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Bikini Kill (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026)

Posted in Bikini Kill, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Kilynn Lunsford, Philadelphia, PA, Riot Grrrl on September 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 18, 2026] Bikini Kill 

I saw Bikini Kill three years ago with my daughter.  She has worn the shirt many times and gotten nothing but great reactions from it.

I bought tickets when they came around last time so my wife and daughter could go, but we wound up not going (and reselling the tickets was easy enough).  This year I grabbed a ticket for myself and my wife.  I was very bummed when Cheekface announced a show the same night, but my wife was really looking forward to seeing Bikini Kill.

After the opener went for 45 minutes, I wasn’t sure how long it would take for Bikini Kill to come on.  Setlist suggested ten after but as ten after rolled up, the crew went on stage to tune stuff.  Come on!

They started a few minutes later and the crowd went nuts mostly for Kathleen Hanna of course.  Kathleen Hanna is a great front woman–talking to us about the songs, being supportive of women and young people in general. She joked at one point that she’s starting a new fashion trend–if your dress is too tight to zip up, leave it down and when someone tells you it’s down, say I like it that way.

Like last time three of the original Bikini Kill members were touring, Tobi Vail on drums (and vocals) Kathi Wilcox on bass (and drums) and Kathleen Hanna singing (and bass).  Original member Billy Karren was not part of the reunion and was replaced by Sara Landeau who has an impressive musical background.

The setlist was very similar to last time.  The first three songs were the same–a blur of fast music and Kathleen’s largely inaudible singing. I’m listening to the records and she is pretty clear about the words.  But live there’s a lot more screaming–which works pretty well (especially if you already know the songs). (more…)

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Cheekface / Apes of the State / Sad 13 (Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Apes of the State, Cheekface, Philadelphia, PA, Sad13, Underground Arts on September 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2026] Cheekface / Apes of the State / Sad 13

I saw Cheekface on a whim in 2023 and loved the show so much I couldn’t wait to see them again.  They have been back to Philly three times somnce then and I have been unable to see them. Ugh.

Tonight’s show was the same night as the Bikini Kill show that my wife and I had tickets to.  I really wanted to get to this show, but there was just no way–unless Bikini Kill cancelled (which they didn’t).  They seem to tour annually, so I guess I’ll have to wait until next year to try again.

Apes of the State play folk punk and are from Lancaster, PA.  I feel like I’ve heard of them before, although I can’t find any evidence of that.  They play acoustic folk music but at a breakneck speed.  And with very pointed lyrics (as folk tends to do).  Somehow the speed makes these songs way more fun.

But even their slow songs are spot on

Now I’m not a stranger to being let down
By political movements that die on the ground
But all of those failures they don’t hold a flame
To July 13th ‘24 in Butler, PA

Oh Thomas Oh Thomas
You let us all down
We could have had Donald Trump slumped on the ground
Now instead we have ICE agents all over town
Oh Thomas how you let us down

But we must let his failure be an inspiring tale
And we must take shots even though we might fail
Cause once in a while those shots they do land
And violence is the language fascists understand

Oh Charlie Oh Charlie
Died of direct hit
Taken out by the same bitter hatred he spit
When we speak in a tongue they understand
It defies the boundaries of classes and land

And fascists only speak violence
Fascists only speak violence
They don’t back down to spoken word or acts of kindness
No fascists they only speak violence

Sad13 is the side project of Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz. It’s her more experimental side.  Her songs aren’t mellow folkie songs (as the band name kind of suggests) but rather they are weird experimental songs with sound effects and fascinating noises.  On her new album, the longest song is 1:48. She opened for a show I wanted to get to but couldn’t back in July.  Back then I wrote:  I’m not dying to see this incarnation, but I do hope she is opening for someone one of these days.  So she did, but I couldn’t make it, yet again (which is kind of funny since I’ve seen Speedy Ortiz 5 times).

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Pansy Division / Teenage Halloween / Hot Seat (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hot Seat, Pansy Division, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Teenage Halloween on September 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2026] Pansy Division / Teenage Halloween / Hot Seat

Three years ago, Pansy Division played Johnny Brenda’s but I was too busy to check them out.

When Pansy Division first appeared in the late 1990s, I was hugely supportive.  I loved that they were out and proud.  They introduced me to a whole subculture that I wasn’t aware of and which I am still really supportive of.  It almost seemed like it wasn’t much of a subculture anymore until Florida got their hands on it. But whatever.  Evidently the world still needs Pansy Division.

