I can’t not acknowledge tonight’s show. With a near perfect bill, I’m more than excited to make my way down Frankford Ave. tonight and catch not only the incredibly complex sounding group, Sun Airway, but I’m also really interested in catching up-and-comer, Cruiser.
Ever since Wild Palms, I’ve been entranced by the project’s floating vocals, soothing tones, and intricately layered tracks. Their latest release, Soft Fall, immediately grabbed some nice little hype for the Philadelphians. Now, pair a night with Andy State’s local bedroom project-turned backing band and I think you’ve got a winner of a bill.
Listen below and dig a bit into both groups and be sure to grab your tickets here!
*Disclaimer* I’m pretty damn late with this, but I still wanted to share a bit of my experience from last month :
On March 20th, Odd Future came to NYC. I decided to make a day of it and really wanted to immerse myself in the whole experience. So, I checked out the pop-up shop they opened on Orchard Street (a one day merch store set up in each city on the group’s tour where fans can meet the guys and buy overpriced t-shirts and other assorted apparel) and then headed over to the concert later in the night. I’ve been following OF’s rise to fame for the last 2 years or so but this was my first time witnessing the pandemonium they bring with them.
I woke Tuesday morning to find an interview from Hot 97‘s Peter Rosenberg featuring Tyler the Creator and…for the first time ever, the long lost OF member EARL SWEATSHIRT. The interview solidified the rumors that Earl was in New York and started the buzz about the possibility of Earl joining the rest of Odd Future for the show that night. Needless to say, I was stoked about this possibility and watching the interview only added to my excitement.
The New York popup shop was supposed to open around 12pm, but when I arrived closer to 1:00, I came to find out that it had yet to open and there was an incrementally growing line growing creeping down the block. Generally I know things like this tend to NOT run all that smoothly, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that after about 3 hours standing in line, basically all the members of Odd Future had left the shop to get ready for the show that night. Although, I did get to grab the album from the store before heading back home to recharge for the night AND I did see Domo Genesis and Taco who were still floating around the store for a bit.
As I got to the show and entered the Hammerstein Ballroom to OF’s Syd Tha Kyd DJing, I immediately felt the excitement in the air. I also immediately noticed about 50% of the crowd was probably still in high school and 60% definitely under 21. But I’m not dissing the kids, I mean I was a dumb hippie kid in high school who went to moe and Keller Williams shows all the time (so I am in no position to say anything). The crowd got more and more hyped through Syd’s DJ set, especially when she dropped the Kanye West/ Jay-Z banger “Niggas in Paris.” But then, all of a sudden, Syd cued up the familiar sounds of Hodgy Beats and Left Brain’s MellowHype track “64.”
This first song set the tone for the show and after that, it was more or less complete madness. I hadn’t been to a show, not to mentioned a RAP show, in quite a while but I must say I was floored. These kids were insane, so much fucking energy! I somehow found myself near the front of the crowd, about 40 or 50 feet from the stage, in a sea of sweaty dudes pushing and shoving and yet I still had a blast.
BUT then, about half way through the set, the true moment everyone was waiting for. The keys to the song “Orange Juice” hit and after a few seconds, Tyler and the rest of Odd Future introduce their long lost brother, EARL SWEATSHIRT.
The entire room, including OF themselves completely lost it. At this moment, the event no longer became just a concert. For Earl, it was a return home and I would consider, a defining moment as his first live performance with the group. There will never be another “Earl’s first show” and I am so happy I was able to witness it first hand. On stage you could see the camaraderie, joy, and excitement from the entire OF family. A group of friends, fucking around with one another, doing what they love. This can be summed up by the last few moments of the concert; as the group performed the final track of the night (which is also the last track of their new album) “Oldie,” a sprawling 10+ minute throwback feeling track featuring a verse from every collective OF member. One by one, each member recited their respective verse and by the time it came to Earl’s verse (the second to last and by far the longest of the song) nearly the entire stage was full of OF family, backing their newly returned brother.
This might sound a bit lame, but it was a special day for me, and I am extremely happy still, as it is now nearly a month ago that I was a part of this whole event.
Check out this live version of “Parasitic Twin” that Dominic Angelella of Philly’s own DRGN KING who played at our first installment of Bay Window Sessions.
More performance videos from the show coming soon.
A musician who makes going against the grain look like an easy feat, Chad Matheny conjures up experimental indie pop with his traveling project Emperor X.
Often times playing live at almost any location at hand, it’s Matheny and his acoustic guitar with a simple mic setup singing songs that range on all sorts of subjects, current events, etc. that are somehow yet, intelligently tied together. He tours the country endlessly via Greyhound bus and public transportation making pit stops at venues among whatever location upon request (all of which you can read about on his blog here).
Matheny’s a guy who thinks outside the box which is apparent in his other projects besides this year’s release of Western Teleport. Take for example his geo-caching-esque marketing where he would bury his cassettes, logging the GPS coordinates so listeners and fans could find his physical music which caught the attention of NPR’s Weekend Edition. There’s no shortage of ideas for this musician which is something largely underrated and under-appreciated in the industry.
