Tear the Roof of the Sucker
Soulive
TLA
334 South Street
9 p.m. $13.50/$15.50 DOS
(215) 922-1011
Soulive definitely has it goin' on. Somehow, it manages to have some major retro stylings and yet be totally modern at the same time. If you think of an organ-driven trio that worships the groove a la Medeski, Martin and Wood and throw in some perfectly placed guitar and a tight horn section, you have a handle on this jazz-funk experience. As the boys take the stage in their dark, finely tailored suits, there's no doubt they've come to play. Where many jammy-type bands are accused of wandering into the stratosphere, constantly noodling and going nowhere, Soulive keeps it grounded the whole show long with one ass-shaking tune after another. Recommending you go to this show, of course, means we're going to have to forget the fact that Soulive went on the road with the Dave Matthews Band this past spring, but it's just so easy to forget when you start uncontrollably gyrating to the infectious sounds and rhythms the band produces. Once the Soulive groove has bitten you, you'll realize that Dave should be watching from the audience to see what it really means to jam.
Daniel Johnston w/Capitol Years
North Star Bar
27th and Poplar streets
10 p.m., $8, 21+
(215) 336-2000
Releasing his first album in seven years, Johnston makes his reappearance on the indie rock scene with Rejected Unknown. Don't expect the norm from this manic depressive, who's made a concrete name for himself in the biz. Biggest claim to fame: Kurt Cobain wearing a T-shirt touting Johnston's album at the 1992 MTV Music Awards.
Art Party feat. Bjorn
TPDS Club
114 S. 12th Street
9 p.m.-2 a.m., $10, 21+
Put on by the senior Fine Arts majors, this party combines an art exhibition and good ol' fashioned bumping-and-grinding to raise money for their thesis exhibition catalog. Apparently Penn has (surprise, surprise) cut their funding and buried it under the foundation of the new Wharton building for safe-keeping. What did you expect? Learning to count money is more important. Oh, wait, math isn't a Wharton student's forte. What the hell do they exactly learn in that gray mausoleum anyways?
And the Band Played On
HRE Upper Lobby
7 p.m., free
"Predictable" would not be the key word to describe my summer roommate. Her goal in life is to be either a soap opera star or an MTV icon, and And the Band Played On was her light summer reading. I heard stats regarding HIV and AIDS for two months. Not fun facts, but info that you should know. And sadly, the HBO TV movie version is easier for most to finish than Randy Shilts' 672-page volume.
Tragedy and Fate
Academy of Music
Broad and Locust streets
Through December 1
8 p.m., $25-$100
(215) 893-1900
Ahh, the orchestra. The thrust of those long hard bows against the quivering strings of those tight instruments makes for the most intense evening. Wolfgang Sawallisch's dominating conducting will make you grasp onto those plush and tender seats until you can no longer contain yourself. You will rise again and again, screaming your praises, until you collapse into a heap of pleasured goodness, only craving more.
