CONCERT REVIEW: Jack White keeps everyone on their toes for sold-out NYC show
Like a fighter in a boxing match, Jack White came out swinging this past Friday night in Madison Square Garden. Instead of clenched fists, the Detroit born, multiple Grammy Award-winner assaulted the sold-out crowd with a barrage of big crashing chords most acts would reserve for the end of the show. This electric explosion heralded […]
ALBUM REVIEW: HIM Retrospective: ‘Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666’ holds up as perfect ‘love metal’ intro
This reviewer has been a fan of Finnish metal band HIM since the early 2000s. Whether it was their dark metal styling, their lyricism, or the Shakespearean-like sensibility of tragic romanticism in those lyrics, it struck something in this listener. And the fact that HIM has been around since 1991 (with their first full-length album […]
REVIEW: 2015 Royal Rumble burned out quickly and ignited WWE fans’ rage
The WWE’s 2015 “Royal Rumble” match, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia last night, started out with a bang but quickly burned out – and the aftermath may prove to be even more disastrous. The kickoff match of the actual pay-per-view saw The New Age Outlaws – Jesse James and Billy Gunn – […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Fireball, Phyllis Hopkins Electric Trio, and The Russello Project raise the bar for NEPA musicianship
Three of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s most prominent guitarists, all currently leading very different, yet dynamically musical ensembles, combined for one of the most volatile axe-slinging evenings in recent memory at Diane’s Deli in Pittston on Saturday, Dec. 20. The heavy British blues-inspired Fireball, anchored by longtime NEPA six-string stalwart Butch Frable; the smarmy Chicago blues-infused Phyllis […]
PHOTOS/REVIEW: Dr. Dog at the Bowery Ballroom, 01/15/15
Philadelphia indie rockers Dr. Dog are celebrating the release of their first live album, “Live from a Flamingo Hotel,” with a string of eight intimate sold-out shows over nine days in New York City. The shows, called the “4×4 Tour,” are being played at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg and the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. […]
CONCERT REVIEW: HIM dig into the ‘Love Metal Archives’ and come up with gold
The ultimate display of one’s fandom to any musician is to attend a live performance. It is at that point, while in an ocean of people, one can feel a connection to the artist on stage. Unfortunately, some concerts do not always live up to the hype. Shoddy vocals, a half-assed stage presence, and an […]
THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Darling Core’ is as original and intriguing as its name
“The Darling Core” is a title that is both unusual and intriguing, which is also a fair description of what transpires over the next hour. It’s best not to enter this original one-act play knowing too much about it other than its basic premise – Adam and Lilith are a vaudeville duo called the Darling […]
CONCERT REVIEW: ’90s nostalgia rules during sold-out Polaris show in Philadelphia
There’s a strange kind of magic that happens when a band that existed solely in the realm of one of your favorite childhood shows appears as a real, viable touring act for the first time 20 years later. Wave after wave of nostalgia filled the space inside Johnny Brenda’s (1201 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia) on Friday, […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Slayer ‘still reigning’ with brutal Bethlehem performance
Several inches of snow and somewhat dicey road conditions in the Lehigh Valley couldn’t stop the metal faithful from amassing a near-capacity army at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Thanksgiving Eve, Nov. 26. The triple attack of Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies, and Slayer made for a trampled-under-flying-bodies good time, and the crowd was anything but […]
ALBUM REVIEW: Ryan Kenton makes fun and energetic self-titled debut
Before I begin this album review, I’m going to take a quick trip down memory lane. I attended my first club when I was 15 years old (yes, NEPA used to have underage clubs), and soon after that, I attended my first party or rave, which baptized me into DJ culture and the world of […]
