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Archive for September, 2023

Slowdive / Drab Majesty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Drab Majesty, Philadelphia, PA, Slowdive, Union Transfer on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Slowdive / Drab Majesty

Slowdive is one of the classic shoegaze bands.  I didn’t really get into them back in the 90s as they were a little too slow for my liking (I mean, it’s in their name after all).  But I have since revisited my opinion.

Then, twenty years after they broke up, they reunited and made some more music.

I missed their show back in 2017 and would have been interested to see them this time (especially since their new album is really good).  But this show sold out before I even knew about it.  I’m not sure how I missed the announcement but there it is.

Alas.

Drab Majesty is opening for them.  I thought they might have been a band from the 90s as well, as their name sounded strangely familiar. But they actually formed in 2011

Drab Majesty is an American musical project founded by Andrew Clinco the drummer for the band Marriages.  Clinco adopted the androgynous character of Deb Demure for the project. Keyboardist and vocalist Mona D (Alex Nicolaou) joined the band in 2016. Drab Majesty combine androgynous aesthetics and commanding vocals with futuristic and occult lyrics, a style Demure refers to as, “tragic wave”. To create his imposing stage presence, Demure employed costumes, makeup and props to accompany his lush, ’80s-influenced soundscapes.

They sound perfectly retro (ala early Depeche Mode or Erasure).  It’s pretty tasty.  This would have been a good show.

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Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DIIV, Draag Me, Explosions in the Sky, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me

Explosions in the Sky twice.  After that second show, I promised myself that I would see them any time they toured.   It has been a few years and they announced their new tour was called The End.  It was wildly speculated that they were breaking up after it (and why wouldn’t people speculate about that).  So I made sure to buy a ticket immediately.

But after months of speculation, it was revealed that The End is just the name of their new album.  It doesn’t make the tour any less exciting, but it leaves a but of a bad taste.

This is the largest venue that I would have seen them play at–and I wasn’t all that excited about that either.

Well, when Margaret Glaspy announced  that she was playing a show at Underground Arts on the same night, at first I was bummed to miss her.  Then I decided that I had seen Margaret twice, but both were short shows and that I’d really like to see her headline.

So, yes, I’m giving EITS a pass.  It’s kind of a shame that bands aren’t postponing shows anymore (bite your tongue).

EITS said that they’d be having local bands open for them throughout this tour.  According to Pitchfork:

Draag Me started as the solo project of Zack Schwartz, one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia psych band Spirit of the Beehive. His first record under the Draag Me moniker, i am gambling with my life, was a collection of warm, hazy electro-pop with an undercurrent of anxiety.  With idle time during the pandemic, Schwartz started emailing scraps of songs to his Beehive bandmate Corey Wichlin, including some taken from Beehive’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH sessions. The two passed files back and forth, arranging and mangling them until full compositions emerged, ones more metallic and jittery than their predecessors.

The music is weird an unsettling–chopped up and stripped down.  It’s the kind of music that would be really hard to play live if it wasn’t all prerecorded in some way.  I’m curious how well they will be received–although a Philly show with a Philly band should probably be okay.  Interestingly, they are also opening for DIIV in Jersey City on Nov 1.  I don’t know DIIV at all, but I wonder how well they work with these two different bands.

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Tasha (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [MARGARET GLASPY]

Posted in Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Tasha, Underground Arts on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 29, 2023] Tasha

Tasha is a Chicago based singer songwriter.  I hadn’t really heard her, but she opened for Nilufur Yanya on a night that I, coincidentally, went to see Spoon’s rescheduled show (for whom Margaret Glaspy opened(!)).

About her then I wrote: She has a lovely voice and sings a blend of folk and torch song.

And that was still true a year and a half later.  Although it was a bit more folk than torch.

On stage was Tasha and Emma (no last names given).  Emma played lead and backing guitar lines while Tasha sang and played guitar.

Tasha had a strong presence despite the low turnout so early.  She even made a comment about being from Chicago and no one reacted–“Not a single whoo?”  She later joked that she was going to say that Chicago was the Philly of the midwest but she was afraid to.

Tasha’s voice is really resonant and lovely.  Her songs were slow and thoughtful and combining that with her voice, I felt like some of her songs sounded like 60s British folk songs–an unusual touchstone for a young person from Chicago.

Some songs rocked a little harder and Emma played some cool feedbacking effects on a song or two.  On another song, she played keys which fleshed out the song pretty nicely.

I really enjoyed her set a lot, and by the time she was finishing up, the crowd had built some more and she received some loud applause.  Someone even asked me what her name was (she had forgotten to say it again later in the set).

