If you like solid rock and roll, catch Philly up-and-comers Moon Women this Friday at Black Cat and/or Saturday at the Troc with Black Lips and Vivian Girls. Both are sure to be great shows!

Download Moon Women’s Live XPN album for free here and watch out for their debut 7″ ‘Light Moves Slowly” coming soon.

If you live in the area, be sure to head over to Johnny Brenda’s for some local music action tomorrow night at the Arc in Round Record Release Party w/ Arc in Round, Golden Ages, Tadoma and Pink Skull supporting (That is, if you are not seeing Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order at Voyeur).

{MP3} Arc in Round – “Spirit”
{MP3} Golden Ages – “Africa” (Toto Cover)

Also of note, the awesome ladies of LA’s Warpaint will be at Making Time (at Voyeur) on Friday.

{MP3} Warpaint – “Undertow”

Still a little room left in your stomach after that Thankzgiving feast? If so, head over to Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday and get a mouthful of new shoegaze, courtesy of rising local band Soars (awesome video above). Also on the bill are Headless Horseman and headliners Aunt Dracula. Plus, our friends Hello From the Children of Planet Earth will be spinning Krautrock, Library Music, IDM, Synth-Punk, Instrumental Hip-Hop and Dub all night.  Get tickets here.

Philly band Sun Airway will be coming in for a landing at Johnny Brenda’s tomorrow night and you don’t want to miss it. The last time I caught these rising stars, the sound and the visuals were spot on – and it was only their second show! They will be taking the stage at 9PM, opening for Twin Shadow and Bear and Heaven.

Grab tickets here and check out the two remaining dates below:

Nov 18 – Cambridge, MA
Middle East

Nov 19 – Brooklyn, NY
Music Hall of Williamsburg

While in town to promote their new album Hexadecagon at Kung Fu Necktie, Austin psych-pop band The Octopus Project will be stopping by the Art in the Age store this Thursday (10/7) at 2pm for a FREE in-store performance. Space is limited, so be sure to tweet to @artintheage or RSVP to their Facebook Event Page to make sure you reserve a spot! Check out one of their older (and awesome) videos below and download their newest below…

{MP3} The Octopus Project – “Fuguefat”

Seattle psych rock band The Night Beats will be making their Philly debut tonight inside the Sailor Jerry Store. Think ’60s psych a la 13th Floors Elevators with Link Wray sitting in on guitar. Here are the deets:

Night Beats @ Sailor Jerry
116-118 S. 13th Street
8pm
FREE
21+ over

For more info, visit the Sailor Jerry blog.

Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, the debut album from one of Philly’s most promising new bands, Sun Airway, will hopefully see the light of day within the year. For now you can (and should) catch the live premiere of their blissful and layered electronic pop at Johnny Brendas in Philly this Thursday, or at Mercury Lounge in NYC on June 28th. Dig some mp3s from the album below:

{MP3} Sun Airway – “Waiting On You”
{MP3} Sun Airway – “Put the Days Away”

Check out all of the Sun Airway coverage on The Walrus after the jump:

NYC duo The Golden Filter will be bringing their Moroder-infused disco beats and lush vocals to Kung Fu Necktie this Saturday night and I do recommend that you catch them. Their performance at this year’s SXSW Urban Back lot party was one of the highlights for me at the fest. Dig an mp3 below:

{MP3} The Golden Filter – “Hide Me”

Get tix here and hit their Myspace Page for more dates.

BONUS: Art in the Age SXSW Interview with The Golden Filter.

The Music Slut is giving away two tickets to The Golden Filter’s June 19th Philly show and after catching their set at SXSW, I highly suggest you enter. GF is a Brooklyn duo who create a Moroder-infused electronic sound that is cosmic, sexy and gritty and the live show is full of poly-rhythmic glee. So don’t hesitate…

ENTER THE CONTEST HERE.

Catch their music videos here.

(Click to enlarge – image via Philebrity)

Started in 2007, Record Store Day is “the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances.”

It’s an awesome thing, so for those of you who live in Philly check out the fun map pictured above and try to support your local record shop tomorrow by making some purchases.

