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Archive for March, 2022

Andy Shauf / Helena Deland (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2022) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again and again] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Andy Shauf, Asbury Park, NJ, Faye Webster, Helena Deland, House of Independents, Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Union Transfer on March 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: March 31, 2022] Andy Shauf / Helena Deland [rescheduled from May 1 2020, December 17, 2020 and September 12, 2021]

This show was postponed several times but when it finally rolled around I had two other shows earlier in the week, one of which was in New York City which turned out to be an absurdly late evening.  So I had to take a pass on Andy.  Who I’m not 100% sure I really want to see anyway.

Faye Webster was supposed to open for this show, but she has been replaced by Helena Deland.

Deland is a Canadian singer-songwriter with several EPs out. Her inspirations are Jessica Pratt, Joni Mitchell, and Sea Oleena.   Her music is quiet and gentle and her voice is high and soft.  Its quite lovely and was a good pairing.  I preferred her song “Someone New” which is a little more upbeat.

~~~~~~

This show appeared and then disappeared.  In May, Andy’s own website it was still an active date until you clicked on it and the ticket sales said March 2022.

Maybe in 2022 Andy will come back around.  He was supposed to play a show in NJ as well, but there was none listed in May.  We’ll see.

Postponing shows until December seemed like a safe bet.  My calendar was pretty free and I was hoping to see shows by now.  I’m not sure if I’d rather have gone to Philly or Asbury Park, though.  Well, next year will held me decide, I’m sure.

~~~~~

Andy Shauf is a Canadian singer songwriter.  He sings quiet, introspective songs.  He was playing at Union Transfer at the beginning of May and then in New Jersey in the middle of May.

I was introduced to his music from a Tiny Desk Concert in which he never really moves.  He has very long hair which also never moves.  His songs are really very pretty and well constructed.

It’s his voice that I find utterly fascinating.  He enunciates in such an unusual way.  The way he emphasizes certain vowels defies his Saskatchewan upbringing.  He sings not unlike Margaret Glaspy and other newer singers who stress their vowels in an unusual to me way.

I really enjoyed his Tiny Desk and I enjoyed reading about the album The Party which sounds like the worst party ever.

Since then he has cut all of his hair and looks totally different–I wasn’t even sure it was the same guy.

Faye Webster is a singer from Georgia who actually has a similar singing style to Andy, which is fascinating.  She sings low key torchy ballads and would be a perfect opening act for him.  I’m going to have to listen to a bit more from her.

He’s the kind of musician that I would think about going to but probably wouldn’t, and then I’d wish I had.  Well, now I have two more chances.

His initial itinerary fascinated me:

Boston, Brooklyn, Philly, D.C., North Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, Alabama, Indiana, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, upstate New York.

The rescheduled shows keep the same basic set up except that now Philly is the day before NJ–I wonder what changed that plan.

shuaf

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Sparks (The Town Hall, New York, NY, March 29, 2022)

Posted in Annette, New York City, The Sparks Brothers, The Town Hall on March 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 29, 2022] Sparks

Sparks is, without question, a weird band.  I got into them back in 1997 when they released an album of re-recorded versions of their best songs and called it Plagiarism.  Since then they have released eight albums.  Before  that the had release sixteen albums dating all the way back to 1971.  And yet despite the occasional hit, they remained largely unknown in the States.  They are from the States even though many people assume they are from Europe.  Sparks are Russel Mael (vocals) and Ron Mael (everything else).

And they remained at a certain level of obscurity until 2021 when a documentary called The Sparks Brothers was released (and did very well) and when they created a musical movie called Annette which won the Cannes Soundtrack award.

The time seemed ripe to do a (limited) tour of the States.  Sparks last played toured American back in 2013, they played at Le Poisson Rouge in 2017, but that was just two shows in New York and two in California–not much of a tour.  Normally I hate going into New York and will only do it for special occasions. (more…)

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LCD Soundsystem (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2022)

Posted in DJ Dave P.--Making Time, Franklin Music Hall, LCD Soundsystem, Philadelphia, PA on March 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2022] LCD Soundystem

Usually I like to give a separate post for an opening act.  But the opening act for this show was a DJ named Dave P. who does a show called Making Time.  Or Making Time is a show and he is one of the DJs.  Or something.  I didn’t quite get it.

