Sounds Eclectic

The NoLibs Winter Music Fest lights a fire under Philly musicians —but don't expect a new TSOP.

by John Vettese

DYNAMITE KIDS: Andrew Lipke and his band play The Fire Feb. 10.

Talk to any Philadelphia musician for more than a few minutes and the conversation is bound to lead you to the same place:

There's no single, defining scene here.

Art-damaged punk thrives, as does heady psych, earnest folk and nostalgic power pop. There are so many pockets across the city, so much going on.

This musical mosaic is often referred to endearingly. Variety, after all, makes Philadelphia an interesting place to be — for musicians and music fans alike.

Sometimes, though, this lack of cohesion is a cited as the reason this city still struggles for outside recognition.

"On the national landscape, we're still associated with The Sound of Philadelphia, that early '70s soul music," says Derek Dorsey, longtime talent buyer at The Fire. "The fact that we haven't been able to shake that has been disappointing."

Don't be fooled by this outlook. Dorsey isn't frustrated. He loves Philly music through and through. He's just a realist about the limitations the city has faced.

But increasingly, the lack of a new "Sound of Philadelphia" seems less and less relevant. In an age where genre exercises have given way to crossovers — Kanye endorses Daft Punk as well as Peter Bjorn and John — Philly's eclecticism seems less like of an albatross.

Every year, Dorsey beats the cold-weather doldrums by booking the Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival, six nights at The Fire showcasing "the essence of what Philly music is." The inaugural fest in 2003 featured more homogenous picks: Dr. Dog, The Teeth, The Capitol Years. Now in its seventh year, the tiny venue is wall-to-wall with differing sounds and styles.

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"We've probably outgrown ourselves," Dorsey says. "There were bands we'd have loved to include on this lineup but couldn't."

Fire owner Dan McShane figures the festival will expand beyond his Fourth and Girard stage at some point. "Given the amount of talent and interest we've had in the festival, it may become a multi-club event," he says. "This could be the last year you see it at just The Fire."

This year's NoLibs Festival kicks off on Tuesday with a singer-songwriter night: Chris Kasper, Andrew Lipke, Sisters 3. It closes the following Sunday with a bill of hip-hop topped by newcomer Young Brizz, who will be playing his first-ever club date at The Fire.

In between, the lineup hits on psych-pop (delightful foursome The Armchairs), prog-metal (Stinking Lizaveta's first Fire date since 2004) and roughshod garage-blues (the very awesome Victor Victor Band). You'll also see fractured acts like Jotto, who defy easy categorization by hitting on dance electronics, classical flourishes, punk minimalism and pop catchiness. You could call them a metaphor for the festival — a sundry distillation of the city's sounds and ideas.

And if this can be a success — for both Jotto and fest — what does it matter that there's no tag to put on it?

"The idea of having one 'scene' in a city this big sours the beauty of what is really happening," says Jim Foley, whose band Canadian Invasion plays Wednesday, the Festival's Talking Heads tribute night. "For many years I've heard people echo, 'There is no scene in Philly.' I swear it started because people had some idea that a music scene had to be like Seattle was in the early '90s: a bunch of similar-sounding bands playing in a handful of rooms."

"Everyone wants everything to be in a neat little box," adds McShane. "We segment ourselves in everything."

Lipke, once pigeonholed as a mellow coffeehouse folkie, showed his powerhouse range on last year's Motherpearl and Dynamite (Mad Dragon). Jagged distortion-pedal rock and the symphonic, stratospheric arias sat alongside the 12-string acoustic fingerpicking, and it all made perfect sense.

"I've never understood, past the point of adolescence, the idea of being attached to, defined by and defensive of a particular style or genre of music," he says. "Modern popular music is quickly blurring lines of distinction between different styles and genres through synthesis and transcendence. ... The Philly music scene, and many others across the country, is just a reflection of this."

By this logic, those who are still looking for Philadelphia to achieve national recognition and success would do well to reconsider their definition of those terms. In an era of pastiche, a city doesn't need a single sound to break out; it just needs a dedicated core of talent, which Philly's various pockets of fans and promoters large and small have gradually nurtured for nigh on two decades.

McShane speaks at length of cross-cultivation and the social aspects of musicianship. He knows The Fire is itty-bitty, doesn't have a fancy green room or the amenities of other spaces. But he believes this plays a bit part in scene-building. Musicians who are booked together watch one another and might go on to form recording partnerships, he says. Or might join each other on bills again at Johnny Brenda's or Kung Fu Necktie or The M Room.

"That creates a real sense of music community," adds Dorsey. "We try to embody that; you can see that in the music at our shows all year round."

Dorsey and McShane aren't trying to take sole credit, either. That's why they want the festival to expand as well.

"It's the bands and proprietors in coordination," says McShane. "And they're not doing this out of some capitalist, Machiavellian desire. It's not the best way to coin money. They're definitely doing this because they want to do it."

And that desire, in the long run, is the scene's biggest strength.

(j_vettese@citypaper.net)

Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival, Tue., Feb. 10 through Sun., Feb. 15, $5-$8 per show, The Fire, 412 West Girard Ave., 267-671-9298, myspace.com/liveatthefire.