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Archive for November, 2021

All Good Things (Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021) [STARSET]

Posted in All Good Things, Another Day Dawns, Philadelphia, PA, Starset, The Word Alive, Theatre of Living Arts on November 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 17, 2021] All Good Things

This would be my son’s second show in just over a week.  We drove to TLA and had plenty of time to grab cheesesteaks (something I never do when I’m by myself).  Or so I thought.

The info said the show started at 7:30.  We walked in at 7:30 only to be told we missed the first band Another Day Dawns.  Their set must have been really short.

We got into the club and got up nice and close to the stage, just in time for All Good Things to take the stage.

I hadn’t heard of them, but as soon as they took the stage they played the kind of huge metal anthems that are designed for big group sing alongs.

So I looked them up and discovered

All Good Things were happy supplying dramatic soundtracks for video games and TV shows… until a growing army of fans tracked them down.  The band have built something of an online fanbase supplying music to video games and soundtracks, from WWE Smackdown to Prison Break and Bones. Cut to next scene, and two of the band’s songs have each generated more than two million Spotify listens.

So that makes total sense.  Songs filled with big hooks and lots of woah oh ohs.

Dan Murphy (vocals, guitar), Andrew Bojanic (guitar, vocals), Liz Hooper (bass, keyboard, vocals), Miles Franco (guitar, bass, vocals) and Randy Cooke (drums) played a terrific and enjoyable set.

The one big surprise for me was when they busted out a Destiny’s Child cover.  I don’t know Destiny’s Child at all, so I don’t know if this was a popular song. I do enjoy a left field cover and this was way out in left field.  The anthemic quality fit in pretty well with the rest of their songs, which shows just how poppy metal is at its core.

After the show I found that I didn’t really like the music as much–it felt a little too perfect, too anthemic, too made for movies.  But live, it was a cathartic and fun experience to shout along to these rockers.

  1. Kingdom ⊕
  2. Machines ≠
  3. Hold On ⊕
  4. Push Me Down ⊕
  5. The Comeback ⊕
  6. Survivor (Destiny’s Child cover)
  7. For the Glory ≠

≠ Machines (2017)
⊕ A Hope in Hell (2021)

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Tokyo Police Club / Nobro (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 17, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Canadian Music, Nobro, Philadelphia, PA, Pkew Pkew Pkew, The Foundry, Tokyo Police Club on November 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 17, 2021] Tokyo Police Club / Nobro

This was the tenth anniversary tour of Tokyo Police Club’s Champ album.  I’ve never seen them live, but I’ve heard their shows were amazing.  Plus, they were playing The Foundry, one of my favorite small clubs.

I was pretty psyched to see them, but it turned out that this show was scheduled for the same night as a Starset show that I would be taking my son to.  Sometimes schedules just don’t align nicely.

One of the openers for this tour was the Toronto punk band with the great name of Pkew Pkew Pkew.  But on our leg was Nobro. (more…)

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Avi Avital and MILOŠ (Richardson Auditorium, Princeton, NJ, November 16, 2021)

Posted in Avi Avital, Isaac Albeniz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Manuel de Falla, Mathias Duplessy, Miloš, Philip Glass, Princeton, NJ, Richardson Auditorium, Set in New Jersey! on November 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2016] Avi Avital and MILOŠ

Five years ago, S. and I went to see Avi Avital at a tiny theater on the Princeton University campus.  And now, here he was returning, but this time with a partner!  MILOŠ, an incredible guitarist whom I’d also learned about through a Tiny Desk Concert.

Israeli musician Avi Avital has taken the mandolin to new heights, earning a GRAMMY nomination as the first mandolin soloist in history…. He returns to Princeton University Concerts joined by an exciting PUC debut: Montenegrin phenomenon MILOŠ, who is described as “the hottest guitarist in the world” and renowned for his deeply emotive playing. Together, they bring us a kaleidoscopic program of arrangements and transcriptions for mandolin and guitar.   “POD SEATING” — Patrons will be seated on stage only with members of their party, as determined by the ticket quantity in your order.

