Think back to the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. Remember that song that you heard at every party, on every radio station and out of every car that drove by? It was one song and one song only: “N—-s in Paris.” The man responsible for bringing you that hit, along with A$AP Rocky’s “Goldie”; Kendrick Lamar’s “Backseat Freestyle”; and Big Sean, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Clique,” goes by the name of Hit-Boy, and he’s not just a producer. Last August, Hit-Boy released his debut mixtape as a rapper, titled “HITstory,” which showcased his impressive flows and lyricism. Shortly thereafter, Hit-Boy, 26, signed to Interscope Records in December 2012 and launched his own label, HS87, under Interscope’s imprint in January 2013. Hailing from California, Hit-Boy made his Philadelphia debut June 1 at the sixth annual Roots Picnic, where he, along with his signees, Audio Push, delivered an impressive, high-energy performance on the tent stage.

Hit Boy made his Philly debut at the sixth annual Roots Picnic June 1. The rapper has produced records for Jay-Z, Beyonce, Britney Spears and Eminem.

Following his set, I had the opportunity to sit down with Hit-Boy and discuss his rap and production careers. Even though his rise to fame came through his production, he actually began rapping at the age of 13. “I rapped way before I knew I could make beats. I always had the passion for it; I just had to put it off for a minute to get in the door with the beats, and then it just took off.” To say his career has taken off would be an understatement. Hit-Boy has now produced records for West, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Britney Spears and Eminem. He also has rapped alongside Wale, 2 Chainz and Rick Ross.

Despite his success, Hit-Boy has remained humble and said he still doesn’t feel like he made it. Not many people with a Grammy and multiple hit records would say the same. He did, however, share the highlight of his career thus far after producing “N—-s in Paris.”

“[I had] so many experiences with that one song. I got to meet all of my heroes because they all loved the song. Being able to be in Paris and be onstage with Jay-Z and Kanye was that moment,” Hit-Boy said.

Moments like this have helped fuel his passion and have motivated him even more for his bright future as a rapper, producer and executive. “Just seeing our own progress, I want to really have very successful artists and be a successful artist myself and have hits. That’s the name of my label, Hits Since 87.”

In March, Hit-Boy and his team released “All I’ve Ever Dreamed Of,” which includes the lead single, a remix of “Fan” that features 2 Chainz. The original track was a part of Hit-Boy’s debut project, but he brought it back and added the go-to feature rapper in hip-hop right now, which brought even more to fire to one of the strongest songs from “HITstory.” Other must-listens include “Enormous,” which features Travi$ Scott and James Fauntleroy, as well as “Cypher,” which features artists including Raekwon, Rick Ross and ScHoolboy Q.

No matter what Hit-Boy works on, he brings the same energy to his fans. “To me, it’s one and the same. Everything that I stand for is what I represent. Whether I’m writing a song or making a beat, rapping, whatever, I’m just trying to bring that quality,” he said.

And so far, all he has delivered is quality. His first two rap projects on top of his already abundant production portfolio have impressed fans and demanded the respect of every rapper in the industry.

Hit-Boy even offered up some advice for college students trying to pursue their dreams.

“Whatever the passion is, just stay focused on that. Everything else in between, that’ll just come, but just focus on what you’re passionate about,” he said.

For Hit-Boy, that passion is clear, as he is always trying to motivate and inspire his fans through social media every day.

With “HITstory” and “All I’ve Ever Dreamed Of,” Hit-Boy let the world know that he’s more than just a producer. During his impressive performance at the Roots Picnic, Hit-Boy commanded the stage and kept the fans wanting more after his 35-minute set, even though he has limited experience performing. His confidence and control onstage, when added to his hit-making ability, emerging rap career and the HS87 imprint he’s created under Interscope, prove that Hit-Boy is ready to become a star.

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Returning from a nearly four-year hiatus with their newest album, “Save Rock and Roll,” the pop-punk veterans played a mix of both old and new favorites with verve and excitement. However, even though the crowd of mostly diehard fans received them warmly, they had a clear message — they’re not the FOB you used to know.

Joined by alternative rock band New Politics, Fall Out Boy set out on a small-scale spring and summer club tour before the album-supporting “Save Rock and Roll” arena tour this fall. New Politics’ performance style was unconventional; lead vocalist David Boyd was breakdancing and headstanding while singing at the top of his lungs. Then again, every band member had a level of energy and enthusiasm that had the whole crowd fist-pumping and head-banging.

Although their set was surprisingly short, this went fairly unnoticed because the audience was getting more and more antsy for the long-awaited return of their beloved icons.

Finally, Fall Out Boy appeared behind a large white curtain, and as soon as it was lifted, the crowd turned into a madhouse. With the first few notes of “Thriller,” the opening track off their 2007 album “Infinity on High,” fans began pushing, shoving and dancing all while attempting to get closer to the front. By the end of the second song, the band had seen enough.

“We have an odd request,” Wentz began before asking the crowd to ease up by taking a few steps back for the sake of those in the front. Similar conditions during past shows on the tour had led to countless injuries among fans, and Wentz’s request was becoming a familiar one. When the crowd failed to comply, guitarist Joe Trohman interjected, demanding his fans to “back the f— up, please.”

Nevertheless, the energy in the packed-to-capacity Electric Factory remained. Instruments and vocals were often drowned out by the crowd’s own gusto. Every song had its lyrics sung back to the band, no matter how new. “The Phoenix,” the first track on Fall Out Boy’s new album, sent the crowd into a frenzy of passionate screams and dancing as frontman Patrick Stump sang the band’s new mantra of “put on your war paint” into the microphone with vigor and scenes from the song’s graphic music video played on the screens behind them. However, it was old hits like “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down,” “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” and “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy” that sent the crowd over the edge, moshing and dancing as though it were Warped Tour 2006.

A dramatic change from the arenas that the band used to sell out, the intimacy of the venue allowed the band to interact with the audience. The band members themselves had a goofy attitude with not only the crowd but also each other. A previously passive and shy Stump joked with Wentz onstage and performed with a self-confidence entirely unseen before, likely brought on by his new fit appearance and brief tour as a solo artist. Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, members of the same heavy-metal band during Fall Out Boy’s hiatus, were as intense as ever. Then the kicker to the reunion was the apparent coordination of outfits with an emphasis on gray skinny jeans.

“Where are all my dudes at?” Wentz asked, receiving a low rumble from the Electric Factory’s surprising amount of male patronage. “It’s been a long while since we’ve written a song for the f—ing dudes. So this one’s for you.” He then dedicated the band’s latest single, “Young Volcanoes,” an acoustic guitar-driven tune almost overwhelmed by the crowd’s rhythmic clapping and chanting, to his dudes.

Upon leaving the stage after performing “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark,” the first song that the band released post-hiatus, the crowd’s continuous chants of “Fall Out Boy” faded into a chilling repetition of the song’s chorus. Saving the album’s namesake track for the encore that followed, “Save Rock and Roll” was performed with Stump at piano, perfectly mimicking the part of the track’s guest vocalist, Elton John. The triple-split screen behind the band displayed pictures of famous musicians as they performed, adding an extra layer of mysticism and nostalgia.

The night came to an end as Wentz jumped into the audience to scream the end of “Saturday,” a fan favorite that sent the audience into a pandemonium even stronger than it was when the band had first taken the stage. The song, however, was largely a wall of noise and fast-paced instrumentals, reflective of Fall Out Boy’s earlier years, further mottled by the audience’s own screaming.

“Music never leaves you alone, and punk rock will always be there when nothing else will,” Wentz reassured the audience before the band’s departure from the stage.

Fall Out Boy will return to Philadelphia Sept. 8 at the Liacouras Center, backed by the band’s old friends Panic At the Disco and Twenty One Pilots.

Additional reporting by Azwad Rahman

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Local band The Wonder Years released its third album, “The Greatest Generation,” May 14 via Hopeless Records.

Punk band The Wonder Years released their new album, “The Greatest Generation,” May 14. The Lansdale, PA group admits that “Generation” features their most powerful and heartfelt work to date. The album includes trakcs like “There, There.”

The band consists of Dan “Soupy” Campbell (lead vocals), Casey Cavaliere (guitarist), Matt Brasch (guitarist), Nick Steinborn (keyboardist and guitarist), Joshua Martin (bassist) and Michael Kennedy (drummer). Although they started out as a joke, they definitely proved themselves with their newest record.

The first song on the record, “There, There,” starts out calming but leads into the normal almost-yell from Campbell. This song not only shows the new, polished side of The Wonder Years but also connects the song to each person who listens to it with its intense and meaningful lyrics. This song quickly became my favorite.

In the album’s first single, “Passing Through a Screen Door,” we return to the pop-punk band fans know and love from “The Upsides” and “Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing.” This song is a perfect example of how the band can take everything great from its previous material and bring it to a newer and greater level.

The album continues with other favorites such as “We Could Die Like This” and “Cul-de-sac,” both of which have catchy riffs and killer lyrics to prove that pop-punk isn’t going stale.

Although the album is indeed excellent, I think it would have done best without the stripped down and acoustic “Madelyn.” The lyrics are beautiful, but it was quite difficult to stay focused enough to listen to the song fully because it lacked something musically.

The album ends with “I Just Want To Sell Out My Funeral.” This song brings the entire album together seamlessly by playing clips of each song and giving listeners the entire story of “The Greatest Generation.” This song gives the album the absolute perfect close with the final lyrics, “We all want to be great men. There’s nothing romantic about it. I just want to know that I did all I could with what I was given.”

I think the band put it best by stating, “We know that this is unequivocally our strongest, most honest and most heartfelt work to date. We can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store.”

If you’re interested in seeing what The Wonder Years have coming in the near future, check out the album on iTunes and make sure you stop by the main stage for their set during Warped Tour 2013 as it rolls through Camden, N.J., July 12.

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We typically anticipate summer for the warm weather, weekends at the beach, and if we had attended a semester school, some real time off from classes. However, this summer in particular, there are a number of highly anticipated hip-hop and R&B album releases to await.

This summer, star hip-hop artists including Kanye West, J. Cole, Wale and Pusha T are all releasing new solo albums. Other notable new music coming this summer includes John Legend’s first solo album since 2008.

Starting June 18, hip-hop is prepared to take over the summer with the releases of Mac Miller’s “Watching Movies With The Sound Off,” J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” and most importantly, Kanye West’s “Yeezus.” While Miller likely won’t be able to compete with West and Cole in terms of sales, the battle between the latter pair will be one that is underestimated by many. Despite all the hype around West’s “Yeezus,” the lack of a radio single and “normal” promotion could end up seriously hurting his sales, as many fans might not be aware that he’s releasing a new album. However, J. Cole, who has been promoting his album very heavily and even pushed the release date up one week to battle West June 18, has his single “Power Trip” featuring Miguel shooting up the Billboard charts on its way to No. 1 as “Born Sinner” is about to be released. While the hype for the Cole vs. West sales battle is not nearly as hyped up as West vs. 50 Cent back in 2007 when West’s “Graduation” sold nearly a million copies in its first week, it will likely be a lot closer than many people expect due to Cole’s continuing rise to fame.

Just one week later, John Legend will release his first solo album in nearly five years, titled “Love in the Future.” The album’s lead single, “Who Do We Think We Are?” is one of the better rhythm and blues songs released this year, and it features a great verse from Rick Ross. On that same day, Ross’ signee Wale will release his highly anticipated album, “The Gifted.” Wale currently has a chart-topping single, “Bad,” which is hard to comprehend given the fact that the beat alone makes your ears want to bleed. However, his album is rumored to feature Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill and Rick Ross, among others. That alone should make this album worth the listen as Wale looks to build off of the success from his sophomore album, “Ambition.”

Other notable album releases this summer include Pusha T’s debut solo album, “My Name Is My Name,” due out July 16. With “Numbers on the Boards,” Pusha T showed that he’s ready to take over the summer with some big hits. On that same day, soul singer Mayer Hawthorne will release his third studio album, “Where Does This Door Go.” If you haven’t heard the lead single, “Her Favorite Song,” make sure you stop reading after this sentence and do so immediately. It will definitely be one of your favorites this summer.

If you love music that is actually supposed to be available for free, then you should be on the lookout for Meek Mill’s third installment in the “Dreamchasers” series, which will be available later this summer. Over Memorial Day weekend, Meek unveiled the project’s first single, “Levels,” which showcases a very new and unique flow that he has never used in the past. This is a sign of good things to come from the new mixtape.

Don’t look too far ahead, but Justin Timberlake will release the second part to “The 20/20 Experience” Sept. 20 following his summer tour. Also, rumors are swirling that the both Jay-Z and Beyonce will also release new albums this year, which is incredibly exciting. Jay has released a few songs recently, including “Open Letter,” where he rants about his relationship with Barack Obama and his trip to Cuba with his wife, among other things. Both Beyonce and Jay are on tour this summer and will be in Philadelphia July 25 and Aug. 13 (with Timberlake), respectively.

With an incredible summer lineup of new music, along with huge potential in the fourth quarter, 2013 is shaping up to be another amazing year for hip-hop and R&B. Be sure to save some of your co-op money, because there are a ton of albums that will be worth purchasing this summer.

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Marketing in the music industry has changed drastically over the last few years with the advancement of technology, with more power shifting into the hands of the artists. Some artists have used social media to break major news or release new music; others have released music videos or video blogs to build up hype for upcoming projects. However, Kanye West has taken a far different approach. By performing on well-known platforms across the world, including America’s own “Saturday Night Live,” West is forcing everyone to watch and listen to him. With his new album “Yeezus” set to release June 18, West has returned to the United States after recording in Paris and is making his presence felt across the country and the world.

Rapper Kanye West has begun a music marketing campaign that is forcing people to watch and listen to his music. He has done so through both mild-mannered and extreme methods, the latter including projecting his face onto 66 buildings around the world. West’s new album “Yeezus” will release June 18.

It all began May 6 at this year’s Costume Institute Gala (also known as the Met Gala) when West proclaimed, “I am a god,” during one of the songs from his performance. A series of Vines (short, six-second videos) were the only evidence of this performance happening, and it left fans wondering what exactly West had further planned. Then West performed again May 16, but this time at the Adult Swim Private Party at Roseland Ballroom in New York. There he performed a clip of a new song featuring EDM-style production, and also a song tentatively called “Awesome,” in which he talks about just how awesome his girlfriend Kim Kardashian is.  Videos from his performance were leaked onto the Internet, and for the first time since the G.O.O.D. Music compilation “Cruel Summer,” fans got to hear new music from West.

On Friday night, however, West did something unprecedented. At 9:34 p.m., he tweeted out: “NEW SONG AND VISUAL FROM MY NEW ALBUM BEING PROJECTED TONIGHT ACROSS THE GLOBE ON 66 BULIDINGS, LOCATIONS @ KANYEWEST.COM.” Within an hour, projections began across the world in 10 different countries. Some of the most interesting locations included Wrigley Field and Millennium Park in Chicago, the Prada store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, and the Pompidou Centre and L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

After the projection flashed a few images of old price tags and signs from retail shops, West’s face appeared sideways and then turned and stared out onto the crowd as he rapped the lyrics to his new song, “New Slaves.” From the moment the song begins, it’s clear that West is angry and is letting everybody know with his vivid and powerful lyrics. “You see it’s leaders, and there’s followers, but I’d rather be a d— than a swallower,” he recites on the bridge. Later on, West comments on the prison system in America before saying, “See that’s that privately owned prisons, get your piece today, they prolly all in the Hamptons, bragging ‘bout what they made. F— you and your Hampton house, I’ll [expletive] your Hampton spouse, c— on her Hampton blouse and in her Hampton mouth.” West’s final verses close angrily with, “Y’all bout to turn s— up, I’m ‘bout to tear s— down, I’m ‘bout to air s— out, now what the f— they gon’ say now?” The anger, sincerity and emotion in West’s voice captivates listeners and takes hold of their full attention as he delivers two of his most powerful verses to date.

West followed up the guerilla-style marketing with a performance on “SNL” that couldn’t have made the executives at NBC very happy. Instead of performing something the audience would know first, West debuted “Black Skinhead,” which he apparently rewrote before the performance. The track samples Marilyn Manson and features West screaming throughout a few points of the record. It’s rumored that this is the track that Daft Punk collaborated on with West, which adds even more firepower to this impactful record.

On the bridge, West raps, “So follow me up, cause this s—’s about to go down. I’m doin’ 500, I’m outta control now, but there’s nowhere to go now, and there’s no way to slow down, runnin’ out of time — moving fast, so just close your eyes and then enjoy the crash.” Although during the show it was sometimes difficult to make out what West was saying due to the pace of his raps and the distortion on his voice, he tweeted pictures of the handwritten lyrics after the show. West managed to sneak quite a few curse words in under the NBC censors; however, he tried his hardest to hold back during an angry and spirited performance of “New Slaves” to bring his night to an end. Both performances left fans in shock and awe, which is exactly the impact that West hoped to have.

Right now, nobody can come close to the sound and powerful lyricism that West is currently displaying. He’s never been afraid of what the media or people think about him, and that’s clearer than ever after hearing “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” over the weekend. West is clearly annoyed with some of the racial issues in our society today, and he’s been able to display this passionately and powerfully through these two new songs. If these tracks are a true representation of what “Yeezus” will bring to listeners, then we’re all in for quite a treat.

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London natives Daughter passed through Philadelphia May 3 in support of their newest album, “If You Leave.” The show was set to take place at the First Unitarian Church but was moved to Union Transfer in order to release more tickets due to the quick sellout.

The indie folk London-based group Daughter performed at Union Transfer May 3 to promote their new album “If You Leave.” The band consists of singer Elena Tonra, guitarist Igor Haefeli, and drummer Remi Aguilella.

The show opened with contemporary folk band Wilsen. Although the band was new to Philadelphia, it stunned the crowd. Leading lady Tamsin Wilson featured haunting vocals accompanied by lyrics that can lift you up but send you crashing in the next verse. The band performed several songs off its newest record, “Sirens,” which was released silently in April. Overall, Wilsen complemented the show with incredible and peaceful music that is extremely worth listening to.

After waiting a while between sets, Daughter finally appeared onstage. With “If You Leave” being released April 30 in North America, the band focused a lot on new songs from this album, such as “Tomorrow” and “Amsterdam.” But of course, they didn’t forget about the old favorites like “Candles” and “Landfill.” I still cannot get over the cuteness of vocalist Elena Tonra, who couldn’t help but thank the crowd several times between each song. Between Tonra and guitarist Igor Haefeli, they couldn’t stop expressing their gratitude toward the crowd. I have never witnessed such genuinely grateful musicians onstage before.

Toward the end of the show, the generally quiet crowd couldn’t help but erupt with cheer and song when Daughter performed its most popular song, “Youth.” This powerfully raw song left the people surrounding me with tears streaming down their faces.

Daughter is set to finish up its headlining North American tour near the end of May, closing with two sold-out shows in Los Angeles and a few music festivals. In August they will jump on tour with The National for a short run and follow with a headlining tour in the United Kingdom.

