Foxy Python's Flying Circus

10/1/10

Show Review: Bess Rogers & Allie Moss

I was just reading a great article on a busy musician in Citypaper, which reminded me of a little tour that dropped by Messiah for our first B-sides this semester. A couple years back, indie-pop singer-songwriter (oh hyphens) Ingrid Michaelson played a big show here, and evidently the band enjoyed it. Last spring, Bess Rogers and Allie Moss, both members of Ingrid's touring band, were scheduled to play at B-sides when one of the Snowpocalypses hit and blocked all roads from NYC to central PA. As you may remember, I was managing Marc Seeley (aka Letters from the Prom) at the time, and he graciously played a second b-sides gig as a substitute.

Undaunted, the ladies rescheduled and joined us for the opening show of the fall semester on September 1st. Moss warmed the crowd up with intimate folk ballads, then Rogers batted clean-up with bouncier kernels of indie-pop goodness. Worth the wait? Probably.

9/9/10

The Fox and The Hound Show

My roommate Jared High and I have a weekly radio show on 90.7 FM WVMM, Messiah College Radio. Tuesdays from 9-11 PM you can hear us play whatever we feel like playing. Last week we gave away a pair of tickets to see Spoon and The Shackeltons in Harrisburg, as well as a pair for the Immature Comedy Tour at Carlisle Theater - both on September 11. Listen in to hear what we've been pumping through our overly large room sound system, special guest stars (most recently our roommate Matt Hannigan of local band House Exit), and possibly win more free stuff. If you don't live locally, listen online at http://www.messiah.edu/wvmm/listen.html

Show Review: The Juliana Theory Reunion

For those who don't know, The Juliana Theory was a Pittsburgh 6-piece act that participated in the huge growth of emo/screamo in the late 90s and early 00s before breaking up in 2006. The frontman went solo, and 3 other members formed a band called Vesta. This year they played 6 shows as a celebration of the 10th anniversary of their influential album Emotion Is Dead.

I was able to catch their show in Philly at The Troc (my favorite venue) with my sister. We have been listening to The Juliana Theory since about 2007, and always regretted not being able to see them live, so this was a phenomenal opportunity.

They took the stage a bit later than expected, but the sold-out crowd was mostly getting drinks in the upstairs bar section, an older demographic than the average show here. Opening with a set of favorites from their other albums, the band gradually overcame an initial awkwardness between frontman Brett Detar and the rest of the members. This discomfort was consistent with the rumors about his ego causing their split, and clearly evidenced by his obvious enjoyment of working the crowd, etc., while the instrumentalists seemed to slog through as one would a desk job. [edit: an insider assures me this is not the case and that the band thoroughly enjoys each others' company both onstage and off]

When they returned to play EID in its entirety, the crowd's excitement and their own love of the songs overcame their differences and led to much more showmanship and interaction from all of the band members. They easily surmounted the challenges of playing songs they'd never done live before, such as "Something Isn't Right Here", much to the crowd's satisfaction. The absolutely epic 'big rock ending' of "Goodnight, Goodnight" had hardly faded when crowd chanting brought them back for a further encore so lengthy as to almost be called a third set.

The band's comfort on stage, once it developed, was obvious, cracking jokes about a fight with security the last time they played The Troc and wondering why Philly always provides a better crowd than their home in Pittsburgh. Their showmanship throughout was phenomenal, with Brett's magnetic personality and elvish Michael Jackson appearance centering it all as the crowd sang along. I only wish I could go see them again like the multiple fans present planning on traveling to all 6 shows.

Free Download: Cuey Sings The Blues

OnCue just released his mixtape Cuey Sings The Blues on Tuesday, which you might remember from my previous post. It features extensive production by my man CJ Luzi, whose official website http://www.cjluzi.com is now up! You can find a download link on that page. Check them both out, give it a listen, and support hip-hop sampling from some different sources. Seems like big names are getting on board with this type of project now that Kanye has Bon Iver singing on his tracks and whatnot. This is the next big thing.If you like what you hear, get at them on Facebook: OnCue & CJ Luzi.