There have been gay musicians hidden throughout rock music history, but when Pansy Division began in 1991 in San Francisco, they were the first to be so boldly open about it.  Founded by guitarist/singer Jon Ginoli and soon joined by bassist/singer Chris Freeman, with the intent of forming a gay rock band, Pansy Division blew the closet doors open. Raised on a diet of 60s pop and 70s punk, their sound was suitably crunchy and catchy as hell. They wrote in-your-face lyrics, but did it with a sense of humor. Not only did their music and stance defy stereotypic norms of rock musicians being openly gay, they also broke gay cultural stereotypes that rock wouldn’t interest gay people.

So glad they’re still loud and proud.

I saw Teenage Halloween open for THICK a while back and thought they were great.   The Asbury Park band plays short blasts of catchy emo songs–lots of punk feelings (their bio says)

At the heart of vocalist and guitarist Luk Henderiks’ lyrics is an urgent longing for community. Despite their often strikingly personal vulnerability, these songs reach out to the wider world, striving to hold themselves and those around them accountable for their actions and to make space for those that need to be heard.

and occasionally fantastic guitar solos (Eli Frank is a total shredder, but doesn’t overuse that skill).  Luk seemed to sing more of the songs, but Tricia Marshall (bass) sang about four or five of the seventeen (!) they played.  I would absolutely see them again.

They played with Wax Jaw a month ago but I couldn’t make that show either.  Crazy that I could have seen them twice in a month at different venues with different openers.

Hot Seat is a Philly band that I hadn’t heard of.  Their blurb says

Punchy guitar and bass riffs, fast as hell drums , and witty vocals make up this Philadelphia four piece punk band. Inspired by The The Distillers, The Muffs, Lunachicks and L7, Hot Seat wants everyone to SCREAM.

And I’d say that’s pretty accurate. They are, without a doubt, a fun live band.

Another fun night in Philly.

 

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Kilynn Lunsford (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026) [BIKINI KILL]

Posted in Bikini Kill, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Kilynn Lunsford, Philadelphia, PA, Riot Grrrl on September 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 18, 2026] Kilynn Lunsford

When we saw Bikini Kill a few years ago, it wasn’t until soon before the show that the announced the opener.  It was a little earlier for this show, but it didn’t help since I had never heard of Kilynn Lunsford.

Midway through the Bikini Kill set Tobi Vail said that she loved Kilynn Lunsford’s work and was not surprised to see that she had been part of several bands that Tobi has loved over the years.  Indeed, New York Music Month says  she is an artist and musician based in New Jersey. She’s been playing in experimental noise punk projects for over 20 years and has released records on Kill Rock Stars, Ecstatic Peace, Siltbreeze, ever/never, and Feel It. Her visual art has been exhibited internationally.

I can’t find any specifics of who she has played with, but it seems that everything they played tonight came from her solo albums.  I guess.

She had three musicians with her (guitar, drums, bass) all dressed in white (like a cult, my wife said).  Kilynn was dressed in a white bodysuit type thing with tiny shorts and a sweater as well as a big bow in her hair.  She stomped around the stage and was hard to take your eyes off of her.  Someone instantly shouted “I love you outfit” although other people were rather horrified by what she was wearing.

When the first song started, the bass sounded amazing–deep and rumbling with a weird effect on it.  I loved it from the start.  The drums were simple four four beats and the guitarist also played keys.   And then Kilynn started singing.  She had a high screechy voice and a few effects pedals nearby.  So her voice had a constant echo which made the words inaudible (which is not so good considering she describes herself as a poet).  She also manipulated her voice in bizarre ways with the sound pad she had–basically making everything she said a bunch of nonsense. (more…)

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Phoebe Bridgers / Alex G (Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul, MN, September 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alex G, Grand Casino Arena, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Paul Minnesota on September 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 17, 2026] Phoebe Bridgers / Alex G

I saw Phoebe Bridgers at Asbury Lanes back in 2018.  It was intimate and very cool.  A few years later, my daughter became a massive Boygenius fan.  I have seen Lucy Dacus like 6 times and Julien Baker 3 times.  But in that time Phoebe hadn’t toured again except with Boygenius.

When this tour was announced, I knew I wasn’t going to go because I didn’t want to go from Asbury Lanes to the Xfinity Center (even if the show was bigger and presumably exponentially better).  But I also knew that my daughter really wanted to see her (we saw boygenius together, but at a festival, not a more personal show).  And, she was going to be away a college when the show was going to happen.

I put in for early access tickets and, amazingly, I was picked and was number 45 in the queue!  My daughter didn’t want floor (understandable), so I grabbed her tickets straight back.  Low enough to be close, but high enough to see over the floor stuff.  And she said the seats were great.