With Philadelphia being the first city the band performed in when coming to North America back in 2012, Daughter has made a great impact on the City of Brotherly Love. If this is your first time hearing of Daughter, I highly suggest you take a listen and take the chance to see the band live while you can. You will not regret it.

You can find a full list of where to find Daughter’s music on the band’s Facebook page.

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Open Mic Night never fails to bring in a myriad of talents. From comedians to singers, it is very seldom that you will be bored at one of these Drexel events. Prior to attending, I was in touch with one of the people set to perform that night. Her name was Diana Chittester, a singer, songwriter, guitarist and performer all in one. She is what many would consider a quadruple threat. With experience on TV news programs like the FOX 8 Morning Show and features on PBS and Indie BOX, I was excited to learn about this small-town Pennsylvania girl. I called her up for a phone interview in order to gain some more insight on her musical world.

Drexel’s Open Mic Night was lucky to host Diana Chittester, a talented singer, songwriter and guitarist, who has been featured on both the Fox 8 Morning Show and PBS. The artist began her musical journey performing in coffee shops when she was 14. Her newest album “In The Skin” was released last may.

Q: What is your background like?

A: I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and about five years ago I moved out to Cleveland, Ohio. That’s where I started playing music professionally and touring. I started Fighting Chance Records, which is an independent record label that I use to get my own music out there, but it’s going to be taking on new artists here before too long.

Q: How old were you when you first started getting involved in music and why?

A: I started playing the guitar what I was 14, and I was playing around little coffee shops around campuses. When I started doing it professionally I was 24, and I’ve been working at it for about the past five years. It’s changed a lot even within the past year; I’ve released a CD called “In The Skin” back in May. When I released that album I went from working local bars and clubs to actually working regionally, and that’s what’s bringing me into the Philadelphia area.

Q: What message do you try to give out in your music?

A: Well, my background is that my father is a minister, and I grew up in a very strong religious upbringing. When I grew up a little bit, I came out to my family as a lesbian woman when I was 21 years old. That challenged a lot of my religious upbringing. Now as far as my message goes, I really embrace the idea of people connecting to one another as opposed to looking for reasons to disconnect. That’s what some of my religious practicing [was] kind of forcing me to do when I was younger, so the big message for me is looking for reasons for people to come together.

Q: What advice would you give to adolescents who are struggling with their sexuality right now?

A: Definitely to have as many conversations as you can have. Keep communication open between your friends, family and especially within yourself.

Q: What would you say is your music style?

A: We describe it as a very progressive indie cult.

Q: What are your ultimate goals?

A: Well, I’m excited to come up here, and getting ready to start a nonprofit, which will be referred to as a virtual safe zone. It’s going to be an online form for [lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders]  and friends and family to get on and discuss with each other, ask questions [and] find resources. I’m really looking forward to that being launched here in the next couple weeks. With music, for right now, touring is my biggest goal. We’re working pretty regionally, and we’re hoping to expand that internationally. Long term is to be able to give back to the music community and launch new talents and artists.

Shortly after the interview, I set out to attend Drexel’s Open Mic Night in the Intercultural Center. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was happy to find that everyone performing was passionate and interesting. From comedians to singers, and even a poet or two, I was constantly being entertained by a new form of talent.

When Chittester’s name was called up, I was excited to put a sound to the music genre she had described. The first thing I noticed was that she definitely had a lot of stage presence, and once she started performing I was intrigued by her energy and style. She put a lot of movement and emotion into her performance, which it made it interesting for the audience to watch. Her music had stories behind it explaining situations and plights she’s experienced. It wasn’t just a musical performance but an opportunity for her to get her message across.

It’s difficult to put into words the style and passion of Diana Chittester, which is why I encourage everyone interested in this genre of music to visit her website at www.dianachittester.com. I’m not even an indie music fan, and I still enjoyed her music. All in all, I would describe her as a very talented young woman with not only power in her lyrics, but the power to help and inspire anyone going through a difficult time. After her performance and interview, I would say she is not only a great singer, songwriter, guitarist and performer but also an uplifting person looking to give back to the community in any way possible.

The post Diana Chittester spreads message of connectivity in personal music style appeared first on The Triangle.

Teebs and Thundercat opened for Flying Lotus, who made his Philadelphia debut April 26 at Union Transfer. Teebs has a very similar sound to Flying Lotus. His style involves recording sounds, altering them and then layering them to produce a beat. The crowd seemed to enjoy the music he played, although there was not much dancing.

Flying Lotus performed at Union Transfer April 26. The experimental, multi-genre artist enthralled the crowd with his unique sampling, rapping, trap and ambient music. One of the opening acts consisted of Thundercat, who later joined Flying Lotus on stage for the last song.

Thundercat had many fans in the crowd singing along with his lyrics, leading the show to its climax. His band consisted of a bassist and lead singer (Thundercat), a drummer and a keyboardist. All being highly talented musicians, they created a jammy, jazzy sound. The music is abstract, like many jazz songs, and requires a tuned ear to pick out the rhythm of the song. The lead singer sang in his falsetto for the entire show. His voice was weak and breathy, and I doubt he has had much training in signing. His voice did not compare to his bass skills at all.

Although the crowd was responsive during their performances, the show did not start until Flying Lotus came on stage. Equipped with two transparent screens, one in front and one behind him, he put on an incredible visual and aural experience. The screens had moving images projected onto them, creating a 3-D affect for the audience. The images ranged from psychedelic patterns to the human form.

Coming all the way from Los Angeles, Flying Lotus’ music can best be described as instrumental psychedelic hip-hop. He samples drum beats, horns, bass lines and many other sounds from a very wide variety of musical genres to create a futuristic yet classic-sounding beat. J Dilla is a huge inspiration to Flying Lotus, and I even saw a fan in the crowd with a shirt that said “J Dilla changed my life.”

J Dilla’s unique music was made through sampling sounds off old records. The practice of sampling sounds is what Flying Lotus tries to keep alive through his music today. Flying Lotus also played some unanticipated “trap” music in addition to his more familiar ambient music. Trap music is more danceable than the abstract music and has a beat more similar to hip-hop rather than jazz. Flying Lotus also acted as a stand-in rapper and emerged from behind the screen at times to recite the lyrics of songs he produced for other artists.

At the end of the show, Thundercat accompanied Flying Lotus in performing the last song of the set, which made the fans cheer for more, but unfortunately the venue’s curfew hit at 2 a.m., and they had to shut down.

Overall, the show was very enjoyable and featured a great variety of futuristic electronic and hip-hop music. Flying Lotus and his fans eagerly await his next trip to Philadelphia, which he promised would happen in the near future.

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It’s been two and a half years since Kid Cudi released a solo album. During that time, he released an experimental album with producer Dot Da Genius under the group name WZRD and more recently disaffiliated with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, where he had been signed since 2008. The news surprised the majority of the industry because West was instrumental in Cudi’s growth and commercial success over the years. However, the departure seems to have been on good terms, and now Cudi is back in the spotlight with his third studio album, “Indicud.” After a premature leak on the Internet, Cudi decided to push the release of his album up a week, so the album ended up hitting stores and iTunes April 16.

Kid Cudi’s third studio album “Indicud” hit the shelves and iTunes April 16. The album includes such songs as “Brothers” and “Immortal.”

“Indicud” is the first solo album Cudi has released outside of the “Man on the Moon” series. His first two albums followed similar themes and concepts, but with his third release, Cudi has really stepped outside the box sonically and continued to push his creative limits. Cudi’s style of rapping is so unique and unmatched by any other artist that he’s able to experiment much more. Cudi actually produced “Indicud” on his own, with the exception of “Red Eye,” which is co-produced by Hit-Boy. This is the first time he has done this, which makes this release even more special.

From the get-go, Cudi explodes with “Unf—wittable,” led by wild synthesizers that only he could make work for a great song. Other highlights early on include “Young Lady,” which features folk singer Father John Misty. While it’s a very odd pairing, the track is one of the more interesting songs on the album. “Immortal,” which was one of the album’s singles before its release, is a classic Cudi track that still shines on the album.

On “Man on the Moon: The End of Day,” Cudi had a song called “Solo Dolo (Nightmare),” which was one of the best songs on his debut album. On “Indicud,” Cudi teams up with the red-hot Kendrick Lamar for “Solo Dolo Pt. II.” The song sounds nothing like the original but references the original chorus. Lamar is featured on the new chorus before rapping a verse that includes lines such as “I’m proud of myself in a bad way.”

The second half of the album includes the album’s strongest song, “Brothers,” which features Cudi’s right-hand man King Chip (formerly known as Chip Tha Ripper) and A$AP Rocky. Rocky delivers his abstract flow for one of his best verses in recent memory. Cudi sings, “Ayo, this is how it’s supposed to be,” on the catchy yet simple chorus.

Other notables include “Red Eye” featuring female soft-rock group Haim, and “Afterwards (Bring Yo Friends),” which features Michael Bolton (yes, you read that correctly) and King Chip. “We should go to my home, afterwards, come on. Bring your friends, we should go to my home, afterwards, come on,” Bolton sings on the hook. This is definitely one of the highlights of this album.

“Indicud” is an incredible experiment with alternative music. His ability to extend the boundaries of his sound with each album continues to amaze me, and this project once again strikes gold. While this album doesn’t necessarily have the radio hits that his past albums have had, “Indicud” as an overall body of work is more impressive, especially because Cudi produced it entirely himself.

The post Kid Cudi returns from solo hiatus with very adventurous ‘Indicud’ appeared first on The Triangle.

Los Angeles-based indie rock band Local Natives stopped by the heralded Union Transfer rock club April 4 to perform in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 1,000 fans. The line from the entrance wrapped around the block as people eagerly waited in the brisk spring evening to get inside the venue. When the doors finally opened at 8 p.m., patrons streamed in to fill both the upper balconies and the valuable real estate right in front of the stage. By the end of the night, hundreds of ecstatic concert-goers headed off into the night thinking of the incredible and memorable headlining performance they had just witnessed.

Local Natives took fans across the full spectrum of emotions with upbeat hits from album “Gorilla Mirror” and the more melancholy, introspective tunes of “Hummingbird.” They closed the show with their renowned closer, “Sun Hands.”

The night got underway a little after 9 p.m. with another group from the Los Angeles area, the dream-pop group Superhumanoids. The four-piece band is anchored by Cameron Perkins, Max St. John and lead vocalist Sarah Chernoff. Over the course of a roughly 30-minute set, Superhumanoids played a brand of music reminiscent of the ‘80s new wave style, the type of music that wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack of a John Hughes movie. The crowd even got a taste of the band’s upcoming album “Exhibitionists” with “Geri,” which featured a catchy synth beat. At the end of their set, Perkins thanked both the crowd and Local Natives for bringing them on tour. With the opening act over, fans would have to wait almost an hour for the main event, Local Natives.

Finally, at almost half past 10, the band came onstage to a roar of applause and David Bowie’s “Young Americans” playing through the speakers. They took to their instruments in a quick fashion and launched right into “You & I,” the first track of their new album “Hummingbird.” The song showcased the group’s rich vocal harmonies, which are used in a way similar to Fleet Foxes. After “Breakers,” the lead single from “Hummingbird,” the band stopped to thank the crowd. Singer and keyboardist Kelcey Ayer commented, “We always love coming to Philly.” Then guitarist Taylor Rice started to pluck away the opening riff to “Wide Eyes,” a hit song from the band’s 2009 debut album, “Gorilla Manor.”

From there, Local Natives played some more mellow tracks such as “Ceilings” before playing “Shapeshifter” from “Gorilla Manor.” Ayer prefaced the song by saying that the band first played it live in Philadelphia at the First Unitarian Church. When the chorus came around, guitarist Ryan Hahn joined in along with what seemed like most of the crowd. After that was “Heavy Feet,” another hit from “Hummingbird.” It really showcased the drumming of Matt Frazier, who creates some great rhythms with his energetic style. Most of the songs on “Hummingbird” are more introspective and come across as somber. Two of the best examples of this are “Mt. Washington” and “Colombia.” “Colombia,” in particular, was the most emotionally charged song of the night. Ayer picked up a guitar to sing the song he wrote about his mother passing away. When he sang his mother’s name  near the end of the song, audience members could see the emotions contort his face and couldn’t help but relate to similar experiences they may have had themselves.

But those melancholy feelings wouldn’t last for long, as the next two songs were fan favorites, “World News” and “Airplanes.” These two upbeat sing-alongs really brought the crowd’s energy level to a whole new tier, as the whole building seemed to try to join in with the harmonies of the choruses. The band then exited the stage to thunderous applause. Within minutes they were back and playing “Wooly Mammoth,” another song that features Frazier’s wild-sounding beats. Local Natives knew that they had the audience right where they wanted them as they then played “Who Knows Who Cares,” another high-energy hit from “Gorilla Manor.” But any true fan knew that the band always saves its best for last in the form of its perennial closer, “Sun Hands.”

The crowd began to work into a frenzy as the song began to build and build into an almost tribal fury. However, moments before the climax of the song, Hahn brought the band to a halt when he noticed that a young lady in the front row had fainted. Rice immediately brought her some water bottles and asked how she was before getting back up to the microphone to say she was all right and was going to stick it out “like a true rocker.” Then both the band and the crowd didn’t miss a beat as they ratcheted up the intensity before the best 10 seconds of the song, when everyone stops playing and screams out, “And when I can feel with my sun hands, I promise not to lose her again,” twice before just plain jamming out. It was an awesome end to a spectacular show. Local Natives gave everyone in Union Transfer a concert experience that was well worth the price of admission.

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Blake opens the album with the title track, “Overgrown,” in which he sings on the hook, “I don’t wanna be a star, but a stone on the shore.” Blake’s recent rise to fame has clearly affected him; his life has completely changed after the release of his debut album and impressive performances over the last two years.

The most surprising track from the album is “Take A Fall For Me,” which features RZA, formerly part of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA raps, “I need you like I need satisfaction,” as the haunting keys and Blake’s looped vocals echo in the background. While it seems like an odd pairing, Blake recently mentioned that he’s been working in the studio with Jay-Z and Kanye West, proving that he not only has gained the attention of superstars but that his reach is far beyond his niche sound.

The highlight of the album comes with the lead single, “Retrograde,” which might be one of the best songs released so far this year. Blake’s vocals provide a calm chill throughout the record, which reaches its climax with masterfully orchestrated synthesizers that drive Blake’s lyrics into the ears of the listener as he says, “Suddenly I’m hit; is this the darkness of the dawn? When your friends are gone, when your friends won’t come. So show me where you fit.” The power and energy in his voice and the production make this an incredibly powerful song — one that should be talked about when Grammy season rolls around in 2014.

“Retrograde” is followed by the piano-led ballad “DLM,” in which Blake soulfully sings out about a dying relationship. On the chorus, he sings out repeatedly, “Please don’t let me hurt you more, it’s in your stare and at your core.” The emotion in this song bleeds out through the honest lyrics and gentle piano accompaniment. While it is the simplest track both musically and lyrically, it stands out over other tracks from the album.

“Digital Lion,” which features Brian Eno, is the only track on the album that Blake did not produce. However, it is one of the stronger records. Other standouts from “Overgrown” include “Voyeur” and “I Am Sold.”

The album, while short in length (only 39 minutes and 22 seconds), is filled with incredible production from front to back that shatters all genre barriers with its eclectic mix of sounds and synthesizers. Blake’s vocals and lyrics provide power and strong meaning to his elaborate production, and once again, he delivers a very impressive album. If Blake continues on this trend, he’s going to be a star for years to come.

If you want to see James Blake live, he will be performing Saturday, May 11, at the Theatre of Living Arts.

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You know summer is around the corner when you’re sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for your favorite festival’s tickets to go on sale.

John D’Esposito, founder of The Bamboozle, is reviving the Skate & Surf Festival. This popular two-day music festival will be held May 18 and 19 at the Plaza Green at iPlay America in Freehold, N.J. Mackelmore will be one of the featured artists.

With the weather warming up, one of New Jersey’s most prominent music festivals is ready to bring all your favorite artists and bands to one prime location. Skate and Surf Festival, which will be held in Freehold, N.J., at The Plaza Green at iPlay America, will take place May 18 and 19.

“I felt the time was right to revive the Skate and Surf Festival,” John D’Esposito, founder of The Bamboozle, said. The Bamboozle is one of the East Coast’s oldest and largest music festivals. It has played a role in launching the careers of many national recording artists and celebrities.

“It’s where it all began for me, and sometimes you need to go back to your roots. We are also really looking forward to bringing the festival to The Plaza Green at iPlay America and Freehold. It’s the perfect setting, and we are very committed to making this one of the best live music events in 2013.”

After an eight-year hiatus, the legendary music and pop culture event is back with a stellar lineup of today’s most popular and talked-about musicians. Thus far, Fall Out Boy, a band that has recently jumped back on the music scene, will release an all-new 11-track record titled “Save Rock and Roll,” which they will perform on the first date. A Day to Remember, currently in the middle of a U.S. tour, will headline the second day. Other acts include Of Mice and Men, Jake Miller, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, T. Mills, Breathe Carolina, and several others who have been recently announced.

Skate And Surf Festival, which originally began as a local gathering for skate punks in 2002, will also host “The Break Contest,” a staple of The Bamboozle. The official unsigned band competition is currently being held in several tri-state venues.

Powered by GameChanger, this two-day festival will feature five stages — four outdoors and one inside the Encore Event Center. So, if you’re not feeling one band, there will be plenty of options.

For more information and tickets, please visit www.skateandsurffest.com.

Before you know it, it’ll be time to pack the car with your best friends and head to Skate and Surf to check out your favorite musician play your favorite song!

UPDATE: According to a recent press release, due to popular demand, the Skate and Surf Festival has relocated from the Plaza Green at iPlay America in Freehold, New Jersey to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.

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It’s been two years since Tyler, The Creator flew onto the scene with Odd Future. With articles in every major publication about their performance at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and praise from artists including Kanye West about Tyler’s music video for “Yonkers,” the group’s leader became a star in the hip-hop world. Now, he returns with his third solo album, “Wolf,” which was released April 1 on iTunes and April 2 in stores. The album features fellow Odd Future members, including rising star Frank Ocean, who appears on a number of songs even though he’s not always listed as a feature, along with Erykah Badu and Tyler’s idol Pharrell Williams.

 Tyler, The Creator’s “Wolf” was released on iTunes April 1 and in stores April 2. The album features Eyrkah Badu, Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, and Pharrell.

From the get-go, it is clear that “Wolf” is heavily inspired by the aforementioned Pharrell, who is part of alternative hip-hop supergroup N*E*R*D and producing duo The Neptunes. Tyler frequently uses similar chord progressions and synths as Pharrell while adding his own personal flair to the production of the album. Tyler’s talent shines on “Wolf” like it never has before, as the album is by far his best lyrical and production work to date.

