Music Shortlist: 7 Shows to See This Week (audio-enhanced)

Jaill, Restorations, They Might Be Giants and more.

Restorations [Photo by Jess Flynn ]

Restorations [Photo by Jess Flynn ]

Tau Cross @ Boot & Saddle | Wednesday, April 6
Ominous/exhilarating punk/metal from members of Amebix/Voivod. They’re loud and deathy, but not too deathy, you know?

 

Felly @ Kung Fu Necktie | Thursday, April 7
I normally don’t write about sold out shows, but I was intrigued about this moody Felly fella. Turns out he’s not just one of those funny internet rappers; his beats are sweet and his rhymes are fine. My rhymes are just okay. So, yes, the show is sold out — and doesn’t count as one of the “7 Shows to See” —but you can download a bunch of his stuff for free. NSFW.

Restorations @ Johnny Brenda’s | Friday, April 8
This band of Philly shoegaze kids is keeping busy. Right now they’re wrapping up a 14-stop tour with Creepoid and The Dirty Nil, and then they’re doing three dates with Minus the Bear in May. Here’s a track from 2014’s LP3. It’s a good Restorations cheat sheet: resilient choruses, loud heartache, guitars that only stop for drama.

 

Jaill @ Ortlieb’s | Friday, April 8
Just a hardworking SubPop band from Wisconsin. Four dudes. They play rock well.

 

Home Blitz @ Philadelphia Record Exchange | Saturday, April 9
Home Blitz is secretly one of New Jersey’s best — a bratty, lightly punky rock band that makes me smile every time I hear a new song. Lo-fi, upbeat and a joy to be around. Sparrow Steeple’s also on the bill.

 

Barns Courtney @ Milkboy Philly | Saturday, April 9
At first I thought Courtney Barnett was pulling a Chris Gaines thing, but no: Barns Courtney is a separate person — a singer songwriter from Ipswich, U.K. Bradley Cooper and Harvey Weinstein are fans, apparently. Courtney’s music is worth a listen, the kind of ominous blues-rock you might hear in a griefy Walking Dead montage. (I just Googled: It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m not the first person to suggest it.)

 

Johnny Showcase @ Boot & Saddle | Saturday, April 9
Philly’s sweatiest, glitteriest party band did a Tiny Desk Concert a few months back and somehow I missed it. I think the video shows Johnny Showcase is not only about chest hair and sequins — they’re also good at laying down sweet, hip-shaking grooves. Watch till the end.

 

They Might Be Giants @ TLA | Sunday, April 10
Seems like the Johns are busier than ever. Glean is just a year old and they’re already putting out Phone Power — a pay-whatever compilation of music from their revived Dial-A-Song. Glean’s “End of the Rope” is delightfully weird and doomy: “I’ll spend eternity doing joyless cartwheels in the void.”