Lotus 1/29/15 Toads

Must be the start of winter. Hundreds of hippies descend on Toads Place for Groove-hogs day hosted by Philly groove-merchants Lotus. I find it hard to believe that this troupe has existed for this long sans any vocalist. The awesome Talking Heads deconstruction at the 2014 Vibes made use of a cast of extras that fleshed out the normally instrumental sound. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the sound, but I do think Lotus is one snarky vocalist away from LCD Soundsystem popularity. No matter, Lotus' extendo-jams with Moby-on-Molly samples puffed life into the grinding ragers. Two full sets with Cross-eyed and Painless anchoring set two made for a full evening.

Tijuana Panthers w/ The Garden 1/7/15 Bar

Entered Bar to catch full ( I think) set from androgynous punk duo The Garden. Both ears with dangly earrings, ill fitting 70s sometimes female clothing was the backdrop for a bucket full of angst. Jagged song structure started and stopped abruptly. Songs were interspersed with bizarre, slammy poetry like " I'm gonna burn a pig on your front lawn and see how YOU like it", or " I have a rainbow pasted to my face". Things got weird when some old guy (yes, my age), approached the singer to ask him to play something more "lyrical". The singer looked and sneered at the guy and pushed the microphone at him saying " you do it, you sing it". Seemed like the altercation ended until the singer's snarling lead guitar started in on a song with the lyrics " we don't need him.....and we don't want him" all the while glaring at the hapless oldster. The frenetic pace from the drummer with soap opera hair, whipped the crowd. The song turned to pagan chant, with the pretty drummer hopping from behind the kit to circle the old man and try to crawl through his legs. The old guy escaped to come back a few minutes later with a cadre of bouncers. The set ended and the Tijuana Panthers packed up their gear, evening over.

!!! with Darren Keane 1/6/15 Spaceland

Unfortunately only caught the last tune from opener Keane. Quite a sight, Keane is an imposing figure. Like a shirtless Hagarid, or Hurley (from TV's Lost), Keane coaxed dance music from some small keyboards.

   !!! (Pronounced chk-chk-chk)  has been reviewed in this blog several years ago.  Dancetronica quintet from California has matured since the last posting. Drums, guitar, bass, keys/electronics, with Jagger-esque vocalist and front man. Much of the show was a preview of songs from a soon to be recorded new effort. Front man was using his internal "applause-ometer" to help prioritize the song list. Front man frequently hopped off stage to dance (gyrate) with the crowd. Songs and lyrics focus below the belt, often with phrases like "oh yeah", "push it", and "c'mon" entering the mix which are perfect for the sashaying, vogueing singer. Trolling their back catalog is hysterical, with songs like "bend over Beethoven" giving me a chuckle.