In-store performances you should check out include Kurt Vile at Beautiful World Syndicate in South Philly, and Blood Feathers at Main St. Music in Manayunk. You can also grab a new track from Kurt Vile’s upcoming Square Shells EP below:

{MP3} Kurt Vile – “Invisibility : Nonexistent”

KEEP MUSIC EVIL. See Liars in support of their new album Sisterworld (the above song is from their s/t) at The Church w/ Fol Chen. Get tix here.

The legendary and seminal British post-punk band Echo and the Bunnymen are making their way to Philly’s Keswick Theater on April 25th in support of their new album The Fountain — and we have a pair of tickets to give away!

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED, but enjoy the music!

Stream “Think I Need It Too” from the new album below and download it for free on their MySpace page.

And if you aren’t already familiar with their brilliant back catalog, here’s a quick and friendly wake up call:

Fun! Fun! Fun! Girls! Girls! Girls!

{MP3} Girls – “Lust For Life”
{MP3} Dum Dum Girls – “Jail La La”

Girls w/ Dum Dum Girls + The Making Time DJs
Friday April 2nd, 2010
1221 St. James St.
Philadelphia, PA
9pm-3:30am
9-11 OPEN BAR w/ FREE PBR AND SPARKS!!!
$12.00 in advance/$15 at the door

(top left: Seabear, bottom left: Surf City, right: Bachelorette)

SXSW was a fun time, but I didn’t get to check out half the bands I wanted to due to promoting Art in the Age (which was fun too, don’t get me wrong). Luckily 3 cool bands are making their way into Philly this week. New Zealand bands Surf City and Bachelorette will be at Kung Fu Necktie tomorrow night (3/23) and Icelandic band Seabear will play the venue the night after.

Listen to some mp3s below and try your best to catch their live shows — well worth it!

{MP3} Surf City – “Dickshakers Union”
{MP3} Surf City – “Headin’ Inside”
{MP3} Bachelorette – “The National Grid”
{MP3} Seabear – “Lion Face Boy”

Yes! Devo are playing tonight in Vancouver at the end of Victory Ceremony. here are the deets via EW:

“Mothersbaugh reveals the band will perform both old material and new tracks from their forthcoming CD—the band’s first in 20 years: ‘We are going to try a few of things out on the unsuspecting populace. And we will definitely be looking for their opinion, to see if they think we should keep them, or if these are songs that should be carefully buried out in the tundra while we’re there.’ Devo will also make a new track called ‘Fresh’ via the band’s official website immediately following today’s show.”

I was fortunate enough to see these guys perform 2 summers ago and even though it wasn’t AS cool as the above video, they did not disappoint! So be sure to tune in!

This Friday’s Making Time should be renamed ‘Taking Drugs To Make Music to Take Drugs To”. In addition to their solid resident djs, the party will feature two of the most talked about bands of late ‘09 and early ‘10.

Memory Tapes‘ prog disco pop album Seek Magic was one of my favorites of ‘09 and I am eagerly awaiting his Philly live debut (It was originally slated to be at The Church, but it was canceled.) He will be accompanied by a full band made up of ex-members of his now defunct Philly band Hail Social.

Neon Indian has been picking up a lot of buzz of the past few months as well. (Questlove of The Roots recently raved about his Fallon performance). His music kicked off what some industry folk are now calling “glo-fi” (meh), which now includes similar artists such as Washed Out and Toro Y Moi, it’s essentially trippy electronic pop that sounds like it was made on busted analogue synths. While I think they have a few really cool tunes, unlike Memory Tapes, I think this band is a flash in the pan…but I could be wrong. Head to the party and decide for yourself.

Listen to a Memory Tapes track and a Neon Indian track below:

{MP3} Memory Tapes – “Green Knight”
{MP3} Neon Indian – “Deadbeat Summer”

San Diego indie band The Soft Pack will be playing a free show tomorrow night at the old city boutique Reward at 7:00 and I encourage all of you to go. Their music is fun and the shop is a beautiful space with great sound, not to mention Art in the Age ROOT cocktails will be serve! Get there early for giveaways and great sales on items in the shop!

