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Pat Finnerty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2024) [STRAND OF OAKS]

Posted in Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Union Transfer on December 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2024] Pat Finnerty

Pat Finnerty opened for Strand of Oaks for the last three Winter Classics. And these three are the ones that I missed.

And now that I’ve seen him I’m even more bummed that I missed those three shows.  Because he was funny and he and his band were super talented.

Pat told us that he and his band (which was all of Strand of Oaks and his cousin Mike) were there to warm up Strand of Oaks and that this show was going to be all covers.

The house music was ZZ Top’s Legs and he said that they had to play the whole song if they had started it.  He won me over immediately by saying imagine going to your bandmates and saying hey, I’ve got a new song, it’s called Legs.  Band: What’s it about?

He then asked the keyboard player to learn the keyboard part so they could play Legs at the end of the set.

He also told us that he had cash and would give cash to anyone who earned it.  Last time, he saw some woman really dancing when he played a blues riff, she got $4.  At our show, a guy received $2. (more…)

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Kathleen Edwards (Roy’s Hall, Blairstown, NJ, December 12, 2024)

Posted in Blairstown NJ, John Prine, Kathleen Edwards, Matt Sucich, Roy's Hall, Tom Petty on December 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2024] Kathleen Edwards

Back in 2019 I assumed that the concert in NYC was the only chance I’d get to see Kathleen Edwards.  And now this is my fourth show.

Each time has had a different lineup, so even though the setlists are similar, the shows are very different.

The first time it was a five piece with two guitars (and a keyboard), bass and drums.  The second time it was drums, bass, pedal steel guitar and violin/keyboard.  So no lead guitar (all leads were on the pedal steel).  For this third show there was no bass or drums.  So, we had the same two “new” members from the show just a month earlier: Aaron Goldstein on pedal steel and Kinley Dowling who played keys and violin.  And we were once again joined by Colin Cripps (her ex-husband).  He played with her back in the old days and also when I saw her in NYC, but not a month earlier.

Tonight’s show was a trio with Gord Tough on guitar and Thom Hammerton on keys.   It was also my first time at Roy’s Hall and the sound was fantastic (even Kathleen acknowledged how good it was).

There was no bass guitar but the low end was really deep from the keys, which was great.  And even though I’ve been really loving drummers lately, this show didn’t need one.

Kathleen has released some covers lately (it seems like a covers album is coming out but she mentioned a new release in the new year instead).  So she played John Prine’s Hello in There (a song she said made her cry when she heard it in her coffee shop) and Tom Petty’s Crawling Back to You.

Otherwise, she played most of the same songs, but the ordering was different.  Indeed, Simple Math which opened the last two shows I saw wasn’t included.

I was thrilled that she played Chameleon/Comedian a song from Voyageur, my favorite album of hers, as I hadn’t seen her play it before.  Indeed, this show had the most songs I hadn’t seen her play since the first time. (more…)

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Muscle Tough (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, December 13, 2024) [KARINA RYKMAN]

Posted in Karina Rykman, Kylie Minogue, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on December 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 13, 2024] Muscle Tough

I had never heard of Muscle Tough and I admit I was a little concerned about a band with this name.  I mean, were they jock rock?

When we arrived, they had their name and two cutouts of muscular arms flanking the stage (pretty funny).

And it turns out I should have trusted Karina, because Muscle Tough were amazing.  They play rocking jamming instrumentals that are proggy and jazzy and show off the incredible chops of all three musicians, Ross Bellenoit (guitar), Jonathan Colman (bass) and Joe Baldacci (drums).

They have a pretty fascinating backstory.  Bellenoit was in a couple of different bands, but he wanted to start a band just for jamming and goofing around.  And Muscle Tough has been around longer and has had more success than any of his other more “Serious” projects.

Bellenoit is a phenomenal guitarist–he plays tasteful solos but also shreds like a fiend.  He also had a massive arrive of effects so he can create just about any sound.  Colman is an amazing bassist, playing really fast riffs and imrovs with ease. (more…)

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Wax Jaw / The Thing / Friend (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Friend, Philadelphia, PA, The Thing, Underground Arts, Wax Jaw on December 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 12, 2024] Wax Jaw / The Thing / Friend

Wax Jaw continues to play really close to me but always on nights that I’m already busy.

This show sounded like a ton of fun, but it was the same night that I was going to see Kathleen Edwards.  So, no dice yet again.

I see that Wax Jaw sets are still under an hour.  And  there’s nothing wrong with that, but it will effect ones decision where to go that night.

Friend is a raucous punk band from Philly.  In the video below for one of the songs they seem to be wearing goblin head masks.  They are all over the place with their sound, but its mostly loud and fast.  (They played a punk version of Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time–see below) (more…)

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Matt Sucich (Roy’s Hall, Blairstown, NJ, December 12, 2024) [KATHLEEN EDWARDS]

Posted in Blairstown NJ, Kathleen Edwards, Matt Sucich, Roy's Hall on December 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2024] Matt Sucich

Matt Sucich opened for Kathleen Edwards in 2022.  I found him to be enjoyable if not a little forgettable.  The thing I remembered most about his set was that he said his name a lot.  He did that for this set as well (he said his name is like an earworm, if he says it enough it will get stuck in your head).

