Philly Thursday

Thursday night in Philly promises to be a great one. The big name is Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. One of the mainstays of the East Coast punk scene, his songs are now a little more mainstream, but he still puts on one hell of a show. I saw him play at the ACL Fest in '06 and came away very impressed. Check him out at the Starlight Ballroom.

Me and Mia


Over at Johnny Brendas, Elvis Perkins plays the intimate room. Compared to Van Morrison and Nick Drake, he is a festival favorite. Joining him is blog hero Bon Iver, who is very reminiscent of Iron and Wine. Toping it all off is local Roomtone, another who is getting comparison to Drake.

Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Roomtone - Water Music (instrumental)


Looking for more of an adventure, head over to the Northstar Bar and check out John Ralston, out with a new album. With him from Athens, GA, the indie pop of Modern Skirts and the mash-up of every indie genre of Philly's own Grammar Debate!

John Ralston - Gone, Gone, Gone
Modern Skirts - My Bully
Grammar Debate! - Believe It Away

Big Saturday In Philly

Lots to chose from tonight. Hell, see them all!

The Swimmers

Johnny Brendas keeps getting bigger and better. A little write-up in RS Hot Issue. The best bands around and always supporting the best of the local scene. Saturday, Philly's own The Swimmers are having their CD release party for the long awaited Fighting Trees. Hometown artists Audible and Denison Witmer join the fun.

The Swimmers - It's Time They Knew
Audible - Fireman
Denison Witmer - Little Flower

Over at The Manhattan Room, more local artists rock the night. The Great Halloween Debate (whatever that means) is on featuring Grammar Debate!. Creeping Weeds , The XYZ Affair from NYC, and from the 'Burgh Life In Bed join the show.

Grammar Debate! - Believe It Away
Creeping Weeds - Eternity Is A Long Time
The XYZ Affair - Little Fool
Life In Bed - Logic Is Your Best Defense

Lastly, The Khyber has some great acts from all over. From Leeds, UK is The Lodger. They are joined by Canadians Small Sins, electro-pop goodness, as Spin said "Imagine if Jack White had a crush on Kraftwerk". Local quintet Brown Recluse Sings who are comparitive to The Shins and Page France are the openers.

The Lodger - Getting Special
Small Sins - Stay
Brown Recluse Sings - Western Meadowlark

Grammar Debate! CD Release Tour

Philly's Grammer Debate! is releasing a new CD and they are embarking on a short tour to release it in style. They have all sorts of great bands joining them on the various dates. Regionally, you can check them out as follows:

9/26/07: DC9, DC w/ Modern Skirts, Rarebirds
9/27/07: Khyber, Philly w/ Modern Skirts, The Swimmers, The XYZ Affair

Grammer Debate! - Believe It Away
Modern Skirts - My Bully
Rarebirds - Wishing Well
The Swimmers - It's Time They Knew
The XYZ Affair - All My Friends

Post-Holiday Blues

Alright, so we have all made it through the holiday weekend. Now we must survive going back to work. To make things easier (or to relive the glories of your weekend), there are some shows tonight that will help ease your troubles.

Of course, you could go see Keane at 9:30 Club, but what fun would that be? Instead, there is a better, cheaper and less sold out alternative. That would be in the form of a pretty good show at DC9. Philly's Grammar Debate! will be joined by locals The Vita Ruins for a great night of indie rock.

Grammar Debate!- Believe It Away
The Vita Ruins - My Last Days On Earth