Root Down in the Shadow

What a great weekend of music.   I can honestly say there are few places that have such a multifaceted multi-genre scene as the Philly area.  You can really pick from an a la cart menu of bands and venues and not be disappointed.  This weekend for Root Down In The Shadow, included a Friday night show at Maxwell's on Main in Doylestown, the Tri State Indie Awards, and a mixed bag at Kung Fu Necktie.   ║CRAFT CULTURE║ February 15th ║  THE LAWSUITS TAKE-OVER with JEREMIAH TALL ║ Buck's county superstars The Lawsuits were the pick to start off the weekend.  The cover was FREE, but the quality was great.  Jeremiah Tall brought his one man extravaganza to open the night.  (Can you even call it that, when they don't go on until 10-ish?).  The Lawsuits, deep in their home territory, played a good selection of new tracks including the popular 'Ten Cent Piece'. TSI MUSIC AWARDS (the pre party) On Sunday, Tri State Indie Music Awards .  At 3pm Upstairs at World Caf

Boston band Kingsley Flood first came to my attention late last year.  I had been browsing the Boston Music Award ballot for bands to check out.  A favorite of mine The David Wax Museum was up for another award, so I wanted to see who the competition was.  With the internets at my fingertips I was quickly was smitten with Kingsley Flood.  I found ' Roll The Dice ' from the 2010 debut Dust Windows , and 'I Don't Wanna Go Home ' and ' Wonderland ' from the 2012 EP Colder Still.  According to my friends as long as it's a Dylan derivative, I must love it.   Oversimplifications aside, these guys had my attention; the songs were loud, bouncy, fun, catchy, and everything missing from a lot of music today!  All the singles jump out screaming HEY LISTEN TO ME!!!! Checking them out further, I found they have racked up many awards in the past few years.  Kingsley Flood has been named New Artist of the Year at the 2010 Boston Music Awards, has been featured on

Hey friends!  I know I have a pretty heavy focus on rock & folk here at Root Down In The Shadow, but from time to time I totally dig me some solid Electronica music.  Back in the late '90's, we'd have Electronica nights with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Deejay Punk-Roc, Propellerheads, The Crystal Method and more!!!   It was the golden age really, drum & bass was live and well with Goldie.  Everyone wanted a Moby or Fatboy Slim remix!   The best albums of many artists dropped at that time.  Many bands have infiltrated our daily lives without us even knowing, such as Chemical Brothers 'Galvanize' on a beer commerical or Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' as the theme music for the widely successful tv show House !! So what does this have to do with Conspirator??  Conspirator's  Unleashed is the best entry I've heard to date since my old electronica days, to get this "old man" turn up his bass and crank the stereo loud.  Dea

This Saturday, West Chester natives Vatic play a hometown show at   The Note !  It's been a few months since they've played Chester County, this time they join The Hyde and 9 Crown Monarch . I saw the Alt-Metal, Hard Rockers, Vatic a few weeks back at The North Star bar in Philly, and in spite of the late night slot, they completely blew the remaining work night crowd away!!!  I had been impressed by their high level production on their album tracks, but they easily replicated the sound live. My advice, get a spot up front on the left.  Watching Andy Smith on the guitar can be dizzying.  Also, expect songs from their 2009 release machines of hate and grace, some new songs including the recently released on iTunes 'Meat Grenade', and a few deep-cut covers! Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:30 pm $8.00 - $10.00 Other shows this weekend: Friday 1/31:  At the Burlap and Bean in Newtown Square, PA; Sera Cahoone (wth Kelli Scarr) plays songs from D

A few days before Saturday's show I found out about the secret Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia house concert.  I saw the lineup was DRGN King , The Gallerist, Aaron Brown and Mo Lowda and The Humble .  They had me at DRGN King; I was in!  Sadly, despite being in Philly for nearly 4 years now, and a big music fan, I didn't know much about the line up.  I knew DRGN King was streaming their new album on the Key as I coincidentally just started listening to them a week prior.  They had a Spinner.com mp3 of the day freebie, and I found  a track from last year on the The Key Studio Sessions Volume 3, I found a Mo Lowda and the Humble album on B andcamp , and a song from The Gallerist on B andcamp .  The only reason I struck out on Aaron Brown was because I didn't search for the correct band Aaron & The Spell .  It didn't matter, I was in. House concerts are the best way to get an intimate look at new bands.  Why not go? There is such a great equalizer at these even

Brian Dale Allen Strouse has a problem.  He can't stop writing new songs.  For years now he has been releasing music in solo form and with The Lawsuits.  Despite the popular Lawsuits album Darleen and the Hot Love EP, released in early 2012 he couldn't be stopped.   He kept writing, and the songs kept coming. to hear Numbers  click here!!! Of these recent new songs six of those tracks have recently been released on the new Lawsuits  Numbers EP.  More are expected to be released in '13 on a full length album.  With 4 of the 6 songs on Numbers already having videos before the official EP release, the band clearly doesn't fear putting too much out there.  Some of those tracks were heading for a solo release, but just as Brian finds it "easier to lay the foundation on his own", the songs "really come to reality faster with the band."  Each time the band would get together to practice and fill out some tunes, the creative juices would kee

At Manayunk's Grape Room, The Song Dogs invited their friends out for The Wild Country release party.  I took advantage to catch up with Tri State Indie INDIE FOLK/AMERICANA BAND OF THE YEAR nominee The Levee Drivers . Following The Late Ancients set; The Levee Drivers pulled a very brief sound check and went straight into the songs.  Joining August Lutz in a stripped down line up, were Kyle Perella on bass, and Jeff Orlowski on drums. August with his coal miner cap 'n jacket got the party started with their classic 'Tennessee Girl'   They continued their rowdy Americana style with some standard Levee Drivers tunes, a fantastic cover of 'That's Alright Mama' (made famous by Elvis , but done in the style of Johnny Cash ) until they slowed down to dedicate a song to the "beautiful ladies" with 'Stars and Highway Blues'.  The set was capped with 'Seven Nation Army', with a full on Levee Drivers treatment!   I pinned August