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Archive for August, 2026

Eagles of Death Metal / Mountain Head (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Eagles of Death Metal, Mountain Head, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on August 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 14, 2026] Eagles of Death Metal / Mountain Head

I got a kick out of Eagles of Death Metal when they came out.  Death By Sexy is a fun album and I enjoy the tongue in cheek nature of the music.  I thought about going to the show since they are apparently a great live band.

But I Just really don’t like them enough to justify going and I was a little worried about what kind of audience these guys would attract.  I left the night open, in case I decided to grab a last minute ticket.  But then the Circle Jerks announced a show for that night and that was the kibosh on EODM.

Who the hell are Mountain Head?  Well, their bio says

The enigmatic and reclusive Hannah Brothers stumbled upon a mysterious mountain in the heart of the Canadian wilderness, and what they found at the summit changed their lives forever. A shaman performed a ceremony that unlocked new depths of creativity and inspiration in the brothers, leading them to channel the spirits of Johnny Cash, Flavor Flav, and Billy Gibbons. Dressed in black denim and adorned with solid gold grills and long beards, Mountain Head emerged with a sound that blended psych-rock, alt-rock, and elements of electro-pop and jangle pop into a unique and potent sonic concoction.

The description is okay–they’re a little slower than you might expect, but there’s some psych elements, but mostly they play dumb rock like EODM.   A perfect pairing.

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The Lemon Twigs / Brute Force (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, August 13, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Brute Force, The Lemon Twigs on August 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2026] The Lemon Twigs / Brute Force

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 sound has changed over the years and they are very settled in a kind of 60s pop vibe.  They are excellent at it, but it’s not quite what I loved from them.  I finally got to see them open for Car Seat Headrest and they were great.  I definitely wanted to go to this show and up until the last minute I was considering going.  But since I was going out the following two nights and my son was leaving for Europe in a few days, I figured I’d stay home.

I think my wife would really like them, so maybe next time they come around I’ll drag her along.

I can’t believe that I have never heard of Brute Force–look at this bio:

Stephen Friedland (born September 29, 1940), known as Brute Force, is a singer and songwriter who attended Asbury Park High School,. He wrote and performed with The Tokens in the 1960s and wrote songs for Peggy March, Del Shannon, The Chiffons and The Cyrkle, and others.  Brute Force may be best known for a song that barely saw a release. Written by Friedland and produced by The Tokens, “The King of Fuh” is a story about a monarch in the land of Fuh referred repeatedly to as the “Fuh King”. John Lennon admired the record; so did George Harrison, who acquired the track and overdubbed eleven strings of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, arranged by John Barham. It soon became obvious that neither EMI nor Capitol Records would distribute the single, so Apple Records pressed and distributed 1,000 copies (catalog number Apple 08) in 1969. After the initial Apple pressing (and no radio play), Friedland teamed up with Jeff Cheen and issued the tune on his own Brute Force Records label (b/w “Tapeworm Of Love”, which later received airplay on the Dr. Demento radio show).

He played that song and many other funny songs.

Now I rather wish I had gone.

 

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Dogstar / The Backfires (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, August 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dogstar, Philadelphia, PA, The Backfires, Underground Arts on August 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 12, 2026] Dogstar / The Backfires

Three years ago, Dogstar played Underground Arts and I toyed with the idea of going  to this show, probably for the same reason that a lot of other people did.

To see Keanu Reeves!

I can’t decide if I like Keanu ironically or not, but it’s still pretty wild to think that a celebrity of his star power could have been just a few feet from me.

I genuinely had no idea what Dogstar sounded like.   So here’s the blurb from Underground Arts

Here in 2023, Dogstar epitomizes the quintessential Southern California storytelling rock band they’ve always been in their hearts, making deeply resonant music that literally comes from Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees – the name of their new album which arrives October 6, 2023 via their own label Dillon Street Records (distributed through ADA). Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose, drummer Robert Mailhouse, and bassist Keanu Reeves, Dogstar was born in 1991 as a band of friends who came together in a garage in Southern California and simply dreamed of playing music together and making a little noise. Now, all these years later, Domrose, Mailhouse, and Reeves took some time at the tail end of a historic lockdown to create this collection of songs that fully encompasses who they are as artists today. The happily reunited rock trio’s official return came in May 2023 – more than 20 years since their last performance together – with their first public performance at the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival with a set that sparked fan and critical praise alike, including the live debut of their lead single “Everything Turns Around,” which was officially released July 19.

