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Archive for August, 2022

The Mountain Goats / Garcia Peoples (Anchor Rock Club, Atlantic City, NJ, August 29, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anchor Rock Club, Atlantic City, NJ, Garcia Peoples, John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats on August 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 29, 2022 ] The Mountain Goats

Back in 2021 I wrote:

I’ve enjoyed a lot of The Mountain Goats’ music and I’d like to see them live, but their timing always seems to be terrible.

Some day I’ll see them preferably in a place smaller than the Fillmore, as well).

I don’t know how big the Anchor Rock Club is, but this show lined up with our vacation, so it was a no go.

I was especially looking forward to this show because Garcia Peoples were opening.  This is now the third time that I have failed to see Garcia Peoples.

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Ben Folds: In Actual Person Live for Real Tour (Xcite Center, Parx Casino, Bensalem, PA, August 27, 2022) [rescheduled]

Posted in Ben Folds, Bensalem, PA, Parx Casino, Xcite Center on August 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2022] Ben Folds [rescheduled from August 28, 2021]

Last year, a few weeks before his scheduled concert, Ben postponed this show (Parx couldn’t comply with his COVID requests).  So we waited a year for this show.

I feel like we’ve seen Ben practically a dozen times, but this was only our fifth show.

I thought this would be a great show because Parx is close and easy to get to and I had a great time at the Flaming Lips show here and there was no opening act.

But things were kind of weird right from the start.  He was really late coming out.  I accept that a start time is fungible, but the lights went down and it took him a solid five minutes to come out.  During which time someone loudly made a I’ll bet he had to rush to the bathroom joke which really set the tone.

It’s hard to say is Ben was annoyed, but he seemed to be.  He didn’t like the camera set up (one was on the keyboard) and he just didn’t seem as fun as he has in the past.

Of course, he’s professional, so he sounded great and his playing was wonderful.

The crowd around us was weird.  It was a much older crowd than a typical show that we go to and I’m guessing a Saturday night show at a casino is going to lend itself to a lot of drunken people.  Because the bad behavior was in evidence.

A lot of talking, a lot of singing loudly and a lot of talking back to Ben.

The singing loudly isn’t really a problem per se, especially when he requests it, but when no one else around you is singing and you are singing very loudly, well, that’s pretty rude.  But I will admot that everyone sounded quite lovely during the Regina Spector parts of “You Don’t Know Me.”

When somebody shouted the inevitable “Bitches Ain’t Shit” request, Ben sang something about being in a “fucking casino.”

The one genuinely new piece of information we learned was that “Feed Jones Pt.2” is indeed a Pt. 2.  It’s not a secret, really, but I never noticed that the song “Cigarette” on Whatever and Ever Amen” is about Fred Jones (its a 90 second song that I probably never really paid attention to).  So it was neat that he played these two songs in a row to connect the parts.

But astonishingly, when he played an encore of, “The Luckiest,” a gentle, sad, heartwarming song people actually talked all the way through it.  It was really shocking as this is regarded as one of his most beautiful songs.

When we saw him five years ago, he played two sets–one all request.  And it wound up being six songs longer than this show.  Indeed, when he played Morristown, he played several more songs and even did a New Jersey improv song.

So, for whatever reason, this show didn’t feel as great as the previous ones.  I blame the casino.  And the drunks.

(Live and in Person)
Bensalem 2021		 (And a Piano)
Morristown, 2016
So There ⇓ Annie Waits ®
Annie Waits ®
The Last Polka 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
Capable of Anything ⇓ Capable of Anything ⇓
Sentimental Guy § All U Can Eat ‰
Still Fighting It ® Effington ⇔
The Last Polka 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
Bastard §
Evaporated 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Kate 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Effington ⇔ Phone in a Pool ⇓
Landed §
I’m Not the Man ⇓
(followed by “Song About Janet Lemansky” improv)
You Don’t Know Me ⇔ Landed §
Rock This Bitch ♦ Give Judy My Notice §
Jesusland § Not a Fan ⇓
Cigarette 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Encore
Fred Jones Pt. 2 ®
Song for the Dumped 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Kate 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Tiny Dancer
(Elton John cover)
Zak and Sara ®
Alice Childress 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
Army 5⊗
(Ben Folds Five song)
Don’t Change Your Plans 5⊗
(Ben Folds Five song)
Encore
Emaline 5Õ
(Ben Folds Five song) (followed by “Newtown’ improv)
The Luckiest ® Doc Pomus Ø
The Luckiest ®
Jackson Cannery 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head) ⇔
Bitches Ain’t Shit
(Dr. Dre cover)
Philosophy 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
encore 2
Army 5⊗
(Ben Folds Five song)

