Don't forget to set your clocks forward on Sunday.

Quick Reminder: You can always let me know about stuff you have going on. If it's music related (shows, readings, films, etc), I'm interested. I typically write this newsletter on Wednesday evenings, so consider that the cutoff for an issue.

If you like what you're reading, tell a friend, or feel free to reply and say hi. Thanks!

Party on,

Maria T

Friday 3/7

A Tribute to Susan Alcorn @ Church of the Atonement

When pedal steel guitar player Susan Alcorn died unexpectedly on January 31 it sent shockwaves through the experiemental/avant garde community. A fearless explorer, her music left an impact on all those who encountered it, myself included. (If this is the first you're learning about Susan Alcorn, the Quietus published a stellar guide to her music yesterday.) The first time I saw her perform (I want to say 2014, with Ava Mendoza???) it was one of those moments where the universe shifted for me. I just didn't realize you could play the pedal steel like that.

The venerable Fire Museum has put together a lineup of musicians from Philly, Baltimore, and NYC—including Bill Nace, Sam Wenc, and Rose Thomas Bannister, among others—to pay tribute to Alcorn and raise money for her partner, David Lobato.

"Jad Fair: Paper Cuttings and Drawings" Opening Reception @ Space 1026

Best known as one half of the long-running art weirdo group Half Japanese, Jad Fair has been making artworks out of paper cuttings for most of the band's existence (and grace the cover of many of the band's releases). Space 1026's show will have 100 of Fair's works on view, and a special signed edition silkscreen will be available for purchase at the opening reception. The news of this show appeared kinda out of nowhere, which feels totally on brand for any Fair-related project.

Saturday 3/8

Avengers, Lupo Citta, Grace Vonderkuhn @ Nikki Lopez Foto Club

Nikki Lopez, Philly's newest spot for live music happens to be a familiar face to a certain vintage of concert goers: It's the former J.C. Dobbs/Pontiac Grille space, now booked by the folks behind the NYC venue Scenic. (What fun, this show got moved to Foto Club due to permit issues. -m.)

As part of their inaugural run of shows, they've got Bay Area punk legends The Avengers gracing the stage. The band worked with Steve Jones for their lone official release before calling it quits in 1978, though not without leaving a huge impression for countless folks over the past 40 years. The Avengers resurfaced at the turn of the millennium for their Lookout! reissues and have been an ongoing-ish concern ever since.

Lupo Città—"wolf city" in Italian—features another rock legend, Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine, Martha's Vineyard Ferries, etc), in one of his many rock iterations. This time around he's joined by Sarah Black and Jenn Gori, late of the Minneapolis punkers the Bleeding Hickeys. Lupo Città's self-titled debut on 12XU was one of my faves of 2024, twisting woozy noirish guitars around girl group melodies. It's damn good music from these indie rock lifers.

Sunday 3/9

Victor Vieira-Branco: How to Book a Tour @ Vox Populi

A tour? In this economy? If that's your bag, musician Victor Vieira-Branco will discuss the ins and outs of how to do it. Someone needs to explain it, because Book Your Own Fuckin' Life is long out of print. Take note: This conversation starts at the ungodly, unpunk hour of 11:00 AM. Remember what I told you about the clocks, gang.

Wednesday 3/12

Brandee Younger Trio @ Solar Myth

Two nights of stellar harp music from the Grammy Award-winning artist whose work builds upon the legacies of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, while also moving the instrument into a while new realm of its own. Part of Ars Nova's 25th anniversary celebration this spring. Runs through March 13.

In comparison to last week, this one feels light but it's certainly anything but.

You've got to look into the LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT,

Maria T

Friday 2/28

Frail, Windsor for the Derby, Pyre @ First Unitarian Church

This show is so beyond sold out that I have to wonder why I'm even writing about it in the first place, but if I didn't mention it, my indie cred would be on the line. (Heh, indie cred, as if that matters in *checks notes* 2025.)

Every generation of teenage boys get their straightedge hardcore manic pixie dream girls version of Minor Threat. For those growing up in the Philly suburbs circa 1993, that was Frail. Without them, there would be no Ink & Dagger, Mandela Strikeforce, AM/FM, Pizza Shackamaxon, Launderette Records or whatever. I'm skipping over a bunch of things. My point is that Frail's legacy in Philly punk/DIY is well-cemented and this reunion gig to celebrate the release of their Numero Group singles compilation is not to be missed. Someone's gotta have an extra ticket you can snap up.

Kicking things off are screamo New Kids on the Block Pyre and Windsor for the Derby, best known as being part of the first wave of post-rock bands with releases on Trance Syndicate and Secretly Canadian, and known to a wider audience with their appearance on the official soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette.

Parallel, Oldest Sea, eX-Tradition, Spiral Path @ Foto Club

Across town it's a battle of the Boss BF-2’s in the form of eX-Tradition and Spiral Path, featuring members of local goth greats the Ire. Oakland's Parallel hit the 4AD sweet spot quite nicely.

Trupa Trupa, No Good Crowd @ Silk City

In scholarly circles, singer and guitarist Grzegorz Kwiatkowski is known as a poet and activist uncovering and reckoning with the Poland's role in the Holocaust and its aftermath. As part of the Gdańsk-based post-punk group Trupa Trupa, Kwiatkowski explores those same topics but with a more psychedelic hand, creating a universe where Can, Syd Barrett, and Fugazi collide. It's not so much protest music as it is process music, vividly documenting the duress and exhaustion of struggle.

Saturday 3/1

Bevis Frond, Oneida @ Johnny Brenda's

My notes for this show read, "Holy shit," and honestly what more can I say? Since the 1980’s BF mastermind Nick Saloman has been churning out one psych rock masterpiece after another. The Bevis Frond are your favorite psychedelic band's favorite band, and it's their first tour in 25 years. They'll joined by America's finest purveyors of krautrock, Oneida. I’ve long loved this band since my days of packing up orders in the Insound Annex but 2022’s Success was one of the things keeping my wits together as the world began to emerge from the quarantine haze. Their show at Jerry’s last year was a ripper. Expect more of the same. Every record store clerk within a 100-mile radius of Philly is gonna be there. I don't know if that's good or bad, I'm just letting youse know.

Monday 3/3

WFMU's Annual Marathon @ 90.1/91.1 FM and wfmu.org

Radio station WFMU may not be in our immediate listening area, but it’s close enough. Thanks to the magic of the internet, people around the world get to bask in their glory, and Philly bands of all kinds have benefitted from having their music featured on its airwaves (even me). Independent media has always mattered, but in this particular moment it's even needed now more than ever. WFMU's annual drive keeps the station lights on all year long, and features an incredible lineup of programming (including Yo La Tengo performing song requests in exchange for donations). Runs through March 16.

A little housekeeping:

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Some folks have inquired about how to support this newsletter more directly, so I have turned on the paid subscription feature. Any contribution over $3 entitles you to a premium subscription, which includes 1 year of bonus content (beginning with your next issue), along with access to the web version and archives.

Enjoy it as-is? That’s fine too. The weekly picks are always going to be free. OK enough with the hard sell, time for the good stuff. I’m just happy that you’re here.

{% else %}

If you’ve donated/tipped to support this newsletter in the past, congrats, you’re now a premium subscriber.

There's some bonus picks in this newsletter for you. You also have access to the web version of this email and full archives for the next year. More fun stuff coming this spring! I mean it! Thanks!

