Studio magic

The Absolute Zeros invited their fans to Cedar Street Studios in Port Richmond to be included as part of their live recording session. The studio was in a former casket factory so the building was retrofitted with air conditioning and new bathrooms. Since it was an open studio there were no dividers between the mixing board and the band. There were also plenty of extra instruments available to play on as well as some vintage keyboards and an electric organ but was not certain if they still worked. The Zeros played a short set, bebuting a new song. Three Flip cameras captured the visuals.

Sunshine Superman featuring acoustic bass and a singer from Italy performed next. People talked during their set which was not recorded but I still felt it was a little rude considering the venue.

Since it was close to the anniversary of 9/11 a large flag hung above the performance area as you can see below:

A true Legendary venue returns

The second part of my back-to-back trips to Philadelphia featured my first vist to another recently reborn venue. The Legendary Dobbs which was the Pontiac Grill when I visited once before way back in 2004. It was one of the best venues for music in Philadelphia back in the '80s and early '90s and it seems to be trying to be that again. The sound levels were good if a bit loud and the place has a nice vibe to it. The interior is basically the same at it was at the Pontiac with a revamped stage. And like at Grape Street a video screen drops down between bands. I was there to see the Absolute Zeros for the first time since their EP release party back in May. The band had honorary member Joe Randle helping them out on keys and harmonica. Later we hung out wtih some of the bands' friends including a few visiting from Brooklyn and listened to the other bands.

The Recovery Jam

Boy Wonder performs with some guestsI rang in the musical new year with another HYPE event at World Cafe Live, which was downstairs for the first time. The Recovery Jam was created for those who might have had a little too much fun ringing in the new year and were finally ready for another good time. Even though I did not arrive in time to catch Laura Cheadle's set, I still caught most of a really good show. I was able to see Brianne O'Neill, an acoustic singer/songwriter with a powerful voice. Caitline Potter was next and she played a mixture of bluesy rock and funk. Boy Wonder's set featured plenty of guests and even a string quartet for a few songs. Kelvin and Steve from the Absolute Zeros came up and jammed on a few numbers. Laura and her friends left around this time but I had a feeling more good music was to come. Phil Murphy, formerly of Outset, played an acoustic set of his own songs and some classics from the band. The Absolute Zeros were after him, influenced by classic rock and blues, and played a blistering set. I left soon after, there were two more acts (eight total!) but I needed some recovery myself from the amazing but exhausting show.

Above is Laura Cheadle performing "Constantly" in a clip by Ravendark26. Laura was also interviewed by City Scene, a show by Channel 28 in Delaware and the link to that clip is here.