Back in elementary school, my brother and I used to play Spy. We’d run around our backyard peering in on the neighbors and sneaking into their garages. I called myself Agent Orange (clever, I know), and my brother was Agent Pineapple.

I can’t help but wonder if similar circumstances led brothers Chris and Pete Dippolito to name their band Agent Moosehead.

In some ways, it’s rather fitting. Their music, a unique blend of experimental jazz and video game pop, contains a hint of playful exuberance, a healthy dose of imagination and the same impish mercurialness exhibited by two children frolicking outside.

That’s not to say that Agent Moosehead is a juvenile act – far from it. Rather, this soulful Philly six-piece has triumphantly proven itself as of most unique bands to ever grace the local scene.

With guitar, bass, drums, piano, synthesizer, saxophone and clarinet, AM mixes Coltrane-influenced jazz with David Byrne-inspired quirkiness and electronic effects that sound like they were lifted from Donkey Kong. The band calls it “metroid jazz” – we call it plain awesome.

Agent Moosehead @ The North Star Bar, Thursday June 12
2639 Poplar Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 787-0488