Press Release

PHILLY LIKE A LOCAL: FOR THOSE WHO LIKE IT LOUD
Philly’s Full Of Indie Music, Big Laughs And Smooth Moves

PHILADELPHIA, December 1, 2006

Live, Loud And Clear
Philly rocks, plain and simple, and you don’t have to look hard to discover incredible new music of all kinds. Some of the best live music, as insiders know, can be heard in the smallest venues like The Khyber. Jammed with sweaty fans, this Old City institution is known as the place to hear a band before it makes it big, but other venues like Millcreek Tavern and the brand new Johnny Brenda’s are quality places to hear indie rock as well. West Chester has its own indie haunt, Rex’s, which books a solid lineup of both local and national acts. Red walls, rockabilly waitresses and cheap booze are all part of the scene at South Street’s Tritone, but the eclectic crowd is usually here for the lineup of obscure rock and edgy jazz. And if you crave more edgy jazz, get an earful of Ars Nova Workshop’s concert series, which takes place in changing venues and brings big-name legends to town on a regular basis.

World Cafe Live

Photo courtesy of World Cafe Live

Love the old-school sounds of Coltrane? The city’s classic jazz roots live on at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, a cozy joint in Northern Liberties that predated that area’s hipster boom and continues to pack in the ’heads. Or, stay in Center City, and check out Chris’ Jazz Café, an inexpensive spot that promotes local and young acts.

You’ll recognize most of the names on the main stage at The Trocadero, a former burlesque theater that hosts established punk, hip-hop, electronic and alternative acts, but you can catch unheard-of bands in its smaller, second-floor balcony. North Star Bar, a converted house on an unassuming corner in Fairmount, specializes in good beer and great tunes of the rock and soul variety. On the softer side is World Café Live’s mix of contemporary rock, world and folk artists, staged in a bi-level concert hall and restaurant in WXPN’s broadcast studio building.

If you need to say you saw it first, R5 Productions’ hip-hop, punk and indie shows, usually all ages, draw equal numbers of savvy teenagers and hip of-agers to venues like the First Unitarian Church. Venture out on the cutting edge to venues in West Philadelphia like the Rotunda and The Gatherings at St. Mary’s, both of which are known for avant-garde, ambient and experimental performances. At the nearby International House, the music lineup includes world acts, jazz and arty rock.

Music To Mark On The Calendar
You can get even more band for your buck at Philly’s music events—many of which span whole days and weekends. The new Black Lily Film and Music Festival, taking place May 2007, celebrates emerging female talents, representing neo-soul, hip-hop and spoken word, among others. The hipsters always congregate at the Liberty Lands Festival, held twice each summer in Northern Liberties, where local indie bands play an outdoor concert to raise money for neighborhood improvements. You won’t believe the impressive skills of the young students of The Paul Green School of Rock until you hear their year-round tributes to Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, the Ramones and others.

Held every Memorial Day, Jam on the River is a rock ’n” roll blowout that kicks off the summer season on Penn’s Landing. Sponsored by indie radio station WXPN, the All About the Music Festival puts together a range of talent from country, folk, blues and rock, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival is a miniature Woodstock every August, with folkies camping out to watch three days of performances—everything from bluegrass to zydeco.

Movin’ And Groovin’
Spinning is a respected art form in Philadelphia, and the local scene has brought up star DJs like Josh Wink, King Britt and Rich Medina. You can catch rare grooves on a nightly basis at dozens of restaurants and lounges, and with new spots opening routinely, the club scene continues to evolve. There’s always someone worth hearing at South Street’s Fluid—usually national-level DJs spinning reggae, house, hip-hop, techno and various combinations thereof. The enormous Shampoo Nightclub blares classic house, dance and hip-hop, with several different DJs on the ones and twos. You can get lost in the enormous former bank Transit, with different beats in each room, or kick back at hotspots like the M Room and 700 Club (in Fishtown and NoLibs respectively) and dance to an eclectic mix of Brit pop, old-school rap, heavy metal and exotica. The best place to sample swanky nightlife, along with frou-frou cocktails and hardcore house, is Denim Private Club. Latin sounds rule in Old City at Brasil’s, which offers dance instructions in salsa, merengue and bachata.
 