  1. Dream Still ™
  2. Lake Superior ™
  3. Bed Song 1 ™
  4. History ™
  5. new song
  6. Michigan
  7. Would You Mind Pulling Me Close? §
  8. Year From Now ™

™ Tell Me What You Miss the Most (2021)
§ single (2021)

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Hozier / Madison Cunningham (The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hozier, Madison Cunningham, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Hozier / Madison Cunningham

Back in March, Hozier announced a new tour for his new album.  My son is a huge fan and I was sure I could get tickets.  But I was shut out almost instantly.

Luckily, we scored tickets to the World Cafe Live smaller pre-tour show.  Which was awesome.

So I didn’t even bother trying to get tickets on any kind of resale site, especially since he’s not here at the moment.

But man, that’s two nights in a row at the Mann that I failed to get to tickets for popular shows. (boygenius tomorrow.

Madison Cunnigham is a young singer with a song “Hospital” that I absolutely love.  I don’t know much else about her, but I’ll bet she is a great opening act for this show.

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Ratboys (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 26, 2023)

Posted in Free Range, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Ratboys on September 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 26, 2023] Ratboys

I’m not sure when I first heard about Ratboys.  I think it was the release of their (terrific) album Printer’s Devil.  They were scheduled to play Johnny Brenda’s three times and each one was postponed during the pandemic.  I seem to have missed when the show was actually rescheduled though. Oops.

At any rate, two years later and they are back.  And they have a new album, The Window.  And it is really great too.  Which is good because they played every song from it (although not in album order).

Ratboys have been together since 2010, formed by singer/guitarist Julia Steiner and guitar wizard David Sagan.  I really enjoyed watching Sagan play with the pedals on the floor–for the encore, he even brought out some kind of remote controlled feedbacky gadget which was cool.

I was in a strange location for me at the show.  I was literally standing right under bassist Sean Neumann, so I couldn’t really see his face much, but I enjoyed watching his basswork and his backing vocals were stellar. (more…)

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Free Range (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 26, 2023) [RATBOYS]

Posted in Free Range, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Ratboys on September 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 26, 2023] Free Range

When the lineup for the All Things Goes Festival was announced, the first band to play on Saturday was Free Range.  My daughter and i are going to the Festival and we both agreed that we had not heard of Free Range.

Imagine my surprise to find out that Free Range was opening for Ratboys at Johnny Brenda’s.

Free Range is Chicago musician Sofia Jensen (who is originally from Scandinavia).  Free Range put out an album (Practice) in February.  I listened to maybe a song on it and was kind of meh about it.

But live, they were excellent.

The songs had a pretty consistent feel to them–they would start slow and would often build to a loud middle section (usually instrumental) and then kind of fade back into the quieter verses.   It wasn’t a quiet-loud-quiet verse chorus thing because the loud parts were more of like a jamming session in the middle of these (otherwise rather short) songs.

Sofia’s voice sounded familiar–maybe a kind of Phoebe Bridgers vibe–a kind of strong whispery style, and her songs had a strong Pinegrove feel to me (turns out that Nick Levin from Pinegrove plays pedal steel on on two of the tracks).  I guess the songs are indie rock with a whiff of country about them. (more…)

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Boris (Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 21, 2023)

Posted in Boris, Brooklyn Bowl, Mr. Phylzzz , Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins on September 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 21, 2023] Boris 

I can’t believe it has been four years since I last saw Boris.  Their shows leave a powerful impression on a person.

I couldn’t make their last tour back in 2022, but that’s okay.  Their last show tided me over for four years clearly.

This tour announcement was interesting because they had just released an album called Heavy Rocks, but this tour was them playing Heavy Rocks, the album they released in 2002, in its entirety.  [They have released three albums called Heavy Rocks, all different–in 2022 they played the 2022 Heavy Rocks in total].

I’m pretty delighted that with the three shows I have seen such a variety of songs.

I don’t really have a favorite Boris album, but this one is pretty fantastic.  With several really heavy songs, several sing a long moments (whether or not you know Japanese) and even a few mellow, quieter moments.

As with each time I’ve seen them, Takeshi stands to our right with his double neck bass/guitar.  Atsuo is in the middle with his drum kit and gong and Wata stood on our left with her guitar and effects pedal.  The previous two shows she had more gear, but since this show was for a twenty year old record, she didn’t need anything else.

The show started, as it should, with Atsuo smashing the gong.  And then the sludgy riff of “Heavy Friends” introduced us to Heavy Rocks.  The lights were still way too red, but it didn’t impact the sound, which was immense and awesome. (more…)

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OSEES / Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 25, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Nolan Potter's Nightmare Band, Osees, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 25, 2023] Osees / Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band

Last year, I did not go to the Osees show.   And I wrote this:

I saw Osees exactly one year ago today.  I summarized by saying

The show was intense, exhausting and a ton of fun. I am so glad I went.

