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Ex Hex / Slomo Sapiens (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bat Fangs, Ex Hex, Helium, Philadelphia, PA, Slomo Sapiens, The Foundry on September 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 7, 2023] Ex Hex / Slomo Sapiens

Ex Hex is a kind of indie supergroup comprised of Mary Timony (Helium, Wild Flag) and Betsy Wright (from Bat Fangs who I saw and liked).  The third member is drummer Laura Harris.

Ex Hex is the most commercial sounding music Timony’s made and I actually found their first album a little boring.  They were kind of straight ahead punk pop songs that might have been revolutionary in the 90s but felt kind of staid in 2014.

The newer album, the one they are touring (which actually came out in 2019) is a little more complex and more interesting as a result.  I would have been rather interested in going to this show.  Unfortunately, I only found out about it early this afternoon and there was no way I could get to it.  Oh well.

Slomo Sapiens continues the tradition of great band names from Philadelphia.  I didn’t know much about them, but they are described as a psychedelic “sludge rock” trio, which sounds pretty good to me.

I’ve listened to a couple of songs and psychedelic sludge rock is right on the nose.

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Speedy Ortiz (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 5, 2023)

Posted in Hurry, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Speedy Ortiz, Washer on September 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 5, 2023] Speedy Ortiz

I saw Speedy Ortiz back in 2018 at a sold out PhilaMOCA show )I was right in front of Sadie Dupuis).  Their show was great–a fan-favorite selection of songs from throughout their career.

It had been five years since they released a new album and they were celebrating by playing the entire album at our show (the only show they were likely to do so).  [I didn’t know that until she told us].

I had heard a few of the new songs at the Free at Noon show, but this one promised to be so much better.

And so, they played Rabbit Rabbit start to finish.  There were a few moments where she joked about what a pain it was to tune between songs (which is why most bands don’t play the album straight through–they group songs with similar tuning together to minimize drag.

I had listened to the album about three times, so it wasn’t familiar but I recognized many moments.

The band is mostly the same.  Of course, Sadie Dupuis is the main force–her guitar playing is excellent and complex and her voice sounds amazing.  Andy Molholt is still with them playing lead guitar and more.  I especially enjoyed Audrey Zee Whitesides (now a full time member of the band) absolutely screaming backing vocals on a couple of songs.

What was great about seeing the album live like this is that songs that hadn’t quite grabbed me yet on a listen were really powerful live.  Sadie said “Cry Cry Cry” was her favorite song on the record, and after she said that I paid more attention to it and it was great.

Speedy Ortiz doesn’t do encores, so instead they played three older songs to wrap up the night–one from each of the the previous full lengths.

I like Twerp Verse the best so I liked hearing “Buck Me Off”  And “Raising the Skate” is a great song off off Foil Deer.

The final song of the night was “Plough” a great song from their debut–the only bummer about that is that’s what they ended their Free at Noon set with as well.  But that’s a very minor complaint because it’s a killer song.

They have gotten a new drummer since five years ago Joey Doubek has replaced Mike Falcone and unless I am very much mistaken, Doubek hits the drums a whole lot harder.  I feel like he adds a very heavy element to these songs.

Hearing the album like this was really great and I’ve enjoyed it even more after seeing it live.  There are of course other songs I would have loved to hear (made a super long encore?), but I enjoyed this set a lot.  And when I see that in other cities they play maybe 7 or 8 songs (out of 13) off of Rabbit, I feel especially lucky.

 

Johnny Brenda’s 2023 Free at Noon 2023 PhilaMOCA 2018
Kim Cattrall ¥ The Graduates € Buck Me Off ⇓
You S02 ¥ Scabs ¥ Lean In When I Suffer ⇓
Scabs ¥ Ghostwriter ¥ Lucky 88 ⇓
Plus One ¥ Silver Spring ⊗ Raising The Skate €
Cry Cry Cry ¥ Plus One ¥ The Graduates €
Ballad of Y & S ¥ Lucky 88 ⇓ Silver Spring ⊗
Kitty ¥ You S02 ¥ Plough ♠
Who’s Afraid of the Bath ¥ Plough ♠ Alone With Girls ⇓
Ranch vs. Ranch¥ I’m Blessed ⇓
Emergency & Me ¥ Taylor Swift [single]
The Sunday ¥ You Hate The Title ⇓
Brace Thee ¥ Moving In ⇓
Ghostwriter ¥ Villain ⇓
Raising The Skate €            * Swell Content €
Buck Me Off ⇓ * “Silver Spring” was Dvrk Wvrld €
Plough ♠ on setlist

 

¥ Rabbit, Rabbit (2023)
⇓ Twerp Verse (2018)
€ from Foil Deer (2015)
♠ from Major Arcana (2013)
⊗ from Sports EP (2012)
[single] from (2012)

 

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Washer (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 5, 2023) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Hurry, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Speedy Ortiz, Washer on September 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 5, 2023] Washer

I hadn’t heard of Washer before this show.  Turns out they are a duo–another duo who can make a good holy racket with just guitar (or bass) and drums.  Washer is Mike Quigley: guitar, vocals and bass and Kieran McShane: drums.

