Based on the number of tour vehicles, one might have guessed a double, double bill — the stripped-down staging indicated otherwise. For rock’s reigning duo, The Black Keys, seem capable of supporting their show out of a panel van, but bring a fleet of vehicles to ensure that their range of musical influences and interests could just as readily be brought out for display.
It was a night of mutual obsession with fun. packed the house on Tuesday night. The love affair between Nate Reuss and Houston was palpable from the onset of the show, admiration flowing back and forth from under the lights to the densely filled hall of Warehouse Live.
After an epic Friday night, you might think that one would want to rest on his laurels. You don’t know one very well.
Saturday would be all about Dr. Dog, the indie rock band out of the Philly area. First the excitement and the heavy rotation of their albums, then the in-store performance at Cactus Music, all of it leading up to a jam-packed (literally and musically) performance at Fitzgerald’s.
The ZenHill Records family has been under the same roof for a while now, but Friday night marked the first time they’ve all performed on the same stage. The weather did its best to keep people away from the show. But the rain and thunder also provided an aura of mystery and destiny as The Wheel Workers, Winter Wallace, Craig Kinsey, Southern Backtones and Roky Moon and BOLT! were on the bill.
When we told you last week that there was a “can’t miss” show on the horizon, we didn’t think you were listening. Monday morning we were proved wrong when we found an email from Derek Key that delighted us. He had dropped by Warehouse Live the Poor Pilate show that featured T. Bird and the Breaks and Blackie Dammett.
Check out his photos below. We’re particularly big fans of the black-and-white of David Lascoe of Poor Pilate, but you can be your own judges.
The Loop Scoop continues its tenuous Reality Bites references with Evan Dando’s latest incarnation of The Lemonheads making an appearance at Fitzgerald’s last Friday to a near-sellout, enthusiastic, relatively mature (for Fitz) crowd. Maintaining our reputation for loud conversations during quiet songs, didn’t appear to affect the reputationally-prickly Dando, who in fact was clearly enjoying the performance.
It was an unconventional night for an unconventional sound. With each piece of the night seeming out of place, it was no wonder that they all fit together perfectly. The Capitol at St. Germain hosted the event which would launch Southern Backtones‘ latest album, La Vie En Noir to the world. The new “supper and a show” club in downtown seemed like an unlikely venue, but the pairing of single-malt and “Dive Disco Misfits” worked like a charm.
I’ve only ever heard good things about G. Love and Special Sauce concerts. When all you get is tales of positive experiences, getting your hopes up is a natural occurrence. As show time approached, you could find Richard and I tossing back song titles we hoped to hear and stories we hoped to make our loved ones jealous for missing out. After an energetic set filled with bass solos, blasting harmonicas, the occasional rapping break down and a four-song encore that included two cover songs, we had enough material to brag about for the coming year.
The show started the minute I walked in the door on Thursday night. The Docs had already said their hellos and were on their way into the first song while I was grabbing a beer from the bar. The first question popped into my head: Had I just walked into a surprise performance by Kings of Leon? That’s the world I have to accept as the current generation of rockers finds their way into a spotlight, they’ve been looking up to bands from my early adulthood.
I’ll admit, the reason that I ended up at Fitzgerald’s on Friday night was to see The Literary Greats. Everything else would just be a bonus, but I wasn’t really looking for much. After 45 minutes of Poor Pilate, I was itching to get home to download their album. When Quiet Company finished their set, I immediately left even though Finnegan was still due up. I was riding a high that I wanted to let stew for a while.
