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Witch Club Satan (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2026)

Posted in Penelope Trappes, Philadelphia, PA, Type O Negative, Underground Arts, Witch Club Satan on May 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 27, 2026] Witch Club Satan

I found out about Witch Club Satan last year.  I’m not sure how I stumbled upon them (maybe Instagram?)  Anyhow,  I was immediately struck by the band:  three Norwegian women in corpse paint singing black metal.  And they were great.  They sang about different subjects (for black metal) and they were fearless.  They had great screams and were completely intense.

I didn’t really think they’d come to the States since they seem pretty niche, and yet, soon enough it was announced they were coming to the States for the first time, bring their tour: Founding of the North American Coven.  And they were coming to Underground Arts.  I grabbed a ticket immediately since I never know if shows like this will sell out.  It didn’t and I was able to invite my son along and grab a ticket day before.  He’s technically not allowed in Underground Arts yet (it’s 21+) but evidently, as long as I let them know ahead of time and follow some basic rules, he was allowed to come along.

He loved the venue (it is very cool) and he loved Witch Club Satan (Penelope Trappes not so much).  Actually, we were both blown away by Witch Club Satan.

The lights went down and they started playing a deep, synthy chord It went on for a few minutes (too long, tbh), but I think they were still setting up because shortly after, the band walked from behind the stage, holding incense.  They walked through the crowd, slowly, making eye contact with everyone nearby.  It was so impressive and the crowd was rapt.

When they arrived on stage lead singer and guitarist Nix (Nikoline Spjelkavik) welcomed us to the coven and they launched into Hysteria.  It was amazing seeing them up close.  The three women wear corpse paint and have blackened eyes and markings.  And from this distance it was easy to see that they blackened their teeth as well.  For the first couple of songs they wore knitted sweaters with openings for their breasts, as well as knitted horned headgear. Nix invited everyone to dance or take their tops off.

Bassist and singer Hedda (who is filling in for Victoria Røising who just had a baby!) was awesome.  She also sang and used a violin bow and a sword on her bass.

The songs are black metal–heavy, short, fast and growled.  I wished I had listened to their music a bit more just so I knew what was happening.  I was able to take a photo of the setlist before they came out so I knew what they were playing, but there were some notes on the page that made things a little unclear.  And after Water Girl, all three women came to the front of the stage to sing the mournful Mother Sea, a completely non black metal story/song that was really intense.

After the song they left the stage and showed a video on the stage.  A few minutes later they returned wearing nothing except for floor-length black wigs (and flesh-colored underpants).  They stood on stage and proceeded to spit blood on the stage and into the crowd (I got some on my glasses!).  Nix leaned into the crowd and whispered into the ear of the woman near me–wonder what she said.

For the intro of Black Metal is Krig, Nix shouted out that there would be no mercy for the mercyless–not for the warmongers, not for Netanyahu.  For the final song of this section, Mother, the three women came to the front of the stage again and they sang/screamed the word Mother (hearing their drummer Johanna Holt Kleive–who did sing occasionally) scream the word Mother in a high pitched wail sent chills up my spine).

They returned for the third part of the set in new outfits–denim and sequined, um, torn headgear and clothing.  They looked insane, and being able to see Nix’s eyes through this mask was really creepy–especially as she made eye contact with everyone.  For You Wildflower, Hedda walked into the crowd and shouted the intro to everyone and people individually

You don’t give up, you don’t give up
The sky shivers, you don’t give up
The ground breaks, the heart aches (Motherfuckers)
The heart aches, the heart aches
They keep lying, they keep lying
The dictators, the small dicks
You keep pushing, you keep pushing (Motherfuckers)
You keep pushing
You keep breathing, you keep breathing
The sun’s shining on your resistance
You keep fighting, you keep fighting
You show up, you keep fighting
You wildflower

It was awesome.  Their “single” Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy” is certainly catchy and it sounded great.  And then for Witchcraft Techno, Nix crowd surfed (despite being mostly naked) and was safely transported to the stage.  Before the last song, she told us that we reminded her of Norway which was both good and bad.  We were very polite but we were also very uptight and se wanted to see people dance with them.  I was (pleasantly) surprised that there had not been a mosh put up to this point.  I think all eyes were on the stage instead of thinking about dancing.  But the crowd did oblige for the final song and a pit was started.

