Music & More

Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper played a great sounding set last night at Rockwood, in what seems to be an occasional Norah side project doing a very ear-friendly style of acoustic country-folk. Sounding like a female version of the Little Willies with a nod to the Dixie Chicks, the set was booked as "Dixie Fried" on the Rockwood schedule. Having just seen an excellent set by Heather Christian in the 8pm hour, and hanging later in the second room at Rockwood, the room quieted down for a moment revealing the unmistakable sound of Norah's voice over the sound system. After resolving in the affirmative a quite comical argument in the next room as to whether it was really Norah Jones, I caught the rest of the set and shot a few photos along the way. Sasha Dobson and Cat Popper (both familiar faces at Rockwood and the Living Room) sound great together with Norah. Sasha played acoustic and sang, Cat handled bass & vocals, and Norah sang and played acoustic g

WXPN's fifth annual 885 countdown begins tomorrow, this time it's the 885 essential XPN songs. For anyone unfamiliar with WXPN, it's a non-commercial radio station and online music service based at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and it is one of the most listenable music stations that you're likely to ever find. If you're not in the Philadelphia area, you can always listen online at XPN.org . As one of the best AAA (Adult Album Alternative) stations in the country, it's easy to sometimes take XPN for granted and nitpick their airplay choices, but over the course of several decades they have helped define the musical landscape in Philadelphia and elsewhere, more recently online. Program Director Bruce Warren describes the concept of the 885 Essential XPN songs as "“These are the tracks that are at the heart of the XPN listening experience. They’re the songs that define the listening experience for our audience. In essence, they define who w

Jenny Lewis is out on tour now to promote her excellent new CD, Acid Tongue. Last night she appeared on Conan O'Brien's show to sing the title track. The arrangment of doing it solo acoustic with her entire band on backing vocals, is how she's doing the song on tour. Will post soon about last week's Keswick Theater show (totally awesome). Meanwhile, enjoy this live performance from the Conan show. Jenny Lewis website . Jenny Lewis myspace .

Upon arrival at Pete's Candy Store last night just before April Smith's 9pm set, the front room was packed with people who had come for a group watch of the Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. You could feel the electricity in the room as the debate broadcast began. Located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Pete's has a very cool looking performance space, sort of like the inside of a train car, which was also packed for April Smith, performing with a small scale Great Picture Show; April on electric guitar and vocal, backed with upright bass and drums. Listen to "Drop Dead Gorgeous" from the live EP. Every so often loud cheering could be heard from the front room through the closed doors, either for something Biden said or, as April explained, someone winning at Palin bingo, April saying she'd play later while watching the debate on tivo. Here's a sample bingo card courtesy of Palinbingo.com. The combination of the debate