Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for July, 2025

The Swell Season (Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova) (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 29, 2025)

Posted in Glen Hansard, lnterference, Marketa Irglova, Once, Philadelphia, PA, Snacktime, The Frames, The Swell Season, Van Morrison on July 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 29, 2025] The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)

Three years ago my wife and I saw Glen and Marketa (interestingly announced as Glen and Marketa of The Swell Season) and the show was wonderful.  So when they came back around (this time announced as The Swell Season) I grabbed tickets right away.  (Incidentally, The Swell Season is the formal name of this duo–Glen has several other bands as well.

We were delighted to be reasonably close and right in the middle.

And there were to be lots of surprises tonight.  Glen and Marketa were joined by a bass player and drummer (whose names I don’t recall).  But before the first song started, they had a big surprise–four member of Snacktime came out to play horns on several of the tracks.  Glen explained that he had met Snacktime at the Newport Folk Festival and since they were going to be in Philly at the same time, he asked them to join him on a few songs.  I’m not typically a fan of horns, but their horns added so much depth to these songs, it was terrific.

And what was so much fun was that Glen instructed them how to play some of the songs while on stage–almost like an improved jam session.  The opened with Low Rising and Glen asked them to stick around for any songs that seemed good to have horns on.

The Swell Season just released a new record and they played all of the songs from it (except A Little Sugar).  But as I told my wife, I don’t really listen to The Swell Season all that much, but everything I hear from Glen (especially live) I enjoy immensely.

After a couple of new songs they played When Your Mind’s Made Up and the crowd was rapt as their gorgeous voices (and that piano) melded beautifully.

They played a few songs that they’d played last time, and that’s great because those are obviously the catchiest ones.  They played a few of Glen’s solo songs (three in total) but none of Marketa’s solo songs–although she did get some gorgeous solo moments where it was just her and her piano and her voice is still gorgeous.  This was especially evident on I Leave Everything to You, which Glen said was so beautiful as soon as he heard it he knew it would be the centerpiece of the album and the tour. (more…)

Read Full Post »

TV on the Radio / Soul Glo (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, July 29, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Soul Glo, TV on the Radio on July 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 12, 2025] TV on the Radio / Soul Glo

I loved the first three TV on the Radio albums. Not sure I ever listened to the other two (Acually I loved Happy Idiot, but probably don’t know anything else from that album).  But that last album came out over ten years ago so I never thought they’d tour, especially since singer Tunde Adebimpe had just released a (very successful) solo album.

But holy cow when they announced this tour, I wanted in so badly!  But it happened to be on the same night as The Swell Season, which my wife and I didn’t want to miss.

So I had to pass by TV on the Radio.  Will they ever tour again?  Who knows.

Soul Glo as the opening band added a frenetic tone that I wouldn’t have expected from TV on the Radio.  They are a wild live band and I hope got more fans from this show.

Read Full Post »

Guster / The Mountain Goats (Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA, July 29, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Guster, The Mountain Goats on July 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 29, 2025] Guster / The Mountain Goats

When this Guster/The Mountain Goats tour was announced, I definitely wanted to see them in Allentown–a smallish venue that’s easy to get to.  But we had tickets to The Swell Season that evening and we didn’t want to give those up.

So we went to the Stone Pony Summer Stage instead (and that was awesome).

I have yet to go to Archer Music Hall, and I hope to before the end of the year.

 

Read Full Post »

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island Tour with Sarah Hicks, Conductor & Music Director, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and DJ Crenshaw (TD Pavilion Stage at the Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, July 19, 2025)

Posted in DJ Crenshaw, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA on July 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2025] King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island Tour with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

Last summer I had tickets to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Dell Music Center.  The place is a chaotic mess and massive traffic, lack of parking and extreme heat meant that I circled the area and then said the heck with it and went home.  I was a little bummed, but not outrageously.  (The setlist is really good though).

When they announced this tour with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, at the Mann Center, I knew it would be a good venue and I knew it would be a good introduction to them for my son.

We arrived with time to spare, bought some merch and then got in our seats for DJ Crenshaw.  I don’t entirely see the point of someone like this.  He was a live DJ spinning song before the band went on.  Most of the songs were loud and distorted and honestly I couldn’t even tell you what he played.

But soon enough, the lights went down and the orchestra came out.

In many ways this was not the ideal first show for a KGLW newbie as they played their new album in its entirety, but the second set ran through a whole pile of their songs and my son was hooked.

The orchestra came out first (as they do) and Sarah Hicks received a sizable round of applause.  And soon enough the album kicked off.  The orchestra made the album sound huge! (more…)

Read Full Post »

Lucy Dacus / Julien Baker & Torres / Jay Som / Hop Along // Magdalena Bay / Remi Wolf / Annie Di Russo [A Make the World Better Benefit] (FDR Park, Philadelphia PA, July 25 & 27, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Annie DiRusso, Dell Music Center, Hop Along, Jay Som, Johnny Brenda's, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Magdalena Bay, Make the World Better, Philadelphia, PA, Torres on July 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 25 & 27, 2025] Lucy Dacus / Julien Baker & Torres / Jay Som / Hop Along // Magdalena Bay / Remi Wolf / Annie Di Russo

Like every one of these benefits shows, the first day was made for me.

