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Archive for the ‘Ardmore, PA’ Category

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 2, 2026] Madison Cunningham / Annika Bennett 

I saw Madison Cunningham and Juana Molina play together at Ardmore two years ago and I was blown away by her unique style and cool guitar playing.  She was far more of a delightful weirdo than I imagined. And I really looked forward to seeing her again.  When she announced this show at Ardmore I was torn because I really wanted to see Dirty Three.  And of course, given the rarity of a Dirty Three show, I was going to see them.

And then I found out that her new album Ace, was if not entirely, then at least mostly, performed on the piano.  And that’s cool and all, but I wanted to see her on guitar.  And yes, it’s very cool that she mixes things up, but since I never got to see her do Hospital the normal way, I would have been slightly disappointed in the new arrangement (even though the video below shows that it’s really cool).  I guess the point is that Madison Cunningham is going to put o a cool show no matter what she does.  So next time she comes around, it’s worth going.

Annika Bennett is a New York/Nashville singer. Her bio is interesting and I guess she’s been playing music for a long time in divergent styles.  Sadly, she has settled on a style that fueses pop concision, country clarity and indie introspection.  So a folksinger, basically.

 

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[DID NOT ATTEND: April 1, 2026] Joseph / The Man, The Myth, The Meatslab

My wife and I saw Joseph back in 2018.  She didn’t really know them but I was fond of their tight harmonies.  They were great and they played everything I wanted to hear.  I didn’t feel like I needed to see them again.  A few years ago one of the sisters, Allie, left the band and they are now a duo (with backing musicians).  That was one more reason I didn’t need to see them.  I’m sure they’re still really good, but it’s not the band I liked and the memory of that show is enough for me.

The Man, The Myth, The Meatslab is a new project from Jamie Clarke (I don’t know what his old project was).  He gets credit for a bizarre name, but boy I did not care for his lo-fi downer folk.  He reminded me of Hayden but less compelling.

Not sad about missing this one.

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[DID NOT ATTEND: February 18, 2026] Geordie Greep

Geordie Greep was one of the vocalists in Black Midi (who are no more and I’m really glad I got to see them when they came to the States).  He’s a fascinating dude with a fascinating voice.  When I saw that he was doing a solo tour, last year, I was really intrigued, but the shows sold out before I found out about them.

When this show at Ardmore was announced, I assumed it would also sell out in a second, so I quickly grabbed a ticket.  And as the show got closer, I realized that it was part of 1 of 5 shows I had in 5 days.  And it was also the night my son was going back to school.  So, I sacrificed this show for the greater good.

On the bright side, he is going to be playing Asbury Lanes in May, so I’ll get to see him there instead.

 

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[POSTPONED: March 8, 2026] An evening with The Joy Formidable [moved to May 13, 2026]

I saw The Joy Formidable a couple of years ago and I loved their show.  It was amazing and I kicked myself for not having seen them sooner.  I knew I’d want to see them again.

Then there was some turmoil in the band.  Their drummer (Matt Thomas) left (amicably) and both Ritzy Bryan and Rhydian Dafydd made solo albums.  When this show was announced it was listed as an evening with The Joy Formidable, but also that ther would be solo work from both Ritzy (as her new alter ego Shy Western and by Rhydian.

Then they announced that they had to postpone their East Coast shows due to the expenses of touring.

They still performed their West Coast shows and one of the setlists shows that the first part of the show was Ritzy and Rhydian doing an acoustic duo show and the second half having their new drummer play with them.

When I found out that this show was an acoustic night I was somewhat less interested because I loved their loud and wild stage presence.  I didn’t mind that the show was postponed because it had been a busy week for me.  The new date is right in the middle of a bunch of other shows I was interested in going to. But after listening to one of the Shy Western songs, I really do like it and am interested in seeing them stripped down like this.

As long as they come back again and melt my face off.

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[DID NOT ATTEND: February 18, 2026] Say She She / Katzù Oso

Say She She is an interesting group. They have some really cool songs (Astral Plane) but their latest stuff is much more discoey.  And while there’s nothing wrong with that, the vibe is very different–from trippy and chill to upbeat and dancey.  I don’t know enough about them to know if they simply play all different styles or what.  I’m also not really sure what their show might be like.  I considered getting tickets to this show as a surprise for my wife, but I dithered and then The Rural Alberta Advantage announced a show for the same night.  And I knew I wanted to see them again, so I didn’t get a ticket–but Say She She did sell out.

