Last night Flogging Molly, with help from opener Scythian, showed Penn State the true meaning of St. Patrick’s Day: being Irish, drunk, and pissed-off.


Things got off to a late start, after an overtime set-up, but Scythian quickly got the crowd dancing. Their set, while short, was solid, mixing celtic rock, creole, and an inventive medley of rap covers. The highlight may have been hearing Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” played on accordion. This was not the band’s first show at Penn State, and I hope it’s not their last. It’d be great to hear them play a longer set.


The show really got underway once Flogging Molly took the stage. Read on for more details and lots of pictures!

While a good deal of the concert-going student body was moshing to Flogging Molly last night, a very different kind of show was going on “across the pond” (or across Shortlidge at the Eisenhower Auditorium). Bela Fleck, banjo wizard supreme, presented “The Africa Project”, a musical collaboration between him and musicians he found when traveling to Africa to learn about the history of the banjo.


Read on for a more detailed account of the evening.

Earlier tonight, the State Theatre hosted the North Mississippi Allstars with special guests City Champs. I was absolutely one of the youngest people there, and a man dressed as a leprechaun sat in front of me. It was an interesting environment to be in.


City Champs put me to sleep for the first three songs (literally). The soul-jazz + the lack of vocals = nap time for Melanie. They did, however, manage to wake me up with a funky-jazz song, where their organ player impressed me greatly. Three people gave them a standing ovation, and I believe they earned it.


The North Mississippi Allstars had vocals, so that was a plus. They were a more blues-infused rock group – different than what I listen to on a daily basis, but their music was pretty soothing (fortunately, they did not put me back to sleep).


Overall? It was the best jazz/blues concert I’ve ever attended. Did I mention it was the only concert of the sort I’ve been to?

PSMA is putting together a free concert with help from UPAC on Thursday, March 18th at 8pm in Alumni Hall. That’s right, I said free!


You may think that because it’s free it’d be some chump musicians. But no! It’s Mike Posner, an up-and-coming-recently-signed hip–hop artist, rapper Big Sean, and mash-up superstar E-603 (If you’re still uncertain of the quality, you can check out some tunes on the event’s Facebook page).


Tickets will be available March 3rd in the HUB from 10-4 with a PSU id, and, if there are any left over, March 16th from 10-2. Did I mention it’s free?

State College Music Spotlight is a new feature at Onward State where we find local artists in the State College area and share them with the community.


These guys have something special.


Johnny Action Figure is a quartet based in Philadelphia, PA. The band is made up of guitarists/vocalists Brendan Fullam and Chris Sheehan (the latter of which is a Penn State album from 07!), bassist/vocalist CF Fullam, and drummer Brad Rittle. On their latest release, Good Eye, Johnny Action Figure shows a future for pop rock as it could be. You’ll find no auto-tune gimmicks or flashy egos here, just four guys who have great ears for melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and how they can all go together.


Good Eye is a very confident, sincere album, where everything seems to be done for the purposes of producing a solid sound. For instance, the second track on the album, “Young Rider“, incorporates 3-part harmonies, doo-wop backing vocals, horns, transitions from 4/4 to 3/4, a walking bassline, and two guitar solos in just over three and a half minutes – yet none of it comes off as gimmicky, show-offy, or unnecessary. It’s clear that these four chaps have excellent technical prowess on their respective instruments, but they show enough restraint to not come off as obnoxious.


Read the full post for more.

The audience roared with applause and offered a standing ovation to the sextet, who graced the stage once again for an encore. The touring Monterey Jazz Festival performed in Eisenhower Auditorium last night, and they delighted the audience with intricate, energized melodies.
The sextet included singer Kurt Elling, guitarist Russell Malone, violinist Regina Carter, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist Kenny Barron, recently dubbed a “Jazz Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The six musicians arranged themselves into various solos, duets, trios, quartets, and quintets throughout the performance. However, the group performed best as a full ensemble, particularly …

Though April may seem like the distant future right now, it’s closer than you think. Movin’ On, Penn State’s longest running Spring Music Festival now has an official Facebook event for the April 17 concert, only two months away.


As usual, the event will last all day and feature a mix of local and national acts. The lineup won’t be announced for several weeks, but I’m hoping for some bigger bands than last year. Groups such as Run DMC, Fall Out Boy and Reel Big Fish have performed in the past, bands that are still popular years later.

Last year’s show was great, with some impressive performances, but it would be nice to have a headliner people can get excited about.


Though some have said having two spring festivals is cutting down on Movin’ On’s budget, I’m sure they’re going to put on another great show. I’m hoping it’s amazing. What headliner do you think Movin’ On should bring? (And please don’t say Lady Gaga!)

Captain James Tiberius Kirk, the Millennium Falcon, and Clark Kent. What do these have in common? They are names many members of the cast of the Penis Monologues called their johnsons (while standing in the aisles of 111 Forum in their boxers). Before you get curious, yes, I spent my Valentines eve sitting in 111 Forum listening to other students talk about their penises.


I will honestly say that I have never laughed at a play this hard. Full of dirty jokes, The Penis Monologues delivered a quick, hard shot of laughter right in the arm from the moment it started. All the various sketches revolved around various activities of the penis, whether it be about peeing after sex, masturbating (apparently JoePa screams “COME TO PENN STATE” at climax), and shaving your pubic hair.


Read on for some of the other topics covered.

It’s a canning weekend. That means that a good amount of your friends are out getting some last minute THON money (or simply going home to escape a zombie campus). For those of us who decided to stay in town tonight, though, there was a treat – Dr. Dog performing live at the State Theatre!


Read on to find out what you missed.

