-
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Shop our Secure
Big Takeover Store
for Back Issues
T-shirts & CDs
ISSUE 72
ABOUT TO SHIP!
Join the Big Takeover Group on Yahoo!
Donate
Help defray the cost of doing all this stuff. Give as little or as much as you want. PayPal accepts credit cards.
-
-
-
Best Coast - "Fear of My Identity" EP (Mexican Summer)
Though the A-side is terrific, the B-side “Who Have I Become” might the best song that Best Coast has ever recorded.
5 April 2013Bleeding Rainbow with Wrong World - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Thursday, April 4, 2013
Even when Everton and Garcia switched instruments, there was no let-down in the intensity level at all!
31 March 2013The New Mendicants - Australian 2013 EP (Ashmont)
The New Mendicants is the new project of Joe Pernice and Norman Blake.
29 March 2013Billy Bragg - Tooth and Nail (Cooking Vinyl)
Billy Bragg’s first album since 2008’s Mr. Love and Justice is a mesmerizing masterwork from one of the finest songwriters of the best three decades.
15 March 2013Veronica Falls with Cold Showers - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Thursday, March 7, 2013
Sure enough, the set was an excellent mix of both Lps, not favoring one or the other, and the band was in sync.
15 March 2013The Big Boys - Where's My Towel/Industry Standard (Modern Classic Recordings)
So what about the actual music? Well, if you’ve never heard The Big Boys, this might be a good place to start.
9 March 2013Giggle the Ozone - Dreamjob (Lazer Seizure Music)
Despite the liberal genre-hopping, this is a cohesive effort that really works and there’s little confusing it for anyone else’s vision.
5 March 2013The Night Marchers, Dan Sartain and Mrs. Magician - Underground Arts (Philadelphia) - Thursday, February 27, 2013
The bottom line is that if you ever have a chance to see The Night Marchers, don’t miss them!
2 March 2013Bob Mould with Now Now - Bowery Ballroom (New York) - Wednesday, February 27, 2013
What a show, what a night and what a testament to Mould and his band that they still kick so much butt after all these years!
12 January 2013Yo La Tengo with Bat for Lashes - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Friday, January 11, 2013
It’s rare that two artists of such quality share a Free at Noon bill.
1 January 2013Scream, Government Issue and Youth Brigade - Black Cat (Washington, DC) - Saturday, December 29, 2012
For this go-round and perhaps to stick to theme of the documentary, Stabb and company were intent on replicating a 1982 style set.
1 January 2013Black Market Baby with Dag Nasty and Kingface - Black Cat (Washington, DC) - Friday, December 28, 2012
Starting with the instrumental “Mango” and playing a set that mostly comprised material from their earliest days, Dag Nasty was just on for the entirety of their short but incredible set.
26 December 2012Scream with Laffing Life - Kung Fu Necktie (Philadelphia) - April 16, 2012
The musicianship is just off the charts and I love the 3-4 part harmonies in some of the songs as well.
3 November 2012Rodriguez - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Sunday, October 28, 2012
Imagine a mild-mannered, 70-year old singer-songwriter in dark black sunglasses and a leather vest saying this stuff and you’ll get an idea of the weird, but cozy vibe of the show.
3 November 2012Those Darlins with Heavy Cream and Slutever - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Saturday, October 27, 2012
I took out my earplugs so I could hear their set in all of its glory and turned to a friend afterwards and said “wow”.
3 November 2012A.C. Newman with The Mynabirds - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Thursday, October 25, 2012
Newman was in fine spirits, joking with the crowd on numerous occasions between songs and even giving detailed (and very personal) explanations for the lyrics on songs like “Come Crash” and the aforementioned “The Heartbreak Rides”.
20 October 2012OFF! with The Spits and Double Negative - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Friday, October 19, 2012
Keith Morris was in fine form, hounding the stage like a screaming banshee and living up to his verbose and confrontational reputation.
12 October 2012The Raveonettes with Melody's Echo Chamber - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Thursday, October 4, 2012
I think the speakers are still smoking from the heat generated by the version of “Aly Walk with Me” that was played and it’s over a week later!
