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Archive for the ‘Cities’ Category

Thursday (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, September 20, 2022) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE] [rescheduled date, rescheduled again]

Posted in My Chemical Romance, Newark, NJ, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey!, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Thursday on September 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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

I bought tickets to this show for myself, my son and his friend on January 31, 2020,  The boys were freshmen at the time.  Now, after two rescheduled shows, the boys are seniors and were still excited about this reunion.  (Even though they were too young to know about them the last time MCR played in NJ).

There were two opening bands, but our parking nightmares (oh Newark) made us miss The Homeless Gospel Choir, a folk/punk band from Pittsburgh who I was interested in checking out.

For our show (a second show was later added with a different opening band) Thursday opened.  Thursday is a band from New Brunswick, NJ.  They are an emo band that predates My Chemical Romance and somehow I had never heard of them.

I’m surprised I’d never heard of them.  Turns out they broke up in 2012.  They got back together in 2016 and toured a bunch then.  They started touring again after COVID.

It was interesting hearing their earlier stuff is far more emo.  “Cross Out the Eyes” had a soaring emo chorus and also some screamed backing vocals. (more…)

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Enter Shikari / Trash Boat / Aviva (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in AViVA, Enter: Shikari, Philadelphia, PA, Trash Boat, Union Transfer on September 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2022] Enter: Shikari / Trash Boat / Aviva [moved from April 1, 2022]

We’re almost entering into an area of bands that I considering seeing based on very little.

Sometimes, when a venue promotes a band pretty heavily it’s easy to get caught up in the hype.  There’s also a lot of bands that have been around for fifteen or twenty years that I completely missed when they had their popular surge.

Enter: Shikari (I think that I just like the colon in their name) has been around since 1999 and originally were kind of a screamo band that was really heavy but had lots of synth and electronic elements too.  It’s the kind of think I want to like but I tend to not, really.

It’s probably the kind of show I would go to where everyone is a diehard fan and I’d enjoy the songs but not know any of the songs.

I also didn’t realize they were British.

The initial tour had them supported by Wargasm, but I guess they couldn’t make the new dates.

Trash Boat is from the same town as Enter: Shikari (St. Albans).  They are a heavy punk band with pop elements (although the vocals are more metal).  I wouldn’t have enjoyed this band as much–although I may have once.

AViVA is an Australian singer (and more–for a hilariously over the top hagiography, check out her fan wiki page).  Although this blurb is interesting:

Aviva Anastasia Payne, also known professonally as AViVA is Australian singer, songwriter, High School Teacher, and writer.

Her songs seem a little too poppy for this show, but she does include some heavier elements.  She’s probably be pretty interesting live.

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Daði Freyr: The Fabulous, Wonderful & Nice Tour (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2022)

Posted in Ásdís, Band-Maid, Blær, Daði Freyr, Daði og Gagnamagnið, Eurovision, Iceland, Króli, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on September 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2022] Daði Freyr

Daði Freyr has been in Eurovision twice and that’s how I know him.  He hasn’t won, but he won the hearts of many.  He was the leader of Daði & Gagnamagnið and was due to represent Iceland in Eurovision in 2020 with the song “Think About Things.”  But the event was cancelled and he was invited to represent them again in 2021 with the song “10 Years.”  They came in fourth place.

He is a goofy guy for sure–he is super tall (6 ft 9.9 in) with quite a deep voice.  In the performances his band was quite humorous dressing in identical sweaters with pixilated images of themselves.  Back then the group was his sister Sigrún Birna Pétursdóttir (backing vocalist), wife Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir (dancer), and friends Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir (backing vocalist), Stefán Hannesson (dancer), and Jóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson (dancer)—known as “Gagnamagnið”. Gagnamagnið, while translated to English as “the Data”, literally means “the amount of data”, and is the Icelandic word for “data plan”.

But for this tour it was a trio–he is on synths, with percussionist Ylva Øyen and guitarist Pétur Karl rounding out the trio.

His videos are exceptional-he really has the visual side of things down perfectly.  I wasn’t sure how he would translate live, but I had to take the opportunity to see him.  He was not only a great, engaging frontman, he was very funny as well.  He told us that he has to stop moving his microphone stand so much, so if he did we should yell Hey!  But not in a mean way.

He started with “Thank You,” a classic synth pop song.  His voice is surprisingly deep and yet very warm at the same time.