While Tyler has been known in the past for his brash and frequently offensive lyrics (he threatened Bruno Mars on “Yonkers”), he seems to have matured (slightly) and taken huge strides as an artist on “Wolf.” Don’t get confused, though, because Tyler is still the same kid that took the industry by storm with his controversial lyrics. This time around he rips into One Direction in “Domo 23” when he says, “Now me and Justin [Bieber] smoke sherm, and been talking ‘bout freeing perms, and purchasing weapons, naming and aim them at One Direction.”

However, he dives into a number of personal issues throughout the album, including the absence of his father in songs such as “Answer.”

“‘Cause when I call, I hope you pick up your phone. I’d like to talk to you, I hope you answer,” Tyler sings in the chorus before diving into the impact that his father’s absence has had on his life. He speaks from the perspective of a regret-filled drug dealer in “48,” which includes excerpts from his interview with Nas and assistance from Frank Ocean on the chorus.

Tyler continues his introspection on tracks including “Awkward” and “IFHY” featuring Pharrell, in which Tyler discusses relationships with women over the years. The highlight of “Awkward” comes about halfway through the song, when the beat switches over and Tyler says at the end of his breakdown, “But when you realize it’s awkward, your name’s still my password, so I’m always f—ing reminded, you got a n—- sprung.”

One of the most impressive songs on the album is “Colossus,” where Tyler discusses a group of fans who approached him at a Six Flags theme park. He focuses on a fan’s overobsessive behavior toward him that he’s forced to deal with. Tyler delivers some impressive flows as he speaks from the perspective of the fan over light keys, drums and synths.

Other standouts from the album include “Slater” featuring Frank Ocean, “Rusty” featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Casey Veggies, and “Treehome95” featuring Coco O and Erykah Badu, who dominate the bulk of this jazzy jam.

“Wolf” is clearly Tyler, The Creator’s best work to date. His production has greatly improved, and his lyrics and song concepts have grown and are better than ever. After two strong albums, Tyler has delivered an incredibly impressive body of work with “Wolf.”

The post Tyler’s ‘Wolf’ his best work to date appeared first on The Triangle.

Headlining his first U.S. tour, singer-songwriter Andy Grammer dropped by Philadelphia’s popular go-to venue, the Theater of Living Arts, April 3 to belt out some of his favorite hits.

 The Theatre of the Living Arts hosted the up-and-coming singer song-writer Andy Grammer April 3. This was not only his first album, but also his first tour as headliner.

Grammer, who has been traveling from city to city to promote his self-titled debut album, put on an unforgettable show for fans, whom he likes to call “Fandys.”

According to the biography posted on his website, the vibrant singer began as a stree performer in Santa Monica, Calif. He knew without a doubt that music would be his career path, never taking success for granted.

“That I even get to play a sold-out show where people know the words and I’m singing about things I’m connected to is such a blessing,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of a 9-year-old saying, ‘I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,’ and then getting to go to the moon. This year I’ve been to the moon, and it’s awesome.”

Before the 29-year-old musician stepped out onstage, two great acts revved up the crowd. The first was Philly native Anjuli Josephine, who expressed how thankful she was for the opportunity to showcase her talent. Following Anjuli, Parachute, the rising rock band from Virginia whose members happen to be best friends with the headliner, then took it away.

With no expectations from the show upon arrival, I must say I was very impressed with Grammer’s 17-song set. Opening with one of his most popular inspirational radio hits, “Keep Your Head Up,” the talented performer kept the audience on their tiptoes to see what he was going to do next. “Keep Your Head Up” and “Fine By Me,” which are both certified Gold records, put Grammer on the map, making him the first male pop star since John Mayer in 2002 to reach the top 10 in adult pop radio on his first two singles.

Throughout the night, Grammer and his band played a mixture of songs from his latest album, as well as new music and covers. The daring artist shockingly did a great job at putting his own twist on “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers and “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, intertwining them with his original work and creating several exciting mashups.

Although he performed a few new songs that only loyal Fandys knew the words to, he doesn’t have a specific date to release his long-awaited sophomore album simply due to the strain of touring. He wants to familiarize people and gain a wider range of followers before making the next move.

“I’ve been around the country about four or five times getting everybody to hear [my first album] and be open to it and who I am. I try to write while touring, but it’s just really hard. I take songwriting really, really intensely. I take it very serious. So it’s really hard to get into something, then have to stop and go do an interview, red carpet, show or meet-and-greet. I can’t write on the road. I only get ideas. An album has to wait.”

When it all boils down, Grammer said, “I just want to live a meaningful life. I want to write music that has something to it that makes people want to do the same thing.”

Grammer, who has performed with musical heavyweights including Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Gavin DeGraw, Train and even Mat Kearney, closed the show on a high note, creating a party scene by performing his own version of “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris. The only thing missing from the conclusion was confetti.

Grammer will be wrapping up his spring tour in May, with his last performance in sunny Hollywood, Calif.

The post Andy Grammer keeps his head up at the TLA appeared first on The Triangle.

Justin Timberlake is thankfully back on the radar in promotion of his already blogged-to-death third studio album, “The 20/20 Experience,” out March 19. This media tour brought him to “Saturday Night Live” March 9, where he donned a tofu suit, reunited with Lonely Island partner Andy Samberg and was inducted into the “five-timers club.”

The album cover for Timberlake’s third studio album “The 20/20 Experience,” out March 19.

His musical performances that night (first “Suit & Tie,” then “Mirrors”) were successful but far from an accurate representation of his album as a whole. “Mirrors,” the record’s second single and the closest thing to pop you’ll hear on it, was cut short for time and, more likely, to keep the audience from falling asleep. Running over eight minutes, the track is just one of 10 on “Experience,” which JT and longtime producer Timbaland compensate for by making each song unusually long.

“Mirrors” is often radiant, with a gorgeous melody to mask the cliche subject matter. But a combination of reductive beat-boxing stolen right from Timberlake’s first album, “Justified,” and three straight minutes of grating repetition to close out the song makes it hard to love.

Pretty much every song on the album has three or four good minutes before disintegrating into a hodgepodge of looped beats, strings and drums that just kind of lay there like a guy after sex, tired and useless.

On his celebrated “FutureSex/LoveSounds,” Timberlake’s longer songs were really an A-side/B-side, two-for-one kind of deal. The length of those tracks was justified because the songs kept progressing and evolving. Not this time.

I can just picture JT and Timbaland working in the studio, passing a half-finished joint back and forth and trying to keep the song going until they manage to burn the last inch of it, occasionally mixing a beat or crooning a syllable to give the illusion that the song was still alive. It irks me to think of the material Justin must have sitting on the sidelines right now in the name of a more drawn out, embellished record.

“I enjoy making music so much that if it doesn’t come out, that’s OK,” Timberlake told two high school students for Rolling Stone recently. “If I get to listen to it in my car by myself, I’m just as happy because I get to hear something that I made.”

Well, I want to hear it too, man. I’m sure there were at least five or six other tracks in the running for this album that got axed as the project was coming together. At his current pace, JT won’t be releasing another album until 2020, when “The 20/20 Experience” will be spoken of as nothing more than “that time Justin Timberlake tried making a soul record.” If his musical statements are going to be this infrequent, it’d be nice to get more for our money’s worth.

But let’s talk about what we do get. For starters, two tracks about how great it is to be married to the angelic Jessica Biel, namely “Pusher Love Girl” and “That Girl.” The first is a smart choice to open the album, with cascading violins introducing Justin’s voice back to the microphone after all this time. As he sings about his addictive romance, Timbaland backs him through a talk box, his shaped sounds mixing well with the singer’s melody. It’s pleasant through and through, and one example of where the song’s length (over eight minutes) isn’t an issue but an asset.

“I’m just a j-j-j-j-junkie for your love,” Timberlake croons, each time more gleefully than the previous.

“That Girl” is thematically similar but with a groovy doo-wop vibe. Backed this time by The Tennessee Kids, a band JT performed with at the Grammys and on “SNL,” this song is enriched by the coos and echoes of these men. Based on these two songs, Mrs. Biel is quite the muse.

My favorites, though, are “Don’t Hold the Wall” and “Tunnel Vision,” two tracks where Timbaland’s ear for exotic beats and JT’s swagger and versatility are best on display. These songs find Justin dipping his feet back into rhythm and blues, and they beg a comparison to some of Aaliyah’s work.

“The 20/20 Experience” lags, however, when JT gets too cheeky (“Strawberry Bubblegum”), formless (“Blue Ocean Floor”) or obnoxiously repetitive (the horrid “Let the Groove Get In”). But despite these shortcomings, JT’s versatility and charm manages to make this album a success, albeit not one up to our impossible standards.

But JT has always shirked expectations and done whatever he wants, whether it be ditching the music scene for acting when he was at his most acclaimed or making a soul record when everyone expected another reinterpretation of pop music. This is further proof that he doesn’t make music for you or (as much as it pains me) for me; he makes it for himself. Let’s just hope that the next time he’s in the mood to create, it won’t take seven years to do so.

The post Timberlake makes long-awaited return with an unexpected sound appeared first on The Triangle.

The Cleftomaniacs, Drexel’s co-ed a cappella group, held winter concerts March 7 and 8 in the Stein Auditorium in support of Save A Child’s Heart, a foundation that treats children with heart disease from developing nations.

 Drexel’s newly formed a capella group The Cleftomaniacs put on a benefit concert March 7 and 8 in support of the Save A Child’s Heart Foundation.

Based in Israel, SACH is a humanitarian project that is dedicated to the belief that all children — especially those suffering from heart disease — have the right to get medical treatment. The Cleftomaniacs teamed up with Dragons for Israel, the Drexel University Pagan Alliance and Alpha Epsilon Pi in order to put on this event. In addition to the Cleftomaniacs, the concert featured Drexel’s respective male and female a cappella groups: 8 to the Bar and the Treblemakers.

The Cleftomaniacs are a brand-new a cappella group on campus. The club was organized this past fall term by the group’s president, Katie LaVoie, and secretary Tori Tielebein.

The Cleftomaniacs had a strong performance with popular songs that the audience could both relate to and appreciate. LaVoie impressed with her performance of “The Call” by Regina Spektor. She also harmonized with senior Arlene Pereira in a performance of “Rhythm of Love” by the Plain White T’s.

Freshman Nik Vasquez claimed that the song “Everything” by Michael Buble was the most fun to perform due to its charming nature. One of the most notable performances of the night was a cover of  Gorillaz’ “Feel Good Inc.” The booming voices of Mike DeMaria, Ben Anderson and Gabe Robitaille were on par with the original version. Freshman Robitaille, had a booming laugh that both surprised and impressed the crowd.

This benefit concert proved to be a great philanthropic experience. The Cleftomaniacs were able to raise over $500 for SACH by the end of both concerts. In addition to ticket sales, the group also had a bake sale and raffle.

It was a wonderful sight to see all three Drexel a cappella groups unite for SACH.”

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But Seattle trio Nirvana, part of the alternative rock subgenre grunge, changed all that in late 1991 with the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The song and its accompanying album “Nevermind” are both regarded as all-time classics, not only because they are great, but because they marked a paradigm shift that instantly popularized their genre. However, it is also important to know how songs like “Teen Spirit” are directly influenced by another great alternative rock band. Here’s what singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain said in a Rolling Stone interview about the inspiration for the song: “I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies.”

What Cobain ripped off was the devastating impact of an abrupt transition between a soft verse and a loud, often screamed chorus. The result was an incredibly raw sound that did not lose any pop sensibility. It was the Boston quartet the Pixies who perfected this simple yet effective technique and made it a core part of their sound. And while mainstream alternative rock — following the lead of Nirvana — was steeped in melancholy and self-loathing, this band was anything but.

Sure, the Pixies wrote about dark topics — incest, mutilation and voyeurism just on their debut album, “Surfer Rosa” — but they never did it without a sense of humor or enjoyment. Their mentality is summed up well at the end of “Oh My Golly!” where some studio banter initiated by producer Steve Albini has singer and rhythm guitarist Black Francis saying that he said, “You f—ing die!” to bassist Kim Deal, but that he was just joking and that “it didn’t have anything to do with anything.”

It is this intense yet nonchalant and winking approach that appears throughout “Surfer Rosa.” The quirks and unusual behavior also never become stale or distracting because of the sheer inventiveness of the Pixies’ songwriting and production. Most of the tracks use their trademark quiet-loud dynamic, but some are overtly punk, even surf rock, while others are heavy yet melodic guitar pop numbers spearheaded by riffs from lead guitarist Joey Santiago. Along with abrupt dynamics, Francis’ compositions (except “Gigantic,” co-written by Deal) have a compressed nature to them. Songs that are two minutes or less are frequent on the half-hour of “Surfer Rosa.” Even longer, slower songs such as “Where Is My Mind?” sound like several measures have been omitted from the end of the verses. The unusual elements don’t end there: studio banter, Spanish lyrics, audio tape manipulations, and various yelps and screeches from Francis all pop up.

Steve Albini, the legendary producer of “Surfer Rosa,” complemented the Pixies’ innate weirdness perfectly. His experimentation — for instance, Deal’s ghostly backup vocals on “Mind” were recorded in the studio bathroom — gave an innovative touch to these strange songs. Most important and influential is that Albini makes drummer David Lovering sound absolutely thunderous, a key feature of subsequent alternative rock. The quiet-loud dynamic is much more powerful in songs such as “Cactus,” where vocals and guitar are soft and distant in the first verse, then the sledgehammer drums immediately turn things up a notch.

Tensions would soon run high for the Pixies, who broke up amicably in 1993 before reuniting in 2004, between Francis and Deal over songwriting after they released their second classic, “Doolittle,” in 1989. Yet “Surfer Rosa” projects complete comfort and confidence from a band with endless creativity and vitality that just so happened to make a landmark rock album.

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Everybody’s got a different opinion on what makes a concert great. It’s a huge roaring crowd, an elaborate stage, a crazy light design, a ridiculous amount of outfit changes. However, after spending a cold Saturday evening at a warm and intimate acoustic show at Flux with Tony Lucca, the runner-up of season 2 of “The Voice,” I was reassured in my own belief that what makes a concert truly great are musicians who sincerely love what they do.

Arin Segal- The Triangle: Tony Lucca, the second runner-up from season 2 of “The Voice,” performed on campus at Flux March 2. Drexel’s own Wild Rompit opened for Lucca.

The event was hosted by Drexel’s Campus Activities Board and began March 2 at 7 p.m. Drexel’s own Blair Ollendorf of the band Wild Rompit took the stage to open the night, beginning with a cover of The Lumineers’ hit “Ho Hey.” Even though he already won me over with his song choice, Ollendorf impressed the crowd with his cool, raspy-toned voice that is reminiscent of indie folk singer The Tallest Man on Earth. His soulful rasp and skill on the guitar combined beautifully and made for a soulful, soothing set.

Despite a small crowd, Lucca finally stepped up to the microphone with a genuine smile and a few jokes to liven up the room. And the fun did not stop there. After starting off the set with an original song, “Reckless Love,” Lucca decided to take, in his words, a “VH1 Storytellers” approach to his set and spent the night telling jokes and funny stories to introduce each of his songs.

From jokes about how Adam Levine really was that cute in person to comical asides of how he’d cast Ryan Gosling to play him in a movie of his life, Lucca kept smiles on everyone’s faces. His down-to-earth personality was honestly enough to satisfy the crowd, but his music made the night that much more special.

His set was a delightful mix of original songs and covers that he performed with just as much soul and passion as he brought to “The Voice” stage back in season 2. He introduced each of his original songs with lighthearted stories of how they came to be and memories of playing them, my favorite story being about his song “All Up in Your Place,” which fans have affectionately dubbed “The Stalker Song.” He also played some of his popular covers from “The Voice” such as “Trouble,” the song that landed him on Team Adam, and “Baby One More Time” mixed with Madonna’s hit “Like a Prayer.”

One of the highlights of the night came when Lucca covered “The Bed Intruder Song.” The entire crowd was howling with laughter from the song’s beginning when Lucca jokingly admitted that he just wished he wrote that song to its very end.

Rounding out the night, Tony ended on a high note with arguably his most popular cover that he performed on “The Voice” — “99 Problems.” Rather than directing the crowd in a sing-along, Lucca encouraged crowd participation by simply saying, “If the spirit moves you, sing along.” It is safe to say the spirit was hard at work because Lucca’s soulful delivery of the song prompted almost everyone in the audience to join right in, myself included.

Shows like this remind me why I love music so much. Watching both Ollendorf and Lucca on that stage, you can see that they wholeheartedly love what they do.

Check out The Triangle Live’s video coverage of Lucca’s performance here.

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Drexel University’s music industry program is at it again. Sophomore Anna Greenwald could possibly be the next big thing for Drexel and the entertainment business as a whole.

Photo Courtesy – Anna Greenwald:  Sophomore music industry major Anna Greenwald is an artist to look out for in the future. The singer discovered her passion for music at the age of 10. Her music style is a mix of blues-rock, folk and pop.

For Greenwald, it all started when she was 10 years old. After a few years of training herself classically, she transferred to a boarding school for performing and visual arts where she studied opera. At this school, Greenwald also learned how to play the guitar and piano. During her freshman year at Drexel, Greenwald met Kosta Johnson through classes in the music industry program.

“Kosta and me [sic] began collaborating on music the spring term of 2012 and had plans to crack down this fall,” Greenwald said.

In September 2012 the duo met music industry student and guitarist Jake Fabian through a mutual friend, and they have been playing with him ever since. And to top it off, bassist Mike Morrongiello joined the band this past month.

Since collaborating with Johnson, Fabian and Morrongiello, Greenwald’s singer-songwriter tune has transformed into a hard-to-pinpoint fusion of blues, rock, folk and pop inspired by musicians like Regina Spektor, Bonnie Raitt and Sara Bareilles.

The band recently released a cover of “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore on its YouTube page. After their first cover of “Roses” by OutKast barely reached 1,000 views in two months, they weren’t expecting much of a response from this video. But to their surprise, the cover received over 10,000 views in less than three weeks. You can expect their next video, a drum-and-bass cover of “Stay” by Rihanna, to be released within the next few weeks.

Overall, despite the amount of attention she and her band have been receiving on YouTube, Greenwald’s most exciting moment as a musician has been the collaboration she’s been able to experience with the band.

“All of our different musical styles and experiences together have turned my ideas that I record in my room on GarageBand to full, kickass songs,” Greenwald said.

In the upcoming months, you can expect to see a lot more from Greenwald and her band.

“We are hoping to start playing around now that our set is ready,” Greenwald said. The band is making its first live debut March 15 at the MADKo concert at Flux with Triceratopolis, Spots and Case Closed. You can expect the band to kick off the show with one of Greenwald’s favorite songs, “Riverbed Blues.”

“Our whole set is really high-energy and fun, but ‘Riverbed Blues’ has an awesome opening, a rippin’ guitar solo and tight harmonies. It’s a very interesting mixture of all our musical tastes, and it’s a great way to kick off a show,” Greenwald said.

During the past few months, the band has also been working hard on its first EP, which is set to be released in mid-April.