There was no photography or video allowed (their phones were bagged up), so I don’t have a lot of info about the show.  She said it was great, but didn’t give a lot of detail.  Except to say that when Phoebe came to the B stage, she was right near them (the screaming must have been insane).

I’m really happy for her and the two friends she went with.

My daughter liked a few Alex G songs a couple of years ago.  When I asked her how he was, she said “he was okay.”  So there’s that.  She probably should have gone for merch during his set because she said the lines were crazy long.

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Dying Fetus / Sanguisugabogg / Crowbar / Left to Suffer / Deterioration (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crowbar, Deterioration, Dying Fetus, Franklin Music Hall, Left to Suffer, Philadelphia, PA, Sanguisugabogg on September 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 17, 2026] Dying Fetus / Sanguisugabogg / Crowbar / Left to Suffer / Deterioration

There was no way I was going to this show.  But I like Sanguisugabogg–not their music, just their social media account.  So I like to know they’re still doing their thing.

Dying Fetus has been around since 1991.  They are from Maryland. Their singer sounds like he’s singing from under the earth.

Sanguisugabogg is from Ohio.  Their singer is a but more understandable, although as their bio says: disgusting gorym but ultimately tongue in cheek lyrics.

Crowbar dates back to 1990!  I can’t believe I’ve never heard of them.  They are from New Orleans and are mire sludgy than death metal.  They have a cool vibe, although I don’t care for te singer that much.

Left to Suffer formed in 2019 in Georgia.  They are heavy and screamy, and describe themselves as “nu-deathcore.”

Deterioration is the brainchild of two brothers from Minnesota.  Formed in 2003, they play relentless of grind with no slow parts or breakdowns. Blast beatings so pure, all tom drums were thrown to the wayside as to not get in the way.  Luckily they were the shortest opener.  They sound exhausting.

So, totally not my scene.  The whole night sounds exhausting.

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Annie-Claude Deschênes (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026) [ANGINE DE POITRINE]

Posted in Angine de Poitrine, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Duchess Says, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2026] Annie-Claude Deschênes

I am vey rarely ahead of a trend, but I think I found out about Angine de Poitrine about two days before everyone else.  I recall watching the KEXP show and thinking, wow, I want to see these guys.  And then like two days later, they blew up and everyone wanted to see them. The video went up on Feb 6 and by Mar 16, when this show was announced, I knew it would be hard to get a ticket.  Luckily, I scored a ticket (and paid $34, not $300).

Who even knew if they were going to have an opener.  Well, soon enough, the opener was announced as Annie-Claude Deschênes.  When I looked her up, I couldn’t find any music by her, which is weird since she has an album Les Manières de Table that came out in 2024.  And a new(ish) single from 2025.

So just who opens for Angine de Poitrine?  Well, Annie-Claude Deschênes is a performance artist and musician.  I have just learned that she was in a band called Duchess Says who were on the terrific alien8recordings label and put out three albums between 2008 and 2016.  Not sure what Annie-Claude was doing in the meantime, but she certainly hasn’t lost any front woman skills.

When the rumbling noises of her first song started, a man in a waiter outfit (bow tie, cloth, paper receipt) stood on the stage and shone a flashlight around.  Then Annie-Claude came running out and shouted the end of that first song.  The second song, Culinary Security was more dancey, but the music was very old school synth style.  Indeed, the bandcamp summary of her album says

Inspired by the pioneers of electronic music, LES MANIÈRES DE TABLE is as danceable and melodic as it is disquieting and dystopian. The album proposes to set the table differently by deconstructing the social codes of politeness, and draws from a wide range of influences, notably Steve Reich’s minimalism, Kraftwerk’s synthetic textures, Herbie Hancock’s stylistic diversity and experimental cinema’s unconventional approach to narrative.

The lyrics were in English and French and song three, Phones, saw Annie-Claude taking a (prerecorded) reservation.   I should mention that on stage this whole time was a small table and two chairs.  After this song, the waiter, who had been polishing the table, put flowers and several Reserved signs on the table.  Menace Minimale was more dancey and I enjoyed the way Annie-Claude moved in a robotic way to the synth blasts and chord changes. (more…)

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Sparta / Public Opinion (Warehouse on Watts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Angine de Poitrine, Philadelphia, PA, Public Opinion, Sparta, Warehouse on Watts on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 16, 2026] Sparta / Public Opinion

I really enjoyed seeing Sparta in 2023.  They’ve been around a couple of times since then and yet I can never make their shows.  Tonight’s show is up against Angine de Poitrine, so sorry, Sparta.