28 September 2012Dum Dum Girls - End of Daze EP (Sub Pop)
All in all, I think this may be Dum Dum Girls’ finest moment up to this point.
15 September 2012Maximo Park with Zambi and Stagnant Pools - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - September 12, 2012
Maximo Park played a fantastic set spanning their four albums, wisely focusing heavily on just-released new album The National Health (perhaps their career best) and their debut A Certain Trigger, by some measure their best records.
15 September 2012Bob Mould with Cymbals Eat Guitars - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - September 11, 2012
As the encore ended with the classic “Makes No Sense At All”, we left exhausted but utterly blown away by the absolutely great show we had just seen.
18 August 2012The Left Banke - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Wednesday, August 8, 2012
They opened up with “She May Call You Up Tonight” and followed it with “I’ve Got Something on My Mind” and “Pretty Ballerina”.
18 August 2012The Dicks - Kill from the Heart (Alternative Tentacles)
Finally! This is what Alternative Tentacles should’ve done all along with this material.
18 August 2012Sebadoh with Lou Barlow and Circle of Buzzards - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Oh well. I’ll stick to their records and hope for a better, tighter show next time.
4 August 2012Jesse Jarnow - Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock (Gotham)
This is a tome well worth reading not just for Yo La Tengo’s fans but anyone interested in indie rock’s travails from the late ’70s beginnings to today.
28 July 2012Best Coast with Those Darlins and DIIV - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Monday July 16, 2012
The set culminated with what I think is their greatest song to date, the stunning “Up All Night”, the closing track on The Only Place.
4 July 2012Neneh Cherry and The Thing - The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound)
It’s fitting that Swedish free jazzers The Thing, a band named after a composition by Don Cherry, have now collaborated with his stepdaugher Neneh Cherry.
16 June 2012Radiohead with Caribou - Susquehanna Bank Center (Camden, NJ) - June 13, 2012
This was the Radiohead of the 2001 Amnesiac tour and the 2003 tour for Hail to the Thief, turning insular, jotty compositions into jaw-droppingly tight and powerful arena rock and it was a thrill to have them back!
9 June 2012The Clean with Times New Viking - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - June 6, 2012
What a difference four and a half years makes, or does it?
9 June 2012Cheap Girls with Static Radio - Trocadero (Philadelphia) - Friday, June 8, 2012
If Graham can just be as expressive on stage is he is on record and with proper sound, this band could be as dangerous and exciting live as they are on record.
9 June 2012The dB's - Falling Off the Sky (Bar/None)
Stamey’s interestingly-titled “Collide-oOo-Scope” and Holsapple’s moving “She Won’t Drive in the Rain Anymore” end the album on a huge high note before going into the finale title track.
27 May 2012La Sera with Life Size Maps and The New Lines - Cameo Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) - Saturday, May 19, 2012
When Barbato broke a string on B-side “Behind Your Eyes”, for example, they used the occasion to turn the song (only a little over two minutes on record) into an extended, impromptu, droning jam.
26 May 2012Kam Kama - The Tiled House EP (Sister Cylinder)
Still, that’s half of the four song demo and it as well as the four newer songs sound MUCH better than said demo.
5 May 2012Best Coast - The Only Place (Mexican Summer)
She could sing the phone book and frankly I’d be OK with it, but thankfully the songs here are rich, melodically developed, rewarding and very soulful.
13 April 2012Screaming Females - Ugly (Don Giovanni)
This feels like a natural progression from Castle Talk and is the band’s best album to date.
12 April 2012Frankie Rose with DIVE and East Hundred - North Star Bar (Philadelphia) - Thursday, April 5, 2012
Nevertheless, we got a very short, 35-minute set that concentrated mostly on Interstellar with a few tunes from her 1st album thrown in.
12 April 2012Real Estate with The Twerps and Belgrade - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Real Estate is a band with a very particular, mannered sound and they have to sound right to be fully effective.
