We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Phillyist. AMEX Urban Adventures, because big cities are full of little adventures. UWISHUNU, because you wish you knew. NYC Visit, where you can find out all about things to during November in NYC. PRAVDA, because nobody likes an aftertaste in their vodka. Austin City Limits, which will feature The Arcade Fire. Busted Tees, where they've thrown their weight behind Hillary in '08.......

Last night, I was at the Trocadero to see MGMT and what they’re all about. What I can tell you, amigos, is that these gangly dudes put out pure, unadulterated funk. The first song that I heard in its entirety was "Electric Feel." These are my thoughts, in retroactive real time, regarding what was going on in front of me: If only this band wasn’t plagued by the arbitrary assignment of ‘opener’…If only this crowd......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out......

The last time we saw The National was on their gigantic tour with Arcade Fire. In the midst of The National’s set at The Tower Theater, this Phillyist was overtaken. “This is the best band ever,” we thought. Well, we were thinking that until Arcade Fire came on and blew our ears off…but we knew the band was going to be something worth loving. And shortly thereafter, Internet critics began to think along the same......

Let's start with Jesca Hoops. From what we briefly heard and read on her MySpace page, she sounded like an interesting singer/songwriter that should be supported. We even told you to get to The Polyphonic Spree's concert early to check out her out. After a very stern give-your-undivided-attention speech by The Polyphonic Spree's frontman, Tim DeLaughter, Hoops came on with her sparkly shirt-dress and acoustic guitar. After what seemed like an eternity she finally......

Fans of straight-ahead, no-nonsense rock 'n roll from bands with talent to burn have had a rough go of it lately. Enter the Kings of Leon, who will bring their unique blend of indie and blues to the Electric Factory tonight. The show is way sold out, but you’re gonna wanna worm your way in, by hook or by crookaigslist. The brothers (and cousin) Followill made a name for themselves with two critically acclaimed throwback......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get......

We told you that we dug Arcade Fire in our preview but we didn't realize how much until we left Arcade Fire's concert on Saturday night. Arcade Fire's show was one of the best shows we have ever been to, hands down. Their mission was, "to uplift fans, combat 'spiritual death' and bring back the hurdy-gurdy." They completed all three of these missions with incredible music, awesome stage presence and an overall kick-ass show.......

Some of you planned your weekend in advance and got tickets through Live Nation website for the Arcade Fire show on Saturday at 8PM. That was a great idea since the show is now sold out. Most are already familiar with Arcade Fire's unique Indie-Rock sound. Featured on the cover of the May 2007 issue of Blender, Arcade Fire is "the greatest little big band in the world." Blender continues, "In three years, Montreal......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Tuesday post only collects the early announcements, so definitely check back on Thursday for the latest ticket news. COMEDY George Carlin Atlantic City Hilton Sat, 4/14/07, 8PM $60 On sale: Thu, 10AM, Ticketmaster MUSIC Sevendust w/Red, Diecast, and Invitro Electric Factory Tue, 4/17/07, 7:30PM $20 ($23 day of show) On sale: Fri, 10AM, Live Nation Arcade Fire......

If you follow Philly music, last spring you probably heard about a great alt-country band called One Star Hotel who broke up after opening for Wilco on a European tour. You may also have heard about how OSH’s front man and lyricist, Steve Yutzy-Burkey, started a new band with his wife Krista (keys & vox), former OSH bandmate Rick Sieber (bass), and Scott French (drums). You might have heard that the band was called......

If you read Phillyist regularly (and if not, why not?), you're probably already aware that we're partial to both music and video games, so when the two come packaged together, we get rather excited. And that's just what's happening at a couple of upcoming shows at First Unitarian. First up on Sunday night is the Advantage/French Toast/Chromelodeon show. French Toast has nothing to do with video games as far as we know, but they......

The weeks starts out right when a sucker punch on the field lands Chicagoist in the middle of a Sox/Cubs throwdown and the fists continue to fly in the comments. Despite suburban resident Ms. Pinney's best little try no books will be banned anytime soon and the El is really really gross. Houstonist is there to start compiling the punditry when when the guilty, guilty Enron verdict comes down. This guy seems to be able......

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the......

Some of you loved us and some of you hated us, but we were able to put our differences aside last night and engage in some hot, sweaty indie bobbing to the tunes of Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah! A sign at the bottom of stairwell at First Unitarian Church advertised that more tickets would be available at 9:30 pm for the show. Conveniently enough, that was the time that Grand Buffet Clap Your Hands,......