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Archive for October, 2022

An Evening with The Flaming Lips (Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ, October 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Montclair, NJ, The Flaming Lips, Wellmont Theater on October 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 20, 2022] The Flaming Lips

I have seen The Flaming Lips six times and they never disappoint.  In fact, the last time, I said to myself that I wanted to bring my kids next time so they could enjoy the spectacle of inflatables, and confetti and balloons and lights and everything.

But this show happened to be right on my daughter’s birthday.  For some, that might be an awesome birthday present.  But she doesn’t really know them and didn’t want that to be how she spent her birthday (fair enough).

So we didn’t go to this one.  But I’m sure Wayne and the guys will be back again.

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The Black Angels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 18, 2022)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, The Vacant Lots, Union Transfer on October 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 18, 2022] The Black Angels

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas.

I’ve known about them for about ten years.  Their music sounds pretty similar from album to album–fuzzy guitars, catchy riffs and Alex Maas’ recognizable haunting voice.

I Wasn’t really sure what to expect in a live show from them–I assumed some psychedelia.  So I was a little surprised at how stripped down their stage was.  There was a five panel screen and some vertical lights between them.  The l ights shone all different colors and patterns and set the tone of the stage.  The overhead lights were mostly there to add mood.

In other words, I could barely see anyone.  Which was kind of cool.  It created a dark ambiance and meant you focused more on the music than the band members.  The only person I could see with any real clarity was drummer Stephanie Bailey, who pounded the hell out of the drums.  The other three guys, Christian Bland, Jake Garcia and Ramiro Verdooren all played guitar or bass or keyboards.  There was so much switching around of instruments–even though both Bland and Garcia play left handed guitars!

I stood in front of Bland and it was really fun watching him solo and riff and make some really interesting sounds out of his pedals and amps.  He had a bicycle bell on his mic stand (the roadie rang he bell while setting it up), but he never used it in the set. (more…)

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The Vacant Lots (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 18, 2022) [THE BLACK ANGELS]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, The Vacant Lots, Union Transfer on October 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 18, 2022] The Vacant Lots

The Vacant Lots are two guys from Brooklyn.  And wow are they loud.

The two guys are Jared Artaud who played guitar and sang and Brian MacFadyen who did pretty much everything else.  MacFayden stood at a keyboard rig and played keys and drum loops (I’m not exactly sure what was looped, as some of the songs were repetitive, but it was clear he was trigger some drum sounds live.  He also played a cymbal, which was a nice live touch and meant that he was never not busy.

The music was essentially electro, but Artaud’s live guitar added a layer of “live-ness” that elevated the whole affair.  As did Artaud’s whole vibe.  He had on big black boots, a fringed jacket and sunglasses.  He stood there playing Jesus and Mary Chain kind of drone guitar and it worked a treat. He also walked around a bit and added some feedback, really cementing the live feel.

But it was MacFayden’s rig that was so loud.  The drums were maxed out and echoing and I had earplugs in from the get go.

I slightly preferred the songs that MacFayden sang, but they weren’t radically different from each other.  I don’t think I’d listen to them as a studio band, but live they were pretty great.

 

  1. Departure (single)
  2. Never Satisfied ψ
  3. Consolation Prize ©
  4. Thank You ©
  5. Fracture ⇔
  6. 6 AM ψ
  7. Mad Mary Jones ψ

© Closure (2022)
⇔ Interzone (2020)
ψ Departure (2014)

 

 

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Muse / Thick (Beacon Theatre, New York, NY, October 16, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Beacon Theatre, Muse, New York City, Thick on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 16, 2022] Muse / Thick

I’ve seen Muse twice and each show was amazing.  I told myself I would make a point of seeing them every time they toured here.

In June of this year they announced a short tour of American theaters, rather than arenas.  It sounded pretty great, but the closest one was The Beacon Theater in New York City and that is just too much of a pain in the ass to get to.  Even for Muse.

I also didn’t like the new album as much as previous ones so I wasn’t that excited to see it without the bombast.

A review of the show makes me happy I didn’t go (the show was only 80 minutes).  Brooklyn Vegan says

At Sunday night’s (10/16) show at Beacon Theatre, the band played six songs off their new album Will of the People, including the seasonally appropriate “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween.”