When they announced this year’s show I wasn’t quite in the mood for seeing them again (the exhausting part being the most vivid memory of the show).  But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t see them again maybe next year.

When Osees announced their new show (exactly one year and a day after last year’s show), I bought a ticket for it in February, figuring what I said last year was true.

September was turning out to be a busy concert month, when I was trying to calm down my concert going.  And I figured there was always a chance I wasn’t going to go to this show.

But since I had blown off the weekend show, I figured I’d go to this one.  Especially since I really like the new Osees album.

But this time the world got to me instead.  I had made an appointment for a COVID booster.  But I accidentally went to two of the wrong locations (first one my fault, second one a misunderstanding).  What should have taken five minutes wound up taken 90, and by the time I actually got the booster, it was later than when I wanted to leave for this show.  And I hadn’t even been home yet.

There’s no way I would have made much if any of Nolan Potter and by then, I was just too worn out from driving around to bother going anywhere (we’ll blame a little vaccine exhaustion too).

But since Osees love to play Philly, I’m promising myself that I’ll see them next year.

I had not heard of Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band before this show and I imagined them being loud and crazy and abrasive.  But when I listened to their latest album Let It Stream, I was amazed by how much I liked it!  It was like Frank Zappa with jazzy and proggy moments.

Another reviewer says of them

Awesome newish prog-psych band with an awesome vibe and a TON of flute. Lotta King Gizzard vibes from them, and if you’re a fan of Matt Berry too you might really like them.

So, yeah, I might be more bummed that I missed them than the Osees.  Will definitely have to catch them in the future.

But Markit Aneight recorded the show for everyone:

Here’s Nolan Potter

Here’s Osees

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Melvins: Twins of Evil Tour (Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 21, 2023) [BORIS]

Posted in Boris, Brooklyn Bowl, Mr. Phylzzz , Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins on September 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 21, 2023] Melvins 

Despite everything in the world indicating that I should be a Melvins fan, I have never really gotten into them.  I mean, I’ve loved thigns about them for decades.  I loved that they put out three “solo” albums that looked just like the Kiss solo albums.  I love that Boris got their name from one of their songs.

And yet, for whatever reason, I just never followed them. They may just be a little too much in every way for me.   Love them in theory nut not in reality.

So I’ve never wanted to see them live.  And when this dual bill with Boris was announced, it made sense, but I wasn’t that excited about it.  I actually thought that if Melvins were headlining, I might leave to get home early.  Although, honestly, how could I leave without at least laying eyes on Buzz Osbourne in the flesh.

So Melvins were playing their Bullhead album in its entirety.  I didn’t know it. I don’t know if it’s special in any way in their catalog.  But it does contain the song “Boris” so…. (more…)

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Movements / Mannequin Pussy / Softcult / Heart to Gold (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, September 23, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Heart to Gold, Mannequin Pussy, Philadelphia, PA, Softcult, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 20, 2023] Movements / Mannequin Pussy / Softcult / Heart to Gold

I actually didn’t know about Movements until Mannequin Pussy announced that they were opening for them on this tour.   I love Mannequin Pussy and am excited to hear their newer songs live.  So I grabbed a ticket–even though I knew I had a ticket to the sold out Death Grips show the same night.

I figured there was a pretty good chance that Death Grips wouldn’t play (they tend to be flaky about tours, but apparently not this one), and maybe I’d get to go to this show which seemed likely to sell out (it hasn’t yet).

Then I discovered that Death Grips doesn’t have an opener and their shows are fairly short (90 minutes or so).  And I realized there was a chance I could still see some of this show (the venues are less than ten minutes apart).  So it all depends on how long Death Grips play for and how late they start.

Then a few days before the show, I decided that I didn’t want to see Death Grips anymore.  After a couple of rough, pushing a shoving shows, I realized that I didn’t want to spend 90 minutes in a crowd at Franklin Music Hall with abrasion and aggression non-stop for 90 minutes while the crowd slam danced all around me and the stage was bathed in red.  Maybe had I not seen Igorrr and Boris this week, I would have been more up for it, but it just felt not fun.

So then I thought maybe I’d go to this show.  But then things were going on at home and I realized that based on when Mannequin Pussy said they were going on (8:55) that Softcult, who I really wanted to see, wouldn’t be playing for very long.  And I didn’t think MP would get a very long set either.  So I just said meh to the whole thing and stayed home. (more…)

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