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Archive for May, 2022

Gogol Bordello / Amigo the Devil (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Amigo the Devil, Gogol Bordello, Jersey City, NJ, Kim Gordon, Nick Cave, White Eagle Hall on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Gogol Bordello / Amigo the Devil

I have seen Gogol Bordello twice.  The first time I had so much fun I couldn’t wait to see them again.  My recollection of the second time I saw them (this time in Philly), was that I got pushed so far back by the pit that I didn’t really enjoy myself.  But my write up of that show is all positive, so maybe I’m misremembering.

They were so much fun that I would like to see them again.  And this show was showing huge support for Ukraine.  So I was bummed to miss it, but  I’d already had tickets to a show (Destroyer) and wound up going to a different show (Pup).

We’ll see where they play next time around (they are always touring).

Amigo the Devil is Danny Kiranos an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and banjo player. His music is influenced by American folk, country, rock, and heavy metal, with themes of murder, death, and other dark subject matters which has led to his music being called “Dark Folk” or “Murderfolk”.  He is the son of a Greek father and a Spanish mother, and was influenced by the traditional music of both cultures.

I listened to a few of his songs.  They are very banjo heavy and I expected not to like it (especially since the lyrics are so dark) but i found myself quite entranced by him.  Perhaps he is the American version of Nick Cave.

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Olivia Rodrigo / Holly Humberstone (The Met Philadelphia, PA, May 6 & 7, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Holly Humberstone, Olivia Rodrigo, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6 & 7, 2022] Olivia Rodrigo / Holly Humberstone

Olivia Rodrigo kind of busted out of nowhere (okay, actually Disney) with her super catchy and mildly punkish album Sour.  My daughter loved it and it is fun as heck.

The more I listened to the songs, the more I thought it would be fun as anything to see her live.

Well, evidently everyone else in the world thought the same thing because this tour (both nights) sold out in about 2 minutes.

Well, I’ll never get to know how this tour went.

Holly Humberstone opened for Girl in Red the first time we saw them.

She was really good.  I wrote:

Well, I was impressed by her.  She played guitar, keyboard, piano and created live beats on the drum machine while singing.  And her voice was really lovely too.

Her songs are on the pop side but with some good loud guitars from time to time.  “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet” was the synthy song (that featured sped up samples of her voice trilling in the background.  I enjoyed the way she jumped from the synth rack to the piano mid-song.

Would have been a fun show.

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Lucius / Celisse (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Celisse, Lucius, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Lucius / Celisse

Lucius had played a Free at Noon show earlier in the day and I could have gone.  But for a couple of reasons I didn’t.

I’m not even 100% sure I want to see them live–I really like some of their songs a lot, but a lot are just kind of okay for me.  Although their harmonies are absolutely dynamite.

For this show, I was even offered free tickets the night before:

Sign up now to claim free tickets to enjoy the sweet sounds of Lucius w/ Celisse

I absolutely would have gone to this for free.  (It also tells me it was not selling very well).

But, it turns out that I had SIX shows to choose from this evening: Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean (which was actually cancelled), Destroyer (which I had bought a ticket for a long time earlier), Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

So Pup it was (and it was great).

Celisse Henderson is a wild rocking woman who plays a killer guitar–I think she’s more of a blues player than anything else, but with a modern, female spin on the blues..  I don’t think I knew who she was at the time, but I have since learned that she is a killer and I would have loved to see her.

 

 

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Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Joanna Sternberg, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon 

I scored a ticket to this Free at Noon show because I have been very curious to see Lucius live.  I absolutely love about half of their songs.  And I rather don’t like many of their other songs.  So it’s been a toss up whether I really want to see them.  This Free at Noon seemed like the perfect way.

Then I found out that they were sharing the bill with Joanna Sternberg.

I don’t know anything about her, so it’s no offense to her, but I didn’t want to see such a short Lucius set (most Free at Noons are barely 40 minutes, so it seemed crazy to drive all that way for… 20?

