Can One Mann Foster The People? All Signs Point to Yes.

The Mann Music Center is our favorite concert venue in Philadelphia and on Thursday, June 14th, they hosted some of our favorite acts, Kimbra, Tokyo Police Club, and Foster the People.

The lots surrounding the Mann were jam packed with cars and fans by the time the gates opened at 7pm and a buzz was already building by the time Kimbra took the stage around 730pm.

Kimbra

Best known for her vocals on Gotye’s smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” (which has hit #1 on the charts in over 20 countries) Kimbra’s recent debut album “Vows” is a force in its own right. The guitar-playing singer-songwriter from New Zealand has a hauntingly beautiful voice, deep and soulful at one moment, and fierce the next.

Her 30 minute performance was the perfect start to the evening.

Tokyo Police Club

TPC

At 8:20pm Tokyo Police Club (from Toronto, ON) took the stage as the Mann continued to fill up. We’d had a chance to see TPC at the Mann once before and this performance from the Canadian alt-rockers was every bit as good as the first.

TPC

At 9pm there was a lengthy break of about 30 minutes while the crew prepared the stage for the headliners. At this point the lower bowl, upper terrace, and every inch of the lawn was packed with people. It was one of the largest crowds we’ve seen at the Mann. While many of the fans in attendance were on the younger side, there was no shortage of people in line to stock up on beers before the music continued.

Just after 930pm, Foster the People hit the stage to a roar of cheers from the audience. Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink, Mark Pontius and the rest of the touring band have a ton of energy on stage. Foster bounced around the stage during the 90 minute performance as he sang, played guitar, piano, and drums. It took less than one song before he’d worked himself into a sweat.

Set against a stunning backdrop of lasers, lights, digital screens, and inflatable men, Foster the People played a twelve song set. Kimbra returned to the stage towards the end to join them on “Warrior”. After a brief pause, they returned to the stage for a two song encore, finishing out the night with their biggest hit “Pumped Up Kicks”.

It’s hard to imagine that any of their fans left the show at the end of the night feeling anything less than exuberant.

You can view Foster the People’s set-list and a full photo gallery below:

Set List:

Miss You

Life on the Nickel

Helena Beat

Broken Jaw

I Would Do Anything for You

Waste

Love

Call It What You Want

Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)

Warrant

Warrior (with Kimbra)

Houdini

Encore:

Ruby

Pumped Up Kicks

Kimbra

Tokyo Police Club

TPC

TPC

Mann Taken on Wild Ride by Death Cab For Cutie

Friday was one wild day (and night) at the Mann Music Center. Shortly after noon time, the vending company (owned by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck) at the popular concert venue was held up at gun point. The two robbers escaped with around $120,000.

Less than a hour later, the staff of the venue was back on track and preparing for a sold-out show (presented by AEG Live) with alt-rockers Death Cab for Cutie. You can’t keep a good Mann down.

With so many fans flocking to the Mann, traffic was snarled on I-76 in both directions (nearing the Montgomery Drive exit) as the after-work crowd rushed to make it in time to see opening band “Frightened Rabbits” who went on at 7:30pm.

Once inside the gates, fans were in for a treat. With all of the horrible weather this summer, Friday night served as an oasis in the middle of a heat spell. The night was comfortable with a nice breeze and low humidity. It was the perfect night to vege out on the lawn of the Mann with a blanket, a beer, good company, and some great tunes.

DCFC fans packed the lawn as well as both levels of the covered seating area and let out loud cheers as the headliners took the stage just before 9pm.

Lead singer Ben Gibbard was impressed with the size of the crowd, noting that the last time the band played in Philadelphia, there weren’t nearly as many people.

Death Cab For Cutie opened their set (of twenty songs) with “I Will Possess Your Heart”, “Crooked Teeth”, and “We Laugh Indoors”.