Katzù Oso is a Chicano artist born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles. His melodic vocals and contemporary sounds are influenced by his multicultural upbringing in East LA and Boyle Heights.  Hi music is synthy and dancey and seems to set the mood for a fun dancey night.

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[DID NOT ATTEND: October 3 & 4, 2025] An Evening with The Mountain Goats

I have been trying to see The Mountain Goats for years.   Something always comes up–usually other shows.  But I was lucky enough to catch them this summer touring with Guster.  And earlier today I got to see them do a Free at Noon.  These were great and I would have loved to cap it off with a full evening of them, but I had tickets to see Deltron 3030 tonight and Born Ruffians tomorrow.

Maybe one day I’ll get to see them do an evening of their songs.

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[DID NOT ATTEND: September 10, 2025] Superchunk / Tee Vee Repairmann

I’ve been a fan of Superchunk forever, but I only got to see them a few years ago for the first time.  I saw them once more and kind of thought I didn’t need to see them again.  However, when they announced this show at Ardmore Music Hall, I thought it would be a great place to see them.  So I grabbed a ticket and was really looking forward to the show.

When I found out that my favorite artist made a poster for the tour (see right), I was even more excited to go.

I had been to two shows already this week (Pulp being basically spontaneous), so it was strongly suggested that I should stay home Wednesday night.  I had already given up on going to see Supergrass on Thursday, so I thought I might be able to sneak in this show, but I stayed home instead and had a delightful evening.

Tee Vee Repairmann is Sydney, Australia’s Ishka Edmeades.  There must be something n the air in Australia, because Edmeades is almost as prolific as King Gizzard.  He is (or is in) all of these bands (I haven’t heard of any of them): Satanic Togas, Set-Top Box, Research Reactor Corp, Gee Tee, Remote Control, Mainframe, 3D & The Holograms.

As Tee Vee Repairmann he writes short (like 2 minute) songs that are pop/garage punk.  Fun and simple, they’d be a perfect match for Superchunk.  (Live, he has a full band, who I assume played with him for these shows.

 

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[ATTENDED: October 22, 2024] Waxahatchee

My wife and I saw Waxahatchee open for Courtney Barnett six years ago.  I hadn’t remembered that I had seen her a few months earlier with her full band.

I’ve considered seeing her again since then, but I didn’t go back in 2022.  I was looking forward to seeing her a few months ago at the Fillmore, but the show turned out to be between two Pearl Jam shows and we couldn’t possibly do it all.

This show proved to be exactly the same as the two Fillmore shows just without the backdrops and stage props.

I was looking forward to this show because I thought I knew so much of her new album (and she played the whole thing).  I was surprised by how few songs I knew during this show.  In part because she didn’t really play any deep cuts (okay one or two, but none of her hits).

But I was delighted to hear “Can’t Do Much” (the only song of the night that I had seen her play before) and “Problem With It” which I forgot wasn’t actually a Waxahatchee song (it’s a song by Plains, which is Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson.

After playing a couple of songs from the previous album Saint Cloud, she told us about the new album and how she’d be playing the whole thing tonight.  This group of songs started with the wonderful “Right Back to It” and the even better “Bored.” (more…)

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[ATTENDED: October 22, 2024] @

Every since going to Philly Music Fest a few years ago, I’ve been keeping track about it each year to see who is in it the next year.  This year was pretty unexciting for me until they announced a late entry of Waxahatchee as a headliner.  Since we had missed both of their shows at the Fillmore, I decided to grab us a ticket.

Opening was @ a pretty much unfindable band online.

They have a bandcamp site in which they have two releases.  They are kind of interesting and experimental, with lots of sounds layered on to straightforward lyrics.

But live, they were the least dynamic duo I’ve ever seen. (more…)

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[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2024] Neko Case / Lucy Wainwright Roche

I know of Neko Case through New Pornographers.  I like a lot of her solo material.  I’ve wanted to see her live for a while.  But when this show was announced I couldn’t believe how expensive the tickets were.

I guess since I missed her show two years ago, this would have been the one to go to, as according to the review at WXPN:

Setlist-wise, the show was nearly identical to their last Union Transfer appearance, two years back, just a few months following the release of a career-retrospective compilation spanning Case’s six studio albums across almost twenty years of solo recordings – with both tour setlists as well as the compilation notably excluding the singer’s 1997 debut record.

That does make me glad I didn’t go to both shows, though.

Opening the night was “folk bonafide” Lucy Wainwright Roche.  She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, so she has music coming out of every pore.  her music is gentle folk and according to that same WXPN review, her set was “equal parts VH1-storytellers and legitimately humorous stand-up comedy.”

 

 

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