 

Bethlehem with y music 2016 Ben Folds Five
Holmdel 2013		 Starland Ballroom 2004
Beautiful Mechanical
(yMusic cover)
 Philosophy 5ß Hiro’s Song ®
So There ⇓ Michael Praytor, Five Years Later 5§ Zak and Sara ®
Capable of Anything ⇓ Alice Childress 5ß Annie Waits ®
Rock This Bitch
(about SteelStacks)
 Erase Me 5§ All U Can Eat ‰
Phone in a Pool ⇓ Landed § Late §
Music in Circles
(yMusic cover)
 Brick ϖ
Careless Whisper
(George Michael cover) (with Rufus Wainwright)
Still Fighting It ® Sky High 5§ Philosophy 5ß
Not a Fan ⇓ Do It Anyway 5§ Gone ®
Effington ⇔ Underground 5ß
Where’s Summer B.? 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
Erase Me 5§
(Ben Folds Five song)
 Song for the Dumped 5ß Rockin’ the Suburbs ®
Jesusland § Army 5⊗ Army 5⊗
Improvisation
(No “Bitches Ain’t Shit” Tonight)
 Steven’s Last Night in Town 5ϖ
(This included a drum battle with Brian Rosenworcel of Guster)
I’m Not the Man ⇓
Fair 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song) (with Guster)
Boxing 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
 Not the Same ®
Song for the Dumped 5ß
(Ben Folds Five song)
 Encore
Steven’s Last Night in Town 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
 Short Bus Benny
Encore
One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
Landed §
Kate 5ϖ
(Ben Folds Five song)
You Don’t Know Me ⇔
Army 5⊗
(Ben Folds Five song)

 

® Rockin’ the Suburbs 
§ Songs for Silverman
⇓ So There
⇔ Way to Normal
♦ Live
Ø Lonely Avenue
‰ Sunny 16 EP
5§ The Sound of the Life of the Mind
5ß Ben Folds Five
5ϖ Whatever and Ever Amen
5⊗ The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
5Õ Naked Baby Photos

 

 

Ben Folds announced he was doing a new solo tour. The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold MessnerI grabbed tickets for myself and S.  Initially we considered going to the Mayo Center, but that show was right during the first few weeks of school and that’s chaotic enough.  So this show, which was just before school started seemed like a fun way to say goodbye to the summer.

Then

Update On My Fall 2021 Tour.

Here are new COVID protocols for my upcoming indoor concerts:

You will be asked for proof of vaccination, and masks will be required at all times inside venues for any indoor shows I perform in 2021.

My York, PA show on August 27 will be postponed – rescheduled to 2022.

My Bensalem, PA show on August 28 will be postponed – rescheduled to 2022.

And the venue sent us

Dear Ben Folds fans, out of concern for the health and well–being of the community, his audiences, venue staff, and his crew, Ben Folds is instituting a vaccine mandate and requiring mask wearing for his upcoming tour.Due to this decision once most tickets had been sold for the August, 28 performance here in Bensalem, working in cooperation with Mr. Folds, the difficult decision has been made to postpone his concert in the Xcite Center until Saturday, August 27, 2022 rather than try to retroactively impose this policy after tickets had been sold.

To be honest, it has been a hectic couple of weeks and not having to go out is really not a bad thing.  So we’ll see him next year.

 

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Anthrax / Black Label Society / Hatebreed (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 28, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anthrax, Black Label Society, Hatebreed, Montclair, NJ, Ozzy Osbourne, Wellmont Theater on August 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 28, 2022] Anthrax / Black Label Society / Hatebreed

Anthrax is the only band of the classic heavy metal landscape that I’ve never seen (who I want to see, anyhow). They’re back to almost their original lineup (okay, not original, but “classic” lineup).

This is the third or fourth time they’ve come around recently, but they’re never with anyone else that I want to see.

I don’t really care about Black Label Society, the band created by Zakk Wylde.  I’ve never cared about him and his silly name (although I didn’t realize he was from Bayonne, so that’s kind of cool).  I now he played with Ozzy, but  that was long after I cared about Ozzy too, so whatever.  When this tour was announced, I listened to couple of songs and thought they were okay.  Their presence on the bill definitely impacted my decision not to go.  If it had been a band I liked more, I might have stuck it out. (more…)

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Los Campesinos! / Proper. (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 27, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Los Campesinos!, Philadelphia, PA, Proper., Union Transfer on August 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 27, 2022] Los Campesinos! / Proper

I have been a fan of Los Campesinos! (who are actually Welsh) since their debut album.

But I have never seen them live.