9 April 2012Swervedriver with Heaven - Bowery Ballroom (New York) - Saturday, March 31, 2012
If the rest of their proposed new album will be as good as this tune, then I’m already looking forward to it!
30 March 2012The Joy Formidable with A Place to Bury Strangers and Exitmusic - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Thursday, March 29, 2012
Audience members sung every word and there wasn’t one song that stood out in that regard that everyone was waiting for.
24 March 2012La Sera - Sees the Light (Hardly Art)
Stylistically, “Please Be My Third Eye” is a bit of a red herring as it’s much more up tempo than most of the material here.
24 March 2012Frankie Rose - Interstellar (Slumberland)
This will be one of my favorite albums of 2012 and heralds the emergence of a brilliant talent in her own right,
10 March 2012Tommy Stinson - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Friday, March 9, 2012
Stinson projects a rock star aura that looks, breaths, feels and sounds just like the The Rolling Stones, The Faces and others of that ilk.
10 March 2012BELLS≥ with Travels and HIRS - Pi Lam (Philadelphia) - Saturday, March 3, 2012
Although I’ve lived close to it for almost 6 years, this was my first visit to the venerable University of Pennsylvania frat house and venue.
11 February 2012Sharon Van Etten with Shearwater - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Friday, February 10, 2012
Anyway, she more than lived up to the accolades with an hour long set that was focused almost exclusively on material from Tramp.
4 February 2012Sharon Van Etten - Tramp (Jagjaguwar)
Despite the numerous guest stars, make no mistake. This is very much a Sharon Van Etten album.
27 January 2012Pete Donnelly - When You Come Home (self-released)
Though there are light r’n‘b touches on a few of these songs, this is ultimately a singer-songwriter album and a great one at that.
27 January 2012The Dead Milkmen - The King in Yellow (self-released)
Clearly this is an album made by 40 somethings instead of 20 somethings.
21 January 2012Guided by Voices - Let's Go Eat the Factory (Guided by Voices, Inc./Fire)
Though others may disagree, I think that this album is a mix of good and not so good.
21 January 2012Will Hermes - Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever (Faber and Faber, 2011)
Hermes’ lengthy and detailed tome reads a bit like the proto-punk diary From the Velvets to the Voidoids except that it covers virtually all of New York City’s then burgeoning musical styles between 1973 and 1977.
21 January 2012Gordon Withers - The Joy Formidable on Cello (self-released)
This is exactly what it says it is.
14 January 2012The Left Banke - Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina (Sundazed)
This album belongs in the same conversation as other classics of the genre and time period like Love’s Forever Changes and The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle.
14 January 2012John Henry West - Door Bolted Shut (Ebullition)
This collection is like manna from heaven for fans of this amazing, chaotic, passionate post-hardcore band.
14 January 2012The Raveonettes - Rarities/B-Sides (Columbia/Vice)
An embarrassment of riches, this limited-edition collection plays not only a great outtakes album, but like one of their best albums period.
20 November 2011Turning Violet Violet with Bedroom Problems - Paley Library (Philadelphia) - Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Honestly, it was my first time seeing them and I thought they were great from the first few notes.
20 November 2011John Wesley Harding and The King Charles Trio with The Minus Five - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - November 15, 2011
Instead of a “normal” show with a headliner and an opener, this was something altogether quite different.
19 November 2011Office of Future Plans with The Young and Bells - Kung Fu Necktie (Philadelphia) - Sunday, November 13, 2011
Bells were the surprise of the night and honestly stole the show for me.
13 November 2011The Sonics with The Young - Maxwell's (Hoboken) - Saturday, November 12, 2011
Thankfully, this performance more than justified the $30 ticket price.
11 November 2011Giggle the Ozone - Charge (Laser Seizure Music)
A concise description of the third track, the cleverly titled “Cyst and Decease”, would be “Captain Beefheart in Space”.
11 November 2011TV Casualty - TV Casualty EP (Matador)
An idea that started a few years ago has led to a 7” on Matador.