So Dave P. spun music before LCD Soundsystem came on.  It was kind of funny because they always play music before a band comes on.  So instead of a playlist, it was an actual person spinning songs.  But he wasn’t on stage–he was up above in the balcony.  And he never spoke.  So it almost didn’t make a difference.  The tunes were pretty good though (but waaay too loud–much louder than the band was).

The biggest gripe I had was that he played until 9:30  (I had arrived at  around 7:30).  So I basically stood there for two hours.  Why didn’t LCD Soundsystem come on at 9 or something?  The show could have ended at a more reasonable time as well.

So the band came out at 9:30.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show.   I like a bunch of LCD songs, but they’re all kind of monotonous dance songs.  So what was a live show going to be like. (more…)

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grandson (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2022)

Posted in grandson, Imagine Dragons, Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Royal & the Serpent, Suicide Squad, Union Transfer on March 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2022] grandson

My son got me into grandson a couple of years ago.  I really like his debut album, death of an optimist.  I promised that if grandson toured, I’d grab tickets.  I bought the tickets for this show a while ago and had no idea that in the interim, grandson had become (in relative terms) really popular.

He wrote the theme song to Suicide Squad which had apparently upped his profile and, he was also opened for Imagine Dragons which is pretty massive exposure.  So good for him.

It also meant that this show was much more crowded than I thought it would be.  We arrived pretty earlier, but the merch line was crazy long.  By the time we got into the show it was pretty crowded, but I know Union Transfer, and I know where there’s a good spot to get you closer to the action. (more…)

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Royal & the Serpent (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2022) [GRANDSON]

Posted in grandson, Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Royal & the Serpent, Slush Puppy, The Killers, Union Transfer on March 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2022] Oxymorrons

I hadn’t heard of Royal & the Serpent.  When I looked them [her] up, I saw something that suggested that she had maybe worked with grandson–that he had produced something for her?  But I haven’t been able to find it since.  Whatever.

When I listened to her before the show (singer Ryan Santiago IS Royal & the Serpent–they are both parts of her personality), I thought she sounded an awful lot like grandson sonically.

When they started, first her drummer came out on stage.  She crouched by the drums waiting.  Then her guitarist,  Brent Burdett, came out, his hair was died blue and pink and he seemed very tall.  Especially compared to Royal who came bouncing out to their 2021 song “I Can’t Get High.” (more…)

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Cavetown / Tessa Violet / Addison Grace (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Addison Grace, Cavetown, Philadelphia, PA, Tessa Violet, The Fillmore Philadelphia on March 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 25, 2022] Cavetown / Tessa Violet / Addison Grace

Cavetown has a song called “Lemon Boy” which my daughter introduced me to.  She listened to it a lot, so when Cavetown announced a tour I grabbed a ticket for us in Philly.  I was actually surprised that someone I thought was fairly unknown was playing the Fillmore and not the Foundry, but it turned out that the show sold out in the big venue

Then a few weeks later Grandson announced a show in Philly for the same night.  I knew that my son really wanted to see Grandson.  So I checked and saw that Cavetown was also playing the in New York the night before.  So I grabbed us tickets for that show.

Later I found out that my daughter was going to a party that night.  So we opted not to go.  I was able to sell the tickets for both nights.  I’m curious what the show was like, but I’m sure he’ll be back.

Tessa Violet Williams, previously known as Meekakitty, is an American singer-songwriter, video blogger, actress, music video director, and former model.  She seems to write minimalist, simple catchy pop songs.  A perfect companion to Cavetown I think.

Addison Grace has a similar vibe and, in an interview it says they were inspired by Cavetown.  So that makes sense.

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Oxymorrons (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2022) [GRANDSON]

Posted in grandson, Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Royal & the Serpent, Union Transfer on March 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2022] Oxymorrons

My son C. has been a big fan of grandson for a while now.  I knew that we’d be seeing him whenever he came to town.  This was also his first exposure to Union Transfer, so I thought it would be super fun for both of us.  And it was, but it wasn’t as I expected.