I was really surprised to see that they were playing Philly, but I see that they have come to Philly in 2017 and 2018.  So I hope they will come in 2023 or 2024 (even if they haven’t put out a record since 2017).

I had never heard of Proper. But they sound amazing.

“Our bio says, ‘Just three n**gas making prog rock, don’t overthink it.’ It’s been changing with our sound,” frontman Erik Garlington laughs. Originally named the Great White, Proper. are a collective accustomed to change. And as the trio – completed by Natasha Johnson and Elijah Watson – have continued to pave their way in the alternative scene, they’ve become even more forthright. After being told they “talk white… like, real proper”, the band switched up their name and ran with it. Now, in their latest polemic American epic, Proper. ditch their off-hand humour and embark on unravelling the emotional weight behind everyday Black American identity.

Having played emo, pop-punk, hardcore and everything in-between, Proper. are continuing to carve their own sonic stamp. [like on] their recent, Bartees Strange-produced record, The Great American Novel.

I couldn’t believe that the Ben Folds show was rescheduled to this night.  (And it wasn’t all that great because the audience was terrible).

So, now I want to see both bands tour again soon.

 

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The Decemberists : Arise from the Bunkers Tour (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 25, 2022)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Decemberists, The Met Philadelphia on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 25, 2022] The Decemberists

The Decemberists are one of our favorite bands and yet we have seen them very few times.  We were supposed to see them on their last tour but they cancelled our show because Colin lost his voice.

Then last year’s show was postponed for COVID.

Finally it was rescheduled.

We were on the left side of the stage, in front of Jenny Conlee.  I had a great view of her Leslie cabinet and speaker and it was really neat watching it spin faster and faster as the sound got bigger and wilder. (more…)

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The Beths / Rosie Tucker (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, August 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rosie Tucker, Set in New Jersey!, The Beths on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 26, 2022] The Beths / Rosie Tucker

I wonder what it is about Asbury Lanes.  This is what I wrote about Nada Surf when they played here:

I had just seen Nada Surf in November and didn’t really need to see them again.  But never pass up a chance to see a great live band, right?

November to July = 8 months.

So I’ll say the same about The Beths.  I had just seen them in February.  And here they were 6 months later playing Asbury Lanes.

Never pass up a chance to see a great live band.  Yes.  Unless, of course, you already have tickets to Peter Hook & The Light AND you are going out to concerts the two days before and the day after.

But seriously, The Beths are amazing live, and I would see them as many times as I could.

Back in January, Rosie Tucker was supposed to open for Best Coast.  But that tour was cancelled.

I wrote:

I didn’t know Rosie Tucker until Friday when I listened to her album because it was highly recommended on NPR Music.  I really liked her blend of quirky pop, enjoyable lyrics and kind of garagey sounds.  Her name sounds like she’ll be a country singer, but she’s far from that.  I hope to see her some time in the near future.

And maybe I still will.

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Peter Hook & the Light / El Ten Eleven (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in El Ten Eleven, Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 26, 2022] Peter Hook & the Light / El Ten Eleven

This was a show I hated to miss.  Since I had blown off Pet Shop Boys & New Order earlier in the year, I figured at least I’d get to see Peter Hook do the songs (although this tour was largely Joy Division).

Plus I really wanted to see El Ten Eleven, a duo who plays amazingly complex songs using all kinds of pedals and other gadgets.  In videos they are impressive to watch.  I have really wanted to see them live.

This double bill was amazing.  And I had gotten tickets for my wife and I as soon as they went on sale.

Then The Decemberists announced a show on the day before this.  And Ben Folds rescheduled his show to the date after this.  And my wife would rather see those two (both seated, thank you very much).  And she wouldn’t do three nights out in a row.  She probably wouldn’t have liked El Ten Eleven anyhow.

I’m not sure if Peter Hook will tour again, but I really want to see El Ten Eleven.

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The Goon Sax (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA, August 25, 2022) [BAND BROKE UP]

Posted in Interpol, Johnny Brenda's, Pavement, Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, The Goon Sax on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[BAND BROKE UP: August 25, 2022] The Goon Sax

I first heard of The Goon Sax in June of 2021.  Bob Boilen raved about them and I really liked the song he played.

I decided they would be fun to see live.

They were scheduled to do some U.S. shows opening for Interpol, Spoon & Pavement.  And during the tour, they set up a headline date at Johnny Brenda’s.  I was so excited to see them.

And then on July 12, they posted to Twitter that they were breaking up.  Before the big tour!

“after nine years of giving it our everything we’ve decided to draw the curtain on this band.

It’s taken us places stranger, more beautiful, and far beyond anything we could have imagined, and brought us to meeting and working with so many special and incredibly inspiring people. Our gratitude to everyone who’s been with us and allowed the madness of the last 9 years to happen is far beyond anything we can palpably express.”