Quigley setup right in front of me (off to the side of the stage a bit), so I couldn’t really see McShane all that well.  Of course, the lighting was super dark so I couldn’t see him much anyway.

They started with a slow song, “King Insignificant” with Quigley playing guitar quietly and McShane keeping time.  It sounded good, and not at all like it was missing anything.  But then about 90 seconds into the song, McShane went bonkers on the drums and the song ended in a furious punk rock screamfest and they sounded massive.

Washer clearly don’t have time for things like solos.  Some songs barely have time for a chorus.  They played the first four songs of their newest album–two of which are 90 seconds long and two of which are just over two minutes.  And I liked each one better than the next,

They dipped into a couple of other new songs, but  they also played some older ones as well. (more…)

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Hurry (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 5, 2023) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Hurry, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Speedy Ortiz, Teenage Fanclub, Washer on September 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 5, 2023] Hurry

I was supposed to see Hurry open for two previous shows.  A Restorations show that was cancelled because of COIVD and a Nada Surf show that I didn’t go to because it was the same night as something else.

I was positive about them, but a little dismissive as well.  Perhaps it took them to release their newest album Don’t Look Back for them to perfect their blend of perfect Nada Surf/Teenage Fanclub pop songcraft.  Indeed, their album is named after a Teenage Fanclub song.

Originally, the project was a solo venture for Matt Scottoline who played bass in another band.  Scottoline has a knack for simple pop hooks and songs that you can’t help but tap your toes to.  The rest of the band is Rob DeCarolis: Drums; Joe DeCarolis: Bass; Justin Fox: Lead Guitar and , a fifth member who (amusingly) sang occasional backing vocals and banged a tambourine but mostly just seemed to hold a drink in his hand.  Turns out this guy was Ian Farmer of Modern Baseball (and owner of their record label) who sat in for this whole set.

I was sucked into their music right from the get go.  The melodies and harmonies were wonderful.  All of the songs were from this new album (which came out last month).  The only exceptions were “When I’m with You” (which is their biggest hit and was features in two TV shows a few years ago) and “Don’t Look Back” the Teenage Fanclub song that they got their album name from. (more…)

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Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hot Seat, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Strawberry Moon, Wallace Tonight, Wax Jaw on September 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 1, 2023] Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight

I have recently discovered the Philly band Wax Jaw and I am mildly obsessed with them.  I have yet to see them live, but I really want to.  When I saw this show at Ortlieb’s, I thought it might be a great time to see them.

But there were a couple of problems.

The big one is that my son was moving to college the next day.  Yea, there was no way I was not going to be home to help him (and we were up until almost midnight getting everything together).  The second, obviously minor thing is that Wax Jaw was not the headliner.

Strawberry Moon was the headliner.  I hadn’t heard of them, but imagined they would be kind of a psychedelic band.  And nothing could be further from the truth.  Their bandcamp summary says:

rock and roll with big ole vocals and dancey riffs

And that’s pretty spot on.  There’s some great rocking riffs and lead singer Katie Bowles has a powerful voice that never turns into screaming.  The rest of the band is Liam McElroy – guitar ; Gray Stephenson – bass ; TJ Meade – drums.  The poster says “Introducing Christian” which I assume means another member of the band, but who knows.

They are  a classic sounding band who probably put on a killer live show.

Wax Jaw I only know from a show I didn’t see (which had video online afterward).  There’s something wonderfully primal about them–kinda surfy but with a real punk rock feel.  Or as, this review in Before Tomorrow says

With a blend of surf rock, new wave, and popost-punk influences; Wax Jaw can only be described as something akin to the love child of The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and The Dictators all wrapped up into one package of sound that you may have expected to hear leaking from the doors of The Hot Club in the late 1970s. In the seemingly brief time they have been together, Wax Jaw has already garnered an extensive roster of sold out shows across the Philadelphia area and after our experience, it is undeniable that this streak will continue.

The review also goes on to say that it sounds like they stole the show. (more…)

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Dysrhythmia / Stinking Lizaveta / Countdown from Ten (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, August 31, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Countdown from Ten, Dysrhythmia, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Stinking Lizaveta on August 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 31, 2023] Dysrhythmia / Stinking Lizaveta / Countdown from Ten

For reasons I don’t entirely remember, I’ve added Stinking Lizaveta to the list of bands that I’d like to see.

