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Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category

Silversun Pickups / Girl Tones (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 23, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Girl Tones, Montclair, NJ, Silversun Pickups, Wellmont Theater on August 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 23, 2025] Silversun Pickups

I saw Silversun PIckups at this venue last year.  Even though they are from the West Coast, they sure seem to play NY/NJ/PA a lot.  Which is great!

I really enjoyed their show last year, and was excited to see them again.  Then we wound up scheduling our vacation and this show was right in the middle of it.  I was able to sell my ticket (at a big loss, but it’s better than nothing).

Setlist tells me they played the exact same set (with a couple fewer songs!) with one cover that was different.  I wouldn’t have minded the same setlist, but it certainly lets me know I didn’t miss anything too major.  But I’d certainly see them again.

Girl Tones is a duo of sisters Kenzie and Laila Shultz.  Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie “transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.”  They “explore every corner of rock ‘n’ roll, flawlessly mastering everything from punk to indie while still maintaining their signature fiery impact.”

The first part of their EP is simple (guitar and drums) delicate pop with the vocals being high and airy.  But the second half of the EP rocks pretty riffing hard and almost sounds like a different band.

I’m curious to see what they’re like live.

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LSD and the Search for God / A Country Western (Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 22, 2025)

Posted in A Country Western, LSD and the Search for God, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club on August 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 22, 2025] LSD and the Search for God / A Country Western

I love the band name LSD and the Search for God.  I like it enough that I considered going to  this show without knowing anything about them.  It turned out to be during our vacation so I obviously didn’t.

LSD and the Search for God has only put out two EPs since 2005 (the second one in 2016).  But evidently they have a cult following (my daughter happened to ask me about them a couple of weeks ago after hearing about them on TikTok).

They play a delightful shoegaze style and I think I would have really enjoyed seeing them in a small place like the Ukie Club.

A Country Western is from Philly.  I hadn’t heard of them, but this review from Post Trash is intriguing:

A Country Western are always trying something new. … Their first work they put out, Phenom is very ambient in nature, with the mix of the few vocals blending into the downtrodden sound. The self-titled EP has a lot more forceful rhythms with beats akin to trip-hop. The EP is often grating in its sound but in an unaggressive abrasive fashion. birdfeeder, the band’s first album, took a more upbeat approach to the slowcore sound, including more succinct song structures similar to their friends in feeble little horse.  On A Country Western’s new album Life on the Lawn they once again tweak their sound into something new and dial up the energy ever so much more. They keep the general vibe reflective of their namesake, but instead of using the stylings of slowcore, they opt for a more straight forward alternative country rock approach.

That’s an interesting review, but I’ve listened to a few songs from their new album and I don’t hear any country in their sound (which is fine with me).

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clipping. (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025)

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] clipping.

I haven’t been to the Ukie Club for two years.  A lot of good bands play there and it’s easy to get to and to park around, but something about the club feels so young (although Ty Segall did play there and he’s not young).  The last time I was there, I wrote:

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

And this time I say, holy crap was it hot in the Ukie Club!  I sweated from the second I walked in and my shirt was soaked so thoroughly that it was still wet when I got home an hour after the show ended.  There were a/c units on, but they did nothing near the stage.

But even sweating constantly couldn’t ruin a fantastic show.

We saw clipping. open for The Flaming Lips back in 2017.  They were supposed to play Philly during COVID and now, finally, after eight years, they have returned.

For the last show I had just learned about them (and liked them) about a month before this show.  And I wrote

Lest this seem like a vanity project for Diggs, producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes [Snipes is a sound designer, film composer, and experimental musician who records glitchy, snarky pop-deconstructionist noise music under the name Captain Ahab; Snipes and Hutson are also in the noise band Unnecessary Surgery] are the forces behind all of the music.  The group began in 2009 as a remix project, with Hutson and Snipes taking a cappellas of mainstream rap artists and making power electronics and noise remixes of them to amuse themselves. Diggs joined in 2010 and began to write his own raps over their compositions.  By the way, if we can trust Wikipedia, Diggs and Hutson met in grade school, and Hutson and Snipes were college roommates.  And for the record, Hamilton premiered in Jan 2015.

Unlike last time, I was right up front for this show.  I could have gotten closer but I was enjoying leaning against the pole that’s about six feet from the stage. (more…)

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Open Mike Eagle (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Open Mike Eagle

I saw Open Mike Eagle headline at Milkboy at the end of 2023–I was really happy to have finally seen him live.  He played a lot of songs from my favorite album of his and I really enjoyed his style and the way he interacted with the crowd.

