Review + photos by Julie Drexler

Let me start by saying I have never seen so many people in Philadelphia ready to bust a move. Call it a case of cabin fever from the snow that swept the city last week, but people were psyched to dance off that extra pent up energy. Over 1,000 people showed up to see Neon Indian and Memory Tapes perform their brand of psychedelic synth-pop this past Friday at Voyeur.

Read the full review (with pics + MP3s) after the jump…

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On first, or even fiftieth listen, Phoenix may not strike you as a band that could whip a sold-out crowd into a frenzy, but that’s exactly what they did last night in Philly. Simply put, they killed it. (Full review, photos and setlist after the jump)

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Kudos to Dead Oceans for putting these two bands on the same bill. Although I missed the majority of the opening band (members of Bishop Allen), I must say that just the combination of Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band’s indie-prog-math-insanity and Bishop Allen’s thinking man’s folk pop made for a great musical evening. Here are some brief thoughts on each band’s set, along with some cool photos shot by Walrus pal Tiffany Yoon

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NY three-piece HEARTS REVOLUTION are a double-edged blade. Their 7″s are multi-layered, sometimes delicate, often intense head-rushes of electronic fury. On the other hand, their live show borders on hip-breaking, neck-snapping punk. I caught their adrenaline-fueled, sweat-soaked set last weekend and was thoroughly impressed. Check out some photos, courtesy of Walrus pal Don Vincent Ortega:

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This past Saturday Baltimore’s Beach House opened for The Walkmen at Philly’s Theater of the Living Arts. I was unable to attend, but The Walrus’ good bud Laura Nunzi did make it out to the gig. She captured some awesome photos and relayed these comments…

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On Saturday night I headed to JB’s to catch a set from local band Like A Fox, an engaging mix of Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev psychedelia and high-energy, post-punk guitars. In the 90s, lead singer Jay Laughlin and the much-hailed Lenola created low-tech spectacles on stage, covered head to toe in twinkle lights, gyrating around like human lite-brites. They were the coolest looking DIY shows I had ever seen…to this day.

For the release of their new album Where’s My Golden Arm?, LAF rekindled that Lenola aesthetic, albeit not AS intense, dressing their mic stands in a collage of twinkles and autumn-leafy goodness. Yep, the stage was illuminated, not only from the the glow of those golden bulbs, but also from the intensity of the band’s new songs. Filled with spacey keyboards, serene harmonies and guitars that intend on melting your face off one minute and warming your heart the next, the music sped down a path of light, bounced off the walls and headed straight into the subconscious.

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With enough fog to simultaneously get you in the mood and suffocate you, Philly’s Human People, became the first band to ever take the stage last Saturday at the city’s newest venue Kung-Fu Necktie.

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“Nooo requests!” shouted Colin Newman in his snotty, yet charming British accent halfway through the band’s blistering set at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia.

I thought to myself, “Wait, no requests? Boo! Ok, how about just playing my all-time favorite Wire song “The 15th?” Sure, up to that point, the set was a well-paced mix of old and new material (including songs from Pink Flag!), but I needed to hear THIS song.

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This past Friday I headed to see current buzz band Chairlift at Reward, the new shop spot in Old City Philadelphia. I’ll admit I had my doubts about how they would perform live (I’m always skeptical these days), but thankfully those doubts were shattered in a matter of minutes, once the band began their set.

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Last Friday I had the pleasure of catching Brooklyn’s Takka Takka play their mix of highly nuanced and textual indie-pop at Philly’s MRoom. Indeed, the band sounded great (especially vocals, which were thankfully set high in the mix). After the show, I sat down with lead vocalist Gabe and guitarist Drew, had some beers, and attempted to find out what this band, with an unusual name, is all about.

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Ah, the day had finally come. The day when these ears would FINALLY bare witness to a once unlikely live performance by 80s/90s shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine. (read part 1 of this story here and part 2 here) Yes, the seminal Irish band would be appearing in front of me at The Roseland Ballroom in NYC, in the flesh, to continue their recent reclamation as “the loudest band on earth.”

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On Fourth of July eve I ventured out to the M Room in Fishtown to witness the man, the myth, the bunny who goes by the name Nobunny. His name is obviously a reference to Rene Magritte’s iconic 1929 “This is Not a Pipe.” Obviously!

Oh and how surreal the performance was. What this dude lacked in clothing he made up for in balls (metaphorically speaking of course). The music was a fun mix of garage rock and punk, but was ultimately secondary to the freak show that accompanied it.

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