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Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category

Daffo (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, April 18, 2024) [SIR CHLOE]

Posted in Daffo, Philadelphia, PA, Sir Chloe, The Foundry on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 18, 2024] Sir Chloe / Daffo

Daffo is a Philadelphia-ish musician (they are from the area but have also lived in NJ and other places, but they said this was a homecoming show).

Daffo’s voice is interesting for someone from the east coast as they have a bit of a twang–although not on every song.  But there’s some good bite in the lyrics: “I’m a shame collector, I’m a hoarder.”

They played two unreleased songs and then a few from the new(ish) EP Pest.

The songs are mostly mellow, at least a lot of them have slow introductions or first verses and then the band kicked in.  But I liked the way that “Collector” started slow, got a little bigger and then got huge for the chorus before settling down again.

“Runner’s High” rocked a bit harder to start with and then got quieter.

I really enjoyed the new song “Go Fetch” which seemed simple but had a lot going on it.

The lyrics to “Seed” were quite good too. (more…)

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VIAL / Sunday Cruise (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Silk City, Sunday Cruise, VIAL on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 2o, 2024] VIAL / Sunday Cruise

I received a free ticket to this show through the Do215 free ticket promotion.  But I was planning to go see METZ, so I didn’t think I’d be going to this, even though I like Vial a lot.

VIAL is a Minneapolis-based indie punk trio of best friends: Drummer Katie Fischer (she/they), bassist Taylor Kraemer (she/they), and guitarist KT Branscom (they/them). The trio joined forces via Tinder in mid-2019 and has been blazing a path for themselves since, curating a unique multi-genre amalgamation. Indie rock meets punk influence in soaring melodic hooks ready to sink teeth into all listeners alike, from lifelong punk rockers to budding indie darlings.

I heard about them when they signed to Get Better Records (who release great music) and I would have happily seen them.

They remind me a little of THICK, but with a bit more metal edge.  But the same spirit of feminist independence is strong with them.

Sunday Cruise has a great website with the following band info:

Zoe – 19 Pronouns: She/They Instrument: Guitar and vocals Started Sunday Cruise at 15yrs old in 2017.
Levi – 17 Pronouns: He/Him Instrument: Drums Joined the band as a fill in drummer in 2018 and has been with them since.
Cam – 19 Pronouns: He/They Instrument: Lead Guitar In 2019, Cam received a text from Levi asking if he wanted to join a band.
Cassidy – 19 Pronouns: She/Her Instrument: Bass Joined in 2019 after meeting Zoe at a show.

They play punk songs that are not quite as heavy, but are still abrasive.  Their age brings in a lot of great angsty lyrics too.  This would have been a terrific show and I love seeing all of these women rocking out.

 

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Cave In (acoustic) (Alkemy Coffee Co., Flemington, NJ, April 20, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alkemy Coffee Co., Cave In, Flemington, NJ, Suicidal Tendencies, The Dillinger Escape Plan on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2024] Cave In

I wasn’t aware that there was a coffee shop in Flemington, NJ.  But it doesn’t surprise me.  My wife sent me a link to an article about the new coffee shop that was being opened.  Well, it turns out that I’ve seen the new owner live.

Benjamin Weinman, founder, guitarist and songwriter of metalcore band Dillinger Escape Plan (who also plays with thrash band Suicidal Tendencies), and his fiancée Valentina Killough are opening Alkemy Coffee Co. at the former home of Factory Fuel Co. in Stangl Factory.

Amazing! (more…)

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AF2K (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 18, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Frank Turner, Garwood, NJ on April 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2023] AF2K

I recently met a guy through one of my daughter’s clubs.  He is a huge Rush fan, which is very cool.  He told me about this cover band AF2K (A Farewell to Kings) that was playing in Garwood.

I’ve said before that I don’t always care about cover bands all that much.  But it would have been fun to see this band with a new friend.

Musically they sound great.  I’m not 100% about the guy’s voice, but overall, they seem like quite the solid show.  They play primarily 70s/80s Rush songs, and that’s my favorite era.

As it turned out, I already had tickets to a show that night so I had to bail on this one.  But it sounds like they play around quite a lot.

 

 

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Girl in Red / Momma (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA, April 18, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Girl in Red, Momma, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on April 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 18, 2024] Girl in Red / Momma

I had bought a ticket for my daughter and I to see Sir Chloe on this evening.  But when Girl in Red announced her show, I immediately grabbed a pair just in case this was preferred.  I figured they would both be easy to re-sell.

And then Girl in Red announced a second show on the night before this one, so I grabbed those tickets and planned to sell the tickets for this show.

It was kind of fun for her to go to two shows in a row.  Although she enjoyed the Girl in Red show a lot more than the Sir Chloe show.

I assume the show was similar to the show we saw , but I think out show may have been a bit more fun (what with the wedding and all).

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Girl in Red (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA, April 17, 2024)

Posted in Girl in Red, Momma, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on April 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 17, 2024] Girl in Red / Momma

My daughter and I saw Girl in Red twice in 2022.  Her live show is a ton of fun and I was really impressed with how much she changed it over the few months between our shows.  Her new album is all about how she’s “back.”  This puzzled me a bit as she hadn’t been “gone” for very long.  But if you’re online all the time, two years is an eternity.

As soon as this show was announced I bought us tickets.  This venue was much bigger then the one we saw her in and her stage show expanded to fit it.

There was a giant video screen with cool visuals, there were steps and interestingly designed elements.  There was a gigantic swivel light which actually became a projection screen for a song.  And during one of the songs a part of the stage rose up and she was thirty feet above the stage.

