Jan 31 : "Scarecrow Pt. 1" - Nic Sanderson (Philly)

Philly Music!

pic from Nic Sanderson's Facebook page

It was the music of Philly post-punk artist Nic Sanderson that caught my attention. After listening to samples of lots of bands playing at lots of venues on January 17, I decided to go to Ortlieb's, where Nic Sanderson was going to be opening up the evening. In listening to Nic Sanderson's music on line, I immediately liked his strong instrumentals. The music had some intriguing and unexpected chords and arrangements, just the right amount of messy, and rounded out with some interesting fuzz. Although I got to the venue a little late (going after work), I liked what I heard; it was even better than the online version. (Time had passed since the release of the albums). I hope to catch a full show in the future.

Nic Sanderson has a couple albums out. One of them is from 2017 and is titled, "Blurry Being". This is the seventh track on the album and is titled "Scarecrow Pt. 1" :::

Looks like I might have to wait a while to see a complete show; Nic Sanderson has no other shows coming up soon; but here is the link to his Facebook page, where we can find out when that next show will be. Nic Sanderson on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jan 28 : "The Day After an All-Nighter" - Sam Seeger (New York)

News
Sam Seeger Releases New Video

Sam Seeger just released a new video today, "The Day After an All-Nighter".

(smh true)

Sam doesn't have any other shows coming up in the next few weeks, but here is the click to his Facebook page where you can keep watching what he's doing ::: Sam Seeger on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

Jan 25 : "Take It Already" - Dear Althea (Philly)

Philly Music

ALMOST NEW YEARS EVE

My New Years Eve was off by one day. While I normally don't go out on New Years Eve, I did an "almost" this year, seeing that "Dear Althea" was doing a show on Monday, December 30 at Kung Fu. It had been years and years since I had seen this band do a show (I checked with Songkick and I found that the last time I saw them was in 2010 and 2011!) ... They were just as good as I remembered, maybe even better after the intervening years.

Don't have a lot of details to talk about. Unexpectedly ran into several people I knew; my attention was all over the place. That plus the music made it one of the best New Years!

The most recent album that Dear Althea has out is "Louder Faster Female" which was produced in 2013. Here is the lead track from that album, "Take It Already" :::

Deal Althea doesn't have any other shows coming up soon (Hope I don't have to wait years to see them again), but here is the click to their Facebook page where you can find out more about them ::: Dear Althea on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

pic from Dear Althea's Facebook page

Jan 16 : "Davenport" - Aspect Ratio (Philly)

Philly Music!

MOVIE MAGIC

I think this is the first time I've ever seen a band who dedicates itself to the work of film! On December 30th, I saw Philly band "Aspect Ratio" do a show at Kung Fu Necktie.

Aspect Ratio is Joshua Alvarez and Carly Marcoux, and they both love the movies, most specifically cult classics. Last year they came out with a two-track ep "Davenport b/w Daisies".

"Davenport" is actually based on "Dawn Davenport", a character in the John Waters' film "Female Trouble". Dawn Davenport was played by Divine, which is the reference in the song's chorus. The song also references "Edith Massey", who was one of the regular actresses in John Waters' films. ... And "Gator" is Dawn's husband.

The band describes its love for film on its Facebook page ::: Aspect Ratio's music is about writing a love letter to the movies, performing a send-up of personal favorites in all of their often brutal and heartfelt complexities. Guitarist and singer Joshua Alvarez (Cinepunx/Crossed Keys) and drummer and singer Carly Marcoux have created a space and duality that mixes their love of film with a kind of agelessness and 'zero-f**ks-given' zeitgeist of 'non-control.' "We'll see where the songs take us; and if we don't like it, what we're playing, or feel good about it--then we won't do it."

The Philadelphia-based band's debut single, "Davenport" b/w "Daisies," was inspired by two unforgettable favorites: John Waters' classic, "Female Trouble," featuring trash-goddess Divine, and the 1966 new wave Czech girl-gang cut-and-run romance, "Daisies," directed by Věra Chytilová. For a bookend, both are quite powerful, but come at you in completely different ways (and are meant to be experienced as such).

I nominate Aspect Ratio to provide the soundtrack for a future John Waters' film.

Here are the lyrics to "Davenport" and Aspect Ratio's Bandcamp page: "Davenport" (CLICK HERE). And here's where you can check out "coming attractions" for Aspect Ratio. Aspect Ratio on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

pic from Aspect Ratio's Facebook page

Jan 11 : "'Hey Dragon' feat. Mekia Machine (Official Video)" - The Holy Wow (New York)

News
The Holy Wow Releases New Video

Back in the Fall I saw The Holy Wow do a great show at Bowery Electric. And somehow I missed it, but they came out with a video about that same time, titled "Hey Dragon". Late, but here it is. This was released on November 19.

Here's the click to their Facebook page where you can find out about their next show, as well as the full story of the band's unique background. ::: The Holy Wow on Facebook (CLICK HERE).