So I stayed at work.

This session took place during Non-COMM, which probably meant that it was really really crowded.  Turns out they only played six songs, although they are probably the six I mist wanted to hear.  So maybe I should have gone.

Although I was seeing Pup that night, so I guess, maybe not. (more…)

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Psychedelic Porn Crumpets / Acid Dad (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Acid Dad, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Underground Arts on May 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: May 5, 2022] Psychedelic Porn Crumpets / Acid Dad [postponed to October 21, 2022]

I’m not exactly sure how I discovered Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.  They are an Australian band and they are weird and pretty wonderful.

I have been really getting into them and Acid Dad (thanks to the Levitation live shows.

Sadly, but only mildly sadly, I received an email on March 30:

Due to circumstances both unforeseen and beyond our control, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets show at Underground Arts originally scheduled for May 5, 2022, has been Rescheduled to Friday, October 21st, 2022.

No big deal, they’ll be just a great in the fall as they would be in the spring.

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Spoon (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2022)

Posted in Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, The Fillmore Philadelphia on May 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 4, 2022] Spoon [rescheduled from April 15, 2022]

This was possibly the shortest time between a postponed show and a rescheduled show.  Nineteen days!  It’s pretty remarkable that the venues were able to accommodate Spoon with such short notice.

So I’ve never been a huge fan of Spoon, but I like a lot if not most of their songs.  In fact, I like them more and more with each record and with each live show.  It’s like the live experience really shows what they’re doing to its best example.

So this was my third time seeing them.  And it was great.

They opened with “Held” a Smog song that they have covered a lot in the past (and which is on their new album).  As soon as Britt Daniel started singing, someone behind me loudly screamed along “first time in my life!” (more…)

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Nilüfer Yanya / Tasha / Ada Lea (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ada Lea, Nilüfer Yanya, Philadelphia, PA, Tasha, Underground Arts on May 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 4, 2022] Nilüfer Yanya / Tasha / Ada Lea

I saw Nilüfer Yanya back in 2019.  She opened for Sharon Van Etten.  For some reason I keep thinking that she was the headliner for that show.  Which I guess is why I thought it was strange that she was downsizing to Underground Arts.  But she’s now headlining with this tour.

This had been a very busy concert time for me, so I didn’t buy a ticket for this show right away.

Then my Spoon show which had been postponed in April was rescheduled for this same date.  So I was glad I hadn’t bought the ticket yet.

I have rather enjoyed her new album though and would like to see her again.  I’m sure she’s become even more dynamic of a performer.

Tasha (I have to say that there are far too many one-named people with just a first name.  Why do you think that’s okay?  How are people supposed to find you?) is a singer from Chicago.  She has a lovely voice and sings a blend of folk and torch song.  She’d be a great addition to Yanya’s show

Ada Lea (not a one-name singer, as her name is Alexandra Levy) is a Canadian singer who plays slightly up-tempo folk.  She sings a bit like Andy Shauf–what’s up with this style being so prominent?

I’m rather taken with her bio’s blurb about her record:

classic, soft-rock beauty to intimate finger-picked folk passages and night-drive art-pop. And the textures are frequently surprising due to the collage of lo-fi and hi-fi sounds that tastefully decorate the album without ever clouding the heart-center of the song.

I’ve really enjoyed what I heard from her so far–it’s quiet moody and interesting.  I bet she’s great live.

For ease of searching I include: Nilufer Yanya

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Margaret Glaspy (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2022) [SPOON]

Posted in Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, The Fillmore Philadelphia on May 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 4, 2022] Margaret Glaspy [rescheduled from April 15, 2022]

This was possibly the shortest time between a postponed show and a rescheduled show.  Nineteen days!  It’s pretty remarkable that the venues were able to accommodate Spoon with such short notice.  It also worked out really well for me because that week in April was really chaotic.

But here we were in May.  

