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Archive for April, 2023

Guster / Allison Ponthier (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Allison Ponthier, Guster, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on April 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 7, 2023] Guster / Allison Ponthier

My wife and I saw Guster yesterday.  It was her ninth and my tenth time.

We both thought it would be super fun to see them two nights in a row (especially since their sets tend to change up so much).  Indeed, the set from this night was almost entirely different.

However, I had long- long- delayed tickets to see Bikini Kill that night.  I assumed up until the last minute that the show would get delayed once again, but it did go on this time.  And my daughter was going with me and she was super excited to go to the show.  So, we’ll catch Guster again I’m sure.

Allison Ponthier is a singer songwriter who sings quiet, catchy folk songs.

In August 2021, Ponthier released her debut EP Faking My Own Death.  The debut single from the EP, “Cowboy”, was named one of the “25 Best Songs By LGBTQ Artists of 2021 (So Far)” by Billboard on June 29, 2021.

Her voice is quiet interesting and her videos are visually very interesting.

As for what she sounds like, her own description sums it up pretty well:

I will always be making pop music. Pop is very general, but my music will always be pop at its heart. Growing up, there was country music all around me. It was what my mom listened to, and it was all over Texas. But I also really found a love for songwriting with artists like Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, and Fleet Foxes. When I’m writing, I try not to think about the genre and more along the lines of, “Oh, that piano chord sounds cool,” or, “I have this melody idea.”

Cool, although I’m so glad we got to see Karina Rykman.

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Guster (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 6, 2023)

Posted in Guster, Jersey City, NJ, Karina Rykman, White Eagle Hall on April 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 6, 2023] Guster

It was only a few months ago that we saw Guster in Montclair.  And yet here they were back again in New Jersey!

They’re playing Philly tomorrow night and it was be incredible to see them two night in a row, but the second night is the same as night as the five-times rescheduled Bikini Kill show. so, you know, priorities.

Karina Rykman’s set was so much fun but we had no idea how good this night’s set was going to be.

This is my tenth time seeing Guster and my wife’s ninth (she couldn’t make the Free at Noon that I went to).  So we pretty much know what to expect at a show by now.

But the guys really mixed it up quite a lot for this one.

In addition to their super fun set design (desk lights suspended from the ceiling all set up with LEDs to glow different colors), they also played a setlist that was totally killer. (more…)

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Karina Rykman (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 6, 2023) [GUSTER]

Posted in Guster, Jersey City, NJ, Karina Rykman, White Eagle Hall on April 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 6, 2023] Guster

I’ve seen Karina Rykman play with Marco Benevento three times.  She is an amazing bass player with a great sound, great instincts and great jamming skills.

I was supposed to see her a few times, but the shows were cancelled for one reason or another.

So how awesome was it that she was going to open for Guster?

I didn’t really have a good sense of what her live show would be like.  Her recorded solo stuff is rather synthy and kind of discoey, which I really didn’t expect.  So who knew what we were going to get.

Well, her band, Chris Corsica on drums and Adam November on guitar were outstanding.  The songs had a kind of disco feel (especially from the guitar playing from November) and the occasional very disco bass line that Karina threw in.  But they felt modern as well.

The songs grooved and were groovy, taking the most fun aspects of disco and marrying them to a heaviness and thumping sound that worked really well.

I hadn’t really heard Rykman sing before and her voice is quiet and somewhat angelic.  She must have some kind of processors on her mic because it sounded like there were harmonies a lot of the time. (more…)

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Deerhoof / Hello Mary / Scarlet (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 5, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Deerhoof, Hello Mary, Philadelphia, PA, Scarlet, Underground Arts on April 5, 2023| 2 Comments »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 5, 2023] Deerhoof / Hello Mary / Scarlet

Deerhoof is one of the weirder indie bands out there.  Their songs have no real sense of standard structure or melody.  They jump from notion to notion, seemingly on a whim.

I haven’t listened to them a lot, although I always like to know they’re still making weird music.

They’re the kind of band that would be really interesting to see live.  One reviewer on Soundkick puts it much better than I could

There sound is also so fascinating because they love playing around with polar opposite musical elements, testing how they clash and complement each other. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki’s voice has a characteristic sweet and child like innocence to it; however it is often bizarrely paired with abrasive (sometimes borderline frighting) musical accompaniments. Deerhoof is also a band that has a rich understanding of pop music; however they will take it into their own territory: perverting it, capitalizing on its charm, and most importantly using it as a way to mess with the listeners anticipations.

