On The Scene Report: Philly Car Share’s Philly Sound Clash
Alexis K. Lerro reports: I found out at about 5:55 last that I was going to be judging the Philly Car Share’s Philly Sound Clash ‚Äî their battle of the bands ‚Äî at World Caf?© Live at 7. Luckily, I had just gotten a haircut and was now looking like Chynna Phillips circa 1991, so all I had to do was get dressed and get from South East Philly to 31st and Walnut. Upon arrival, I was greeted with hoards. Hoards! There were lots of people, all shapes and sizes, some with headsets and some with body odor, talking loudly, throwing things, saying, ‚ÄúNO! NOT IN THERE!‚Äù, and trying to get people to buy or sign up for their services. After I was denied entry no less than four times with my VIP pass, I finally got in and got upstairs in the mezzanine, eagerly awaiting the free beer, bands and Philly elite. So I waited awhile, I made friends with the nice Philly Car Share people‚Äîwho were so nice that I thought they might be making fun of me. Nope. They were just really, really nice.
After the jump, the battle royale and LOT of boldface names.
And we waited. Finally we got meal tickets (hooray!) and free beer (HOORAY!) and I met my fellow judges: Josh Wink (deejay extraordinaire), Joe Lekkas (Surreal Sound co-owner and Hey Day guru), Jamiel Owens (Power 99/Clear Channel Radio “big shot”) and Sean Agnew (oh, come on people!). And me, Alexis Lerro, filling in for Joey “Sweeny.” [Ed.: Soundclash's spelling difficulties are now legend, as many people living in the "Art Museam" area can attest.]
We got to hear some great deejays, like Josh Wink, King Britt, and Dave P, and we got cool tshirts, iPod covers, pens and gum all emblazoned with the “Philly Car Share” logo. And I was overly excited about everything the entire night. We knew, at some point, the fun would end and we’d have to listen to bands. And you know, we were right. Here’s the rundown:
The Clamor: These guys were dressed like Damon Albarn in the “Parklife” video and couldn’t really nail down a “sound.” I was all set to hear “Surf Wax America”, but then they started playing a mashup of “I Wanna Be Adored” and “Pumping on Your Stereo.” Derivative, dude, so derivative.
Taragirl: Taragirl was introduced and like 38 people came on stage. Okay, it was more like eight, but I got excited when I saw two ladies who looked like they could have been in an early 90s R&B supergroup. Then a little girl with ankle boots and fishnet stockings came on and I realized everyone else on stage was just backup. Damn, Taragirl has a POSSE!
Run, Runner: Yeah, we all know about Run, Runner. We’ve all seen them. They play rock music and wear sneakers.
Philadelphia Slick: Ugh, not another indie rap group. I can’t stand Common! I can’t stand Atmosphere! Oh wait, these guys have a saxophone and horn section? I like the funky beats I can dance to… Funky beats, funky beats…
Matt Santry: I swear on all that is sacred and holy, his opening song was “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister. I will eat a Philebrity sandwich if I’m wrong. His second song was by The Police. No? Are you sure? Okay, it was Dave Matthews. But it really sounded like Sting that time!
Rushmore: “Oh my gosh! I love New Found Glory, they are like, MY ALLTIME FAVORITE BAND!” Man, I want to go surfing and fall in love at the boardwalk. “Play ‘Ocean Avenue’!”
In the end, despite the indie representation, Philadelphia Slick took first and Taragirl took second, just going to show that Philly loves the funk.
During the deejay sets, guests could send text messages to Philly Car Share and have them projected for the crowd. Some were blatant ads, some were directed towards the bands and deejays, one was a proposal, but the “whyd joey s cancel his judging spot” was my favorite.
A couple themes/facts of the night:
From observation, “Wang Newton IS NOT A MAN!” In other news, Elton John and George Michael ARE BOTH GAY!
From HotKangarooPie.com, “When is your site gonna stop trashing us!?” When you change your name to something not loosely offensive and weird. (That being said, I was charmed by them. They are nice, nice guys.)
From the organizers, “Where is Sean Agnew? Has anyone seen Sean Agnew?”
From the me, “Boobies! I saw boobies on the jumbotron!”
And that’s that. It was a lovely time, I met some wonderful people, and I look forward to getting a BMW from Philly Care Share. Yes, they have BMWs.
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:39 pm
First- Your column, “was like”, written by a person who can not even speak proper English. I can’t believe you have a job writing professionally. I was unaware that the word “like” is considered professional when writing as a grown up.
Second- How does someone who obviously hates music, unless it’s repetitive house beats and vibrato-like screaming actually get picked to judge a contest pertaining to “BANDS”? You admit to having fun only prior to the bands’ performances, with your free beer and free food. The purpose of the show was based on music performances, your job was to judge that.
You trashed every band that performed. The only positive remarks made were about Taragirl’s posse (are you jealous that you have no followers?) and the horn section from Philadelphia Slick’s band. Other than that, you completely shut your ears to the different genres of music that took place on that stage, proud of themselves for getting there, putting their entire souls into their performances, and all you wanted to do was suck Josh Wink’s dick- get off his dick, he probably thinks you’re foul.
It’s amazing that you, who obviously has no interest in hearing live music, got picked to judge a “Battle of the Bands”. You are a disgrace- you should be ashamed of your write-up. You speak as if you’re a music connoisseur, when you actually know nothing about it. And since you’re so hung up on people’s wardrobes, maybe you should buy yourself a new bag- it’s hideous. Maybe you should meditate and bring some positivity into your life- your cynicism is toxic, you suck at writing, and you’re just salty because your an aging, sarcastic wanna-be hipster. Everything about you is BULLSHIT!
February 23rd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Whoa. Somebody got their ego hurt because they didn’t win a wee lil’ contest!? Ouch. What a baby.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Dear Lexie,
I very much appreciate your effort to write just like your boss. And boy, you do a pretty good job of copying him. Here’s a little advice. Over the years, “Mr Sweeny” (you are right, misspelling Sweeney and Art Museum is on exactly the same level, and Thesaurus editors around the world were gasping collectively!) has offended countless people with his snarky criticism of their music. The difference between you and him? Even though people hate him and disagree with him, they can’t argue with the fact that he knows what he is talking about, and has a lot of appreciation for music. And hey - he can even play an instrument!
Cynicism and snarkiness sans any kind of background knowledge make you sound - well, totally like a bitch. And not a very bright one, at that.
February 25th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Lexie,
I dont know you, never heard of you but know your kind. You are the ugly club chick who will still be sippin cosmos and petting one of your 20 cats alone while the rest of the world passes you by at age 50. I attended the sound clash and the fact that you were even considered a judge insults the very nature of what it was all about. Every band there brought something to the table and hand there group of fans there and I’ll bet by the time the evening was over they were fans of the other bands that were performing also. You didnt fit into this mold. I highly suggest you stick to something you can comprehend like American Idol, it seems to suit your level of musical taste and miniscule knowledge. 7-ll is hiring, I saw the sign today. Considered it.
February 25th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
You gotta see the MySpace pages of these people leaving the up-in-arms comments. Amazing.