{MP3} The Soft Pack – “C’mon”

Three cool bands are playing the same night in Philly, but guess what? You can easily see them all! Here’s how:

You can rock the f*ck out with Texas’ White Denim at their FREE Art in the Age in-store at 2pm, or see them at an early KFN show (probably 9:30-ish). Then hustle over to Voyeur (formerly Pure Nightclub) and see the disco-happy-proggers Phenomenal Hand Clap Band (11:30) who are opening for England’s newest blog phenoms The XX during Making Time.

Have a listen to all three bands below and do your best to catch them all live!

White Denim – “I Start to Run”

The XX – “VCR”

The Phenomenal Handclap Band – “15 to 20″

I’ll never get over the feeling of hearing that epic Star Wars intro music as a little boy. As the chills went up and down my spine, I knew I was about to go on the greatest adventure EVER with Luke, Leia, Chewy, Han and those two whimsical Droids. The visuals of The Greatest Story Ever Told were (and still are) absolutely mesmerizing and deeply emotional, but it was THE MUSIC that guided everything and made me believe in THE FORCE.

Now the music of all 6 Star Wars films is going on tour, and I couldn’t be more excited to experience it…

From the press release:

“Star Wars In Concert  is a unique multi-media event featuring music from all six of John Williams’ epic Star Wars scores. Narrated live by Anthony Daniels (the actor who portrayed C-3PO in all six films), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen — one of the largest ever put on tour. The live music and film elements are synchronized in order to create a full multi-media, one-of-kind Star Wars experience.”

I believe there are still some tix left for the show and you can buy them HERE.

Additional photos and full tour schedule after the jump…

Tue 11/10/09
Bridgeport, CT
Arena At Harbor Yard

Wed 11/11/09
Providence, RI
Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Thu 11/12/09
Manchester, NH
Verizon Wireless Arena

Sat 11/14/09
Boston, MA
TD Garden

Sun 11/15/09
Philadelphia, PA
The Wachovia Center

Tue 11/17/09
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Wachovia Arena At Casey Plaza

Wed 11/18/09
Baltimore, MD
1st Mariner Arena

Fri 11/20/09
East Rutherford, NJ
Izod Center

Sat 11/21/09
Uniondale, NY
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Wed 11/25/09
Montreal, QC
Bell Centre

Thu 11/26/09
Toronto, ON
Air Canada Centre

Sat 11/28/09
Auburn Hills, MI
The Palace Of Auburn Hills

Sun 11/29/09
Pittsburgh, PA
Mellon Arena

Tue 12/01/09
Toledo, OH
Lucas County Arena

Wed 12/02/09
Columbus, OH
Nationwide Arena

Thu 12/03/09
Cleveland, OH
Quicken Loans Arena

Sun 12/06/09
Chicago, IL
United Center

Tue 12/08/09
Omaha, NE
Qwest Center Omaha

Wed 12/09/09
Kansas City, MO
Sprint Center

Thu 12/10/09
St. Louis, MO
Scottrade Center

Fri 12/11/09
Cincinnati, OH
U.S. Bank Arena

Sat 12/12/09
Indianapolis, IN
Conseco Fieldhouse

Sun 12/13/09
Nashville, TN
Sommet Center

Dead Oceans is one of my favorite labels of late, playing host to great bands like Bishop Allen and Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. Now they have got me hooked on the new Nurses album Apple’s Acre. The songs are haunting and warm with vocal melodies that ebb and flow along side of carnival keyboards and loose percussion. It’s what you might get if Syd Barrett conducted Grizzly Bear songs. Have a listen…

{MP3} Nurses – “Technicolor”
{MP3} Nurses – “Caterpillar Playground”

The band opens for Throw Me the Statue and The Brunettes tomorrow night (Thursday) at Johnny Brenda’s, so come early and check out their live set…should be awesome! The highly recommended album Apple’s Acre is available now from Dead Oceans.