I took a lot of photos and pretty much they all tirned out like crap but here's few anyway from last night's joyous reunion show with Philadelphia's The Friggs at the Tritone on South Street. Part girl group, part sixties style garage rockers, they had the packed house dancing from the word go like they'd never been gone.

The Friggs - Shake
Buy Today Is Tomorrow's Yesterday

Some brand new music from Blitzen Trapper that picks up on the backwoods country rock vibe where Wild Mountain Nation left off. The title track from the upcoming album Furr due September 23rd on Sub Pop.














Blitzen Trapper - Furr
Buy Furr

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Hey Philadelphia music fans you'll want to be sure not to miss this week's Wednesday Night's FREE Concert In The Park at Rittenhouse Square with Gildon Works and Capitol Years. Gildon Works just released an amazing new CD called Artful Rifle and also turned in one of the best sets at this year's Philly Popped! Festival. Capitol Years are a long time Philly favorite and recently backed up Daniel Johnston on a number of his tour dates. Should be a fantastic night of music for a summer evening.
And be sure to come back in upcoming weeks as there are plenty more great nights lined up with Bitter Bitter Weeks, Jotto and more coming your way.

7-9PM Wednesday nights in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.

Gildon Works - Artful Rifle
Capitol Years - It's Not Okay

If you're a James Brown fan, I highly recommend this new 3 dvd set that was released about a week ago. Two amazing performances from 1968. I mostly know James for his music, but the Live At Boston Garden show from April 1968, the Night after Martin Luther King was shot, shows just how much power James also weilds as a proponent of civil rights. The documentary disc really puts the show in its historical context. The third disc is James live from his now legendary run of live shows at the Apollo in Harlem in March 1968. Fantastic stuff, still just as powerful over forty years later.



BUY I Got The Feelin’: James Brown in the ‘60s

DISC ONE:
The Night James Brown Saved Boston (Director’s Cut)
A film by award-wining filmmaker David Leaf and executive produced by Shout! Factory CEO Richard Foos, David Leaf Production and VH1, The Night James Brown Saved Boston focuses on one of the most historic moments in Boston and America’s musical social and political history. The night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, rioting began to tear at the fabric of America’s cities. Everybody wondered if there was anyone who could stop the violence, who could bring peace to the streets? The truth is, there was only one man – James Brown. So, on April 5, 1968, the night after Dr. King was shot and killed, James Brown took the stage for a previously scheduled show at the Boston Garden for a concert that was televised live on Boston’s public station WGBH, televised for just one reason---to keep the citizens of Boston off the streets, to try and stop a riot from starting. James Brown, a great artist at his peak, was thus thrust on to the center stage, facing the crucible moment of his career. He wasn’t known at that time as an activist, but that night, he rose to the occasion and kept Boston spell-bound with a musical tour-de-force, a performance that is considered so legendary that forty years later, Bostonians still regard it as the greatest concert the city every hosted.

Through the actual performance footage and the personal reminiscence of James Brown’s band members, the recollections of James’ friends like activist Al Sharpton and personal manager Charles Bobbitt, Boston citizens, those who attended the concert, politicians (like former Boston Mayor Kevin White) and Newsweek’s David Gates, The Night James Brown Saved Boston tells the compelling story of an artist at the absolute peak of his powers using his artistry for the greater good.

This film, which premiered at SXSW 2008 and broadcasting on VH1 on April 5, is an amazing look back at one heroic moment in James Brown’s life as a performer, a public figure and a man.

The Night James Brown Saved Boston Bonus Content:
Additional interview footage with
Rev. Al Sharpton
Dr. Cornel West
Anecdotes with Charles Bobbitt who worked with James for 40 years

DISC TWO:
James Brown Live At The Boston Garden
With cities around America reeling from sorrow, shock and anger, this is the actual April 5, 1968 concert James Brown gave at the Boston Garden as it was filmed and broadcast that fateful night. Boston PBS station WGBH agreed to televise the performance in an effort to keep the streets of Boston from erupting into violence.
Bonus Content:
Additional audio from radio simulcast
Additional interview footage with WGBH’s Director and Producer of the concert.

DISC THREE:
James Brown Live In The ‘60s – The T.A.M.I. Show, 1964 & Man To Man
The T.A.M.I. Show: James Brown’s 1964 performance of “Out Of Sight”

James Brown Live at the Apollo Theater 1968 – This was one of a series of concerts James Brown performed at the Apollo in Harlem in March 1968. This performance was taped in color and broadcast on television as Man To Man.

Photo by SinABox Photography 08.02.08 The Poison Control Center @ World Cafe Live

"Never judge a book by it's cover", I'm sure someone semi-famous probably coined that phrase, or maybe it really was my mom, or maybe it really was your mom, but it's definitely a credo you should follow. Last Saturday night I had tickets to see Apples In Stereo, when I checked the schedule, the opening band was someone I'd never heard of, a band called The Poison Control Center, all apologies to the band(who are all amazingly cool), but a name that screams "they suck, show up late". Well trust me when I say that would have been the wrong decision by a wide, wide margin. Hailing from Ames, Iowa, they put on one of the best shows I've seen in a while. Fantastic rocking songs with non stop action on stage including full somersaults by both guitar players without missing so much as a single note, and a boundless, charming stage presence. This song is not from their excellent newest disc, A Collage Of Impressions, but it was one of my personal highlights from the show. Enjoy, and check them out if they play near you,trust me you won't regret it, they're excellent. I know I won't be missing them when they come through town again.

The Poison Control Center - Upper Darby
Buy Glory Us

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A moment of tribute today for legendary Philadelphia musician Robert Hazard who died unexpectedly August 5, 2008 at age 59 after surgery for pancreatic cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. While Robert is probably best known for his song Girls Just Wanna Have Fun covered by Cyndi Lauper and more recently by Miley Cyrus, early songs like Escalator Of Life and Change Reaction established him as one of Philadelphia's finest. A great loss indeed.

Robert Hazard - Troubador
Buy Troubador

Sorry about the lack of posts over the past few days, Google's automated web scanning misidentified the site as a bag of spam and quarantined me for a few days until they could verify it was really legit. Back today with a special treat, a Bag Of Songs exclusive from Philadelphia's Canadian Invasion who have taken the track Public Witness Program from Fugazi's
In On the Kill Taker and covered it with their own decidedly cool Brit Rock spin. Brilliant.
Keep your eyes peeled as well for their upcoming full length, Three Cheers For The Invisble Hand, I've heard it, and it's one of the year's best records on it's way to a release date real soon.

Canadian Invasion - Public Witness Program (Fugazi cover)

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