The wet weather this week didn’t dampen the spirits of Philly concertgoers, as big crowds turned out for acts like Courtney Barnett, Benjamin Booker, and Shakey Graves, but now it’s time for the sun to clear the way for a fresh batch of weekend shows. First, though, a shout out to Instagram user @ally2137 for using #phillyconcerts at the Little Dragon show last week! Follow her lead with your concert pics and posts this weekend.

Friday, October 24

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour @ Underground Arts

Get your dose of European-flavored pop with the Danish band built around vocalist Mette Lindberg and songwriter/producer Lars Iversen. After initially gaining recognition when featured in a 2008 Apple commercial, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour recently released their third album, Bring Us Together, on Hot Bus Records. Leisure Cruise opens.

Sylvan Esso @ Union Transfer

When the electropop duo of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn was last at Union Transfer in June, they were opening for Tune-Yards and winning me over with their smooth, seductive sound. Hit single “Coffee” is only the tip of their fantastic debut album, and they will get the room moving Friday night. Psychic Twin opens.

Saturday, October 25

Temples / The Districts @ Union Transfer (early show)

After conquering the big SBC stage at XPNFest this summer, The Districts are living the dream, in town Saturday with Fat Possum labelmates Temples. I haven’t seen them since guitarist Mark Larson left the band, but I’m sure their brand of blues-rock is still in fine form. The English gents in Temples bring a more psychedelic sound, and have received a warm welcome in Philly before.

Ages and Ages @ MilkBoy Philly

The whole gang will be there as this Portland rock collective crams onto the stage at Center City’s MilkBoy Saturday night. Featuring raw, uplifting arrangements, Ages and Ages will get your spirit stirring. Also on the bill is the slightly more subtle Horse Thief and local artist Former Belle.

They have the look. They have the sound. The four gents from Kettering, England who make up the band Temples are bringing youthful exuberance to a classic style on their first North American tour, stopping in Philadelphia at Kung Fu Necktie on Saturday, November 23.

You might think at first blush that Temples have traveled from the ’60s in a Dr. Who TARDIS, but their take on English psych-rock bears out a distinctly modern sound. Bassist and backing vocalist Tom Warmsley recently took some time to discuss with That Mag how Temples blends classic rock influences with modern production standards.

“We definitely embrace both [analog and digital] equipment,” Warmsley explains. “We love splashy warm sounds as much as full-spectrum, high-fidelity sounds. It can be restrictive just to limit yourself to analog, but when you mix the two together, that’s when things get interesting.”

Temples’ approach comes from embracing cultural history as much as musical history, with influences ranging from religious iconography and consciousness-seeking authors to bands like The Byrds and Oasis. The mixture of the symbolic and the personal lead them to produce music that is expansive yet accessible.

Unlike many bands that get their start in the garage or on the road, Temples really began as a studio project.

Temples (photo credit, Ed Miles)

“James, our singer, the studio is basically in his bedroom in our home town of Kettering,” Warmsley recalls. “That’s kind of where all the ideas started. Since we uploaded some demos onto the internet [including the smash single “Shelter Song”], we’ve just been playing live shows nonstop. It’s interesting, because we’ve kind of done it backwards, in a way.”

He continues, “Playing live is a completely different art, because there are less rules. We’ve been learning a lot, and then finishing tracks in between tours.”

These tracks would come together as Sun Structures, the band’s debut full-length, to be released in the U.S. February 11th on Fat Possum. The first single, “Mesmerise”, is up now on Soundcloud.

“It’s a huge relief, and we’re all really excited to have it finished. Now we get to focus on the live show and work on all these new songs,” Warmsley says.

Kettering is about an hour and a half outside of London, and I asked Warmsley about the music scene there.

“There’s a small scene,” he admits. “It used to be bigger. A lot of our friends are in bands, and they mostly left Kettering. So did we at one point. It took all of us to move back home by coincidence for Temples to start.”

On coming to North America, Warmsley is eager to take it all in. “We’re looking forward to the different landscapes, and cities, just the general climate and atmosphere,” he expresses. “It will be great to see how different it is. None of us has played in America before, so we’re looking forward to see how it goes. I know we’re playing some great venues on the tour, so it’s great.”

One of those venues is Kung Fu Necktie, located on Front St. in the Fishtown section of the city. It’s a good room to pack into and get a close look and listen to emerging bands. I was curious if Warmsley had any preconceptions of Philadelphia.

“I generally think that it’s a big college town,” Warmsley first came up with. “I remember things from certain films.” After a brief pause: “Is Todd Rundgren from Philadelphia? I’m pretty sure he is. We’re huge Todd Rundgren fans.”

He is indeed, Tom. It makes sense that someone as interested in the production of records as Warmsley would connect Philly with Rundgren, and hopefully he’ll have a few new associations after experiencing our town this weekend.