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“With Philly's music scene suddenly exploding in all directions, [Thrilladelphia] comes dangerously close to tapping the zeitgeist.” - Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Weekly

Thrilladelphia III: Featuring The Lilys, Hail Social, The Capitol Years, BC Camplight, Bardo Pond and many, many more!!

If you want to hear original Philadelphia music these days, you can tune into the OC or catch a Sears ad during the commercial break. Soon, Philadelphia bands may be featured on MTV. And it’s about time the national spotlight shines on our city; talent, originality, edge— Philadelphia’s Indie Rock bands have it all.

Showcasing Philadelphia’s finest, Figurehead Productions’ Thrilladelphia Music Festival will be sure to grab the attention of critics and fans from coast to coast.

Through collaborations with Philly’s favorite venues and media magnets, Thrilladelphia won’t just invade the city, it’ll take it over. Building on the success of the last two years, this year’s third edition will be the biggest festival yet.

From April 21-29, Thrilladelphia will present over twenty citywide showcases and parties with over 60 bands. Watch out for Bitter Bitter Weeks, Grammar Debate, Golden Ball, Dragon City and many more! There will also be several surprise parties and appearances. The list of venues includes The First Unitarian Church, The North Star, The Khyber, The M Room, and a few undisclosed locations only to be announced at select Thrilladelphia events.

For the full line up of the festival please visit www.thrilladelphia.com

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 21:51 (nineteen years ago)

i kid becuz i love. to hate. just like the city that loves to shoot you in the back. in fact, i'm gonna reserve plane tickets right now cuz i don't want to miss Bardo Pond...playing in Philadelphia...for the 400th time...in 40 years. i think it's kinda cool that "every week in Philly" finally has a new name!

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 21:54 (nineteen years ago)

i fucking hate bardo pond and I've seen them twice in the six months I've lived here. There is no escape.

"Thrilladelphia" has to be intentionally ironic.

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 6 March 2006 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

"Soon, Philadelphia bands may be featured on MTV."

you make me cry, mister man.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

god

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

Run-of-the-milladelphia

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

tears of laughter, but still...

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

The Philly band I really like is Trouble Everyday and the Philly band I like alright is Audible. Spinto Band's ok but they're really a Delaware band.

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:01 (nineteen years ago)

When I see the name Jonathan Valania, I immediately think "thrill"

― Da Na Not! (donut), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:01 (nineteen years ago)

Anthony, do you like Northern Liberties? Maria was playing one of their myspace songs the other day and it actually sounded okay.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:03 (nineteen years ago)

Haven't heard them but I'll check 'em out. If they're a philly band I'm sure their demo is somewhere in this house.

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:04 (nineteen years ago)

i think bc camplight is my sister's best friend's husband's band or something.

i can't really believe there's a band called northern liberties. i'm gonna start one called radnor junction.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:06 (nineteen years ago)

i'm gonna cross my fingers and hope one of the surprise acts is More Fiends! or maybe a Low Road reunion!

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:08 (nineteen years ago)

yo is it true scott seward got sonned by maria tessa sciarrino after an ilm philly beef?

― midi sanskrit (sanskrit), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

two philly place-names begging to be bands: Strawberry Mansion, Hog Island

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

I actually forgot for a second that Scott was talking about His Wife Maria and not the Maria that will post on this thread as soon as she's aware of it.

― Zwan (miccio), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:21 (nineteen years ago)

Monkey 101!

― Jack Cole (jackcole), Monday, 6 March 2006 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

actually, plain parade is involved with this festival. we're attempting to get all the bands who contributed to our comp together and have them play their songs live.

j3ff 4nd3rs0n is a nice dude and assembling something like this is no easy feat in the city of brotherly love (and sisterly spite), so screw all y'all.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Monday, 6 March 2006 23:11 (nineteen years ago)

but yeah, the name is a little corny.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Monday, 6 March 2006 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

I heard very unconfirmed rumors through some very good friends of mine who don't want to be "outed" for letting this information onto the interweb but i will just say that a certain band may be reuniting for the Thrilladelphia event and they are very excited and there name is SCAB CADILLAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:14 (nineteen years ago)

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:16 (nineteen years ago)

I heard very unconfirmed rumors through some very good friends of mine who don't want to be "outed" for letting this information onto the interweb but i will just say that a certain band may be reuniting for the Thrilladelphia event and they are very excited and their name is REVERB MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

actually i wood bee happy for an executive slacks one off

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:19 (nineteen years ago)

Some of those are decent bands (Capitol Years are a lot of fun live), but the whole thing is so middle-of-the-road. There's more interesting music being made in Philly than just retread rock and I don't understand why the Weekly and the City Paper seem to play it so safe. Where's Need New Body? Where's Like Moving Insects?

