Gnomon, The Clock Reads’ second LP, is an excellent primer on their unique sound and personality as a band. The instrumental jazz quartet makes use of two guitarists along with bass and drums, a relatively unusual configuration that raises challenges ably met by the ensemble.
“Here, the lack of a conventional harmony instrument allows the trio to communicate their ideas with nothing more than the unadorned essentials: rhythm, bass, and melody. The musicians deploy the full extent of their resources to ensure the listener never feels that absence. The focus, energy, and precision of the ensemble’s interplay and the fluency of their improvisation provide plenty to occupy a listener’s attention.”
Tweed has always been a live performance-focused group, and their patience in waiting to release an LP has allowed them to take the time necessary to differentiate themselves from their peers, to develop their unique voice, and to learn how best to translate that voice to an effective record. This patience has paid dividends, and all that work is evident on Moves.
The short takes viewers on a tour of a paradigm shift, using Klaproth as the subject. In the opening scenes, she’s rifling through bills, Philadelphia Parking Authority-issued tickets, and other usual paper pests that come with adulthood. While taking a ride on her Vespa scooter, she approaches a forset staircase with two mystical nymphs—who have been following her the entire video—enticing her to drink a potion.
Incorporating elements of jazz, soul, and R&B, this is undoubtedly some kick-back-and-feel-good music. But their jazzy jams aren’t just for Sunday morning— performing, the TRiBE folds their grooves into peaks and valleys, using improvisation to segway their soul.
Mixing Philadelphia talent with internationally touring musicians who happen to be passing through, Funk n’ Bowl closes out music-filled weekends in the city with an off-the-cuff showcase and lineup in constant rotation. No two shows will ever be alike, because no mix of musicians will ever be the same.
So the tradition of Bodega’s Christmas-eve-eve is so special because it’s not only the one night of the year that the people who grew up surrounding the band get to see them play together, but it’s also one of the few days of the year members of Bodega are reunited with one another as well. And that, paired with that cliche wisp of Christmas wonder hanging in the air, is a recipe for on-stage magic.
As a whole, Orphic Grimore is an unabridged depiction of the duality that Medusa’s Disco straddles. Bringing high energy rock-n-roll into its world of dark and peculiar, Medusa’s tones and words ooze with emotion.
“People can get lost in a jam and fall back on just knowing how to play scales, but if you don’t listen, it doesn’t work. Music is a conversation.”
Beardfest is bringing the magic of their festival to the city, and there is only one thing we need to bring in return: the community.