The Owlery

The features blog of The Temple News

Music Archive

Tuesday

4

March 2014

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Schoolboy Q keeps performance lively despite laryngitis

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The notorious bucket hat-wearing Schoolboy Q, also known as Quincy Matthew Hanley, wasn’t going to let a little case of laryngitis ruin the second day of his Worldwide Oxymoron tour. The West Coast rapper shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his long, camouflage jacket and beamed at his audience as they belted back his lyrics, allowing for his voice to get some rest.

The rapper seemed as energetic as ever to perform his latest hits from his newest album, “Oxymoron,” released Feb. 25, as he danced around the stage of the Trocadero Theatre on March 3. Audience members were transported into a bouncy house of bucket hat-wearing adolescents screaming out lyrics to “Studio” and “Collard Greens” verbatim.

Q traveled back to the days of his first album, “Setbacks,” to perform “Figg Get Da Money,” and his second, “Habits and Contradictions” to perform “Hands on the Wheel” and “There He Go.”

The lyrics lent themselves toward a theme of thankful, more specifically, a thankfulness toward Schoolboy Q’s daughter, who he gave a shout out to as he sang one of his more emotional songs, “Blessed.”

After his initial spurts of energy, Q’s fatigue and voice loss got the best of him during his last song, “Man of the Year.” However, to solidify the end of the set, he performed the song again, getting every person to put his or her hand in the air.

Tuesday

4

February 2014

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Folkadelphia presents a night of fun, relaxation with Andrea Tomasi, Johanna Warren and Abigail Reimold

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In a warm, art-covered small tea house, folks packed the Random Tea Room on Feb. 1 to see Folkadelphia presents: Andrea Tomasi, Johanna Warren and Abigail Reimold.

Excitement built in the room as the audience awaited the adventure the singer and songwriters were about to take everyone on. But before the first guitar strummed, a venue manager asked everyone if they could sit. With no more than 15 seats, the audience mostly packed up on the floor. The manager then thanked everyone for coming, and immediately, he was thanked in turn by a member of the audience for hosting.

Others that were situated in the back and near the front entrance were forced to stand. A few had no view at all.

“The vibe was super cozy,” said Ashley Tryba, a senior environmental studies and French double major. All of the singer/songwriters were at ease. Heads nodded and fingers strummed to the rhythms throughout the three acts. Audience members noted how lucky they were to have felt such an experience.

“It was an awesome turnout in an intimate space. I appreciated the quiet small venue,” Warren said. “People are so kind, it shows the good of society. I would say the smell was really nice [plus] the tea brewing. The energy of the over all space was really good.”

Many of Warren’s songs were peaceful and filled personal inspiration. Her lyrics debated love and the daily struggles and those same messages were felt by the entire audience.

Reimold filled the room with an electric guitar and multiple foot pedals distorting, fuzzing and fading sounds.

This may have been Reimold’s fourth show on an electric guitar, she said. James Collins, a senior Boyer College of Music and Dancing student and Reimold’s friend, described how Reimold “melted faces” after playing so well. Her vocals pared guitar riffs and subtle transition. Reimold put on an overall strong performance overcoming a few audio problems throughout the show.

Melody after melody fluttered to the listeners with minute pauses in between songs. Occasional comments like “thanks for coming out” and clapping were all that suspended the music during the acts. In between sets, the audience stretched their legs while chatting, drinking craft teas and even spending time by the fire in the beautifully finished backyard.

Others glanced at the dozens of works of art, hats and tea products covering the walls and tables of the tea house. Tomasi opened with a folky rhythm on her acoustic guitar matched by flawless, calm vocals – so calm, several members of the audience rested their heads upon their friendly neighbors’ shoulders. Halfway through her set, the blissful sound of Warren’s flute then beautifully matched Tomasi’s voice and guitar.

Tomasi and Warren were starting their tour at the Random Tea Room, with future stops in Louisiana and Portland.

Warren, who played a studio session with WXPN’s The Key with Tomasi was also promoting her debut album available on Bandcamp. Reimold also gave a sneak peak to songs from her upcoming album.

“It was really cute how everyone packed in,” Tryba said. “All the girls did a wonderful job because it was so heartfelt.”

Toby Forstater can be reached at toby.forstater@temple.edu.