11 November 2011Zounds - The Curse of Zounds (Broken Rekids)
This Lp pulls no punches and sounds as good in 2011 as I imagine that it must have in 1982.
4 November 2011The Faith - Subject to Change Plus First Demo (Dischord)
All this would be enough, but as a bonus we get the first official version of The Faith’s 1981 demo.
29 October 2011Void - Sessions 1981-83 (Dischord)
With all that said, what about the music on here? Well, it’s amazing.
27 October 2011Dum Dum Girls with Crocodiles and Royal Baths - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Sunday, October 23, 2011
Their set was short but sweet.
27 October 2011Wild Flag with Eleanor Friedberger - Union Transfer (Philadelphia) - Wednesday, October 19, 2011
So how did Wild Flag fit into this context? Quite splendidly.
25 October 2011Chris Taylor on his new project CANT, Grizzly Bear and other musings
Just from a creative stand point, to put myself out there like that was the scariest thing I’ve probably ever had to do and then to play it.
16 October 2011Descendents with X, Dead Milkmen, Plow United, Naked Raygun and 7 Seconds - Festival Pier (Philadelphia) - Saturday, September 24, 2011
Within a few seconds of their set, I had beer spilled on me.
14 October 2011Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)
When I started listening to this album, I couldn’t stop playing it. Weeks later, I STILL can’t stop playing it. It’s that good.
14 October 2011ALL with Naked Raygun - TLA (Philadelphia) - September 24, 2011
ALL, on the other hand, were amazing.
4 October 2011Ted Leo and the Pharmacists with Dry Feet - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Saturday, September 24, 2011
Of the many times I’ve seen Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, I’d never had the chance to see them in such a great-sounding and intimate room.
4 October 2011Sharon Van Etten with Marissa Nadler and Hezekiah Jones - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Friday, September 23, 2011
This more stripped-down iteration fit in perfectly with the gentle, quiet vibe of this seated show
22 September 2011Nick Lowe - The Old Magic (Yep Roc)
In fact, one could argue that he just keeps getting better and better.
20 September 2011Sheer Terror - Spite EP (Reaper)
This is really the recording debut of a new incarnation of the band.
9 September 2011Vivian Girls with Widowspeak and Ninjessa - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Improved songwriting, musicianship and stage presence contributed to what was by far the best Vivian Girls live set I’ve ever seen.
3 September 2011Thurston Moore with Meg Baird - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thurston’s set in the beautiful but very poorly ventilated church sanctuary drew heavily upon his recently released solo Lp Demolished Thoughts.
23 August 2011Marginal Man with Strike Anywhere and Damnation A.D. - Black Cat (Washington, DC) - Saturday, August 20, 2011
Singer Steve Polcari acted as if almost a quarter of a century hadn’t passed, jumping around all over the stage and showing off the energy of a frontman half of his age.
14 August 2011Yung Wu with Wild Carnation - Maxwells (Hoboken) - Saturday, August 13, 2011
Still, this had the feel of a band playing to a bunch of friends and family and that’s basically what it was. It was an afternoon show to boot, so that made it even more family-friendly.
14 August 2011Sonic Youth with Wild Flag and Kurt Vile - Williamsburg Waterfront (Brooklyn) - Friday, August 12, 2011
Opening with Bad Moon Rising‘s “Brave Men Run (in My Family)”, the first five tracks were a flurry of ’80s highlights.
11 August 2011DYS: More Than Fashion
There’s an old saying. It’s a cliché, but a true one. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. If you think about it in a different way, in the early ‘80s for a hardcore band and especially for a straight-edge band facing additional pressure in terms of not conforming to society’s standards on that level, it was unbelievable in terms of the odds.
6 August 2011Scott Reynolds with The Gerunds - Tritone (Philadelphia) - Friday, August 5, 2011
At the end of his set, opening band The Gerunds came on stage and they proceeded to crank out two highlights of Reynolds’ tenure with ALL.