So that sucks for me.

It’s crazy that they’ve been around so long and I’d never heard of them:

The Goon Sax formed in 2013. The band released their first album, Up To Anything, to widespread acclaim in 2016, and followed up with We’re Not Talking in 2018. In 2020, the trio of Riley Jones (drums, vocals), Louis Forster (guitars, vocals) and James Harrison (guitars, vcoals) signed with iconic New York City label Matador.  The Goon Sax’s third album, 2021’s Mirror II, was described as “a new beginning” by the label.

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Holy Fuck / Penelope Isles / John Deluxe (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, August 13, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Holy Fuck, John Deluxe, Kung Fu Necktie, Penelope Isles, Philadelphia, PA on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2022] Holy Fuck / Penelope Isles / John Deluxe (rescheduled from June 10, 2020, February 16, 2021 and April 3, 2022]

After all of these postponements, I can’t believe I had to miss this show.  I don’t know if I mis-read the original rescheduled date or what, but I thought it was the 18th.  Turns out it was the 13th.

Well we went on vacation on the 14th, so I didn’t want to be out all night the night before our trip.  We were also away for the 18th, so the date really didn’t matter.

Penelope Isles is a duo from England.  The first song I heard on their record was kind of icy synth pop.  But the first track is fuzzy jangle guitar.  They’re kind of all over the place, but with a gentle vibe.

John Deluxe: wasn’t listed on the poster, but his name appeared on the venue website.

John “Deluxe” Markowski is a guitarist/vocalist based out of Philadelphia who uses samples and a variety of acoustic instruments to create unique avant-pop songs.

I didn’t like his stuff that much.

Both bands make Holy Fuck seem more mellow than they are.

~~~~~~

The resurgence of COVID meant Holy Fuck postponed their tour one more time.  I was bummed about this one because I didn’t have too many shows around this time.  But the new date is in a crowded field of shows

~~~~~~~

 

Not only did Holy Fuck cancel this tour, Boot & Saddle closed its doors.   Mega cancelled.

~~~

After seeing that this show was postponed, it gave me an opportunity to explore their music. I was now looking forward to seeing them in the new year.  Well, I guess February is still too soon to plan anything, so this tour has also been cancelled.

Holy Fuck have a great name that pretty much guarantees they won’t get much in the way of airplay or advertising.

Of course their music isn’t super commercial either–although it can be quite catchy (and has been used in a bunch of soundtracks).  They play an electronic dance music but in a decidedly old-school fashion.  They don’t use laptops at all, employing all manner of old school equipment. (more…)

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The Shins / Joseph (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, August 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Joseph, Philadelphia, PA, The Shins on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 26, 2026] The Shins / Joseph

The Shins last played Philly in 2017.  I would have really liked to see this show, the 21st birthday for Oh, Inverted World, but I already had tickets to see Peter Hook tonight.

[Writing this years later: If I had realized that The Shins wouldn’t return to Philly until 2026 and in that instance, as an opener, I would have tried to get here for sure).

I do love The Shins first few albums and of course their debut, but sometimes other things come up first.

We saw Joseph in 2018 in Sellersville.  They were great but I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to see them again.  However, it would have been enjoyable to see them open for The Shins.

Here’s some blurbs about the show from WXPN

But first, sisters Natalie, Allison and Meegantook the stage. The band, Joseph, explained that their name was in honor of their late grandfather. From the audience you could feel that closeness the sisters shared. This rang especially true in Joseph’s unwavering and beautifully-toned harmonies that carried through each of their songs.

James Mercer was quick to assure the crowd that they would, in fact, be playing every song from Oh, Inverted World as he stood center stage with the band and the cover art for the album backdrop behind him. Several times he’d announce which number track The Shins were on cheekily. After welcoming Joseph back to the stage to do backup vocals a few songs in, Mercer looked at the crowd and announced “song 3” (aka “Weird Divide”) in a Terry Gross-esque tone.

The album as a whole is a “short one,” so The Shins’ went cherry picking crowd favorites from later albums as well. “Australia” and “Sleeping Lessons”off Wincing The Night Away made the cut, seemingly releasing a ball of energy or anticipation that the crowd had been holding onto. “Simple Sound” of Port of Morrow shared similar explosive energy. There were also more somber moments like during “The Fear” off Heartworms.

The Shins seemed to loosen up and goof around after the album was played and the set entered the fruit salad portion. Emanating chaotic good energy Mercer started to sing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart and the band followed suit. It seemed the band was expecting this random cover, they just didn’t know when.

Sounds really fun.

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