And that was that.  Their set was about an hour and it was exhausting.  I’m so glad I bought a shirt before the show, but I do regret not buying the tour vinyl of their album.  And, if by any chance, they played nearby again, I would see them in a second.

  • Intro
  • Hysteria ∇
  • Wild Whores ∇
  • Water Girl
  • Mother Sea ∇
  • I Was Made By Fire ∇
  • Black Metal is Krig ∇
  • Salvation ∇
  • Mother ∇
  • You Wildflower ®
  • Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy ∇
  • Witchcraft Techno
  • Solace Sisters §

® single (2025)
∇ Witch Club Satan (2025)
§ single (2022)

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Penelope Trappes (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2026) [WITCH CLUB SATAN]

Posted in Penelope Trappes, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Witch Club Satan on May 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 27, 2026] Penelope Trappes

I found out about Witch Club Satan last year.  I was immediately struck by the band:  three Norwegian women in corpse paint singing black metal.  And they were great. I didn’t really think they’d come to the States since they seem pretty niche, and yet, soon enough it was announced they were coming to the States for the first time.  I grabbed a ticket immediately

I didn’t know Penelope Trappes before this show.  I listened to a few minutes of a song and got the idea that she was a kind of ambient singer.

She came out on stage with a bow tied around her head with the ends raised above her head like horns or rabbit ears.  She had an electronics board and proceeded to make ambient sounds on it.  She is Australian, but lives in England.  She did say Fuck Ice, which–yes indeed!–but is she here long enough to know about ICE?   I don’t know how much international attention they are getting.  But she was immediately on our side after saying it.

She sang, often sounds, sometimes words.  The first song (I honestly don’t know if she was playing a song, multiple songs, or improvising) lasted about 20 minutes.  I only say this because that’s when she said thank you.  There were lots of changes throughout the 20 minutes and they could have been different songs but there’s no way to tell–her latest album is about 45 minutes and it’s possible she was playing the whole thing, but again, I don’t know.

Correction, I recalled a few words when she sang, and “violent hope” was one of the phrases. It’s from “Red Dove” which comes about half way through A Requiem.  It also featured synths ala Philip Glass which  rather liked. (more…)

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L.A. Witch (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026) [THE BLACK ANGELS]

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] L.A. Witch

I hadn’t heard of L.A. Witch before this show, but the name sounded promising.  I’m not sue what I expecting, but this band did not bring that.  There was nothing witchy–comical or otherwise) about their songs, which were kind of slow and surfy.

I guess if I had just looked at Wikipedia I would have seen that that is exactly what they sound like:

the band’s sound has been described as a “mix of forlorn psych folk, lethargic lo-fi blues and boozy garage rock drones steeped in moody, drugged-out surf reverb.”

Sade Sanchez (vocals, guitar) plays a hollow bodied electric guitar with lots of reverb.  A couple of songs picked up the pace with Irita Pai’s bass propelling Drive Your Car, but Sanchez’ voice just didn’t do anything for me.  Drummer Ellie English was solid, but with the simple music, there wasn’t too much excitement there.  But, I guess that’s the deal with garage rock, right? (more…)

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Mint Field (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026)

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Mint Field

I found out about Mint Field during the pandemic from their outstanding Levitation Sessions record.  They headlined at Silk City back in September and I was really surprised to see them back again so soon.

I couldn’t make their previous show but I was sure to grab a ticket to this one.

