Root Down in the Shadow

Here's a look back at the wildly successful 2nd Street Festival! Every day covering Philly music, I find yet another song, band, artist, festival, etc. to be excited about.  Sunday's find was the #2ndStreetFest.   I hadn't done all that much exploring in Northern Liberties, but hey The Bailey Hounds and New Sweden were playing, what else did I really need to know? Getting to the festival, I was a little nervous as I didn't know where the stages would be, but, ummm.. It is the 2nd Street Festival, so it couldn't be that hard right?  Walking to the Piazza at Schmidts , on 2nd street from Girard, the first stage became glaringly obvious.  Right smack in the middle of the street!  With logistics out of the way, it was time for fun! The next big show for Brad Hinton Band Looking back, I have the day split into two categories: Before Johnny Brenda's and After Johnny Brenda's .  The Johnny Brenda's bar/venue wasn't involved in the fest...

Today marks the 5th annual 2nd Street Festival in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood.  Headlining in the last slot on the Piazza stage is Rhode Island's the Low Anthem !  Incredible Philly area acts, New Sweden , the Bailey Hounds , Kuf Knotz , Brad Hinton , and DJ Slowpoke ( Birdie Busch ) are sure to bring solid performances, but it's the Low Anthem that are bringing the intrigue. Wild success and international acclaim surrounded their first two albums, What the Crow Brings and Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.  They followed up with Smart Flesh , but despite stellar tracks 'Apothecary Blues', "Boeing 737', and 'Hey, All You Hippies', and live show staple 'Ghost Woman Blues' it just didn't seem to have the edge like the previous offerings.  Even still their careers were in an upward projectory.  Larger audiences were becoming aware, as they had a track on the Hunger Games Soundtrack and a fantastic collaboration with The Chi...

TELEKINESIS, LOW ANTHEM, the GRATEFUL DEAD & HONEY HONEY via AMAZON, NOISETRADE, DEAD.NEt & HONEYHONEYBAND.COM Via Amazon.com: I've been getting free tracks from Amazon for a few years now.  There's a lot of random stuff out there, but there are also some great finds!   I've been lucky enough to find Blind Pilot, Neko Case, Lisa Hannigan, Fleet Foxes, and  John Vanderslice, all via their downloads.  If you don't get the newsletter weekly from Amazon it can be a bit cumbersome finding the free music on the Amazon site.  Oddly a month or two ago, they stopped adding weekly links to free music in their newsletter.  However, they instead replaced it with a monthly "Artist on the Rise" download. The latest installment includes Alt-Pop outfit Telekensis  hit 'Car Crash, folkish James Vincent McMorrow, and the Canadian band City & Colour Via Noisetrade.com City & Colour Winter Tourmates the Low Anthem have announced a fr...

Hey gang.  Turns out my writing friends were right.  Stop worrying about writing everyday and it will all work out.  Thanks for those of you who have been supportive of the blog, and me being all in on my passions! Fast Fact:   Peter Bjorn & John  are a trio, not a duo of Mr. Bjorn & his friend John!!!!!! Per Wikipedia : " Peter Bjorn and John (unofficially abbreviated as PB&J ) are a Swedish indie rock band , formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén ( vocals , guitar and harmonica ), Björn Yttling ( bass guitar , keyboards and vocals ) and John Eriksson ( drums , percussion and vocals )." Although better known for earlier hits, 'Young Folks' or 'It Don't Move Me', 'Breaker, Breaker' is my #1.  From 2011's Living Thing ,  it has been a heavy rotation mainstay for me since I picked it up earlier this year! Never Saw That Coming: I went to a beautif...

The very best perk of being exposed as a mega music aficionado, is getting to share in the music.  On my side, I get to share my knowledge and finds.  My friends keep me posted on what they've been experiencing or in most cases looking for. But the best perk of being a known music head is getting copies of albums saved for or sent to me.  Six months ago, I was extremely fortunate to get my hands on Wilder Shores Of Love by Daniel Lefkowitz , Bed of Notions by Jocie Adams , Love is All Around by Twain , and  David Wax Museum, Everything is Saved, all in one night! I was at a Low Anthem show, which Lefkowitz was opening for , with an old school pal who was working that night.  He had been saving me a copy of David Wax Museums newest and before the night was over, he had pulled some strings to have my hands full on the way out the door.  I was in heaven!  Dan Lefkowitz was great that night, so I was enthused to hear more.   Twain (which then...

Last night I got to see Matthew and the Atlas, the Low Anthem, and Mumford & Sons at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. Panoramic view Photo by Jeff Coon Last night was great for so many reasons, rather than ramble at length, I will just limit myself to a list. #1.  I had a misconception from seeing a band there 8 years ago that the sound was bad.  Sorry previous band, it was YOU!   The sound was great.  Great job to the sound guys!! #2.  Someone @ Merriweather was smart enough to install super large ceiling fans.  So awesome! I hate having to struggle for some cool air at a concert. #3. Great storm & thunder!  I am so thankful I got the hookup with seats and not out in the lawn! #4.  Low Anthem continues to amaze with their depth.  This was time #5 for me seeing them live, and I've heard them live about another half dozen times.  Each time I learn a little more about song composition and get to wat...

