Blog: Girl About Town

Photos by D. O'Toole Tonight The Sons & Heirs will grace the stage at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, NY with Green Shirt. The NY-based group were working with a new bassist when we spoke last, and made the crowd go mad in the sweltering August heat when they played local venue The North Star. As one of this regions most well-known Smiths and Morrissey tribute acts, The Sons & Heirs are filling in the black hole left in the hearts of thousands by a still-legendary group. And [...]

Photos by C. Marcoux The Toy Soldiers know how to win over their audience: great live performance, and strong lead vocals! Band leader Ron Gallo is in his early twenties, and already making a name for himself around town, singing his heart out along with his 7-piece backing band, The Toy Soldiers. He takes inspiration from the likes of Dylan and Guthrie (of the Woody persuasion) and hopes to someday make it out for the Midnight Ramble with Levon Helm, where we're sure he would fit right in! Watch out for their debut [...]

John Fernandes from Athens , GA-based band Circulatory System works behind the counter at the Athens-based Wuxtry Records which also houses Wuxtry Bizarro --an absolutely amazing comic book store which features more independent releases as well as books on music. We hadn't seen or spoken to John since 1998 when he played Detroit MI in Olivia Tremor Control and he was winning a bet on wearing the same red Adidas track suit for the full tour! We were psyched to get his Top 5 albums that he had been listening to [...]

For those of us who grew out of our parents musty record collection, and into a whole generation of groups hailing from the new wave of the 80s to the alternative, Brit-pop and indie of the 90s to now: this is your week! Brassy lead singer Miles Hunt of "The Wonder Stuff" is back for another US group of dates, playing a feature tonight (August 13, 2009) at The North Star Bar, in Philadelphia. Having been accompanied by artist Erica Nockalls since Hunt's [...]

After a few weeks of hearing about the video and new LP being worked on with The Sky Drops' Monika Bullette, and Rob Montejo (formerly of Smashing Orange ), we couldn't wait to see and hear the results! The exciting new LP, which has been titled Bourgeois Beat , will be released on August 11th, 2009 and has the duo setting off on a few tour dates in PA, Michigan, and Delaware in support of its release. If you live in Philadelphia, the best date to make it to will be their Mojo 13 [...]

• The Sky Drops - The-Sky-Drops_Swimming-with-Fishes

p Brooklyn trio of long-locked songstresses Au Revoir Simone are back with the long-awaited followup to theirplast album fromp2007p- this time they bring us " Still Night, Still Light ", a study in contrasts delivered by vintagepkeyboards, a drum machine, and three ethereal voices.p Just released on May 19th, this new body of work proves to be more sophisticated than theirppreviouspofferings, with more sparse arrangements and themes of reflection and contemplation.p And yet the songs have an upbeat vibe despite theplo-fi production and meloncholy lyrics, with the drum machine providing the backbone [...]

Photo of Joe Castro by Justin Clowes, 2009 Girl About Town is happy to support local artist and musician Joe Castro for his opening art exhibit at Studio 27.28 with artist Mike Travato between 6 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 6th. "Mighty" Joe Castro's painted works are often set in a World filled with intense colors; intelligent and brooding, with scenes where the subjects are often just a little-bit skewed--leading you to take a deeper look into the haunted scenery of the image itself. Joe Castro is a local artist who was a vibrant member [...]

Girl About Town is on summer holiday! It's been almost 2 years since we launched and we are taking a much-needed break to re-group and enjoy the summer. We will not be posting new content except on an occasional whim. However, if Paul Weller or Elvis Costello want to meet us for an interview, we will make an exception. We would like to thank all of our readers and friends for their support, and of course all of the bands that we've worked with. Check back here in The Fall to see what we're up to. If you are [...]

There is definitely something really wonderful about smaller festivals that make a whole festival-going experience lighter, and far more exciting. Last Friday in San Francisco, Girl About Town began covering one of our first out of city festivals of the year. In a city where large hills and wind-swept hair rules the street, you can't go wrong by chasing that cool ocean chill with a bit of heart-filled pop beat! The first day of the festival showed us what successful festival planning can really be like, with passes already sold out, and kids lining up around the block practically spilling out to the [...]