I actually found out about this show because Open Mike popped up on my concert radar.  I was psyched to see him again.  And when I saw he was opening for clipping, I grabbed a ticket as fast as I could.  I assumed it would sell out and it did but not as quickly as I would have thought.

After OME’s set, Daveed Diggs said he drove all the way from Chicago and basically came out on stage with no prep work.  If that’s true then this set was even more impressive than I originally thought.

OME started with a song from Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, the album that introduced him to me (I am surprised to see he’s put out 5 albums since then!).  He didn’t play Brick Body Complex last time, and I was all there for it.

There was a guy in front of me who knew all the words to everything (except the new songs) and he was thrilled to be up so close to Mike.

He rapped four more songs that he had done last time.  And I was delighted to hear them again. I like I’ll Fight You and I really like Very Much Money.  Microfiche is from a great EP. (more…)

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Goose: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025)

Posted in Free at Noon, Goose, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on August 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Goose

It seems like Goose and Geese both came out last year.  But in fact Goose has been around since 2014 and Geese since 2016–so it’s taken both of them about ten years to get serious attention.

It’s also funny that the bands have such similar names since they are so very different.  We saw Geese open for Vampire Weekend and they were kind of jammy but were decidedly weird.

Goose on the other hand is a pretty conventional jam band.  Four members (guitar (Rick Mitarotonda), bass (Trevor Weeks), keys (Peter Anspach–since 2017), drums (Cotter Ellis-since 2024)

I haven’t been going to very many Free at Noons lately.  It is such a hassle especially for a 30 minute show.  On the other hand it’s an opportunity to see a band (sometimes a really big band) in a small, intimate setting.  Goose, for instance, has sold out Madison Square Garden and is about to play the Mann Center.  I wasn’t even sure if I really wanted to see them, and yet this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Especially since my office was closed for air conditioning work. (more…)

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Fatboi Sharif (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Fatboi Sharif.

I haven’t been to the Ukie Club for two years.  A lot of good bands play there and it’s easy to get to and to park around, but something about the club feels so young (although Ty Segall did play there and he’s not young).  The last time I was there, I wrote:

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

And this time I say, holy crap was it hot in the Ukie Club!  I sweated from the second I walked in and my shirt was soaked so thoroughly that it was still wet when I got home an hour after the show ended.  There were a/c units on, but they did nothing near the stage.

I didn’t realize the show went on at 8:30 and arrived at 7:45, so I was sweating for no reason.

Around 8:30, a guy cot up on stage behind some gear and he started playing loud beats.  He talked about what he was playing and really tried to get the crowd hyped up.  I assumed this was Fatboi Sharif, but it turned out it was DJ Boogaveli, Fatboi’s DJ.

Because a little while later Fatboi Sharif came up on stage.  The music was loud and his delivery was good, but I really couldn’t follow him very clearly.  I listened to a few of his recorded songs and his delivery is much cleaner.

The fascinating thing is that he brought several guests up on stage–and then stayed to the side while the guests did their own songs.

The first guest was EightyNiner Grant who I liked.  And then came GDP who i liked less (although on Fatboi’s album, I like his delivery quite a lot).

The set was pretty enjoyable.  I would probably have liked it more if I knew his stuff already, but I am intrigued to be sure.  (He is from Rahway, NJ).

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Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Bad Religion, Dropkick Murphys, The Mainliners, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2025] Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners

Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band from Massachusetts.  I feel like it’s possible I saw the singer in a pub in Boston when I lived there, but possibly not.  I have their debut album, but hadn’t really listened t them in a couple decades.  Btu they are the most vocally outspoken band against the current fascism that going on in our country and or that I respect the hell out of them.

I also know that Celtic punk is fun as hell.  And while I may not listen to their records, I am certain a show with them would be an incredibly fun time (although at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, I imagine the loud and very drunk fan base would be pretty intolerable.

I’ve been a fan of Bad Religion since, oh who knows, a long time.  Although I haven’t really listened to them that much in the last few years.  I’ve also never really thought about seeing them live.  Interestingly, S. saw them live at City Gardens a few decades ago (clearly she is cooler than I).  I guess I don’t care enough about them to make the effort.