I had been wanting to see Margaret Glaspy for a pretty long time.  She last played Philadelphia in 2016, about two months before I heard her album.  (Well, actually, she played Philly when opening for Ruston Kelly, but there was no freaking way I was going  to see that country music hack).  She was supposed to headline a tour back in 2020, but that show was postponed, so it’s not all her fault that it took six years for me to see her.

I really enjoyed her album Emotions and Math.  I loved the guitar and kind of weirdly lurching and aggressive sound and vocal style (Margaret clearly was taking no shit).  Her newer album departed from that style a bit–there’s a bit more synth, but it’s still solid.  (more…)

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Behemoth (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2022)

Posted in Arch Enemy, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Unto Others on May 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2022] Behemoth

Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band.  I’ve never been to an extreme metal show before and figure it would be fun (I guess) to see one.

Behemoth have been around for over twenty years and have stirred up their share of controversy.  As NME wrote: Singer Nergal was prosecuted for blasphemy a decade ago for ripping up a bible on stage, but he argued his right to free speech and won the case, having to neither draw pentagrams in salt nor shed the blood of any lambs in the process.

NME also notes: When he is not onstage, he hosted the Polish version of Pop Idol, he runs a chain of barbershops and is a qualified museum curator.

I had heard that Behemoth live shows were legendary.  So I waited to see what would come next.

There were three sculpted microphone stands on the stage and a giant drum set in the back.  There was a sculpture behind the drum riser and lots of pyro.

Then the band came out in corpse paint looking ominous and intense.

The music started.  It was relentless and powerful and the crowd went berserk.  There were clearly long-time fans who knew the words to all the songs.  There was a massive pit in the center of the room.  But mostly there was the band.

Lead singer and guitarist Nergal was in the middle, conducting the whole thing.  Behind him was long time drummer Inferno.

We were in front of bassist Orion and on the other side was a behemoth of a guitarist Seth.

At some point Nergal changed outfits and was wearing a Pope hat.  Orion spit blood in the air and at the audience.  Seth stomped all around the stage and Inferno blasted the hell out of his drums.

It was intense and exhausting (especially after three other bands).  I was pretty wiped out by the end of the show and decided that I probably didn’t need to see any more extreme metal bands.

Behemoth had destroyed them all.

  1. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer §
  2. Wolves ov Siberia ♥
  3. Ov Fire and the Void €
  4. Evoe Δ
  5. Christians to the Lions ¢
  6. Bartzabel ♥
  7. Conquer All δ
  8. Ov My Herculean Exile Ø
  9. Decade of Therion ¥
  10. Slaves Shall Serve δ
  11. Chant for Eschaton 2000 ¥
  12. O Father O Satan O Sun! §

Ø Opvs Contra Natvram (2022)
Δ A Forest EP (2020)
♥ I Loved You at Your Darkest (2018)
§ The Satanist (2014)
€ Evangelion (2009)
δ Demigod (2004)
¢ Thelema.6 (2000)
¥ Satanica (1999)

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Ho99o9 / N8NOFACE / GHÖSH (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in GHÖSH, Ho99o9, N8NOFACE, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on May 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 18, 2023] Ho99o9 / N8NOFACE / GHÖSH

I was not really familiar with Ho99o9 when this show was announced.  I looked them up and decided that although their sets are probably pretty awesome, that this show might be a little too much for me.

As one review says

The destruction really started a few songs in during ‘Street Power’ and new song ‘Forest Fires’ off their latest EP Cyber Cop, the distorted drums and deafening bass shook the room as the duo bounced around the stage like human bouncy balls, just before Eaddy took a first class flight off the stage; jumping on top of the awaiting audience, before climbing back on to the stage to finish up.

….

Tonight’s show was the definition of insanity, bodies flying all around the room, mosh pits opening up anywhere there was available space; Ho99o9 have been able to secure some of the most dedicated and passionate fans in the scene, no matter where they play no doubt there will be fans there to listen!

In a small place like Underground Arts, it might have been overwhelming. (more…)

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