Mint Field is from Tijuana.  The band is Estrella Snachez (vocals and guitar) and Sebastian Neyra (bass). The laziest description of them is shoegaze, but they incorporate other elements as well–dream pop, ambient and occasionally loud feedback.  I’m not sure who their drummer was for this show, but she was really good.

They opened with the quiet Horizonte, a gentle guitar melody and soft bassline.  The funny thing about this song is that as soon as you start to really get into it, it’s over.  It’s just under 2 minutes long.   But it’s a great introduction to Estrella’s floating vocals and their overall vibe.  “Recuerdo de los dias” has a more pronounced bass line and a simple but bouncy drum beat.

El mar me veia was the first song that really showed off Estrella’s cool guitar techniques–she makes interesting sounds by sliding her pick up and down the strings–using various pedals and looping, it created a cool visual.

Delicadeza is one of many songs where Sebastian’s bassline is wonderful–he doesn’t simply follow the guitars, he plays high notes and lets the music really revolve around what he’s doing.

While most of the opening was dreamy and trippy, Sensibilidad showed that they can get loud with both guitar and bass building the intensity before pulling back into a very quiet middle section.  And Susiro sailed back off into the dreamy skies again.

Sueño Despierto (with a cool bass line) and Infinito are slow and dreamy (Infinito is a newer song) but Contingencia adds a real pace to the set. It’s fuzzy and rocking and a lot of fun.  As the set reached the end, they got a lot more noisy with Ve hacia la ventana bringing out some fuzzy guitars in between quiet parts.  But no one could expect the explosive ending!  Un flro sin interior starts like many of their songs–fairly mellow and dreamy.  But mid song, the full band kicks in loudly with a big riff that the band jammed for several minutes.  Estrella stood by her amp generating lots of feedback and looping it around while Sebastian and their drummer were going nuts–it was the loudest and craziest the drummer had been all night–like catharsis after being so chill.  (On record the song is 2 minutes total, but live, they stretched it out wonderfully).  It felt like a set-ending but of noise and chaos, but they brought it back in and finished the song with one more verse and that was that.

I was a little bummed that they didn’t play the songs that I really fell in love with like Jardin De La Paz and Sentimental Mundial, but there were two tracks from that session that they did play (Delicadeza and Contingencia) so that’s cool.  I was glad to finally see them, although now I kind of wish I had seen them play at Union Transfer during that shoegaze festival–to get fully surrounded by their songs.

I got the impression, or maybe they just said, that they wouldn’t be touring the U.S. for quite a while.  So I’m even more happy that I got to see them.

  • Horizonte ∇
  • Recuerdo de los días €
  • El mar me veía €
  • Delicadeza ∅
  • Sensibilidad dormida €
  • El Suspiro Cambia Todo ∇
  • Sueño Despierto ∇
  • Infinito §
  • Contingencia ∅
  • Aterrizar ∅
  • Ve hacia la ventana €
  • Una flor sin interior €

§ single (2025)
€  Aprender a Ser: Extended (2024)
∇ Aprender a Ser (2023)
∅ Sentimendto Mundial (2020)

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The Black Angels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026)

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] The Black Angels

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas.  I’ve known about them for about ten years.  Their music sounds pretty similar from album to album–fuzzy guitars, catchy riffs and Alex Maas’ recognizable haunting voice.  I saw them in 2022 and really enjoyed their set, although I remember being surprised at how minimal everything was.  It was also pretty dark on stage–so it was hard to see everyone clearly.

And that proved to be if not the same, then similar for this show.

This was a tour of their debut album Passover.  This album isn’t my favorite of theirs, but I do enjoy a full album show. I got into The Black Angels with their second album and my favorite one is Indigo Meadows, but as they played the album in full I realized just how much I do like it.

I also had  to laugh because there’s a guy who my wife and I saw at the MMJ concert who we called Jim James.  We saw him again at Band of Horses, then I saw him at Pallbearer and now at this one.  He’s a nice guy, a real headbanger.  He and his friends were having a great time at all of these shows, so I figured I was in for a good time.

