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Twin Limb (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 10, 2017) [STRAND OF OAKS]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Twin Limb, Union Transfer on March 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 10, 2017] Twin Limb

I had never heard of Twin Limb when they opened for Strand of Oaks.  So I was pretty surprised to walk in on them setting up and to notice a giant accordion on the left side of the stage.

And then on the right side of the stage, facing the accordion was the drumset.  In between was a guy with a guitar.

Twin Limb is the creation of Maryliz Bender (drums, vocals) and Lacey Guthrie (accordion, vocals).  I’m not sure exactly what they sounded like initially.  But a year or so after they formed, they teamed up with Kevin Ratterman (sampled sounds, guitar) and their sound evidently changed pretty dramatically.

I don’t know what it was before, but it was fantastic when I saw them. (more…)

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The Flaming Lips (The Fillmore Philadelphia, March 4, 2017)

Posted in clipping., David Bowie, Philadelphia, PA, Rainbows, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Flaming Lips, Unicorns on March 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 4, 2017] The Flaming Lips

I saw The Flaming Lips back in 2015 and I was thrilled at how much bigger their show had become since 2000 when I saw them the first time.  When I saw they were touring again for their new album and were playing The Fillmore, I knew that I had to see them again, and this time I needed Sarah to experience the show with me.  She doesn’t know their music very well (she liked a couple of songs and actively disliked a number of them (mostly their noisy covers)–but I knew they wouldn’t play those).  I couldn’t stop talking about that previous show, so I think her expectations were pretty high.  And she told me they did not disappoint.

Having clipping. as the opening band was unusual because if there was ever a show I couldn’t imagine Sarah at it would be a loud, screechy vulgar hip hop band.  But it served as a palate cleanser for The Flaming Lips.

I noticed that they added even more stuff to the previous set, but it was weird that they have all of this great stuff on stage, but then they tend to obscure it as well.  Between the lights in front of the stage (how weird to see all those lights dangling in front of the performers) and the fog machines, sometimes you couldn’t even see the cool stuff going on.  But it was all part of the sensory overload of the show.

Before the show started, Wayne and some of the other guys came out and checked some things. Its was funny to see Wayne walk out on stage and wave to us.  He even shot some hand-held confetti cannons at us.  But then they went back stage and it took another fifteen or so minutes for them to start.

In front of the stage were all of the strands hanging down.  It was impossible to know what they were, until the music started and we saw that they were light strands.  And as the music swelled, Wayne conducted the lights and the music.  It was very cool. (more…)

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clipping. (The Fillmore Philadelphia, March 4, 2017) [THE FLAMING LIPS]

Posted in All Songs Considered, Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Hamilton, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Flaming Lips, Unnecessary Surgery, WhiteHouse on March 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 4, 2017] clipping.

I first heard clipping. on All Songs Considered about a month ago.  The song was noisy and brash and vulgar and featured incredible rapping from a voice that I recognized but couldn’t place.  Then they told us that the rapper was Daveed Diggs who was Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in Hamilton.  He won a Tony for the role(s).  And now here he was fronting this band of experimental glitch-hop.  And there he was just a few dozen feet from us. 

I love the Fillmore, but it’s one of the few venues that we don’t ever seem to be able to get very close to the stage for.  I guess the artists are a little more popular (and tend to sell out) so there’s less wiggle room at some of the other shows.  So we were further back than I would have liked.  But we could still fully absorb the spectacle.

Clipping are not exactly the kind of band I’d pair with The Flaming Lips (who sing about rainbows and love and whatnot).  And indeed, the contrast was pretty stark.  But the Lips have a crazy stage set-up and it seemed to work perfectly with the kind of static and noise that Clipping creates.  And I’m sure they loved being able to hook into the Lips’ wall of video screens behind them. (more…)

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Japandroids (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 25, 2017)

Posted in Canadian Music, Craig Finn, Japandroids, Philadelphia, PA, Rock duo, The Saints, Union Transfer on February 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

2017-02-25-23-47-33[ATTENDED: February 25, 2017] Japandroids

I was mostly excited to see Japandroids because in addition to liking their music, I wanted to see how two guys could be so powerful live.  I’d also heard that their live shows were a ton of fun.  And was it ever.

Interestingly, I had tickets for the Friday night show, which sold out.  But then something more important came up–a father daughter dance.  I was able to get my ticket to someone I work with and he enjoyed Friday night and I was still able to get a ticket for Saturday night.  So everybody won.  There was also some joking from Brian King the guitarist/singer that Friday night was a better crowd–until the Saturday night crowd decided to prove him wrong.  They were also filming on our night, so I wonder if anything will ever come of that.

But back to the show.  When the crew set up their gear, I was surprised to see them putting the drum set literally right in front of me, sideways–facing the guitar.  I knew that he faced that way but didn’t think they put him right a the front of the stage. (more…)

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Craig Finn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 25, 2017) [JAPANDROIDS]

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Craig Finn, Japandroids, Lifter Puller, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Hold Steady, Union Transfer on February 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

2017-02-25-21-21-28[ATTENDED: January 31, 2017] Craig Finn

The universe has insisted that I see Craig Finn perform.  Last year he opened for My Morning Jacket, but my friend Jay and I arrived late and missed his whole set.  Well, here was a second chance.

Back then I had assumed that Craig Finn was one of the Finns from Crowded House.  It wasn’t until that MMJ concert that I discovered he was the guy from The Hold Steady, a band I’d never listened to.  I didn’t know much about him beyond that except that his delivery was kind of spoken/sung and there were comparisons to Bruce Springsteen.

I had gotten up pretty close to the stage, and I was surrounded by diehard Finn fans, so I felt like a bit of an imposter.  But he didn’t seem to mind and he played a really enjoyable set.