So this isn’t Keanu’s band, per se.  He “only” plays bass.  Domrose sings and plays guitar, although they all get writing credit for the songs.  But wow, it was sold out and no doubt super packed with people looking to meet Keanu.

When they came back to Philly, this time they were playing a much bigger venue.   I don’t think it sold out, but good for them.

And in this video of them record shopping in Philly–their influences are perfect!

Again, I like their music–like 90s indie rock–although I don’t like their singer all that much.

The Backfires are a London/NYC band.  They play solid old-school indie rock.  Their previous album was really good.

I could easily have gotten into both of these bands in the 90s if they had gotten radio airplay.

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AJR / Ryley Tate / David Wimbish and the Collection (Live at Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza, Bethlehem, PA, August 9, 2026)

Posted in AJR, Bethlehem, PA, David Wimbsih and the Collection, Musikfest, Ryle Tate on August 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2026] AJR / Ryley Tate / David Wimbish and the Collection

Three years ago I saw AJR at this very festival.  I vaguely knew them and thought they would be a really fun show (it was).  But it was also massively popular.  The show it self was fun, but not in any way that I imagined.  I was assuming there’d be a huge production–lots of videos or costumes or something goofy.  But it was exactly the opposite.  Extremely minimalist.  Adam was on bass on my right.  Jack was singing in the middle and Ryan was on my left with his keys and samples.  Behind them was a drummer Chris and a trumpeter Arnetta.  And that was it.  The real action was Jack scampering around the stage and dancing and jumping and being generally wild and fun.

But once was enough.  And I realized I hadn’t heard them in quite some time–not on the radio and no word of a new album (they put a new album out in 2023, but I guess not in time for this show?)  So I didn’t even consider getting a ticket.

And now that  I’ve seen who their opening acts were, I’m even more glad. (more…)

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Kevin Devine (Revilla Grooves and Gear, Milltown, NJ, August 8, 2026)

Posted in Kevin Devine, Milltown NJ, Revilla Grooves and Gear on August 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 8, 2026] Kevin Devine

I’ve been a fan of Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band for several years now.  Last December, I went o see him one week after a hip replacement because it was at a brewery fifteen minutes from my house.  Tonight’s show was at a record store in Milltown, NJ.  I had seen Ted Leo there last year and they have a great setup for in-store artists.  And this time, there were seats!

Kevin is a delightful, funny performer.  He jokes with the audience and at his own expense.  He has a great powerful voice, although most of his songs, when solo, are rather soft.

He played an acoustic guitar for the whole set which had several songs from his soon to be released album (next year sometime).

He opened with a song he played last time a new song that may or may not be on the new album.   Then he played one that is definitely on it (they just finished mixing it).  Then, as he said, he’d play some songs from throughout the years and then take Q&A and requests.

It’s not surprising that the set was similar to the solo show at Flounder eight months ago, but he had a few news songs and he took requests which meant a lot of new (to me) stuff.

He basically opened with the same few songs as last time (although we missed the very first few songs, so it was like hearing them for the first time.)

After the newer songs he went really deep for Go Haunt Someone Else (2006) and Yr Damned Ol’ Dad (2005).  After playing a song from Brother’s Blood, he talked about Bad Books and then ran through a quick version of Andy Hull is Garbage.  This is now the second or third time I’ve heard this and it makes me laugh every time.  So Kevin and Andy work together in Bad Books (Andy is in Manchester Orchestra as well) and it’s hard to follow the order, but Kevin says he wrote the “garbage” song but Kevin says that Andy says he wrote it about Kevin first.  So, I gather they each play their own version in their live sets from time to time. (more…)

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The Body / Big | Brave / Carnivorous Bells (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, August 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Big ‡ Brave, Carnivorous Bells, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, The Body on August 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2026] The Body / Big | Brave / Carnivorous Bells

I saw Big | Brave open for SUNN0))).  I can’t believe it has been almost ten years since that show.  Big | Brave left a huge impact on me and I’ve been following them ever since.  I’ve really wanted to see them again and it just never seems to happen.

