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Dead Can Dance / Agnes Obel (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2021) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again, then CANCELLED]

Posted in Agnes Obel, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Dead Can Dance, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Met Philadelphia on October 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 12, 2021] Dead Can Dance / Agnes Obel [rescheduled from April 17, 2020 and April 23, 2021]

On September 30, I received notice that show would be postponed once again.  Dead Can Dance cited reasonable concerns about COVID and travelling around the world.

Then on October 11, I received notice that the show was cancelled entirely.

There’s no word from the band on this except t o say that they are trying o reschedule shows for Fall of 2023.  Presumably the venue just didn’t want to wait that long.

So, while I was looking forward to this show, I can wait until 2023.

As April came closer and closer I was sure that Dead Can Dance was going to cancel this tour for good–so many other bands have done so.  But I’m happy they didn’t–even if I don’t have fantastic seats for this show.  This just feels like one of those shows that I’m going to be really happy to experience and I can wait a few more months.

I really enjoyed Dead Can Dance’s mix of cultural touchstones on their earlier albums. I have a bunch of their releases up until they broke up.

Somehow I missed their reunion entirely.  I also missed their subsequent reunion and new albums.

They haven’t played in this area for 8 years and I was pretty pleased to finally experience them live.  I bought a ticket for this show and then a few days later it was announced that they would be playing the State Theatre in New Brunswick.  Since that venue is about three times closer to me, I snatched up a great seat for that show and figured I could sell the Philly ticket.

Then a couple months ago the Theatre announced that the New Brunswick show was unexpectedly cancelled. No reason was given.  I don’t think it was sales as it looked like they sold well.  So that sucked, but I was glad I still had this ticket.

Agnes Obel is a Danish born singer who plays quirky atmospheric chamber pop.  I have heard great things about her for many years but never really investigated her music.  I was looking forward to learning about her in this setting.

She was actually scheduled to open for The The on their 2018 tour.  However, the three New York area shows had different openers, so I didn’t get to see her then.

I hope they all come back around together.

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The Menzingers (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 9, 2021) Philly Music Fest Night 4

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Marco Benevento, Philly Music Fest, Weezer on October 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 9, 2021] The Menzingers

I saw The Menzingers open for Weezer back in 2016 and really enjoyed them.  I’d been wanting to see them again mostly because I was really far from the band when I saw them and couldn’t really get into it the way I might have liked.

So when they were listed as headlining two nights of Philly Music Fest I knew I had to see them.  Especially in a small place like Ardmore Music Hall.

I have only been to Ardmore a couple of times.  My favorite show there was Marco Benevento where the sound was outstanding.  Even right up against the stage.  Well, for this show I was right up against the stage (although as more and more people crowded into the place, I moved away from the band’s more devoted (and a little crazy) fans.  But apparently I never got far back enough because literally all I could hear the whole show was Tom May’s guitar.  And May tends to play lead licks and solos, so I never really got the backing chords of Greg Barnett unless May wasn’t playing anything (which happened from time to time).

Obviously it was more fun being able to see bassist Eric Keen and drummer Joe Godino (who I couldn’t see at all last time), but it was weird having the sound so disjointed.  Throughout the set I tries moving further and further away from the stage, but I was never able to get further to the middle. (more…)

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Control Top (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 9, 2021) Philly Music Fest Night 4 [THE MENZINGERS]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Control Top, The Menzingers on October 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 9, 2021] Control Top

I saw Control Top open for Ted Leo a couple of years ago and they were amazing.

I have been wanting to see them again live.  They’ve had a few shows cancelled and there was no real plan for them to play again in 2021, but then they were asked to play Philly Music Fest and I grabbed tickets right away.

Control Top is a trio of bassist/singer Ali Carter, guitarist Al Creedon and drummer Alex Lichtenauer.  They play a mix of raging screaming songs and somewhat more mellow raging songs.

Carter’s hair was dyed silver and looked pretty great.  She played a perfect combination of looking very nice and then raging really intensely.  It was great being up close and watching her expression change as she went from verse to angry chorus. (more…)

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highnoon (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 9, 2021) Philly Music Fest Night 4 [THE MENZINGERS]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Control Top, highnoon, Philly Music Fest, The Menzingers on October 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 9, 2021] highnoon

Philly Music Fest started in 2017.  I went to a show in 2019–a great line up!  Last year was online only, but this year it was back.  The lineup was different and wonderful.  And, thankfully, the two bands I wanted to see most were on the same bill.

I hadn’t heard of highnoon.  Artist Kennedy Freeman launched Highnoon in 2019.   Now Highnoon is led by Kennedy Freeman with longtime collaborator, Justin Roth on drums, Brendan Simpson on guitar, and Nathan Avila on bass.

I listened to their music and found it pretty and quiet.   Their new EP, Divers is their first body of work since their debut record, Semi Sweet.