Given how raucous the Japandroids were he seemed like a bit of an odd match, but he certainly has a punk vibe, even if his songs are not very loud. (more…)

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Marco Benevento (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, February 10, 2017)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, José González, Karina Rykman, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Knife, The White Stripes on February 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 10, 2017] Marco Benevento

2017-02-10-23-18-04Back in August I saw Marco Benevento open for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium.  I didn’t know Marco, but his show was so much fun I promised myself I’d see him again.  So I was pretty psyched to see that he was playing at this venue.

Marco’s show back in August was just so much fun–I had arrived late, after being caught in traffic, and within minutes he had totally uplifted my mood.

So I was thrilled to find the Ardmore such a small venue where I could get up so close–check out the bottom of the page for the up close look at his modified piano.  And when he show began, I was right up at the front of the stage.

2017-02-10-22-12-11In addition to Marco, who is a fantastic entertainer, his band consists of drummer Andy Borger (whose drum set includes a cowbell and what looks like the alarm bell from a school) and my new favorite bassist Karina Rykman.  2017-02-10-23-37-07It was actually Rykman who first won me over back in August because she was just so happy.  I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone have so much joy playing on stage before.  And this show was exactly the same.  Of course it helps that she’s a great bassist with an amazing sound.  She doesn’t do a lot of fancy stuff, but her groove is spot on.

The three of them came out and started playing the suite from The Story of Fred Short.  It’s a series of seven interlocking songs with a great groove and a lot of room to jam.   I walked in the middle of this suite when I saw them this summer and I was really excited to hear it again.  I love the bass lines and, in this case, the whistle in “Walking with Tyrone.” (more…)

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WOLF! (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, February 10, 2017) [MARCO BENEVENTO]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Grateful Dead, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Katie Jacoby, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, Santo & Johnny, Scott Metzger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, WOLF! on February 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 10, 2017] Wolf!

2017-02-10-20-38-07Back in August I saw Marco Benevento open for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium.  I didn’t know Marco, but his show was so much fun I promised myself I’d see him again.  So I was pretty psyched to see that he was playing at this venue.  WOLF! opened up. Technically the band was billed as WOLF! featuring Scott Metzger.  This actually didn’t help me, because I didn’t know who he was either.  The only other clue was that he was also in a band called Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (with Marco Benevento) who do mostly Grateful Dead covers.

I genuinely didn’t know what to expect from WOLF!, although I certainly had an idea of what they’d sound like from those bona-fides.  But boy was I wrong.2017-02-10-20-57-45

Turns out that WOLF! plays pretty much all instrumentals.  The songs are kind of surf guitar rock-ish, but not exactly.  They are jam-band-ish, but not exactly (the songs are relatively short).  And they all center around Metzger’s wonderful, melodic soloing. (more…)

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Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, February 7, 2017)

Posted in A.R. Rahman, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, Shruti Merchant, Slumdog Millionaire, Taj Express, Vaibhavi Merchant on February 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENtaj1DED: February 7, 2017] Taj Express

I saw this advertised at MPAC a few months ago.  I was really intrigued by it and thought that it might be fun for all four of us to go.  Going in, I had literally no idea what to expect.  I imagined we see some fun dancing, some extravagant costumes and some exotic music.

I didn’t even know that there would be a story.  I just assumed it would be 2 hours of fun Indian entertainment.  So imagine our surprise to get there and discover that there was not only a story, but a very funny one at that.

And all four of us really enjoyed the show a lot–even Clark!  The music was outstanding–super up-tempo and fun. And the dancing was magnificent–the energy, the costumes, the special effects–what more could you want.

(more…)

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Seth Meyers (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, February 4, 2017)

Posted in Late Night with Seth Meyers, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, Seth Meyers on February 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 4, 2017] Seth Meyers

sethI’d always liked Seth Meyers on Weekend Update, but I never thought all that much about him beyond that.  But when he started hosting Late Night, I realized that he was really really funny.  And in the past year or so he has been outstanding.  Whether political or personal, his jokes are usually right on the money.  And, even better, when they fail, he knows how to make fun of himself and his writers perfectly.

So, when I saw that he was going to be doing standup at MPAC, I grabbed tickets pretty quickly.

This event wasn’t on the MPAC main calendar, because it was listed as The Drew Forum Speaker Series.  I had no idea what this was, but I didn’t care, I wanted to see Seth.

When the show started, a woman, presumably from Drew came out and gave a pretty lavish introduction–atypical for a standup.  And she said that other people who have spoken in this series include Jon Oliver and a guy from Fox whose name I won’t mention.  And then I got worried that this was some kind of Q&A panel or something like that.

But it wasn’t.  It was Seth doing standup. But, I have to gripe that his set was really short.  See the end. (more…)

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Parquet Courts (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 31, 2017)

Posted in Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox 20, Napoleon Dynamite, Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Smashing Pumpkins, The Rolling Stones, Toadies, Union Transfer on January 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 31, 2017] Parquet Courts

2017-01-31-21-54-46I was under the impression that Parquet Courts had been around for a while (they have 4 LPs and 3 EPS out), but they formed in 2010 and their first album to gain notice was released in 2012.  They’re just really prolific.

When I heard they were playing Philly I grabbed tickets right away assuming it would sell out.  I don’t think it did, but that didn’t stop it from being a really enjoyable, if brief, first concert of 2017.

I thought of Parquet Courts as a pretty  punky band–some of their songs are quite noisy and fast (and short).  But just the other night I watched them play, “Human Performance” on TV and I was quite surprised to see how kinda dorky they all looked–Oxford shirts and sweaters and the like–not stereotypical punks at all.  Which was cool.

I had arrived plenty early and was only one person from the stage when they started (not always great for sound but great for pictures).  (more…)

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