Dan Deacon - 4.18.08, Old Club, Swarthmore College, PA

Dan Deacon’s Swarthmore show at Old Club was an occasion marked by flagrant disregard for societal rules. No one made me pay anything at the door and once I got inside there was more freeness in the form of beer (even if it was warm – who cares). When I had to piss I was instructed to go in the communal bush on the side of the building. Sure, I had to wait for the woman in front of me to finish popping her squat before I could go, but it is a minor complaint. The real irony is that if this had of been happening at the Sheraton Hotel, I would have been waiting for someone to stab me with a switchblade and mug me, but because it was happening at a college it was about as dangerous as romper-room.

And that’s pretty much how the show went. Totally safe, totally fun, like pure bliss. If there is a Heaven, it is gonna be Saturday Morning cartoons and Dan Deacon. Deacon was as much musician as he was a crazed electrician-maverick and one-man light show. Garbed in an ensemble that may only be described as pure color, Deacon set his gear in the center of the floor, proclaiming himself the antithesis of all that is and will ever be superstar DJ. Sure it is dance music, but it is punk-DIY-ethos at its finest.

If your child is going to have a birthday party, all I’m saying is hire this man to play it. If you do, I guarantee when Christmas rolls around, the kiddies won’t be hollering for Santa Claus, but rather for Deacon Claus.

Photos of the show are at flickr.com.

Les Savy Fav, with The Dodos & The Big Sleep - 4.5.08, TLA, Philadelphia, PA

All I remember was trying to hide. I got really panicked when Tim Harrington announced, “This next song is dangerous.” In retrospect, I am unsure if the song prior Harrington was crowd surfing on a chair, lassoing the audience with his mic cable, or just generally tearing about terrorizing the fans, all in good fun of course, but terrorizing them nonetheless.

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Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat & The Black Lips - 3.14.08, Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA

I’ve been a Quintron fan for a long time. While Quintron has always sounded great on albums, nothing compares to the live Quintron experience. Mr. Quintron’s self-constructed Drum Buddy¹ and his operation of it while simultaneously playing the organ and percussion, was a feat unto itself to watch.

The crowd at Johnny Brenda’s unfortunately may not have felt so. Miss Pussycat would suggest as much, comparing Johnny Brenda’s to the Olive Garden. Mr. Quintron would end the set by saying, “I know I seem like an asshole, or a comedian, but I’m not. We love this, and we love that sound.”² In the early 90s when Mr. Quintron first appeared on the scene, it might have been difficult to hear a similar statement as one that was sincere. Over a decade later, and with countless albums behind him, all exploring a similar swamp funk sonic, it is impossible not to believe the man or see him as anything but a visionary. While the fans may not have recognized this, Quintron played like a prophet, his sheer energy doing the impossible of upstaging The Black Lips performance.

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Marah, The Shalitas and Adam and Dave’s Bloodline - 12.07.07, TLA, Philadelphia, PA

I would ask that our readership consider the following review a late Christmas present. It is for a show that occurred over a month ago. However, without making excuses, as we all know, coming in and out of the holidays is always a rather hectic affair. Marah’s annual Christmas show at Philadelphia’s Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA) this year was no different.

The show, attended by a surprising amount of children, found guitarist/singer Dave Bielanko in somewhat of a bad mood. Failing equipment, and particularly Dave’s guitar, plagued the band throughout the show. Equipment tension came to a head when Dave went so far as to throw and curse his guitar. Later, he would make a serious appeal to the audience that if they had money, to please send it the band’s way so that they could buy better equipment.

Bum gear didn’t seem to phase the rest of the band’s festive spirits. When Serge Bielanko leaped off the stage into the audience, taking half the Christmas lights and equipment with him, all Dave could do was look bewildered and mutter, “What the fuck is going on?” The band’s set was quite lengthy, filled out with Christine Smith, pensive keyboards, and Adam Garbinski and Dave Petersen giddiness from their earlier performance with Adam and Dave’s Bloodline. Marah would also be joined by opening act The Shalitas for several songs.

Click here for photos of Marah.

Click here for photos of The Shalitias.

Click here for photos of Adam and Dave’s Bloodline.

