Monthly Archives: June 2013

Puttin’ a Little Paint On

As promised, I wanted to let everyone know that the renovations at Vinyl revival are rolling along as planned.  The store space has been cleared out, the walls were spackled, and the painting is almost finished. 

The next job is the theater.  A fresh coat of paint will go in there too and the new projection system will be installed.  We’re making the space clean, bright and welcoming!

A fresh coat of paint brightens up Vinyl Revival.

A fresh coat of paint brightens up Vinyl Revival.

The 50 & Counting Tour Stops in Philly

Stage and tongue pit from The Rolling Stones concert June 21st at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.

Stage and tongue pit from The Rolling Stones concert June 21st at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly.

There was so much music going on yesterday with the Make Music Philly Day, the Firefly Festival in Dover, DE (tickets are still available – Tom Petty is playing tonight), Southside Johnny and the Poor Fools at XPN’s Free at Noon Concert, and of course, The Rolling Stones.

I have been a Stones fan for over 30 years and have seen them every time they’ve been in town and last night was no exception.  A Stones concert is always a great night out and I had a blast.  From the opening of “Get Off of My Cloud” to the closing with “Satisfaction,” they put on one hell of a show.  One of my favorite songs of the night had to be “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” with its kick ass jam at the end.  I’ve never seen Mick Taylor before and thought he was amazing on this number. What a treat!

What was your favorite song of the night?

They Say it’s Your Birthday

One of my personal photos of Sir Paul from August 2010.

One of my personal photos of Sir Paul from 2010.

Yeah, I know the Stones are in town tonight and I should probably be writing about them today, but it is my all-time favorite musician in the world’s birthday today, Paul McCartney.  If you have never seen McCartney live, you don’t know what you are missing!  Besides playing some of the greatest songs ever written from The Beatles and Wings for close to three hours, he brings so much energy to his performances that it is contagious.  Not only that, he is super nice and has a connection to his fans that I haven’t seen anywhere else.  He seems to genuinely love performing and love his fans. 

The last time I saw McCartney it was in Philly in August 2010.  I already had tickets to both his shows but decided for the hell of it to check for better tickets for the second night’s show that morning.  My daughter saw a listing on Craig’s List for front row seats so she emailed about them. They only cost the ticket price and I thought it had to be a scam.  After multiple emails and phone calls to the ticket’s owner, my husband and I were able to meet up with the owner outside the venue and the tickets were legit! We bought the front row seats minutes before the show began and I was so excited, I thought I’d faint!  Sitting in that front row was absolute magic, like he was playing just for me.  I did not move for over three hours.  I don’t think I’ll ever get a chance to sit that close to him again but it is a memory that I will always cherish.

Happy birthday Paul!  Keep on rocking!

Frank-ly Lovin’ Folk/Punk

I love discovering new music and WXPN is a great place to do that.  As a member, I try to get to a Free at Noon concert at the World Café Live at least once a month.  Last Friday I checked out a great act, Frank Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls.  Turner’s described by Wikipedia as an English folk/punk singer-songwriter, and as strange as that may sound, his sound is strangely fantastic.

I love any kind of music with an edge and Tuner and his band definitely delivered with some hard rock riffs that you just had to move to but he also had a couple softer, more folky songs with lyrics that evoked feelings and that listeners could relate. I especially liked his songs “Losing Days” and “The Way I Tend to Be.” I’m including a link to a live performance of “Losing Days” here so you can check him out too.

Despite having just released his fifth studio album, Tape Deck Heart in April,  I shamefully had never heard of Frank Turner until last week. He is now an artist I will keep on my radar.

New in the Neighborhood

Welcome to Vinyl Revival! 

I am so happy to open Vinyl Revival in Lansdowne!  Over the past few months, I’ve received such a warm welcome from the other merchants, people from the community and neighborhood organizations, so thank you!

I am opening Vinyl Revival in Lansdowne because I love the tight-knit neighborhood feel and the friendly faces.  I love that there is a growing arts community, a great farmer’s market,  restaurants, a fantastic music store, a growing business and retail district, and a fabulous historical theater soon to be restored to its former glory.  

Right now, we are in the process of clearing out the space to make way for new paint, cabinetry, theater equipment, and everything else needed to make the store a cool, welcoming and fun place to visit and shop. 

Here’s one of our before pictures. Check back often to see our progress and what we’ll look like “after.”