BEING THERE: Made In America

Photo by DYLAN LONG Philadelphia’s annual Made in America festival made its return to the Ben Franklin Parkway this past weekend. Many in Philadelphia and beyond were well aware that going into Labor Day weekend, the major event was on the tail end of a rather contentious few weeks in the press recently. A public spat between event founder Jay-Z and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney erupted in mid-July over the future of Made in America, an incident which was quickly mitigated by a promise from Kenney to keep Made in America on the parkway for years to come. In what […]

BEING THERE: Foo Fighters @ BB&T Pavilion

Photo by DYLAN LONG The Foo Fighters have been a band for 24 years. That’s longer than I’ve been alive. When you’re in a band for that long — rehearsing, producing new albums, touring — I think it’s safe to assume that you dig what you do. A lot. So much so, that over 20 years later, you’re still out there on stage having the absolute time of your life. And lo and behold, on a beautiful July night in Camden, the Foo Fighters brought the house down in front of tens of thousands in a three-hour musical bonanza that […]

BEING THERE: Hockey Dad @ Everybody Hits

Photo by DYLAN LONG Australian rock bands are killing it right now. The Australian rock scene is chock full of bands that are sick as hell and on the come-up, and I will not hold back my enthusiasm. Eclectic jangle rockers Dune Rats just wrapped up touring as main support for the well-established surf-rock group Wavves in the UK. The joyful garage rock trio Skegss are riding a gnarly wave of sold-out shows in pretty much all major cities across Straya, with solid support from local bands Dumb Punts & Los Scallywags . Which leads us to one of the […]

BEING THERE: RL Grime @ The Electric Factory

Photo by DYLAN LONG Last night, Henry Steinway, AKA RL Grime, dropped in at the Electric Factory to spin a set of dark, high-energy bangers, dreamy interludes and catchy sing-a-longs galore. Joining him were Blood Company’s Graves and Fool’s Gold label mate Kittens, the former who is known across the EDM spectrum for his groundbreaking Diplo & Friends mix from earlier this year. The Nova Tour comes as RL is fresh off of his sixth annual Halloween Mixtape, an annual mix produced by RL consisting of the most sinister and spooky tracks that the community has offered up that year. […]

BEING THERE: Wavves + Joyce Manor @ UT

?????? Photo by DYLAN LONG Emo rockers Joyce Manor and esteemed surf-punk savants Wavves dropped by Union Transfer last night for some co-headlining shenanigans. Fans over the age of 24 were the clear outliers of the crowd; this one was for the kids. Before the main acts, we were graced with the presence of California’s Culture Abuse. For me, these guys stole the show. I’ve never witnessed a more crowd-pleasing frontman than David Kelling. He was goofy, engaging, and rambling – in short, he was himself. Turns out that Kelling has cerebral palsy. Nevertheless, the five-piece ripped through a set […]

BEING THERE: King Krule @ Union Transfer

Photo by DYLAN LONG Seeing Brit indie-weirdo sensation King Krule at Union Transfer last night, I was reminded of the wise words of the late great Bo Diddley: You can’t judge a book by lookin’ at the cover. Frail and shrimpy, the baby-faced 23 year-old Londoner looks like Ron Weasley in desperate need of a sandwich or seven. But when he opens his mouth, it’s another matter altogether. His scratchy deepwater baritone, thick Brit accent and fierce stage moves tends to stops traffic and silence skeptics — something he has been doing since the tender age of 16. His new […]

BEING THERE: A$AP Mob @ The Mann

Photo by DYLAN LONG A$AP Mob is arguably the biggest hip hop collective in the game right now. Their two first studio albums, Cozy Tapes Vols. 1 and 2, managed to blow expectations out of the water and do so in a seemingly effortless manner, all in a span of 10 months. Founded by A$AP Bari, A$AP Illz and the late A$AP Yams, the Harlem hip-hop supergroup now features household names such as A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. However when it came to showtime, the massive amounts of hype surrounding the group’s visit to Philly unfortunately couldn’t quite save the […]

BEING THERE: Metallica @ The Linc

Photo by DYLAN LONG “We don’t give a shit,” declared James Hetfield, frontman of the heavy metal machine known as Metallica, to the sold-out crowd Lincoln Financial Field last night. Hetfield then elaborated, stating that Metallica doesn’t care what you look like, what you’re wearing, what religion you practice, or your political beliefs. “We’re here to celebrate live music and being alive. This is family.” It was a touching and beautiful moment between Hetfield and the crowd, a moment which of course would be followed by imminent doom and riffs from the bowels of hell. Kicking off the night with […]

BEING THERE: Parquet Courts @ Union Transfer

Photo by DYLAN LONG Parquet Courts are a rugged rock n’ roll four piece from New York City with the wind at their backs. Fresh off a performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package that stemmed from the personal artwork of co-vocalist Andrew Savage, Parquet Courts were more than ready to keep the ball rolling with a headlining U.S. tour. For their first stop of the tour at Philly’s Union Transfer, the place was near-sold out on a Tuesday night, with the second floor balcony packed shoulder-to-shoulder and the downstairs GA […]

INCOMING: Blessed Are The Noisemakers

  At a time when country-wide manifestations of unwavering political dissent are sending powerful shockwaves down the fabric of our nation, there has been arguably no better time in recent history to be a politically charged punk band. Take, for example, Priests. Described by Spin Magazine as “vital post-punk for Trump’s America,” Priests have created an undeniably impactful blend of unabashed empowerment, well-crafted melodies with healthy doses of punk and a track record of influential political activism and inclusivity. The Washington, D.C.-based four-piece consists of Daniele Daniele on drums, Katie Alice Greer on vocals, G.L. Jaguar on guitar and Taylor […]

BEING THERE: Twin Peaks @ Union Transfer

Photo by DYLAN LONG Chicagoan indie rockers Twin Peaks and openers together PANGEA and Golden Daze showed up at Union Transfer and they brought with them good times in the form of luscious and high-energy rock n’ roll. Having seen Twin Peaks open up for surf rockers Wavves before, I can personally attest to how solid of a group they are. With a mixture of power pop and jangle rock with some seriously rockin’ harmonies, it’s good stuff, plain and simple. LA-based Golden Daze, a six piece band with count ‘em four guitarists, was first up and nothing short of […]

THE ORWELLIAN: Q&A W/ Guitarist Dominic Corso

Photo by LORENZO BULFONE via NO SHADES PHOTOGRAPHY BY DYLAN LONG Known for their raucous, no-fucks-given rock & roll and their absolutely iconic TV debut on Letterman, The Orwells are 5-piece rock band from Elmhurst, IL with soon-to-be 3 studio albums under their belt. Formed in 2009, The Orwells are comprised of cousins Mario Cuomo and Dominic Corso on lead vox and guitar respectively, and twin brothers Grant and Henry Brinner and Matt O’Keefe on bass, drums and guitar respectively. As they prepare to embark on tour to support their new album Terrible Human Beings, guitarist Dominic Corso took the […]

BEING THERE: The Garden In North Philly

Photo by DYLAN LONG Wyatt and Fletcher Shears are The Garden, and they like their Chipotle. This of course I learned from walking around Temple University’s campus on Saturday with my friend Natalie, and running into them just a few hours before their headlining gig in North Philly. We asked to hang out with them, and they said sure. Fletcher was very kind, and made small talk with us whilst we were lowkey stoned as hell and utterly perplexed by the situation unfolding before us. We decided to play it cool by abruptly leaving the restaurant mid-conversation, unable to properly […]