Sometimes I’ll see a great band, think to myself “I’m definitely going to start keeping track of these guys, check out their Web site, etc.,” and for whatever reason, I don’t follow through. Probably happens to you, too. If you’ve been to any of the monthly Fixture shows, you might have caught a band that fits that bill. Here’s an update on a few of those acts, local and otherwise. (Fixture is presented by the Weekender and Prairie Queen Records. The next show is Dec. 11 at The Bog in Scranton, featuring The Spinto Band, Oxford Collapse and And The Moneynotes. For more info on the series, visit myspace.com/fixtureseries).
Illinois
If you were at the April show co-headlined by Illinois and Lewis & Clarke, you might’ve been wondering whatever happened to the BucksCounty band which was set to release an album last spring. There’s been a lineup change, and instead of a traditional album release, a new campaign of digital EPs and films, which just kicked off recently. You can read more about that here: http://www.theweekender.com/bonus/exclusive/Illinois_maps_out_new_territory_11-04-2008.html.
The Swimmers
The Swimmers, from Philadelphia, performed at the October Fixture. The band has a new video for the song “Heaven,” which it somehow managed to play live while rolling a piano down the street.
The Sw!ms
The Sw!ms — who headlined the October show opened by The Swimmers — have a new video, too. It’s for the song “Pile of Features.”
And The Moneynotes
A lot has been happening for And The Moneynotes lately, like opening a sold-out show for Ra Ra Riot in Brooklyn, a Daytrotter.com session, and, yes, a video. This one’s for “Bolinda,” from this year’s “New Cornucopia” album.
On Tuesday, I went to my 20th RatDog show. That might seem excessive, but when one of your favorite bands tours a few times a year and often stops in your area — or at least Philadelphia or
New York — it’s tough to turn down. Especially when each show makes you want to keep coming back for more.
The Tuesday show at the
Kirby
Center in
Wilkes-Barre (check out Jim Gavenus’ great shots from the show in our online photo gallery) helped me figure out why I keep returning to see Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, and his band: the shows seem to scratch most of my musical itches. I like classic rock, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, jam bands, some experimental stuff and, of course, the Dead (although I never got to see the real McCoy). So Tuesday I got to enjoy the brightness of “The Music Never Stopped,” the straight-ahead rock of “Casey Jones” (and the encore, “Johnny B. Goode”) and the out-there exploratory sounds during the band’s “Stuff” segment. “Weather Report Suite” — “Prelude” and “Let It Grow” — satisfied my prog-rock side. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” — played for the first time by this band — was spooky and snarling, and “Iko Iko” was a good-time clap-along moment. Even the two Dylan tunes hit on different styles: the surrealistic and wordy “Desolation Row” and the slinky “Slow Train,” from the first of Dylan’s Christian albums.
RatDog has changed since I first saw it at Montage in 1997, and for the better. Jeff Chimenti has developed into a star on the piano and organ (Tuesday’s show was no exception), and overall, it’s become more of a cohesive unit. Mark Karan has been given more room to stretch out on lead guitar, and Weir has become more creative with the setlists, dusting off some Dead classic and adding new covers.
Education
Penn State University, University Park
Bachelors degree: Journalism, English minor
Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia
Masters of arts degree: Writing studies
Manchester University, Manchester, England
Communications
Selected Publications
The Weekender, LexisNexis Securities Litigation, ESPN.com, The Associated Press, Philadelphia Daily News, Philly Edge, Universitywire.com, The Daily Collegian