Their 80-minute set also included “Uprising,” “Psycho,” “Supermassive Black Hole,” “Hysteria,” “Minimum” and more, and they finished with spaghetti western epic “Knights of Cydonia.”

I had no idea that Thick was opening.  I didn’t even learn it until writing this. I might have gone just for the double bill as Thick are pretty awesome.

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Mother Mother (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2022)

Posted in Mother Mother, Philadelphia, PA, Radiohead, Sir Sly, Transviolet, Underground Arts, Vundabar on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 14, 2022] Mother Mother

Back in February (all of 8 months ago), I took my kids and one of their friends to see Mother Mother at TLA.  We all loved it.  The kids had a great time and I was really blown away by their show.  They were supposed to play at The Foundry, which of course would have been neat, but they put on a BIG show and the TLA was the superior venue.  TLA holds about 1,000 people (Foundry is 450).  So I was really surprised to hear that they were coming back to Philly in 8 months to play the Fillmore (capacity 2,500).

And, as I say, it was PACKED.  We were all very happy  to have seen them at TLA where we were super close.  But this show was also fun because the crowd was totally into it and the band seemed bigger and more intense.

Although the setlist was largely the same, the order of the songs was quite different.  In fact, they opened with a song that last time was way near the bottom of the set.  At TLA, Ryan said

they were going to play a song that they knew was weird when they recorded it.  But they had to put it out there.  And now, it sounds like the non-binary community has embraced “Verbatim” and made it their own.

They opened with “Verbatim” and the crowd went nuts.  After a rollicking “O My Heart” (the album that their most popular song is on and which has been revitalized by TikTok), they played a couple of songs that they didn’t play last time.  In all they played five different songs from the previous show (and didn’t play six songs that they played last time).

One of these new songs was “Creep” by Radiohead, which was a huge surprise.  When we saw them last time, Molly Guldemond sang “Pure Love” a nearly a capella song that highlights her voice nicely.  For this show, she did “Creep,” instead.  The crowd really responded to it.  The only problem for me was the guy right behind who wanted to prove that he knew all the words (like everyone else) by singing them very loudly in my ear.  It was especially crappy because Molly has a great voice and really hit all the notes perfectly (this guy didn’t). (more…)

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Yard Act / Gustaf (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Gustaf, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Yard Act on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 16, 2022] Yard Act / Gustaf

Yard Act are from that peculiar line of art punk that features noisy guitars and a lead vocalist who mostly speaks/yells/gripes.  Sometimes a little of that goes a long way and sometimes it works really well.

I actually didn’t know them all that well.  Although I know some people who hate them passionately–probably because they are much heralded.

At any rate, I was far more interested in seeing Gustaf who I saw open for Idles last year.  They were weird and artsy and amazing live and I need to see them again.  It seemed like a great opportunity to see what Yard Act was all about at the same time.

Then all of a sudden the show was cancelled.

I actually posted on the Gustaf Instagram to discover that Yard Act had been invited to appear at the Mercury Prize Awards on the 18th.  So we lost out on the show.  Good for them.  Bad for us.

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ANTIFEST: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes / Anti-Flag / The Black Tones / Surfbort / Catbite (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anti-Flag, Catbite, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Surfbort, The Black Tones on October 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 15, 2022] ANTIFEST

On the same night that Philly was hosting Philly Music Fest featuring Mannequin Pussy, New Jersey was hosting ANTI-FEST.

This was a tour featuring Anti-Flag who were amazing live and who I would definitely see again.

Also headlining was Me First and the Gimme Gimmes–a band I knew nothing about but didn’t like, based on their name.  Then I learned that they are a cover band doing punk covers of classic rock songs and I thought their name was actually pretty perfect and now I want to see them live too.

The Black Tones is the only band on the bill I hadn’t heard of.  According to one blurb they infuse the spirit of punk rock in their modernized version of blues rock, in a really cool and subversive way. And all of that, of course, wouldn’t matter if they weren’t a killer live band. (more…)

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Vundabar (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2022) [MOTHER MOTHER]

Posted in Mother Mother, Philadelphia, PA, Sir Sly, Transviolet, Underground Arts, Vundabar on October 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 14, 2022] Vundabar

My daughter has a Vundabar song, “Alien Blues” on her playlist and I really like it.  Turns out I’ve been aware of Vundabar since 2018 and would have enjoyed seeing them at any time.  They seem to tour a lot–at least I’ve seen their name around opening for people quite often.  I didn’t know that they were supposed to open this show.