She opened the set with the rocking title track.  She was a ton of fun as she ran back and forth across the stage.  Amazingly she was wearing a button shirt, sweater and suit jacket, and I was hot in shorts.   But her energy was infectious and the crowd was super psyched. (more…)

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Mike / 454 / Niontay / El Cousteau (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in 454, El Cousteau , Mike, Niontay, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 17, 2024] Mike / 454 / Niontay / El Cousteau 

This one is embarrassing for me because I bought a ticket for this show thinking that Mike was somebody else.

I’ve wanted to try to see a few more rappers live–I really enjoyed Open Mike Eagle there’s a few alt-rappers who I like.  One of them is DAVE, from England.  Dave sold out TLA pretty quickly when he came two years ago.  So when it was announced that MIKE was playing, I bought a ticket thinking that a) the show would sell out and b) that MIKE was DAVE.

I had never heard of Mike and didn’t know there was another rapper with an insanely common first name as his rap name.  Obviously I should have confirmed that I wanted to see Dave not Mike, but I was caught up in the excitement.

Mike’s sound is pretty good although he’s a but of a mumbler.  I still figured that I’d go until Girl in Red announced a show for the same night and there was no way I was missing Girl in Red with my daughter. (more…)

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Momma (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA, April 17, 2024) [GIRL IN RED]

Posted in Girl in Red, Momma, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on April 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 17, 2024] Momma

As soon as Girl in Red announced these shows I grabbed a ticket for my daughter and I.

I was super excited that Momma was the opening band because their song “Speeding 72” is one of my favorite songs of the last couple of years.   I’ve heard it on the radio enough that I checked out their debut album and I love the whole thing.  They’ve got a 90’s alt rock (Veruca Salt) vibe that I’m thrilled to hear again.

I would normally have snuck closer to the stage, but my daughter’s not a close-up fan, so we hung at the back of the pit (which in The Met is not far at all).

I enjoyed Momma’s whole (but rather short) set.  They played four songs from Household Name, including Medicine, the show opener and Speeding 72.

They played two new songs which sounded like they are mixing their sound up a little going forward.   And they played a single from last year, which also sounded really familiar.

Center stage with newly died red hair was Allegra Weingarten, and off to her right was Etta Friedman.  They sang together perfectly in that close harmony, almost whispered vocals that are a little hard to hear (especially in a bigger venue).  But they sounded great.

The band is always described as just the two of them, but thee were two other people on stage too, a drummer and a bassist.  Toward the end of the set, Etta switched instruments with the bassist.

I was pleased that the crowd reacted positively to them (being an opening act can suck) and I’m glad I got to see them before they totally take off.

  1. Medicine
  2. Bang Bang §
  3. Lucky
  4. Ohio 2 [new]
  5. Rodeo [new]
  6. Motorbike
  7. Speeding 72

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Juana Molina / Madison Cunnigham (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Juana Molina, Madison Cunningham, White Eagle Hall on April 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 17, 2024] Juana Molina / Madison Cunningham

I am pretty lucky where I live to have so many concert venue choices.  This tour with Madison Cunningham and Juana Molina was appearing at two places roughly an hour from me (yes, I wish all the venues were a little closer).

I used to love White Eagle Hall but I have found it to be less than ideal lately, for a number of reasons.  I still think the venue is great, but if I can go elsewhere, I will.  So, even though Ardmore Music Hall is kind of a pain to get tom it feels like a better venue for this show.

I have wanted to see Juana Molina for a few years (I was supposed to see her in 2020 but her show was cancelled due to COVID).  I’d rather have seen her as a headliner, but this collaborative night sounded like a lot of fun.

I really like Madison Cunningham’s song “Hospital” (which I don’t think she’s actually playing on this tour).  I enjoy the rest of her music too, so it should be a fun night. (more…)

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Swans (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2024)

Posted in Kristof Hanh, Philadelphia, PA, Swans, Union Transfer on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2024] Swans

I have been a fan of Swans since 1988.  I have a lot of their records on vinyl.  I have more on CD.  I went through a deep dive of Swans fandom  after college and then pretty much drifted away from them.

I’d been kind of intimidated away from seeing them live for years–I heard their shows were punishingly loud and that Michael Gira could be a rather contrary front man.

But my pal Phil Puleo has been playing drums with them for years and I thought it was time to see him and them.  (I had tickets to see them in 2021, but COVID).

So here they were back again.

The biggest surprise to me was that they were not as loud as I suspected.  That may not have been everyone’s experience, but I really expected to be knocked back by the sound and yes, it was loud–without earplugs I ‘d have been crying–but not THAT loud.

Early Swans albums were full of slow, loud, pummeling songs.  The songs are still slow and are still loud, but there’s a lot more subtlety (relatively) in them.

I also had some idea of what this show was like–all new songs–but I genuinely didn’t expect the first song, “The Beggar” to run over an hour!

It began very quietly with leader Michael Gira strumming one chord on an acoustic guitar.  For about five minutes.  He made some vocal sounds which I don’t think were words and then, ever so slowly, the rest of the band joined in.

Kristof Hahn on lap steel was right in front of me and it was fun watching him as he added all kinds of ambient sounds–from quiet to outrageous.

Behind him was Dana Schechter who played a lap steel (possibly modified, I couldn’t see it by she seemed to make different sounds) and occasional bass guitar.  For most of the set I could see her pretty clearly (although not her lap steel), but toward the end a tall person blocked her from me. (more…)

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