Written & Photographed by : Killian O’Neil

It’s a very rare occasion when I am in North Philadelphia and actually feel safe; this last Saturday was one of those times. As my Uber pulled up to The Met Theatre, I was greeted by a hand full of security guards, accompanied by a wall of walk-through metal detectors. The entrance of The Met was sectioned off with chain link fences that had fake grass woven throughout the openings. It turned out to be a pop-up beer garden, and a DJ was spinning Emo/EDM remixes. Everyone either had a drink in hand or was chatting amongst themselves, bopping around. Despite the heatwave that was ripping through the city, the excitement of the night seemed to trump the thermostat reading 100 degrees.

Once I entered the venue, it was wall-to-wall with people every which way. I had about 10 minutes to kill before the night began, so I did what anyone would do, and I went to stand in line for merchandise. The line was wrapped around the staircase, overflowing onto the second floor of the venue. I overheard the couple behind me getting frantic because they were worried they’d miss Something Corporate because the line was “so long.” It really shouldn’t come as a shock, seeing as it’s been nearly 14 years since they went on tour. What makes it even wilder is that this was the first time in 20 years that all five of the original members were on the road together. We were definitely in store for a very special night. I myself have been waiting for this moment patiently since I was 14. A little longer wasn’t going to make a difference.

Something Corporate came on right after nine p.m., following their opener, Days Away, who had one hell of a set. Keeping the theme of indie rock for the evening, they got the crowd roaring to go and singing along to every song they played. It was my first time seeing them, but it was quite clear they have been doing this for a very long time. I was only able to catch the end of their set, but what I did catch was profound. Right before they played their last song, the lead singer said, “It’s kind of beautiful that you can write a piece of something and give it to the world,” and immediately after, everyone went crazy.

Once Days Away ended, it was finally time for something corporate. The music cut and the lights dimmed, and next thing you know, Andrew McMahon is skipping out onto the stage. He was dressed in a white button-down, black suspenders, and black dress pants, which completely suited the evening that was in store. The band immediately went into the song “Straw Dog” without anybody in the audience missing a beat with the lyrics.

Continuing the high energy of the night, they bang out “I Want to Save You” and “She Paints Me Blue,” with a mix of nostalgia and memories penetrating the air. There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t singing along with their eyes closed, getting transported to their formative years. There were 21 songs played that night, and the band left little time for pauses and transitions.

They played every hit, including “Punk Rock Princess.” During this song, Andrew went and grabbed his daughter, bringing her out on stage. They both sang it together and danced around the stage, e

ating up every moment. Ending that song on a strong note, Andrew jumped into the crowd and ran around singing to finish it off. Following it was “I Woke Up in A Car,” and that is when I believe I lost my voice. The last time I sang along this much, it was at Taylor Swift! The lights cut and all filed off.

A few moments later, after echos of “one more song” chants and screaming from the crowd, Andrew walks out on stage, walks to his piano, and takes a seat. At this point, everyone was losing it because there was still one song in particular that had yet to be played. The first key was hit, and the crowd started to sing in unison, “Konstantine.” It’s a seven-minute beautiful song, mainly on the piano, and seeing it live was out of this world. The emotions were swirling for everyone that was in the crowd that night. I swear I saw a girl crying in front of me. The second-to-last song that evening was a throwback of all throwbacks to close out the night, for real this time. It was none other than “If You See Jordan.”.

The synergy I saw that night on the stage between the bands is something that you don’t see often. It is quite clear that their brotherhood has weathered the seasons of life together. Which has transferred beautifully to the stage. Every single one of the members of Something Corporate was having the time of their life, and you could tell that. Everyone was feeling something on some level that night. In the middle of the evening, Andrew said to the crowd, “You can’t manufacture magic; you just have to try to put yourself on the path, and if goddamn, tonight wasn’t magic.” That’s exactly what this night was to not only them but to everyone in attendance.

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The alt-rock band, Sir Sly, shares their new, acoustic version of their song, “Material Boy” via Interscope Records. The track is about “self-reflection into one’s spiritual soul versus materialism.”

Lead singer and guitarist, Landon Jacobs, said of the song, “When I lost my faith at 22, I figured it was the end of any kind of spiritual life for me. I now believe spirituality to simply be a process of becoming comfortable with unknowing. I wrote the lyrics to ‘Material Boy’ about feeling free to explore spirituality outside of the bounds of my childhood faith. I stopped drinking 2 years ago, and this song is about how I’ve learned to cope with life without the familiar escape of getting drunk. I hope it can give others a sense of relief the way it has for me.”

Keyboardist Jason Suwito explained, “I distinctly remember feeling like I was musically in a rut before sitting down to write for the day. I felt pre-programmed. So instead of focusing on the music, I stuck my hand at C and tried to look around the room and think about something non-musical like the weather, all to distract myself as I played. The synth line you hear in the intro and throughout the original song, which was the catalyst for writing the rest of the track, came out of that little experiment. This acoustic version just seemed like a natural progression.”

The drummer, Hayden Coplen, added, “After writing and recording a full album, you become hyper-focused on which three-minute section to showcase. Occasionally though, you get lucky and land on a tidy song that still feels representative of your whole self. To me, that’s ‘Material Boy.’ It’s natural and simple, nearly copied and pasted from Landon’s journal without judgment or second-guesses. If I only had one chance to tell someone about our band, I’d give them this song.”

Sir Sly began as three friends in Southern California. In 2014, they released their debut album, You Haunt Me, with their hit single, “Gold,” which allowed them to spread their music around the world. In 2017, their sophomore record,  Don’t You Worry, Honey, was released, which produced two hits, “High” and “&Run” with both spending several weeks on Billboard’s Rock chart.