The first opening band was Transviolet, who I didn’t know, although the lead singer Sarah McTaggart was hanging around the lobby wearing a fascinating outfit–fishnet stockings and something like leather underwear.  She was super friendly to all the fans.

Originally, Sir Sly was slated to be a second opening band.  Then one of the members had a baby and decided that he couldn’t be away from the baby (good for him) and Vundabar stepped up.

Had I known about Vundabar I would have encouraged us to arrive earlier.  We dawdled and knew that a Friday night would be very trafficky, but I didn’t really mind as I hadn’t heard of either band.  However, t turned out that Transviolet went on at earlier than 8.  And Vundabar started before 8 as well.  Or maybe they went on at 8 and between parking, buying merch and the like, we didn’t get into to see them until half way through the set.

Worse yet, the show was PACKED and we were stuck not only at the back but in the walkway, so we had to move constantly.  It wasn’t until we were really settled that I was able to enjoy whatever song they were playing.  Soon after they played “Alien Blues” and the crowd went berserk.  This is a big TikTok song apparently.  We even saw a fan face timing her friend who was dancing to the song as she streamed it.  Weird but fun.

Vundabar played one more wild song and I determined that I would very much like to see them again.

Then the crowd adjusted and we were able to get a little closer 9not a lot, but out of the walkway) for Mother Mother.

  1. Tonight I’m Wearing Silk ℘
  2. Diver ℘
  3. Ash in the Sun ∞
  4. Worn / Wander ∞
  5. Darla ∞
  6. Nosferatu µ
  7. Petty Crime ⇔
  8. Alien Blues ∞
  9. Oulala ∞
∞ Gawk (2015)
℘ Smell Smoke (2018)
µ Devil for the Fire (2022)
⇔ Either Light (2020)

 

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Mondo Cozmo / Illinois (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cancelled, Illinois, Mondo Cozmo, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on October 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 14, 2022] Mondo Cozmo / Illinois

Mondo Cozmo is one of those bands that gets played on WXPN that I hear a bunch and quite like, but never really commit to.  So I decided to finally commit to seeing them.

I didn’t know that head Cozmo, Joshua Keith Ostrander was a Philly guy, which probably explains the radio play.  It’s actually been a few years since I heard anything from him, so I’m not sure how much I would have known what he was playing, but I hoped he’d play some songs I knew.

Then on August 5, the band announced

Hey everyone. We are incredibly sorry to announce that due to unforeseen circumstances we will not be able to do the upcoming October tour. This includes both the headlining shows and the additional Airborne Toxic Event shows. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. X Mc

Illinois is (confusingly) from Philadelphia.  Their bio says they make music that is

part indie-folk rock with some pop-rock and when it all comes together they label it as “suburban soul music”.

I listened to a few songs and really dig it.  It’s light and poppy but with a dark current.  And I really like the singer’s voice.

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The House of Love (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2022)

Posted in House of Love, Philadelphia, PA, The House of Love, Underground Arts on October 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2022] Alec Nicol [rescheduled from May 7, 2020]

I was pretty excited when The House of Love announced a 30th anniversary tour of the States in 2020.  It would be their first time playing here in 30 years.  Then COVID, obviously.

I was never a huge fan of the band, but I’ve liked them since college–part of the whole 90’s Creation scene.  And they have half a dozen songs that routinely get stuck in my head.

I hadn’t given too much thought to the band’s lineup.  I believe that when the 2020 tour was announced the original band was back together.  But this show had a

new HoL lineup that Guy Chadwick announced last summer after telling fans he’d parted ways with original members Terry Bickers and Pete Evans, as well as Matt Jury, who’d been on board since the group reunited in 2003.

The new lineup will find Chadwick backed by Keith Osborne on lead guitar, Harry Osborne on bass and Hugo Degenhardt on drums. The band also has recorded a new album, though its release has not yet been announced.

So that’s kind of a bummer.  Although Guy Chadwick wrote and sang all the songs, so I guess the rest of the band isn’t that big a deal.  The only thing I missed was Bickers’ backing vocals.

I knew there were a few songs I really wanted to hear (and they played them all), but I didn’t have a big set list in mind.  They played songs from their first three albums and then a bunch from the one Chadwick just released (which was kind of a solo album). (more…)

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