Big Laughs
With a bunch of comedy troupes, joke joints and comic performance art in town, comedy in Philly is blowing up. The newest addition to the giggle scene is Helium, which brings big-name headliners to Sansom Street. South Street’s Laff House is another place to catch touring standup acts. The hilarious members of Comedy Sportz put on a rigorous weekly show that demands audience involvement, while local improv troupes The N Crowd, Comic Energy, LunchLady Doris and The Gurus of Guffaw make merriment all over town. The laughs are wearing high heels at the weekly Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret at L’Etage, presenting music, comedy and androgynous theater. Hard Liquor Theater is a cast of comics, drag queens and clowns that brings its wacked-out act to Tritone every third Thursday, while the bar’s legendary across-the-street neighbor Bob and Barbara’s hosts a Thursday night showcase of drag talent every week.

ADDRESS BOOK

Live, Loud And Clear:

• The Khyber, 56 S. 2nd Street, (215) 238-5888, www.thekhyber.com
• Mill Creek Tavern, 4200 Chester Avenue, (215) 222-1255, www.millcreektavernphilly.com
• Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Avenue, (215) 739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com
• Rex’s, 344 W. Gay Street, West Chester, (610) 696-7769, www.rexsbar.com
• Tritone, 1508 South Street, (215) 545-0475, www.tritonebar.com
• Ars Nova Workshop, www.arsnovaworkshop.com
• Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus, 847 N. 3rd Street, (215) 922-1035, www.ortliebsjazzhaus.com
• Chris’ Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom Street, (215) 568-3131, www.chrisjazzcafe.com
• The Trocadero, 1003 Arch Street, (215) 922-LIVE, www.thetroc.com
• North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar Street, (215) 701-1121, www.northstarbar.com
• World Café Live, 3025 Walnut Street, (215) 222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com
• R5 Productions, (267) 765-5210, www.r5productions.com
• First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut Street
• Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, (215) 573-3234, www.foundationarts.org
• The Gatherings, St. Mary’s Hamilton Village, 3916 Locust Walk, (610) 734-1009, www.thegatherings.org
• International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, (215) 387-5125, www.ihousephilly.org

Music To Mark On The Calendar:

• Black Lily Film and Music Festival, www.blacklilyfilm.org
• Liberty Lands Festival, 3rd & American Streets, www.northernliberties.org
• The Paul Green School of Rock, www.schoolofrock.com
• Jam on the River, Penn’s Landing, Columbus Boulevard between Chestnut & Walnut Streets, (215) 928-8801, www.jamontheriver.com
• All About the Music Festival, (215) 898-6677, www.wxpn.org
• Philadelphia Folk Festival, Old Pool Farm, 1323 Salford Station Road, Schwenksville, (800) 556-FOLK, www.folkfest.org

Movin’ And Groovin’:

• Fluid, 613 S. 4th Street, (215) 629-3686, www.fluidnightclub.com
• Shampoo Nightclub, 417 N. 8th Street, (215) 922-7500, www.shampooonline.com
• Transit, 600 Spring Garden Street, (267) 258-1321, www.transitnightclub.com
• M Room, 15 W. Girard Avenue, (215) 739-5577, www.themanhattanroom.com
• 700 Club, 700 N. 2nd Street, (215) 413-3181
• Denim Private Club, 1712 Walnut Street, (215) 735-6700, www.denimlounge.com
• Brasil’s, 112 Chestnut Street, (215) 413-1700

Big Laughs:

• Helium, 2031 Sansom Street, (215) 496-9001, www.heliumcomedy.com
• Laff House, 221 South Street, (215) 440-4242, www.laffhouse.com
• Comedy Sportz, (877) 98L-AUGH, www.comedysportzphilly.com
• The N Crowd, www.phillyncrowd.com
• Comic Energy, www.comicenergy.com
• LunchLady Doris, www.lunchladydoris.com
• The Gurus of Guffaw, www.gurusofguffaw.com
• Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret, L’Etage, 6th & Bainbridge Streets, (215) 592-0656, www.creperie-beaumonde.com
• Hard Liquor Theater, Tritone, 1508 South Street, (215) 545-0475, www.tritonebar.com
• Bob and Barbara’s, 1509 South Street, (215) 545-4511

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:

Caroline Bean, GPTMC
(215) 599-7433, caroline@gptmc.com

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