For updated information on shows, new music and more, keep an eye on the band’s Facebook page.

The post Anna Greenwald, an up-and- coming artist appeared first on The Triangle.

Punk bands Sun and Modern Baseball opened for Tigers Jaw, and I believe both were good, in a punky kind of way. While I am not well versed in this particular genre, they were very well received, which leads me to believe that they are indeed good bands.

Judging by the overwhelming noise from the crowd, Sun and Modern Baseball did something right. As an uninformed audience member, I enjoyed the exposure to this kind of music. It’s darker than pop or rock, obviously, both in terms of lyrics and music, but there is something decidedly upbeat about it. The music itself was often built of simple chord progressions that often switched back and forth between major and minor keys, which made the songs interesting and diverse. Because of this, there was no repetition or lull in the performances.

Modern Baseball had its first gig at Flux, and all of the members of the band are current Drexel students. According to Jacob Ewald, the band’s lead singer, coming back to the venue and playing with Tigers Jaw and Sun was a dream come true. Judging by the huge smile on his face, I believe it.

The main attraction, Tigers Jaw, did not keep the crowd waiting long. Said crowd immediately closed in on the stage in some sort of punk vacuum, somehow finding more room to squeeze together when I could’ve sworn no such room existed. The cheers from the crowd were so intense that I assume the band played the first few measures of its first song, but it was totally drowned out. People were pumped.

They, much the same as the first two bands, were met with much enthusiasm and played very similar music. I’m still learning about this punk music, so bear with me. Their sound was relatively light and reminiscent of indie music. There was also something surrounding about their music; it seemed to come from every direction thanks to some very well-coordinated lead and rhythm guitar parts. Their vocal harmonies were similarly well harmonized.

The band played a fairly lengthy set and ended with an upbeat number, which really got the crowd excited. Everyone left, it seemed, having had a good, punk-filled evening.

Tigers Jaw is expected to head back to its hometown of Scranton, Pa., for a benefit concert before heading out on a European tour this July.

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Hip-hop and education are two things that rarely go hand-in-hand. A large part of that is because the majority of rappers never went to college. The other reason is that hip-hop is still not fully accepted in the mainstream and is still some distance away from getting there. However, there is hope, courtesy of hip-hop producer 9th Wonder, who gave a lecture Feb. 21 at the University of Pennsylvania titled “These Are the Breaks.” The lecture ran for 90 minutes, with a 30-minute question-and-answer session after.

For those who aren’t familiar with 9th Wonder, allow me to briefly introduce you. He has produced records for Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, Wale and Drake. He represented one-third of the hip-hop trio Little Brother through 2007, when the guys had a disagreement and decided to part ways to embark on new projects. Recently, 9th began teaching about hip-hop at his alma mater, North Carolina Central University, and then was asked to teach a course about sampling at Duke University. Now, 9th Wonder has been given a fellowship at Harvard University and is making his second documentary with director Kenneth Price about that experience. Clearly, in the hip-hop community, 9th Wonder is a legend, and that’s why the opportunity to see him give a lecture at Penn was one that I could not turn down.

As the lecture opened, he switched between Serato (a software program for disc jockeys) and PowerPoint, playing songs that he grew up with. He ran through the history of hip-hop dating back to 1973 and led up to present-day artists. During this time, he provided some incredible quotes, such as “Sam Cooke was Trey Songz to [his mother]; every generation has a Trey Songz.” He also joked that The Sugarhill Gang, known for its hit single “Rapper’s Delight,” was “the Spice Girls of hip-hop.” The most notable quote from the night came near the end, when 9th Wonder said, “The best music is made when Republicans are in office.”

A large portion of the lecture was dedicated to the art of sampling, which 9th Wonder is particularly known for. In hip-hop, producers “sample” a section of an old song and tie it into their beats. Hesaid that sampling enabled “hip-hop [to be] a bridge to reference the past to present.” He then began to speak about and show the record collections of legendary producers, including DJ Premier, Pete Rock and even Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson of The Roots. His name for record collectors was “vinyl archaeologists,” and he called the process of finding records “crate digging.”

At this time, 9th began to wow the audience by playing the original records that artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and even Little Brother had sampled over the years, while sharing unique insights on the process. After the release of Little Brother’s album “The Minstrel Show,” 9th Wonder, along with emcees Phonte and Big Pooh, sent letters to every artist that 9th sampled on the album to thank them for their contribution to music and their impact on this body of work. 9th even shared some details of working with Jay-Z on “The Black Album.”

“When he says your name on a record, it’s time to go house shopping,” 9th said of Jay’s impact. He believes that no other rapper can make a producer somebody, and after working with Jay, 9th’s career took off.

Near the end of his lecture, 9th emphasized how music used to connect people in a time and place, and now with the “YOLO generation,” everybody is “socially independent.” This was one of the key components of the lecture that really stuck to me. The idea of “socially independent” is an oxymoron. However, when you think about our generation and how frequently we’re attached to our cell phones, computers, etc., it couldn’t be a more accurate description of our everyday lives.

At the end of the lecture, not a single member of the audience remained seated, as 9th received a well-deserved standing ovation. To an avid listener and passionate fan of hip-hop, an event like this is something special. Hip-hop’s importance in today’s culture is something that should not go unnoticed. It should be celebrated, studied and taught in universities across the country, just as rock and pop music are today. Hopefully, more iconic figures in hip-hop will begin to teach and spread this movement across the country to educate young intellectuals on the art, culture, and impact of hip-hop music.

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No matter how magical classic albums throughout popular music history may seem, none were made overnight.

Concept albums align even more to this trend. Not only does the band have to make a cohesive set of quality songs, but it also has to arrange them in a way that displays a unified theme or story. That task can take months or even years to complete. The most successful, and likely the greatest, concept album ever made is Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon,” which is celebrating its 40th anniversary March 1.

Perhaps the nearly universal appeal of “Dark Side” has something to do with its universal themes of conflict, greed, the passage of time, violence, madness, death and mental illness. The album is able to touch on all of humanity’s problems and fears without getting bogged down in details or overstepping its boundaries. The way each track on the album rolls into the next, without the typical two-second pause between songs, contributes to its compelling nature. Every track begs to be played in its correct order, and when this order is disrupted, the result is confusion. Yet there are many more reasons besides novel organization for why “Dark Side” is legendary. The surprising thing is how Pink Floyd got there.

It’s very possible that “Dark Side” or a similar album that might have been a landmark for progressive rock would never have been made by Pink Floyd if the band had been able to maintain its original lineup. The band formed in 1965 with main creative force Syd Barrett on vocals and guitar, Roger Waters on bass, Nick Mason on drums and Richard Wright on keyboards. However, after releasing the classic psychedelic rock album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” in August 1967, Barrett suffered a nervous breakdown, and his mental health steadily deteriorated to the point where Pink Floyd had to cancel several tour dates. Guitarist David Gilmour was added in December to cover for Barrett during performances, but Barrett agreed to leave the band a few months later when it became clear that the arrangement was not working.

For the next five years, Pink Floyd was a band in transition. Waters, Gilmour and Wright were suddenly required to fill the huge songwriting void that Barrett had left. Despite this setback, they released six more albums (two of which were soundtracks) that are all critically respected today. They also found themselves delving into highly experimental, then progressive, rock. By 1972 the band had left the sound of “Piper” completely behind with its previous album “Meddle.” One could argue that now was the right time to become very philosophical, not just about Barrett’s deterioration but the arduous journey that had been Pink Floyd. That is exactly what the band resolved to do, performing a version of “Dark Side” (with the subtitle “A Piece for Assorted Lunatics”) live as early as February of that year. It took extensive touring through 1972 and two separate sessions at Abbey Road Studios to get the meticulously crafted album we have today.

A big portion of the greatness of “Dark Side” is the instrumentation, which is splattered with overtures, reprises, augmented chords, time signature changes, soaring solos, and chord changes that are still beautiful even after they are familiar. The whole album possesses a certain gravity and echoing depth, musically as well as lyrically, and though it is generally classified as progressive rock, it borrows elements from the standard 12-bar blues and jazz. Two highlights are Clare Torry’s unhinged belting in “Great Gig in the Sky,” which greatly accentuates the song’s theme of the fear of death, and Wright’s omnipresent synths in “Any Colour You Like,” which are astoundingly fresh 40 years later.

Though great musicality is apparent, Pink Floyd’s experimental history also shows itself, adding unconventional sounds to relatively straightforward rock. The audio samples interspersed throughout the album are recordings of friends and associates who were asked a series of questions, ranging from the everyday “What is your favorite color?” to the more abstract and philosophical “When was the last time you were violent?” followed immediately by “Were you in the right?” Other sounds, such as the cash registers in “Money,” the ringing clocks in “Time” and the kick-drum heartbeat that starts and ends the album provided some of its most iconic moments.

All of these elements add to the emotion of the record and make it downright cathartic and thought provoking. The barely heard line in “Eclipse” — “There is no dark side in the moon, really. … As a matter of fact, it’s all dark” — raises the most questions. All dark or not, Pink Floyd’s musical conception of humanity is a tremendous achievement.

The post You should be celebrating appeared first on The Triangle.

Photo Courtesy Derek Brad – Rock band June Divided came to fruition out of Drexel’s music industry program. The band recently performed at Radio 104.5’s third annual Winter Jam.

Soaring out of Drexel’s own music industry program, June Divided is definitely a band to keep your eye on.

This rock band was formed when a Drexel professor suggested that Melissa Menago (lead singer, guitarist) and Chris Kissel (guitarist) create an album together for their senior project. Although both Menago and Kissel were songwriters and composers, neither one had the desire to be in a band at the time. After having a lot of fun with the record, Menago and Kissel decided to keep writing music together, and after a short amount of time, the duo decided to put an ad on Craigslist for a drummer, which led them to Keith Gill. After a year of temporary bassists, the final touch was added to the group when they decided to make Lenny Sasso, a Drexel entertainment & arts management alumnus and their manager, their permanent bassist. From this point on, June Divided started to take off.

In July 2012, June Divided released its first full-length album, “Backbone,” which featured the songs “Backbone,” “Secrets” and “Drive.” This album showed off Menago’s killer vocals and showcased their solid and catchy lyrics. Most of the songs have a rock-‘n’-roll, in-your-face feel, with the exception of “Reset,” which is an acoustic piece that is much calmer than the rest of the songs on the album. “Backbone” is a personal favorite off the album, which features very strong lyrics and vocals that sound similar to those of Hayley Williams of Paramore. June Divided loves to perform “Drive” live because of the 7/8 groove.

“I can always tell who’s a musician in the audience when they come up to me after a show asking about ‘that song in 7,’ and then we bond over some music theory,” Menago said.

June Divided shares a wide range of musical inspirations, such as Jimmy Eat World, Explosions in the Sky, Manchester Orchestra and many more. These inspirations tend to bleed through the music and lyrics in the songs on “Backbone.”

Going back to January 2013 at Radio 104.5’s third annual Winter Jam, June Divided proved to be talented not just in the studio but also live. Not only did they keep the crowd going, but the vocals coming from Menago were intense.

You can expect to hear a lot from June Divided in 2013. Their music video for “Secrets” will be released on March 5. They will also be performing March 14 at Big Picture Media’s showcase in Austin, Texas, during South by Southwest, and they plan on touring excessively over the course of the year. To keep updated on tours, new music and more, visit the band’s Facebook page.

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Where can you find a necklace worth $31 million? Only at the Grammy Awards! This year’s show was not one to forget easily, and it had countless moments that everyone was gossiping about the next day. The night kicked off on the red carpet, where celebrities discussed which designers they were wearing and had their elaborate dresses showcased on the 360-degree camera. Carrie Underwood happened to be the lucky lady who got the privilege of wearing the multimillion-dollar necklace.

Photo Courtesy: The Recording Academy –  Justin Timberlake performed “Suit & Tie” with Jay-Z at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He also debuted “Pusher Love Girl,” which will be featured on his upcoming album.

The first act of the night was Taylor Swift singing her smash hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” The performance included a man strapped to a spinning wheel and her attempt at a British accent, which we all know was a little shot at her most recent ex-boyfriend, Harry Styles of One Direction.

Later in the evening, Justin Timberlake made his return to the music scene after seven years away and performed his new song “Suit & Tie” with Jay-Z and an entire band behind him dancing and jamming along. Another notable performer was Carrie Underwood, who performed “Blown Away” and wore a dress that looked straight out of the future, with lights, flowers and leaves appearing and moving along it throughout the song.

There were also several amazing duets throughout the night. British singer and beautiful lyricist Ed Sheeran sang “A Team” with his idol, Elton John. It was just Sheeran on his guitar and John on his piano, but it was truly a magical moment onstage. Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys had some of the best vocals of the night, combining their songs “Daylight” and “Girl on Fire” into one perfect collaboration.

Near the end of the show, a tribute was made to Bob Marley by Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna, and Marley’s two sons who look identical to him, dreadlocks and all. This seemed to be a crowd favorite. Swift, among many other artists, could be seen in the audience singing and clapping along.

Many awards were handed out, and while some were expected, others were real shockers. Gotye won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Kimbra for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which we should all know by heart after hearing it endless times over the last year. Mumford & Sons took away the coveted Album of the Year for “Babel,” while fun. scored Song of the Year for “We Are Young,” as well as Best New Artist. Even after having a baby, Adele is still going strong, winning Best Pop Solo Performance for “Set Fire to the Rain.” This was one of the bigger surprises of the night because even Adele didn’t expect to receive this award. Kelly Clarkson won Best Pop Vocal Album for “Stronger,” which was well deserved with her talented voice. Keeping up the good reputation of “American Idol” winners, Underwood won Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Blown Away.” The Black Keys took over the rock world with Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Lonely Boy” and Best Rock Album for “El Camino,” while newcomer Frank Ocean won Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Channel Orange.”

The night ended with some very deserving artists going home empty-handed. However, that is the beauty of the Grammy Awards; there’s always next year.

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Cut to late 2001, when Los Angeles indie electronic artist Jimmy Tamborello, who records under the name Dntel, released the album “Life Is Full of Possibilities.” It is a great release, if not spectacular, but the point of interest here is the ninth track of the album, titled “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.” The song opens with cacophonous and brittle distortion under which pop sensibility is trying to emerge. Then the waves part and the voice of Ben Gibbard (lead singer for Washington state indie pop band Death Cab for Cutie) appears, and everything changes. Gibbard’s lilting melody shines through the surrounding electronics that threaten to drown him out.

At this moment, the album departs from Dntel into something else entirely: a compelling mix of Gibbard’s tenor projecting almost childlike wonder and Tamborello’s chaotic yet melodic production. You can hear the potential in this collaboration immediately. Thankfully, the two artists decided to collaborate further, releasing a whole album together as The Postal Service called “Give Up” on Feb. 18, 2003. In doing so, they produced a musical singularity: a collaboration between artists with promising careers of their own that combines their differing elements so well that it exceeds the sum of its parts.

Of course, Gibbard and Tamborello couldn’t make an album of “Evan and Chan” knockoffs. That song is close to how The Postal Service ended up sounding, but Tamborello strips his production down to something cleaner and crisper on “Give Up,” giving Gibbard more voice in the mix. The opening track, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” makes this distinction very apparent, keeping the core collaboration while adding a syncopated yet polite beat, somber strings, stellar backing vocals by former Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis, and the subtle crackle of worn-out vinyl. Then “Such Great Heights” follows, and all doubt about whether or not this collaboration is fruitful is thrown out the window. The first 40 seconds of iconic darting synths, almost robotic synth bass and a beat so delicate you might mistake it for the swish and patter of feet, show how The Postal Service was able to do more with less.

The rest of the album draws on the same sounds and lyrical themes but is never short of excellent. Even though Gibbard and Tamborello were working on their main projects primarily and had to collaborate via the actual U.S. Postal Service —Tamborello would send Gibbard tracks, which Gibbard would sing over and edit as he saw fit — they put forward some of their best work with this album. Ten years later, there is no doubt that “Give Up” is a landmark of electronic pop music and a wonderfully unique and original take on its genre.

This influence and acclaim does come from the fact of this miracle collaboration, but it has its own merits of songwriting prowess and outright charm. Gibbard’s musings on love and reminiscing are all backed by a pervasive wooziness. The core sound of The Postal Service cannot be described as a dance number or a definite bestseller (though obvious imitator Owl City would parlay its sound into substantial popular success over the last few years), but none of that matters when you hear how “Give Up” is so endearing as a whole. The album is so remarkable that perhaps it’s better that Gibbard and Tamborello leave the legacy of The Postal Service alone. Much to the chagrin of fans, it still looks like the duo does not have an album in the works. But don’t rule it out, considering the duo is going on tour in addition to the 10th anniversary reissue of “Give Up” with unreleased tracks that show this collaboration still works well. Regardless, the comeback of The Postal Service is a testament to the lasting quality of the record that started it in the first place.

The post You should be celebrating appeared first on The Triangle.

With their friendship dating back to 2008, the musical duo John & Brittany has definitely made a mark on Philadelphia.

Stevie Guarino – The Triangle : Musical duo John & Brittany consists of friends John Faye and Brittany Rotondo. The band funded their new rcord “Start Sinning” with the Kickstarter campaign, raising $10,000. John Brittany have been promoting their music throughout Philadelphia, including Drexel’s Late Night Series at Flux.

Soon after crossing paths, John Faye and Brittany Rotondo struck up a friendship from their similar musical interests: the Beatles and the Ramones. From there, Faye and Rotondo began writing together. Putting music to Rotondo’s words was something that came easily to Faye, and it definitely made for an interesting record.

“I love interpreting her words with my vocals. It lets me inhabit characters and emotional spaces that I don’t normally inhabit,” Faye said about Rotondo’s lyrics.

In July 2011, John & Brittany released their self-titled debut EP on their record label IT KEEPS REVOLVING! The EP featured many of their most popular songs, including “Cigarillo,” which is bluntly about a nicotine addict, and “Queen of Mean.” Going into the EP, John admitted that they didn’t really have a vision for their music.

“Our first EP was just a collection of six songs. We were so new at performing together at that point [that] we just kind of wrote as we went along,” Faye said when asked about the differences between their first EP and their new record.

In 2012 John & Brittany received over $10,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to fund their new record, “Start Sinning.” Unlike their EP, this record had a focus before it was written.

“We wanted it to be dark; we wanted it to be raw. I think it showed,” Faye said.

“Our EP was fresh. This time around with the record it’s more nitty gritty in a get-under-your-skin kind of way,” Rotondo said.

The darkest song on the record, “Dirty Little Magazine,” is also John & Brittany’s favorite song to perform live. With a mixture of the darker and sweeter sides of their music, this song shows the perfect combination of John & Brittany’s songwriting chemistry.

Since the record was released, John & Brittany have been playing multiple shows in Philadelphia and the surrounding area to promote their new album. John & Brittany also spend time performing at open-mic events in Philadelphia, including Drexel’s own Late Night Series at Flux on Thursday nights.