*Editor’s note: Abigail Reimold also holds a position as the Photography Editor at The Temple News, but did not play a part in the editing of this article.

Friday

31

January 2014

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Sean Paul plays Trocadero, ends set half-hour in

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Wired 96.5 radio held its second annual 96 Cent show at the Trocadero last night. The anticipation was at an all time high because reggae artist, Sean Paul was headlining. The dark shade wearing, Mohawk-rocking artist tried to show the eager audience that he still has the right temperature.

Opening performances included DJ Bonics, Chill Moody, and more notably, Freeway, a rapper who was born and raised in North Philadelphia. Freeway especially got the attention of the audience as he lyrically reminisced about places he used to go in the city. After a seemingly long intermission and crowd hyping session from members of the radio station, Paul descended stairs from the back of the stage area and leaped into the spotlight.

“Are all you ladies ready to have a good time?” Paul screamed. He later broke into dance, and the crowd shortly followed. People of all ages and cultures spread out in the balcony and floor area and could be seen grooving to the dancehall inspired beats.

Songs from “The Trinit”y album,  including “Give It up to Me,” “We Be Burnin’,” and “Temperature” were fan favorites. The energy level seemed very dependent on how old or new the song was, as most audience members were more acquainted with works of Paul’s that was longer than three years.

During his set, Paul would shout out projects that he was working on including the production of his sixth studio album, “Full Frequency” that will feature collaborations with artists like Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz, and Juicy J. The album is set to be released on Feb. 18.

Thirty minutes into his performance, Paul abruptly ended his set and left the stage, leaving his audience wondering if he was going to come back and perform more. The DJ spun tracks for about 10 more minutes and wished everyone off as concertgoers journeyed back into the cold.

Sunday

22

December 2013

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Saves the Day set as Asbury Lanes sees proposal

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A couple months back was the last time I saw Saves the Day. Unfortunately, its set at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer was unceremoniously interrupted by someone in a 7 Seconds hoodie who took issue with the fact that the band had chosen to perform a set comprised largely of newer material. He made this apparent by nearly getting into a physical confrontation with the group’s founder, Chris Conley.

So it is with no shortage of irony that the band’s set at Asbury Lanes, situated on the Jersey Shore, was met with another interruption.

This time it came in the form of a marriage proposal.

In the spirit of giving, Saves the Day is in the midst of embarking on a nine-date acoustic tour. Performing a whole plethora of old songs, rarities and various other deep cuts, it’s a tour that emotional 90’s kids have been clamoring for for quite some time. Joining them on the holiday romp are Jon Simmons of Doylestown, Pa. quintent Balance and Composure and Walter Schriefels of Quicksand and Rival Schools, as well as countless legendary New York Hardcore groups.

Kicking the night off was Simmons.

Simmons powered through a set of originals, covers (including one of Neutral Milk Hotel b-side “Engine”) and Balance and Composure tunes. Specifically from the B&C catalog, he performed “As Planned,” one of the group’s oldest songs, and “Dirty Head,” off their latest record “The Things We Think We’re Missing.”

Schriefels’ set consisted of acoustic arrangements of Quicksand and Rival School songs, as well as of New York Hardcore classics “Start Today,” by Gorilla Biscuits, the hardcore group that he was a part of, and “The Storm,” by legendary straight edge outfit Judge.

Schriefels left the audience with several final words of wisdom.

“If you ever feel like you can’t pee,” Schriefels said. “Play a game of hide and seek, it’ll come right out.”

Saves the Day followed this by proceeding to play pretty much everything.

Three-fourths of the way through the band’s set, a spry, wiry young man was called to the stage, who promptly brought up his girlfriend. After a bit of showmanship, and a confession from his girl that Saves the Day is her favorite band, he popped the question

She said yes.

After playing for nearly an hour-and-a-half, Conley retook the stage, Corona in hand, and led the band in a sloppy and drunken rendition of Weezer’s “El Scorcho.” Borderline euphoric, Conley reemerged on stage for a final time, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, and led the crowd in an entirely unplugged version of “Ten Miles Down,” a fan-favorite off the group’s first record “Can’t Slow Down,” which was released when Conley was just 18.

The madness will resume tonight at The Ottobar in Baltimore, and Sunday at Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church. If you were nimble enough to grab a presale ticket, enjoy the insanity.