He stood between two small synth rigs and sang “thank you for being fabulous, wonderful, and nice.” It was earnest and catchy.  But he immediately started joking with us since the next song was called “Shut Up” (nothing personal, he assured us).  “Shut Up” had a disco feel with the slinky guitars.  The song ended with him pointing to everyone pretty much individually and quickly singing Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up. (more…)

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Meet the Bug (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2022) [DAÐI FREYR]

Posted in Band-Maid, Cavetown, Daði Freyr, Daði og Gagnamagnið, Meet the Bug, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on September 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2022] Meet the Bug

When Daði Freyr announced his U.S. tour, I grabbed a ticket right away.  i wasn’t sure if there would be an opening act.  And it wasn’t until a few days before the show that it was announced that Meet the Bug would open.  Who is Meet the Bug?  We’ll let their bio explain:

Meet the Bug is the solo endeavor of Philadelphia-based bedroom pop polymath Cariahbel Azemar. Her latest EP Beet The Mug is “a vibey meditation on keys and glimmery vocals that tackles heavy childhood trauma from the perspective of an emerging artist realizing the power of her voice.” Azemar uses her songs as a sort of diary, cataloging the highs and lows of coming into adulthood as someone who is both on the spectrum and ADHD.

Born in Port au Prince, Haiti and raised in the Georgia suburbs, Azemar began taking classical piano lessons at the age of four. … While at a performance by one of her primary inspirations, Cavetown, Azemar noticed someone she knew in the opening band – meaning, to her, that maybe she could do this, and so she shall. Thus Meet The Bug was born. Coinciding with the start of the pandemic, Meet The Bug’s early focus was her YouTube channel, where she mostly posts covers and originals. Now an active member of the Philly DIY community, Azemar can be found performing in house venues, bars, and cafe’s about town. Most recently, she played support for Daði Freyr at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia.

Clearly this went up after I saw her.

Her set was delightful.  Lyrically the songs might have been a little dark, but they were more angsty and hopeful.  But she sang with a gentle voice and, best of all, nearly all of her songs were played on a ukulele–a fairly large ukulele (maybe a small guitar? but i think it had four strings).  This gave her songs a kind of sunny vibe. (more…)

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Afghan Whigs / Pink Mountaintops (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Pink Mountaintops, The Afghan Whigs, Underground Arts on September 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 16, 2022] Afghan Whigs / Pink Mountaintops

Back in May, although they had no Philadelphia show planned, Afghan Whigs were going to stop in and do a Free at Noon.

I grabbed a ticket but the show was cancelled because of a COVID case.

I love The Afghan Whigs’ album Gentlemen.  I should love more by them, but I like them just fine (never been in the cult of Dulli).  I’ve never really been interested in seeing them live.

When this show was announced, I was notified because of Pink Mountaintops.

Pink Mountaintops are a band led by Stephem McBean who is the main guy behind Black Mountain.  I saw Black Mountain a while back and they were great.  I’m not sure I would enjoy Pink Mountaintops as much.  So I was never really likely to go to this show.

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xponential music festival (Wiggins Park, Camden, NJ, September 16-22, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Camden, NJ, Marina Stage, Wiggins Park, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, XPN Fest, Xponential Music Festival on September 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 16-22, 2022] Xponential Music Festival

We went to this festival with the family back in 2016.  It was really hot.  The kids were in the in-between age where they didn’t really like the music but were too old to just enjoy being outside.

But we saw some really good bands.

It has felt like since then, the bands haven’t been all that interesting.  Although I do like that it’s in September and not July.

These headliners were not interesting to me at all.  We had seen The War on Drugs and it was a great show, but I didn’t need to see them again.  And the rest just weren’t very interesting to me.

In fact, usually the headliners are kind of irrelevant because the fun is in the side stages.

There were certainly a few performers I would have enjoyed seeing.  But most of them we have seen fairy recently.

The only band I haven’t seen who I’d like to is Catbite and maybe Sarah Shook & The Disarmers.  But neither one was worth going to a festival for.

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The Front Bottoms / The Joy Formidable / Mobley (Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA, September 15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Mobley, Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA, The Front Bottoms, The Joy Formidable on September 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 15, 2022] The Front Bottoms / The Joy Formidable / Mobley

Back in May I got tickets for my son and I to see The Front Bottoms at a hometown show.  But we had both gone out the night before and didn’t feel like a second night of rocking.

This show came the night after a super late night Pearl Jam show.  So we wound up blowing off this one as well.  I’m guessing that we won’t be seeing them after all.

The Joy Formidable are a Welsh band that I’ve wanted to see for a while.  I have a ticket to see them headline in October.  So maybe it’s better that I didn’t see them here–save all of my exposure to their headline show.

Mobley is from Austin, TX and is a “writer/singer/producer of songs.”

Cut It Out magazine says

From keyboards, drums, and guitar, Mobley is a true Austin performer with a kinetic energy that makes him a unique individual. When you get a chance to see his live performances (after the pandemic, of course), you won’t be disappointed. He mixes theatrical lighting, video, and amazing energy.

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Pearl Jam (Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ, September 14, 2022)

Posted in Camden, NJ, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Pluralone, Van Halen, Victoria Williams on September 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 14, 2022] Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam released Gigaton, their first album in seven years back in 2020.  They announced a US tour, but it was remarkably limited in scope.   There was an NYC date, but that sold out really quickly.

It was postponed for COVID and when they announced their 2022 tour, they threw in a stop in Camden as well.  So we actually had a chance to see them (us and 25,000 other people).

