The Pistola Press

Ra Ra Riot played the Trocadero Theatre exactly one year to the day of their first show at the same venue. Since that first show, Ra Ra Riot wrote, recorded and released their sophomore album The Orchard. The band took a new direction on the new album by straying away from their signature indie-pop tunes and it saw them slow down with more constructed ballads.

Their Saturday night show relied heavily on their 2008 debut The Rhumb Line with a few new songs thrown into the mix. The new songs sounded much more livelier and crispier live as opposed to on record. The old songs held up on their own as always. I was a little disappointed the band did not play “You and  I Know”, which is off their new record. On the song, celloist Alexandra Lawn takes lead vocals and kills it. Maybe next time. The fact

The crowd did not seem very disappointed at all that they played mostly older songs. Even though the venue was not as max capacity, you would have thought it was by the amount of noise the crowd made. When Ra Ra Riot busted out a cover of a Sparks’ song, the audience seemed a little confused, but by the end of the song, the band had their full attention. Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend your Saturday evening. Every time the band plays, they bring the feeling of youth and happiness, which always a very good thing. Hopefully they’ll be back again soon.

Sidenote: I had the chance to catch up with guitarist Milo Bonacci before the show. We talked the new album, their mini-Japan tour, and a few other things. That interview will be up soon. Photos from soundcheck and the show below.

SETLIST: St. Peter’s Day Festival / Boy / Oh, La / Do You Remember / Shadowcasting / Foolish / Each Year / Can You Tell / Kansai / Run My Mouth / Too Too Too Fast / Too Dramatic / Ghost Under Rocks ENCORE: Saccharin and the War (Sparks cover) / Dying is Fine

of Montreal and Janelle Monae played highly energetic show at the Electric Factory last Wednesday night. The venue was packed for both performances. However, there may have been more people there for the opener than the headliners and for good reason.

Ms. Monae has established herself in the music world with her stellar debut record, The ArchAndroid, which drew the large crowd to see her open the show. She has a strong voice and a killer stage presence that not too many openers have. There’s much more in-store for Janelle Monae. She’s definitely an artist to keep your eye on.

of Montreal, who just released a new LP False Priest, put on their signature crazy performance. They had a ton of stage props, which ranged from robot looking things to a big elephant monster thing. The band always put on a fun and entertaining show, but it sort of lagged compared to Janelle Monae’s set. Their live show always consists of the same elements, so after a while it gets old. That being said, if it was someone’s first time seeing them live, it was probably one of the best shows of the year. It all depends on the individual person. Photos below.

Janelle Monae

of Montreal

Broken Social Scene played the first of two shows at the TLA on Tuesday night. The show was everything a fan could want. They plowed through 22 songs over a period of two straight hours. When some bands play that long, they bore the crowd, but Broken Social Scene certainly did not. The band brought so much energy throughout their performance, only slowing it down for a few songs including “Lover’s Spit”.

It was a fantastic way to spend a Tuesday night.The band was there just to hang out and play some music. Kevin Drew thanked Philly for always treating them well and the crowd made sure that the band knew they appreciated them as well.

The Canadian band played their second Philly/TLA show on Wednesday night. Photos from that show will be up soon. Check out photos from the second night HERE. For now, check out the photos of (night one) below.

Broken Social Scene

The Chicago band Maps & Atlases played to a sold-out crowd at Kung-Fu Necktie on Saturday night. It was a cool summer night in Fishtown. The venue was packed inside which made for a warm crowd. They took the stage around 9:30 and played an hour set. Their intricate guitar and drum work was carried out with precision. Dave Davison’s voice complimented the instrumentation perfectly as the band played most song off their recent release Perch Patchwork. .

They were much tighter this time around, in comparison to when they opened for Frightened Rabbits in April. Since then, their new record was released in June and they have been on the road ever since. It seemed like they were more comfortable and confident on stage. Davison was very friendly with the crowd and explained to them how everytime they come to Philly, they always stay longer than intended.

One song that stood out was “The Charm”. The song started off as a soft ballad of guitar and keys and ended with a complete onslaught of snare-driven drums. Everyone in the band, except for Davison, played their own seperate drum quite intensely and the finished very suddenly and precisely. They all have a tight chemistry with eachtoher. The band recently filmed a version of the song with a middle school drumline for YoursTruly. Check that out HERE.

After the show, the band treated their fans who were willing to stick around to an acoustic set on the sidewalk next to Kung Fu Necktie. People stood quietly around the band as they played the short set. It was definitely the highlight of the night for those who stuck around. The performance was more personal and down to Earth in that setting. It would be nice if more bands would do what they did on Saturday night. Photos from both sets below.

Black & White photos by Michael James Murray

Maps & Atlases

Phoenix @ Electric Factory in 2009 – More photos can be found HERE

The French band/Grammy award winners, Phoenix, are still riding the huge wave of success from 2009 ‘sWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and will be doing so until the year’s end. Since the albums release in May 2009, the band have been on the road for the majority of the year. They literally have had no time off the road.

That trend is set to continue for another few months and before it ends they’ll make a stop at the Tower Theatre on Saturday, October 23rd. Tickets for the show go on sale right now(10am) and can be found HERE. They put on a fantastic live show and it’s bound to be a special one at the Tower. There’s a strong possibilty this will sell out rather quickly so get them ASAP.

