, the band members are Keith Kenny- lead/vocal/guitar; Jonathan Luberecki- bass, and Tyler Chiara- drums. They’ve put out 2 EPs on the internet, and their first album is out June 14th, 2008, which will be reviewed in a separate blog at that time. Musically, you’re listening to mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, mixed major and minor key tonality. Basically: a hybrid of blues rock, classic hard rock, a little bit of Eric Clapton (when he did blues) and Led Zeppelin.
Islands, with The Magic and Street Carnage
Author: Meghan Palagyi
On Friday night, The Islands, which include two ex-members of The Unicorns, played the first Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. There was fantastic turn out of young and old alike, and all enjoyed a great set of new and old Islands songs. Their new album, The Arm, is gritty departure from their first album, Return to the Sea, but I think Islands are moving in a fresh direction. While most of the set was from the Arm, the audience was treated to all of their favorites and there was much rejoicing. Read the rest of this entry »
Concert Review: The Morning Of
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
Newcomer to Bamboozle Rocked it
May 20, 2008—The Morning Of—Newburgh, NY—played at Bamboozle 2008 for the first time on May 3rd, 2008. This is a happy, energetic band that is also very talented. Their new Indie pop-punk album is “The World As We know it” (Tragic Hero Records). For a newcomer to Bamboozle, their confidence and stage presence looked as though they were returning artists. In between songs, the guitarist said, “Two years ago I stood in the stands and thought, ‘wow, wouldn’t it be cool to play at Bamboozle,’” which made me wonder, where will they be two years from now?
No Age – Nouns
Author: Meghan Palagyi
Nouns is the best album of 2008 so far by any standards. The duo No Age bring their sound with refreshing consideration to punk-attuned audiences with no qualms. Hailing from Los Angeles, their guitar and drums combination with insightful lyrics layered on top provides the recipe for a great half hour of listening. In particular, Nouns emphasizes No Age’s lo-fi melodies that provide a for cushion for lyrics that hold meaning and mentality. Read the rest of this entry »
Album Review: Schoolyard Heroes, ‘Abominations’
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
May 13, 2008—I was driving in my car in January when I first heard Killswitch Engage’s pathetic cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.” I have never been so enraged and offended at a band– ever. The first song I heard by Schoolyard Heroes was “Children of the Night” and I thought, thank God the spirit of Dio lives on. Doing a background check on Schoolyard Heroes revealed that purevolume.com removed their song “Dude Where’s my skin” after a day—despite the fact that it was the fastest downloaded song in the history of purevolume.com. The fact that KsE disgraced Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ is more offensive than the horror-punk sounds of Schoolyard Heroes. But because they are “disturbing” and “morbid” they get taken off purevolume? I think 1988 called and they want their Reagan era religious-right’s control of free expression back. Their most recent album is ‘Abominations–’ and it combines skilled guitar riffing with melodic lyrics and a haunting message. Read the rest of this entry »
The Thomas Function-Celebration
Author: Steven
Do you remember that favorite local band in high school who you’d go see every other weekend with you girlfriend/boyfriend at the dingy warehouse/art space/basement? Done? Awesome. Now…imagine how you would feel if that band were to suddenly, and quite dramatically, dis-band (haha…oh man) and try to start a new gimmick with more synthesizers and less punk rawk. Done? Not so great, right? Especially not at an impressionable age when all you wanted to listen to was “Alabama Jihad,” a band that sounded as abrasive as their name suggested. So, imagine my disdain when my small-town-wonder-band regrouped under the moniker “The Thomas Function” and stopped wearing uniforms at their shows. An unhappy camper, I was. But, 6 years and some awkward realizations later, I have to say that these boys from Bama clean up their sound quite nice. Read the rest of this entry »
Spaces for Morning
Author: Leigh Silbernagel
A New Day in Indie Rock-experimental: ‘Spaces for Morning’
May 6, 2008 – Classified as Indie-Rock-Experimental, Spaces for Morning— Philadelphia PA —has a new album coming out. Members are John, Deven, Eric, Pete, and Mike. They started two years ago, and one year ago they changed the name from The Hummingbirds for stylistic reasons and because of the arrival of new members. They have not been signed and their album will be out mid-to-late June. They need bookings for D.C. Richmond, Charleston , Cleveland , Pittsburgh , New York , Atlantic City , and Connecticut for the month of July. Read the rest of this entry »
Monotonix/HEALTH live at TFC
Author: Steven
On April 26, 2008, the Terrace Eating Club of Princeton was graced with not one, but two of the most exciting/noisy bands in music today. One might ask…”Who, Steven? Who are these rock-and-roll animals you speak of? And what the hell did you do to deserve a viewing of these alleged wonders of noise rock in the same night?” And I would respond, in so many words: “Oh…you know…this band called Health…and some guys from Tel Aviv who call themselves Monotonix… [For the record, the ellipses would stand in conversation and could easily be confused for pauses of pretentiousness, but in fact I just have a hard time organizing my thoughts before having words leave my mouth in a jumbled mess. And for that, I apologize.] YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! blah blah” Or something to that effect.
Rock-pop-folk rock group brings hope back to the music scene
April 29, 2008– On a sunny Friday afternoon outside his house in Ewing, I sat at a black wrought iron patio table with Patrick Llewellyn, founder and lead singer of Patrick Llewellyn and His Band—a folk/pop/folk-rock group out of Stanhope, New Jersey. He began by saying, “Thank you for doing a piece on me, this is great exposure.” But by the end of the interview, I felt I should be thanking him for his profound insights. To date, this interview put me in my place; and opened myself up to a whole world of thinking about music, identity and insights into the music industry that was very humbling and inspiring. Read the rest of this entry »
A Nice View
Author: John Linden
Jay Reatard – “Blood Visions” and “See/Saw / Screaming Hand”
Author: Meghan Palagyi
If the beginning of the first track of the album sounds like “Bela Lugosi is Dead” played at 45 rpm instead of 33, it a given that “Blood Visions” is going to be great. It was released in October of 2006, so it may be old news, but recently discovering Jay Reatard has refreshed my seriously stale music library. This is the first solo album from the group, and while the cover may be a tad unsavory for some tastes, Jay is wearing nothing but a Speedo and is covered in what appears to be fake blood, by no means should the music be judged by the CD cover. Read the rest of this entry »