Campus Philly

I've also written for Campus Philly. Here is one of my articles.



The Asteroid # 4
by Amanda O’Mahony, Temple '07


Both The Asteroid # 4 and The Sounds of Kaleidoscope have been playing together for over a decade. Both bands, along with The Sky Drops, put on a show well worth attending at Johnny Brenda’s on May 12. Unfortunately, The December Sounds’ van broke down on the way to the show, so only three bands electrified the small crowd that evening.

The Sky Drops, hailing from Wilmington, could be compared to a grunge version of the White Stripes, but with a more ethereal quality to their music, being both dense and yearning at the same time.

It seemed that Monika Bullette was more involved in the music than her counterpart, Meg White, by providing melodious harmonies and playing drums to Rob Montejo’s guitar and vocals. Montejo creates sound in a very innovative way by strumming the chords using his whammy bar.

The Sounds of Kaleidoscope (from Washington D.C.) left everyone’s ears ringing, but it was clear that the tinnitus was worth it. Their sound (obviously not the jungle/jazz/gospel mix proclaimed on their MySpace) is a darker and muddier version of British neo-psychedelic rock of the early '90s.

It was clear to see that the band was highly energetic, which lent to their live show. Drummer, Mike Hirst hit his drums extremely hard and so fast that it was difficult to see the drumsticks themselves.

Scott Vitt, lead singer of The Asteroid # 4, asked at the beginning of the set for as much darkness as he could get, so they could provide the audience a full media interaction, with video backing the band while they played.

It was nice to see that Aislinn Carlson has finally gotten more coverage, as she is now playing both acoustic guitar and drums, as well as tambourine, in some of the songs. The band gave a shout-out to Nico, which was reciprocated from the audience by a shout-out for Lou Reed, then reciprocated again by Vitt’s comment that he was more “a John Cale man” himself. The band had returned to its roots and played a rousing set for the audience. Many of the audience members were extremely appreciative and showed it by their lively dancing and loud cheering, including a gentleman garbed in a velvet robe, ala Hugh Hefner.

The Sky Drops will play Philadelphia again June 9 at The Fire; and June 29 at Tritone, after a tour through the Midwest.

The Asteroid # 4 will play the Liberty Lands Festival on June 2 and July 6 at Johnny Brenda’s, after a quick stint in England.

If you miss these great opportunities to see well-done local rock, you will only have yourself to blame.