I had a ticket for this show long before we decided to go on vacation this week.  We actually arrived home on the night of this show, but there was just no way I could make it work.

I didn’t know The Body even though they made an album with Big | Brave back in 2021.  They are a doom/sludge metal band who have expanded into using other genres as well.  From what I can tell, vocally there is a lot of distorted screaming

Carnivorous Bells are from Philly.  They’re noisy and weird and remind me of noisy weird bands from the 90s.  I don’t think I’d enjoy a 90 minute set from them, but a short opening set was probably a lot of fun.

Here’s a video of them from Ortleib’s

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“Weird Al” Yankovic / Puddles Pity Party (Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza, Bethlehem, PA, August 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bethlehem, PA, Puddles Pity Party, Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza on August 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 4, 2026] “Weird Al” Yankovic / Puddles Pity Party

This show was announced at the same time as the one in Holmdel.  I chose NJ because it was closer and I wasn’t sure how chaotic it would be to see Weird Al during Musikfest (which can be pit of control).  We had to blow off the Holmdel one because both of my kids were away.  But this show happened to be right during our vacation week, so we wouldn’t have been able to go anyhow.

Last year, almost to the day, my wife and I saw this “Weird Al”/Puddles show.  My whole family was supposed to go but my daughter wound up working and my son wound up going to a concert in Wisconsin!   So, when this show was announced at the very handy PNC Bank Arts Center, I grabbed four tickets for us to try again.

Well, once again, my daughter was working and this time, my son went to the shore with his friends.  Since we had seen the show last year and I’m sure it didn’t change from last year, we sold the tickets and got on with our day.

I would have liked to see Al for the 11th time and to have my kids enjoy him once more (I somehow doubt he’s going to tour again), but ten times is pretty good.

I would have genuinely liked to see the entire Puddles Pity Party set.  We walked in during his set last time, and I was looking forward to seeing the whole thing.  But oh well, you can’t have everything.

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Tori Amos / Bartees Strange (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Tori Amos, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Bartees Strange on August 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 1, 2026] Tori Amos / Bartees Strange

Back in the 90s, I was a die-hard Tori Amos fan.  Over the years I’ve moved on.  But I did see her four years ag (I can’t believe it has been that long).

I enjoyed that show, but I complained that she hardly played anything I new (yes, she has a like a dozen albums out but still).  And for my show she only played 17 songs.  For this one it was only 15!  After the last show I said “t was like seeing a friend who I had grown apart from.  We had a few things in common, but there were far more differences.”

So I had no intention of going to this show.  Looking at the setlist, she played these songs that I know

A Sorta Fairytale [really like this one]
Bliss [forgot about this one, but it rocks]
Putting the Damage On [she didn’t play anything from this, my favorite Tori album, last time]
Little Earthquakes [of course]
Spring Haze [she played it last time too]
Pretty Good Year [that would have been great to hear]

Fascinatingly, she didn’t play Precious Things.  And she did play Streets of Philadelphia [like last time]–next time, how about Philadelphia Freedom.  So, that’s 6 out of 15.  Not a great ratio.  

Bartees Strange opened up. I saw him 3 times in 3 and a half years and really didn’t need to see him again.  I really liked his earlier stuff, but the newer stuff I got sick of.  I realize I saw him last just over a year ago, so it’s not like the early stuff was super long ago.

 

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Mannequin Pussy / Lip Critic (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, August 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Lip Critic, Mannequin Pussy, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom on August 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 1, 20262] Mannequin Pussy / Lip Critic

I’ve seen Mannequin Pussy six times.  The first time was when they had just released an EP and now they are opening and headlining around the world.  After the last time I Saw them I felt like I didn’t need to see them again.  I mean, I still love their songs, and the shows are cathartic.  I just didn’t feel the need for it anymore.  The last time I saw them was two years ago.  This tour was announced and I thought, meh.  But, I had recently seen Lip Critic and really wanted to see them again.

They opened for Panic Shack recently in Philly but I didn’t get a ticket in time, so I figured this show would be a great chance to see Lip Critic, and of course, Mannequin Pussy would probably be even better after being all over the world (they apparently even have a couple of new songs).

But then we booked a vacation leaving on this day, so, I sold my ticket and went to the Finger Lakes instead.

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