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:32 (nineteen years ago)

move to baltimore. we've got more weirdos than we know what to do with.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:36 (nineteen years ago)

no, the problem is Philly doesn't have a charmingly grisly nickname like Bodymore Murdaland. how's Philly's murder rate? high enough to justify Killadelphia, perhaps?

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:47 (nineteen years ago)

"Where's Need New Body? Where's Like Moving Insects?"

Where are the beatz? Philly has some good beatz. But perhaps that is too utopian a vision...

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

need new body is recently defunct i believe

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:08 (nineteen years ago)

actually, plain parade is involved with this festival. we're attempting to get all the bands who contributed to our comp together and have them play their songs live.

sara just told me about this. at least you guys are trying to do something novel rather than just four standard bands as The Holy Shit Festival.

― Zwan (miccio), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:19 (nineteen years ago)

you know hurting, im sure j3ff contacted all those bands you speak of. you'd be surprised at how many bands we have to ask to get a three-/four-band bill together.

as for the weeklies being lame, bring it up with them. or write for them, you know? we send them our press releases on a weekly basis, so they know what's up with us. whether they're too lazy/clueless to pitch our shows, well, thats their problem. to their credit, they have always been supportive of plain parade's endeavors. [and they really shouldnt, considering how much i've badmouthed various writers/publications in the past.]

ive griped constantly about philly's inability to be a bit more musically adventurous. there's not much else i can do -- this is a very cliquey city and people rarely go outside their comfort zones.

im the only one here thats seen the actual schedule and i think it looks pretty decent. j3ff's trying to string together the disparate strands of indie rockers here [see clique comment above] and making an effort to publicize it to a larger crowd. as a fellow promoter, i cant blame a dude for trying.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

is bardo pond really boring? they looked boring in that issue of the wire i saw recently

― o -- (eman), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:38 (nineteen years ago)

i think its an accquired taste. i like 'em.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:39 (nineteen years ago)

sara just told me about this. at least you guys are trying to do something novel rather than just four standard bands as The Holy Shit Festival.

actually, you should ask sara for a bit more information before mouthing off because its not just another 4 band bill. j3ff's programming it a lot like sxsw -- multiple shows on nights, day parties, etc. and its not just philly bands.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:41 (nineteen years ago)

The Philly psych and noise scene is kind of good-- Fursaxa is totally amazing, and so are Espers. The noise scene is a bit more scattered, but good noise definitely exists in Philly.

That and the revival of the 'Philadelphia' sound through a lot of newer dance music must mean something, but the CP and PW won't ever get it. The beats are there, but they're too clean and cool for the rags to pick up.

Finally, Philadelphia's totally fucking awesome. You can still find places for cheap. The record stores are good. The food can be good and cheap if you know where to look. We have a larger (and less urban) park system than New York. And David Lynch filmed Eraserhead here. I mean, what the fuck more do people want?

― trees (treesessplode), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:43 (nineteen years ago)

trees, the majority of us posting on this thread have lived or currently reside in philly.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:48 (nineteen years ago)

ps, sorry for sounding cranky but man, you guys just sound like dillholes on this thread.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:48 (nineteen years ago)

"this is a very cliquey city and people rarely go outside their comfort zones."

it's really true and always have been. so sad. but maybe all cities are like that, i only know philly really well. and maria, for what it's worth, I always appreciated when people tried to do anything fun or just tried at all(!) and i was always positive toward people who wanted to make fun or art or whatever. it could be a frustrating place though. old habits die hard. and maybe the idea of invading the city with local indie-rock just doesn't thrill me. i should probably stop caring by now. Go Pats!

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 03:48 (nineteen years ago)

maria you should stop trying to sell me on the city i was born in

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:01 (nineteen years ago)

JUST SAYIN

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:01 (nineteen years ago)

:-D

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:02 (nineteen years ago)

you should just stop giving a shit about a city you no longer live in! ;)

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:05 (nineteen years ago)

well when my mom's dead and my sister moves, maybe

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

it's really true and always have been. so sad. but maybe all cities are like that, i only know philly really well.

actually, i think this is more of a cultural epidemic -- indie rockers being bland, etc etc. im guilty of doing this sometimes as well. i live in west philly but im too lazy to make it out to all the crazy house shows that happen here but ill gladly schlep my ass to fishtown for some indie rock stuff. regardless when i decide to leave my house for something other than a pp show, im generally pleased.

