W W W. P H I L A D E L P H I A W E E K LY. C O M
On The Record
Album Reviews in 30 seconds oR less • bY bill cHeneveRT
Arcade Fire
HAM1
rakaa
eric darius
the emotron
Paul A. rosales
Local customs
tom Jones
The Suburbs
Let’s Go On and On and On with HAM1
Crown of Thorns
On A Mission
Wonder Wheel I
Lone Star Lowlands
Praise & Blame
(Decon Records)
(Shanachie Entertainment)
Vampire Lunch Lady Tits
(The Numero Group)
(Island Records)
(Slanty Shanty Records)
(Care In The Community Recordings)
SoundS Like: Pretty va-
SoundS Like: L.A.’s
SoundS Like: A collec-
tion of 22 shelved tunes from Mickey Rouse’s Beaumont, Texas, studio range from CSNY-like floaters to funky garage rock Stonesy chuggers. Free ASSociAtion: A nice batch of retro-flavored Texas shiners worth a sunny listen. For FAnS oF: Sassy, Insight Out, Sage, Bobby Welch, Mourning Sun.
SoundS Like: The Welsh
(Merge) SoundS Like: The
Montreal super-group’s long-awaited follow-up to Neon Bible is a more subdued, darker and less manic version of their baroque, complex style. Free ASSociAtion:
Nothing will be better than their self-titled EP and Funeral. For FAnS oF: Mercury Rev, Roxy Music, Canuck Smiths, brooding.
(Cleft Music) SoundS Like: Athens,
Ga.’s Jim Willingham cut his teeth with hard rock in the ‘90s, took some time off, backed Vic Chesnutt and now plays low-key countrified rock. Free ASSociAtion: This ain’t no B-52s or REM; these are sad-bastard saloon tunes. For FAnS oF: Crown Vic, Peter Case, Devotchka, drunk Neil Young.
SoundS Like: Former Dilated Peoples’ emcee pulls in a few top-notch guests (KRS One, Chali 2na) for his solo debut shooting for underground cred and falling short. Free ASSociAtion:
Peeps fans will eat it up, but this lacks innovation, vigor and fire. For FAnS oF: Low-key Blackalicious, J-5, Talib, Common.
SoundS Like: N.J. na-
tive’s fourth is a smooth jazz masterpiece! It should fit very nicely alongside Kenny G and Kevin Eubanks blaring in elevators and Kohl’s. Free ASSociAtion: Oh you’re on a mission, all right ... to show up in the 99 cent budget rack. For FAnS oF: Grover Washington Jr., department stores, Christmas records.
nilla for a guy who claims he’s this generation’s GG Allin. Free ASSociAtion: Saw Atom and His Package, bought a sequencer and won’t give up. For FAnS oF: Mose Giganticus, Bomb the Music Industry!, Genghis Tron, delusions of piss-and-shit grandeur.
young lo-fi guru plays synths and echoes the hell out of them while gravelly mikes stutter his calm vocals in gritty, Eno-inspired soundscapes. Free ASSociAtion: This will never make it to radio; strictly for R. Stevie Moore superfans. For FAnS oF: Phillip Glass x Neon Indian, Pearl Harbor, bedroom tapes.
Rough Rider
CRITIC'S PICK
We comb through the hospitality riders of acts coming through Philly, and print the most interesting ones. By Michael Alan Goldberg
Prince turns in a commanding performance of down-and-outs, spirituals, blues and folk covers in an astonishing LP from the 70-year-old icon. Free ASSociAtion: Giving Mr. Cash’s American series some good company, seriously! For FAnS oF: Tom Waits, Dylan, John Lee Hooker, Elvis, stamina.
Girls Rock Philly Showcase
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BROOKE BOCAST
P H I L A D E L P H I A W E E K LY A u g u s t 1 1-17, 2 01 0 • 30
reat news! Thanks to the miracle that is G modern medicine, Slayer frontman Tom Araya is recovering nicely from the back surgery (an “Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion,” to be more specific) he had in January necessitated by decades of serious headbanging and thrashing (seriously— that’s what his publicist told us). And now that he’s feeling better—perhaps via a deal with the devil as well as a deal with his doctors—you know what that means ... yes, Slayer’s much-anticipated, postponed “American Carnage” co-headlining tour with Megadeth, which was originally slated for Feb. 13 at the Susquehanna Bank Center over in Camden, is back on! Get it? Back! On! Anyway, the rescheduled Philly date is Aug. 15 at the Susquehanna Bank Center. Testament will open the show. In related news, we’ve gotten a hold of Megadeth’s hospitality rider—the portion of the contract dealing what amenities are required backstage—for the “American Carnage” tour. Some excerpts: • Twenty-four boxes of Kleenex. • Random assortment of DVD movies. Drama, action, and slapstick comedies are acceptable genres. Rock music documentaries are not. The following titles MUST NOT BE INCLUDED: The Crying Game, Cry-Baby, Boys Don’t Cry, Cry Freedom, Tears of the Sun, Cry Wolf, Sob Story, Bedtime for Sniffles, or any movie starring Jon Cryer. • One EACH voodoo-type doll in the likeness
To be provided backstage for Megadeath
of James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, to be made of soft material such as a cotton-stuffed sock or mattress foam wrapped in terry cloth. Photos of the faces of Mr. Hetfield or Mr. Ulrich may be glued (but NOT stapled) to the “heads” of said dolls, which MUST be accompanied by a set of carbon-steel, nickel-plated sewing needles, a pair of hair-cutting scissors, a butterfly knife, a surgery scalpel or other extremely sharp instrument. • One deli platter with an assortment of
ince 2007, Girls Rock Philly has ceaseS lessly pulled the toxic fingers of patriarchy from the throat of rock ‘n’ roll one camper at a time. Their goal is to provide a positive space for 80 tween and teen girls with potentially no prior musical training to become no-holds-barred rock stars through a rigorous, weeklong combination of instrument instruction and workshops on the history of women musicians, hip-hop, music marketing, business and theory, and DIY home recording. The big payback for the young artists is a live concert where 18 bands will have the opportunity to get premium meats; one dessert platter with an assortment of cakes, cookies and fudge. up under the Troc house lights to do their thing. That’s not it, though, for the bands The deli platter MUST NOT contain any will head to the studio to record their origiDanish ham. In fact, there must be NOTHING Danish whatsoever in the catering area. nal material the day after unleashing it on No Danish pastries, no Danish cookies. Even a live audience. New fans will be created. Legends will be born. Rock will never be the a little Danish will upset Mr. Mustaine. n same again. Nor should it be. (Elliott Sharp) Sat., Aug. 15, 7pm. With Testament. $39-$57.50. Susquehanna Bank Center, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J. 856.365.1300. livenation.com
Sat., Aug. 14, 1pm. $10. Trocadero, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.6888. thetroc.com