[ATTENDED: February 24, 2023] Gladie
Otoboke Beaver had a different local band open for each of their shows on this tour. After the show I spoke to Gladie and they were really psyched to have been chosen to open.
This was actually the fourth time I was supposed to see Gladie. Most of the shows they were opening for someone and the show as postponed due to COIVD. So I was glad this one actually came through.
They don’t quite fit musically, but they were an excellent warm up. Gladie are a Philly-based band that was created out of the ashes of other Philly-based band. Singer Augusta Koch was the singer of beloved band Cayetana, who I only really found out about as they were breaking up (and who actually only put out two albums!).
The band also has Matt Schimelfenig and some other people who may or may not have been on stage that night.
Augusta Koch is clearly in charge of things. She is a fun frontwoman and made some funny comments about the show. She was saying how much she loves Underground Arts and how much it reminds her of the club in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (that’s pretty accurate).
The band plays a poppy punk. There’s some heavier faster songs and a few quieter ones that work well with the band’s delivery.
Koch has a unique voice that I enjoyed immediately and lyrically, she’s very sharp. I really liked the way her delivery (which highlights an accent or something) allows her to really accentuate her lyrics. Like these from “Nothing”
I keep seeking advice that I’ve already gotten.
I keep seeking advice that I must have forgotten.
What would it feel like to want nothing?
There was a woman in the front row recording (most) of the set on an iPad. This was odd to see, but it felt particularly funny because at the They Might Be Giants show last month one of the Johns had joked that no one records shows on iPads anymore.
The only problem with the set was that Koch’s mic cut out near the end of “Heaven Someday” and through most of “Hit the Ground Running”. I’m not sure why no one said anything. We could still hear her pretty well from the front, but I’m sure she was inaudible down the back.
The mic came back for the last few songs, though and all was well again.
I’d heard a lot of good things about Gladie and I was happy to get to see them.
- When You Leave The Sun §
- thank you card ¥
- Mud ⇔
- Twenty Twenty §
- …Heaven, Someday ⇔
- Hit the Ground Running ⇔
- Nothing ⇔
- Born Yesterday ⇔
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