John & Brittany have many big events coming up in 2013. Their March 9 show with Silvertide at the Theatre of Living Arts has already sold out. They’ll also be featured Feb. 15 on Radio 104.5’s “Live at 5,” and they have plans to broaden their horizon with trips along the East Coast and across the country to play shows in cities other than Philadelphia.

For more information on where you can see John & Brittany live, visit their website at johnbrittany.com.

The post John & Brittany use Kickstarter campaign to help launch career appeared first on The Triangle.

It’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of Casey Veggies. The young man from Los Angeles has been flying under the radar for years but is finally breaking out of his shell and letting his presence be felt in the hip-hop industry. At the age of 19, Veggies has already released more mixtapes than most of your favorite rappers have in their entire careers (with the exception of Lil Wayne, but if he’s your favorite rapper we have bigger problems). With his sixth and most recent release, “Life Changes,” he takes his game up to a new level of greatness. While past projects “Sleeping In Class” and “Customized Greatly 3” have been well received by fans and critics, his latest project, which was released Jan. 22, is an impressive body of work that shows the growth and potential of this young rapper.

Photo Courtesy Roc Nation – Hip-hop newcomer Casey Veggies released his most recent mixtape “Life Changes” Jan. 22. At the age of 19, Veggies has already released six mixtapes.

When I spoke to Veggies about “Life Changes,” he said, “I wanted to speak about what I’m going through in my life. At this age, you start to grow mentally and look at things differently. I tried to keep it all natural and hear the sound. It was a step up from previous projects, but I also made sure to keep room to grow.” The project is the perfect “coming-of-age” story for Veggies, who delivers his best work to date.

“Life Changes” opens with chilling vocals from Phil Beaudreau, who sings, “I found love, then I stopped loving. Found God, then I stopped looking for one. Found a life, but can’t make a living. Don’t wanna find the end, so I’m still here. Still lost, still here, no past, don’t care about looking back anyway, nothing matters anyway.” The introduction of the self-titled track provides quite an impact on the listener as the project begins with Veggies sharing his story. “Don’t wanna grow up, but I’m grown. Don’t wanna blow up, but I’m gone,” he raps in his second verse.

Having already released five projects, Casey Veggies understood how much he had grown since he came into the game at the age of 14.

“Being five projects in, I need to find those things that I could’ve done better and differently. Now, I felt like I was all the way ready to deliver. This was the right thing to say at the right time with this project,” Veggies said.

On “Young Winner,” Veggies boasts “real young boy with a king’s intuition” over smooth production led by piano and strings. This song, along with “She In My Car” featuring Dom Kennedy, “Life$tyles” and “Whip It” make you want to hop in your car during the summer and just drive around with the windows open or top down.

When asked if he felt he had more to prove as a young rapper in the game, Veggies said, “Pressure to be great as a youngin’ is deeper because there’s a lot we haven’t seen or learned yet. You gotta grow into these things, so it’s just us being strong and learning to make it happen.” And on “Love = Hate,” the first half of track 9, Veggies starts his second verse off  with, “I know a lot of things, most of which are gonna change. That comes just from growing up; learning love and hate is the same thing.” On this track, he begins to note how people lust for the limelight and how he’s working to adjust to it as he becomes increasingly successful. The second half of the song, “Ulterior Motives,” dives further into this topic with assistance from BJ the Chicago Kid on the chorus.

Casey Veggies brings “Life Changes” to an end by sharing his story and passion on “Take My Life,” which is masterfully co-produced by The Futuristiks and 1500 or Nothin. This is a great summation of the project, in which Veggies proves that he’s ready to step into the limelight and deliver with his debut album, which will be released later this year. If “Life Changes” is a sign of things to come, then Casey Veggies is a name to keep an eye on for years to come.

The post Casey Veggies ready to soar after ‘Life Changes’ appeared first on The Triangle.

A long line of fans, covered in all kinds of rainbow and neon face paint, wrapped all the way around from the entrance to the Theatre of Living Arts to Steaks on South Street Feb. 1. The air was cold and the sun was down. The crowd was anxiously waiting to get inside the venue as the temperature outside quickly dropped. The shivering fans standing outside were waiting for sold-out indie-rock band WALK THE MOON to begin the show.

Rachel Bergen – The Triangle:  WALK THE MOON performed a sold-out show at the Theatre of Living Arts Feb. 1. Frontman Nicholas Petricca sang to the wild and colorful crowd well-known songs, including “Anna Sun” and “I Can Livet A Car.”

The venue doors opened, and the crowd rushed into the venue to get their spots near the front.

Once inside the venue, the coat check section by the door had a sign that read “Full — no more space.” The weather outside was so cold and the crowd so large that there wasn’t even enough space to keep all the winter coats. Some unhappy fans stood in the back of the crowd holding their winter jackets in hand.

Scattered throughout the face paint-covered crowd was a colorful sea of glow sticks and balloons. People came dressed in eye-catching costumes, hoping to get recognized by the band as they crowd-surfed over the fans to the stage. Guys in cheetah print footie-pajamas, Native-American headdresses and glow-in-the-dark clothing were among them.

WALK THE MOON originated in Cincinnati and consists of frontman Nicholas Petricca on vocals, keys and bass drum; Kevin Ray on bass; Sean Waugaman on drums; and Eli Maiman on guitar. Their songs “Anna Sun” and “Tightrope” have been heavily played and featured on radio stations and TV channels around the world.

WALK THE MOON had played the Winter Jam for Radio 104.5 Jan. 26 along with performances from Matt & Kim, Twenty One Pilots, June Divided, and Tegan and Sara. The fans gathered in the 9-degree freezing cold from noon to 5 p.m. and watched each band’s set.

Throughout the Feb. 1 show, Petricca yelled to the crowd, “We encourage you to get a little weird; we encourage you to express yourself!”

“Will you walk with us?” Petricca asked, and the crowd roared in approval.

At the halfway point in their set, Petricca got serious, saying, “You guys have been awesome, but I don’t think anyone has totally lost their minds yet. I want you to lose your minds. I want this whole place to shake.” As the next song began to play, the crowd went wild. Crowd surfers popped up along the surface of the crowd, and the fans jumped with the beat of the music.

After playing the final song, “Anna Sun,” the band came back onstage to play a two-song encore in response to the crowd’s roar for more music. As they stepped back onstage, Ray came out wearing a bra hand-painted with what looked to be the band’s album cover art — one of the fans had thrown it onstage.

After the first the encore song, Petricca said, “We have one more song to play if you’ll have us. It’s something you can do every day with music. Just take all the s— that’s been bothering you and smush it into a little ball — an ugly, nasty little ball — and then with all your strength I want you to push it out of your body. I want you to feel it leave your heart, go through your veins, up past your shoulders, past your elbows and your wrists and your fingertips and then let it evaporate into the air.” The entire crowd stood with their arms raised high in the air. Petricca continued, “So now all that you have left inside of you is this open part, with all of those good feelings.”

With that, they played their final song of the night, “I Can Lift a Car,” an inspirational song about getting rid of all those negative thoughts and putting them all aside knowing that you can do anything.

As the band began to exit the stage, Petricca left the crowd with a few final words: “Go home with all the good stuff and leave all the bad stuff here.”

The post WALK THE MOON puts on incredible show at TLA appeared first on The Triangle.

Spending a week preparing for a concert is taxing. I listened to The Vaccines on the way to class. I listened to The Vaccines on a run in the gym. I even put them on my iPod speakers while I was shaving in the morning. By the Friday before the concert, I was just dying to hear them live.

Photo Courtesy ManAline/Flickr – Indie-rock band The Vaccines performed at Union Transfer Feb. 2. The show opened with funky, indie-rock band San Cisco. The Vaccines played well-known songs including “Wreckin’ Bar” and “Teenage Icon.”

As I walked into Union Transfer Feb. 2, I was greeted by a bar with merchandise from The Vaccines and their opener, San Cisco. The venue itself reminded me of an old Western scene. The completely wooden concert hall had its over-21 section on a balcony above the main floor, separated with a railing. It was lit by a dim yellow light. The venue maintained the vibe so well that I almost imagined the musty smell of cigar smoke coming off the wood. The crowd fit the venue perfectly. There was enough arm space to raise your hands to the music and to boogie on your own. No one was complaining when someone moved up to get a better position for the stage.

Music immediately started playing when the lights dimmed, and San Cisco got right to business. Their music was a funky melody of indie rock, and it was obvious that a majority of the crowd (other than the two young men screaming at the top of their lungs and thrusting their hands in the air) had never listened to them before. Despite that, everyone enjoyed them. It was a smooth type of rock that was catchy and called for swaying to the beats and people whispering, “They’re pretty good.” There was even a prom proposal for the cute crowd-favorite drummer, Scarlett Stevens. Overall, San Cisco was an incredibly charming band that did a great job warming up the crowd for The Vaccines with fantastic music that used more than one vocalist. If there was any criticism for San Cisco, it was that their stage presence largely centered on vocalist Jordi Davieson while bassist Nick Gardner and lead guitarist Josh Biondillo didn’t interact with the crowd.

After San Cisco left, the venue switched to prepare for The Vaccines. The time it took, however, was unbearably long. It almost took away from the great warm-up that San Cisco gave for them. Then, suddenly, the lights dimmed and concertgoers immediately screamed and cheered at the top of their lungs. Like San Cisco, The Vaccines went immediately into playing, and the entire crowd was dancing to their jam. “Wreckin’ Bar,” the second song they played, rekindled the flame in the crowd.

There was no pushing or shoving from the crowd during the majority of the performance, and The Vaccines’ stage presence was nothing less than spectacular. Vocalist Justin Young made the crowd go wild with his hair flips and singing close enough for the audience to make grabs at him during “Teenage Icon.” Lead guitarist Freddie Cowan enjoyed running around the stage playing with drummer Peter Robertson and making the crowd swoon as he played over them. There were also some failed crowd-surfing attempts.

The Vaccines were able to make “Wetsuit,” a typically slow song, exciting through their enthusiasm and energetic stage presence.

The crowd was screaming for an encore before the last band member left the stage. The Vaccines then came back with a final rendition of “Noorgard” that had everyone moshing and singing as hard as they could. I was practically shoved into the front with a man’s elbow in my throat as I watched the vocalist spit out lyrics.

The concert was an amazing experience, and everyone seemed to leave the venue with great smiles. Union Transfer provided a great space for everyone to enjoy, and the music was crystal clear with the equipment that was used.

The only thing that I wished I could have received from The Vaccines was more crowd interaction. As a first-timer to one of their concerts, I wanted more insight on what kind of personality they had and what their music was really about. It seemed like The Vaccines simply rushed through their playlist.

That being said,  The Vaccines are still a definite recommendation, and I hope to see them again at some point.

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The show opened up with Philadelphia natives June Divided. I had heard of them, but I had never listened to their music. Boy, was I missing out. Not only did they keep the crowd going, but the vocals coming from lead singer Melissa Menago were intense. The band mostly performed songs off their newest album, “Backbone,” which was released back in July 2012. After this energetic opener, there was no way the crowd wasn’t ready to dance the day away.

Up next was the highly anticipated Twenty One Pilots, and they sure did not disappoint. The “Schizoid Pop” duo Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun kicked off their set with “Ode to Sleep” off their newly released album “Vessel,” which showed all sides of their music. It starts off with Joseph rapping and transitions seamlessly into a catchy verse. The crowd surrounding me was impressed and very eager to hear more from the duo. Not a woman in the crowd was complaining when Joseph and Dun took off their shirts to experience the cold weather with all of the concertgoers after their first song. As a Twenty One Pilots fan, I highly suggest you give “Vessel” a listen. It has a weird mixture of indie, pop, electronic and rap, but the duo pulls it off to create a truly interesting mixture.

It wasn’t until Walk the Moon walked on stage that I realized how many people were at Winter Jam. At this point the front of the crowd was packed like sardines, which made for an interesting time. The band performed several songs off its self-titled album, including radio hits “Tightrope” and “Anna Sun,” which left the entire crowd shouting the lyrics back at frontman Nicholas Petricca.

Walk the Moon also covered “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads, who I found out in an interview with drummer Sean Waugaman were a musical inspiration to the band. You can find their cover of this song on their new EP, “Tightrope,” released Jan. 22. Here’s a fun fact for you: The live recording on their EP was from when they came to Philly’s own Theatre of Living Arts last year!

The show continued with Matt & Kim. Normally performing as an indie-rock duo, Matt & Kim went disc jockey style for Winter Jam. Unfortunately, a week before Winter Jam, drummer Kim Schifino fell down a flight of stairs while texting and sprained her ankle. Although their set kept the crowd entertained and dancing, I’m afraid they gave people who have never heard of them the wrong idea about their style of music. Regardless, Matt & Kim still continued to impress me.

Finally came the moment concertgoers had been waiting for all day: Tegan and Sara. This indie-pop duo graced the crowd with new dancy pop tunes off their new album “Heartthrob.” My personal favorites off the record were “I Was a Fool” and “Now I’m All Messed Up.” This duo kept the crowd going until the very last minute of their set, when they closed it out with their radio hit “Closer.”

The broken toes, near frostbite and kicks in the face from crowd surfers were completely worth the amount of talent that graced the stage at Radio 104.5’s third annual Winter Jam. Free concerts are always great concerts, but Radio 104.5 definitely outdid itself this year. I’m very curious to see what lineup could possibly outdo this one for next year’s Winter Jam.

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I’m a firm believer that every music lover should develop a bucket list of shows they absolutely must see before they disappear into the ether. Live music has a way of elevating and refreshing an artist’s source material, uniting people through intimate emotions expressed in song. It’s pretty freaking magical.

Photo Courtesy  FlickrFrontStageMusic

Unfortunately, my list is largely filled with improbabilities. For example, I’m still holding out for another Gorillaz album and tour. I also have this fantasy that Nirvana will reunite (not with Paul McCartney, but a hologram Kurt Cobain). Pipe dreams, I know. So when I had the chance to make a dent in my ever-expanding wish list, I jumped at the opportunity.

The xx, a collection of three British indie pop wunderkinds whose debut album forever redefined my perception of what music can and should be, were scheduled to stop in Philadelphia last October in support of their “Coexist” tour. However, at the last minute, their booking got replaced with Hurricane Sandy, and the band had to reschedule. Not to make light of a devastating natural disaster, but I was ready to brave the elements for what was sure to be a radical performance. It would have been an intimate show, that’s for sure.

Three months down the line, I stood outside the Electric Factory Jan. 27 with 60 or so early-bird xx enthusiasts as we waited for the sadistic security guards to open the doors (they said it would happen at 7, but it was really more like 7:30) so we could finally see the performance we had been waiting ages for. I had to keep moving to prevent my toes from freezing together in the Arctic conditions, but I knew it would be worth it once I was within spitting distance of The xx’s lead singer, Romy Madley Croft, and the beau of my dreams, Oliver Sim.

After a very thorough pat-down by security, I was inside and made a beeline for the barrier in front of the stage. I had the perfect vantage point to stage left and was eager to get on with the show. If only we could have bypassed the opener Austra’s set. It was a slew of cacophonous, operatic electronic tracks belted by a lead singer who looked like a knock-off Ellie Goulding in a frilly maid’s uniform. Not my jam.

Once that was over, the stage was blanketed by a massive, fairly sheer white sheet, and the stage crew began to set up instruments and props for The xx. Two white square boxes, each with a large, clear “x” on them, were placed at center stage, and microphones were set for Croft and Sim, one of whom would be singing directly in front of me. But who?

Eventually the packed venue went dark and the whole crowd cheered. Suddenly, a shot of oil dispersing in water was projected on the sheet, an homage to the band’s “Coexist” cover. Then a spotlight appeared on Croft’s face, and she and Sim began to pluck the first notes of “Angels” to even more overwhelming enthusiasm. Croft sang as the silkscreen veiled her from her fans, her voice rich yet tender, something that didn’t entirely come across just from listening to the band’s two albums. Each note, each beat, each lyric was so clear and potent. It was the perfect first song.

The group wasted no time between tracks as they kicked into “Heart Skipped a Beat” with Jaime Smith behind the “x” boxes, mixing beats and managing the transitions. As the first drumbeats kicked in, the curtain dropped dramatically, bright lights flashed in sync with the song, and Sims confidently approached his mic, which was located directly in front of me. He began to sing as he played his bass, his velvet voice breathing poetry into our ears. Croft soon joined in, and I remembered how simple and ingenious the pairing of their two voices was.

There’s a wistful yearning in the band’s lyrics, which Croft and Sim acted out by performing a sort of conflicted dance during some of their songs as they played their instruments. Or occasionally they’d be posted behind their mic stands and would make brief eye contact during songs, demonstrating the vocal and emotional distance their music is known for. The poetry was in these small actions — a punch of light here, a longing glance there. These little things said more than any detailed choreography or high-tech pyromania could ever hope to say.

During the middle of the set, the band consecutively played some of my favorite songs. “Islands” kicked off the streak, as flashes of blue light popped with every other note Croft played. The crowd danced, and Smith did his thing behind his array of instruments while sipping on a beer. From here, the threesome took a softer turn with “VCR” as Sim stared directly at me when he sang, “I want to find myself by the sea in another’s company.”

“Name the time and place,” I thought. He grinned, I’m sure of it.

Then there was a remixed version of “Chained,” which Croft admitted hadn’t worked out when the band tried it in New York, but they were going to give it a go anyway. The fans didn’t seem to mind the trancey rendition, and one even yelled “You nailed it!” after all was said and done.

A three-song encore rounded out the night, beginning with the instrumental song “Intro,” which Sim and Croft poured their hearts into. Fans begging for a second encore were left disappointed, but I didn’t see a sour face in the whole venue as the masses poured out of the Electric Factory.

I left the concert by passing the band’s tour buses, hoping to avoid the migrating hipsters who’d likely be fighting me for a seat on the subway. I passed a telephone pole with posters advertising the show and couldn’t help but rip one off. I knew I’d want to remember this night for years to come.

The post The xx dazzles Philly with rescheduled show appeared first on The Triangle.

It all started in 2002 when Clipse flew into the hip-hop scene with its debut album “Lord Willin’,” produced entirely by The Neptunes. Two brothers, Pusha T and Malice, teamed up and became one of the most highly regarded rap duos of all time. Their three albums are critically acclaimed and created a lane for conscious street-rap music. Now the brothers have split up and gone their separate ways. Malice, who now goes by the name of No Malice, is now an author, having written his first book in 2011 titled “Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked.” Pusha T, on the other hand, has remained in the rap game and has reached incredible success since working with Kanye West and his label G.O.O.D. Music in 2010. Collaborating with West and his team on songs including “Runaway,” “So Appalled,” “Mercy” and “New God Flow” have put Pusha T among the most recognizable rappers in the game today.

Photo Courtesy BlackDropMagazine/Flickr – Monday, Jan. 21, Pusha T released his brand new mixtape, “Wrath of Caine.” The mixtape features Rick Ross, French Montana and Wale, along with production from The Neptunes, Young Chop, Jake One and Bink. It is available online for free download.