So we could see these two terrific musicians and be right on the stage with them? Sign me up!

S. and I both went and we were maybe twenty feet from the musicians.  They were charming and funny as they introduced themselves and each other and then they blew us away with their amazing finger and fret work.

They played a truly wide ranging repertoire and explained the origins and context of each song.  Who would have guessed that Bach and Philip Glass could work together so well? (more…)

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Marie Brennan–A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir of Lady Trent (The Lady Trent Memoirs, 1) (2013) [audiobook 2013–Kate Reading]

Posted in Audiobooks, Death, Dragons, Fantasy, Feminism, Kate Reading, Marie Brennan, Rhys Davies, Sci-fi, Science, Sexism, Threats, Todd Lockwood, Unfinished series, Violence on November 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: November 2021] A Natural History of Dragons

This book sounded interesting. I knew nothing about it (aside from the title) and had no idea it would unfold the way it did.

Turns out that Kate Reading, whom I didn’t know, was an outstanding reader. She did male voices so compellingly that I forgot it was just one reader.

The book is a memoir.  The book feels like a Victorian novel (where a woman is not allowed to have the kind of adventures she ultimately does).  Reading reads Lady Trent in a kind of slow, deliberate, older, upper class lady voice.  It felt a wee bit slow at first, although I couldn’t imagine her doing it any other way.

Lady Isabella Tent is the leading scholar on dragons.  Indeed, the book starts:

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth into the clear light of modern science.

Each chapter even has an olde-fashioned style in which the chapter heading summarizes what’s to be found within.  Lady Trent is an old woman now, finished with the excitement of her life and all that she has accomplished and she has decided that rather than answering all of the letters she gets all the time, that she would set the record straight and write her memoirs.

She starts from her early childhood and her tone is at one approving and occasionally disbelieving in the kind of person she was.

When Lady Trent was young Isabella, she had a unladylike desire to be scientific.  When she first captured a “sparkling” (this book is written as if we would know what she’s talking about since it is a memoir of a famous person’s exploits.  If you don’t know what a sparkling is, well, where have you been?).

Her mother was horrified by her behavior.  I mean what kind of girl dissects a bird to see how it can fly?  A scientific genius, that’s what kind. (more…)

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We Were Promised Jetpacks (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2021) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Underground Arts, We Were Promised Jetpacks on November 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: November 14, 2021] We Were Promised Jetpacks (moved to April 14, 2022).

indexI was lucky enough to see We Were Promised Jetpacks in February.  They announced a surprise show in June–a kind of last show before we leave the States thing.  Of course it was cancelled.

Then they put out a new album and announced a new States tour.

I was kind of surprised that their show was postponed, but it appears that this Fall tour was just a kind of quickie before the larger tour in the spring.  SO they just added our local dates onto that tour. (more…)

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Beach Bunny (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 11, 2021)

Posted in Beach Bunny, First Unitarian Church, Katy Perry, Miloe, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 11, 2021] Beach Bunny [rescheduled from March 28, 2020 at First Unitarian Church and then May 24, 2020 at Union Transfer]

When my kids were little I was always driving around to some activity or another.  Well, how psyched was I to be able to drive one kids to a concert last night and another kids to a concert tonight?  And both were for bands I like, too!

I didn’t realize the full history of this show for Beach Bunny.  When the tour was first scheduled, they were supposed to play at the First Unitarian Church.  At some point, the venue was switched to Union Transfer, which is a pretty huge jump.  Then it was postponed for a year and a half and by that time she had built up such a big fanbase that the show sold out.

I’m not sure when my daughter had gotten into Beach Bunny, but I knew of them from some buzz on NPR.  I’m not sure I Would have gone to this show on my own, but I was pretty psyched to go once we got tickets.

Beach Bunny was a project for Lili Trifilio which eventually expanded to include Jon Alvarado on drums, Matt Henkels on guitar and Anthony Vaccaro on bass.

