I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2023] Grace Vonderkuhn 

Grace Vonderkuhn has been on my list of bands to see for a while now, although I don’t exactly remember how I first heard about this band from Deleware.

Grace Vonderkuhn is a 3-piece rock band from Wilmington, Delaware. Uniting in 2016, the outfit consists of Grace Koon, songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Brian Bartling—bassist, and Dave McGrory, who plays the drums and sings. They combine shoegaze, post-punk, and psych influences with sharp pop sensibilities. The band toured throughout the US, showcased at SXSW, recorded an Audiotree live session, and were featured on NPR following the release of their first full-length album, Reveries (2018 Egghunt Records). Grace Vonderkuhn went on to release their sophomore album, Pleasure Pain, on Philly-based record label Sheer Luck Records in 2021. They have shared the stage with countless bands including Camp Cope, Shame, Ought, Titus Andronicus, Lower Dens, No Age, and The Districts. The band is currently working on their third full-length album and playing shows.

I had heard good things about them, but I guess I didn’t actually listen to them that much before the show because they blew me away.

Grace Koon is a killer guitar player. She’s not showoffy at all, but she can play great solos, weird chords and a pretty diverse array of sounds. She also sings in a couple of different styles from gentle to deep and menacing.  Brian Barling on bass doesn’t just keep up with Grace, he often plays counterpoint to her melodies.  And Dave McGrory on drums is the secret weapon. He plays different patterns and rhythm and his backing vocals are great–he often sings high over Grace’s low, grittier vocals.

I would have loved if their set was longer–they only played for about 25 minutes.  But they played so much in those 25 minutes–different styles and genres, sometimes in the same song.

They haven’t released a record since 2021, so I’m assuming most of the songs they played are new(ish)–I couldn’d find a few of them online.

Pretty sure this is the setlist

• Undone
• Into the Morning
• Put It On Me
• unknown
• Rock n Roll Gary

I really liked Rock n Roll Gary for its usage of another classic song:

You’re a real rock and roller
Going twenty miles an hour

Since 2021, Grace Vonderkuhn have played Underground Arts once, PhilaMOCA twice and World Cafe Live at NonCOMM listen at the link), so I think there’s a good chance they’ll be back and I’ll be excited to see them.

Here’s the World Cafe Live video from February 19, 2022)

Here’s a PhilaMOCA show from 2022 (both thanks to Markit Aneight),