and maria, for what it's worth, I always appreciated when people tried to do anything fun or just tried at all(!) and i was always positive toward people who wanted to make fun or art or whatever. it could be a frustrating place though.

yeah, im definitely into people who are willing to step outside the box and do different kinds of events. dumpsta players, nerdcon, rollergirls, girls dj 101, etc etc. as i get older, i demand it a lot more to keep me interested. also, since i gave up drinking, the idea of going to dj nights and "getting rad" don't appeal to me so much anymore.

and maybe the idea of invading the city with local indie-rock just doesn't thrill me.

but its fun for a lot of people and like i said, it takes effort, so ill give him credit for trying. j3ff's always been really good to us!

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:16 (nineteen years ago)

Don't fret Maria, it looks like a good festival. Snarky board being snarky non-shocker.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 7 March 2006 04:38 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

Ahem, April 22, Ahem.

http://www.figureheadproductions.com/shows.htm

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

you stole our show! asshole. [actually, its cool. i am in the midst of being talked down from the EMP ledge, so we opted not to do our thing.]

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

I wish I could go this- seems like it could be pretty great.

― cdwill (cdwill), Thursday, 20 April 2006 05:55 (nineteen years ago)

I live nowhere near Philadelphia, but I like Man Man and Need New Body. (RIP? They need yet another new body? And some of Fursaxa and some of Bardo Pond. (But I've only heard a couple of CDs, they're not in my face every weekendadelphia). And the NoteKillers, who are working on a new album, and have a new single you can get for free. (But this isn't spam, so you'll have to figure out how.) Any place good to write for in Philly?

― don, Thursday, 20 April 2006 06:47 (nineteen years ago)

The more I hear it, the whole "Every Week in Philly" snark about this festival is irritating me. First of all, contrary to what the City Paper says, we do NOT play in Philly all that often -- maybe every few months. But anyway, the people writing the City Paper and all the comments above as well tend to forget that there's a whole big Philly metro area full of music fans, most of whom have probably never checked out ANY of the bands in this festival, and who might be motivated by the publicity generated by a "festival" to actually come out to a show. I mean the scene of people who has actually seen us or National Eye or even Capitol Years is pretty damn insular and maybe just cuz those people are too jaded to care about their hometown bands doesn't mean they should be such fucking wet blankets. End of rant.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 24 April 2006 04:16 (nineteen years ago)

That said, I don't know how the other bands on the bill are, but everyone should go check out Eyeball Skeleton next Saturday at the Jon Solomon Showcase in the M Room. They are definitely not every week in Philly, and they will definitely not not rock you.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:30 (nineteen years ago)

the eyeball skeleton thing pretty much redeems the whole festival. if only i wasnt in seattle...

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:34 (nineteen years ago)

Maryland's Eyeball Skeleton are eight-year old JJ Brown, ten-year old Charlie Brown and their Dad. The band met at a hospital in the mid-1990s.
Eyeball Skeleton's debut album "No. 1" collects all four of the band's hit singles ("Eyeball Skeleton," "Flat Top Vampire," "The Bouncing Apes" and "The Smoking Turtle.") previously available as self-released Cdrs. It was released April 4th, 2005 on My Pal God Records.
Each song begins with an image and title drawn by JJ or Charlie. JJ and Charlie write down ideas and lines for the lyrics, then work with Dad over waffles and coffee to organize the lyrics to fit their music.

In case you were curious, when they grow up Charlie wants to be a judge or a pro skateboarder. JJ would like to be a guitar player or an artist. For now, they're Eyeball Skeleton.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:39 (nineteen years ago)

dude, hurting, i live on martha's vineyard, don't worry about my snark. i was just bored. and i'm sorry, but a list of bands that have barstools named after them in every dive in town being listed as a thrill was kinda funny to me.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:42 (nineteen years ago)

plus,i almost always think that indie-fests are shortsighted. if it was a week of philly greatness with rufus harley/cash money/bardo pond bills, i would be applauding with vigor. but that's just me. the dude by the lagoon. by the ocean. nowhere near philly.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:47 (nineteen years ago)

No it's cool, I wasn't particularly directing that at you either. It's just that Philly makes me kinda sad sometimes, because I really do think it's getting closer to have an on-the-map music scene, but there's such a lack of boosterism in town. I could be wrong about this, but I get the impression that one thing that helped launch the Spinto Band was the fact that folks in Delaware were all "Woohoo! We have a good band!" Granted, they live in Delaware. But even the jaded folk of Williamsburg seem to become much more alive with buzz about good hometown bands than Philadelphians.

