So as I previously posted, I received a free demo from the Mustard Plug, Voodoo Glow Skulls show featuring Voodoo Glow Skulls and Streetlight Manifesto’s new albums. Here are two new tracks off their highly anticipated album “Somewhere In The Between”. If the album is like these two songs, then we can expect a damn good ole’ Streetlight Manifesto album!

Random Note:
When I first saw the cover art, I completely hated it, thinking it was boring. But now after looking at it closely and finally “getting it”, I really like it a lot.

BUY:
Victory

Short Version:

PhillySka threw an amazing show featuring Mustard Plug, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Left Alone, and Bomb The Music Industry. Both Mustard Plug and Voodoo played tightly, and sounded amazing. Bomb the Music Industry played a bit more sloppily, but definitely had the stage presence to make up for it. Oh and I got a demo from the show that has 2 new Streetlight songs on it, which I will post sometime soon.

Long Version:

After circling the blocks in west Philly a few times, we finally found parking and made our way up to the venue, the Philafunk. While I initially thought this place looked like a dive from the front, I was surprised by the intimate setting inside, with a crowd of about 150. Philafunk has become my favorite venue I’ve ever been to. The stage was tiny, and I was looking forward to watching how a ska band would fit all of it’s members up on there.

Bomb The Music Industry:

Ahh… Bomb the Music Industry. Everyone’s favorite hipster hating ska/punk band. Perfect timing. As I entered, Bomb the Music Industry took the stage and ripped through their setlist. It was good to see many members from The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches up on stage with Jeff, and they had (almost) the same energy as ASOB. I know BTMI tends to have a sloppier sound, but it sounded really off. You could barely here anything but the drums, as their sound levels weren’t balanced, and Jeff’s voice sounded strained. He then apologized for the “shitty” singing, as he lost his voice 2 days ago. Nevertheless, they played with a lot of energy, jumping around the cramped stage (where they were seriously, shoulder to shoulder). I don’t rememeber their entire setlist but a few songs they played were:

I’m A Panic Bomb, Baby!
Funcoland vs. The Southern Electrorate
Unlimited Breadsticks, Soup, and Salad Days
Job Shmobs (I think)
I Don’t Love You Anymore
Congratulations John, On Joining Everytime I Die.

Left Alone:

To be honest, I don’t know anything about this band, but this hornless act played some solid ska/punk songs with a few dedicated fans that happened to know every word. They seemed to be getting a little pissed that the entire crowd weren’t moshing around to them, but seriously guys, you can’t expect people who have no idea who you are to go crazy, especially when patiently waiting for Voodoo Glow Skulls to go on. Don’t be so self-conscience and just rock out, and then people will follow.

Voodoo Glow Skulls

The crowd was obviously amped for VGS. These so-cal skacore fiends tore up the stage with their special blend of ska, and took no prisoners as they stomped through their set consisting of many songs off their newest release “Southern California Street Music”. They were the first band of the night that played tight, with the horns being crispier than the kreme, and the unique vocals cutting through all of the music. Plenty of mic grabs and stage dives (well, the stage was seriously 2 feet about the ground) for these guys.

Some highlights:

Fat Randy
The Ballad Of Froggy McNasty
Ugly Stick
Human Pinata
Left For Dead
Say Goodnight (I think)

Mustard Plug:

Man, it’s been waaaay too long since I’ve last seen these guys (3 yrs ago). Being a fan of them for quite some time, I was really stoked to learn that they were going on tour (through our interview) in order to promote their new cd “In Black And White”. As they were mic-checking, it became evident that one of the monitors didn’t work, and they proudly proclaimed “Fuck monitors! We’re punk rock, we can do this without it!” When they started, they MP threw a hardcore curveball, opening with one of their earlier songs “Skank By Numbers”. This pitch took the entire crowd by surprise, which we gladly obliged and skanked throughout their entire set. They also played incredibly tight, even without their monitors. Playing a surprisingly amount off “Big Daddy Multitude”,I managed to grab their setlist:

Skank By Numbers
Time To Wake Up
Lolita
You
Go!
Hit Me! Hit Me!
Throw A Bomb
Something New
Freshman (The Verve Pipe Cover)
Mendoza
Tell Me
You Can’t Go Back
Mr. Smiley (SUPER STOKED for this one)
Brain On Ska
Real Rat Bastard
Yesterday
Over The Edge
Beer

Encore:
Thigh High Nylons
We’re Gunna Take On The World

As you can see, they played a strong mix of most of their albums EXCEPT Yellow #5 (one that I hold dear to my heart), but nonetheless, it was an amazing show.

Highlight:

Getting a free Mustard Plug sticker, the same one I received years ago when I first saw Mustard Plug back in high school. That one sticker took me way back.

BUY:
Mustard Plug

VGS

BTMI

I skipped out on my company’s karaoke night last night to see Ravens and Chimes at Union Hall. As fun as it would have been to see my co-workers drunkenly belt out “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” I think I made the right choice. Despite being down a band member Ravens and Chimes put on a fun high energy show complete with flute and keyboards. They’ve got a couple more New York Show’s coming up so if you’re around I’d definitely recommend checking them out. As for karaoke, there will be a next time and I think you all know what song I’ll sing.

