[ATTENDED: May 18, 2022] Ky Vöss [Wednesday cancelled]
T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021. I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….). Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.
Of course I got her a ticket!
It also happened to be the same night as my rescheduled (three or four times) Deftones show which I was incredibly excited to go to. Which my son really wanted to go to having recently gotten into the Deftones.
I tried so many different ways to make this night happen for all of us.
Perhaps I could get a ticket for him for Deftones and we could go together. Mine was GA, but GA was upselling for like $300 (NO!). I could get him a seat in the balcony–that would suck) and even that was upselling for like $175 (NO!). (more…)
There are few bands that I will travel to New York City to see anymore. Supergrass was one of them.
In It for the Money is in my Top 5 greatest albums of all time and I could listen to it again and again. I Should Coco is up there pretty high as well. And while I didn’t love their later stuff quite as much, there are still some great songs on those records.
Supergrass last played Philadelphia is 2003 (and weren’t going to play there this time) and last played NYC in 2008. They broke up in 2010 and reunited in 2019. So this was my chance to see them.
The crowd was also pretty excited. One guy near me in particular was out of his mind and talked about seeing them in L.A as well (did he really travel across the country for them?).
The lights went down, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” played out of the speakers and the guys came out. Supergrass were always presented as a trio even though singer Gaz Coombes’ brother Rob Coombes was unofficially a member for a pretty long time. It was nice to see him getting proper recognition on this tour. Even if, really all of the love was for Gaz, the face of the band. (more…)
[ATTENDED: May 17, 2022] Supergrass
There are few bands that I will travel to New York City to see anymore. Supergrass was one of them.
In It for the Money is in my Top 5 greatest albums of all time and I could listen to it again and again. I Should Coco is up there pretty high as well. And while I didn’t love their later stuff quite as much, there are still some great songs on those records.
Supergrass last played Philadelphia is 2003 (and weren’t going to play there this time) and last played NYC in 2008. They broke up in 2010 and reunited in 2019. So this was my chance to see them.
The crowd was also pretty excited. One guy near me in particular was out of his mind and talked about seeing them in L.A as well (did he really travel across the country for them?).
The lights went down, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” played out of the speakers and the guys came out. Supergrass were always presented as a trio even though singer Gaz Coombes’ brother Rob Coombes was unofficially a member for a pretty long time. It was nice to see him getting proper recognition on this tour. Even if, really all of the love was for Gaz, the face of the band. (more…)
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Kikagaku Moyo / Nina Ryser
I saw Kikagaku Moyo in 2019 and they were amazing. I’ve wanted to see them again, but they are from Japan, and the Pandemic kept them away.
They finally announced a new show for 2022 and I was psyched. Too bad it aligned with the Deftones show that I’d been waiting to see for a couple of years. Too bad also the Beach Bunny show that I was going to take my daughter to see fell on the same night.
Then Kikagaku Moyo announced that this was going to be their last tour–they were going to break up. So I’ll never see them again.
Alas.
Nina Ryser is one third of Palberta.
I happened to see her later on in the year opening for Tropical Fuck Storm
Nina Ryser is a member of Palberta. .. Like the rest of her Palbertans, Ryser is a prolific songwriter who is classically trained but who likes to push the boundaries of what music should do. … For this little set, she and her husband played keyboards (and all manner of gadgets). The set sounded improvised, but I’m sure it wasn’t. … Most of the songs were built around a beat and a simple chord pattern. There was a droney component to it and Nina’s vocals were kind of deapan. … My favorite parts of the show occurred between songs where Nina would mess around with looping pedals and make these interesting collages out of bits of the song she’d just played. There was definitely some improv in here and I enjoyed watching her manipulate the sounds to create something cool.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Deftones / Gojira / VOWWS [rescheduled from August 22, 2020 and August 27, 2021]
I was pretty excited to see this Deftones show. But I was even more excited when my son said he wanted to go to the show with me. Well, it had sold out a long time ago and I couldn’t get a Pit ticket for a reasonable price. I didn’t want my son to be in the balcony while I was in the pit. But I also didn’t want the reverse.
But then, what happened was that I got a ticket to see Beach Bunny across town on the same night. And so, my daughter and I went to the Beach Bunny show and I gave my son the Deftones ticket. Yes, he would be by himself in the pit.
The timing actually worked out just fine, because while Wednesday bailed on our show, VOWWS bailed on their show. This meant I had to do some mathematical time keeping to see if I’d have to leave Beach Bunny early to get him so he wasn’t hanging around on the streets of Philadelphia.