We're not even a Philly band, we're a Jersey band (which is a whole other ugly subject), but getting lumped in with the Philly scene, as much as I love all the other guys in all those other bands, seems to perversely hurt us rather than help us in town. We just get mentioned in the same breath as National Eye and Like Moving Insects (both of whom I really like, btw), and even though we probably play in town about 1/4 as often as them (not to mention sounding nothing like either of them) we get written up as just more of the same-old-same-old, like people don't even KNOW if they've seen us live before but they think they probably have so whatever. And I really like playing Philly too, and believe it is, in the words of Spinal Tap's manager, "a real rock and roll town."

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:52 (nineteen years ago)

plus,i almost always think that indie-fests are shortsighted.

Well yeah, about 95% of indie rock is short-sighted.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 02:57 (nineteen years ago)

it's the town's mentality. it's been like that for a LONG time, and things don't change that fast. the only way that a band has made it work is to leave, make it big elsewhere, and come back as heroes. or, not try that hard in the first place. i would suggest that you try as hard as you can to break NYC if you have faith in your band and your material. forget philly. other than as a comfy place to play/practice/hone. now, if you are DEFINITELY not from philly and have no connections to the town whatsoever, Philly crowds can be great! and very appreciative and loving.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:00 (nineteen years ago)

"Well yeah, about 95% of indie rock is short-sighted."

oh so OTM. you are almost making me want to hear your band now. it's not that philly loves failure, it's just more of an annoying "who do you think YOU are with your TRYING and your ENERGY" attitude.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:03 (nineteen years ago)

If there was indie basketball, no one would dunk and everyone would try to imitate pre-Dr. J players, only they wouldn't practice enough to do a credible imitations.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

imitation.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

I like another Philly band! They're called the Danger-Os. They're this emo band with a really shrill Geddy Lee/Mars Volta voice but their songs actually kind of groove all the way and they have really goofy lyrics about some girl who's stressed about him wearing her dress and a cow in a tree. I can't figure out why they're doing what they're doing but they keep me interested (unlike all the "freak folk" type stuff where I know they're just trying to be weird).

― Zwan (miccio), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:36 (nineteen years ago)

I think The Teeth are good, and Dr. Dog is fun. Buried Beds are also good, though they are extremely sweet and I have to take them in small doses.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:45 (nineteen years ago)

Scott, I think my e-mail just sent you some junk mail somehow and you somehow sent some back to me. I did send you one actual e-mail though, and it should be obvious which one that is (the one that DOESN'T say "crazy illegal sex," btw)

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 03:54 (nineteen years ago)

a Jersey band (which is a whole other ugly subject)

Seriously. I know so many great Jersey bands, most or all of which are roughly in the same area, and....nothing happens.

― cdwill (cdwill), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 05:18 (nineteen years ago)

We might as well be from fucking Western Sahara.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 05:20 (nineteen years ago)

I hear there are more non-Emo music venues there.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 05:20 (nineteen years ago)

I just bought a National Eye album, I guess a new one. It is really boring. I did see The Teeth recently, though, and thought they were terrific. I'm glad to be back in Philly again.

― peter x (bucksbreeze), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 14:35 (nineteen years ago)

Sometimes i wish I was back. I miss the live chicken place on South 9th St and the Chinese Market on Sixth and Washington. There's a tank full of doomed frogs there, supposedly waiting to be sold for "eating purposes only", or so the sign next to them says.

Oh yeah, and the many great places to buy used vinyl.

― kwhitehead (stephen schmidt), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, this is surprisingly relevant:

http://www.myspace.com/thecapitolyears
(listen to the lyrics of Mirage People)

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

Philly is a city of haters.

― Chris Bergen (Cee Bee), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

That being said, I resent this thread title!

― Chris Bergen (Cee Bee), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 02:57 (nineteen years ago)

Actually I guess what I resent is this shitty "festival".

― Chris Bergen (Cee Bee), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 03:15 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know if I like the music, but this is one of the best band taglines I've ever read:

Phil Moore Brown

Welcome to Negro Nascar...behind the wheel is PMB the most daring black necks known to women & men

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 03:23 (nineteen years ago)

Philly is a city of haters.
-- Chris Bergen (chrisberge...), Yesterday. (Cee Bee) (link)

no, we're the city that loves you back. but they do say love is strange, and our love is a lot like that.

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 26 April 2006 11:34 (nineteen years ago)

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