Emperor X will be joined by Dominic of Philadelphia’s DRGN King for a night of live acoustic music right here in my living room. Space is limited, so please shoot over an email to whatsprotocol[at]gmail.com if you’re interested in attending.
Autographs: Alexa asks Pete if he likes pork and Kendrick asks Pete's opinion on the Tanner daughters.
Last Thursday (October 13th) Lindsey and I were able to catch the Little Anchor performance at The Fire in Philly and we recorded it for you. You’ll want to listen to some tracks from that below, but stay with us for a little bit.
We talked to the band after their set and they were kind enough to invite us to lunch the next day at the New Delhi Restaurant in University City before they departed for Virginia. The Indian buffet was incredible, as was the conversation. We were able to learn that Kendrick (guitar, vocals) had purchased this song from the old electronics store The Wiz back in the day. You may remember that The Wiz was involved in an episode of Seinfeld in which this commercial was featured. Continue reading →
First off, a shout-out and thanks to the FeelingAnxious crew who put on one hell of a CMJ event last night. They kept us full with whiskey and pickel-backs, our ears ringing with fantastic music, and surrounded us with a solid crowd of people.
Our friends Little Anchor eased everyone in with some feel good pop with tight and effortless transitions between songs. Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club immediately displayed a comfortable yet seasoned presence on stage, bringing modesty in the form of incredible alt-folk rock to Brooklyn.
Other notable acts likeElizabeth the Catapult wowed me and really kept the show going up until Last Good Tooth (sort of like an american Noah and the Whale) who closed the event. Hey, I’m proud of Philly and our little music scene (Kurt Vile, War on Drugs, etc. etc. etc.) but man this crowd had some serious energy.
It may have been a bit of struggle this morning to get out of bed (when will they invent coffee IV’s?) but between covering CSS Friday night in Philly and CMJ-ing last night in New York, I’m obviously pretty spent. And in these moments I look to nice, relaxing music to keep me going..much like what Lewis & Clarke create.
Contrary to popular belief from our northern neighbors (I’m looking at you NYC), Philadelphia has a fantastic music scene. Maybe you just don’t know what venue to check out, what local bands/artists to catch, whatever the reason is know the good people here at What’s Protocol? are looking out for you.
Ruby The Hatchet is a psychedelic rock outfit from the city of Brotherly love (and cheesesteaks, pretzels, and Duck Boat tours..) who put on one hell of a show all of which Daryl has no problem further detailing for you lucky readers below. Tonight they will be playing under The El line at the notable Kung Fu Necktie. Make sure to grab your tickets online to secure a spot on the list, show starts at 8pm! Continue reading →
Here Chaz does a move from the P90X program during an instrumental break.
Friend of the blog Chaz Van Queen is performing in New York tomorrow night and he would like for you to join him. He is set to open the show up and will be followed by the Disco Monkeys and Emergency Service, who will be recording the show for their next music video.
If you’ve been keeping up with the blog you know who Chaz is. If not, he is a very talented musician specializing in hip hop and r&b who is currently studying music and plans to release his album “A Smile for You” very shortly. The Disco Monkeys are in fact a disco band, but the band is made up entirely of humans. This means that their band name is half of a lie. Emergency Service lists their genres as pop, reggae, rock, pop rock, and hip hop. I’d throw in that they sound a bit ska-ish at times, too. This makes them the everything bagel of music, or maybe a meat lover’s pizza. They are headlining the show which starts at 9 PM and is located at Dominion in NY. Event info here.
Now Emergency Service isn’t the only band Chaz will be opening for this week. On Saturday night he will start things off at the Das Racist concert in Washington, DC as the Relax Tour rolls through. The show will take place at the 9:30 Club and will start at 11:30 PM. You can get your tickets here if you haven’t done so yet. The show will also feature Despot, Danny Brown, and Lakutis.
We will be on hand for this one so expect videos and audio from it. Or don’t. We could run into technical difficulties. Then you’d be disappointed. Want to be not disappointed? Listen to this:
In this picture the Bailey Hounds are all alone at a concert hall. This was not the case at the M-Room.
Last Tuesday I was able to catch the Bailey Hounds live at the M-Room on Girard Ave in Philly and they kindly allowed me to plug into the mixer board and capture their beautiful sounds for you guys. They performed songs that will be on their upcoming album, which I encourage you to get.
As for the M-Room, it’s a nice venue with good sound. I suggest catching a show there if you can. So check out the entire live performance from the Hounds below, complete with a stoppage to retune their instruments as they claimed it would have been rude to the crowd to continue on out of tune. Pretty nice guys, huh?
I don’t really need to write much here. Thom McCarthy is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. He is pretty amazing. When you watch him perform live you can be overtaken by a euphoric feeling. That doesn’t happen at many live shows, so he has something special. He is witty, charming, and talented. I was tipped off that he picks a subject to incorporate into the banter at each show he plays. In the show I was able to record at Milkboy the theme was trees. Keep that in mind as you listen.
Sorry if this little blurb is a bit poorly written, it’s just hard to put into words how good he is. Just check out the recording.
