After the thaw, Philly plays host to bands a-plenty.
Fri., April 10, 8:30pm. $25. Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St. 215.627.1332. www.livenation.com
Twentysomething ethno-appropriater Zachary Condon mined Balkan folk music in Gulag Orkestar, Gainsbourgean chanson for The Flying Cup Club and Oaxacan-flavored brass for this year’s March of Zapotec. His best new songs, though, come from Holland, an EP of sensitive, synth-driven meditations on wives, prostitutes and concubines, released under his “Realpeople” alter ego. (Jennifer Kelly)
Fri., April 10, 9pm. $19-$22. With Felix Cartal. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. www.livenation.com
Is it by chance that two of the best tracks on MSTRKRFT’s long-awaited Fist of God represent Philly? That’d be Freeway’s swaggering takeover of a track and John Legend’s nimble presence on “Heartbreaker.” They’re night and day for an album that otherwise enjoys a squishy, party-happy twilight in between. (Doug Wallen)
Thurs., April 16, 8pm. $16-$18. With Willy Mason. Trocadero, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.LIVE. www.thetroc.com
Shamelessly ripping off the early days of the Band, the Felice Brothers resemble nothing less than a bunch of unwashed, hirsute cattle thieves and hired gunmen who’d more than likely steal your whisky and fuck your kid sister. They sound like it too. And that, by the way, is a good thing. (Neil Ferguson)
Sat., April 18, 7pm and 10pm. $81-$171. Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow sts., Upper Darby. 610.352.2887. www.tower-theater.com
New Zealanders can count sheep and the Lord of the Rings movies among the few feathers in their collective cap, but they can add another since their “fourth most popular folk comedy duo” Flight of the Conchords has become a Down Under Under HBO series phenomenon. The kooky kiwis bring their hilarity to town for back-to-back shows at the Tower. (Tim McGinnis)
Sat., April 18, 8pm. $50-$300. With Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. www.livenation.com
Okay, so new album It’s Not Me, It’s You isn’t a patch on her effortlessly brilliant debut (killer single “The Fear” excepted), but it would be churlish indeed to hold this against her. For Lily is proof positive that pure pop needn’t be anemic, witless and dull. She’s a (British) national treasure, bless her. (N.F.)
Sat., April 18, 9pm. $12. With Sonic Suicide Squad. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave. 215.739.9684. www.johnnybrendas.com
Japan’s masters of out-of-control psych are back, bearing withering blasts of feedback, tissue-pulverizing sonic onslaught and molten, repetitive riffs that pound inside your skull. This is music that turns you inside out and backward, tips you over the abyss and flashes multicolored warning lights all the way down. (J.K.)
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