I love Lucy Dacus, although I have seen her twice this year already.

I would love to have seen Julien Baker & Torres together.  They cancelled all of their shows this summer and were replaced by Hop Along which was fine, but not as good as the original.  Interestingly, perhaps, Hop Along was supposed to open for Japanese Breakfast last year but they were replaced at the last minute.

Jay Som is a favorite underground artist whom I love and who has been pretty quiet as of late.

Day 2 was less exciting for me.

Remi Wolf is someone I’ve h heard about but don’t really know.  She appeared on American Idol so I assume she’s not someone I would like, even if she is listed as an indie artist.  I saw that she opened for Lorde in 2022 (which I didn’t go to) and back then I wrote

Remi Wolf is a singer songwriter whom I do not know.  The fact that she appeared on American Idol in 2014 makes me not like her.  That’s unfair, but whatever.

At least I’m consistent.

Magdalena Bay is a duo (I thought it was someone’s name, oops).  The duo consists of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, who met in high school.  They play synthy pop and I really like their song “Image” although the rest is more pop than alternative.  Dancy and probably a treat to listen to on a sunny summer day.

Annie DiRusso was the only person on the bill for both days whom I had never heard of.  She’s an interesting young musician who veers to the noisy while writing poppy songs.  She also sings about college and wrote a song called Ovid.  So she appeals to that side of my musical appreciation.  The Harvard Crimson (!) review says

The album is an evolution of her usual guitar-heavy rock instrumentals, experimenting with incorporating different genres while still maintaining a cohesive sound across the record.

I hope she opens for someone I’m seeing one of these days.

So why didn’t I go to Day One?  Well, I didn’t really need to see Lucy again.  Plus, this was in FDR Park which I know nothing about and I have really bad luck with outdoor venues in Philly.  So while I fully support the cause, I just wasn’t willing to make the effort for this one.  And obvsiously Day Two wasn’t my scene.

 

Read Full Post »

Pixies (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2025)

Posted in Band of Skulls, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia on July 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2025] Pixies

I have seen Pixies four times in the last eight years.  I didn’t really know if I wanted to see them again–indeed when these two shows were announced I was iffy about the whole thing.  I did want to go to the first of two nights–where they were playing Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde (since they don’t play very much from either of those albums in their sets–I’ve only seen 2 songs from Bossanova and only 4 from Trompe).  But that turned out to be the night of The Decemberists concert, and I wasn’t going to pass up The Decemberists.

A couple of days before this, I asked my wife if she’d like to go to this show–mostly because Kurt Vile was opening.  She loves Kurt and, as she says, doesn’t know anything by Pixies (except, it turns out Here Comes Your Man).  She agreed and we wound up buying tickets at the box office day of (the first night sold out this one did not).

The Kurt show was great and I told my wife that Pixies are interesting because they do not talk between songs–indeed, they don’t talk at all.  And they will play like 30 songs in 90 minutes.

She felt bad that she didn’t know anything going into the show, but I told her afterwards that they played nearly ten (out of about 30) that I had never heard before.  But it was the 2o songs in between that I was really psyched about.

I was unsure who their new bass player was–it’s Emma Richardson of Band of Skulls.  The biggest difference between her and Paz (who I really liked) is that Emma has blonde hair.  Otherwise, she is an excellent addition to the band.

She sang the first song (and what I assumed was the final song).  The first song was a David Lynch cover “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” that apparently Pixies released a long long time ago on a B-sides record.  She also sang Into the White.  Interestingly (or not) they did not play Gigantic (the most famous Kim Deal sung song).

Heaven is a slow, meandering song, something unlike most Pixies songs, so it felt like it was building to something.  Which turned out to be a song from their 2019 album that I didn’t know.  So, yes, I’m an old school Pixies fan and haven’t listened to much of anything they ‘ve released since they reunited. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Kurt Vile and the Violators (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2025) [PIXIES]

Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia on July 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2025] Kurt Vile & The Violators

I had seen Kurt Vile in 2018, but since then, my wife has become a huge fan.  We saw him and the Violators at Union Transfer in 2022.

I know we enjoyed the UT show, but somehow, this opening set was a lot better.  We both felt that way.  Not that we had bad feelings about the UT show, but this just felt bigger, like he was just having a ton of fun.

But it is weird to have him opening since he is a pretty big deal (especially in Philly).  I don’t know if he could sell out the Fillmore on his own, but maybe…  Anyway, he strolled out said he was Kurt from Philly and these were his boys around him.

He started with a song from his new(ish) EP, the only song that we hadn’t heard him play before.