I wasn’t expecting a pretty rocking set from this seemingly quiet foursome.  Actually, singer Freeman maintained a pretty quiet level throughout, but she was counterbalanced by some pretty wild guitar shredding from Simpson.  I took some really cool videos of Simpson’s playing, but at this time, Instagram decided that it would no longer allow me to move my video up or down to get the main part of the video into focus. (more…)

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John Mulaney: From Scratch (Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA October 6, 2021)

Posted in Joe Biden, John Mulaney, Philadelphia, PA, Political Humor, Seaton Smith, The Academy of Music on October 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 6, 2021] John Mulaney

We don’t see comedians very often.  We do like to go to some of our favorites, but we’re unlikely to go to an unknown at a club or anything.

John Mulaney, on the other hand, is hilarious and has made S. and I laugh and quote and requote some of our favorites lines of his.  Recently our son made some kind of reference to one of Mulaney’s jokes and so I thought maybe we should go see him.  After all, he was doing an outrageously long run of shows at the Academy of Music in Philly–14 shows in 12 days!

Recently, Mulaney had made headlines for doing all kinds of questionable things.  He and his wife got divorced, he wound up going to rehab and then started dating someone else with whom he is now expecting a child.  Normally that kind of stuff doesn’t really interest me, but it proved to be a huge part of this routine (especially the rehab, which he entered in December 2020 and exited I guess in February).

We entered the venue which was a “no phones” place.  This was fine, except that our tickets were on the phone.  So I had to lock my phone in a bag.  I was worried that this would be a huge time suck on the way out, but I carried the bag with me and then on the way out they  demagnetized the bag and off I went. (more…)

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Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (Wellmont Theater, October 7, 8, 9, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Coronavirus, Grateful Dead, Guster, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Marco Benevento, Montclair, NJ, Postponed, Quarantine, Ween, Wellmont Theater on October 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 7, 8, 9, 2021] Joe Russo’s Almost Dead [rescheduled from September 24, 2020]

I don’t actually know Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.  The only thing I really know about them is that Marco Benevento is the pianist for the band.  Honestly that’s good enough for me.

They are playing three nights in Montclair and two of them sold out almost immediately.

It didn’t actually occur to me that the Dead in the band name is a Grateful Dead reference.  But I see that JRAD is like a Grateful Dead cover band plus more.  They are known for their intermingling of the Grateful Dead’s recognizable folk-rock and Americana sound with more contemporary Progressive Rock and Jazz Fusion influences.

So I had a lot going on that week and decided I didn’t need to see a Grateful Dead band.  Especially since I don’t especially like the Dead (althouh it’s more their recording sound (too tinny) than their songs.  But according to GratefulWeb, the run was a hit. (more…)

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Seaton Smith (Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA October 6, 2021) [JOHN MULANEY]

Posted in Joe Biden, John Mulaney, Philadelphia, PA, Political Humor, Seaton Smith, The Academy of Music on October 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 6, 2021] Seaton Smith

I don’t go to see comedians that often.  I knew in the back of my mind that there would be a warm up act, but it didn’t actually occur to me that there would be one.

The line was INSANE when we arrived.  We were fifteen minute early and didn’t get in until just about 8 o’clock, but they delayed the start, thankfully.

This show gave you a secure bag to put your phone in so that you couldn’t use it during the show (that process was quite seamless, I have to say).  But I hadn’t turned my phone off and was concerned that it might ring during the show.  But while I fretted about that, the lights dimmed and they introduced the comedian whose name I didn’t hear.

This is the second comedian I’ve seen whose opening act was introduced quickly and unclearly who then never repeated his or her name during the set.  It took more than a little work to discover he was Seaton Smith.

Smith started his set with jokes about growing up poor and black.  They were quite funny, but it seems like Mulaney’s audience is pretty white so it seemed kind of unrelatable.  And yet the jokes were really funny and the crowd was very responsive.

After a little while he started talking about politics.

He said he was all about bringing people together–so who did you vote for in the last election? (more…)

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Frank Turner (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2021 [afternoon show])

Posted in Counting Crows, Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Huda Sha'arawi, Philadelphia, PA, The Weakerthans, Underground Arts on October 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 3021] Frank Turner with Matt Nasir

Frank Turner has been opening for the Counting Crows, a band that he loves which I absolutely do not.  There is no way I would have gone to see him with that other band, even though I have been wanting to see him for many years now.

And then, on September 15, Frank Turner announced that he would be playing Underground Arts on October 3.  At 2PM!

Turns out that on the Crows’ days off, Frank decided to play some solo shows (with opening acts).

This show was going to be the first of two shows he’s play that day!

I grabbed tickets immediately.  What a novel idea to have an evening free after seeing a show.

Frank used to be in a punk band and then he became a kind of punky folk singer.  He writes politically charged anthemic sing alongs.  A kind of younger Billy Bragg.  And while he songs are great, it’s his live shows that are do amazing because he gets the audience 100% involved. (more…)

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Kayleigh Goldsworthy (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2021 [afternoon show]) [FRANK TURNER]

Posted in Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on October 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2021] Kayleigh Goldsworthy

On September 15, Frank Turner announced that he would be playing Underground Arts on October 3.  At 2PM!

