It's surprisingly difficult, if not downright impossible, to get biographical information about The Fratellis (MySpace). Much like the Ramones did way back when, each of the three members of The Fratellis use their band's name as a surname, but as to who they are really, or what they did prior to the band's formation in 2005? Well, even Wikipedia isn't helping. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, because this trio......

Sometimes, though, we do miss it. But not today! THE HUSH SOUND AT THE TLA Join The Hush Sound, The Cab, Steel Train, and The Morning Light tonight at the Theater of the Living Arts for their Dance Across the Country Tour. Sure, the tour name is über-lame, but the bands promise a decent live show. With an 8:00pm start time, the show will let you get the rock out and still leave you some......

When I entered the TLA on Wednesday night, I experienced a slight feeling of déjà vu. And it wasn’t even just that I had been there the night before to see Bloc Party. No, it was because I was there to see British retro-soul singer Duffy, whose sound harkens back to Dionne Warwick during the Burt Bacharach years, or Dusty Springfield, if you need me to compare her to a white person to restore the......

At the TLA on Tuesday night, the assembled crowd witnessed a band at the peak of their powers. Bloc Party, the British foursome with two solid albums to their credit (2005’s superior Silent Alarm and 2007’s solid A Weekend in the City) gave a transcendent, 16-song performance that earned the crowd’s raucous reaction and made their two encores totally acceptable (a bit ostentatious for a mid-weekend if you ask me, but what the heck?). They......

Fresh off a triumphant performance at last weekend’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, in which lead singer Kele Okereke sported a fetching Barack Obama T-shirt, English dance-rock foursome Bloc Party rolls into town tonight to play a sold-out show at the TLA, along with opening act Does It Offend You, Yeah? and its annoying, grammar-check-baffling moniker. This show should be anticipated for several reasons. First, there is the opportunity to see if Bloc Party’s sailor’s-knot-tight rhythms......

...because seriously, whatever brand they're using in their microphones right now sucks. But we'll get to that eventually, because we weren't at the TLA last Tuesday night just to see Alkaline Trio (MySpace). We were also there to see the opening act, The Fashion (MySpace). We were more or less completely psyched for this show, because we've become pretty big Alkaline Trio fans over the course of the last year, and we were pleasantly surprised......

Is there any band that injects as many catchy hooks into songs about suicide, murder, and all other manners of tragedy as Alkaline Trio (MySpace)? Not that we can think of offhand. Like many other people, we first heard of Alkaline Trio about five years ago, thanks to their ironically anti-establishment mainstream breakthrough, "We've Had Enough." We liked their sound from pretty much moment one, but didn't really get hooked until they rocked our socks......

It seems that the Fillmore at the TLA has gone back to being just the plain old TLA, but nobody remembered to tell us! We struggled with and battled against the cumbersome name anyway, so we're happy that we can officially continue to call it what we never really stopped calling it in the first place. Now if only the Susquehanna Bank Center would go back to "Tweeter," we'd be all set—and significantly less confused.......

Some artists seem just born to entertain. They're not gonna wow you with their musicianship. They're not writing the most stirringly beautiful songs. They're just really freakin' fun. And that pretty much sums up Locksley (MySpace). We've really dug their latest album, Don't Make Me Wait, but we still weren't expecting much. Not that we thought Locksley would be bad. We just kinda figured that they wouldn't give us much reason to endorse their live......

How's work going for you this week? Are you feeling a little bummed that it's Wednesday? The memory of last weekend has faded, and you've still got a couple days of work to plow through before you get to this weekend, right? You're feeling a little down, and you could really use a bit of a pick-me-up. Luckily for you, you'll be able to get exactly what you need at the Fillmore at the TLA......

We bring you the buzz in the 215 blogs. The Highstrung Loner was amused by SEPTA's new signage. (Warning: parts of this website are NSFW.) Philly Chit Chat was sad to find out that the TLA near the art museum is closing. We say look on the bright side: the inventory sale is a good opportunity to augment your DVD collection. Phawker pointed out the virtual media blackout on the Articles of Impeachment read against......

This week is already insane and it's only Tuesday. If we make it to Friday this time, we're going to reconsider religion. MINISTRY'S C U LATOUR Naming tours might not be their strong suit, but Ministry has been defining industrial rock for almost 30 years. That's a long time and a whole lotta rock. Tonight they will come to Philly for what will presumably be their last visit. These guys made many careers possible—some......

Singer/Songwriter David Ford...

Remember The B-52s (MySpace)? Of course you do. They're probably best known for their fifth album, 1989's Cosmic Thing, featuring the singles "Roam" and "Love Shack" (whose video helped to introduce the wider world to Ru Paul). Well, nearly twenty years after their most successful release (god, we're old), and sixteen years since their last studio album, The B-52s are back with Funplex. The album proves that they haven't lost any of their quirky spunk......

We are going to work all day, keeping quietly to ourselves. We can't wait for the Flyers game tonight. You might have read all the reasons why, but most of all, we're just excited that they have rock and rolled this far, and we're willing to stick with them until the end. PHILADELPHIA'S LARGEST SINGLES SPRING FLING AFTER WORK PARTY Okay, so we went a little overboard on the image today. But when we......

