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Street Stains (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2018) [PARQUET COURTS]

Posted in Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Pissed Jeans, Q and Not U, Street Stains, Union Transfer on June 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 8, 2018] Street Stains

Street Stains are from Washington D.C.  They are a duo consisting of guitar and drums.

Guitarist Chris Richards (who was in Q and Not U) plays a spare guitar and simple riffs.  It amused me that he never really took his hood off as he shouted the lyrics.

Drummer Sean McGuinness (who also plays in Pissed Jeans) played some really complex fills and kept the simple songs from growing dull.

He had some things to say about parties in Washington D.C. and how they suck (I assume as an introduction to “The Party.”

I also enjoyed that they have a song called “Street Stains” and one called “Somewhere Over the Chemtrails.” (more…)

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Japanese Breakfast (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018)

Posted in Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, Radiator Hospital, Union Transfer on June 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast is the creation of Philadelphia-based Michelle Zauner.  She sings pretty melodies and has a variety of tones when she sings–some high-pitched notes and some lower parts as well.

A lot of bands celebrate in some way when they play a home town.  Sometimes its an extra song or a guest.  I don’t really know how this show deviated from other in terms of set list, but Zauner had a lot to celebrate being back at Union Transfer.

[Quotes and quoted passages are from an article in The Key

“I fucking used to work coat check here,” Zauner told the audience as she gazed into the sold out crowd at UT.

She said this just after she’d sung her first song “Diving Woman.”  It was the first time she had headlined Union Transfer.  She said she felt a bit shy playing here because so many friends and family were in attendance.  And she talked a lot about her connections to the city.  She graduated from Bryn Mawr college and she recorded both Japanese Breakfast albums in Philly.   (more…)

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LVL UP (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

Posted in LVL UP, Philadelphia, PA, Silver Jews, Union Transfer on June 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] LVL UP

I had two ideas of what LVL UP sounded like.  I thought they were either a punky crazy band or were a poppy band.

Turns out they were neither.  They’re more punk than pop, but there’s a kind of a DIY quality to their music more than anything polished.

I was also delighted to see that they have three singers (and I assume songwriters) as well.  For this show, they basically went around the horn with who sang lead.

Bassist Nick Corbo started off with “Angel From Space.”   He was followed by guitarist Mike Caridi with his more angular song “Blur.”  Then came second guitarist Dave Benton with his more chill sounding “Soft Power.”

The only one who didn’t sing was drummer Greg Rutkin.

Then they repeated the cycle.  Nick Corbo with his big old-fashioned looking bass played the slower “Five Men on the Ridge.”  Back to Caridi with a new song (all the others are, I believe on their new album.  It was followed by Benton’s “I Feel Extra Natural” which references the Silver Jews.

They went through the cycle of singers one more time and then played a couple more songs at the end.  It was cool that they kept things moving and all sounding pretty different while maintaining their overall vibe.

 

 

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Radiator Hospital (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2018) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Radiator Hospital, Union Transfer on June 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2018] Radiator Hospital

Radiator Hospital is a Philly band led by Sam Cook-Parrott.

They write short, punky songs with Cook-Parrott singing most of them.

In an interview he said

Usually, I write simple songs so we can learn them quickly and then play shows. But then six months after we recorded it, we will look back at the recorded version and think we play [those songs] much better now after playing at shows all the time.

(more…)

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Primus (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Convention Hall, Primus on June 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] Primus

My friend Al and I saw Primus back in 1990 or 1991.  It was an amazing show and I have been a fan ever since.  And yet for some reason I had never seen them live again.  During all of their iterations and tours–headlines, festivals, everything.  In recent years I have really wanted to see them but something always kept me from going.

I missed their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2014) show because of a vacation.   I somehow missed a summerstage tour in 2015 with two other bands I would have loved to see.  There was no local show in 2016 and then I was busy in 2017.  So here it was, finally a chance to see them.  (Setlists for those shows do show rather few songs, I must admit…really I should have gone to the two-set shows back in 2012).

Anyhow, it had been nearly 30 years and I was excited to see anything.

So it’s a bit of a shame I couldn’t see much.  I don’t know if their light show was designed more for outside, but in this cavernous dark auditorium, the band members were almost entirely obscured. (more…)

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Mastodon (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018) [PRIMUS]

Posted in All Them Witches, Asbury Park, NJ, Mastodon, Philadelphia, PA, Primus, Starland Ballroom, The Electric Factory on June 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] Mastodon

I saw Mastodon two years ago.  The band was great, but I left the show somewhat unsatisfied.  Was it the venue (Electric Factory, I think so); was it the crowd (a large and unceasing mosh pit, I think so).

