BLOG SHOW #16

Another super special Blog Show on BreakThru Radio. This time around we had some fun guests stop by (thanks in large part to the fact that I now have a couch!) Rob from the band Morning Theft came by to premiere super exclusive new tracks from their upcoming record. The band is also playing Mercury Lounge tonight, and Nora said drinks are on her if you come by. Success!

To celebrate this pretty cool show I have coming up on Saturday, Seth Kallen stopped by and played a couple tracks, including an amazing solo version of "Strange Man." It was so good, in fact, that I made it into an mp3 for all you.

Seth Kallen - Strange Man (live acoustic)

SPEAKING OF AMAZING LIVE SONGS. If you haven't listened to Undisputed Heavyweights live session on BreakThru Radio, you must do so immediately. I gushed about the set on Tuesday and now I got my favorite song of the set, "Bitches Be Trippin'" in which Casey was top notch. The best I've ever heard this song.

The Undisputed Heavyweights - Bitches Be Trippin' (live on BTR)

But all in all, you must check out the Blog Show this week. It's a good one. Here's a direct link to listen.

PLAYLIST!

Sidewalk Chalk - The A-Sides
Park Avenue - The A-Sides
Here or There - The A-Sides

The Fall - Rob Holmes of Morning Theft (live)
Limb from Limb - Morning Theft
Every Promise - Morning Theft

Wicked Ride - Melody Gardot
Goodnite - Meldoy Gardot
My Sweet Darling - Seth Kallen (featuring Melody Gardot)

Shiver - Seth Kallen (live)
Ryan's Song - Seth Kallen (live)
Strange Man - Seth Kallen (live)

The Plot - White Rabbits

Oh! And come to The Skinny tonight! Nora and I will be there with bells on, perhaps jingle bells if this whole snow rumor is true. We'll keep you warm by dancing up a storm all night, I promise.

Ok, that's all.

A Night Out in Philly

Even if it's just for one night, it's quite nice to get out of the city. And it's even nicer when you have a friend who is willing to drive to Philly during rush hour. Katie and I sat in excruciating traffic on the way down, while we chain-smoked and listened to tunes. She played me the new Brand New. I played her the new Shins. We both danced to Panic! At The Disco and discussed future projects. Too bad by the time we made it to Philly we had missed half of The Undisputed Heavyweights' set. Wes didn't take my text messages seriously for Casey to stall until we got there. I was bummed because I really wanted Katie to get the full experience, but we'll make sure we get to Joe's Pub bright and early.

I wish my camera actually worked because not only would I have fabulous shots of all the bands, but I could show you how beautiful World Cafe Live in Philly is. I felt like I had walked into an old dinner theater. Seth compared it to a larger Joe's Pub, and I must say the acoustics and ambiance are definitely worthy of a rival. There was a great crowd, super energy, and all for a worthy cause.

Some may say I'm crazy for driving to different cities to see bands I've seen more times than should be shared. I call it my civic duty.

Anyways.

After The Heavyweights was a young kid named Jon Check who could easily be head of the John Mayer class of rock. This isn't an insult, as I do happen to think Mr. Mayer is quite talented (when he's not sucking face with Jessica Simpson). Jon Check has a certain ease to him in performance, and a hell of a voice. Teamed up with a band and an impressive female vocalist, he incorporated jazz and rock into a solid set. His debut album can be purchased here.

The man of the hour, and the one who put together the entire night, Mr. Seth Kallen took the stage next, backed by his ever growing band The Reaction. Now with two lead guitarists, Katie and I were both worried that a fight might break out between to two over parts. No dice, they played a tight set, without any blood. Miss Melody Gardot joined Seth on stage for "My Sweet Darling" which is always a treat, and they ended with "No Ace" that was pure rock and soul. I think the entire crowd was left quite impressed.

Katie and I had now been drinking consistently since we arrived and the vodka tonics were catching up to us. We bummed around backstage with The Heavyweights before they caught their train back to the city, and Katie and I were off to...well, another bar. We met up with my older brother outside the city and became ridiculously ecstatic upon realizing their vodka/tonics were only $3! Now that is what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure I exclaimed numerous times that evening my newfound love for Philadelphia, and I stand by that even the next day. Not only for it's cheap drinks -- all in all, it sure showed me a good time.

Like I said, it's always nice to get out of the city.

Melody Gardot @ Rockwood Music Hall

Every time I know I’m heading to Rockwood Music Hall, I make it a point to drink only wine. Why? Because Rockwood is classy. Quite possibly my favorite venue in New York, the quaint and cozy room has featured some of the best burgeoning artists that don’t rely on noisy production or yelling. This is a place where you can actually hear the vibrato of one’s voice, or the soft quiver of a trumpet. I could gush about this venue all day and all night, but let’s focus in on one particular night, shall we?

Melody Gardot defines cool.

This young songstress from Philly has the voice of, I’d like to say an angel, but it’s not. It’s beautiful, yes. But it’s no angel. It’s got a certain backbone of swine, that when watching her perform, you know that she’s hiding something. A certain smirk, or a coo in her voice validates that fact. But I’ll tell you this, you’ll be transpired while watching her. I’m always awkward sitting directly in front of a performer, but this time I was too captivated to notice. It wasn’t the first time I had seen Melody play, but for some reason I was blatantly impressed.

I love artists that have carelessness in their voice, proving that their talent is one of those things that they didn’t really chose. Melody wears sunglasses throughout her entire set, due to an unfortunate accident that happened a few years back. But I think the getup works for her, musically. It’s almost as if she emotes a time warp back into the jazz boom of the 1920’s. And yes, she covered “Caravan” which, I must admit, gave me chills.

Downright inspiring, Melody’s music is both heartbreaking and pure that I can only imagine will get better with age. Her latest album Worrisome Heart is worth every penny. Check out her website to listen to a few tracks or on her myspace.

Melody Gardot - Love Me Like A River