14 July 2011Wild Nothing with Twin Sister - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia) - Monday, July 11, 2011
Wild Nothing played to a sold-out and jam-packed room at Johnny Brenda’s
14 July 2011Bob Mould - See A Little Light (Little, Brown and Company, 2011)
Mainly, much of the book deals with Mould’s struggles to come to grips with who he really is.
7 July 2011Mirrors and Wires - "Mercitron" EP (Headcount)
This is surf-punk mixed with some psych and even new wave influences.
2 July 2011The Smithereens - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Friday, July 1, 2011
In other words, the new songs fit in so perfectly with the old stuff that The Smithereens should be commended.
2 July 2011Fucked Up with Jeff the Brotherhood and Dry Feet - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Sunday, June 26, 2011
For starters, this was the fourth time I’d seen them at the First Unitarian Church since early 2007.
25 June 2011Dinosaur Jr with Henry Rollins and OFF! - Electric Factory (Philadelphia) - Friday, June 24, 2011
All in all, there seemed to be a lot of love between artists on this evening as OFF! were specifically selected to open the tour by Dinosaur Jr and the mutual admiration and respect is always comforting to see.
22 June 2011Joe Jackson Trio - Live Music (Razor and Tie)
The track list pulls more from Joe Jackson‘s past as opposed to Rain (the only album recorded with this lineup).
18 June 2011The Feelies - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia, PA) - Friday, June 17, 2011
So what, might you ask, differentiated this year’s visit to World Cafe Live from their two previous Philadelphia appearances since their 2008 reunion?
18 June 2011Jack Grisham - An American Demon (ECW Press, 2011)
Everything you’ve heard about this book, and for that matter, about Jack Grisham himself in his younger years, is absolutely true.
11 June 2011T.S.O.L. with Shot Baker and F.O.D. - Barbary (Philadelphia) - June 5, 2011
Frontman Jack Grisham had a maniacal, almost demonic grin on his face the whole time and was clearly enjoying himself on this evening.
11 June 2011Dengue Fever with The Eternals - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - June 9, 2011
Simply put, there’s no other band like them in the entire universe.
1 June 2011Hotel Lights - Girl Graffiti (Bar/None)
This is definitely recommended for fans of the softer, more adult-oriented and mature side of power-pop.
1 June 2011Doomed to Obscurity - Drug Luck (Jizz Mobile)
One song is called “Naked Reagan”. If you get the reference, you’ll love this.
23 May 2011Elvis Costello and The Imposters - Tower Theater (Upper Darby, PA) - Thursday, May 19, 2011
Costello and his band took the stage and blazed through four songs, opening with “I Hope You’re Happy Now”.
7 May 2011The Fiery Furnaces - World Cafe Live (Philadelphia) - Friday, May 6, 2011
Featuring just Eleanor on lead vocals and Matt on piano and backing (and occasional lead) vocals, this was Fiery Furnaces stripped down to the core.
7 May 2011Ted Leo with Noun - Kung Fu Necktie (Philadelphia) - Sunday, May 1, 2011
He also tackled Hüsker Dü‘s “Could You Be the One”? and Lungfish’s “To Whom You Were Born”.
23 April 2011DYS with Antidote, Face Value, Hands Tied and Mindset - Ottobar (Baltimore) - Saturday, April 9, 2011
The performances of “Graffiti,” “No Pain No Gain” and “Late Night” completely obliterated their recorded versions.
8 April 2011Mike Watt with Caterpillar and Split Red - North Star Bar (Philadelphia) - Saturday, April 2, 2011
The encore consisted mostly of guitarist Tom Watson singing a set of Minutemen classics.
2 April 2011Jill Sobule and John Doe - Tin Angel (Philadelphia) - Friday, March 25, 2011
On the surface, the pairing of veteran singer/songwriters Jill Sobule and John Doe seems, well, odd. In reality, though, nothing could be further from the truth.
2 April 2011The Pains of Being Pure at Heart with Twin Shadow and Creepoid - First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia) - Thursday, March 31, 2011
Much more dynamic, energetic and confident as a live band now than in their earlier days, Pains are now a bona-fide headlining act.
-
-
|