Well, getting there was a nightmare!  We got to Camden with no trouble and then it took us an hour to get from the Camden exit to a parking space.

I don’t know if this is a Camden problem or if the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion is to blame (they are at least the third owners since I’ve been going there and it doesn’t get better).

We missed the opening band Pluralone entirely and were actually worried we might miss the opening of the Pearl Jam set.  We didn’t but we only had to wait about 15 minutes.  And of course, we were REALLY far back.

Pluralone is the creation of Josh Klinghoffer who also played guitar and more with Pearl Jam on this tour.  I was really surprised that they had an opening band as recently they haven’t been having one.  I’m glad there was one as we would have missed the band if there hadn’t been.  But it also meant a shorter set (I think).

Pluralone plays some interesting experimental music.  They would have probably been pretty interesting to see, although Klinghoffer did wind up playing with Pearl Jam for the entire set,

C. went with us for this one (his first and hopefully not last Pearl Jam show).  T. was going to come with us, but she bailed.  It’s probably just as well, as we had to walk about a mile to our car and she didn’t really know them all that well.

Without question, I will not be going to another show in Camden again. They simply don’t have the infrastructure for that capacity crowd.

But all was forgiven when the band came out. (more…)

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Richard Thompson / Jonah Tolchin (McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Haddon Heights, NJ, September 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Haddon Heights, NJ, Jonah Tolchin, McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Philadelphia, PA, Richard Thompson, Summer Concert Series on September 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 14, 2022] Richard Thompson / Jonah Tolchin [rescheuled from September 7, 2022]

This show had been postponed by a week.  But it turned out to be the same night as Pearl Jam.  So, sorry Richard, I didn’t show up for your free show.

~~~~

I have seen Richard Thompson more than almost any other musician.  This is largely because for several years in a row he played McCarter Theater in Princeton which felt like a short enough distance for us to go when the kids were littler.

Now that I have seen him so often, I’m trying to making him my most-seen performer (although he won’t ever beat Phish since Phish does many multi-date shows near me).

I was pretty excited to see him for this show, especially since it was free!  I had been to this location for Kathleen Edwards a few weeks earlier (what a great summer line up!).  But as the day moved on, the rain proved to be torrential.  Since Richard lives nearby, he was able to postpone his show for a week.  To a night that I wasn’t free.  Alas.

I had not heard of Jonah Tolchin.  He’s a New Jersey native–his bandcamp says he’s from Princeton.

I listened to a few of his songs on bandcamp, and I rather like them.  He’s got an interesting mix of folk with a kind of punky attitude.  His earlier stuff (when he wa sa long haired hippy) is more folkie, but his latest album (2022’s Lava Lamp) is a bit more stripped down and raw, giving it a rougher edge, maybe like Nathaniel Rateliff.

This would have been a fun double bill (even if Richard would probably only have played his biggest hits).

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Broken Social Scene / Jasmyn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Jasmyn, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Weaves on September 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2022] Broken Social Scene / Jasmyn

I can fall for hype when it comes to concerts.  I’m not going to see someone I don’t actually like or anything like that, but if there’s lots of excitement about a reunion or something, I can get swept up in it.

I really liked Broken Social Scene when they came out.  You Forget It in People was on steady rotation twenty years ago.  But I didn’t really listen to them at all in the last fifteen or so years.

This 20th anniversary tour was much hyped and I grabbed a ticket remembering how much I liked the album.  Although when I went back and listened to the album again I didn’t remember it all that well.

This show was in the middle of a busy week of shows and I felt like I could sacrifice this one to spare me having to go out every night of the week.

Reviews of the show and tour were quite good though and I wonder if I made the right call.   In an otherwise rave review, WXPN points out a few flaws at the show

An eight-member edition of their coterie faced mildly chaotic setbacks throughout their Union Transfer set, from Drew switching up songs on the fly as his voice grew more and more raw over two-plus hours, to a sound tech who kept rushing onstage to fidget with drum mics and synth inputs up to the last song of the main set. Though nothing ever reached the point of full collapse, the threat hovered; at one point there was an inexplicable loud BANG! from offstage and once it was clear nobody was injured, the show moved on.

But this makes me think I should have gone

But the moments that were great, were so great. Opening the show with People‘s opening run of songs was a thrill, from the barreling urgency of “KC Accidental” to the handclap-happy crowd participation of “Stars and Sons,” to Amy Millan of the band Stars rushing onstage in a whirlwind to sing “Almost Crimes,” play flute on “Looks Just Like The Sun” and generally contribute to the festivities for the rest of the night. It was the first show of tour where she was able to link up with the band, and she knocked it out of the park.

I love Amy Millan, and that would have been a cool surprise.

I was going to say I didn’t know who Jasmyn was, but the review says she was the singer in Weaves, a band I loved, and who were amazing live.  Her new sound is a bit more synth poppy, but I’ll bet she’s still dynamite live.

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