The Hold Steady, Art Brut and the 1990s - 11.20.07, The 9:30 Club, Washington DC and 11.21.07, Terminal Five, NYC

The 1990s have just completed their set and thrown their set list (written on a paper plate) into the crowd of Washington DC’s The 9:30 Club. A group of three girls directly in front of me have caught the plate and are currently giggling over their newly acquired treasure.

I’m given cause to wonder if the girls are even there to see the 1990s but rather to see the better known acts Art Brut and/or The Hold Steady instead. It is certain that for most of the audience the latter is the case.

It is no matter because the 1990s are rock solid. Singer/guitarist Jackie McKeown even manages to recover from having his fly down for the entire first song. Where many of the 1990s songs on their debut album, Cookies, sounded poppy, in their live incarnations, the songs take on a grittier, garage-rock sound. Even weaker songs like “Weed” prove to be compelling when played live. McKeown’s solo style, the centerpiece in the live rendition of “Weed”, is organic and dirty, perfectly suited to the band’s music. Drummer Michael McGaughrin’s strained backing vocals add additional richness to the songs. Frequently running out of breath, McGaughrin jokes with the audience after most every song. At one point McKeown remarks that the band must truly be a mesmerizing live act to a man directly in front of him who is talking on his cell phone. McKeown asks the man who he is talking to, and he replies “Taylor”. McKeown is sure not to forget Taylor, and when the band plays “You’re Supposed To Be My Friend”, he cleverly makes allusion to the cell-phone conversation in the lyrics. The standout song of the night, though, is “Situation”, which the band introduces as their last number. Before starting the song, they modify the statement by adding that the crowd needn’t worry because the song is a long one. Played live, “Situation” evokes an underlying darkness only hinted at on the album.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - The Magic Tour: 10.5.07 & 10.6.07 Philadelphia, PA, Wachovia Center; 10.9.07 & 10.10.07 East Rutherford, NJ, Continental Airlines Arena

Tim has always been good with his money. When I got in a tight spot two years ago on my rent, Tim spotted me. The long and the short is that although I am his older brother, I cannot ever recall lending the man cash.

Ever.

Even as kids, when the legal tender was candy, Tim had a savings plan. Only once, when Tim was age five or so, did he invest unwisely. Somehow I managed to convince him that nickels were worth more than dimes because nickels were larger. It was a devious scheme, and a trade ensued as did Tim’s eventual knowledge that he’d been had. Though I can’t prove it, I’ve always suspected that this event led to Tim’s decision that he’d never let anyone outsmart him again, let alone his brother. And so Tim went to Princeton, while I opted for a life of irresponsibility, quitting jobs working for oil tanker certification companies to take other more career-tracked vocations like selling Sierra Club subscriptions door to door. Three days into the Sierra Club wildnerness I quit yet again, this time to stay gainfully unemployed for months on end. When I went to Tim for money I wondered, was I borrowing because my boss at Sierra Club had ended all his statements with the word “sweet” and had a penchant for kick-starting the morning with DJ Shadow, or was Tim finally collecting interest on the nickels and dimes debacle?

So you cannot imagine the shock I felt when Tim ran out of cash and asked me to buy tickets for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s October 9th show at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.

Actually. I embellish. I wasn’t shocked in the slightest.

There will only ever be one time in Tim’s life when he runs out of money. These rips in the time-space-continuum will somehow always involve Bruce Springsteen. When I saw the show with Tim on October 9th, Tim had, of course, already seen Bruce on his two previous stops at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center on October 5th and October 6th.

Like any sort of fandom, being a disciple of the Church of Bruce is impossible to explain. To significant others, friends, co-workers and taxmen, you are a freak no matter how you cut it. In fact only one type of person understands. The nut in the bandana beside you who has also seen the Boss every date of the tour so far and at the rehearsal show in Asbury Park.

Of the two shows at the Continental Airlines Arena, the October 10th show was better, perhaps because we had general admission tickets that night. The standout song from the set(s) was Nebraska’s full band and bullet-mike rave-up of “Reason To Believe.” Par for the course, the show was “magic”. And if the Boss adds more dates after the European leg of the tour, I’ve got good “Reason To Believe” that Tim may be running out of money in the New Year, too.

Click here to see photos from the show.