They interchanged upbeat numbers that had fans on their feet dancing with slower songs to mellow out the crowd. At one point, Gibbard actually asked fans to take a seat for about four minutes and played his acoustic guitar alone on stage.

He later apologized to the crowd for taking a moment to remove his shoes for the remainder of the show (playing barefoot) because they were new and his feet hurt.

While many bands who have just released a new album would focus mainly on playing their newest tracks in concert, DCFC, who released “Codes and Keys” just over two months ago, played a full range of songs encompassing all seven of their albums.

Their main set ended with “Cath…”, “We Looked Like Giants”, and “Marching Bands of Manhattan”.

After the already lengthy performance, the band returned to play a four song encore that opened with “Portable Television” and closed with “Transatlanticism”.

It was a wonderful ending to a really special show. It goes to show that great music can really make your day. Just to be safe, we decided to drive and not risk any rides home in a taxi like Cutie.

You can view a full photo slide show and set-list below:

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Set List:

I Will Possess Your Heart

Crooked Teeth

We Laugh Indoors

Movie Script Ending

Doors Unlocked And Opened

Long Division

Grapevine Fires

Codes and Keys

Summer Skin

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

You Are A Tourist

The New Year

405

Underneath The Sycamore

Title and Registration

Soul Meets Body

Stay Young, Go Dancing

Cath…

We Looked Like Giants

Marching Bands of Manhattan

Encore:

Portable Television

Expo ’86

Sound of Settling

Transatlanticism

The Mann Had Cake But It Was The Fans Who Ate It.

Cake Tour Poster

The weather did not disappoint at the Mann Center on Wednesday, September 15th as CAKE took the stage in front of a large crowd, however their new sound fell short. Early CAKE fans would have been disappointed at the mediocre twangy sound of the once funky rock n roll band. The atmosphere was also middle-of-the-road with the ambience of an eighth grade dance, disco ball included.

Cake

 John McCrea managed some good acoustics while inspiring back up vocals from the audience and even threw in a cover of Black Sabbath. Fan favorites, “Frank Sinatra”, Never There”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, and “Sheep Go To Heaven” were the highlights of the night and kept the crowd on their feet, singing along to every word.

Photo Credit: Jay Blakesburg

The concert goers overall reaction to CAKE’s performance was 50/50 with some fans dancing in the aisles, aroused by the bands interaction. This enthusiasm from the center of the crowd didn’t manage to reach out into the rest of the Mann Center however. The band’s next stop will be at the Rumsey Playfield in New York, New York on September 16 and hopefully they’ll make a better impression because as the evening came to an end, there was the feeling that Philadelphia missed the icing on the CAKE.

Cake Portrait

www.cakemusic.com

  SET LIST:

•  
  1. Comfort Eagle
  2. Frank Sinatra
  3. Wheels
  4. Stickshifts and Safetybelts
  5. Sad Songs and Waltzes (willie nelson cover
  6. Sheep Go to Heaven
  7. Guitar
  8. Song of the Sea
  9. Arco Arena
  10. Jolene
  11. War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
  12. Rock ‘N’ Roll Lifestyle
  13. It’s Been a Long Time
  14. Love You Madly
  15. Is This Love?
  16. Never There

Encore: 

1. Short Skirt/Long Jacket
2. Mexico
3. The Distance

{Story by Independent Philly’s Bridgette Bonner}

MGMT: These “Kids” Rock The Mann

MGMT (Neon)

Stage Before Show

After seeing MGMT perform at both Coachella and Bamboozle Festival this year, Independent Philly was anxious to check the band out for a third time as they invaded Philadelphia to headline a show at the Mann Music Center.

Mann Music Center

Mann Music Center 2

Crowd Shot 2

It had rained all day on Sunday but that didn’t keep the crowds away as night fell.

MGMT 3

MGMT 2

MGMT

By the time we entered the Mann (part way through the opening set by The Violens) the place was already packed.