I grabbed tickets immediately.  I have been wanting to see Frank Turner for years.

I didn’t know if he’d even have an opening act, but indeed he did.  It was Philly singer-songwriter Kayleigh Goldsworthy.  he was supposed to tour with Frank back in 2020, but the tour was cancelled.  Frank called on her again, and this was her first show since the pandemic.

I thought that I hadn’t heard of Goldworthy, but it turned out that I had actually seen her perform before!  She sang (a couple of songs) with Kevin Devine when I saw him at Underground Arts. I was also supposed to see her open for Tigers Jaw on a few postponed shows.

Kayleigh commanded the afternoon crowd right off the bat. She sang slow ballads that were full of angst.  Her voice was really strong and she had the amazing confidence to have long (relatively) stretches of her song where very little happened.  And we were rapt by her.  Her voice sounded very familiar to me–like someone who I can’t place.

I don’t know any of the songs she sang, although I may be able to add songs to the setlist as I listen to her CD more.

I feel like she must have sung “Cursed to Wander” because it’s the new song, but the recorded version is pretty rocking and her set was quite mellow.

As you can see from the poster, Kayleigh only played the shows on our date, so it was a nice treat to hear her.

 

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The Four-Eyed Horsemen including MC Lars & Mega Ran & MC Frontalot & Schaffer The Darklord (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 2, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Kung Fu Necktie, MC Frontalot, MC Lars, Mega Ran, Philadelphia, PA, Schaffer The Darklord on October 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 2, 2021] MC Lars & Mega Ran & MC Frontalot & Schaffer The Darklord

There were two reasons I wanted to go to this show.  First, I have never been to Kung Fu Necktie–I seem to keep missing out on shows there.  Second, this night of nerd rap sounded hilarious.

I had been listening to MC Lars a bit leading up to this show. I’ve listened to the other guys as well and gotten more or less the same kick out of them,

But when it came down to it, I had been out several Saturday nights in a row and I had been to see Primus the night before, and I was going to a show on Sunday as well, so I decided to skip this one.

I sure hope the four of them tour again (I mean, who else would have any one of them?).

MC Lars, according to Wikipedia,

plays with a laptop and occasionally a punk rock band to back him up, which he refers to as “post-punk laptop rap”. Samples from bands such as Supergrass, Piebald, Brand New, Fugazi, and Iggy Pop play a key role in MC Lars’s music. Hearts That Hate, whose song “Cry Tonight” is sampled in Lars’ “Signing Emo”, is a fictional group created by the rapper.  MC Lars has also shown an interest in using lyrics and song titles based on English and American literature. “Rapbeth” references William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, while “Mr. Raven” is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”. “Ahab” is about the novel Moby Dick and “Hey There Ophelia” on This Gigantic Robot Kills retells the story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Mega Ran according to Wikipedia,

Raheem Jarbo (stage names Mega Ran and Random) is an American underground nerdcore rapper, chiptune DJ, and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from any releases.

Here’s a Random review

I’m always glad to watch Mega Ran perform whenever he comes to Michigan. If he comes to a town near you, he is worth the drive. It was certainly worth the two hour plus drive for me.

MC Frontalot according to Wikipedia,

Damian Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer. Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999.

Here’s a Random review

Finally MC Frontalot took the stage. He opened with one of my favorites, “Tongue Clucking Grammarian” and immediately got the audience “tutting” his bad grammar. During the set, he mixed up old and new tracks, including several crowd favorites (“It Is Pitch Dark,” “Yellow Lasers,” (the regular, non-Latin version), and “Goth Girls.”). New tracks from Solved included “Critical Hit,” which uses the double meaning of the phrase to great effect (something Frontalot does often and quite well), and “Stoop Sale,” which, while not particularly geeky, tells a good story. All in all, it was quite an entertaining evening.

Schaffer The Darklord 

Is nerdy, but is also very raunchy–unlike the other rappers.  He seems a little out of place here, but not really.

Here’s a blurb from Little Village

Schäffer the Darklord, a.k.a. STD, is a 47-year-old (in 2022) rapper who’d probably have a few words to say to his 20-something self if he had access to a time machine.  “I feel like I made an impulsive decision to adopt the stage name in 2003,” Mark Schaffer said, “and all these years later, I do have a bit of buyer’s remorse. But I’ve built too much of a catalog at this point to consider changing it.”  Over the past two decades, the Iowa born-and-raised MC has released several albums, EPs, singles and collaborations, including several with fellow Iowa City expatriate Coolzey. His songs are filled with a mix of goofy juvenilia, absurd sexual content, nerdy grammatical breakdowns and introspective lyrical detours, such as a song about sexual consent titled “Yes” from his 2015 EP Sex Rhymes.

 

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