{% endif %}

Maria T

Thursday 2/20

Landowner, Open Head, Sweepers @ MOMA II

It might be easy to qualify this as "angular" post-punk (ugh, such a dreaded phrase) if only because of the precise interplay between the melody and rhythm, but this feels expansive in a way defies the instrumental parameters. On their most recent release, 2023's Escape the Compound, Western Mass's Landowner pair the music's breakneck speed with singer Dan Shaw's lyrics about the technocratic dystopian hellscape that is, uh, our current reality. Shaw's lyrics punch with the same intensity as Albini's once did, and with a similar efficacy. Also on the bill are Hudson Valley no-wavers Open Head, and Sweepers, a local group dabbling in the Minutemen loud-fast thing with a little less precision than Landowner but still awesome. (Truth in advertising: They do have a broom in the band and sometimes sing about it. You know me—I love a weird gimmick.)

Mdou Moctar (acoustic), Janel Leppin @ First Unitarian Church - Sanctuary

I already wrote about the DE show a couple weeks back, but I feel like it would be a glaring oversight if I didn't his proper Philly engagement. Also, maybe you weren't subscribed the last time around, so this is your first time hearing about it. Mdou Moctar is in a class of his own, and we are so lucky to have him come around to the area twice in support of his newest release, Funeral for Justice and its acoustic companion, Tears of Injustice, both on the Matador label.

Saturday 2/22

Two Piece Fest @ Ukie Club

If you have been missing the freewheeling chaotic vibes of a Pilam Human BBQ (RIP), Two Piece Fest is the perfect substitute. Organized by Craig Woods and Peter Helmis since 2008, the festival celebrates the magic of duos. This year's installment spans two days, and as usual is packed with a pretty wide range of sounds and styles, though this year's lineup feels West Philly-centric.

Come for the debut of Deathbird Earth (members of Dangerbird and Psychic Teens), stay for members of the Dead Milkmen (7th victim) and Stinking Lizaveta (Planet Y), at least one David Fishkin project that I could identify on sight (Righteous Aquarium & Jet Lightspeed), and an appearance from the HIRS Collective, who have played almost every installment of the festival to date.

Lineup (see website for order, etc): 7th victim | BORExHOLE | Brown Rainbow | Deathbird Earth | George Korein and Colin Marston | Good Pollution (ATX) | Judgment Night OST | Morgue Arcana | Origami Angel | peter&craig | Planet Y | Red Brick | Righteous Aquarium & Jet Lightspeed | sandcastle | snoozer | The Great Cackler | the HIRS collective | Yankee Bluff

Runs through 2/23.

The Templars, Legion 76, Béton Armé, No Time, The Slads @ Underground Arts

This is an absolutely solid night of Oi! in the Hostile City headlined the legendary Long Island group The Templars (who recently saw their early 1990s material reissued), alongside some punk en québecois courtesy of Montreal's Béton Armé. Pittsburgh's No Time, locals The Slads (featuring R5's Jeff Ziga on drums), and Legion 76 round things out. Put some orthotics in those Docs and you're good to go.

Sunday 2/23

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat & Becoming Led Zeppelin @ Bryn Mawr Film Institute

Two music documentaries make their way to the Main Line. BMFI recently finished upgrading its theaters with brand new 4K, 70mm, and 35mm projectors, and their budget-friendly ticket prices and concessions are still some of the best around. Settle in for a double feature.

Starring Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, the Academy Award-nominated Soundtrack centers on the role of jazz during the Cold War. Come for the music, stay for the covert CIA assassination plot. I've said too much.

Also on the schedule is the new band-authorized Led Zeppelin film chronicling the early years of the group thanks to recently discovered interviews with the late John Bonham.

Both films through 2/27.

Now that the big game is over and the Eagles have emerged victorious, we can return to the other thing Philadelphia does well: music.

Have fun at the parade, and don't flip any cars (again).

Fly Eagles Fly,

Maria T

Dear Readers,

Gonna keep this week's newsletter short and sweet.

A new installment of the local compilation series supporting Gaza relief efforts is out. It features a variety of local acts, including Mesh, who were namechecked in last week's edition of the newsletter. Proceeds support the Gaza Soup Kitchen.

