the week (march 4 - march 10)
hey internet blogosphere, it’s been awhile. the week used to be a, you guessed it, weekly blog feature on philly-shows.org. it is also, you guessed it, “back”. when you see every single show in philadelphia the day it gets announced, it’s easy to feel like the most excited person in the city and rush to your calendar to try to make plans for the future. we hope that this blog helps you have some of that excitement in your own life. with an average of 75 shows being announced/added to the site weekly, we do not fault anyone for not being able to keep with everything going on. we don’t want you to. we want to have a purpose.
happening this week:
taking part in dozens of releases over the last four decades, g. calvin weston has collaborated with some of the most legendary figures in jazz as well as some of it’s left-of-center icons. playing with ornette coleman as a teenager and later with both james blood ulmer and john lurie, weston has remained an intriguing figure behind the kit and will perform in collaboration with tr7 duo at the pageant:soloveev artspace on wednesday, march 6th. bassist/composter stephan crump will also perform.
postponed in 2022 due to a significant ear issue for frontman andrew ‘falco’ falkous, welsh three-piece mclusky make their long-awaited return to philadelphia (where they last played at the khyber in 2004). chaotic, punchy punk with sharp witticism and a surprising emotional core, mclusky flew under the radar for so long that the internet has been able to rediscover their excellent (yet limited) back catalogue, most notably 2002’s ‘mclusky do dallas’. they are playing at underground arts on saturday, march 9th with support from the martha’s vineyard ferries.
announced this week:
speaking of bands who’s heyday was closer to twenty years ago than today, les savy fav is back. they were never truly gone, but the bands live performances have been sporadic at best and 2024 has them releasing their first new record since 2010’s ‘root for ruin’. the providence quintet has this beaming aura of positivity and the music has infectious, groovy energy. it’s hard to not see their return resonating with a new generation of fans. they’re playing at union transfer on saturday, june 29th. support has not been announced.
i would argue, strongly, that some of the best gigs in philly are in a sweaty, sticky tiny room where you hadn’t heard of half the bands playing until the show was announced - or maybe until you even got to the show. couple ghouls has been responsible for a good portion of these gigs in recent years and is throwing a slightly large scale event (which by most people’s standards is still a sticky tiny room) in the form of couple ghouls fest at ukie club. happening next month on saturday, april 27th alongside 4333 collective, it’s an opportunity to catch some philly’s best that you might not already know, as almost the entire fest is made up of local musicians like destructos, driltusk, abbatia and many more.
More about this week’s photo:
Credit: @jerseywallphl - Eric Lee
The band Sacred Monsters performing at The Grape Room on Friday, January 5th to a packed house. The show was organized by Mose of Manayunk and Bad Habits Booking to celebrate women who rock. Little Hag, Kikashima, Sacred Monsters, and the Rebecca Zimmerman Band played energetic sets to a captivated and enthusiastic crowd that cheered along all night.