9. Daytrotter Split LP featuring Iron & Wine and the Low Anthem! What a great reason to break out the record player!   Before the end of the Spring tour featuring Iron & Wine and the Low Anthem, there was a wonderful announcement for this split LP.  Each band had been touring for their new 2011 albums Kiss Each Other Clean and Smart Flesh respectively.  They also completed some of the best Daytrotter sessions of the year.  If you haven't heard these Iron & Wine songs do yourself a favor and get to it.  Especially for all you boo birds out there, that aren't a fan of the new record because of Sam Beams new sonic experience!  These are stripped down and beautiful.  'Godless Brother in Love' is tremendous track!  Rosie Thomas provides just the perfect amount of backup to Sam's vocals.  Iron & Wine Daytrotter session (Sam Beam & Rosie Thomas) Track listing: 'Tree By the River', 'Godless Brother in Love', 'Naked As...

10. Bonnaroo Turns 10! What a line up! I'm not going, but my next favorite activity after thinking about what to do with lottery winnings that I haven't won, is thinking of bands I would see at festival that I can't afford to go to. THURSDAY: Hayes Carll, Freelance Whales, Best Coast, Sleigh Bells & Deerhunter FRIDAY: Jessica Lea Mayfield, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones (the original lineup), Freelance Whales, the Decemberists, (and I would be in two places at once to also see Ray Lamontange), Florence + the Machine, Primus, Arcade Fire, and to cap off the night Big Boi! SATUDAY : the Low Anthem, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Portugal the Man, Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys, Buffalo Springfield, Eminem, Scissor Sisters **EDITOR NOTE** how effing cool is it that A. Eminem is playing Bonnaroo, but that the Scissor Sisters go on after? What a party!!!!!!!!! ******** SUNDAY: The Head and the Heart, G Love & Special Sauce, Nicole Atkins & the ...

In honor of the current tour with Headliner Iron & Wine and opener the Low Anthem cruising through the East Coast, I thought it was a perfect time to introduce my readers to The Onion - A.V. Club .  The satirists at the Onion took a break from their off the wall articles to bring an awesome twist to the cover song.  According to the intro on the videos (after the Starbucks commercial - sorry) It goes like this.  "With some help from our readers, the a.v. club made another list of 25 song and we’re inviting bands into our office to cover them.   Once a band has played a song, it gets crossed off the list.  So the later a band comes in the fewer songs they will have to choose from." We start off with the inaugural song of this season's list Iron & Wine covering George Michael 'One More Try' Iron And Wine covers George Michael It's a rare look at Sam Beam & Co doing outside songs. Of course there is the larger than life 'Such Great H...

I got the email recently from the Low Anthem fan list with their big news (amongst a whole bunch of great tour news) that 'Boeing 737' has now seen it's video release. The video/article can be caught at Spin.com commemorating the release, including all the details about creating the video. While sitting and trying to understand the song, I've been watching the "making of" video, recorded at the Pasta Sauce Factory, where Smart Flesh was made.  I find two themes in the song. The first being a hazy look back @ the terrorist attacks of 9-11. Whether it was meant or not, especially since the only 737 involved was one that nearly ran into a 767(one of two) that did fell the towers; imagery of those events are created. Past attempts from other bands thought back to what they were doing, what they felt or where they were. To me, the Low Anthem entry looks at the second theme more prominently.  Looking at the intended step down from the peace keepers side,...

Daniel Lefkowitz is a talented singer songwriter, who once upon a time was in an early version of the Low Anthem .  'This God Damn House' which he wrote endures as one of the best Low Anthem tracks to date.  Last year he got together with former Low Anthem mates Jeff Prystowsky and Ben Knox Miller to produce Wilder Shores of Love , his debut album.  After officially returning to Virginia, Dan Lefkowitz went out on tour in late February and early March with The Low Anthem and band Bobby . Dan McGurk of mcgurkmusic had a chance to meet Dan Lefkowitz at the Philadelphia First Unitarian Church 2-25 show, and later exchange some Questions & Answers. MM (mcgurkmusic: You’ve had a hiatus, before returning to the music scene. How long have some of these songs been percolating? What’s the oldest song on the album? DL (Daniel Lefkowitz): Most were written about a year ago, as I started to conceive of the album. For the most part they formed together. Th...

In a continuing series, I have been exploring music that I love, that is also fitting for my young daughter.  I have looked at adult songs that she also loves , kids songs that I don't want to slit my wrist listening to , and as was the case with 'Boy with a Coin' , a track that can calm the child down. Today's selection is an adult track that can calm a child down, and is an excellent lullaby.  However, it has a short shelf life.  I wouldn't recommend playing this beyond three years of age, as it has some dark and possibly nightmare inducing lyrics.   If you ever tried to locate some lullabies in your music collection, good luck!  Try searching the word lullaby in your collection.  Counting Crow's 'Mrs. Potter's Lullaby' is much too loud, as is the jazz ' Lullaby of Birdland' .  Coltrane 's ' Russian Lullaby ' will do one better than caffeine.  ' Disenchanted Lullaby ' from the Foo Fighters might work for Dave Groh...

Tomorrow night, at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, I will be meeting up with an old friend and watching a band I have really come to enjoy.  The Low Anthem is the headline act, following a band named Bobby and former The Low Anthem band mate Daniel Lefkowitz as a solo act. I came to first listen to The Low Anthem , based on a recommendation from my near & dear friend.   I had started listening to their major debut What the Crow Bring s while exploring the now defunct lala.com site.  At the time it was nothing more than background music for me.   That's no slam against their music as,at the time, it was mostly lighter breathy tracks, such as 'Yellowed By The Sun' with electric guitar and harmonica being featured.  'The Ballad of Broken Bones' is a quintessential Low Anthem track, with lyrics that stick, melodic pump organ, and one of the coolest uses of technology with cell phones echoing Ben Knox Miller's whistling.   ...