Before the band came on, their logo was projected on the stage, spinning like the inside of a record.  Then the band came out and most of the lighting on stage was provided by the projections behind them.  This cast the band in eerie lights–sometimes moving shapes, sometimes stripes, visuals that obscured more than they illuminated.  And, connecting to the cover of Passover, it was all black and white.

The opening song, Young Men Dead, featured big fuzzy guitars in a simple riff that introduced Alex Maas’ vocals.  They have a new bassist since 2024, Misti Hamrick who also plays keys.   She and guitarist Jake Garcia switched off on bass (his bass was loud and ponderous on The First Vietnam War).   Although Christian Bland is the primary lead guitarist, Garcia does his fair share as well, playing the intro riff on The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven. (more…)

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Knotfall (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Knotfall

Knotfall is another band from Philly. I’m guessing that the band is the project of singer/guitarist (and for one song, drummer) Sami Rahman.  Because there have been different people on the different releases.

They totally threw me for a loop when I listened to them because I thought that they were basically a shoegaze band (since Mint Field is).  August in the Water starts their album and this set.  It has quiet guitars and soft vocals.  It’s quite lovely and I could see how they fit with Mint Field.  The song built to a louder sound, but still rather shoegazey (actually I found that his voice sounded a bit like Grandson and sometimes like Pavement).   But as the song reached the end, he started screaming in an intense, voice cracking sort of way.  And then the song dropped down to quieter moments again.  It was surprising on record but it was even better live.

Beyond Memory had an early Cure feel with lots of fuzz and I loved when the song broke and the two guitars played a really cool and clear riff–that blasted through the fuzz.  But the bigger surprise came at the end of the song when it shifted gears into a really heavy sound and really dark almost doom metal riff.  It was great and really intense–I would have happily let that riff continue for several more minutes, but it stopped after just a few runs through.

Sami told us that five of the six songs they were playing were from their recently released debut album.  Surprisingly they didn’t have any for sale and their shirts (which were really cool) were only Small-Large. (more…)

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Sherrie (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Sherrie

I like going to PhiaMOCA, it’s so casual and it’s such a great space to meet and chat with a band.  For whatever reason, I was early for this show.  When I walked in (probably at 7:30) Sherrie was still doing a sound check.  It was pretty weird and slightly awkward.  But it was hot out and cool inside, so I did some NY Times puzzles and listened to the band get ready for the show.

Sherrie is a band from Philadelphia.  When I saw that they were opening for Mint Field, I went to their bandcamp site and saw that they had three songs out.  I hadn’t realized until writing this that each of these songs came out at a rate of one a year, and that none of the songs were released in the last five years.

I can’t find out much about the band.  The lead singer is Rae and there’s a guy who has been with Sherrie since the beginning, whose name is Drew.  Their Instagram page has a few things up before COVID and then nothing until 2024.  Ah, and then I see that their first gig was at Ortlieb’s in March 2024–they were a two piece.  Then they played Johnny Brenda’s in April of this year as a five piece.  For this show they were a four piece.

Sherrie describes their music as dream pop, but it feels more like bedroom pop to me–remarkably spare, although it is sweet.  There’s not a lot of movement from the band–except for the last song when the Rae walked over to the keyboard that someone else was playing and pushed a button to change the sound of the keys.  She stayed for a bit and then turned it off again. (more…)

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Dethklok (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, May 14, 2026)

Posted in Amon Amarth, Bethlehem, PA, Castle Rat, Dethklok, Metalocalypse, Wind Creek Event Center on May 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 14, 2026] Dethklok

So I was aware of the show Metalocalypse, but didn’t know much about it.  When Dethklok toured last time, I read about how interesting it was to have a cartoon band like Gorillaz (but heavy metal) play live.

I didn’t know much about their music.  I listened to a few songs and was cool with them.  I expected a funny kind of show with the band playing behind or beneath animated versions of themselves.