I think what inspired me to check them out is that they are an instrumental band who play complex music.  Indeed, it appears that not a word would be sung this entire evening.

After reading about and then listening to all of these bands, I decided that I would go to this show after all.  So I grabbed a ticket.  And then it turned out that there were so many  things going o this weekend that spending Thursday night jamming to metal math rock just didn’t fit into the plans

Bummer. (more…)

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Bad Cop/Bad Cop / The Homeless Gospel Choir (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, August 29, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, The Homeless Gospel Choir on August 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: August 29, 2023] Bad Cop/Bad Cop / The Homeless Gospel Choir

I didn’t actually find out about this show until it was cancelled. And there’s no word that I can see as to why it was cancelled.

Oh well.

I saw Bad Cop/ Bad Cop open for Anti-Flag and they were great.  I enjoyed their whole intense set.

The Homeless Gospel Choir opened for My Chemical Romance when we saw them.  But we didn’t get to our seats until after their set was over.  They are a folk/punk band from Pittsburgh who I’m still interested in checking out.

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Ghost: Re-Imperatour (Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ, August 25, 2023)

Posted in Amon Amarth, Camden, NJ, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Ghost, Ghost B.C. on August 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 25, 2023] Ghost

My son and I have now seen Ghost 4 times in about 4 years.  Interestingly, these previous three times have all been based around their last album, last year’s Impera.  My son is rather tickled that he has a short from the Pre-Imperatour, the Imperatour and the Re-Imperatour.

It’s fairly ballsy to tour the same album three times in a year and a half. But in this time their fan base seems to have grown quite a lot.

The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion seats around 25,000 people.  I know it didn’t sell out, but I have to assume there were at least 10,000 people there.   Which is pretty awesome, and makes Papa Emeritus IV very happy.

The set is largely the same as it has been for each part of the tour, with the stained glass windows in the back and the tiered risers.  The Nameless Ghouls were out in force.  And it felt like there might be a few more of them than usual.

LIke thre previous two shows, the opening music was classical.  Klara stjärnor (Jan Johansson song) and Miserere Mei, Deus (Gregorio Allegri song) before the strains of “Imperium” wafted from behind the giant curtain at the front of the stage.

The curtain came down and Papa strolled out as “Kaisarion” played.  And like each show before, it was followed immediately by “Rats.”

Even though I have seen this particular opening, I never get tired of it.  The crowd is nuts, the band is on fire, there’s lights and explosions and everyone is singing “RATS!” at the top of their lungs.

I was pleased that the setlist wasn’t exactly the same as the previous tour, as it mixed in with the Pre-Imperatour as well. (more…)

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Alex G / Alvvays [A Make the World Better Benefit] (The Dell Music Center, Philadelphia PA, August 26, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alex G, Alvvays, Dell Music Center, Make the World Better, Philadelphia, PA on August 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 26, 2023] Alex G / Alvvays

Just like last year’s Make the World Better Benefit, everything about this show was geared for me to enjoy.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.  I don;t really like Alex G.  In fact, the last single that got overplayed by him I did not like at all.

But I love Alvvays and would love to see them again.

Plus, this is a benefit show for Make the World Better.

Their motto is “A park should be a place where you see joy every single day. That’s what we’re trying to do.” — Connor Barwin

We believe community-based redevelopment projects have a unique ability to strengthen neighborhoods by creating a sense of ownership over public spaces. We engage residents in all phases of a project, from concept to construction to ongoing programming and upkeep. We design with and for the community—pushing beyond typical play space design: we’ve built community garden plots and a media lab; we have painted murals and all of our projects have included green stormwater infrastructure.

I’ve never been to the Dell Music Center.  It’s an outdoor venue near The Mann Center which probably means parking sucks.  Although I see that it is mostly seated with just a little bit of lawn available.

However, this weekend was already busy enough.  So, we had to give it a miss.  It’s not sold out, but it’s pretty close.  So good for them.

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Lotus Land (Musikfest Cafe, Steel Stacks, Bethlehem, PA, August 25 & 26, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Lotus Land, Rush, Steelstacks on August 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 25 & 26, 2023] Lotus Land 

This is the third or fourth time I could have seen Lotus Land.  And this time they are playing two nights in a row!

Really, I have no interest in seeing tribute bands.  If I can’t get the real thing, then I won’t get it at all.

However, this Rush tribute band intrigues me because in the pictures they both use doubleneck instruments and their ads say they play mostly late 70 and early 80s Rush.  This is a period I’ve never seen live and I think it might be fun.  Plus they are very highly praised in their reviews.

Turns out Friday night we had plans and I’m really trying to not go out on Saturdays as much, so I’ll just have to hope they come back around when I’m not doing much else.

 

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