March to May Concert Schedule

Here are a bunch of upcoming concerts from March throughout the end of May.

03/19/09:: Thursday
Keller Williams
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

03/20/09 :: Friday
Future Rock
Push
The Green Light Society
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

Wynton Marsalis
The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts Philadelphia

Eliot Lipp
Codename
Zot Bar & Cafe Philadelphia

03/21/09 :: Saturday
That 1 Guy
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

The Saw Doctors
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

Bloc Party
Longwave
Electric Factory Philadelphia

03/25/09 :: Wednesday
White Lies
Friendly Fires
The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims)
First Unitarian Church Philadelphia

03/26/09 :: Thursday
EOTO
The M Room Philadelphia

The South Philly Experiment
Connie's Ric Rac Philadelphia


03/27/09 :: Friday
Les Claypool
O'Death
Saul Williams
Secret Chiefs 3
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Blue Method
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

03/28/09 :: Saturday
Levon Helm
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Bad Plus
Chris' Jazz Cafe Philadelphia

Heartless Bastards
The Gaslight Anthem
Good Old War
The Trocadero Philadelphia

04/02/09 :: Thursday
B.B. King
Keswick Theater Glenside, PA

Digable Planets
Common Market
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

The New Deal
The Passage Project
Motion Potion
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia


04/03/09:: Friday
Splintered Sunlight
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Univ. of Penn - Hill House Philadelphia

04/04/09 :: Saturday
Kool Keith
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

Deadmau5
Late of the Pier
The Whip
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/05/09 :: Sunday
Charlie Hunter
Girlyman
World Café Live Philadelphia

04/08/09 :: Wednesday
Jeff Beck
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Telepath
Pretty Lights
Eliot Lipp
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

04/09/09 :: Thursday
The Tallest Man On Earth
Red Cortez
Haverford College Haverford

Grimace Federation
Manhattan Room Philadelphia

Dub Trio
The M Room Philadelphia

04/10/09 :: Friday
Toumani Diabate
Bela Fleck
Casey Driessen
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia

Beirut
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Swift Technique
The Cherry Pit / Draught Horse Philadelphia

MSTRKRFT
Felix Cartal \
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/11/09 :: Saturday
North Mississippi Allstars
Hill Country Revue
Theater of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

04/16/09 :: Thursday
The Felice Brothers
The Trocadero Philadelphia

Seth Glier
Toubab Krewe
World Cafe Live Philadelphia

04/17/09::
The Disco Biscuits
Electric Factory Philadelphia

04/18/09 :: Saturday
Flight of the Conchords
Tower Theater Upper Darby, PA

The Disco Biscuits
Electric Factory Philadelphia

04/24/09 :: Friday
The Presidents of the United States of America
The Trocadero Philadelphia

04/25/09::
Grimace Federation
Mile High Club Philadelphia

04/26/09 :: Sunday
Chick Corea
John McLaughlin
Five Peace Band
Keswick Theater Glenside, PA

Kings of Leon
The Walkmen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/28/09:: Tuesday
Bruce Springsteen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/29/09:: Wednesday
Bruce Springsteen
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

04/30/09:: Thursday
Bloodhound Gang
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)Philadelphia

05/01/09 :: Friday
The Dead
Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia

05/02/09 :: Saturday
The Dead Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia


05/03/09:: Sunday
Garaj Mahal
Downstairs Live @ World Cafe Live Philadelphia

Adele
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Del Tha Funky Homosapien
First Unitarian Church Philadelphia

05/06/09 :: Wednesday
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings
Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA

Franz Ferdinand
Born Ruffians
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Barbary Philadelphia

05/08/09 :: Friday
The Killers
Susquehanna Bank Center Camden, NJ

The Indobox
The Heavy Pets
Buzz Universe
Awesometown Music Festival Morrisville, PA

05/12/09 :: Tuesday
Animal Collective
Grouper
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Pomegranates
Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia

Leonard Cohen
The Academy of Music Philadelphia

05/13/09 :: Wednesday
Marco Benevento Trio
Johnny Brenda's Philadelphia

05/14/09 :: Thursday
Spinal Tap
Keswick Theatre Glenside

Pepper
Pennywise
Big B
The Supervillains
Authority Zero
Electric Factory Philadelphia

Atmosphere
Attracted To Gods
Brother Ali
The Trocadero Philadelphia

05/29/09 :: Friday
The Derek Trucks Band
Ruthie Foster
Keswick Theater Glenside

05/30/09 :: Saturday
Dark Star Orchestra
Electric Factory Philadelphia

The Avett Brothers
The Trocadero Philadelphia

Tea Leaf Green
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

05/31/09 :: Sunday
Buckethead
Theatre of Living Arts (TLA) Philadelphia

South Philly Experiment

It's that time of the month again ! (ew no NOT that time)

Ropeadope Presents the South Philly Experiment

Thursday, March 26, 2009
8:00pm - 11:00pm
$10.00 - $6 if you're from Temple U. (bring your id)

Connie's Ric-Rac
1132 South 9th Street

Buy advance tickets HERE

BRING YOUR OWN BEER AND ALCHOL

FEATURING
The South Philly Experiment House Band:
Chuck Treece - Drums
Nick Bockrath - Guitar
Leon Jordan - Trumpet
Corey Riker - Sax, Ewie
Tom Spiker - Bass

WITH
Kuf Knotz serving as the Master of Ceremonies

Paul Green's School of Rock presenting: Dope Sick Girls

DJ Statik and the Illvibe Collecive

Come on out !