Like last time, he switched guitars pretty much every song and the Violators switched instruments from time to time. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Decemberists (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, July 22, 2025)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Melt, Merce Lemon, The Decemberists, Wind Creek Event Center on July 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2025] The Decemberists 

We saw The Decemberists last year and it was pretty exciting that they announced a small summer tour (8 shows!) and one was in Bethlehem.  My last experience here at Wind Creek was abysmal.  We arrived much earlier tonight and the getting into the venue process wasn’t that terrible.

The previous show was fairly elaborate with a large cast on stage.  They opened with just Colin singing and then the rest of the band slowly coming out to make each song louder.

This time was completely different.  Drummer John Moen came out first and started a rousing drum beat.  Then the rest of the band came out and they launched into July, July! a perfectly apt song for the summer, and one that we hadn’t seen before (which is shocking).  Indeed, while not a rarities show per se, this show featured a lot of songs that we hadn’t seen before or, had only seen once.

I wondered if they’d play much from the new album–technically this is still the same tour (Peaceable Kingdom–their merch totes still said 2024).  They played three songs, Burial Ground which is always fun to hear live.  The other two songs were deep cuts from the new album and two that they hadn’t played live before this mini tour.

Rox in the Box is one of my wife’s favorite songs and she’s always a little bummed when they don’t play it.  But this time they did.  Before the show we talked to the people seated next to us (gasp, really? Yes!) and in discussing what songs they’d like to hear, my wife said Rox in the Box (check) and Make You Better (check).  We also discussed the new jamming version of Severed.  This version had Colin telling an off-the-cuff (clearly) story about the brown shirts in charge of this country being subsumed by the rust of steelstacks (or something).

After a second deep cut from As It Ever Was (which I thought sounded familiar but couldn’t place it), they played a superbly deep cut from an early album: The Bus Mall (something they do play from time to time, but which I’d never heard live).  It was followed by another new track for us, Oceanside, a fun song from their earliest EP.

They brought out Ron from Melt to sing The Queen’s Rebuke and she sounded fantastic!  I don’t know where she came from–Melt didn’t open the show and they are playing in Bethlehem in two days, but how did this magic pairing happen?  I have no idea.  I see they didn’t play it the previous night, so maybe Melt was just hanging around.  Because Ron stayed out for the next song and their guitarist came out and played too.  And that next song was a cover of Paranoid by Black Sabbath.  Not something you expect to hear at a Decemberists show.  However, Ozzy died earlier that day so it seemed a nice tribute.  Colin took the drums and John Moen sang.  He did a fairly decent Ozzy impression (getting everyone to clap and going crazeee), but hilariously he didn’t know the words at all.  How is that possible? (more…)

Read Full Post »

Merce Lemon (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, July 22, 2025) [THE DECEMBERISTS]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Melt, Merce Lemon, The Decemberists, Wind Creek Event Center on July 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2025] Merce Lemon 

I didn’t know Merce Lemon before this show.  Normally I look up an opening band, but I just didn’t for this show.

They came out as a five piece (although Merce Lemon is apparently the lead singer and it is her project).  She was joined by Reid Magette who played some utterly fantastic lead lines in the songs.  Pat Coyle on drums was fun to watch because the songs weren’t complicated, but he threw in lots of flourishes here and there to make them really come to life.  Alvin Row was playing lap steel for the whole show.  Sometimes his leads lurred with Reid’s but overall he provided some great ambient sounds.  And Benji on nass occasionally made some great feedbacking noises on these otherwise mellow songs.

Merce described her band in an interview with Post-Trash:.

My drummer Pat Coyle plays under his name. Benji, who plays bass, also plays under Clear Creek SP. Reid, my guitarist, plays under I4A, which stands for Ideas for Advertisements. Spencer, who played keys on the album, plays ambient music under the name Alvin Row. We recently played a show at my friend’s sauna, which has an outdoor space. He was playing ambient lap steel, and it made me cry.

They played six songs, each one at least 5 minutes long.  The songs started out quietly but they usually had really exciting moments and the crowd was easily won over by them.  The last song in particular had a great build up and conclusion.

Merce never mentioned the band’s name (or anything more than I’m Merce) and I don’t know what songs they played, except for a Bonnie “Prince” Billy cover of “I See a Darkness.”

I’m hopeful that someone will post the setlist as I really don’t know what they played.

But yeah, overall a very enjoyable opening act.

Read Full Post »

Pixies / Kurt Vile (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia on July 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 22, 2025] Pixies / Kurt Vile 

When Pixies announced this two night stand at The Fillmore I was really intrigued.  I have seen Pixies four times in the last eight years and wasn’t sure I’d need to go again.  Although I was actually interested in tonight’s show because I feel like they don’t play as much from Trompe Le Monde.

But then this show was on the same night as a Decemberists concert that my wife and I were not willing to pass up.  Glad we got to go to night two.

My wife has become a huge fan of Kurt Vile over recent years.  We have seen him, but I thought she’d really like to see him again.  SO I’m glad we got to go to the second night of these shows.  And it’s fun to see him as an opening act in Philly.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »