2014 in Review: Favorite Concerts →

Johnny Showcase and Buried Beds are highlights from the year in Philadelphia music.

While this year certainly had its ups and downs, I couldn't be happier with the music and performances I got to be a part of. There were some banner moments for me as a drummer, and The Swollen Fox picked two of them in two separate top ten lists.

The Philadelphia music scene is many things, and while not the biggest or most influential, it carries our city's diverse, stalwart artistry. Shout outs go to fellow list mates and musical compadres: TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb, Perseverance Jazz Band, and Divers - and of course to the other great bands that I didn't see but are great.

Buried Beds

In June of this year, I had the distinct pleasure of doing 10 shows on the east coast with Philadelphia's chamber pop wizard band Buried Beds. Touring in support of the magnificently talented Kishi Bashi, we brought our show to the TLA on June 6th, 2014. It my first time playing that stage, and a good time was had by all. The night has been ranked as an Editor's Pick in the Swollen Fox's 2014 in Review top 10, and I'm honored to have been a part of it.

Johnny Showcase

While playing the TLA certainly crossed an item off the ol' bucket list, this August 20th gig is gonna need a bigger bucket. Of funk. A big bucket of funk. I GOT TO OPEN FOR GEORGE CLINTON!!! It was an inconceivable gift to set up my drums and play that night, and the Fox's Elizabeth Thorpe (and the sold out crowd) seemed to agree it was worth remembering. In summary: George. Clinton. Parliament. Funkadelic.

Thanks to the editors, writers, and photographers at The Swollen Fox, and all the killer musicians and bands in Philly. Here's to the New Year!

Read the full article: http://theswollenfox.com/2014-in-review-favorite-concerts/

The Swollen Fox recaps our show with Parliament Funkadelic

Click the link below to read the article, and/or check out this little fan-made vid of us chugging through our tune "Night of the Electric Love Phoenix". There are no words to describe how much fun this show was. The Swollen Fox was there to tell the tale, noting our Mystic ability to warm the crowd and keep the funk:

At least the opener, Philadelphia “absurdist soul” band Johnny Showcase, is always in the mood for theatrics... a formidable band with catchy hooks, hilarious lyrics, and great basslines, as Sweeny and Baker have surrounded themselves with The Mystic Ticket—featuring some of Philly’s best musicians—and also enlisted the support of solid backup singers The Truth....  by the chorus of the raunchy "Hit It From The Back," the band had won [the crowd] over.