Sufjan Stevens @ Johnny Brendas in September 2009 – More photos can be found HERE

The last time Sufjan Stevens played Philadelphia, it was a two night stint at the small, intimate bar/venue  Johnny Brendas last September. This fall, he will once again play the city of brotherly love but this time around, he’ll play a much bigger venue. Sufjan will play the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday, November 10th. Tickets for the show go on sale today(08/13) and can be found HERE.

Arcade Fire and Spoon played one of the highly anticipated shows of the year last night at the Mann Center and they did exceeded all expectations. They put on an absolute stellar show. It very well could have been the show of the year.

Spoon took the stage at 730pm sharp and played a hour set as the audience were filling into their seats. They played a bunch of old and news songs with a special guest Stephen Patterson from White Rabbits. The band definitely satisfied those who were there for their set, but it was nothing compared to what came next.

It took about 30 minutes for Arcade Fire‘s rather large stage crew to set up their pretty extravagant stage display. When they were done, the band took the audience on a ride they would never forget.

One thing that made their performance stand above the rest was the way Arcade Fire moved the crowd. Everyone was so happy and were having the time of their lives. Even on the new songs, people were still charged and embraced them just as much as the old songs. The band also paid tribute to the late Jay Reatard by covering “Oh It’s Such A Shame”(watch video HERE). They closed the night with “Wake Up” and it was amazing. People were standing on their seats, dancing, hugging eachother, and truly enjoying themselves. It capped the night perfectly. Photos/setlist below.

Spoon

Arcade Fire

Setlist: Ready To Start/Neighborhood#2(Laika)/No Cars Go/Haiti/Rococo/Oh It’s Such A Shame(Jay Reatard cover)/Deep Blue/The Suburbs/Intervention/We Used To Wait/Neighborhood #3(Power Out)/Rebellion/Month Of May/Sprawl II(Mountains Beyond Mountains)/Keep The Car Running Encore: Neighborhood#1(Tunnels)/ Modern Man/Wake Up

The Black Keys and Kurt Vile played a sold-out show at the Great Plaza on Penns Landing last night. Kurt Vile was a last minute replacement for The Morning Benders, who had to cancel due to illness. According to a tweet from lead singer Chris Chu, he was in the hospital so hopefully it’s nothing serious.

Overall, it was a major disappointment that The Morning Benders could not play. Philly native Kurt Vile held his own but it was not his best performance.  He played a thrown together set with a drum machine, another guitarist and a harp player. A normall Kurt Vile show consists of loud guitars backed by a real drummer. The performance last night, even though it was a good effort, lacked all of that.

When The Black Keys took the stage, the entire venue erupted. Most fans had been waiting inside the venue for nearly two hours and the Akron, Ohio duo did not let them down. They were spot on throughout the night with a full on assault of raw and distorted bluesy guitar riffs and loud, hard hit drums.

The band played songs from their entire discography while highlighting songs off their newest record Brothers. When they did play their newer songs, the duo were joined on-stage by a bassist and keyboardist. It was a nice touch seeing them along side two other musicians, even though they are more than capable without them. All in all, it was an excellent show on a beautiful summer evening. Not too many other summer shows will be about to top The Black Keys. Photos below.

Kurt Vile

The Black Keys

The Trowels and McRad played FDR skatepark to celebrate the 4th of July. There were hundreds of people there, partying and having a great time. Among them were a handful of bands playing under I-95 right next to the skatepark.

McRad is a local Philly band who played a solid rock set. They had the crowd going but their energy was nothing compared to The Trowels. The five dudes brought such a raw energy that the entire crowd went crazy. They’re creating quite a buzz and seem to be on their way to bigger things. If you get a chance to see them live, ask them about their freshly printed 7 inch or just say, “What’s up?”. They’re all cool dudes and good people. Photos below.

McRad

The Trowels

The last time Passion Pit played Philadelphia, they sold out the basement of the First Unitarian Church, which holds no more than 500 people… if that. On Sunday night, the band played to thousands of screaming fans at the Mann Center of Performing Arts. In between the two shows, Passion Pit went from an hipster adored indie band to a main stream phenomenon getting air-time on MTV.

Their performance was full of energy and acted as a drug for the crowd. Everyone appeared to be having the time of their lives thanks to Passion Pit‘s upbeat feel good music. It was quite the spectacle to witness thousands of people cheering and dancing the entire time. People loved them so much that a kid in the front row offered lead singer Michael Angelakos a $20 tip. He was flattered but could not accept it since the fan had already paid for a ticket. This caused even more people to throw bills his way. Needless to say, Passion Pit are well on their way to being superstars. If they follow-up Manners with another killer record, they will have established themselves as true rockstars.

Tokyo Police Club played a solid 45 minute set before Passion Pit. They played a bunch of songs off their new record, Champ, and played a few off their debut, Elephant Shell. The highlights of their set were the newest single “Breakneck Speed” and “Your English Is Good”. They’re a great band with a fun live show, but a smaller venue would have suited them much better. Hopefully they come back around soon. Photos below.

Tokyo Police Club

Passion Pit