Connect with Sir Sly

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Written by Lauren Rosier

Acoustic singer/songwriter and poet, Todd Warner Moore, isn’t a stranger to creativity. As a singer, songwriter, and poet, Moore constantly has words on his mind. Overnight Flight marks Moore’s 6th full-length LP since 2018. 

The album opens with the title track, “Overnight Flight.” The song is a beautiful acoustic track played on the acoustic guitar. The song is very mellow, perfect for a rainy afternoon, winter solstice, or a snowy evening. 

One of my favorite songs on the record, “Mistakes.” It’s a simple, beautiful song on the acoustic guitar as he sings “we always seem to make the same mistakes/it almost seems we have no choice to make…” This song is one of the strongest on his album and definitely is a standout track on the album.

“Suns” is a delicate, and mysterious track with the vocals of Moore and background vocals from vocalists Leah Hart and Nicole Stella singing gently. “All these days give way/to a billion suns/and everyone/and all these days give way/to a billion suns/and everyone…”

It’s so hard to not want to dance along to “Paul’s Way.” It has such a catchy opening set, and the continuing melody is just so damn infectious. It sounds there are folk influences, along with singer/songwriter-written lyrics. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the album.

“Rite of Rain” is a beautiful, elegant instrumental piece from Moore featuring violinist/violist, William Stewart, at the forefront. I loved how it reminded me of the elegance when there’s a steady spring rain falling. It’s almost perfect. The instrumentation of the song is just gorgeous and how it was composed and put together was priceless.

Another one of my favorites of the album “Big Blue Wave” is next. It’s gentle, steady like a wave, and just a very pretty song overall.

The next track, “Masks (Fever Dreams)” has a steady, country-folk-influenced tone. “Wild rumors heard/Flu from the birds/Blood from the bats/Filth from the rats/Wind overseas/A disease…”

I love the tone of Moore’s voice at the beginning of “Wake Up Feeling Fine.” The melody starts out pretty leveled out and then gradually grows into something more. His vocals sound better on this song compared to the songs prior to this.

The last track of the album is called “Blossoming (The Other Side).” It is the last track on the album and the last instrumental song. The track’s title fits well, as the dynamics of the song seem to start off more mellow, and gradually grow as the song continues. I love the strings in the song; it just adds to the elegance of the piano and strings.

Overall, the album was written and performed beautifully. Moore’s voice and the instrumentation that came along with it helped to create an album that was crafted beautifully.

Connect with Todd Warner Moore

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“I want to bring honesty, substance, and integrity back into music.” – Katie Buxton

It was March 2011 when I met Katie Buxton and her mother Mary.  They had contacted me to shoot her first CD cover out in Chester County near their home.  Buxton was fourteen with a pocketful of songs and a serious sense that she wanted to pursue music.  She brought her favorite guitar to the shoot and we wandered around the grounds of an old estate shooting and talking as we went.  Along the way, I spotted a beautiful yellow feather with a black tip and handed it to her.  She tucked it under the strings of her guitar headstock and that became a pretty little accent to her shoot.

As time went by, Buxton graduated from high school and, having no ties, she and her mom loaded up the car and moved to Nashville.  She became a songwriting major at Belmont University.  As her touring increased, she felt she needed to switch to an online program through Berkley.  She is driven for sure!

In 2015, she studied abroad in Ireland where she would take classes on a bus and write for days on the cliffs looking out at the sea.  It was there when she had what she describes as “an epiphany from the sky.  A moment hit with 100% clarity.  I realized I am an artist and am meant to share with other people.”  Her music is thoughtful, positive and inspirational, but she can also hit harsh topics hard when she wants.

As an example, take the hymn-like “Heavenly Father.”  After twelve years of Catholic school, she has a few things on her mind.  While it begins by asking pointed questions about God and her education, it is actually a love letter of thanks to her mom.  Katie is most proud of Mary, a scrappy single mom who never married, worked many jobs while raising her and supports her every minute of her day.

“Heavenly Father, they tell me a baby / Born out of marriage is a sign of wicked sin / So why then do I see no evil / When I look to my mother who gave me everything on her own”

Her observational abilities come through on the fun, lilting Jack Johnson-like “Words are Dead.”

“Somebody told me the other day / That stories don’t matter anymore / As long as people have a melody / They’ll sing words they’ve never even heard before”

Followed playfully in the chorus with:

“So there’s nothing in this chorus / Except empty words that don’t mean a thing / And how long will it take you to notice / Or are you just happy to have something to sing / Even if I choke I wonder if anybody would know / Or if words are really dead”

Her best performing song on Spotify is the lovely “You Flew,” but her personal favorite is “Revolution.”  All four of these tunes are on her 2017 release something Different.

I met up with Katie and Mary again in November.  It was our first time seeing each other since our 2011 shoot.  She was performing at Burlap and Bean in Newtown Square.  It is a lovely listening room that was packed with local friends and family for her Thanksgiving homecoming.  She played a nice long set with stories about each song as lead-ins.  We sat for a long time catching up.  Her maturity is notable and her serious approach to her craft is commendable.

Touring takes her around the country to 40-60 stops a year.  And now she’s returning to Philly on February 3^rd.  This time she will play World Café Live with her friends from The GoAround.  Come and meet Katie and say hello to Mary.

By the way, Katie tells me she still has that feather!

Video of Buxton’s beautiful and haunting “You Flew”

(Photos by Dan Williams)