He has a soft, smooth folksinger voice (in the Simon & Garfunkel vein) but his songs are a bit more Dylanesque in their storytelling style.  So you know what you’re getting with him.  He’s affable and his songs are enjoyable.

He made more of an impression on me when Kathleen raved about him and when he sang with her during her set.

I did make a note of the songs he played (unlike last time) so here’s the setlist.

Montauk ∑
Walking Song ©/∑
Make Peace ©
Real Time ¥
Give Love ¥/∑
Upper West Side ¥
Crazy Time to Be Alive ∑

∑ Talking to Walls [live] (2024)
¥ Holy Smokes (2023)
© Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself (2021)

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Aurora (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 9, 2024)

Posted in Aurora, Biig Piig, Norway, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on December 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 2, 2022] Aurora

This is my fourth time seeing Aurora.  When I saw her in 2018, she was barely known here and I thought she might never play the States again.  Well, three tours later, she has sold out one of the larger venues in Philadelphia.  Good for her, but not so great for us.

The place was packed and we arrived late enough that we were stuck way in the back.  And Aurora has a fan base that is quite…intense.  So there was lots of shrieking and such.  There was also a lot of talking off to the side–drunken idiots who needed to talk loudly despite everyone shushing them (but they also knew all the words so they were fans, wtf).

So I was annoyed when the show started, which is a shame because the show itself was pretty amazing.

She had really upped her production since the last tour, with big screens of dancers behind her.  My wife was really excited to go for some fun poppy dancing.  I joked that it was going to be an all acoustic mellow show.

And I’m surprised to say that my joke almost came true, kind of.

The show opened with the gothy, spooky Churchyard (more…)

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Suki Waterhouse / Bully (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, December 10, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Brontez Purnell, Bully, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Suki Waterhouse on December 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 10, 2024] Suki Waterhouse / Bully

Of all of the shows that I didn’t go to this year, this one intrigued me the most.  And I thought about going pretty much right up until the day of.

The reason I didn’t go is because I had shows the day before and two shows later in the week.  And I wasn’t entirely sure if I liked Suki.  My daughter and I saw her performed at All Things Go and I remember liking her a lot more than I thought I would, but not really remembering her show at all.

I really like the song I’ve been hearing on the radio and now (after the show) I’ve been hearing another one I really like.  Maybe I should have gone.

Although I really don’t like Franklin Music Hall.

I have seen Bully once and would really like to see her/them again (I mean, this show really was calling to me), but I had heard that the Bully set might be solo and I prefer her with a band.  There’s a photo from the show with someone else on stage with her, but it sounds like she played a few solo songs as well.

IOfalltheshowsthatI

 

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Biig Piig (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 9, 2024) [AURORA]

Posted in Aurora, Biig Piig, Norway, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on December 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 9, 2024] Biig Piig

Aurora has had some pretty interesting opening artists over the years.  I had never heard of Biig Piig, but apparently the rest of the world has.

Her name is Jessica Smyth and she’s got an interesting backstory.  She was born in Cork, Ireland, but as raised in Spain.  Spanish is actually her native language.  But she moved back to Ireland when she was 12 and then to London a few years later.  And in 2020, her singles Switch, Don’t Turn Around and Feels Right had combined streams of over 60 million. (more…)

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Ride (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Ride

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I didn’t realize that they had been broken up for 21 years when they released their reunion album in 2017.  Here it is 7 years after that and they’re still a going concern.

I didn’t know really anything since they’d reunited, so I didn’t really care what they played–I assumed they’d play the few songs that I did know since those were the hits.

And I really enjoyed the new songs quite a lot–they were some of my favorites of the night.  A guy up front (who was bouncing and dancing the whole show) shouted how great the new album was and the band got a kick out of it with Mark Gardener thanking him for the affirmation (they later gave him a pick and a setlist I believe). (more…)

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Rocket (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024) [RIDE]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Rocket

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I hadn’t heard of the opening band (there are a few different bands called Rocket).  And it’s not lost one me that the marquee would read Rocket Ride.

This band is from LA and holy cow, they scratched just about every musical itch I had.

Soft female vocals, shoegaze to heavy crunchy guitars.  It was all there.  I loved every second of their set.

When the first chord change of Portrait Show was exactly what I hoped it would be, I knew this band was for me.

I wished that Alithea Tuttle’s vocals were a little louder (it’s probably because I was standing s close to the stage) although the quieter mix worked well with the overall sound.  Her bass was great though, understated and used perfectly to emphasize some of the songs.  (more…)

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