Pusha T released his latest mixtape, “Wrath of Caine,” Jan. 28. The mixtape is short but sweet. It’s just 37 minutes long but is filled with powerful songs and big names. Pusha was able to pull Rick Ross, French Montana and Wale for features along with production from Jake One, The Neptunes, Young Chop and West.

The mixtape opens with “Intro,” in which Pusha T unleashes a series of killer bars at his competition, including, “You laptop hot, just Internet warm, down low for downloads, don’t get caught up in my storm. [Expletive] n—- you just Internet porn, now we don’t gotta fake it no more, the line’s drawn.” Pusha makes it known from the get-go that he’s an elite rapper getting ready to unveil another classic with his debut album, “My Name is My Name,” dropping later this year.

“Wrath of Caine” continues with “Millions,” featuring Rick Ross and co-produced by Southside and West. “This s— sound like God, don’t it,” Pusha states repeatedly over one of the mixtape’s stronger tracks.

Oftentimes, autotuned hooks sung by rappers such as French Montana are painful to listen to and quite annoying. But somehow, on “Doesn’t Matter,” French is able to pull it off before Pusha rips apart his competition and how little their opinions matter as he continues to become a star in the game.

The project’s lead single, “Blocka,” produced by Young Chop, known best for Chief Keef’s “Don’t Like” and Lil Reese’s “Us,” delivers another strong track for Pusha’s “Wrath of Caine.” The excellent production continues on “Road Runner,” with Harry Fraud behind the boards, followed by “Revolution,” produced by The Neptunes.

The mixtape builds and becomes stronger as you listen along. “I’m just bringing you my lifestyle,” Pusha says as he opens up “Only You Can Tell It” featuring Wale.

The weakest track of the mixtape is “Trust You,” featuring Kevin Gates, which is an incredibly awkward ode to trusting a woman. “Take My Life” gets the project back on track, as Pusha T rolls over the incredible Jake One production before Philadelphia native Ab-Liva gets his chance to shine on “Re-Up Gang Motivation.”

“Wrath of Caine” comes to an end with “I Am Forgiven,” produced by Bink. This track brings the project to a wrap in climatic fashion, just as “Alone in Vegas” did with Pusha’s last mixtape, “Fear of God.”

Across the board, the production on Pusha T’s “Wrath of Caine” is incredibly impressive. Every track provides a different sound but the same energy that Pusha T is known for delivering. If this truly is an appetizer for “My Name is My Name,” everyone is in for a big treat when Pusha releases his debut album.

The post Pusha T prepares for debut with ‘Wrath of Caine’ appeared first on The Triangle.

The opening band was Guards, a band that I, and seemingly most of the audience, had never heard of before the show. They were very jammy, and most of their songs featured long riffs and solos that were cool for a feature act but fairly drawn out for an opener. They also brought a smoke machine, which was strategically placed to blow copious amounts of smoke straight into the audience’s eyes every five minutes and make seeing the stage completely impossible. They played for nearly an hour, during which the venue filled up with stragglers and bar patrons vying to get a better view of the stage.

Ra Ra Riot didn’t keep us waiting long, and the crowd’s enthusiasm when they arrived was no less by the end of their set. They put on what I can only describe as a damn good show.

A light show, courtesy of Union Transfer, flashed behind them, and thankfully they did not opt for the smoke machine effect. They began with some old songs to get the crowd warmed up, which were received with much enthusiasm. Lead singer Wes Miles was very engaged with the audience, crouching down to high-five and shake hands with a lucky few (myself included. Note to self: Never wash that hand).

They mixed in songs from their new album (the words to which a surprisingly large number of people knew by heart just two days after its release) and their older ones. This was a good way of keeping the audience engrossed and excited.

Ra Ra Riot’s music gives them a distinct advantage: it’s music you can dance to. Even if they had stood up on stage and simply done their thing and left, the audience would’ve had a great time. But as a bonus, they act like their music sounds. They bounce around stage, jump off amps and dance with each other. From all appearances, they were having as much fun as we were. This really got the audience excited; the energy in the crowd was incredible.

It was an overall wonderful show. The band was very energetic and luckily is just as good live as in the recording studio. The crowd got very into the music and the performance, and it was clear that everyone had a good time.

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I’m generally a fan of bands with curse words in their name. They’re unapologetic, rowdy and just seem to have more fun. They let you know right off the bat that they’re not going to play by the rules, and rest assured, their music won’t either.

Last week, by the grace of the surf-punk gods, I stumbled upon newcomer FIDLAR, which quickly asserted itself on my shortlist of best irreverent bands. A quick search on Urban Dictionary revealed the phrase behind the acronym, which stands for “F–k It Dog, Life’s A Risk.”

This saying is to skaters what “YOLO” is to hip-hop enthusiasts. It’s about making brash decisions while you’re young because, hey, we’ll all be six feet under one day. FIDLAR’s self-titled debut album, released Jan. 22, reflects this mantra by describing a lifestyle of debauchery underlined with anxiety about growing up.

The album includes odes to the band’s favorite substances: weed (“Wake Bake Skate”), booze (“Cheap Beer”) and cocaine (“Cocaine”), and at times you wonder whether FIDLAR has more vices than virtues. You almost feel bad for the guys, but they’re so brazenly satisfied with their lifestyle that you soon forget you’re listening to some washed-up skaters circling the drain and begin to appreciate what they’re doing musically.

Naturally, FIDLAR shares some characteristics with Wavves, likely the most widely recognized surf rock group out there right now, but I’ll stay away from comparing the two. You see, FIDLAR’s roots go further — think Pixies crossed with early Weezer plus a heap of drugs.

For me, “FIDLAR” is slathered with nostalgia. It took me back to the first time I heard “Doolittle,” the Pixies’ sophomore album. Both make use of filtered vocals, dissonant guitar progressions and “hot rod rock” themes, all of which helped make the Pixies a hot ticket in their day. You could seamlessly tuck Pixies classics like “Here Comes Your Man” and “Gouge Away” into a FIDLAR set list, and no one would bat an eye.

“FIDLAR” is largely composed of short, petulant vignettes with punchy choruses that form catchy tracks that end too soon. Take the tracks “No Waves,” “LDA” and “Gimme Something,” for example. They probably best represent the mood of four twentysomethings who are just looking for their next rush — whether it be in a bottle, on the beach or laying next to a woman.

“The Lost Boys” might be a more appropriate title for this band, whose members have no desire to don the shackles of adult life. Jobs, bills, love — who has time for it? Especially when you’re busy making music like this, music that makes you want to say “FIDLAR” and go off somewhere to reclaim your youth.

I see great things in this band’s future. Old-school fans of ’90s grunge will flock to these guys, and the album is a sign that we might have a surf rock revival on our hands, so I’ll grab my board and get suited up. See you at the beach.

The post Surf-punk FIDLAR reflects on wild, rebellious lifestyle appeared first on The Triangle.

Rockie Fresh had a pretty incredible 2012. He released a brand new mixtape, “Driving 88,” which continued to build his hype. He also signed a deal with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, had a music video premiere on BET’s “106 & Park” and went on his first headlining national tour.

Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Records –  After releasing a promising mixtape “Driving 88” in 2012, hip-hop artists Rockie Fresh exceeded expectations with his most recent mixtape “Electric Highway.” The mixtape features Rick Ross, Nipsey Hussle and Curren$y. The mixtape is available for free download on Datpiff.com.

To kick off 2013, Rockie unleashed his brand-new mixtape, “Electric Highway,” which became available for free download Jan. 21 on datpiff.com. With his first release since signing to MMG last year, Rockie Fresh was able to land features from his boss, Rick Ross, as well as Nipsey Hussle and Curren$y.

With “Driving 88,” Rockie was able to begin creating a very unique sound, fueled by influences from alternative music and frequent references to “Back to the Future.” With “Electric Highway,” he continued to build his sound into something unlike what any other hip-hop artist is creating right now. When you think about the mixtape’s title, your first thought is about something futuristic, and from the moment you press play, that concept and sound instantly take over and create an entire world for the listener.

Rockie opens the project with “The Future,” which leads with an advertisement for the DeLorean before Rockie delivers his first verses of the album, including the sly line, “I’d rather listen to Taylor Swift than most of you n—-s.” It’s nice to see Rockie taking some shots and having confidence in himself to deliver a line like that on the mixtape’s opening track. This is followed up by one of the standout tracks from the mixtape, “The Lights,” focusing in on Rockie’s quest for stardom.

The album’s star track is “Life Long,” featuring Rick Ross and Nipsey Hussle, with production from Boi1da and The Maven Boys. Ross spits, “Sometimes I glorify the finer things, because I didn’t see the minor things,” as he delivers a boastful yet introspective verse to kick the song off. “Work all night, party all night, count money all night then I smoke all night, a young n—- I’m just tryna live my life long,” Rockie shares on the hook. While this series of events probably won’t increase the length of one’s life, the 21-year-old is clearly enjoying where his life has gone over the last year.

Other notable tracks from the project include “Show Me Sumthin’” featuring Sasha Go Hard, “Roll Up Right Now” featuring Curren$y, and the mixtape’s lead single, “Nobody.”

“Electric Highway” comes to an end with “Something Special,” a song that is perfectly described by its title. The track is produced by Ayo The Producer, who worked with Drake on “Do It All” and Lil Wayne on “John (If I Die Today).” “Life is way more than these pretty chicks and fancy cars, it’s all in how you play your cards,” Rockie recites on the first verse over the slow-moving keys and quiet snaps and metronome in the background. As the hook drops, the drums come in and give this track a very strong, full body, including a guitar riff in the final verse.

Overall, “Electric Highway” is a very impressive progression from Rockie Fresh, following up “Driving 88.” Rockie strived to create his own sound within the hip-hop genre and clearly succeeded with his brand-new project.

The post Rockie Fresh owns sound with new mixtape ‘Electric Highway’ appeared first on The Triangle.

Nowadays, YouTube has become the go-to place when in search of the next big thing. For pop artist Ryan Beatty, that’s exactly where he got his break.

The 17-year-old singer from Clovis, Calif., who was discovered on the popular video-sharing website, performed to a sold-out crowd of screaming teenagers and their accompanying parents Jan. 18 at The Note in West Chester, Pa.

Ajon Brodie,  The Triangle – Teen pop sensation Ryan Beatty performed at The Note in West Chester, Pa. Jan. 18. They 17-year-old California native realsed his EP “Because of You” this past summer and is currently recording his debut album.

Prior to the “Hey L.A.” singer running onstage for the opening night of his short six-city tour, a Pennsylvania native named Gina Castanzo warmed up the crowed, performing a piano cover of Rihanna’s popular single “Diamonds” and several original songs that she says were based on a recent relationship.

Bashfully revealing it was her first live performance, the 15-year-old ran into a few bumps during her set but was ultimately able to connect with the audience, as most were around her age.

Once Beatty hit the stage, he opened with one of his most interactive songs, “Simple Song.” Fans belted out the lyrics verbatim, still in shock of his presence.

Not having much material of his own, he covered multiple songs from musicians who inspired him as a young artist, including John Mayer’s “I Don’t Trust Myself,” Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up,” Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and the late Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” He was able to tailor each song successfully, making it his own without simply covering it.

His style of music is not like any other teen currently on the music scene. According to his official website, it combines an acoustic sound mixed with modern old-school edge and adds in real instruments for upbeat tempos.

Although Beatty is in the midst of promoting his summer-released EP “Because of You,” which features the single “Every Little Thing,” he’s doing all it takes to put together a stellar debut album that’s sure to impress.

“I’m working on an album this year. I’m really excited for it. I just want to make sure it’s my best possible first album because you can only get one first album,” he told Billboard.

With over 30 million YouTube views,  you’re bound to come across the young fella at some point.

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Of course, there are those artists who can handle the glare and maybe even relish it, but there are just as many who find themselves disgusted by fame as soon as they get a taste. Jeff Mangum, the main creative force behind the ’90s indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, is part of the latter group. He effectively disbanded the group because it was thrust to the forefront of indie rock so quickly that Magnum was deeply shaken by his own success. That force 15 years ago was “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”

The qualms that Mangum likely felt in 1998 are certainly justified, considering the suddenness of the success and peculiarity of the circumstances. Prior to 1996, Neutral Milk Hotel had merely been his solo recording project. His main gig was as a member of Synthetic Flying Machine with Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss, who had been Mangum’s high school friends. These three friends, along with fellow former classmate Robert Schneider, were already the core of the Elephant 6 Recording Co., which they founded when they moved from Louisiana to Denver in 1991. Even before “Aeroplane,” the loose collective was making a name for itself in the ’90s indie rock landscape. Schneider had founded The Apples in Stereo in 1993, while The Olivia Tremor Control — also known as Synthetic Flying Machine without Mangum — was well respected by 1997. Notables Circulatory System and Of Montreal also became associated with Elephant 6 by the early 2000s.

Still, there’s no question that “Aeroplane” dwarfs every other Elephant 6 release when it comes to acclaim and influence. It’s hard to think of indie rock as a genre without a nasally voiced Mangum doppelganger belting tunes that sound just out of his range. The slightly shaky high-notes in “Oh Comely” and “King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2 & 3” became not shortcomings but part of a template which bands would strive to emulate. Mangum’s vocals also worked especially well because they accentuated the vulnerability and sadness that came with his subject matter, of which the biggest inspiration is widely considered to be the story of Anne Frank.

But instead of wallowing in the tragic story that is “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Mangum treats it as an affirmation of life. Lines such as, “And through the music he sweetly displays … made for his lover who’s floating and choking with her hands across her face,” from “Two-Headed Boy,” are sang and accompanied with such gusto that he makes a horrible scene into something cathartic and triumphant. A key reason for the greatness of “Aeroplane” is that Mangum’s passion consistently allows him to combine surrealistic sentiments and frightening details into something uplifting, poignant and transcendent.

Though Mangum is the key contributor to Neutral Milk Hotel’s success and is responsible for the songwriting, the instrumentation of “Aeroplane” contains an entirely new facet of its influence. Mangum forms the typical backbone of guitar (usually acoustic) and vocals, and he has Jeremy Barnes on drums and producer Robert Schneider on bass when he needs him. That’s the extent of the “standard” pop instrumentation on this album. The rest is an array of brass instruments played by band member Scott Spillane, unorthodox organ sounds played by member Julian Koster, and a strange set that ranges from the quirky (banjo, accordion) to the downright obscure (Uilleann pipes, zanzithophone).

No indie band has used such diverse instrumentation, let alone introduced it into its sound so effectively. You can hear how this eclecticism influenced an entire legion of subsequent indie bands, including Arcade Fire, Beirut, and The Polyphonic Spree. But on “Aeroplane,” the way that Neutral Milk Hotel brought together such disparate elements instrumentally as well as thematically is nothing short of brilliant.

That’s what people have been saying for 15 years now, and they’re likely to keep on saying it. As an artist who had languished in obscurity for most of the ’90s, the heaps of instant praise given to “Aeroplane” likely would have shocked and scared anyone who was in Mangum’s position. There’s no question that’s why he abruptly stopped the music and walked off, as he did at the end of “Two-Headed Boy, Pt. 2,” and is only just returning as a solo artist. Luckily, we got to hear an out-of-nowhere manifesto while the microphones were still on.

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At the end of 2011, before ever releasing a mixtape, A$AP Rocky signed a $3 million record deal with RCA and Polo Grounds Music. Just weeks later, on Halloween, Rocky unleashed his impressive mixtape, “Live.Love.A$AP,” and instantly became one of the next rising stars in hip-hop. After touring off of that mixtape again to hype up his first studio release, Rocky continued his growth as his popularity continued to increase.

Photo Credit: BrockBrake – A$AP Rocky released his debut album “Live.Love.A$AP” Jan. 15 through RCA and Polo Grounds Music. The album includes the hit single “F—in’ Problems,” which features verses from Kendrick Lamar and Drake along with a hook by 2 Chainz.

Rocky released his debut album, “Long.Live.A$AP,” Jan. 15, which had leaked unprecedentedly early on the Internet in the middle of December. The album, which includes the hit single “F—in’ Problems,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, Drake and 2 Chainz, is a continuation of the unique sound that A$AP Rocky created with his debut mixtape.

“Long.Live.A$AP” opens with the title track, featuring production from Jim Jonsin and Rico Love. Rocky awkwardly sings on the hook but delivers strong raps over the eerie, hard-hitting beat to begin the album. Then comes the Hit-Boy produced “Goldie,” which was released as the album’s first single over the summer. While it is still a strong track, I was surprised to see it make the album after failing to create the buzz that Rocky and RCA had hoped for. This was a large part of the reason that the album was pushed back multiple times from its original fall release dates to January.

A$AP Rocky and ScHoolboy Q have linked up two times in the past, and even though their third collaboration sounds very similar to the previous tracks, “PMW (All I Really Need)” is one of the better songs on the album. This is followed up by “Lvl,” produced by Clams Casino, a reminder of the sound these two created on a number of tracks on “Live.Love.A$AP.”

If you respect my opinion enough, there are two songs that I highly recommend you skip on this album, and “Hell” featuring Santigold is one of them. Many of you will probably also want to skip “Pain,” but in my opinion, Rocky’s singing is bearable only because of the pleasing production underneath him. After a few weaker songs, Rocky drops “F—in’ Problems,” which still is and probably always will be a jam for the ages. However, it is easy to forget about Rocky because of 2 Chainz’s emphatic chorus; a great verse from Kendrick Lamar; and Drake’s typical, dominant feature verse outshined him.

In an odd collaboration, Rocky teams up with dubstep producer Skrillex for “Wild For The Night,” which has the most radio potential of any song left on the album. This party anthem is followed up with “1 Train,” one of the most anticipated tracks on “Long.Live.A$AP.” “1 Train” features Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T. The star of this track is Action Bronson, with lines such as “The face is silky like a tablecloth, my shorty galloping, I’m on a northern beach like a Chilean horse.”

Remember earlier how I mentioned two songs that you should skip? Well “Fashion Killa” is the second track. If you do listen to it, the awful hook will get caught in your head, and you’ll be really mad at yourself for the next few weeks as you walk around singing it to yourself on campus, so I recommend you don’t even let the song start.

As the album comes to a close, Rocky teams up with Danger Mouse (one half of Gnarls Barkley) on “Phoenix” before ending his debut with “Suddenly,” which in my opinion is the best song on the album next to “F—in’ Problems.” The first half of the track is a relatively quiet sample on loop before letting the beat drop and unleashing a much more up-tempo flow to bring the album to a close.

Overall, “Long.Live.A$AP” is a little disappointing. After a year of hype and high expectations, A$AP Rocky delivers a mix of songs that often don’t fit together, including a few very forgettable moments. Fortunately, “F—in’ Problems” is still a radio hit, and I’m sure this album will produce one more. Now, all that’s left to see is how much of an impact the month-early album leak will have on the sales of Rocky’s debut album.