Tonight is a surprisingly robust Tuesday night. We're fairly speechless about the breadth and depth of our trio of events for the evening. Or we are just running out of witticisms to pepper throughout our intros. MINUS THE BEAR AT THE FILLMORE Why? Because they're awesome and you're not. Well, maybe you are (after all, you certainly have excellent taste in blogs), but we bet you haven't played the Fillmore (yeah, we know it's......

Two new writers join us today. The first of them, Melissa Watts, is a versatile writer with experience ranging from marketing to journalism, but that's not the only thing that won us over. We were really sold when she told us: "I love Phillyist. My work day doesn't start right without it." Flattery will get you everywhere, folks—including a spot on the staff. Welcome, Melissa! Who doesn’t like a few “na na naas” or “da......

People, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks are playing the TLA this Saturday night with John Vanderslice. Who is Stephen Malkmus? A musical legend, founder of influential '90s indie rock band Pavement. Who are the Jicks? Well, Malkmus defines a Jick as "J from Jagger plus Mick minus M." But these specific Jicks consist of bartender Mike Clark, bassist Joanna Bolme, and drummer Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney). All together, they're a pretty amazing rock band,......

No, this is not a rerun of our recent post of the same title. It's just that we had a chance to see him again so soon and we jumped on it. As you should too, next time he comes to town. Even though the crowd was somewhat smaller at this show than the last time he performed at World Café Live, David Ford was nevertheless singing to the rafters. He opened with his signature......

We're gonna have a great day Sunday, and we really hope you join us for it. As you've heard by now, we're going to be liveblogging the Barking Beauty pageant. And from there, we're gonna be making our way to the TLA... err, Fillmore at the TLA... for the Mae show. Mae's most recent album, Singularity came out last summer, and while it's a little over-produced, it's certainly a strong effort and shows that......

Dear Philadelphia: I have lived here now for nearly six years. I made it through four and a half without buying pepper spray, and only acquired one from a friend when a string of sexual assaults last fall were a little too close to home. It remains attached to my keychain, except for when it isn't: before shows at the Electric Factory or TLA, I make sure to detach it and leave it somewhere......

Everyone, meet Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus's brother, Trace Cyrus. He's taken his Achy Breaky genetics and taken a sharp left toward electronica with his band Metro Station (MySpace), and he's taken Mason Musso, brother of Hannah Montana co-star Michel Musso, along for the ride. The band's electronic instrumentation and poppy vocals will both be on display tonight as Metro Station supports Cobra Starship (MySpace), the motherfuckin' band trying to board the motherfuckin' plane, at the......

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 D.L. Hughley Music Box at The Borgata, Atlantic City Fri, 4/4/08, 9PM On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation Lisa Lampanelli Kirby Center, Wilkes-Barre Fri, 5/2/08, 8PM On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation Wayne Brady Music Box at The......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Thursday post only collects the latest announcements, so definitely check the Tuesday post for any you may have missed. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Fillmore at the TLA Sun, 4/6/08, 8PM $27.50 ($30 day of show) On sale: Fri, 12PM, Live Nation Kanye West Glow in the Dark Tour co-starring Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain,......

Today is another irresponsibly light day when it comes to Can't Miss This! fare. It's not that we don't love you, it's just that we are very popular and everyone wants to spend time with us and, some days, it gets out of control. Like today. So, here's the short-and-sweet skinny on what you should do tonight instead of staying home to defragment your hard drive. Nerd. THE LEGACY OF 1808: THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION......

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 Chris Rock No Apologies Tour Borgata Casino, Atlantic City Fri, 5/16/08, 8PM; Sat, 5/17/08, 8PM On sale: Sat, 10AM, Live Nation (Fri show, Sat show) MUSIC Sasha & John Digweed Fillmore at the TLA Thu, 4/3/08, 9PM $30......

Entering the empty stage, David Ford began to shake his maracas into the microphone. He stepped away and lowered the maracas, but, as if it was somehow coming from behind the scenes, the sound continued to echo. He then briefly vocalized into the mic and -- same as the maracas -- after the vocalization was over, it eerily continued. At this point, hushed murmurs throughout the crowd could be heard: "What is he doing?" "How......

Looking for something to do tonight? February boring you? Feel a primal need to fight the snow and the ice bearing down on our fair city? Check out The Bravery (with guests The Switches and Your Vegas) at the Fillmore at the TLA. No less than the Village Voice has proclaimed them 'New York's Next Big Thing' and the venerable Auntie Beeb called them 2005's (okay, we know it's 2008) most promising act. We'll see......

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we'll be posting events that are going on sale during the current week. This Thursday post only collects the latest announcements, so definitely check the Tuesday post for any you may have missed. Paramore and Jimmy Eat World Mark G. Etess Arena, Atlantic City Fri, 5/2/08, 8PM Pre-sale: Today, 10AM - Fri, 6PM, Live Nation On sale: Sat, 12PM, Live Nation In Flames with Children of Bodom and A Life Once......

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. Bong Hits for Jesus The Troc Fri, 3/21/08, 6:30PM $15 On sale: Today, 12PM, Ticketmaster Dub Trio The Troc Thu, 3/27/08, 6:30PM $10 On sale: Today, 12PM, Ticketmaster The Maine & The Secret Handshake The Troc Thu, 3/20/08, 6PM......