Oh No Oh My from Austin, TX putting the rock back into indie. Demonstrating the alligator clap for "Rope Burns" Members of San [...]

For thirty years, Depeche Mode has been synonymous with the explosion and evolution of synth pop. While certainly not the first band to experiment with electronics and synthesizers, they were one of the first bands to advance the genre using samples and creative studio techniques without the use of guitars for the first decade of their career, all while propelling electronic music into the forefront of pop music. " Depeche Mode: The Dark Progression " is a new documentary exploring the history and legacy of one of England's most beloved acts. Pieced together from [...]

England Belongs to Twee (EBTT), one of Philadelphia's longest twee/oi! running DJ nights has been presenting some of the most sugary-pop shows in town as of late including; headliners from the UK, Comet Gain, a What's Your Rupture? DJ-hosted dance night, as well as the latest twee breakout act The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. As a Philadelphia companion show for this week and the next's NYC Popfest shows, EBTT is hosting Göteborg, Sweden's all-female trio: Liechtenstein. The group is making their first foray into the US and plays twee [...]

• Liechtenstein - Roses In The Park

Sophisticated synth-pop darlings Chairlift will be hitting the area tonight to play the Susquehanna Bank Center as show opener for The Killers . Sounds killer, right? Chairlift is a trio from Brooklyn via Boulder that has been having a banner year. You may recognize Chairlift from the i-pod Nano commercial, or perhaps from Vanity Fair , who dubbed them one of " three bands to watch " this year, or perhaps even from all the recent touring they have done. But now that you know them you won't forget them, especially [...]

Northern Liberties has been home for quite a while to the 700 club , but no time like the present to revisit an old friend. Every second Thursday of the month brings The Rag , five local lasses and music muses who will be spinning vinyl from their personal c ollections. The gals promise to play anything they feel like, from Fugazi to Wings. Each month will bring a different pair of DJs, with the girls rotating slots each month. This next session of The Rag will be the third installment, so make [...]

The Spectrum, Philadelphia's famous soon-to-be-obsolete arena, has seen a lot of activity this week. Three major rock acts - two uber legendary - have made pitstops on their Spring tours to say goodbye to the venue that has seen it all in the last 42 years. We have seen countless shows there over the years, and this week was no exception, starting with Kings of Leon and then Bruce Springsteen on the first night of two shows to pay homage to the venerable venue. After Springsteen's second show came The Grateful Dead, and between all the sports action and these [...]

Kings of Leon rock it out at The Spectrum Girl About Town braved the crowds of frat boys, their girlfriends, and kids at their first arena rock show to check out the much hyped Kings of Leon . It didn't hurt that Philly's own The Walkmen were opening to a very enthusiactic crowd who was there to rock. Kings of Leon are surely the saviors of mainstream rock these days, with their no frills approach and just-rolled-out-of-bed-with-a- model good looks. Three brothers and a cousin [...]

Above photos of Republic Tigers by D. O'Toole & C. Marcoux Above photos of Travis by D. O'Toole This past Friday night at the TLA here in Philadelphia, Kansas' The Republic Tigers did a bang-up job of warming up the crowd [...]

Tonight at Danger Danger Gallery (50th and Baltimore Ave) for only $5 - Philly's avant proggy Make A Rising with Oh! Pears (i.e. Corey Duncan's new project, ex-Pattern Is Movement), Owl Stations , and Daniel Francis Doyle (one-man band from Austin). Consider this an evening of electronic math weirdness with tape loops, crazy tempo changes, and maybe costumes? Make A Rising - myspace

Our other favorite band from Glasgow, Camera Obscura , is set to kick off a busy summer with the release of their fourth album " My Maudlin Career" . Changing labels from Merge to 4AD, the new album drops tomorrow, 4/20, in Europe and on Tuesday, 4/21, here in the States - available as LP, CD, and Download formats. The band has already released the first single and video, the very jaunty " French Navy ", available on 7" b/w " The World Is Full Of Strangers" and CD b/w " You're The Only Star In My Blue Heaven" [...]

Happy Record Store Day, everyone! This is Girl About Town's friendly reminder to shop the 'mom & pop'! Today is annual Record Store Day. "The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally." What normally occured on the 19th typically has been changed this year to the 18th; a Saturday for all you [...]