The former Austin rockers and now Philly natives The G are ready to open up an old-fashion can of whip-ass tonight at North Star Bar when the dudes and dudette warm-up the crowd for The Willowz, Imaad Wasif (feat. members of Shipping News) and fellow locals Busses. Hold my gold bitches, there is going to be a throw down! North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 9pm, $10, 21+ - H.M. Kauffman

 

How to describe a band like My Mind without making too many comparisons? Because that's the music writer's bane, you know, using too many comparisons. You want to use them because it's just so easy, but at the same time, you want to judge the band on its own merits. Anyway, the phrase "Ted Leo on lots of drugs" keeps coming up in the back of my brain (er...mind?). By that I mean, on one hand there's a lot of old school punk attitude going on, and with most of their songs breaking just over the minute mark (except the nearly eleven minute "Football Boys"), you can't help but think of something like Wire. On the other hand, there's also this British Invasion vibe, sunny vocal melodies rising just barely above the surface of some scrappy, fuzzed-out guitar. These two elements are then simmered into a disorienting, lo-fi explosion. They recently released Path Masher 7" on Philly's own Badmaster Records. Head on over to the M Room where the guys will be rockin’ with the The Styrenes and Kohoutek. M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave, 8pm, $10, 21+ - Joe Poteracki

Free Energy just announced new spring tour dates in support of already much-buzzed-about Stuck on Nothing which will hit the stores Tuesday, May 4th, 2010. It includes tours with Mates of State, Jukebox the Ghost and Drink Up Buttercup as well as stops at Toronto's NXNE and Daytrotter’s Barnstormers III shows. They’ll also be traveling to Japan in August for the Summer Sonic Festival so expect plenty more international and national dates to come! - H.M. Kauffman

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped to pull our Best of Philly Showcase together through all the headaches and heartaches, especially Reading Rainbow, Grandchildren and Levee Divers, who all absolutely rocked the house (or warehouse) in their own unique way! Also, I can’t forget the good people at The Ox for opening up their home/venue to us - props to Vincent for helping to make the night run so smoothly and of course, Jorgan (Da Man!) for putting together and doing such a phenomenal job with the makeshift sound system! You made it easy for me to finally chill out and have a blast (so much that my body shutdown for 11 hours afterwards). I can’t wait until The Ox’s house system is built. I have complete confidence that it is going to be sweet. And finally thanks to everyone who could find this place and made it out to support! I hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did. We look forward to seeing you again next year. Cheers! - Q.D. Tran

So I was watching this band play at SXSW at a Canadian showcase quietly enjoying the sounds of our neighbors from the north. These congenial albeit Texan men dressed to the nines in leather (the cowboy kind) were discussing something about what I can only assume was NRA-related when one of them said something along the lines of “I don’t even know who the president of Canada is”.  This caused a spunky young woman to turn on her heals and get all up in their grills about not knowing his name let alone the fact that it’s a “fucking Prime Minister, not a President”. At this point I am still keeping to myself, but this little firecracker insisted on making me part of the situation by asking if I knew who he was. “Of course I do,” I said (I have no idea), and she gave me a nod of recognition and made me agree on the fact that these dudes were “total fucking assholes”. The reason I bring this story up is because this ball of energy I speak of is the singer and bass player for Montreal-based Think About Life who are coming to JBs tonight to add some fun to this generally gloomy day. Local spastic funksters Prowler are going to be opening the show. They have a sound that seems to combine Modest Mouse-styled vocals over genre bending jams that touch on soul, funk, rock and straight dance. Allow for these guys to speak for themselves when they are sure to get some bizarre party started tonight. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ (Photo by Ryan George) - Adam G.