Archive: December, 2011
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
The options include: the Snowflake Ball at Johnny Brenda's, with DJ sets by members of the Spinto Band, Dr. Dog, Sun Airway and O.G. rapper Schoolly D; stalwart pop-punk band Smoking Popes playing their 1995 album Born to Quit (which I didn't know was a "classic") at the North Star Bar; Johnny Showcase and The Lefty Lucy Cabret and El Malito at Milkboy Philly; the former Reading and now Bleeding Rainbow, with Creepoid, Slutever and Pink Skull at the Level Room; Good Old War at the TLA; and the big Making Time three room multi-DJ blowout at Union Transfer.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Fitz and the Tantrums, the hard-touring L.A. sextet that distinguished themselves in 2011 as among the best of the onslaught of indie retro-soul acts, play the Music Box at the Borgata in Atlantic City tonight. Below, see Mike Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs sing "Don't Gotta Work It Out," while floating down a canal in Amsterdam, and below that, hear the band's Christmas song "Santa Stole My Lady."
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Diplo has come a long way since he was hosting Hollertronix parties at the Ukrainian Club in Northern Liberties in the early ‘00s. All the way to 10th and Spring Garden, in fact, where the DJ-producer and Blackberry salesman played to a sold-out all-ages crowd at Union Transfer on Thursday.
Diplo - Sirius/XM "Blow Your Head" 12-16-2011 by diplo
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Concert industry magazine Pollstar has released its list of the Top 25 North American touring acts, and Irish rockers U2, who played to 70,000-plus at Lincoln Financial Field in July, easily tops the list, grossing $156 million in 25 shows that drew an average of 81,000 fans. Wyomissing's own Taylor Swift came in second at $97.7 million (earned in 80 shows, with an average attendance of 23,000) and country party boy Kenny Chesney was third with $84.6 million. Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Elton John, Sade, Kanye West & Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Celine Dion rounded out the Top Ten.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Hallelujah, everybody say cheese. Robert Earl Keen - whose name is misspelled below - plays Union Transfer on January 25. One of my favorite Christmas songs.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Like it or not, Jon Bon Jovi is not dead. This despite a fake Internet news story today with the dead giveaway (sorry) headline that read 'International Rockstar Legend Jon Bon Jovi dead at 49' that claimed he was. The web ruse involved a faux news story reporting the Jersey arena rocker was found comatose in the Empress Hotel in Asbury Park and later pronouned deceased. Chances are, one of your Facebook friends shared it in the mad rush to be the first to spread the non-news. As the photo on the left taken this evening shows, however, the co-star of New Year's Eve is still living on a prayer in God's country.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Almost perfectly timed to coincide with the death of famous atheist and formidable journalist Christopher Hitchens comes Atheist Xmas, a holiday EP from Gruff Rhys, the front man of proudly iconoclastic Welsh pop band Super Furry Animals. The three song set is released Tuesday via Rhys' web site, the The Gruffington Post, and one of the three uncompromising downers, "Post-Apocalyptic Christmas," can be streamed below. Happy Christmas, Hitch.
Gruff Rhys - Post Apocalypse Christmas by PIASGermany
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Rest in peace to Cesaria Evora, the "Barefoot Diva" from Cape Verde who was one of the great soulful voices of Lusophone Africa. She was 70, and the Cape Verde cultural minister announced her death this morning. Evora toured frequently until announcing her retirement for health reasons three months ago. She most recently played Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center in 2006. Kevin L. Carter interviewed her before a show at the Keswick Theater in 1996, when Evora explained that the Cape Verdean style of song known as morna "is not hot or cold. It is warm. Like with the blues, it is how we Cape Verdeans express everything, our sadness, our happiness, our sodade.'' Read more of that interview here. Reacting to Evora's death, Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo tweeted: "She had the most amazing voice and was the most generous person I have ever met." Below, watch Evora sing "Cabo Verde," and hear more Evora here.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
In a hurry up world, Adam Granduciel is a patient man. When the leader of The War On Drugs was writing and recording the music that would become the band's album Slave Ambient in his Fishtown house / recording studio, Granduciel took the time to do what needed to be done. Building up layer upon layer of guitar sounds, he worked on one song in particular, called "Your Love Is Calling My Name," over a period of 3 1/2 years.
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
My 2011 Christmas playlist is in Thursday's Inquirer. Glad tidings, everybody. If you click on this link here, you can find a Spotify playlist that roughly corresponds to the list that is annotated in the paper. You can find that here. Or you can simply watch the video clip below, and marvel at the Chestnut Hill - Germantown phenomenon that is LeBon & Lebon and their Christmas ditty, "All I Want Is Megan Fox For Christmas," plus Xams videos by The Killers and Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler.
- Aquarium Drunkard
- Arts & Letters Daily
- Bag Of Songs
- Beer Leaguer
- Blender
- Brooklyn Vegan
- Daytrotter
- Deadspin
- Fluxblog
- Free Darko
- Glorious Noise
- I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
- Joe Sixpack
- Large Hearted Boy
- Little Steven's Underground Garage
- Magnet
- Metacritic
- Mojo
- Monitor Mix
- My Old Kentucky Blog
- Nick Hornby
- Passion Of The Weiss