I told my daughter that we should be able to get up pretty close to the stage.  Wrong!  This sold out show was not going to hold back.  I told my daughter that the crowd would probably be a lot of short girls (which I have found to be true at certain younger bands).  Wrong!  There were people of varying (and large) heights crowding around to see this band which was getting pretty hyped of late.

The set was pretty spare with two video game cabinets on either side of the stage.  But Beach Bunny did not skimp on lights.  Each song had a different feel to it, with a song in the middle of the set featuring simply a spinning disco ball.

Lili was a great front woman, she was sweet and engaging.  It must be a weird feeling being that young and having a big room hanging on your every word and knowing all of them.  She wasn’t especially animated–that job seemed to belong to bassist Vaccaro whose big haor and frame provided for a lot of movement on the far side of the stage.

She played songs from all through her career (which was much longer than I was aware of).  Although I think the biggest responses came from the album songs and the new EP, Blame Game.

Even though I’ve been to Union Transfer a lot, I let her choose where we would stand–I’d already been wrong about two assumptions.  I tried to encourage her to push into open spots, but she was too shy.  Rather, she chose a spot near the side of the stage which ha a pretty good view and also allowed us to not participate in the one big crowd participation moment.

There’s the original poster for this tour back in 2020).

She went all the way back to her first release, Animalism for “Six Weeks.” They lowered the lights and Lili asked everyone to squat down and hold it.  She played the quiet intro to “Six Weeks” and when the vocals kicked in everyone jumped to their feet.

Her songs were so catchy and fun and yet lyrically they had a message of empowerment for the young girls.

I was kind of surprised that my daughter wasn’t dancing and going nuts with the other girls (who were probably a little older than her), but I could tell she was having a great time from the way she kept inching closer and closer as the show went on.  And the way she insisted on getting pictures taken in the venue and in front of the stage.  It was pretty sweet.

As was the fact that she wanted to buy a vinyl single (I’ve started her on a vinyl path already, gods help me).

They encore featured a fun version of Katy Perry’s “Hot n Cold” which everyone more than happily sang along to.  The final song was a rocking “Painkiller.”  And then it was over.  But we got home early enough that she could easily make it to school the next day wearing her Beach Bunny sweatshirt.

  1. Prom Queen ♣
  2. Love Sick ⇔
  3. Cuffing Season Ø
  4. Oxygen
  5. Promises Ø
  6. Good Girls (Don’t Get Used) ⇔
  7. April Ø
  8. Rearview Ø
  9. Entropy [new]
  10. 6 Weeks ∀
  11. Dream Boy Ø
  12. Nice Guys ⇔
  13. Colorblind Ø
  14. February ©
  15. Sports ♣
  16. Blame Game ⇔
  17. Boys ©
  18. Cloud 9 Ø
    encore
  19. Hot n Cold (Katy Perry cover)
  20. Painkiller ♣

⇔ Blame Game EP (2021)
Ø Honeymoon (2020)
♣ Prom Queen EP (2018)
© Crybaby (2017)
∀ ANIMALISM EP (2015)

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Miloe (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 11, 2021) [BEACH BUNNY]

Posted in Beach Bunny, Miloe, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 11, 2021] Miloe

When my kids were little I was always driving around to some activity or another.  Well, how psyched was I to be able to drive one kids to a concert last night and another kids to a concert tonight?  And both were for bands I like, too!

I didn’t know Miloe, and they were a little hard to get details about because the band is so young.  Miloe is the brainchild of 20 year old Congolese immigrant Bobby Kabeya.

He put out an EP called Greenhouse during the pandemic and has had a few other songs percolating for a while.

Bobby was a great frontman.  He told us that these shows were the first time he’s played in clubs–his previous touring experience was house parties. Obviously this was his first time away from Minneapolis, too.

Miloe’s record is full of laid back, breezy indie pop with pretty guitar melodies and delicate vocals delicately delivered over songs “influenced by Congolese rumba, reggae and African folk sounds.”