I felt like I wanted to see them again.  But when they came back around a year later, I decided against it.  In part because it was the same venue and in part because it was an all day event with four bands (most of whom I liked, but that’s practically a festival).  A note on the setlist says that Brent Hinds was visibly upset with technical problems the whole show, so I’m glad I didn’t go.  Especially since this show’s setlist was very similar.

When this tour was announced co-headliners Primus and Mastodon, it seemed pretty ideal.  I have been wanting to see Primus and here was redemption for Mastodon–I’ve been pretty happy with the shows I’ve seen at Summer Stage.

Well, a thunderstorm was forecast for the entire day in Asbury Park, so they moved the show inside.  It wound up not raining at all, but you have to make a decision early when you have so much gear and they made the right choice–even if it may not have sounded as good.

I arrived late and missed  the opening band All Them Witches entirely.

But Mastodon sounded great.  The crowd wasn’t that large for them, I was surprised to see.  A largish pit started in the middle but it never really took off that much.  It was nicely contained and I was on the edge of it, where I like to be.

I like nearly everything Mastodon has released, although I don;t really know which album the songs come from.  So I didn’t even realize that so many songs came from their newest album Emperor of Sand (7 of 17).

The one good thing about it being inside is that it was still light out when they went on, but it was dark inside, which meant that their backgrounds and visuals worked well. (more…)

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All Them Witches (Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ, June 1, 2018) [PRIMUS]

Posted in All Them Witches, Asbury Park, NJ, Convention Hall, Mastodon, Primus, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on June 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 1, 2018] All Them Witches 

I didn’t know All Them Witches before this show.  And I don’t know them after this show.  Parking in Asbury Park was pretty rough and, it being after Memorial Day traffic was worse than when I had driven down there in the winter.

Because of the impending torrential thunderstorm (which never actually materialized), the show was moved from the Stone Pony Summer Stage to Conventional Hall.  It was the right decision given the forecast, but….well, whatever.

Anyhow, I missed them entirely.  I walked in as they were packing up their gear.

Sorry.

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Aurora (Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 30, 2018)

Posted in Aurora, Bowery Ballroom, New York City on May 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 30, 2018] Aurora

I first saw Aurora on a Tiny Desk Concert and I was mesmerized by the then 19-year-old.  There is somethings so innocent and sincere about her–so open, that it almost feels like you’re seeing something you shouldn’t.

I knew then (October 2016 when I watched it) that I wanted to see her live.  Turns out she was playing in Philly a few days after that but I missed the show, so I just had to wait until she came back.

Which was a year and a half later.  Turns out the Norwegian singer has written a lot of songs but doesn’t seem to record them very much.  And she didn’t come back to Philly. She was in New York for the Governor’s Ball and did an after dark show at the Bowery Ballroom.  Since I was not going to go to the Governor’s Ball, Bowery would have to do.

I try not to go to shows in NYC much anymore because the hassle is so great, but this one was worth it. (more…)

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Flora Cash (Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 30, 2018) [AURORA]

Posted in Aurora, Bowery Ballroom, Flora Cash, New York City, WRFF 104.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on May 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 30, 2018] Flora Cash

Flora Cash had a pretty thankless task when they came out at the Bowery Ballroom.

Aurora was performing her only area appearance (aside from a show at Governor’s Ball that I knew I wasn’t going to).  And there was no word of an opening band.  It seemed unlikely that she wouldn’t have one, but as late as that evening, there was no word about one.

So when Flora Cash guitarist Cole Randall came out with his hair bleached the color of Aurora’s for a split second many of us thought it was her–until we saw his black beard.

Randall played an acoustic guitar and sang while his partner Shpresa Lleshaj played the laptop–playing beats and backing tracks while she sang lead and backing vocals.

Flora Cash’s backstory was more exciting than their music, I will admit.  They told us about how they met between songs, but here’s the condensed version from their website: (more…)

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Pond (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 29, 2018)

Posted in Fascinator, Ian Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Pond, Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, The Sydney Morning Herald, Union Transfer on May 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 29, 2018] Pond [rescheduled from January 12]

Pond was supposed to play here back in January. But because of our corrupt leader’s immigration policies, they couldn’t get visas in time.  They had to postpone the tour.  Luckily they made it back in May and the opener, Fascinator, remained the same.

I didn’t really know Pond all that well, but I knew they were connected to Tame Impala and that was a good thing. So I listened to a few songs, decided they were pretty good and decided to see them live.

Well, apparently they have a massive fan base because the crowd behind me (I was pretty close to the stage) was berserk for the band, especially singer Nick Allbrook who was a bundle of energy.

When they came out the crowd freaked out and there was much shrieking and yelling behind me.  Nonplussed by the yells, the band started with “30,000 Megatons” the outstanding first track off of their new album The Weather. (more…)

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