Phish is Back (Hampton Nights 1,2 & 3))

They're Back !!! Oh man oh man oh man. These setlists look fantastic. Thank you Phish and welcome back.

March 6th, 2009 Hampton Virginia.

Set I: Fluffhead*, The Divided Sky, Chalkdust Torture, Sample in a Jar, Stash, I Didn't Know#, Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Farmhouse, NICU, Horn, Rift, Train Song, Water in the Sky, Squirming Coil, David Bowie

Set II: Backwards Down The Number Line^, Tweezer, Taste, Possum, Theme from the Bottom, First Tube, Harry Hood, Waste, You Enjoy Myself

Encore: Grind**, Bouncing Around the Room, Loving Cup

* Last played 9/28/2000
# with Trey on drums
^New original
** Last played 12/30/98


Chalkdust Torture from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.


The Squirming Coil 03.06.09 from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.


Tweezer Jam 03.06.09 from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.

March 7th, 2009 Hampton Virginia.

Set I: Back On The Train, Runaway Jim, Brian and Robert, Split Open and Melt, Heavy Things, Punch You in the Eye, Gumbo, Reba, Mexican Cousin, It's Ice, Halley's Comet, Beauty of a Broken Heart, Guelah Papyrus, Lawn Boy, Run Like An Antelope

Set II: Rock and Roll, Limb By Limb, Ghost, Piper, Birds of a Feather, Wolfman's Brother, Prince Caspian Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero

Encore: A Day In The Life



March 8th, 2009 Hampton Virginia

Set I: Sanity, Wilson, Foam, Bathtub Gin, Undermind, AC/DC Bag, My Friend My Friend, Scent Of A Mule, All Of These Dreams, Maze, She Thinks I Still Care*, Army Of One, Tube, Cars Trucks & Buses, Free, Frankenstein**

Set II: Down With Disease, Seven Below, Horse > Silent In The Morning, Twist, 2001, Moma Dance, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Wading In The Velvet Sea, Slave To The Traffic Light

E: Happy Birthday Leonard^, Contact, Bug, Tweezer Reprise
* First Time Played, George Jones song
** With Page on Keytar
^ $$ Crowd and band sing Happy Birthday to Leonard Fishman, Jon's father


Maze 03.08.09 from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.


Wilson 03.08.09 from Jesse Borrell on Vimeo.

The King of Pop Returns

Today Michael Jackson has announced that he will return to the stage in July for 10 shows at the O2 Arena in London. I don't care how bizarre, weird, or strange he has gotten over the years. In my mind, Michael Jackson can do no wrong. I am beyond excited about this news and I wish him the best of luck.

Untill then, here's some classic MJ for ya. (sorry about the advertisements on mostof these)

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Travis Pastrana Monster Truck Backflip

Who the hell tries to backflip a Monster Truck? Hahaha this was outrageous.

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Well, last night marked the first episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". It was sort of weird not seeing Conan (besides the opening skit) but the show was overall...eh, alright. I'm more of a Jay Leno fan. But anyway It was pretty cool that Robert DeNiro was the first guest but I could have definitely done without Justin Timberlake being there. I also don't know how i feel about the "lick it for 10" game in which audience members are brought onset and convinced to lick various objects for 10 bucks. Kind of hilarious actually. Despite that, some highlights for me were certainly the fact that The Roots are the house band. That in of itself made me want to watch the show. Secondly, was the musical guest which was Van Morrison. Pretty cool as well. I don't really know if I can form an opinion after just one show so I'll have to see how Jimmy progresses. He looked pretty nervous (but doesn't he always?) but hopefully after a couple weeks he get used to it. I guess we'll just have to see.

The first episode is already on NBC.com so go HERE to check it out for yourselves.

Asher Roth Interview and 20 Minuet Freestyle

Good ole' Asher Roth. He's been getting more and more popular ever since his "I Love College" song came out. I guess it's a pretty fun song but it is definitely going to get completely played out. Say what you will, I must admit I think he does have skill. We'll see where he goes from here. If you have the time checkout this interview with DJ Swerve in London.

More importantly, Check out this Freestyle from the Tim Westwood show in London. He goes off for almost 20 minuets straight on a bunch of different beats. It's pretty damn impressive. LISTEN





Oh yeah and go download his free mixtape...that is if you'd like to.

Kanye West Storytellers

This was on a few days ago. Kanye has been up to his antics as usual but some of these songs are pretty awesome and the stage setup/lights are sick. Check em' out.

Kanye VH1ST Part 2
by yardie4lifever2

Kid Cudi Freestyle

This is kinda nice, I thought I'de share it. Kid Cudi is picking up alot of hype these days. Get'em!