Deerhoof is one of the most unique bands around and it is a wonderful experience to see them perform live. Their music is simply incomparable. In a way it is a mystery how they get such interesting sounds when using very conventional instrumentation. When I saw them live for their “Breakup Song” tour they performed their entire set using only a guitar, bass, drum set and microphone. I was mesmerized throughout the performance. It was one of the few shows I have attended in which I was absolutely absorbed in the music. They switched from songs like “Apple Bomb” which was a more contemplative track featuring fantastically odd chord changes to newer songs like “There’s That Grin”. “There’s that Grin” has to be the catchiest Deerhoof track written. I couldn’t believe how perfect they performed it live either. This is a song that features extensive use of synthesizers and yet it sounded just as good performed on the guitar and bass. Their drummer Greg Saunier also has one of the greatest improvisational styles I have seen in a long time.

I wasn’t really intending to go to this show until I saw that Hello Mary was opening.

The New York trio’s self-titled full-length debut, out March 3, is a 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.

I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope they tour soon, maybe as a headliner.

Scarlet is a terrible name for a band.  While looking this band up, I found at least three possibilities because there are at least three bands with this name.  One is a hair metal band, the other is a grunge goth band and then there’s this one, which I assume is the right one (there’s no way to tell really).

The band that I think this is–they make the most sense–is the band from Brooklyn (this one) who I rather like.  There’s droning guitars and feedback–grunge guitars and soft vocals (a la 90s indie rock).   Probabaly because I just saw Versus, tis band reminds me of them somewhat in style. It’s pretty great.  I hope this is the Scarlet that was at this show.

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Xylouris White (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, April 4, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Xylouris White on April 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2023] Xylouris White

xylourisI saw Xylouris White almost exactly seven years ago.  They were amazing–just drums and lute that captivated the room.

I saw that they were playing at Solar Myth, a venue (coffee bar?) that I’d never been to before.

I had a busy week but I checked and it seemed like Tuesday night was cool to go out to see them (especially since there was no opening act and the show would be over not too late).  But when I got home from work, my plans changed–I couldn’t say no to the proposed evening of sushi dinner.  So I went out with the fam instead.

I also had been coming down with a sinus infection which meant me feel less than stellar, so a concert (even a seated one) probably wasn’t the best idea.

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Sunset Rubdown (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023)

Posted in Nicholas Merz, Philadelphia, PA, Sunset Rubdown, Union Transfer on April 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 31, 2023] Sunset Rubdown 

I really like Spencer Krug’s other (one of many) band Wolf Parade.  When the Sunset Rubdown album Dragonslayer came out, I really liked it as well. Krug is a weird songwriter with an unusual sense of what a song should be like.

Sunset Rubdown more or less broke up after Dragonslayer for reasons I’m unclear about.  They toured throughout 2009 and then disbanded.  Sometime in December 2022, Krug decided to get the band back together for a Tiny Tour.

As Krug puts it

“Fast forward twelve-and-a-half years” from their final show in Tokyo in late 2009 “to Krug whimsically sending the band a group email about a possible reunion, after having dreamt about it the night before. Each of the members replied with an enthusiastic “Yes” that same afternoon, and a dormant volcano began to rumble…”

I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to go to this show.

When it was first announced, on December 6, it was at PhilMOCA and it sold out almost instantly.

Then on

December 9,  (Three days later) there was a message

OK, let’s go. Due to popular demand, the Sunset Rubdown show has been MOVED from PhilaMOCA to the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia! All previously purchased tickets will be honored at the new venue and additional tickets are ON SALE NOW! …but for how long?

Now I don’t go  to the Church, so I wasn’t going to go to this show.  But then later that day:

Damn, this sold out instantly. Should we move it to a bigger room or…

On January 5, the show was moved to Union Transfer and I bought my ticket the next day.

By the time the show came up, I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to go.   There were two other shows that night that I was vaguely interested in.  But I decided to take advantage of this reunion.  (more…)

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Nicholas Merz (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023) [SUNSET RUBDOWN]

Posted in Nicholas Merz, Philadelphia, PA, Sunset Rubdown, Union Transfer on April 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 31, 2023] Nicholas Merz

I has listened to Nicholas Merz’ record before this show and hadn’t liked it very much.  Merz’ delivery is really slow and deep and is almost comical.  he’s also got this kind of cowboy vibe which is really kind of weird.  But the thing i disliked most about the record was the overuse of saxophone.

So I didn’t care if I arrived a few minutes late. But it turned out the traffic was really light that night and I wound up pretty early.

I talked to a couple of people who were discussing Godspeed You Black Emperor.  And then Merz came on.

With one spotlight shining down on him, he sauntered slowly to the center of the stage as swirls of music played on the speakers.  After an introduction, he began singing in that slow deliberate way of his.  It was terrible.  but it was also mesmerizing.  i couldn’t stop watching.  And soon enough, without him changing anything, I found myself enjoying it.

The swirling music made me a little light headed, perhaps.  And that spotlight pulsed like a strobe, lighting him up in various ways.  When that song wrapped up, he walked to a pedal steel guitar at the back of his setup and sat down.  He played a simple chord structure, manipulated the sound a bit and looped it.  It wound up having the same slow woozy feeling.  (more…)

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