After getting forced to the back for girl in red, I thought we’d want to arrive earlier.  But I also knew that this show hadn’t sold out  so I imagined we could stroll in at 7:30 and get right up front (there were two opening bands after all).  But when we walked in, the merch line was ENORMOUS (and slow) and the room was already a little full.

Well, we waited for mech (good decision) and heard Oxymorrons start their set.  We walked in during “Think Big” and, even though it was crowded all the way to the back, I found my favorite spot stage right was open, so we slunk our way to that corner and were within a reasonably close distance from the stage.  Sweet.

Meanwhile, Oxymorrons were on stage ripping it up. (more…)

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Vundabar / M.A.G.S. (First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in First Unitarian Church, M.A.G.S., Philadelphia, PA, Vundabar on March 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 23, 2022] Vundabar / M.A.G.S. [postponed until June 23, 2022, moved to The Foundry]

I’m not even sure if I knew who Vundabar was in March 2022.  My daughter had put their song on a playlist, and I loved it, but I never registered the band name.

I wouldn’t have gone to this show anyway, since I don’t go to The Church.  But the postponement means I didn’t actually miss it.

Last fall, Vundabar’s 2013 song “Alien Blues” became a viral hit via TikTok. They’ve now re-recorded the song and have brought in Indigo De Souza to sing on it. (Listen below.) They’ve also just rescheduled their tour. “With the rise of Omicron we’re option to move our February and March tour dates to May and June of 2022,” says singer/guitarist Brandon Hagen. “With the recent spikes in cases and general difficulty of safely navigating live events it feels like the best option.”

M.A.G.S. is the solo moniker for Buffalo-bred, Los Angeles-based artist Elliott Douglas. His style seamlessly glides between genres ─ from funky garage to minty alt-pop ─ and hooks you in almost immediately (according to Take This to Heart).

But I tend to agree with this statement.  His songs are bright and cheerful sounding. Catchy and bouncy.  Or as one more review puts it, the album is an “indie rock affair rife with intimate energy and electric overdrive.”

I really enjoyed his stuff and will have to listen to some more.

 

 

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Cavetown / Tessa Violet / Addison Grace (Terminal 5, New York, NY, March 25, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Addison Grace, Cavetown, New York City, Terminal 5, Tessa Violet on March 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 25, 2022] Cavetown / Tessa Violet / Addison Grace

Cavetown has a song called “Lemon Boy” which my daughter introduced me to.  She listened to it a lot, so when Cavetown announced a tour I grabbed a ticket for us in Philly.

Then a few weeks later Grandson announced a show in Philly for the same night.  I knew that my son really wanted to see Grandson.  So I checked and saw that Cavetown was also playing the in New York the night before.  So I grabbed us tickets for that show.

Later I found out that my daughter was going to a party that night.  So we opted not to go.  I was able to sell the tickets for both nights.  I’m curious what the show was like, but I’m sure he’ll be back.

Tessa Violet Williams, previously known as Meekakitty, is an American singer-songwriter, video blogger, actress, music video director, and former model.  She seems to write minimalist, simple catchy pop songs.  A perfect companion to Cavetown I think.

Addison Grace has a similar vibe and, in an interview it says they were inspired by Cavetown.  So that makes sense.

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Mitski / The Weather Station (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Franklin Music Hall, Mitski, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, The Weather Station on March 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: March 25, 2022] Mitski/The Weather Station [moved to July 24, 2022]

I saw Mitski back in 2018.  I enjoyed her theatrical show quite a lot.

In that time, Mitski has taken off with the young people.  Both of my kids love her (as does a large section of the youth).  When this tour was announced, there was no question that I would get four tickets for my two kids and one of their friends.

I figured it wouldn’t be that hard, since she was playing at a pretty huge venue.  But the presale sold out in like 5 seconds.  And the main day sale also sold out in like 5 seconds.  The bots were all over this tour.  It was so obnoxious.

My kids really wanted to see her but there was no way I was spending a ton of money on her, so we were SOL.

Then a few days before the show was to happen, it was postponed because of COVID. (more…)

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