Public Opinion is a punk band from Denver.  It’s like 90’s era guitar rock–simple catchy, loud and brash.  Initially, I wasn’t that impressed, but with more listens, I dig them.  Nothing special, but solid and, I’m sure a great opening act for Sparta.

 

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Danny Elfman (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 16, 2026] Danny Elfman

I felt like this concert was announced suddenly and with no warning (which is how Danny likes it, I’m sure).  I was super interested in going, but it was on the same night as Angine de Poitrine and there was no way I was missing that, even if this was Danny’s first tour in 30 years.

I remember Danny from his Oingo Boingo days and obviously everyone knows his from his hundreds of fantastic scores.  Since I had no plans to go  to this I didn’t give a lot of thought to what the show would be like.  so I’m fascinated by this review from Loudhailer magazine:

Danny Elfman has done a few one-off festival performances in recent years, but his stop at The Fox Theatre was only the second show of his first actual tour with a band since 1995 – and it absolutely rocked. How could it not, given an all-star backing that included guitarists Nili Brosh from Dethklok, Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle bassist Matt McJunkins, and Josh Freese, who has drummed with everyone from Devo and Guns N Roses to Foo Fighters. Putting a supergroup like this together meant that Elfman was never going to just replay nostalgic Oingo Boingo hits or film scores. That would have been a waste of the overwhelming talent on stage. Instead, songs from the ’80s new-wave era were rebuilt in a more industrial metal style. 

 The sonic reinterpretation ran throughout the night, with Oingo tracks like “Ain’t This The Life” and “On The Outside” trading their new wave brightness for a much heavier grind. Most of the show fluctuated between Oingo classics and tracks from Elfman’s 2021 solo record Big Mess, which didn’t need the same makeover since they were written with exactly this sound in mind.  Another standout of the night was the one and only piece of Elfman’s film work that made the set: a metal version of “This Is Halloween,” which Elfman played in a Jack Skellington-style jacket.

The 80-minute, 20-song set closed with Boingo classics “Only a Lad” and “No One Lives Forever,” followed by an encore of “Who Do You Want to Be.” Thirty years after Elfman last toured for a living, the songs didn’t sound preserved and replayed. They were rebuilt and renewed.

So how about that

Danny Elfman at Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI

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Angine de Poitrine (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2026)

Posted in Angine de Poitrine, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Duchess Says, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on September 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2026] Angine de Poitrine

I am vey rarely ahead of a trend, but I think I found out about Angine de Poitrine about two days before everyone else.  I recall watching the KEXP show and thinking, wow, I want to see these guys.  And then like two days later, they blew up and everyone wanted to see them. The video went up on Feb 6 and by Mar 16, when this show was announced, I knew it would be hard to get a ticket.  Luckily, I scored a ticket (and paid $34, not $300).

I am still puzzled about their popularity.  Sure, the gimmick is a good one, but their music is weird and instrumental.  Since I don’t speak French, I resisted saying their name for a while, calling them “the polka dot band” for my family.  And then one day in the last couple of months, my wife was telling me how catchy she thought their radio friendly song Sarniezz was.  And I realized that even though they’re weird and play micrtonal jams, the songs are crazy catchy too.

When a band breaks it big like this, there’s always the assumption that people want to go just to be there.  And sure, people capitalized on the fame by scalping tickets for crazy prices.  But the people here were pretty seriously into the music.

Normally I can stroll up to a venue 15 minutes before the opening act and get a pretty great spot.  But I knew this would be different.  So I left straight from work and arrive in front of the venue around 6:15 and there was a line almost to the end of the block.  I parked and walked over and was able to stay on the entrance side of the street–before it curved around the block.  It was a good 35 minute wait for the doors, but everyone around was chatty and friendly and that’s okay by me.

When we got in, for the first time ever, everyone who was already in the venue was crowded around the stage (rather than at the bar or merch). So I hung to the side with one of the guys I was talking to (who had never been there and I should have known better).  The spot we had wasn’t bad, but I probably should have gone to the middle more.  Of course, this is annoying complaints since I was three people from the stage (and they recently played in front of 100,000 people).  I was more or less in front of Khn de Poitrine but I couldn’t see Klek de Poitrine (drums) without moving–good thing he has a massive helmet on.

The duo came out to the music of LCD Soundsystem’s North American Scum, tuned their gear and then held up their triangle hands to each other (for a comically long time) and then held them up to us–which everyone responded to, of course and within moments Khn was playing the thumping bass of Angor.  Khn clapped his hands along his hat to get people to clap, I guess (who knows what these aliens mean when they communicate). (more…)

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