Have a listen to Pomegranate Seeds: An International Benefit for Mutual Aid in Gaza

It's another great week of shows. Everything else is garbage. Well that's not entirely true—you're all reading this newsletter. Your continued support and words of encouragement are deeply appreciated.

Drone not drones,

Maria T

There is a lot of great stuff happening this week and next if you are willing to brave the weather.

Taking the Rough with the Smooch,

Maria T

Happy New Year and welcome back! Hope you are staying warm.

Expanding the scope of this week's newsletter since things are pretty light.

On a more serious note: Here is a running list of mutual aid groups helping people and animals on the ground in Los Angeles that is being coordinated by the Mutual Aid LA Network.

Maria T

This week's newsletter contains picks through January 8, as I'll be on vacation. The next edition will arrive 1/9.

As we wrap up this year in preparation for the next, I just wanted to say it's been a blast writing this. I do my best to listen to almost every show lineup I see listed. Yes, there's a lot of things I'm just not into (sorry [REDACTED]), but on the whole, the sheer amount of quality makes the act of figuring out the 5 things for this newsletter incredibly difficult. Well done, musicians.

Questions, comments, fruitcake recipes? Send 'em my way. HMU if you can explain why there are two local bands beginning with the name Wallace who always seem to play within a week of each other. Who is asking for this.

As always, tell a friend. Expect some fun stuff in the coming year. Thank you for reading.

Well, well, well, we meet again.

If you have not yet, consider swinging by Macy's to have a listen to the Wanamaker Organ in its full-throated holiday glory. As the great Half Man Half Biscuit once sang, it's clichèd to be cyncial at Christmas.

As always, thanks for reading,

Maria T

Welcome back, readers. I hope the holidays were kind to you and the leftovers plentiful.

Yr pal,

Maria T

Due to the upcoming holiday (and that I will be on vacation) Sound Advice will return for its next issue on 12/5. Here's an extra side or two of musical stuffing.

Thanks again for reading, enjoy the long weekend!

Set adrift in a tryptophan bliss,

Maria T

Aloha Reader,

We made it through the last week and honestly, congrats to all of us. Celebrate by deleting your Twitter account and attending one of these fine events.

As always: if you like this newsletter, tell a friend.

Cowed by the Bla Bla,

Dearest Gentle Readers,

Music can be a salve in these difficult times. Hope you are hanging in there.

Stay strong,

Maria T

🎃 Happy Halloween 🎃

If you are able to pull yourself away from panicking over the election, here are a couple of worthwhile shows. More to come next week.

BOOO 👻

Hope everyone's still enjoying this thing—it's really fun for me! And if you are new here, welcome.

What kind of monster are you,

Maria T

Hi! Can't believe this is installment number four of Sound Advice already. Time flies!

Thanks so much for reading—it's seriously appreciated. If you are enjoying this, please share with a friend.

This week: You like guitars? Yeah, me too.

Plug in,

Oh hi there. Thanks for reading.

Before I begin I wanted to give a shout-out to the excellent "what are you doing" newsletter. I don't know who writes it, but it's a great rundown of arts and culture stuff that isn't music. So if you're in need of that sort of thing—and you are—subscribe over here. With the way these disparate-yet-similar efforts keep springing up, it's almost as if there's a legitimate need for an alternative weekly again or something to connect the dots 👀

Anyhow, here we are now, entertain us,

Maria T

Welcome back. Thanks for reading and clicking through or whatever. Tell a friend about this newsletter? Please?

Break out your finest pair of shoes with orthopedic support, we're going concert hopping. A lot of good shows this week, all of them happening on the same night or throughout the course of a day. Make sure to stretch, drink some water, and get food in ya.

Please don’t call it Rocktober,

Maria T

Are you there God? It's-a me, Maria T.

Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Vague Plot, ABACABA

Saturday, September 28
at the Pottery Gym (1319 North Randolph Street)
8:00 PM | $15 | Tickets