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
Unless noted otherwise, shows are all-ages.
Thursday, October 10
At Union Transfer
7:00 PM | $25-28
We're all living in the house the Fall built and Yard Act is its the current tenant, giving punk's pointed, class-conscious narratives some much needed upgrades. On this year's Where's My Utopia?, Yard Act combine stabby Telecasters, high-necked bass lines, and saxaphone—the sonic cornerstones of post-punk—with the dubbed up and tape-screwed tempos of hip-hop in a way that somehow manages to maintain and defy their respective genres. After slogging it out at JB's and Underground Arts the last two stops in town, they'll be holding court at Union Transfer. Talk about movin' on up. Come ready to dance and join a tenants union.
Friday, October 11
At Brickbat Books (709 S. 4th Street)
7:00 PM | $10
Guitarist Alan Licht returns to town in support of his first solo release in nearly a decade, the beautifully hypnotic and rocking Havens. It's worth noting that last week saw the digital reissues of another Licht-affiliated joint, the much adored 90's group Love Child. It's not hard to hear the inklings of Licht's future effirts in "Six of One" (from 1992's still stellar Witchcraft), or how the group's gutsy rawness informs the sprawling leaps Licht makes in "Nonchalant" and "Frank Sinatra Drive," the sonic centerpieces of Havens.
Sunday, October 13
At Johnny Brenda's
7:00 PM | $20 | 21+
San Juan rockers Davila 666 return for a night of garage rock en español. Their latest release, 2023's Secretos, ups the ante on all fronts—the pristine production allows the band to embrace their new wave-ier aspects—and makes for a fun effort.
It's been a busy couple of years for Miami's Las Nubes, who not only return to Philly with a brand new album Tormentas Malsanas, but a single on the vaunted Ecstatic Peace! label as well (2023's Enredados 7-inch). I've seen various places refer to this band as "shoegaze," and frankly, I'm not sure how anyone could come up with that for this batch of fuzzy, riffy, and LOUD tunes.
Opening up the show is NYC's Tall Juan, the solo project of Brazilian transplant Juan Zabella. Tall Raccoon is a solid debut offering of psych-tinged indie pop that boasts some big names in the production credits.
Tagging along for the night is the local punk atelier, LOW LVL. You've most likely spotted their high-contrast copyshop inspired apparel on your biggest barista crush.
Tuesday, October 15
At PhilaMOCA
7:30 PM | $14.93
I went to go see Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young and Pavement at PhilaMOCA earlier this week and almost instantaneously regretted that I didn't include it in here because it was so good. Louder is a surprsingly vulnerable film about a band notoriously reluctant about displaying capital-F feelings.
ANYHOW.
Here I am trying to make good on that miss by recommending this documentary, which examines the history and legacy of the legendary Sonics, the greatest band to emerge from Tacoma, WA. Jordan Albertsen's film asserts two things: First, the Sonics are one of the most important rock groups EVER, and they invented punk a full decade before the Ramones or Sex Pistols. Is the director right on these things? Only one way to find out.
At Solar Myth
October 15–17, October 19
8:00 PM | $43.96–49.44 | 21+
Sure, this technically spills over into next week, but I would be an absolute bonehead if I didn't include these 4 nights featuring Nels Cline and group of collaborators—which include Susan Alcorn, Booker Stardrum, Yuka Honda, Glenn Kotche, and more. Every night of this residency will be unique and as a whole absolutely memorable. All shows except 10/19 are seated performances.
Sound Advice is a weekly newsletter highlighting upcoming concerts in the greater Philadelphia metro area. Expect 1-5 shows of note, written by yours truly and perhaps an occasional guest contributor or two, published on Thursdays.
Local concert listings can be found at the following websites because I am not a concert calendar:
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