The Mainliners are young guys playing old-school style punk band, “taking inspiration from such legendary SoCal bands as TSOL, Descendants, and DI, and drawing comparisons to others in the vanguard, from The Circle Jerks to The Adolescents.”  Their recordings even sound like they are from the 70 and 80s.  They definitely would have gotten the crowd going.

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My Chemical Romance (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025)

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, East Rutherford, NJ, MetLife Stadium, My Chemical Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Thursday on August 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2025] My Chemical Romance

My son, his friend and I saw My Chemical Romance in 2022 for their reunion tour.  It was super fun and it was especially fun that we were in the band’s home state.

The Black Parade has always been my favorite MCR record, so when they announced this tour of The Black Parade, I was psyched and so was the rest of my family.  So I bought five tickets.  Sadly, I had to buy five individual seats–all in the same section, but each one a row behind the other.  But that didn’t matter once the show started.

They opened with a tape of 76 Trombones which was fun and weird and then a drummer came out playing a martial beat while the anthem from Draag was played.  Now I hadn’t read any reviews of the show at all, so I had no idea that they were going to play the album in this way.  And I was absolutely blown away by the creative genius of the MCR team.  They took a concept album/rock opera which already had a story and superimposed an entirely new story with videos and other performers on stage.

It was amazing.  And there’s no way I can do it justice.

I can’t possibly explain the new story.  Summarized: The country of Draag is run by a dictator.  There were videos of Draag as well as warnings and alerts in Draagian and English (Do not throw hair).  The dictator was introduced and on the big screens around the stadium, we could see the dictators hands as he gently clapped or ate noodles.

The band were dressed in their Black Parade outfits and then launched into the album.  When we saw them play in 2022, they played three songs from the album, so it was wonderful to hear the entire thing.  And they had backing singers and strings added to the show. It was really a huge sound.  Ray Toro on guitar was shredding like a maniac and the smile on his face was contagious. (more…)

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Death Cab for Cutie (Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE]

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, East Rutherford, NJ, MetLife Stadium, My Chemical Romance, Set in New Jersey!, Thursday on August 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2025] Death Cab for Cutie

When these MCR shows were announced, we had the choice of going to MetLife (which I haven’t been to in decades, before this new stadium in fact) or Wells Fargo in Philly, which I have grown to like a little more in the last year.

But then there was the choice of opening acts–Death Cab for Cutie in NJ or …Alice Cooper [?!] in Philly.  That made the decision so much easier, because there’s no way I would pass up DCFC for Alice Cooper [althouh having seen a recent setlist by Alice, his set is probably fun).

DCFC seems like an odd choice as an opening band.  They’re not bigger than MCR I wouldn’t think, but they sell out their own huge shows pretty easily.  It turns out though that DCFC are on tour and were playing four nights in Brooklyn right around this show.  So, heck, why not play this massive show?  And the crowd seemed really really into them.

My wife and I have seen Death Cab for Cutie four times now.  Their shows are always good–great music, great frontman, and a lot of fun.  This show proved to be something of a greatest hits set, at least greatest for me.  (more…)

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Thursday (Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, August 9, 2025) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE]

Posted in My Chemical Romance, Newark, NJ, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey!, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Thursday on August 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2022] Thursday [rescheduled from September 22, 2020 and September 21, 2021]

This was my first show at this stadium since I saw The Cure back in 1989 (my only time there aside from some football games) when it was a different building called Giants Stadium (since demolished).

Online recommendations said to park at Redd’s a restaurant nearby in Carlstadt that offered parking and shuttle service for a reasonable price.  So we did that.  Despite leaving plenty early (I assumed), the traffic and the shuttle (which was great) plopped us down with a little time to spare.  By the time we got to our floor, Thursday had already started.

The super nice folks at the arena encouraged me to get handicapped seating (once they saw the cane) and while it took a few minutes to coordinate, it turned out to be a great option–folding chairs on a open platform instead of squeezing into seats a few rows back.

But by the time we got settled, Thursday was about half way through the set.

Thursday had opened for MCR back in 2022 when we saw them.  It was the first time I’d heard of them.  Since that show I saw singer Geoff Rickly solo at Underground Arts and grew more appreciative of Thursday.  So I was a little bummed to be unfocused during their set.

Rickly was a great frontman–singing his heart out and being wonderfully vulnerable (his solo set showed off just how much he’s been through).  His best joke of the night was saying that they got to play MetLife stadium before MCR did!  The bands go way back together and last time Gerard Way sang a song with them (not this time though). (more…)

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