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Archive for July, 2024

Grocer (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz on July 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Grocer

This was the third time I could have seen Grocer.   The first time I didn’t go to the show and the second time was when Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play this show in July.

I thought I knew Grocer from NPR music but I didn’t (I think i got them mixed up with Florist who sound NOTHING like them).  Grocer is a trio from Philly: Cody Nelson – Drums/Vocals, Danielle Lovier – Bass/Vocals and Nicholas Rahn – Guitar/Vocals.  Each member sings and each singer’s musical style is a little different making for a wide ranging musical set all held together by this great band having a lot of fun.

The first song “Mating Call” opened with quiet guitars, quiet vocals from Cody Nelson and bird calls.  By the end of the song, the band was furiously singing “It powers on, but the signal’s gone.”

Up next was “Arts & Lit” sung by Nicholas Rahn.  It had an interesting riff, a jumpy melody and fun backing vocals.  I really enjoyed the sounds and effects that he used.  He had some kind of foot pedal that he slid back and forth which manipulated the sound and made his guitar soar into space. (more…)

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Queen Rat (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz on July 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Queen Rat

I was worried that I’d be a little late for this show but I parked (illegally it turns out) and managed to get into Milkboy pretty easily.

Queen Rat came on just as I leaned I could sit on the comfy stool to the left side of the stage (I assume a bouncer sits there during heavier shows?).   But it was perfect for my presently handicapped state.

Their bio says

Queen Rat is a rock trio born in Ohio, growing up in Philly. Drawing from rock heroes ranging from Hole to the Raincoats to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band pairs pensive, observant lyricism with a versatile grunge-rock style. Following the release of their debut album, Until It’s Not, in 2022, they relocated to Philadelphia and released their latest single, Cut Me A Garden, in 2023. Talk to Queen Rat about books, jumping, or birds.

I found them to be much less aggressive than any of the bands listed above, playing an almost lo-fi vibe.

There were fuzzy guitars, for sure, but the pacing was slow and thoughtful with a few moments that rocked out–especially when drummer Kate Bertrand really kicked it in.

I particularly enjoyed the way Tile Floor ended with a lengthy outro of more or less the same lyrics repeated: (more…)

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King’s X / Sound&Shape (The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ, July 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in King's X, Red Bank, NJ, Sound&Shape, The Vogel on July 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 27, 2024] Kings X / Sound&Shape

I’ve seen King’s X five times.  I’ve enjoyed all of their shows although I started to find them a little samey.

They tend to tour our area every couple of years.  I saw them two years ago and considered going to one of the three area shows this year, but things caught up with me.

I was intrigued to see them in Red Bank–at the small theater I hadn’t been to.  But I had other plans for this Saturday night so it never happened.

I’ve seen the setlist that they played this night and I have to say they really aren’t mixing it up much at all these days.  Which is a shame.  I know that they have some songs that they “have to” play but there’s a bunch in here that they could switch out.  I mean, I would like to see them once more, but I’d hope they’d throw in a few other songs next time.

Sound&Shape is new to me but apparently they have been playing prog metal for a number of  years.  Their sound reminds me of King’s X–heavy but clean.  The vocals are good.  It’s possible that if I had heard these guys before this show, I would have gone to one of the nights.

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Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cavalier, Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Previous Industries, Still Rift, Video Dave on July 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 27,  2024] Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier

I saw Open Mike Eagle at the end of last year and really enjoyed his set.  Previous Industries is a low key supergroup, I guess.  (Although, it’s arguable that many people don’t know them individually).

Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave and STILL RIFT have worked together in various ways over the years and here they are together–rapping with each other on the songs.

The songs are kind of slow–emphasizing the lyrics rather than the melodies.  The songs are also thoughtful and not lyrically interesting.  One of the songs, for instance, references The Giving Tree (even mentioning Shel Silverstein).

And  a fun lyrics from Open Mike

Got it made, got it made, like I was hot for the teacher
It’s a sound blaster car with the Altec Lansing speaker
I like David Lee Roth and not the other guy
It’s ’95 South, so I can learn to do the butterfly
It’s Triple F.A.T. Goose stocked even in the summer time
My sweatshirt counting sheep with both words underlined
Yeah, and Mrs. Fields to the cookie stop
As quick as Mr. Owl licked the center of a Tootsie Pop

This is exactly the kind of rap event I would really enjoy.  I couldn’t go mostly because it was a Saturday and our schedule was pretty busy that week.  (more…)

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Control Top / Carnivorous Bells / Eraser (Foto Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Carnivorous Bells, Control Top, Eraser, Foto Club, Philadelphia, PA on July 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2024] Control Top / Carnivorous Bells / Eraser

I saw Control Top back in 2019 and 2021 and really loved them.

They’ve been kind of dormant for a while so when they announced this show I was really excited to see them.  I’ve never been to Foto Club and I’m still not even sure what kind of place it is–it’s very hard to find anything about it online.

I thought my son would really enjoy the show–Control Top is a fun aggressive and somewhat interactive live band–singer/ bassist Ali Carter tends to jump in the crowd during the final song.  But he had to work that night so I knew we couldn’t get to the whole show.  But I considered that if his shift ended early enough and he was interested, we could leave and catch just Control Top (since I didn’t know the other bands anyway).  But I had my notifications off and I missed his text that he was interested in going, so I assumed he wasn’t interested so I more or less settled in for the night.

I’ve felt bad ever since because he seemed really excited to go when he got home.  On a practical level, I don’t know what time they actually went on and I’m sure  their set was fairly short, so it may not have been worth it to go anyway.  Sour grapes, I guess.

Carnivorous Bells according to R5 Productions have quietly become one of Philly’s most savage live acts.  They’re punky with a growly kind of singer. Not really my kind of show so I didn’t mind missing them.

Eraser is a Philly band who are about to release their first EP.  I’m intrigued by them, having only heard one song.  I imagine they would be fun and I’d like to see them some day.

 

 

 

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Richard Thompson / Alexa Rose (Musikfest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA, July 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alexa Rose, Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest Cafe, Richard Thompson on July 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2024] Richard Thompson / Alexa Rose

I really want to see Richard Thompson one more time, but I really want to see hi with his band rather than solo.

For this tour, he announced it would be a band tour!  I was so excited.  But when he announced this relatively local show, it was solo.

What’s weird about his solo shows is that he had a million songs in his repertoire and he plays all request shows where I’m sure he’s playing all kinds of songs.  But when he plays solo he tends to play the same twenty or so songs.  It’s always amazing, I am just looking for something a little different from him.

I keep hoping he’ll bring the band to McCarter one more time.

Alexa Rose was born in the Alleghany Highlands of western Virginia, raised in the tiny railroad town of Clifton Forge. Though no one in her immediate family played or sang, she inherited a deep musical legacy.

She has a pretty, clean voice with vaguely country leanings.

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Newport Folk Festival (Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI, July 26-July 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Pumas, De La Soul, Guster, Hozier, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, The War on Drugs, Tinariwen on July 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 31-August 2, 2020] Newport Folk Festival

We went to Newport Folk Festival in 2019.  We’ve had a kind of understanding that we would try to go again.

I’ve managed  to score tickets for previous years (and then resell them when we couldn’t go).  But this year I was shut out instantly.  Which is fine as the festival often conflicts with our summer schedule.
(more…)

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King’s X / Sound&Shape (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, July 25 & 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in King's X, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, Sound&Shape on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 3, 2023] Kings X / Sound&Shape

I’ve seen King’s X five times.  I’ve enjoyed all of their shows although I started to find them a little samey.

They tend to tour our area every couple of years.  I saw them two years ago and considered going to one of the three area shows this year, but things caught up with me.

The first show at Sellersville we had dinner plans and the second night I had tickets to another show that I wanted to go to more.

Sellersville is kind of a pain for me to get to, so it wasn’t difficult to pass up this show.

I’ve seen the setlist that they played this night and I have to say they really aren’t mixing it up much at all these days.  Which is a shame.  I know that they have some songs that they “have to” play but there’s a bunch in here that they could switch out.  I mean, I would like to see them once more, but I’d hope they’d throw in a few other songs next time.

Sound&Shape is new to me but apparently they have been playing prog metal for a number of  years.  Their sound reminds me of King’s X–heavy but clean.  The vocals are good.  It’s possible that if I had heard these guys before this show, I would have gone to one of the nights.

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Beck with the Philadelphia Orchestra / Molly Lewis (The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 25, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Beck, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Molly Lewis, Philadelphia, PA on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 25, 2024] Beck with the Philadelphia Orchestra / Molly Lewis

My wife and I have seen Beck three times now and his shows are always fun.

I more or less felt like I’d always see him when he came around.  And typically, an orchestral show promises an interesting performance.

But given Beck’s past history with making orchestral music, I wondered if this show would be really mellow and not all that much fun.  I mean, sure, Beck would make it fun, but, well, it just didn’t seem worth the drive to the Mann.

Looking at the setlist, I see that he played six songs from Morning Phase and five from Sea Change.  Just not my type of show, really.  But here’s some excerpts from the WXPN review:

Last night at The Mann Center, Beck took the stage with the 80-piece Philadelphia Orchestra and his Sea Change album band. This allowed him to perform songs that he usually does not get a chance to perform: cuts from Sea Change, Morning Phase and Mutations, as well as sneaking in his big hits such as “Devil’s Haircut” and “Loser,” which got the intently listening crowd to their feet. It was a truly incredible sound. He referred to playing with the orchestra as “$100,000 karaoke.”

With lots of wit and funny commentary, Beck also talked a lot about his influences such as Serge Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy, whom he dedicated a song to. He played songs that he “selfishly wanted to sing with an orchestra, now that they were on stage” with him, such as “It’s Raining Today” by Scott Walker. He also mentioned that his very first concert was Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Jobim.

After the 90-minute set with the Philadelphia Orchestra, they left the stage, leaving just Beck and his band on stage. Beck walked and climbed around the seats on stage having the spotlight follow him as he performed the encore, and left everyone wanting the show to go on longer.

(more…)

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Tinariwen (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2024)

Posted in Basic, Chris Forsyth, Philadelphia, PA, Tinariwen, Underground Arts on July 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2024] Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a pretty legendary band.  They play a guitar driven “desert blues” in which the guitar is played pretty much non-stop.   It’s unique and original to American ears but is apparently part of a Mali musical sound that combines traditional Tuareg and African music with Western rock.

I’ve been trying to see them for a number of years and things never seemed to pan out, until this year.

The night was a challenge as parking was limited and I wound up coming in later than I intended.  It was also much more crowded (so early) than I anticipated.  So I had  to stand off to the side.

About half way through the show, I had to get out of the crowd and Underground Arts was super nice in that someone got me a chair (I’m using a cane at the moment).  I actually felt obliged to stay in the chair which meant I was in kind of a crappy location visually for most of the show.   But it was so crowded that I wasn’t going to see much anyhow, so I’m grateful for the seat. (more…)

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