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Archive for October, 2023

The Lemon Twigs / Joanna Sternberg (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, October 14, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, The Lemon Twigs on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2023] The Lemon Twigs / Joanna Sternberg

The Lemon Twigs played just last year at two locations and I missed them entirely.  I didn’t even know about this show because I don’t do shows at the Church anymore.

But it turns out that my son has made a friend at school who loves The Lemon Twigs and was at this show.  So I thought I ‘d throw it here.

I really liked The Lemon Twigs’ Do Hollywood album and their follow up EPs showed even more development.  Since then they have put out a few albums, and I have enjoyed them.

Their new album is very retro with a serious 60’s vibe.  At first I liked it but I soon found it a little too derivative so I wasn’t that interested in going.  But after my son’s friend said how much he liked the show I did actually want to go.

But it turns out that this is the same night as the one Philly Music Fest show that I was going to.  Why do things always happen on the same day?  I mean, look how many shows I wanted to go to this weekend.

Joanna Sternberg played at World Cafe Live a while back and here’s what I said

Joanna Sternberg is a kind of anti-folk singer.  They have a high almost child-like voice.  And they sings pointed lyrics.  I have since listened to one of their songs from Non-COMM and quite liked it.  I wouldn’t buy their music, but I would enjoy seeing them as an opening act.

And here they are as an opening act. Shame I missed it, but I’m not going to the Church.

 

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This is the Kit / Gruff Rhys (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gruff Rhys, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, This is the Kit on October 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 13, 2023] This is the Kit / Gruff Rhys

This is the Kit is a band I know from NPR Music.  I haven’t thought of them in a while.  I recall liking their music but that there was something unusual about it.

I enjoyed this blurb about them from bandcamp:

This Is The Kit is the musical project of Kate Stables and whoever joins her. You thought you didn’t like the banjo but you were wrong pal. Listen as Kate rips forward with her hypnotic twang pattern and a voice of rare, unaffected beauty.

Kate has a very British delivery.  Reading my review of their Tiny Desk Concert, I really liked them more than I remembered.

I do rather wish I was going to this show, but with a show tomorrow night I needed to cut back something.

The reason I was interested in this show in the first place was because Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals was opening.  I saw him headline here a few years ago and I would have loved to see him again.

Well, maybe someday I’ll see both of them again.

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Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Shannen Moser (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Shannen Moser, Tigers Jaw, Yowler on October 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 13, 2023] Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Shannen Moser

I’ve seen Tigers Jaw twice and both shows were great.  I really like their catchy emo pop punk, but I’m not sure I need to see them again.  But man if I was a die hard fan, here’s three days in a row of really close concerts I could go to.

And yet…  Here’s what they say about these two shows (they love playing Crossroads)

Mystery Setlists? We’re pulling out all the stops for Garwood this weekend. We’ll be playing two very distinctive sets for people who might want to come to both shows.
One of the shows setlists will concentrate on two worlds + spin, and the other will be charmer + I won’t care heavy. (Not full album plays, just most of both records, plus both sets will have some self titled oldies and newer Ep songs.)
We’re not saying which night is which combo. 🤔
So many songs. Maybe a fun cover.

Yowler, is Maryn Jones, a Philly based musician and the guitarist and lead vocalist of the band All Dogs and formerly a member of the band Saintseneca.  For Yowler her songs are kind of spare and sad, but there’s some pretty heavy elements thrown in which kind of blow you away after being lulled into mellowness.

Shannen Moser is from Berks County, PA.  She plays a simple kind of open-tuned guitar (such that a capo is all you need to make a chord sound good).  Some of her songs have a finger-picking section as well.  I’ve seen her twice and her songs are really good.  [I’m not 100% sure if Shannen is playing, some fliers say yes, others don’t mention her].

This lineup was similar to the show at Johnny Brenda’s, but wow, Crossroads is so much easier for me to get to that I would certainly have gone to this one.

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Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 12, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arckist, Big Stink, Blue Daze August, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, The Azures, Wax Jaw on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist

It’s crazy that I could have gone to Crossroads three nights in a row (two Tigers Jaw shows on the following two nights) when I feel like they never have bands I want to see.

I have seen Wax Jaw on YouTube a few times and I’m not sure how I found out about them.  They are brand new (having just released their first EP) and yet they have a big following.  Because they are great.  I keep wanting to catch them but something comes up.  Like the fact that I planned to be home tonight.

Besides how can I possibly go out for FIVE bands in a night.  And if Wax Jaw are just putting out their first EP, are all of these bands just a year old?  And will each set be 20 minutes?

Let’s find out

First is Arckist

WRAT’s Jersey artist of the week says

Arckist is a young band with a classic style. The members range in age from 17 to 20 and their musical tastes are well beyond that.  Lead vocalist, Lily Slix is a Jersey Rock veteran, who began her musical career as a solo artist. Since the age of 12, she’s written, recorded, and released original music on a yearly basis and performed all over. She’s rocked legendary venues like the Stone Pony.   On August 18 Arckist will release their Debut EP on all digital platforms. “Don’t Push Me Around” features five hard-hitting tracks aimed at reviving the hard rock of the past with the energy and perspective of today’s modern youth.  It’s brimming with 1970s sensibilities and a dash of the ’90s. Expect heavy guitars, thunderous rhythm sections, and roaring vocals. August 18th all five songs will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and all digital platforms.

The EP is 23 minutes.

[UPDATE: This album is riff-rock, sounds fully realized and is very 70’s heavy rock sounding.  With really dumb lyrics.  Lily Slix has a voice much older than her age.  I would have loved this were I in high school, but these days I don’t–not my thing anymore].

Blue Daze August has a full length out.  It is 26 minutes.  I can’t find any blurbs about them at all.  They are from Toms River, NJ

[UPDATE: Fast pop punk, catchy and fun.  This would be really fun to see live.  What’s exciting about this band is that they are essentially a pop punk band, they throw in all kinds of unexpected moments, like a wholly unexpected saxophone on the new single and a fun jazzy breakdown on another song and “Manhattan” slows things down but retains a kind of snotty edge that I like.].

Big Stink is from Montclair.  They have a few releases totaling about 25 minutes.  Their bandcamp says

 A crunchy three-piece hailing from the depths of a sticky Montclair basement.  Emo Garage you say!? perhaps.

[UPDATE: Heavy distorted screaming accompanies heavy distorted thumping drums and bass.  It’s got an early Mudhoney vibe.  I quite like it and I’m sure t hey are wild live].

The Azures have the longest blurb on bandcamp.  But they only have one song there.  They have two songs on Spotify.  And yet they are the highest on the bill.  Huh.   They are also from Toms River.

The Azures are a four-piece psychedelic blues band from Central Jersey, influenced heavily by the Delta era of original southern rock as well as all the wild shit that went down in the 70’s like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. Please enjoy the music! Caio – The Azures

Given the blurbs, I feel like I would like them least of the four.  But I’ll give them all a listen tomorrow.

[UPDATE: I listened to the record and I like their vibe, although I suspect I would like them more live than on record..]

Wax Jaw said they were going on 9:15-9:30 with the music starting at 8.  I don’t quite understand how that would work.  Is every band playing ten minutes?    If they were going on later, I considered driving down just to see them, but I don’t think I can squeeze it in.

 

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Devandra Banhart / Soma (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, October 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Devandra Banhart, Soma on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Devandra Banhart / Soma

About ten years ago I was really into Devandra Banhart.  I enjoyed his weirdo folkie vibe and thought that he was a good deal of fun.

And then I seemed to lose track of him altogether.  I haven’t listened to him in ages.  I see that he’s cut his hair but he still looks like a wild, fun hippy.

His new album was produced by Cate Le Bon, whose sensibilities are wonderfully oddball.  The new album is pretty streamlined with lots of synth  I think it’s too mellow for me.

Soma is Soma Kirtan a New Jersey based musician.  It’s unfortunate that he goes by Soma as there are about a half a dozen bands named Soma.  It’s possible that this SOMA stands for Sacred Order of Mystic Apogees.  I can’t find much else about him/them.  Their music is beautiful traditional (I think) Indian music.  It would be fun to see this live too.

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Devandra Banhart / Miho Hatori (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cibo Matto, Devandra Banhart, Miho Hatori, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Devandra Banhart / Miho Hatori

About ten years ago I was really into Devandra Banhart.  I enjoyed his weirdo folkie vibe and thought that he was a good deal of fun.

And then I seemed to lose track of him altogether.  I haven’t listened to him in ages.  I see that he’s cut his hair but he still looks like a wild, fun hippy.

His new album was produced by Cate Le Bon, whose sensibilities are wonderfully oddball.  The new album is pretty streamlined with lots of synth  I think it’s too mellow for me.

Miho Hatori was in Cibo Matto and worked with Gorillaz.  She has released some solo albums and I really like the bits I’ve heard from her new one.   Dead Grandma Blog says

Miho Hatori herself says that the album is inspired by the two different genres of anime- Isekai (basically meaning ‘other world’) and Slice of Life. The record eases you in relatively painlessly, with the understated, downtempo opener ‘Tokyo Story‘, which while being quite comforting also has a vague creepiness to it… Hatori characteristically plays and experiments with rhythm throughout the rest of the album (without ever losing pop sensibility), and ultimately manages to create a tight 29 minute package that feels meatier than albums twice it’s length.

Interestingly, I suppose, Back in December, Miho’s Cibo Matto partner Yuka Honda (under the name Eucademix) did a solo avant garde show–she uses a laptop to create interesting sounds–some pleasant, some not so much.

I’d really like to see Miho Hatori.

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Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Gladie (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA October 12, 2023) Philly Music Fest Day 4 [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gladie, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Tigers Jaw, Yowler on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Gladie

There’s a lot of great shows at Philly Music Fest this year.  Here’s the third of four nights that I would have loved to have gone to.  But I have a lot of shows that I’m going to and I can only get to Philly so often.

Plus, I’ve seen Tigers Jaw twice and both shows were great.  I really like their catchy emo pop punk, but I’m not sure I need to see them again.  But man if I was a die hard fan, here’s three days in a row of really close concerts I could go to.

And yet…  Here’s what they say about these two shows (they love playing Crossroads)

Mystery Setlists? We’re pulling out all the stops for Garwood this weekend. We’ll be playing two very distinctive sets for people who might want to come to both shows.
One of the shows setlists will concentrate on two worlds + spin, and the other will be charmer + I won’t care heavy. (Not full album plays, just most of both records, plus both sets will have some self titled oldies and newer Ep songs.)
We’re not saying which night is which combo. 🤔
So many songs. Maybe a fun cover.

Yowler, is Maryn Jones, a Philly based musician and the guitarist and lead vocalist of the band All Dogs and formerly a member of the band Saintseneca.  For Yowler her songs are kind of spare and sad, but there’s some pretty heavy elements thrown in which kind of blow you away after being lulled into mellowness.

I saw Gladie open for Otoboke Beaver late last year and really enjoyed their set a lot.  I would happily see them again, although this is the second time since that show that I’ve had to miss them.  They were supposed to open for Charly Bliss, but cancelled at the last minute.  They also played a Free at Noon recently but I didn’t go to that one.  I’m sure that with each show they just get better so when I finally get to see them again, they’ll be fantastic.

 

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Pinkshift / Jhariah / Pollyanna (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, October 12, 2023) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, House of Independents, Jhariah, Pinkshift, Pollyanna on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 12, 2023] Pinkshift / Jhariah / Pollyanna [moved to January 26, 2024, to Asbury Lanes]

I found out about this show too late.  By the time I realized it was happening I already had plans.  But as it happens, this show was postponed because of flooding.  It’s been rescheduled to January 26, which is pretty great for me, because this show looks amazing.

I have seen Pinkshift three times and they are amazing.  They get better with each show, but I have yet to see them headline.  So I would have really liked to get to this show.

Jhariah plays musical theater.  But on the heavy end, like when My Chemical Romance goes theatrical.  He throws in all kinds of cool and interesting sounds.  This is wacky and fun and he clearly relishes the theatricality.  I would love to see him live.

Pollyanna are from New Jersey and they absolutely rock: Lead singer and guitarist Jill Beckett, drummer Daniel McCool, bassist Brandon Bolton, and guitarist Jack Rose.  They mix

power-pop, loud rock, bubble grunge, and punk influences.  Their name directly derives from the dictionary definition, “to be unreasonably or illogically optimistic” – perfectly describing front-person Jill Beckett’s ‘stuck in 2017’ incredibly optimistic attitude. After meeting in the first grade, Dan and Jill started the band at just 13 years old, eager to create and play music that would reach audiences beyond the confines of Jill’s open garage doors. Brandon made them a trio in early 2019, bringing 90’s femme punk influence to the group. At the start of 2021, Jack completed the bands’ lineup, adding his elemental stabby guitars and love for shoegaze and metal into the mix. After completing almost 5 tours around the east coast and the midwest, Pollyanna has won over a following in the New Jersey music scene along with cities in the tri-state and beyond. They plan on growing as far as possible and leaving a unique mark in the music industry.

Their album Slime is great–snotty and brash with great sounds and Beckett’s excellent vocals.  So, yes, I hope to see them some time.

Sorry about the flooding (it was really terrible), but I’m glad I get to see the show next year.

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CHAI (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2023)

Posted in CHAI, Font, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2023] CHAI

I saw CHAI about a year and a half ago and it was one of the more memorable shows I’ve been to.  The four members of the band are funny, silly, coordinated (sartorially) and play sweet pop music.

Here’s a brief history of the band

Chai was formed in 2012 in Nagoya, by twin sisters Mana and Kana.  Mana, Kana, and Yuna were in the same class at high school.  Yuna introduced the other band members to Japanese music that did not easily fit into the traditional definition of “J-Pop”, such as the band Cero or Kimyō Reitaro. After the members went to university, Mana became friends with Yuuki (originally from Gifu Prefecture, who had moved to Nagoya), and asked the four friends to form a band.  The band’s name comes from Russian tea (known as chai). Kana drank the tea with jam with her Russian literature professor at a Russian restaurant, which she thought was cute.

They have just released their fourth album, Chai. (more…)

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Font (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2023) [CHAI]

Posted in CHAI, Font, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on October 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2023] Font

Before this show I looked up Font on bandcamp and they had …  one song.

And it was great.

But who are they?

Font is an Austin-based band made up of Thom Waddill, Jack Owens, Anthony Lawrence, Roman Parnell, and Logan Wagner. Font began playing shows regularly in the beginning of 2022.

The Austin Chronicle has described their music as “relentless post-punk with New Wave keyboards and arty, personality-driven singing.”

I don’t know what “personality-driven singing” means, but the rest is pretty accurate.  They make noisy, unexpected songs with catchy parts and decided uncatchy parts.  The songs tend to have something–a piano note, a guitar riff–that recurs enough to call it a hook.

The bass wanders all over the place–in a great New Wave sorta way.  And, as it turns out the percussionist is a major component of the band.  From where I was I couldn’t really see the drummer (there was so much STUFF on stage), but I could clearly see the percussionist who had cowbells, blocks, cymbals (which he moved around to make different sound) and some bongos.  He must have been exhausted. (more…)

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