Root Down in the Shadow

"From the Notebook" is a new series at Root Down In The Shadow, that will explore great experiences with bands and events that didn't make it to the web within a normal deadline, but were too good not to share.  If all goes well we'll let that original moment simmer and provide some additional insight beyond our first take.  Our first subject: Dirty Dollhouse. Chelsea Mitchell All Photos by Lindsey Borgman unless noted  Chelsea Mitchell Dirty Dollhouse Who is Dirty Dollhouse ? Who is Dirty Dollhouse ?  Officially Dirty Dollhouse is the all-beautiful, all-female Chelsea Mitchell-Amber Twait-Vanessa Winters trio.  The lush harmonies of these long-time friends are the crux of any Dirty Dollhouse tune.  But which band is really Dirty Dollhouse?  Is it only the trio? Or, is it a full-band extravaganza?  Chelsea Mitchell Some fans already caught their first glimpse of Dirty Dollhouse at one of their rare shows in 2014. ...

Note: Photos by Lindsey Borgman Pearl And The Beard came to Philadelphia as part of the Communion: Club Night Tour!  Judging by the time slots or the marquee it's hard to tell who the featured artist was for the night, but based on the majority of the music fans at Underground Arts migrating to the stage it was clearly Pearl And The Beard.  The chatter indicated about half of the crowd was beyond excited, while the other half was justifiably curious.  Not the standard rock n roll lineup, Pearl And The Beard doesn't do anything "normal": no drum kit, no "lead" singer, a cello.  These cool kids have no reservations about doing things their way. Photo by Lindsey Borgman Back in 2011, Pearl And The Beard caught the wider attention of the music world with their second album  Killing the Darlings.  Tours with David Wax Museum, Lucius , You Won't , and Lady Lamb The Beekeeper helped build a base of rabid fans. At the end of 2011, when thi...

All Photos by Lindsey Borgman Jonas Oesterle February 16th, 2014 at World Cafe Live , TRI STATE INDIE threw one hell of a party.  The day of the Third Annual Tri State Indie Awards day was filled with celebratory fun and killer music.  Jonas Oesterle hosted the event with The Living Sample as the house band, who by the way are a much better combo than Seth Myers and The 8G Band with Fred Armisen on Late Night .  The event showcased so much of what is awesome with the Philly music scene. The camaraderie in the building was impressive.  Tri State Indie really captured it well, when co-founders Rich McKie & Stephanie Seiple-McKie explained "the event is not solely Tri State Indie's award show.  It is the award show for the whole scene."  They are completely spot-on, as there were an impressive number of bands playing and being nominated, not to mention all the presenters representing a huge cross-section of the local industry.  To furthe...

For those of you who don't know what Sofar Sounds is, here is their story: "We have created a movement which brings music lovers together in secret living room locations to hear some of the world's most cutting edge artists.  In order to create an intimate and spellbinding atmosphere, we ask that nobody talk during  performances.  January '14 Sofar - January 17, 2014  Photos by Lindsey Borgman, Video by Bob Sweeney The Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia team is: Carolyn Lederach, Ken Winneg & Davis Howley Written by contributer Mariel Lorenz Photo by Lindsey Borgman On a frightfully cold day in January, one would think the weather would keep a crowd in the comfort of their own home, but music fans are different.  They do not let snow or cold get in the way of seeing great music.  As Shakespeare said "The show must go on" so of course it was no surprise to me that the first Sofar Sounds Philadelphia show of 2014 packed a row home in the Fis...