Show Review: Kyle Rictor

Former Messiah student Kyle Rictor and his wife Kelsey graced the b-sides stage with their tight harmonies and thoughtful lyrics this Wednesday. Seeing Kyle under lights on a stage in a huge space was a much different vibe from when he played an apartment in the SALT House last semester, but the contrast between his imposing frame and beautifully fragile vocals was just as striking. The two of them had an impressive command of the crowd, with audience chit-chat remarkably subdued for such a laid-back act. Rictor's clever personification of addiction on cigarette sendup "Little Miss Nicotine" was a crowd favorite. Listen to the MP3 on his blog here.

Sycamore House Garden Fundraiser

photo of Darry Miller & the Veil courtesy of Reverb Nation

For those of you in the Harrisburg area, Flying Circus fam Darry Miller & the Veil, along with Matt Wagner & friends will be playing tomorrow around 8 PM at the Allison Hill Sycamore House as part of a fundraiser for a community garden they are starting. I'll be DJing the afters, thanks to my man Phil Wilmot. [RSVP on Facebook]
I'll probably be playing jams like this:

The Fox and the Hound Show with Bishop's Garden

This week's show featured a live performance by Maryland pop-rockers Bishop's Garden. Pick up their EP at CD Baby here. If you aren't already at their show tonight at the Recher, catch them at the Manhattan Beach Club April 22.

RIP Troubador

Flying Circus favorites Troubador, who played my birthday show, among other fabulous events, have officially broken up. Don't know how it took a month for this to come to my attention, but Erika broke the news on her blog. The South Jersey music scene (such as it is) will miss them.

Getting Some Artist Love

Every once in a while an artist is impressed enough by what I've said about them here to link to it or quote it in one of their media outlets. While many might post a link on Facebook or Twitter, a few have paid me the respect of doing so in a more permanent way:

• Will Gray posted my review of his show at b-sides on his blog. [this review]

• Alex Brubaker has a link to one of my show reviews up on his Myspace. [this review]

• MC Psalmist quotes me in his SonicBids EPK under "Press". [this review]

• Kyle Rictor includes me on his website under "Fan Testimonials". [this review]

Photo of Kyle & Kelsey Rictor courtesy of Megan Kelley

• For those interested, you should come see Kyle Rictor at B-sides on Wednesday.

• MC Psalmist recently put out the Friends'n'Family mixtape with some of the artists who also played the show I reviewed at MCPC.

• Alex Brubaker will be playing with Suzi Brown, who has been on The Fox and the Hound, at The Whole Cannoli on Saturday the 26th (I'm missing it for my sentencing in Wilmington, DE).

• Will Gray has a great documentary out about the music business called *Broke. It features interviews with everyone from John Legend to vice presidents of labels like Sony and Columbia.

Show Review: Joe Whyte Band

Whenever a band is advertised as a country act, I get nervous. While I love classic acts like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, and country-skirting genres like bluegrass and folk are among my favorites, the average country radio hit is more likely than almost anything else to elicit a cringe. Joe Whyte Band, therefore, went to work from the bottom of a pretty deep hole.

That said, I enjoyed the show. Turns out NYC country means hipster Americana posturing, something I've been semi-guiltily consuming in mass quantities since the beginning of my collegiate experience. While contrived identification with our parents' or grandparents' era working class is an odd cultural contrivance, someone once said that all art comes from someone loving something so much that they wanted there to be more of it. From that latter, more generous perspective, Joe Whyte's NYC origins are merely an easy liberation from the annoying twang and unconsciously derivative songwriting that makes me despise most country, and for that reason this is a band that I can enjoy, even if only as background music to what turned out to be a better-than-expected evening with friends. By the time the band left the stage for Joe's solo acoustic closer, the hole they'd been working out of had been left far behind.

Jack White's Rolling Record Store

Jack White is awesome. His record label, Third Man Records, built him a record store/DJ booth/recording studio on a bus to travel around and bring the joys of records to kids everywhere. Big up the indie rock soundman! (via Paste)

P.S. Somebody get me one of these!

The Fox and the Hound Show - Mardi Gras & The Deacon Cross

This week's radio show was jam-packed with visitors; people literally stood outside the studio in the hall hanging out with the door open. We had the author of The Deacon Cross, the editor of The Swinging Bridge, the former president of Alpha Gamma Rho at Penn State, and Emilio Estevez, among others.

Be sure to become a fan of The Deacon Cross to receive a free copy of the first chapter!

Show Review: Joy Ike

Joy Ike subverts the dichotomy between indie singer-songwriter and R&B chanteuse. Her simple keys and vocals, backed by her sister Peace Ike on djembe and vocals, both capture attention and provide the perfect backdrop to an evening with friends. In this space between Regina Spektor and Alicia Keys, catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics combine to bring pop songs worthy of more widespread attention. Live, the sisterly duo is engaging and funny, going so far as to break out a Flip video camera so an audience member could film this singalong:With a little buzz from NPR and help from fellow songwriting sister Peace, it will be interesting to see just where Joy goes in the next year or two.

Rockaphilly

Finally, a proper replacement for my old monthly show schedules! New website http://rockaphilly.com hosts a complete listing of Philadelphia concert venues organized by neighborhood, as well as a list of upcoming shows and ticket prices. This will be an indispensable tool for me when I move back in the fall. It's kind of like Citypaper or Philadelphia Weekly, only more comprehensive, online, and not supported by prostitution advertisements (yet).
Thanks to Phil Smith for bringing this to my attention! (apparently his cousin Mike Curving did some programming for the project)

OnCue - It Usually Goes

Little bit of a spelling issue on the word "hymen", but a dope track from my man CJ Luzi sampling Eisley's "Ambulance". New OnCue! Bit late cause I gotta catch up on this jawn... Cuey's "Can't Wait" coming soon! [free download]

The Fox and the Hound Show - 3/1

This week's radio show features tracks by Chicken Little, mewithoutYou, Letters from the Prom, The New Division remix of "Lisztomania, and many other Flying Circus favorites. Don't forget to become a fan and tune in each week from 9-11 PM Eastern. Next week we'll have J.M. Ruth, author of The Deacon Cross, who has been posting a soundtrack for the book called "Pudge's iPod".

KNO Clothing Video

Remember KNO Clothing? Jared, Liz and I DJed their launch party a while back, Phil Wilmot has done some modeling for them, and they are a great organization headed by some genuinely nice guys. They are involved in a contest to win $100,000 in marketing help, and need as many views as possible of this video by March 20th in order to advance to the semi-finals. Watch, tell your friends, and get involved with this wonderful organization working to end homelessness!