LISTEN

South Philly Experiment

This Thursday February 26th, 2009 Ropeadope presents the South Philly Experiment. at Connie's Ric Rac.

A night of musical sounds and cheese!

Including: KUF KNOTZ backed by the ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE and the South Philly Experiment house band::

CHUCK TREECE - (bad brains) on drums
TOM SPKKER - on bass
NICK BOCKRATH - (bodega) on guitars
LUKE O'REILLY - on keys
LEON JORDON - on trumpet

*PLUS SPECIAL SURPRISE GUESTS*

Also PAUL GREEN"S SCHOOL OF ROCK ALL-STARS playing a musical tribute to South Philly

$10 with snacks catered by DiBruno Brothers Cheese Shop.
No bar so BYOB !!!!!

Check it out
Thursday February 26th
$10
Doors at 8pm
Connie's Rick Rack
1132 South 9th Street

Philadelphia Tattoo Convention!

Next Weekend (February 27th-March 1st)

Demetri Martin

I know Demetri Martin has been doing stand-up for about 10 years or so now but I just started looking into him after a friend mentioned something about his new show (Wednesday at 10:30 on comedy central). I heard about him a few years prior to that but I never really heard any of his material to have a valid opinion about him. After watching some brief videos of his jokes and routines I definitely have to admit I think he's hilarious. The way he thinks about things blows my mind and he is extremely intelligent/out there. Check this out and the other 5 videos of this particular routine.

A Brief Interview

This afternoon I made my way down to the Old City section of Philadelphia where I had the opportunity to chat with Mike, the owner of AKA Music. In between the many phone calls he received during the time I was there (he was in the middle of working), Mike was nice enough to let me ask him a few questions about music, the business, and some other miscellaneous things. Here is the transcription of both my questions and his answers:

Q: How is business now as apposed to 5 or 10 years ago?
A: It's still good. We are a niche operation that caters to the "music enthusiast". Mostly people looking for more independent artists and bands.

Q: What is currently popular/selling?
A: Right now: Beruit, Bon Iver, Andrew Bird and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (All mostly independent artists)

Q: Is the music industry at fault for the decline in overall album sales?
A: Yes. They are just looking for big hits and aren't interested in developing an artist's career.

Q: Do you think radio is dying out?
A: I can't say I really even listen to it. Some college stations are okay, but popular radio is awful. It's all programmed and they don't take any chances.

Q: Who are some of your favorite new artists?
A: I don't listen to too many but a few of them are: Intrusion (minimalist-electronic) Matthew Shipp (jazz) and Zombi ( kind of like early Kraftwerk)

Q: Do you think the CD will ever "die" ?
A: You mean the physical CD? no I don't think it will.

Q: When you listen to music, are you more about lyrics or the instrumentation?
A: Music first

Q: What do you think about rap music?
A: I like some of it, more of the underground stuff.
Q: Because you are more instrumentals first?
A: Exactly. Also it depends on what music it's sampled from and how sharp that is.
Q: Is there anybody in particular?
A: Yesterday's New Quintet, they haven't anything in a while but have done some different side projects and things.

Q: What is one of your favorite albums of all time?
A: Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers"

Q: What was the last concert you went to?
A: Jon Hassell

Q: Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison?
A: Hendrix, easily.

Q: What are some keys to success in this industry? Whether you are starting a band, label, business, or whatever. Is there anything that could help you across the board in all of them?
A: Persistence and the first person you need to sell that to is yourself.

Our conversation ended as I thanked Mike for his time and honest answers. I'm glad I got to talk with him a bit and I'm sure I will make my way back to AKA in the future.

Simple-ly, A Good Time

This past Friday evening I had the pleasure of seeing the Phish tribute band Simple. I've sadly never had the opportunity to actually see Phish themselves perform, but I must say, hearing their songs being played live by a very solid group of musicians was a true treat. The small crowd, and setting of the Draught Horse made for a warm refuge from the freezing weather outside. Not to mention, the great tunes kept us all warm from the uncontrollable dancing that ensued throughout the whole show.

This may actually be the entire setlist, but some highlights for me were: NICU, Maze, Theme from the Bottom, Down with the Disease, Sparkle, and Weekapaug Groove. After the show was over I got the chance to talk to the band a little bit and thank them for the fun time. Although I still have yet to see Phish, Simple was a nice substitute for the time being. I will definitely check these guys out again.

The Builders and The Butchers (a review)

The Builders and The Butchers self titled album is the type of record you can picture being recorded while you listen to it. Close your eyes and the scene unfolds itself. A group of balladeers and troubadours sitting around in a smokey room, drinking whiskey and beer, playing whatever instruments are available, while singing and shouting heartfelt songs of their travels. Despite the lyrics about death and dying, the record contains loose/fun jamming and sing-along type vibes that are felt throughout its entirety. This creates an energy that makes you feel like you are right there with the band.
Fusing elements of country, folk, gospel, and blues, this band has created a solid album that must have been a blast to record. I definitely recommend giving it a listen and possibly even better, checking them out live.