Live Skull ~ Thalia Zedek ~ Kohoutek

*Proof of Covid-19 vaccination required for entry*

*Attendees are encouraged to wear masks while not actively drinking*

Live Skull

Spawned in the vibrant East Village of New York in 1983, alongside contemporaries Sonic Youth, Swans, Glen Branca and The Beastie Boys, Live Skull helped spearhead the exotic noise rock revolution. In New Look Magazine, Robert Palmer noted early on: “Live Skull’s music is sinister in atmosphere, brutal in execution… The most startlingly original array of guitar sounds and approaches since Jimi Hendrix.

He later added in the New York Times “Live Skull's music – a high-wire act played for keeps, without a net – is as challenging, as spiritually corrosive, and ultimately as transcendent as Albert Ayler's mid-60's free jazz or the implacable drone-dance of the early Velvet Underground. It's one of the essential sounds of our time."

They went on to release eight ground-breaking records and toured the US and Europe extensively. In 1989, the year of the Peel Sessions, Simon Reynolds (Melody Maker) reviewed their live show in London: “At their peak they are making the most forbidding rock since the early Banshees or Joy Division.” And the Legend at NME exclaimed: “a free form jazznoise quartet mangling guitar necks with a love of their own power, a post-apocalyptic din …”

After a 30-year break, Live Skull reformed in 2019 with the release of Saturday Night Massacre on Bronson Recordings. The band supported the record with a European tour, playing shows with Jon Spencer. Rockol.it exclaimed: “These ten tracks are fired straight from gut … Live Skull remain true and stick to their commitment, with a return that sounds like a shoot-out. Saturday Night Massacre is a beautifully harsh album, like the settling of scores in a Tarantino movie.” Big Takeover Magazine opined "The timelessness of Live Skull's sound fits right into the current scene and still sounds awesome!" and The Wire remarked: "A likeable swagger, solid tunes... the sense that this Reagan era band have re-awoken to an all too familiar political climate. Live Skull have recaptured some of the scuzzy energy that powered them back in the days, which is more than can be said for some of their contemporaries."

Live Skull is currently celebrating the release of Dangerous Visions, in which they forge ahead with their new lineup and ever evolving sound, while aiming to make peace with their past. Dangerous Visions not only offers up fierce new studio and live tracks, but also officially premieres the legendary 1989 John Peel sessions. Special guest Hannah Moorhead from the Giraffes will be joining us on bass for this show!

Thalia Zedek

Thalia Zedek is an artist of immutable stature and unceasing vitality. The legendary songwriter’s fiery voice and frank lyricism give her songs both their emotional potency and their stark beauty. Zedek is able to distill complex events into simple, clear, and at times monumentally weighty moments with a singular grace. Through ballads or bluster, Zedek imbues her music with unguarded honesty. New album Perfect Vision examines the anxiety and pain of rising divisions between people both physical and ideological. On Perfect Vision, Zedek transmutes fervor and resilience into sobering laments, while her lush arrangements wrap the listener in an often complex emotional message.

Kohoutek

Since 2003, Philadelphia-based improv ensemble Kohoutek has constructed a dynamic, stylistic range of abstract sound, consisting of textural drone, atmospheric rock, harsh noise freakouts, clattering percussion, guitar heroics and alien electronics, all congealing to form a multihued psychedelic extravaganza. Inspired by such varied musical entities as Can, Amon Duul 2, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Dead C, Sun City Girls, Hawkwind, This Heat, Sun Ra, Art Ensemble of Chicago and King Crimson, they inhabit a world of murky terrain where drone, musique concrete and noise coalesce with cosmic folk, where doom and sludge metal merge with fiery jazzoid polyrhythms. All Kohoutek performances are rituals channeling untapped energy transmogrified through pure expression and response to the immediate environment. Their new studio album, Jurad, was released in May by Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube.

In accordance with Philadelphia’s citywide mandate, attendees will be required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination for entry to all Dave Kiss Presents events. Please note that negative PCR / antigen test results will not be accepted. We ask that you bring your vaccination card, a copy of your vaccination card, or a legible photo of your vaccination card on your phone. Full vaccination must be completed at least 14 days prior to the date of the event. No refunds for the event if you are unable or unwilling to provide proof of vaccination.

All Dave Kiss Presents events will be presented in accordance with city & state guidelines and requirements as of the date of the event, which could include changes to capacity, attendance prerequisites, procedures, and other protective measures. Any updated protocols will be included in your ticket reminder e-mail closer to the event date.

Host or Publisher Dave Kiss Presents