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After listening to the entertaining DJ Bearbait spin music for some time, Ava Luna took the stage first. Describing themselves as “nervous soul,” Ava Luna featured two keyboardists, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, with one of the male musicians and two of the female musicians singing. While they were all quite talented at their instruments and were entertaining to watch, their entire sound felt too heavily indebted to Dirty Projectors — the interaction between the singers, the off-kilter guitar parts, the rhythm-and-blues influences — making the entire set come off as derivative and not particularly original. This isn’t to say they were bad, per se; I just found myself wondering why I wasn’t listening to superior Dirty Projectors songs throughout their set.

Soon after, Steven A. Clark took the stage, accompanied by a guitarist and laptop performer. Clark’s voice was fine, if unremarkable, but the instrumentation and song structures felt incomplete. Most of the backing tracks sounded like demos that Clark had worked out in GarageBand hours before, and the guitar parts did not coexist well with the rest of the sounds onstage. The entire performance was weak, and despite his set being rather short, I found myself tiring of it by the end. Clark was the subject of the most recent episode of “Shaking Through,” which premiered after his set; when the video concluded, he took to the stage to perform the song he had written for the series. Backed by a live band, the song was a notable step up in quality from the tunes he had previously performed, but on the whole it was not terribly exciting.

Finally, Long Island-based dream pop band Twin Sister took the stage well behind schedule. Most of their set was performed in relative darkness and obscured by smoke, a touch that may complement their aesthetic but does little in the way of making a show exciting. While the band’s sound, indebted to ’80s pop, was well executed, the performance was simply the last in a series of good-if-unremarkable sets for the evening.

The cause that the show benefited is well worth supporting. However, their concert could have been substantially better. At the very least, there are many more episodes of “Shaking Through” to look forward to, which is something to get excited about.

For more information about “Shaking Through,” visit shakingthrough.com.

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Wale released his latest mixtape. “Folarin” Dec. 24. The mixtape features Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and French Montana. It is available for free download at datpiff.com.

2012 was an incredible year for Wale. After releasing his sophomore album and Maybach Music Group debut “Ambition” at the end of 2011, Wale began to emerge as one of the next rap superstars. The album’s lead single, “Lotus Flower Bomb,” featuring Miguel, is up for a Grammy Award this year, and Wale starred on a number of hits from his label’s collaboration album, “Self Made Vol. 2.” To close out 2012, Wale released a brand-new mixtape Dec. 24 titled “Folarin.”

With lots of momentum, a massive following and his buzz at an all-time high, Wale couldn’t have chosen a better time to release “Folarin,” which features his boss, Rick Ross, along with 2 Chainz, French Montana and rising star Trinidad Jame$. Following an introduction by G Mogul, Wale delivers the “Change Up” over production from LG. The sound is instantly reminiscent of the records Wale came into the game creating, and his lyrical content is at an elite level. Over the last few years, Wale has been criticized for diminishing his lyrical content after signing to Maybach Music Group, but he reminds fans when he says, “Same lyrics, just the stage different,” and truly backs that up with the rest of the mixtape.

The mixtape boasts the full assortment of what Wale can offer as an artist. He’s got the soulful hip-hop tracks such as “Change Up,” the sensual slow jam with “Bad” featuring Tiara Thomas, and the club anthem with “The One Eye Kitten Song,” featuring Travis Porter and produced by Diplo. Across the board, Wale delivers some of his best work to date with “Folarin.”

Other standout tracks include the groovy, percussion-heavy “Let a N—- Know,” featuring Chinx Drugz and Fatz of the Coke Boys. “Limitless,” which would be much better off with a second verse from Wale than a verse from veteran MC Scarface, features Jake One’s unbelievable production, which makes the song an instant repeat. “You’ll never fall when you null and void to their opinions, and real n—-s gon’ see your end ‘fore they see your limit. Don’t be with too many. I never came in this business to provide me with friendship; I’d probably trade in some millions if I could make a difference. I swear to y’all it’s hard to the shake this feeling,” Wale recites on the hook.

Wale provides a hysterical mocking commentary of “the thirst” certain people use on social media with “H2O,” recommending that these crazy women “have a glass of water for your thirsty ass.” French Montana makes his appearance on “Back 2 Ballin’,” which is exactly the song you’d expect from the title but nonetheless has good radio and club potential.

“Cool Off,” featuring Jhene Aiko, is all about the ladies and commitment, before Wale lets loose on the “Fa We Wa Freestyle,” produced by Digi-Phonics. The beat uses the same sample that is used on Wiz Khalifa’s “Visions” from his “Kush & Orange Juice” mixtape but flips it in a unique way, creating one of the best tracks on the project.

Toward the end of “Folarin” comes “The Right One,” featuring producer-turned-rapper Hit-Boy, famously known for Kanye West & Jay-Z’s “N—-s in Paris.” Over Austin Millz’ production, Wale and Hit-Boy collaborate for the strongest track on the mixtape with a great soul sample and strong wordplay. Hit-Boy opens his verse with, “I watch n—-s speak on n—-s like it’s industry cold, so I’m bundled up for winter cause this industry’s cold, n—-s wanna walk in your shoes, but ain’t got the soul, I’m James Brown with the beat, got the feeling I’m on.”

Overall, “Folarin” was one of the best mixtapes of 2012 despite being a very late submission. The project features all original content and showcases Wale’s versatility and growth over the last year. If “Folarin” is any indication, Wale’s third studio album is going to be great.

The post Wale takes next step with ‘Folarin’ appeared first on The Triangle.

The Brotherly Breakdown Festival rolled into Philadelphia Jan. 5. Taking place between The Trocadero main stage and the balcony, a total of 10 local bands came together for this awesome show. I got there as the doors opened at 6 p.m. and headed upstairs to catch the first band playing, which was a three-piece band called Home Again from my hometown of Bensalem, Pa. They were a great band to open the show, exuded an awesome stage presence and had a few rows of friends and fans screaming the words to all their songs.

[/media-credit] Ten bands performed at the Brotherly Breakdown Festival in Philadelphia Jan. 5. The event took place at the Trocadero, which features a main stage and a balcony for performances. All of the bands that performed are from the Philadelphia area, making this event a spotlight for upcoming local talent.

With 10 bands alternating between two stages, the night consisted of many trips up and down the infamous, and very steep, Troc Balcony steps. The next band to play upstairs was Philly native At Bay, formerly known as Faster Than Fate, whose lead singer, Tim Kuhn, really knows how to draw in a crowd. The band has very heavy-feeling music, but when mixed with Kuhn’s crisp vocals, they create a sound that I have never heard before. I have seen At Bay play many shows, and this one was definitely my favorite. Unfortunately, due to time commitment issues, At Bay announced Jan. 7 that the Breakdown Festival was the band’s last show.

At this point in the night, I rushed over to the main stage to see Robots & Racecars. I had always heard great things about this band’s live show, so I couldn’t wait to see if what I had heard was true. And after about three songs, I was hooked. With a sound similar to New Jersey heroes Man Overboard, they had the pop-punk kids in the crowd going nuts. The small pit that opened up in the middle of the floor had about 15 fans screaming the words to every single song the band played. This style of music has some of the most passionate and die-hard fans that I have ever seen, and it’s really an inspiring thing to watch.

Next to hit the main stage was the newest band in the Philly local scene, Automatic Habit. Automatic Habit, or AH for short, consists of five friends who had all been in local bands previously. Johnny Costa, Bruce Wiegner, Joey Wooliver, Jeff Sarafinas and Bill Alexander came together in early 2012 to create this new superband. Drummer Wooliver moved to Philadelphia from Knoxville, Tenn., just to peruse the band. With only four shows under their belt previously, AH had a lot riding on this show, and they definitely did not disappoint. They started their set with “This Is Misery.” It has a very upbeat tempo and catchy hook that is easy to learn. As Automatic Habit continued with their set, the crowd behind me grew larger and larger. The band then played a song called “Pieces Of You,” which had the crowd completely captivated. Watching the band, and judging by the huge smile on bassist Bill Alexander’s face, you can just tell that playing live music is their favorite thing to do. The guys closed the show with their most popular song and lead single “Play It Again.” That song, along with “This Is Misery” and all their other songs, are available for free download on their website, AutomaticHabit.bandcamp.com. If you get the chance, I definitely recommend seeing Automatic Habit play a live show.

I then headed upstairs for the last time to catch The Engine Atlantic, who were headlining the balcony stage. I have seen them perform many times over the years and have seen them change members as well, but they looked and sounded great this time. TEA’s sound has evolved a bit since the band’s start, and now each of the band’s songs spreads over a wide variety of genres. Lead singer Jack McCarthy has such a strong yet angelic voice that can draw you in from a mile away. The guys played many of their fast-tempo songs such as “You’re Not An A-Team” and “Uncle Sam Doesn’t Want You,” which really get the crowd hyped up. Then they played my personal favorite song, titled “The Slowest Slow Song.” This is the perfect song to scream at the top of your lungs, and that’s exactly what everyone standing in the crowd did.

The last two bands on the main stage were Nobody Yet and Carousel Kings, the latter of which really stood out to me. Once they took the stage, I finally understood why they call it the Brotherly BREAKDOWN Fest. These guys certainly had the heaviest set of the night, and I definitely was not complaining. They had a very similar sound to hardcore legend A Day To Remember. This band’s music created one of the craziest mosh pits I’ve ever seen, and even the band members’ parents were there. It was quite an entertaining sight!

The Brotherly Breakdown Festival was an awesome show for fans of all genres and ages. The Trocadero Theatre, Absolute Punk and Property of Zack put together a great event for everyone in attendance, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s lineup.

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A common theme throughout popular music history is that artists borrow from other artists. Plagiarism and overt stylistic trends in a slew of bands (see: British Invasion) aside, the influence of other musicians may be an inescapable reality of making music. There are many people who despise that most music is no longer original, but what those people do not understand is that it doesn’t really matter who stole from whom. What matters is how a band takes those sounds and puts them into a novel context with emotional depth. That is how four white Ivy League students are able to appropriate African rhythms and tones into something meaningful.

Vampire Weekend’s debut self-titled album was released Jan. 29, 2008, with XL Recordings. The album was originally released independently in 2007, but received so much hype that they received a record deal and re-released “Vampire Weekend” officially.

From the start, the band Vampire Weekend was both sensational and acutely self-aware. The first collaboration between members of the band was a rap group that included Ezra Koenig and Christopher Tomson while they were still students at Columbia University. The eclectic nature of Vampire Weekend developed in their mutual love of punk and African music, then applied in Koenig’s tour with experimental indie rock band Dirty Projectors. Once fellow students Rostam Batmanglij and Chris Baio joined to form the full lineup in 2006, they made that experimental tendency their driving force. They even gave themselves a tongue-in-cheek definition of their music — “Upper West Side Soweto” — before anyone else could.

With Koenig on vocals and guitar, Batmanglij on piano, Tomson on drums and Baio on bass, Vampire Weekend quickly rose out of the Columbia music scene as a highly anticipated new arrival. The stage was now set for the recording of what would become “Vampire Weekend.” Put together piece by piece from parents’ basements to studio sessions in Brooklyn, self-produced and self-released, the original “Vampire Weekend” CD-R was released in fall 2007. Promoted by lots of Internet buzz and even some print — Spin magazine put them on the cover before they released their debut album — indie label XL Recordings promptly signed Vampire Weekend. “Vampire Weekend” was released Jan. 29, 2008, the only change being the addition of “I Stand Corrected.”

The very nature of the band and its new album made waves in the music world. As the subsequent Internet backlash showed, some people just weren’t ready for the juxtaposition. Though Vampire Weekend adapted its world music influences with the love and care that only aficionados can provide, there were reflexive accusations that the band members were stuck-up, high society frauds. Now that the criticism has subsided, Vampire Weekend’s continuing popularity and acclaim proved the band would not be defined by the contention over its self-titled debut.

The impressive thing about the album is how well Vampire Weekend is able to cram so many refreshing ideas in its brevity. “Vampire Weekend” is a very accessible 34 minutes, making its somewhat challenging fusion all the more remarkable. Even Paul Simon’s “Graceland” is nine minutes longer with the same number of tracks. Yet, regardless of length, it’s hard to deny that the quartet of songs leading off the album (“Mansard Roof,” “Oxford Comma,” “A-Punk” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”) are pop perfection. Synthesizers, electronic bass drums and string sections suddenly jump to the forefront every once in a while, reminding you that this album is far from derivative. However, “Vampire Weekend” wouldn’t carry the same weight if the band took things too seriously. It’s the light, breezy and tongue-in-cheek character of their songs that makes the album memorable. Never has breaking barriers amid criticism sounded so nonchalant and carefree.

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Becoming the King of Pop is no easy task, but that’s the title rhythm and blues singer Michael Jackson acquired after releasing “Thriller.” Jackson was likely a household name even before “Thriller,” but the album itself has entered the exclusive club of household albums. To call the album a commercial success is a vast understatement. In the U.S. and many other countries worldwide, it was the best-selling album of 1983 and 1984. Seven of the nine tracks from “Thriller” ended up becoming top-10 U.S. hits. Today, “Thriller” is the highest-selling album of all time, with at least 65 million copies sold worldwide. Factor in the incredible moments surrounding the album — including the Moonwalk on the “Motown 25” TV special, the iconic trio of music videos and becoming the first major black artist on MTV — and it is clear that “Thriller” quickly became a culturally significant document.

If anyone could handle the glare, it was Jackson, who already had seven solo top-10 singles (and seven more with his family R&B group, The Jackson 5) and a platinum album in “Off the Wall” to his name. Years of strict discipline from his father and immense raw talent had made Jackson a superstar, yet he still felt underappreciated. In the early ’80s, black artists couldn’t get on the covers of magazines or air  on MTV no matter how popular they were. Jackson sought not only to break that racial barrier but also to become the biggest musician in the world. He succeeded on both counts, but that success came at a great personal cost. Jackson experienced a deep sense of loneliness during the recording of “Thriller,” and his remaining career was somewhat marred by the pitfalls of fame. Some of the best songs (“Billie Jean,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and the title track) carry a strong undercurrent of paranoia and fear, whether it’s dealing with an obsessed fan or rumors spread by the media. Yet even in light of his personal tragedy and untimely demise three years ago, “Thriller” has lost none of its luster and never feels burdened by its emotional heft.

Ultimately, the greatest accomplishment of “Thriller” is its singular vision. “Off the Wall” is classic, but it’s a disco album overall. Jackson’s follow-up is funkier, edgier and more vulnerable, playing into the strengths of his more mature and confident voice. Essentially, it’s the sound of pop’s future. Pick any contemporary R&B or pop singer, and you can likely draw a straight line back to “Thriller.” However, there’s a good reason why everyone from Justin Timberlake to Rihanna reads from the album’s blueprint: It is arguably the most expertly crafted pop album you will ever hear. Take “Billie Jean,” where Jackson patiently sets the scene — first the foundational drumbeat, then the propulsive bassline, then finally somber staccato synthesizer before he starts to sing the verse. Jackson’s incredible delivery is then punctuated with all types of accompaniment — funky rhythm guitar, dramatic string lines, moody synthesizers, etc. — that blend seamlessly into the mix and bring out the raw emotion of the song.

Legendary producer Quincy Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton (of the title track, most notably) certainly play a role in the pop expertise of “Thriller,” but considering that Jackson wrote most of the big singles (including “Billie Jean”), it’s clear that he was leading the charge. The surprising diversity of the record, which has gritty rock crossovers (“Beat It”) as well as delicate ballads (“Human Nature”), is equally impressive and ensures that “Thriller” has a broad appeal. There are clear risks that Jackson took, but the attention to detail is so strong that he never sounds like he’s biting off more than he can chew. In short, the album is a masterpiece, one that challenged pop convention and eventually became a driving force in its creation. It’s hard to be more thrilling than that.

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[/media-credit] Meek Mill pumped up the atmosphere this summer with his hit mixtape “Dreamchasers 2.” Other successful tracks of the year include “Daughters” by Nas and “Clique” by Big Sean featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Albums of the Year:

1: Kendrick Lamar — “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City”

Few albums in the history of hip-hop have told a story the way Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” did. Years down the line, this will be considered a classic album, and he did it on his debut.

2: The Niceguys — “James Kelley”

At this point in my writing career, I hope that my readers actually listen to me when I recommend albums. “James Kelley” is an album that everyone needs to hear. It flew under the radar this year and is truly one of the best bodies of works that hip-hop has to offer in 2012. It’s available now on iTunes and Bandcamp and would make for a phenomenal Hanukkah or Christmas gift for your friends this year.

3: G.O.O.D. Music — “Cruel Summer”

This was easily the most anticipated album of 2012, and after a few chart-topping singles, there wasn’t much substance left by the time this project was released. With that being said, “Mercy,” “New God Flow,” “Clique,” “Cold” and “To The World” are five of the best hip-hop songs of 2012.

4: Nas — “Life Is Good”

Nas’ “Life Is Good” is a beautiful representation of how rappers can still make great music about what’s going in their lives as they get older. The fastest way to become irrelevant is to be pushing 40 while rapping about things you did when you were 20. Nas opens up about his divorce, his children and his journey to this point of his career.

5: Rick Ross — “God Forgives, I Don’t”

With theatrical production, huge features and the direction of biggest bawse that you’ve seen thus far, Rick Ross delivered one of the year’s best albums. Despite a few weak songs in the middle, which always seems to happen on Ross albums, the overall body of work is very strong and worthy of the No. 5 spot on this year’s top albums list.

Mixtapes of the Year:

1: Rick Ross — “Rich Forever”

Although it came out at the beginning of January, Rick Ross’ “Rich Forever” reigned supreme over all other mixtapes of 2012. Unfortunately, the other mixtape he dropped this year, “The Black Bar Mitzvah,” didn’t have quite the same affect (see biggest disappointments).

2: Big Sean — “Detroit”

Even though we didn’t get an album from Big Sean this year, “Detroit” certainly made fans forget about all of the promises. The mixtape is filled with hits including “Mula” featuring French Montana, the mixtape’s first track; “Higher” and “24 Karats of Gold,” which features J. Cole.

3: Meek Mill — “Dreamchasers 2”

This mixtape could honestly give his album a run for its money, which is pretty sad given the hype and buildup for “Dreams and Nightmares.” “Dreamchasers 2” produced the jam of the summer with “Amen,” which ended up making the album due to its success.

4: Rockie Fresh — “Driving 88”

If you release a mixtape that gets you signed to Maybach Music Group, you deserve to make it on this list. Rockie Fresh’s “Driving 88” was one of the most unique projects that dropped in 2012. For more on that project and Rockie, take a look at my artist spotlight from October.

5: Wale — “Folarin”

This mixtape isn’t even out yet, but it will be arriving on the Web this Christmas Eve. This also shows just how weak this year’s mixtape crop was. Likely, if we had a chance to hear it beforehand, it would be higher up on this list. Based on the project’s first single, “Freedom of Speech,” Wale is going to be serving up a big treat for the holidays.

Songs of the Year:

1: Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz — “Mercy”

Everyone and their mother knows Kanye’s verse on this song, and I love it! Kanye and company took over the summer with “Mercy” and delivered this year’s best song courtesy of 2 Chainz’s outlandish finale verse.

2: Nas — “Daughters”

This is one of the most enjoyable songs released in 2012. Even if you’re not a father, hearing the words Nas delivers over No I.D.’s incredible production are powerful enough.

3: Big Sean featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West — “Clique”

Big Sean thought this song was going to be the single from his sophomore album. Then Jay-Z and Kanye hopped on the track and threw it on “Cruel Summer.” Now, it’s a chart-topper. Don’t think anyone is upset about that.

4: Meek Mill featuring Drake — “Amen”

Here’s another song that dominated your summer. Drake and Meek teamed up for a great feel-good track.

5: T.I. featuring Andre 3000 — “Sorry”

The only reason this song made the list is because Andre 3000 delivered the best verse of the year as he dominates the second half of T.I.’s latest single.

Biggest Disappointments:

1: Rick Ross — “The Black Bar Mitzvah”

As a Jewish man who also is a huge fan of hip-hop, I was beyond ecstatic when I saw that Rick Ross was releasing a mixtape based off of my coming-of-age moment over eight years ago. But then I listened to the weak remixes of current hits that made up the majority of the project. The disappointing attempt of a mixtape, which spent too much time promoting Ross’ chain of wing restaurants, felt like it was put together in a few days and definitely sounded that way as well.

2: Another year without Dr. Dre’s “Detox”

I don’t know why this surprises me, but nonetheless, we’re all still waiting for Dr. Dre to release the mystery that is “Detox.”

3: Nicki Minaj — “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”

In 2010, Nicki Minaj won me over with her verse on Kanye West’s “Monster.” Since then, she has done nothing but disappoint, and her latest album is a mish-mosh of pop and rap songs, an odd combination. She even re-released the album with additional tracks in the same year. Make it stop, and please make sure that nobody plays “Starships” at any party I attend for the rest of my life.

What to look forward to in 2013:

1: “Cruel Winter”

Yes, you read that correctly. G.O.O.D. Music is preparing to unleash another compilation on the world in 2013. Hopefully it produces as many hits as its summer counterpart.

2: New albums from Wale, J. Cole and Big Sean

Three of the youngest stars in the game will release new albums in the first quarter of 2013.

3: Lil Wayne’s retirement

After “Tha Carter V,” which is supposed to be released in 2013, Lil Wayne claims that he will retire. Let’s all hope he sticks to his word.

The post Hip hop bids adieu to its hits and misses of the year appeared first on The Triangle.

Alternative rock band Yellowcard took the stage Nov. 16 at the Electric Factory along with We Are the In Crowd and The Wonder Years in promotion of the band’s new album, “Southern Air,” which was released Aug. 14.

[/media-credit] Alternative rock group Yellowcard performed at the Electric Factory Nov. 16 while on tour to promote their eighth studio album ‘Southern Air.’ We Are the In Crowd and the Wonder Years opened up the show.

We Are the In Crowd opened up the night with many electrifying songs from its single album, which was released Oct. 4, 2011. The relatively underground band may have received the opening spot due to lead vocalist Taylor Jardine’s featured voice in Yellowcard’s single “Here I Am Alive.” The band’s performance was well practiced with euphonious vocals from both Jardine and the two guitar players who doubled as vocalists. The crowd’s reaction to the band was very minimal compared to the waves of movement that swarmed the crowd as The Wonder Years set up the stage.

The Wonder Years’ set included many beloved songs from their two albums, such as “Logan Circle,” “Everything I Own Fits In This Backpack” and “Came Out Swinging.” The crowd, which appeared to be filled with fans in their mid-teens to late 20s, packed tightly together for a chance to be near the stage. Overall, The Wonder Years were able to change the dynamic of the room completely by energizing the anxious crowd.

When Yellowcard finally took the stage, the crowd howled with delight and began to passionately shout the lyrics to “Awakening,” which was explained to be the largest crowd response thus far for their opening song on tour. The concert included the performance of seven songs from the new album: “Awakening,” “Surface Of The Sun,” “Rivertown Blues,” “Always Summer,” “Telescope,” “Southern Air” and “Here I Am Alive.” Fans loudly supported the band throughout the concert with animated jumping and pushing. The crowd response seemed to increase with each song, with explosive charisma during beloved classics such as “Ocean Avenue” and “Lights and Sounds.”

An unexpected twist came with the band’s decision to perform a cover of the popular Mumford & Sons song “I Will Wait.” Yellowcard, surprisingly, was able to perform with a country twang as the crowd clapped along through the song. The crowd seemed to dull slightly throughout the band’s surprise rendition. It became apparent from the lowered volume of the crowd that many did not know the lyrics to the song. I found the song to be a nice variation from the already well-known Yellowcard songs; it was nice to see the band trying to diversify its performing repertoire while remaining up to date with the current trend of covering other bands on tour.

In total, the night was a complete musical success and was well worth the cost. Although it was hot being packed into the audience like a sardine, the feeling of enjoyment that electrified and surrounded me made the experience recommendable. All three bands presented enticing sets that seemed to appeal to all audience members, even if they were at the concert solely for the Yellowcard performance. Based on the combined enjoyment of both the music produced by these three bands and the overall atmosphere of the crowd, I highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in their pop punk music.

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[/media-credit] Kevin Lyman, the creator of the Vans Warped Tour, spoke at Nesbitt Hall Nov. 15 about the concert tour and producing world. The event included a question and answer session with Lyman and a screening of Warped Tour documentary “No Room for Rockstars.”

The event began unexpectedly when the first students to arrive were surprised to see Lyman himself sitting on stage while they snatched up front-row seats. In a very approachable manner, Lyman opened up the floor to questions before the night formally began.

Questions were asked regarding Lyman’s favorite bands, advice on how to advertise garage band music, and  his thoughts on the current stage of the music industry. He seemed very easygoing, and after a brief introduction by James Hamalian and Levine, the event commenced.

Lyman thanked everyone for coming and began by saying that he had a great time talking to some classes at Drexel that afternoon. Unfortunately, the night got a little scrambled with technical difficulties setting up the movie, resulting in an hourlong delay. Lyman tried his best to fill the gap but had to change things around considerably because his talk somewhat depended on the audience viewing the documentary. Despite the unexpected issues, Lyman was very determined to press on.

Lyman started off with a little of his background and how he got started in the music business. Growing up in California, Lyman was surrounded by music. After graduating from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, he got into the music business by working as a promoter and stage manager at clubs around the area.

Once he had built up a reputation, he got a shot at managing the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. After getting one taste of the big concert scene, Lyman was determined to try and set up a tour of his own. He set up the Warped Tour, a name he borrowed from a now-defunct magazine for mostly punk rock bands. Surprisingly, the concert struggled in its first year.

But after getting the sponsorship of Vans, the Tour steadily grew to become one of the biggest in the country. As the tour grew and expanded, so did the number of genres that the tour showcased. Lyman talked about how he gave some prominent artists their first shot on the Warped Tour, including Kid Rock, Eminem and even Katy Perry. The Warped Tour is the longest-running tour in the country and has been steady since 1995.

Lyman said that he would wait until after the movie to give his closing remarks, and once “No Room for Rockstars” got up and running, the audience finally got to appreciate the inner workings of the Warped Tour. The documentary highlighted a few bands on the tour from three years ago. Bands included Never Shout Never, Mike Posner, Forever Came Calling and Suicide Silence, whose lead singer, Mitch Lucker, died in a tragic motorcycle accident just two weeks before Lyman’s visit.

The film seemed to be a hit with the audience and really gave everyone an appreciation for how much work goes into such a monstrous undertaking. Near the end, Lyman ran out of time and concluded by apologizing for the technical difficulties earlier that night and recounted the heart and soul he pours into organizing the tour.

Lyman stayed after to pose for pictures, answer questions and autograph memorabilia.

The post Creator of Warped Tour talks music and success appeared first on The Triangle.

New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem performed Nov. 27 at the Electric Factory with opening act The Menzingers. “Handwritten,” The Gaslight Anthem’s latest album, was released in July 2012.jo

The Gaslight Anthem thrashed the stage of the Electric Factory Nov. 27 amid a full house of fans. The five-piece act from New Brunswick, N.J., was supported by Chester County native Matthew Ryan and punk band The Menzingers from Scranton, Pa.

A soft, ambient chord, surrounded by gritty, desperate vocals brought the crowd together at 8 p.m. as Ryan took the stage. Outside in the smokers’ section, fans of all breeds huddled in the cold. A family of three recollected on “Angry Johnny and the Radio,” a creation of Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon from the album “Senor and the Queen.” They tried to convey the memories and emotions that the song captured, and though I had my own interpretations, it was generally agreed that the band’s songwriting set them apart from the overly cliche “radio rock” that floods the music industry.

Don’t believe me? Ask Bruce Springsteen.

The Boss has shared the stage with Gaslight many times in recent years, and the New Jersey natives often share stories, words of advice, and praise for each other’s work.

With influences ranging from the Boss to The Clash to Pearl Jam, The Gaslight Anthem kicks stereotypes in the teeth and bends and blends genres to create the unique sound that has carried through their five studio albums.

After The Menzingers pumped up the crowd, barreling through their 13-song set and leaping all across the stage, The Electric Factory buzzed with anticipation. A group of three stood by the door, hardly able to contain their excitement. When asked which song they wanted to hear most, a unanimous “All of them!” was all they could muster, until they later decided that the older songs were definitely more desirable. These guys traveled from Cleveland just for the love of music.

Next to them stood the principal of a local middle school, bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting to hear the music that resonated with so many different groups of people.

Recent college graduates sat at the bar, enjoying the free tickets that they won from Radio 104.5, the concert’s sponsor.

They cheerily talked of the newest Gaslight Anthem album, “Handwritten,” which features some of the most moving guitar riffs and tortured screams that the boys have ever put together. Masterfully recorded and mixed, this album pulls further away from the original records that feature very straightforward songwriting and lo-fi recording.

Fallon (vocals and guitar), Alex Rosamilia (guitar), Alex Levine (bass) and Benny Horowitz (percussion) took the stage and rocked through the night.

Their 26-song set paused rarely, only to thank the other musicians and to lead the crowd in a remorseful chant about the loss of the NHL hockey season and playoff beards everywhere. Always entertaining, extremely well-spoken, and pitch-perfect throughout, Fallon led his band through classics like “Miles Davis and the Cool” and “The Backseat.” About halfway through, something magical happened. “Angry Johnny and the Radio” went into an interlude, and out came a cover of Bon Iver’s “Blood Bank.”

The crowd went nuts. Sweaty bodies pulsated and swayed, clapped and cheered, and showed the artists the enthusiasm that we Philly fans are capable of showing. The crowd surfers rode atop the energy, and eventually the band had to remind everyone that nobody likes being kicked in the head, so they needed to keep the dancing on the ground.

As usual, this did little to deter the rowdy fans, and new hits like “Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Dahlia” weren’t helping.

After collaboration with Ryan for “I Can’t Steal You” and “Astro Zombies,” a Misfits cover, The Gaslight Anthem ended on a high note, belting out “Great Expectations.” An exhausted crowd left with great memories, a few bruises and a renewed respect for the music that brought them there.

The post Gaslight Anthem enthralls Philly with extensive set appeared first on The Triangle.

[/media-credit] Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk performed Nov. 18 at Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center. Opening for Oberst was indie artist Daniel Johnston .

Johnston, somewhat of a cult icon in the indie scene, began the evening. He rose to national notice when MTV featured him as a prominent member of the Austin, Texas, New Sincerity movement in a 1985 episode of “The Cutting Edge.”

The New Sincerity movement was founded as an antithesis to the perceived irony of the postmodernist music culture and the cynicism of musicians and writers at the time.

Johnston’s songs are earnest, whether joyous or grateful or heartbroken. His lyrics are simple, with beautiful comparisons and messages. Though his optimistic songs are almost saccharinely sweet, his angst-filled works bring to light his struggles with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, lifelong conditions that have often threatened his success and safety. At this show, he was fortunately in good spirits and seemed to enjoy conversing with the animated audience.

Though several of his fans loudly requested it, Johnston did not perform “Devil Town,” a song Oberst covered for his compilation, “The Late, Great Daniel Johnston.” However, Johnston and an unnamed friend belted through a satisfying set, including covers of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” and “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” They also sang some of his best-known songs: “Walking the Cow,” “Life in Vain” and “True Love Will Find You in the End,” which received an overwhelming surge of cheers from the crowd.

The fact that Johnston, who offered a powerful but sparse performance, dominated such a prestigious venue as the Kimmel Center was something wholly special to see. The audience took any chance they could to shout out their love for him.

Oberst stepped out onto the stage to a fervent, awestruck round of applause. Oberst has been slightly tweaking his setlist throughout this tour, but he played arguably his best collection of songs in Philadelphia.

Audience members could be heard beforehand wondering to each other whether he would play only his solo work or delve into the canon of the four bands he primarily performs and writes with.

These include emotional indie band Bright Eyes; the Mystic Valley Band, the subject of the documentary “One of My Kind,” which recently reunited to the surprise of almost everyone and released a blistering track about the Trayvon Martin case earlier this year; and Monsters of Folk, a supergroup featuring Bright Eyes collaborator Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and She & Him’s M. Ward.

The concert featured a majority of Bright Eyes songs, accompanied by Cox’s vocals and Brodin on the vibraphone. The show began with “The Big Picture” from 2002’s “Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground.” To the audience’s palpable delight, this was followed by “First Day of My Life,” which is arguably the most well-known Bright Eyes song and an indelible romantic indie classic. A new song, “Common Knowledge” (preceded by a few jabs at Mitt Romney), was followed by two Mystic Valley tracks, “Lenders in the Temple” and “Cape Canaveral,” which earned some cheers from the highest tier in Verizon Hall with the lyric “Victory’s sweet, even deep in the cheap seats.”

“At the Bottom of Everything,” another fan favorite, is a song that sounds as good live as it does on record, as is “Shell Games” from the last Bright Eyes album, “The People’s Key,” stripped to its bones. Closing out the concert with “Breezy,” the encore started almost immediately with “Lua,” with Cox taking on a few verses. “Waste of Paint,” a song about love, faith and art, was a fitting closer, as many of Oberst’s songs touch upon these themes, and the piece is markedly inspirational for many fans and listeners.

This is the third time I have seen Oberst live, and each time I have left the venue moved, delighted and wanting just one more song.

The post Conor Oberst performs songs from several projects appeared first on The Triangle.

[/media-credit] Drexel student band Wild Rompit first formed when Blair Ollendorf and Brandon Bost became roommates during their freshman year.

“We started playing music together and going to some open mics around Philly. We asked [senior film and video student] Sean Huber to play drums and recorded our first EP, ‘Stampede,’ over Christmas break. [Senior entertainment and arts management student] Paul Impellizeri joined at the end of those recording sessions, and that’s that!” Ollendorf, the lead singer and guitarist, said.

All four band members are originally from New Jersey. Ollendorf and Impellizeri are from southern New Jersey, and Huber and Bost are from northern New Jersey.

They describe their music as “heart-pounding indie rock tinged with fervent idealism, honest lyricism and gritty vocals,” Ollendorf said.

Their inspirations range from multiple artists and genres of music, from Tallest Man on Earth and The National to Adele and Johnny Cash.

“We believe in the power of great songwriting, and we hope the best of our influences comes out in our songwriting to create our unique sound,” Ollendorf said. The mixture of Ollendorf’s undeniably unique vocals and honest lyrics gives the band an extraordinary sound.

A highlight of 2012 for Wild Rompit was when the band was part of The Mann Center’s Rising Stars of Tomorrow program, which included a performance for over 5,000 inner-city children from ages 5 to 10.

“It was awesome to see the excitement in the kids’ faces when we played. Hopefully we inspired a few kids to pick up an instrument and rock out,” Ollendorf said.

Wild Rompit has been writing constantly and is getting ready to get into the studio to record its first full-length album. This is exciting for them, as it’s been a while since they’ve released new music.

Wild Rompit has a show coming up Dec. 12 at North Star Bar. They will open for The Apache Relay, who recently opened for Mumford & Sons at the Hollywood Bowl.

“We are really big fans of those guys and psyched about all their success,” Ollendorf said.

If you’re interested in checking out Wild Rompit’s music, you can find the band on Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes. For updates on their upcoming record, keep checking their website, wildrompit.com.

The post Philly Artist of the Week: Wild Rompit appeared first on The Triangle.

It’s been three years since Alicia Keys last released an album, and during that time, quite a bit has changed in her life. After marrying and having a son with producer Swizz Beatz, Keys took some time off before getting back into music. With her fifth studio release, “Girl on Fire,” released Nov. 27, Keys once again showcases the incredible consistency and unique rhythm-and-blues style that have made her a star since her 2001 debut album, “Songs in A Minor.”

[/media-credit] After a three-year hiatus, R&B star Alicia Keys released her latest album, “Girl on Fire,” Nov. 27. The album is filled with Keys’ signature sound and features artists like Nicki Minaj, Maxwell and Gary Clark Jr.

The album continues with “When It’s All Over,” one of the better songs on the album, which ends with Keys’ son, Egypt, speaking. This part will likely cause many to stop, smile and say “aww.” The calm, cool pace continues with “Listen To Your Heart,” another strong record, before transitioning to “New Day,” which was produced by Swizz Beatz and hip-hop icon Dr. Dre. This track, which is sure to be the album’s next single, features Swizz’s iconic drum patterns alongside smooth keys.

Instead of using the original version of the lead single on the album, Keys chose the “Inferno Version,” featuring Nicki Minaj, who oddly decided to whisper the majority of her verse. This rendition of the track is an incredible exhibition of Keys’ vocal range, but it loses a bit of its power and meaning with the feature choice.

For “Fire We Make,” Keys teams up with one of the kings of babymaking music, Maxwell, for the album’s lone duet. This passion-filled song comes to an end with an amazing guitar solo from Gary Clark Jr., who recently released his first major studio album, “Blak and Blu.”

“Tears Always Win,” co-written by Bruno Mars, brings back the classic Keys sound that fans have fallen in love with, followed by the album’s first true ballad in “Not Even The King.” The classic vibe continues with “That’s When I Knew,” co-produced by Babyface.

After a few soulful and powerful songs, Keys then tries to switch up to a reggaeton sound with “Limitedless,” which is clearly not a word in the English dictionary and a song that should not have made the cut for the album. She follows the odd attempt up with the Frank Ocean co-written “One Thing,” which sounds more like a song of his than hers, but it is nonetheless still very good. The album comes to an end with “101,” another ballad, which is one of Keys’ better vocal performances on “Girl on Fire.”

Despite taking a few years off, Keys clearly has not lost a step in her ability to create incredible R&B music. While there are no classic hits like she’s had in the past with “If I Ain’t Got You” or even “No One,” Keys continues to deliver at an elite level with “Girl on Fire.”

The post After three year hiatus, Keys picks up where she left off appeared first on The Triangle.