Bobby was quick to smile and marvel at where he was.  But he was also quick to totally rock out.

Most of the songs had a soft shimmering guitar sound.  Interlocking guitar lines from the two guitars fleshed out the sound.  But a song like “Yellow” started out quietly, like a sweet summer song complete with some “la las” and then it just crashed away into a satisfying noisy conclusion, with both guitarists going nuts.

The one thing that made me laugh was that Bobby’s bassist was easily a foot taller than him, so when they stood next to each other it was quite dramatic.

I found out this fun tidbit.  He wrote his song “Winona” about Winona Ryder.  But, and here’s the fun twist, he discovered her through Stranger Things, not one of her Gen X projects.   The song is about how a friend of his looks like her.

I didn’t catch all of the songs he played, but I know he played “Winona,” “Yellow” and “Motorola.”

I really enjoyed his set.

 

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Half Waif / Lightning Bug (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 13, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Half Waif, Ian Chang, Johnny Brenda's, Lightning Bug, Philadelphia, PA, Pinegrove on November 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 13, 2021] Half Waif / Lightning Bug

I have wanted to see Half Waif for a couple of years. I’ve heard her live shows are great.  And a venue like Johnny Brenda’s would probably be perfect for her intimate songs.

Initially I wanted to see this tour (back in May, and then October) because Ian Chang was opening for her and he is an amazing drummer whom I need to see live.

But that didn’t take away from my desire to see Half Waif as well.  But this show happened right in the middle of a bunch of other shows and I try not to do too many nights in a row.

It transpired that most of the shows were cancelled anyway, but I had pretty much committed to being home so I didn’t go.  But she’s fairly local so I hope she plays again soon.  With any opener.

Half Waif is the project of former Pinegrove singer Nandi Rose.  I find her music very pleasing.

Lightning Bug is the project of Audrey Kang (although I believe she has a full band now).  She sings lovely, quiet songs, which seems like it would be a nice companion to Half Waif’s music.

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Anti-Flag (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, November 10, 2021)

Posted in Anti-Flag, Asbury Park, NJ, Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Doll Skin, House of Independents, Ramones on November 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 10, 2021] Anti-Flag [postponed from March 17, 2020] 

I was pretty happy when my son asked if we could go see Anti-Flag.  I had heard him playing some of their songs and quite liked them.

Then I looked them up.  How could i have never heard of this band?  A politically charged punk band that has been making music and waves for over 25 years and I didn’t know them.  How was that possible?

The band came out on stage to a recording of “Blitzkieg Bop” and they were everything I wanted.

Anti-Flag has been around since the 1980s and had a few line up changes.  But things have been stable since 1999 when Chris #2 joined the band on bass and lead vocals.  He joined Justin Sane on lead vocals and lead guitar and Chris Headon rhythm guitar along with Pat Thetic on drums.

They are full of energy, or righteous anger and love and compassion for everyone present.

We were right in front of Chris #2 and it was incredible to watch him jump all over the place.  Way up in the air and at one point off the stack of amps.  His energy was incredible.

Justin Sane was a great front person–calmly telling us what was on his mind and then ripping guitar parts like crazy.

They played songs from throughout their career, occasionally dipping back in to their latest album 20/20 Vision with audio snippets introducing the songs.  The album is great although hearing trump’s voice again (even if it was used to mock him) was rather unpleasant.

The highlight for me though was looking over and seeing my son in a circle dance getting pushed around an having a great time. I can see him really moshing it up in a few years.  He did not crowd surf, although some people did (it was kind of a small club for that).

The band is obviously very political and they had brochures and activists there for all manner of causes.  They also had someone come out and say a few words about Punk Rock Saves Lives, an amazing organization whose mission statement is

to start focusing on Health Concerns, Equal Rights, Human Rights, and more. One of the keystones of the music community, especially Punk rock, is the ethos of taking care of one another. By championing this ethos through various campaigns hand-chosen by the artists, we can elevate their messages of hope, activism, and change to effect positive change and drive awareness.