But instead, what we got was the band in darkness (literally, you couldn’t see their faces at all) and clips from the show on the screen behind them.  So it was kind of the worst of both worlds.  It wasn’t new animation of the band playing these songs, it was just random clips–or maybe clips from the show when they played these songs?  But there were lots of repeated clips, so that wasn’t as much fun.

It also meant that those of us who didn’t know the show really had no idea what was going on.  My son, who didn’t know anything about the show thought they were villains and not the world’s most favorite band

The set opened with a video–Is Dethklok Back?  And it was pretty funny.  So I assumed the whole show would be funny in some way.  But it wasn’t.  It was serious death metal–fast, heavy and completely ununderstandable.  The songs were short and there were definitely songs that people liked more than others, but it was more or less a blur of noise. (more…)

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Amon Amarth (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, May 14, 2026) [DETHKLOK]

Posted in Amon Amarth, Bethlehem, PA, Castle Rat, Dethklok, Saxon, Wind Creek Event Center on May 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 14, 2026] Amon Amarth

This was my fourth time seeing Amon Amarth.  I didn’t really need to see them again, which is why I didn’t want to pay full price for these tickets.  But when they went on sale, I happily grabbed a pair for my son and I.

They hadn’t put any new music out since 2023 (except for one single), so I didn’t expect there to be much difference between this show and the last time we saw them.  But I have to say, they really do mix up their shows from tour to tour.  Yes, there are some songs that I have seen at every show, but there were 9 songs (out of 15) that I hadn’t seen them play before.

We were really close to the stage (just outside of the Pit, which I did think might be fun to join in on) and could easily see singer Johann Hegg (who had a horn of mead (I assume) on his belt and a swagger in his walk) smile and really seem to enjoy himself and the fans.

For this tour they had a video screen set up behind them. They also had the giant inflatable Viking statues (I was so surprised that they were inflatable the first time I saw them, they were quite impressive (but what else could they be?)).  They opened with Raven’s Flight and I really enjoy the way the band walks around acknowledging the audience and making everyone feel a part of the show.

Up next was Shield Wall, a song I’ve seen at every show and which somehow I forgot meant that there would be two guys on either side of the stage waving giant shields around.  The first time I saw them I was really impressed by their stagecraft–even as an opening band.  And it continues with each tour.

Then there were a whole slew of (to me) new songs.  I don’t really know their recorded music very well, so it’s all new to me, but this block featured songs from 2008, three songs from 2006’s With Oden on Our Side (their third album and one I haven’t heard them play anything from before) and even one song from their debut album.  This was such a fascinating mix of songs to me since on their 2024 headline tour they played one song from 2004 and every thing was 2008 or newer.  There were some really cool visuals for these songs, too. (Okay they had a couple of albums before that but I feel like they don’t really count). (more…)

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Castle Rat (Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, May 14, 2026) [DETHKLOK]

Posted in Amon Amarth, Bethlehem, PA, Castle Rat, Dethklok, Wind Creek Event Center on May 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 14, 2026] Amon Amarth

I have really enjoyed going to Amon Amarth shows.  When this one was announced I was interested partly because I was interested in Dethklok (since they are a cartoon band).  But the tickets were really expensive.  Until Live Nation had a sale.  I think I got them for $35 instead of $80.

The last time my son and I went to Wind Creek, it sucked bad.  The parking was a nightmare, the crowd was smelly and the place basically sucked.  He said he’d never want to go back, but he made an exception for this show.  And once again, the parking was terrible,  At least we found a spot on the main concourse this time.  But it took us a while to get into the venue (jeez, the security line is insane).

So we walked in right as Castle Rat had started.  I didn’t know much about them although I had listened to a song or two.  I had also heard that their live show was fantastic.  So I did want to check them out.

And, in a nutshell, yes, their live show is amazing. (more…)

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