But it turned out that his show ended almost exactly the same time as our show. Since our show was only ten minutes away, there was still plenty of foot traffic when I went to go get him.
He said the show was great. And Markit Aneight kindly recorded the entire Deftones set.
~~~~~~~
I was pretty excited to see this show this summer. It turned out, however, that the show was the night that we returned home from vacation. Ie, it would have been a pretty exhausting day. So, the fact that Deftones decided to postponed until May was fine with me.
I’m bummed that Poppy is no longer part of the tour because I’d really like to see her. But she is now headlining her own tour–which I don’t really want to see. I’m not sure a full show of hers would be that much fun. But hey, maybe she’ll be back on board
~~~
I saw Deftones at a lousy location (Sands Bethlehem hall), but it was one of my favorite shows that year. The crowd was pushy and shovey, but Chino came within five feet of me and the energy was amazing.
Plus at the end of the show, when a roadie threw out a drumstick, I actually got it.
I knew I’d want to see them at least one more time, but wow was I surprised to see that they were going to play The Met in Philly, which I think of as a more “delicate” hall. I’d be slightly afraid for the seats at a Deftones show.
The opening acts were really intriguing as well.
Gojira area French heavy metal band whose 2012 album I loved. Heavy and very technical I’d imagine they put on a great show.
Poppy is an absolute mystery. She’s an internet creation whose every song is is a different genre. Her latest album was really really heavy but with that fake internet sheen on it (in a Babymetal kind of way but less sincere, if that’s possible). I’ve been intrigued by here since I first heard about her, but I wouldn’t want to see her show if she was headlining. This seemed like a great way to experience her weirdness. I hope that she is still on the bill next year and that she is still into metal, otherwise it could be kind of awkward.
I really thought that this show at the end of August might go on but on May 19, they sent this note.
Due to the current regulations, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we must reschedule our North American summer tour dates with special guests, Gojira and Poppy. We’re currently rescheduling the dates for 2021, and you’ll be the first to know once they are confirmed. All tickets will be honored or refunded upon our next announcement regarding the tour.
I’m glad they are promising to come back And by then, their new album (due in September) will be familiar to all of us.
There are few bands that I will travel to New York City to see anymore. Supergrass was one of them.
I didn’t care who was opening. I didn’t even care if I saw the opening band. Except that I knew I would be getting there very early to see the band as well as I could.
I had never been to Webster Hall before and didn’t know where the band would be. I walked past the merch (which was totally sold out by the time the show was over) and looked around for any signs of where to go. I was early and people were milling about. Finally I figured out the stage was upstairs (!)
So who was Heaven? Well, back in the 80s there was an Australian heavy metal band named Heaven who released a couple of albums including a cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” It seemed REALLY unlikley that it was them (especially since they officially broke up in 2012). But who was this other Heaven? (more…)
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 2022] Crash Test Dummies / Heather Maloney
I saw Brad Roberts solo a few years ago and I really enjoyed him. I have remained a Crash Test Dummies fan since the early days, even with their weirder Brad Roberts-only solo stuff.
This tour was going to be a full band anniversary tour and I was really interested in seeing them all.
I’m not sure how excited my wife was to go see them–I thought she’d enjoy it, but when the time of t he show came, we just didn’t feel like going.
I do hope they’ll come back though, as a full band would be great.
Heather Maloney was raised in Hamburg, New Jersey. She studied classical operatic singing, improvisational jazz vocals, and music theory. She’s put out at least a half dozen records, and I’m surprised I’ve never heard of her. She sounds great with a band (in the one video I watched) and can really pull of a solo show as well. She reminds me a bit of Dar Williams (with a really really great voice).
I have complained before about one-named singers. But usually, they have somewhat unique names to trade on. But Dave? Really? Especially since the Dave Matthews people call him just Dave most of the time. How does a British rapper succeed when he is called DAVE?
Pretty well, apparently since he did three nights in New York (the poster is before new dates were added).
He also played TLA. I have never been to an exclusively rap concert. But I thought that I’d like to see DAVE, because I really like his tone (and his accent is neat).
I think the show sold out, but it turned out that I had tickets to see Crash Test Dummies that night, so DAVE was never really on the table.