MP3: Ravens and Chimes- January
MP3: Ravens and Chimes- Ceneral Lafayette! You Are Not Alone

Buy:
Better Looking Records
Insound

I seriously can’t stop listening to The Coup’s “Kill My Landlord” lately. What makes The Coup better than any hip hop group you listen to, and making themselves KRS-ONE type quality? Two reasons:

-The sick, original, funk influenced beats.
-Socialist, intelligent, humorous lyrics.

Rapping against capitalism, police brutality, sexism, and racism definitely make listening to The Coup an intellectual experience, and throw in some humorous (often violent) lyrics and you’ve got yourself one of the greatest rap groups of all time.

BUY

Say Hi (formerly, To Your Mom) has a new album out titled The Wishes and the Glitch. It doesn’t hit stores till Feburary 5^th 2008, but oh, don’t worry. You can buy it from them right now in MP3 format DRM-free! Do it. The new album covers similar themes to earlier records- video games, crushes, spiders and delivers all the catchy hooks I was hoping for but I think there’s more of a full band sound. I had a really hard time picking just two songs to post.

MP3: Say Hi- Magic Beans and Truth Machines
MP3: Say Hi- Bluetime

And that’s not all. There’s a tour. As I’ve written before Say Hi puts on an awesome live show so if they’re coming to your town or nearby don’t miss em!

Tour Dates
Buy the Album

I’ve been playing ping pong lately… a whole lot of ping pong.

Ping Pong Mix
MP3: Optimus Rhyme- Ping Pong Song (live)
MP3: Maps- Back and Forth
MP3: The Sea and Cake- Sporting Life
MP3: Operator Please- Just a Song About Ping Pong

And I don’t reccommend actually downloading this but I figured I might as well post it.
MP3: General Sounds- Ping Pong Volly

Buy: The Ramones, Optimus Rhyme, Maps, The Sea and Cake, Operator Please

Last night I skated for the first time in a while (and a while is about a week for me), and I think it’s about time for a tribute to everyone else who either currently/used aggressive inline skates/skateboards/or BMX. If you used to it and quit, I highly recommend picking it up again. Here’s to you kid.

Aggressive Inline Skate:
MP3: Against All Authority – Sk8 Rock

This is what I personally do. Probably the least popular of the three, aggressive inline skating has a small, but loyal following. So here’s a tribute to all of my brothers and sisters rocking the boots. Against All Authority is the only band I know of that wrote a song about this awesome lifestyle.

Skateboarding:
MP3: Bones Brigade – I Hate Myself When I’m Not Skateboarding

There are a LOT of skateboarders out there. Some never get past the ollie stage, some are really damn good. Regardless, props for doing what you love. Wanna get amped real quick to lace that rail? Just pop in Bones Brigade and you’ll be hitting that rail in no time.

Biking:
MP3: Bouncing Souls – BMX Song

Sure, inlining is scary when you’re doing a trick because it’s attached to your feet, and there is no escape if you mess up, but taking a spill and then having a bike land on you is probably just terrifying. Bouncing Souls representin you guys.

I’m also reeeally curious as to if any of you do/did these. Which one? And if you quit, why?
BUY:
AAA
Bones Brigade
Bouncing Souls

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XJWi6c1n90]

I don’t mean to make this site a You Ain’t No Picasso mirror but I just saw this video over there and couldn’t help posting it. Arcade Fire covering the Violent Femme’s wonderful song Kiss Off. Fantastic.

I finally picked up a copy of the new Weakerthans album Reunion Tour. While their previous album Reconstruction Site covered some distressing territory the rocking music gave the feeling of a joyful decent into darkness. This time out things have gotten heavier. The clearest example of this is the sequel to Reconstructions Site’s Plea From A Cat Named Virtute, titled Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure. Last we heard Virtue was not too happy, this time she has given up and left.

While this album doesn’t have too many sing along anthems (there are a few, Civil Twilight being my favorite) I really like these new quieter songs. It amazes me that Samson can anthropomorphizes a fictional cat to the point that lyrics like this seriously bum me out.

“I would wait for you to arrive with kibble and a box full of beer
How I’d scratch the empties desperate to hear
You make the sound that you found for me”

MP3: The Weakerthans- Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure
MP3: The Weakerthans- Civil Twilight

Buy:
Insound
Amazon

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ilZGn8CPsA]

During last week’s episode of the Office I got really excited while watching a commercial for some ugly SUV. “Why am I getting excited watching this car commercial?” I asked myself. Then I noticed that the background music was The Clash’s cover of Pressure Drop. I should mention that in college I played this song so loud in the dorm that my neighbor started throwing her shoes at our adjoining wall (I don’t know why she thought this would do any good.)

Anyway the Clash’s version actually isn’t my favorite. The Specials rock this song out so hard that everytime I listen to it my brain almost explodes. I’m pretty sure I could listen to this song everday for the rest of my life. It’s one of my favorite songs of all time.

The original is actually a little slow for me but I like it. It’s definitely a 100% solid reggae tune.

This isn’t a cover of Pressure Drop but around minute 1:15 he does steal a line from the song. I had heard the song a few times before I picked up on it but when I finally noticed I was beyond excited.

MP3: The Mountain Goats- I Know You’ve Come to Take My Toys Away

Buy: Toots and the Maytals, The Clash, The Specials, The Mountain Goats