Summer Season Concert Series - Philly Style: August 26th

The Barbary:

  Headliner: Negative Approach

  Opening Act: Cobra Lung

  Doors: 6pm / Show: 6:30pm 

  Tickets:$12

  Detroit natives, Negative Approach, were the undisputed champs of Midwestern hardcore in the early to mid-'80s. Legend has it that vocalist John Brannon recruited drummer OP Moore and the guitar/bass team of Rob and Graham McCulloch at a skate park sometime in 1981. The band, lead by the bald-headed John Brannon and his hoarse wail, are composed of brothers Rob and Graham McCulloch - guitar and bass, and OP Moore - drummer. They concocted an extreme sound devoid of frills that alternated between violent and mean. This was first fully documented in 1982 on their self-titled Touch and Go 7". The band was certainly as influential group, touching everyone from Poison Idea to Sonic Youth to Los Crudos, as well as entire generations of hardcore fans in Boston and New York. They were also as original and extreme as any early-'80s punk outfit -- the rhythmic crush created by Moore and the McCulloch brothers continues to be an undeniable steel-toe to the face. An essential show and listen for anyone who wants to understand hardcore.

Johnny Brendas:

  Headliner: Marah ( An Evening With)

  Opening Act: NONE LISTED

  Doors: 8pm / Show: 9pm 

  Tickets:$15

  Marah has just released it's new record "Life Is A Problem" on iTunes. If you're a music enthusiast in Philly, you've undoubtedly seen them come and gone from time to time. Now they are a coming, once more as Marah rises again, this time from the farmland of rural Pennsylvania. Frontman David Bielanko describes the process of this revival as a true testament to the album name as they have had all sorts of problems and issues to overcome their return. This is the first record that the group, entirely revamped with the addition of Christine Smith, but without brother Serge around. They are announcing the addition of two new band members for this summer tour, namely Mark Francis Sosnoskie on bass and Bruce W. Derr on guitar.

Trocadero:

  Headliner: Where The Ocean Meets the Sky

  Opening Act: At Daybreak / Amleah / Your Bright Ideas

  Doors: 7pm / Show: 7:30pm 

  Tickets:$12

  Picture an epic, panoramic scene full of splendor and that's exactly what makes a perfect moniker for the type of music that this South Jersey six-piece delivers. Their ubiquitous sound of epic soundscapes and thunderous metal machinations colliding – a wide ranging, panoramic display of musical landscaping.

Here to promote "Empires," the band’s musically adventurous debut full-length sure to assault listeners with a sound that is just as smart as it is heavy – an unfortunately rare combination in today’s current alt music scene. The album is directed towards the faults of human beings and the idea that we destroy ourselves from the inside out. Spending the last several years building their own empire, performing up and down the East Coast, sharing the stage with bands like Between the Buried and Me, Alesana, Haste the Day and more of today’s genre giants in the process. All the while, laying the groundwork for their album, which the band wanted to emphasize creating something enduring.

Theater of the Living Arts:

  Headliner: Xavier Rudd & Izintaba

  Opening Act: Good Old War

  Doors: 8pm / Show: 9pm 

  Tickets:$23

  Xavier Rudd gradually refines his globally-influenced collage of world music – a matchless mixture of reggae, funk, blues, folk, and nearly every other sort of song with the ability to stimulate people’s spirits. This time around marks a fresh, new musical and spiritual awakening for Rudd, perhaps most notably with his addition of bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo under their new unified banner. The trio form a triangle of influence that carries a piece of each individual member, yet keeps them all connected. Thanks to the input of Inzintaba, there’s a staggering amount of vigor to the sound that Xavier Rudd fans haven’t seen to date. There’s also more vocal variation, with colourful harmonies in several different languages soaring atop the music.