by Dan Williams
So there I was Friday night in tiny Ortlieb’s Lounge to cover the Bricks + Mortar show for That Music Mag. Ortlieb’s, the famed Northern Liberties club named after one of Philly’s storied beers of the past, is one of many clubs where the local/regional music vibe is happening big-time right now.
Ortlieb’s is a very long, narrow cramped bar in the Northern Liberties with two rooms. The front is the traditional bar and the back is the live music space. I arrived at the start of Minka’s set and couldn’t swim upstream through their packed crowd to photograph stage side. So I shot from the sound booth. I made it up to the house left corner of the stage for B+M’s set. There must be a 25 degree temp difference from back to front. It was so cramped that I enlisted the help of one of the fans to assist me in holding camera equipment while I wrote notes. I stood three feet from bass player / vocalist Brandon Asraf with my back plastered up against the side wall and my knee crushed against a speaker. Sweat was pouring from everyone’s faces and a guy to my right, apparently my new best friend, was jammed so close to my right side that it felt like he was examining both of my kidneys. In other words, it was a great night for rock & roll in Philly!
Brick + Mortar are an indie-rock duo from Toms River, New Jersey. Asraf is joined by drummer / vocalist John Tacon. Their set opened with “Keep This Place Beautiful,” a multi-layered crowd pleasing anthem from 2013’s EP Bangs. Fans knew the song and sang along. The uninitiated learned the chorus immediately and were singing along in no time. Their twelve song set sampled both Bangs and their new album Dropped.
Asraf plays bass while Tacon wails on drums. The depth of the sound of this electronic drum and bass pop duo comes from samples and other prerecorded layers which suits their songs just fine.
“Heatstroke” is a great drum showcase while “For Yellow Walls” has a touch of psychedelia and a spacey carnival feel. They ended with title tune “Bangs,” a beefy, strong and lyrically memorable pop song.
The opening act was the fine Asbury Park alt-pop/rock Deal Casino. I was able to visit with a couple members after their set for an impromptu photo session. New EP Nika is a fine rocker with strong vocals and playing. They are clearly worth a listen. Check out stand out song “Bare Hands.”
B+M’s support band was Minka, a terrific Philly band with a very entertaining frontman named Ari Rubin. Other members include Max Perla, Joe Flack and Ian Brick. When they began their set, I was standing in the sound booth with Dave, the house engineer. As soon as Minka began, I looked at Dave, smiled and said “Talking Heads!” He nodded approvingly and said that at first he thought they were doing a cover. They weren’t.
I caught up with them outside after their set. They asked me if I’d like to interview them. They’re young, fresh, excited to be playing (a lot) and are a very tight unit. Turns out they love all things new wave, Talking Heads, Bowie and reggae…huh? Yep. Reggae. When asked about their 70’s/80’s new wave sound, they said they prefer to be tagged as “Newer Wave.” When anyone mentions similarities with David Byrne, they unabashedly light up and just say thank you. They are not a cover band, and have their own modern spin on the genre, but they clearly know what they like and it comes through in their performance. In a previous band, Rubin and Brick met on Craigslist, started a reggae band and opened for reggae master Tarriii.
They are diverse, talented, cheeky, driven and fun. Check out their single “Kids These Days.”