Six of the most respected jazz musicians will be performing as part of the Monterey Jazz Festival tour at Eisenhower Auditorium this Tuesday, February 16, at 7:30 p.m.


While jazz might not be your thing, next Tuesday’s concert looks like it will be better than most. The performing sextet features pianist Kenny Barron, who was recently named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. To get an idea what this means, other Jazz Masters include Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Horace Silver.


The group will also feature violinist Regina Carter, singer Kurt Elling, guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, each respected musicians in their own right.


Tickets are available at Eisenhower and online and are only $20 for students.

No, they didn’t literally maul the crowd. But they sure did play some solid tunes! Last night, Minus The Bear played to a sold out crowd in State Theatre, offering shelter to people who wanted to go to a concert last night but didn’t like Puddle of Mudd for whatever reason.


Want to hear about Minus The Bear? Or maybe you’re more interested in their openers, Phantogram and Maps and Atlases. Perhaps you’re just curious about the picture to the left. In any event, read on for the full story.

David Sanborn and crew played their version of jazz at the State Theatre last night to a packed house of older folks. Sanborn, on alto saxophone, was backed by keyboards, a drummer, and the famous Joey DeFrancesco on the B-3 organ. The whole evening he had the crowd, the median age of which was easily 55, clapping their hands and snapping their fingers in time with the music. Personally however, while I am an avid fan of jazz music, I am not a fan of his type of jazz music. Sanborn’s music is usually categorized as smooth jazz. I don’t think that’s a very fair classification. For those unfamiliar, smooth jazz is a genre dominated by the infamous Kenny G. Having taken MUSIC 007, the Evolution of Jazz, with the great Dan Yoder, I learned that this is the lowest genre of jazz. Sanborn, on the other hand, I would describe as  a funkier version of the aforementioned Kenny G. So, a little better, but not much.


Sanborn is touring for his latest album, his 24th, titled “On Everything”, the title track of which is about his first grandchild, Genevieve. In addition to songs from that album, he played many others including the popular standard “Let the Good Times Roll”. That was probably the group’s best song of the evening. Sanborn filled the breaks between songs with stories about his new granddaughter. He complimented the State Theatre, noting that he had never been to State College before, unless he was here in the 70s, because, he joked, no one remembers the 70s. Humor aside, musically, the night was dominated musically by Joey DeFrancesco. The organist Sanborn called the “Philosopher of Funk” soloed throughout the night and was immensely more creative and entertaining than Sanborn himself. There was a reason the show was billed as “Featuring Joey DeFrancesco”. Sanborn’s solos were short and predictable, and he had a habit of continuing playing after the band had stopped, almost as if he needed to have the last word. That being said, Sanborn has clearly been doing something right throughout his career, having garnered six Grammy Awards. But, if Taylor Swift can win over Gaga, then maybe that’s not such a big deal either.


Sanborn’s next stop is the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel tomorrow if you want to see how your impressions match up to my review. Additionally, if you are interested in jazz music, WPSU has a jazz show Fridays from 9-11 pm. One of the hosts of the show attended the Sanborn concert and is interested in local feedback about her jazz programming and any requests you may have. She goes by the name of Rain and will be broadcasting next on February 12th. Her email address can be found here.

Photographer: Stefan Choquette, Onward State Editor of Photography || stefan@onwardstate.com

When it came to the Capitol Steps’ Saturday night performance at the State Theatre, I didn’t entirely know what to expect. I would consider myself a fan of both musical and political comedy, yet I had never heard of the group, despite the fact they’ve been performing since 1981. So, for the uninitiated, I did my best to summarize the group’s act.


Imagine America as a summer camp. Government officials are the camp counselors. The Capitol Steps are the kids that put on the skits to lampoon said counselors. That description doesn’t necessarily do their show justice – it’s not comparable to the insipid J.C. Penney gag – but there are distinct stylistic parallels.


Is your interest piqued? Find out my other thoughts on The Capitol Steps after the jump.

Dear SPA,


Thank you for bringing good music to the HUB for once. After Pitbull, I was a little bit skeptical about the music taste you had. Selling out Motion City Soundtrack in a couple of hours helped your status tremendously.


Tonight was phenomenal. Set Your Goals really psyched up the crowd. The range the vocalists had was surprising, but enjoyable. At one point in time, however, I thought a girl had come on stage to sing. I was wrong. It was one of the male vocalists. He really tricked me! They also told you that you were in their top five favorite shows! Congrats, guys! We can crowd surf and circle pit better (but not the best) than other places. Put that on your resume!


Now, I was skeptical when I listened to My Dinosaur Life (Motion City Soundtrack’s latest album) for the first time. Something just wasn’t right. It was a little bit after that that I heard they were coming to Penn State. I said to myself, “I shall investigate.” I was very worried that maybe Justin had blown out his vocals. He, in fact, did not. I suppose I just dislike most of the new album. However, they did play “@!#?@!,” which happens to be the one song I dig on My Dinosaur Life. Also, when they played “Let’s Get Fucked Up and Die” I peed myself a little bit.


Oh, SPA, how I adore you when you bring good musicians into my life. Thank you so much.


I hope all is well, and everyone had as much fun as I did at the show.


Sincerely yours,
Melanie

As I’m sure you all remember, the most important thing on students’ minds last spring was not finals, term papers, or tanning in the quad (ed. note: we have quads?). It was whether Asher Roth was the right choice to headline Wallypallooza.


This year, though the UPUA is determined to organize another pre-finals music festival, the name is very much undecided. Since Mike Wallace resigned from his position as UPUA Programming Chairman, naming the festival after him makes even less sense than it did last year. Though Leanna Usnik has taken over the position, Usnikpalooza just does not have quite as good a ring


What should the new festival be called? Read on to find out a few other people we could name it after: