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Archive for March, 2025

José Gonzáles (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, March 25, 2025)

Posted in José González, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on March 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 25, 2025] José Gonzáles

I was pretty obsessed with José Gonzáles’ debut album Veneer.  The melodies were gorgeous and his singing voice was so calming.  His song Heartbeats was so darn good.  It was surprising to discover it was a cover (by The Knife, a Swedish band that no one I know had heard of).

I hadn’t really thought about seeing him, although the last time he came arounds my friends saw him and said he was amazing.  (He has played Philly in 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2021).  So when he announced this tour (which wasn’t even going to Philly), but was going to Montclair!   And was seated!!  I grabbed tickets for my wife and I.

I was also delighted that there was no opening act.  Normally I love an opening act, but this was going to be a mellow show and I didn’t fancy an extra 30 minutes of someone else being mellow too.

The stage was set up with a platform (which was great–it meant we could see him completely) and this cool-looking object on stage.  It was metallic and silver and looked like  cash register or some other kind of old-fashioned odd musical instrument.  And then a roadie came in and sat on it.  Turns out that with the lighting and perspective, this simple wooden (not metallic) chair looked like a fascinating object (the stranger next to me agreed). (more…)

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Helmet: Betty 30th anniversary / Effusion 35 / Slomosa (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Effusion 35, Helmet, Philadelphia, PA, Slomosa, Underground Arts on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Helmet / Effusion 35 / Slomosa

I really liked the first Helmet album.  I bought betty, but I don’t remember much about it.  I probably haven’t listened to them in twenty years, and I think there have been some fifteen people in the band over the years, but I’ll bet they are still heavy as anything.  But I wasn’t that excited about this tour.

In Denver, War on Women opened, but not for us.  We had Slomosa and Effusion 35.

Slomosa is from Bergen, Norway.  They have created their own music genre, Tundra Rock.  It appears to be a meld of stoner rock and power metal.  I’m intrigued by them.  I listened to a couple of songs and found it okay, but a little flat.  They are probably great live though.

Effusion 35 is from Philly.  They seem almost like a heavy country band, although their earlier stuff is even less heavy–an odd pairing with Helmet to be sure.

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Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Basia Bulat, Mick Flannery, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery

I saw Basia Bulat on a Tiny Desk Concert many years ago. She played the pianoette and sounded amazing.

That Concert is from 2011 and she has changed a lot since then.  I was going to see her in 2020, but the show was cancelled because of COVID. I listened to the new album and found it really poppy and totally not my vibe.  So I’m taking her off of my list of musicians to see.

I saw Mick Flannery back in 2021 when he opened for Kathleen Edwards.   He had a pretty strong Irish accent when he sings, and he had overtones of Van Morrison.  He’s been releasing music since 2007 and is apparently a pretty big deal:

Mick Flannery is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed songwriters and singers. The award-winning, double-platinum selling artist has released six studio albums, three of which reaching No. 1 status.

I enjoyed the set but didn’t feel compelled to seek out any of his music.

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Zeta (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, March 13, 2025) [RX BANDITS]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rx Bandits, Zeta on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2024] Zeta

I was not familiar with Rx Bandits when they announced this show.  Indeed the only reason I was interested in this show at all was because Zeta was announced as the opener.

I had seen Zeta once and they blew me away. I would do just about anything to see them again.  So if just going to Asbury Park is the requirement, I was there.

I bought this ticket from the box office (always fun), although I had never really heard of the RX Bandits.  I was psyched to see Zeta.

Imagine my surprise then, when they announced another show in January–this one headlining.  So I got to see them in Jan and then again in March.  And this show was very different.

Well, not very different.  But quite different.  For one thing the stage was huge.  At the Foto Club, they were crammed around the drum kit.  Here, they all had space to move around.  But the focus, as always was on drummer Chino Sandoval–front and center and a whirling maniac.  They are still touring their fantastic new album, and I’m not entirely sure what they played from it.

I’m assuming the first two songs were the same as last time, but after that, I lost track.  I feel like the set was a little different because at one point Juan Chi stepped away from the mic and literally just screamed the vocals into the crowd.  There was some chatter before that but as soon as he started singing like that everyone was silent (even though I believe he was singing in Spanish).

As always, Antonio Pereira loomed behind the drums with his awesome bass sound.

Daniel Hernandez was on the other side of the stage.  He rapped a song and I’m fairly certain he sang part of Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine.  I admit that their sound was a little fuzzy (opening act problems) and they were really loud.  So I didn’t really understand a lot of what they were singing (it being mostly Spanish as well).  But the intensity is unmatched.

After every few songs, the crowd around me roared it’s approval, with a few “holy shit” moments.   This was especially true the two times that Chi hopped on the bongos and Hernandez played his own small drum kit.  It’s all percussion and bass, playing rhythmically and it’s awesome.

Sadly I’ll never know what the set list was, but it doesn’t matter.  I loved the show, Iloved that they clearly won over new fans and it was especially cool that two of the guys remembered me from January when we chatted for a little while.

 

2025 Asbury Lanes 2025 Foto Club 2023 Underground Arts
¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ ¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ La flor de la palabra @
¿Por qué sentimos la necesidad de romper con todo? £ Completar ∞
Privilege ¿ La flor del tiempo @
La flor de la palabra @ El Canto de La Victoria @
Completar ∞ Afrontar ∞
La flor del tiempo @ Sufrir ∞
Steps ¿ Magia infinita ∞
The Truth ¿
Yo el peor de todos (somos cosmos) XXV §
Shadows ¿
The Wild ¿
unknown setlist Magia infinita ∞

 

¿ Was It Medicine to You? (2025)
@ Todo Bailarlo (2022)
∞ Magia infinita (2018)/reissued 2024
£ L’Antiteoria del Todo (2016)
§ single (2013)

 

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Kraftwerk: Multimedia Tour (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2025)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Kraftwerk, Philadelphia, PA on March 8, 2025| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2025] Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk are one of the most influential bands of all time–and most people don’t know them.  They created electronic music and have been sampled hundreds of times.  I never even considered that I would see them live.  And then they announced a 3-D tour celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2022.

It was fantastic.

The four members stood in front of these tiny platforms and played their electronic music while visuals were projected behind them.  In the previous show, we had 3-D glasses, but they were not used for this show.

I couldn’t believe how crowded it was when I arrived.  I’m used to arriving a few minutes before the opening act and having my pick of location.  But there was no opening act.  I even arrive earlier than usual, but the place was packed!  I was in the middle behind some really tall dudes and then I decided to move to the side.  At a weird angle, but pretty close.  Last time I couldn’t really see the humans, so it was neat being up close to be able to see them a little.

But it also came with the consequence of a lot of people around me talking.  There were drunk college women, of course, but there was something even worse.  A pretentious Kraftwerk fan and he wouldn’t shut the hell up about how great everything they were doing was.  While it was happening!  Lucklily most of the music was loud enough that it mostly drowned him out, but ugh.

Kraftwerk is the same line us as when I saw them three years ago.  Ralf Hütter is the only guy still in the band from the beginning.  Of the other three, Fritz Hilpert has been on board since 1987, Henning Schmitz since 1991 and Falk Grieffenhagen since 2012. (more…)

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The Spirit of the Beehive (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] The Spirit of the Beehive [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.

I enjoyed them–they were weird and fun to watch.  I wasn’t sure I ever needed to see the again, but I figured I’d see what they’d been up to for the last 7 years.

Their set was wild and chaotic.  Again, I was right at the barrier, so I’m sure I missed a lot.  Like last time, I couldn’t tell if the songs were really short or much longer.  The first song I thought might have been three different ones.  It was made even mor confusing because the musicians would switch instruments in the middle.  Their third guitarist Phil Warner, switched from electric to acoustic and back again in one song.

I also really enjoyed watching drummer Sean Hallock keep time to all of the different changes and styles of music (often in one song).

Zack Schwartz was on the far side from me and I felt like I heard his vocals the least, although his guitar was clear.  Bassist (mostly) Rivka Ravede has a fantastic bass sound–I loved when you could hear it over the rest of the music. She also sings on nearly every song, which is great–it adds so much dimension to the songs to have two (or three) lead vocalists in one song.

I was right in front of Corey Wichlin who sang a lot of lead parts in very different vocal styles–it was often hard to know who was singing.  He also played guitars and keys and the occasional triangle. (more…)

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Kassie Krut (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] Kassie Krut [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.  The opening band was Kassie Krut who I’d never heard of. I looked them up and found out that Kassie Krut was formed from Palm!

The band was formed by Kasra Kurt, guitarist, who wanted to explore more electronic music and Eve Alpert (both of who are phenomenal guitarists but who play no guitars on the album).  They were joined by Matt Anderegg on drums.

Their EP is loud and dancey and fun, but very noisy.  And live they were noisy, noisy and more noisy.  As with Polo Perks, this may have been because I was so close to the stage.  But I believe that all of the sounds were coming from the overhead speakers (there were no guitar amps to have sound coming from the stage).  Whatever the case I absolutely could not hear Eve singing (except the quieter bits of Reckless) and I couldn’t hear Kasra at all when he took to the mic.

Matt was on my right playing an electronic drum kit,  It was fun to watch because the bass pedal was literally a pedal hitting a small pad, slightly larger than the pedal itself, but it was cavernously loud.  The rest of the pads that he played generated all kinds of percussive sounds. (more…)

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Polo Perks <3<3<3 (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] Polo Perks ❤ ❤ ❤ [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.

Originally, the opening band was Kassie Krut, but sometime more recently they added Polo Perks ❤ ❤ ❤ to the roster.

I’d never heard of him and didn’t know if the ❤ was part of his name (it is) or if it’s supposed to be three asses or what (I still don’t).  Apparently, he is a NYC drill pioneer.

His DJ came out first, set up a folding table, laid down a laptop and a mic and started a beat.  Then Polo Perks came out on stage.  His DJ tried to get everyone really hyped up.  I was at the barrier and couldn’t see who was behind me.  But the guy next to me knew a lot of the words. (more…)

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Nish Kumar in “Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe” (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025)

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Nish Kumar

I know Nish Kumar from Taskmaster, where he was hilarious.  I have since grown to love him from his appearances on various podcasts, including his own Pod Save the UK.

When he announced that he was touring the US and playing Philly, I grabbed my wife and I tickets immediately.

And holy crap was he funny.  He ranted for 90 minutes and we never stopped laughing the whole time.

Most of his material is political (and there’s so much to choose from in 2025), but there were also personal observations (his poor therapist gets mentioned A LOT), and even a joke or two about his fridge and his mom.

In his current tour, he is upfront with how his therapist warned him against discussing traumatic unprocessed memories on stage, saying that re-telling unprocessed memories can re-traumatise you.

What’s his comedy like?  It’s fast, angry and very funny.  Think Lewis Black but less deranged sounding.  He’s also got a wonderful outsiders perspective on the US that can make you see thinks a little differently, although as he points out, his radical left wing base probably sees things this way already.  But, as a Brown person, he brings a whole new perspective on, well everything.

Like how Indians should be pleased that they are getting represented in politics, even though these people are the worst representatives of their culture who routinely abuse and put down their own people. (more…)

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Amy Annette (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2025) [NISH KUMAR]

Posted in Amy Annette, Nish Kumar, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster, Underground Arts on March 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 2, 2025] Amy Annette

I didn’t know if Nish Kumar would have an opening act.  Since the show was starting at 9PM (!) on a Sunday night, I hoped he didn’t.

But then I remembered that comedy opening acts aren’t the same as concert opening acts.  They don’t stay on for all that long and there isn’t a 30 minute gap between performers.

So when Amy Annette was announced, I was ready to be entertained.  I found out after her set, once Nish came on, that Amy is his girlfriend of 13 years.  This made me happy for two reasons.  The first was that her set was only about 20 minutes, and it seemed crazy to travel all the way from the UK just to do 20 minutes.  And also, her material is so very different from Nish’s I wondered how he might pick someone to warm up that was doing completely unpolitical material.

So, the fact that they are dating was great!  They get to travel together and we all got some exposure to a comedian that we (or I, at least) didn’t know but now want to see again.

Amy’s humor is so very different from Nish’s.

She began with a really funny bit about bread. Yes, bread!  She had some good audience interactions to find out others’ bread choices.  And one of the respondents was a man named Paulie who would come back later. (more…)

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