I don’t know what the opening set was like. According to the Brooklyn Vegan review of one of the New York shows,
The crowd was already hyped up thanks to Hot 97’s DJ Kast One warming things up with a hits-filled DJ set, but when Dave walked out on that stage, the already-packed crowd packed in even tighter, with people storming towards the stage, a sea of phones in the air, and almost the entire crowd rapping along to every word to show-opener “Verdansk” right off the bat. (At one point, Dave stopped the show to ask everyone to move back and check on people in the front row.) For a good chunk of the show, there was nothing on stage except Dave and a hazy light show, and that’s all he needed to keep the energy level at a 10/10 song after song. He’s not only a great storyteller but a great performer, and he won over the entire room off the strengths of his raps alone.
Maybe when he comes back I’ll be able to check him out.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 2022] The Lemon Twigs / Tchotchke
I discovered The Lemon Twigs a few years ago and really enjoyed their glam rock sound and I imagined that they would be a ton of fun live. The band is technically a duo, although I don’t know if they have more people on stage with them.
I really liked The Lemon Twigs’ Do Hollywood album and their follow up EPs showed even more development. Since then they have put out a few albums, and I have enjoyed them.
I have rather wanted to see them–this new tour, which was playing at TWO locations really close to me seemed to be an easy way to catch them.
This show wound up being scheduled on the same day as a concert I had a ticket for with my wife. We were going to see Crash Test Dummies, so this show was never really going to come together. The fact that we blew of the Crash Test Dummies show anyhow, was a smart choice as we didn’t feel like going, but it was a shame to miss so much in one night.
Tchotchke is a band from New York comprised of Anastasia Sanchez, Eva Chambers and Emily Tooraen. They used to be called Pinky Pinky which I think is a much more apt name for the style of music they play–it’s a kind of an updated doo-wop, pop sheen aesthetic.
Really not my thing, although I heard that if you went to their merch booth after the show they handed out a tchotchke to each person.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2022] Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary
I’ve seen Sunflower bean twice. The first time I was blown away by them. The second time, they had changed their sound a bit and, while I liked them, I didn’t really love the new direction quite as much.
Sunflower Bean had cancelled a few shows earlier this month due to singer Julia Cumming’s injury. This show did happen, but if I was going out this night it was to see The Dead Milkmen.
Although now that I know about Hello Mary, that might have changed.
Hello Mary is a band I hadn’t heard of. Why hadn’t I heard of them? Well, because this article from November 2022 (yes, out of chronology, but it shows just how unknown they were back in May) explains
The New York trio’s self-titled full-length debut, out March 3, isa blast of distorted chords, sunny harmonies, and all-consuming angst that will renew your faith in the hopelessly dated and/or timelessly classic sounds of alternative rock. Hello Mary is an instant contender for 2023’s most bracing entrance to the stage, sharp and self-assured. Oh yeah, and the band’s two founders — singer-guitarist Helena Straight and bass player Mikaela Oppenheimer, both 18 — just graduated from high school this summer.
So at the time of the show they were still in high school. That would have been wild to see them. I have since listened to the album and I love it. I sure hope the tour soon.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2022] The Dead Milkmen / MC Lars / Gibbous Moon
I’ve been a fan of The Dead Milkmen’s bratty brand of punk for years–probably since 1988. I’ve never seen them live.
They sort of, but not really, broke up and then reunited and so on. I didn’t really think I’ve ever get to see them, but they announced this short run of local shows and I thought, YES! I will finally get to see them.
Well, my plans changed and it turned out I had other things to do that night (and sure, they were fun, but still, bummer).
I think the Dead Milkmen are playing around from time to time, so I met get to see them yet.
MC Lars is a nerd rapper who I would love to see live. I’ve had a few opportunities and they all seem to fail. I especially wanted to see the The Four-Eyed Horsemen tour but i couldn’t make it.
MC Lars plays with a laptop and occasionally a punk rock band to back him up, which he refers to as “post-punk laptop rap”. Samples from bands such as Supergrass, Piebald, Brand New, Fugazi, and Iggy Pop play a key role in MC Lars’s music. Hearts That Hate, whose song “Cry Tonight” is sampled in Lars’ “Signing Emo”, is a fictional group created by the rapper. MC Lars has also shown an interest in using lyrics and song titles based on English and American literature. “Rapbeth” references William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, while “Mr. Raven” is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”. “Ahab” is about the novel Moby Dick and “Hey There Ophelia” on This Gigantic Robot Kills retells the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Gibbous Moon is a Philly trio that plays heavy psychedelic rock. (more…)
T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021. I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….). Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.
I Just Read About That... 