Then as the show was nearing the end, Chris #2 had us do one of the coolest things I’ve done at a concert.  He had everyone–don’t give me any macho posturing bullshit, put their arms around the person next to them like a giant line of a group hug.  This was to tell everyone there that we are all on the same side, that the person next to us is our brother or sister.  It was a very moving moment for me.

And then, when we were all sweaty and gross from dancing and pushing each other around, we sang along to “Die for the Government.”

My only regret from this show is that I haven’t seen them like ten times already. Because I am ready to see them again.

  1. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones) [tape intro]
  2. Hate Conquers All ‰
  3. The Press Corpse ß
  4. Racists Æ
  5. Drink Drank Punk Ψ
  6. You Can Kill the Protester, But You Can’t Kill the Protest ⊗
  7. Trouble Follows Me Æ
  8. Bring Out Your Dead ⇓
  9. Disease Intro [tape intro]
  10. The Disease ‰
  11. Hymn for the Dead ß
  12. The Criminals Æ
  13. Turncoat ⊗
  14. Broken Bones √
  15. 1 Trillion Dollar$ ß
  16. Fuck Police Brutality Ψ
  17. Christian Intro [tape intro]
  18. Christian Nationalist ‰
  19. This Is the End (For You My Friend) ß
  20. American Attraction Æ
  21. Brandenburg Gate §
  22. Die for the Government Ψ

Ψ Die for the Government (1996)
⇓ Underground Network (2001)
⊗ The Terror State (2003)
ß For Blood and Empire (2006)√ The General Strike (2012)
§ American Spring (2015)
Æ American Fall (2017)
‰ 20/20 Vision (2020)

 

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Purity Ring / Dawn Richard (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 12, 2021) [rescheduled date, postponed again]

Posted in Canadian Music, Coronavirus, Dawn Richard, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Purity Ring, Quarantine, Union Transfer on November 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: November 12, 2021] Purity Ring / Dawn Richard [postponed from May 13, 2020 and April 21, 2021 ; moved to June 27, 2022] 

indexThe COVID resurgence has forced Purity Ring to postponed their tour yet again, with their new date over two years from their first dates.  Let’s hope everything is cool by June.

They have added Dawn Richard to the tour as well.  I didn’t know who that was and Wikipedia lists these fascinating credentials:

Dawn Angeliqué Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, model and animator.

That’s interesting, but I’m concerned by this:

Richard started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004. During this time, Richard became a member of American girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009.

I don’t know anything about Danity Kane but I have very strong opinions about made for TV bands.

Here’s the message from the band about the postponement (but not about Richard).

“Hey everyone, out of concern for the safety of our crew, our fans, ourselves and all our loved ones, we must postpone these tour dates once again. Simply put, the pandemic is not yet over. We’ve rescheduled our Fall tour dates for Spring 2022. Your tickets will be automatically transferred to the new date, and if the venue or location has changed they will be refunded. We’re not responsible for ticket sales so you must go to the place you bought them from to handle any changes. Unfortunately all dates for the EU/UK shows have been cancelled for the time being,”

~~~~

When Purity Ring cancelled their March 2020 dates due to COVID, they cleverly pushed their show back over a year.  It wasn’t far enough. The duo has had to push their show to the fall now.

~~~~

Purity Ring is a duo from Edmonton–multi-instrumentalist/producer Corin Roddick and vocalist Megan James.

They put out a couple of albums and then disappeared.

I rather enjoy the way Wikipedia describes their sound

a combination of pop and hip-hop styles and James’ “childlike” vocals and “macabre”, “gory” lyrics, that she takes from “books and books full of things she’s written” in the past.  Their music utilizes down-pitched, distorted vocals and percussive and vocal loops. A creative key to their sound is a sometimes aggressive use of a volume regulating technique called “sidechaining,” in which the rhythm of one instrument affects the volume of another.

After a five year hiatus, they returned in 2020 with a new album WOMB, just in time to have their tour postponed.

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