Andrew VanWyngarden (Dark)

Andrew VanWyngarden (Red)

Andrew VanWyngarden (Yellow)

MGMT took the stage shortly after 9PM to a loud roar of cheers.

Ben Goldwasser

Matthew Asti

Andrew VanWyngarden (Blue)

The band, originally formed by Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser while they were students at Wesleyan University in 2002, has a large following of fans.

Andrew VanWyngarden (Yellow 2)

MGMT are best known for their hits “Electric Feel”, “Kids”, & “Time to Pretend” which are more up-tempo than many of the bands other songs.

Electric Feel

When it was time for their encore, MGMT reappeared on stage and told the excited crowd that because they were playing in the Mann Music Center, they wanted to perform with a female vocalist and cover a song by Aimee Mann (“Voices Carry”).

MGMT (encore)

MGMT (originally called “The Management”) managed to turn a rain-soaked day into a great night with nothing less than an electric feeling.

Andrew VanWyngarden (Blue & Green)

A video of the band performing their hit “Kids” at The Mann Music Center:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjHnVO2cncM (we suggest watching it in HD)

 

Passion Pit Puts Manners on Display at the Mann

Rockin the Mann Music Center

Passion Pit (about to take the stage)

After experiencing Passion Pit’s sunset masterpiece on the Outdoor Stage at Coachella, Independent Philly was anxious to catch the red-hot band as they rolled into Philadelphia last night to play at the Mann Music Center.

Packed House at the Mann Music Center

Long View

Long View 2

It was a hot and humid Philadelphia summer night but that didn’t keep legions of fans from packing into the Mann Center to see Passion Pit (from Boston, MA)  play the large outdoor venue.

"Toyko Police Club" at the Mann Music Center

David Monks: Lead Singer of Toyko Police Club

David Monks of Toyko Police Club

“Brahms” and “Tokyo Police Club” were the opening acts.

Can You Feel It?

The Band

Michael Angelakos

While we did not catch Brahms unfortunately but TPC certainly did not disappoint.

Passion Pit

Double Your Passion

Double Your Fun

Just before 9:30 PM, Passion Pit took the stage to a roar of cheers.

Audience Passion

Dancing In The Dark

Drum & Bass

Rockin Out

Passion Pit’s last show in the Philly area (August 2009) was played at the much smaller First Unitarian Church, a fact that did not escape lead singer Michael Angelakos who marveled that the Mann was the largest venue they had ever played.

I See The Light

Hit the High Note

Simon Says...

“Last time we were here, we played in a Church basement!” he remarked.

Michael Angelakos 2

Magic in the Air

The Kneeling

The humble Angelakos delivered a first class show, interacting with the fans (one fan even threw $20 on stage and told Angelakos it was a tip for such a great show) from beginning to end. You could tell that he was still amazed that he had transitioned from creating his first song in his college dorm-room (a gift to his then girlfriend) to rocking a major concert venue.

Michael Angelakos 3

You Sing

You Sing Louder

From the first song, to the last, fans danced and sang along with the band in what can only be described as a giant dance party, concert, and sauna rolled into one.

Up in Lights

True Blue

Red Riff

Passion Pit

After leaving the stage, the band returned to play a three song encore which included a cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams” and ended on fan favorite “Sleepy Head”.

Covering the Cranberries

Cranberry Red

End of Set

While Passion Pit’s studio albums are wonderful in their own right, there is nothing quite like a live Passion Pit show. They next move on to play a sold-out show in Brooklyn, NY tomorrow night.

Encore

Encore! We Want More

Encore! We Want More!

MANN CENTER SETLIST:

I’ve Got Your Number

Make Light

Better Things

The Reeling

Moth’s Wings

Swimming in the Flood

To Kingdom Come

Let Your Love Grow Tall

Folds in Your Hands

Smile Upon Me

Little Secrets

 

Encore:

 

Eyes As Candles

Dreams

Sleepyhead

Wailing Away