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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Nick Offerman (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Nick Offerman, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on April 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 12, 2026] Wanda Sykes

Whenever I think about comedians that I like, they’re usually British.  Because I receive ads for comedy clubs, I feel like there are hundreds of American comedians and I don’t know any of them. So I forget that there are quite a few American comedians who I really like.  Nick Offerman makes me laugh in anything he does and yet for some reason I have never really thought about going to his stand up show.

I had gone out the night before, but my wife wasn’t really interested in going out on a Sunday night, so we blew him off.  I’ll have to put him on my list of comedians to make sure I see at least once.

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Laveda (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, April 11, 2026) [THE BELAIR LIP BOMBS]

Posted in dust, Laveda, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, The Belair Lip Bombs on April 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 11, 2026] Laveda

I hadn’t heard of Laveda, but when I listened to them before the show I was interested in their take on 90s grunge.  Then, as I was leaving the house, I saw that they were going to go on at 7:30 instead of 8.  But I wasn’t going to be arriving until like 8:45, so I was bummed to miss them.

However, traffic was light and for one reason or another the band didn’t go on until 7:45, so I was able to see their whole set and was right up near the stage.  Laveda is from Brooklyn.  They were founded by Ali Genevich (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Brooks (guitars and effects).

They opened with Strawberry, a heavy, crashing song with tons of distortion and feedback.  It was a great introduction to the band.  Ali sang all of the songs and had a quiet delivery that suited the songs.

When it ended, they played a noisy and lengthy feedback filled section. Brooks was on his needs playing with the effects pedals and generating feedback.  The noise resolved into the song Care.  It was this song that full won me over.  *’s guitar chords were great and reminded me a lot of Sonic Youth (their more commercial songs).  The bass was also great–a rumbling low end that propelled the song as much as the drums.  The song rocks for a solid 4 minutes and then ends with a very pretty quiet guitar part.  I actually assumed this was a new song, but I see it’s the end of Care, which makes me like the song even more. (more…)

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Circle Jerks / Gorilla Biscuits / Negative Approach (Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA. March 31, 2026 // Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), Philadelphia, PA, April 3 & 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Circle Jerks, Gigi Perez, Gorilla Biscuits, Negative Approach, Nikole, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on April 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 31, April 3, April 4, 2026] Circle Jerks / Gorilla Biscuits / Negative Approach

I liked a lot of 80s punks, but I was never really into Circle Jerks.  I mean, they were legends of course, but for whatever reason I never got their music.  When these shows were announced I was actually surprised that Circle Jerks were still a thing.  Actually, I guess they are once again a thing.  They tend to reunite and then stop and reunite and stop.  They’ve been touring now since 2019 (but haven’t released any new music since 1995).  I Really did consider going to this show. I mean, it’s the Circle Jerks after all.  And they were playing THREE dates.  But I was completely shut out on all of these dates.

The March 31 date was the same night as The Teeth who I didn’t want to miss.  April 3 I had tickets to Puscifer and April 4th I had tickets to Nothing.  And then we wound up going to  Minnesota the first few days of April, so I wouldn’t have been able to go anyway.

I’m not sure what an old school punk show like this would be like–is it all old punks in a pit or is it all young kids in a pit an old guys standing around.  I mean I do love seeing that they played 31 songs in roughly an hour–nice old school punk.  And since they played two dates in Philly, they probably won’t come back around any time soon.  Oh well.  Not a bucket list band, but it would have been fun.

All I know about Gorilla Biscuits is that I bought their Start Today CD in college and it had 99 tracks, which was a really fun at the time.  I hadn’t really thought about them much since then, and was kind of surprised to see that they were touring (which I guess they have been doing since 2005?).  They have released no new music since Start Today (1988).  So I guess their shows aren’t very different each night.  I’m not sure I would have recognized many of the songs but it would have been fun to see them too.  They played about 40 minutes (not bad since they released about 30 minutes of music)

Negative Approach is yet another hardcore band who is still around but who hasn’t out out new music since their debut album Tied Down (1983).  I’m aware of the band but really know very little about them.  Unlike the other three bands, when they started playing again in 2006, only the singer remained–everyone else was new.  But it’s the same guys since 2006 which is longer than the original incarnation lasted (1981-1984).  They played for about 30 minutes)

It sounds like a fun night of old school punk and I wish I’d been able to go.

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Dirty Three (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 2, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dirty Three, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 2, 2026] Dirty 3

I have a list of bands that I want to see.  The list is pretty long, but I do have them ranked roughly by how much I want to see them.  I also have a category of bands that I assume will never tour again but that I want to see if they ever do.  And Dirty Three was on top of that list.  I couldn’t believe when they announced that they were playing Underground Arts.  I bought my ticket instantly and couldn’t wait to see them.

And then about a week before this show, my daughter told me that she wanted to go to Minnesota for a college visit.  And it had to be the first days of April.

I was obviously bummed but was really happy that the trip was fun and helped her decide on a school.

I assume that Dirty Three will never come back to the States (their previous visit was in 2003).   Huh, I didn’t realize that they had put out a new album in 2024 (first since 2012), so maybe if they make another album before ten years pass, they may come back again).

The show sounds like it was wild (of course) and they played for two and a half hours!  I wonder if anyone filmed it.

 

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Thursday presents Full City Devolution / Chris Conly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chris Conly, Philadelphia, PA, Thursday, Union Transfer on April 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 1, 2026] Thursday / Chris Conly

I have seen Thursday twice.  Both times they opened for My Chemical Romance.  The first time was in the Prudential Center.  The second time was in Giants Stadium.  Both times the sound wasn’t great and while i knew them a little better the second time, I felt like I couldn’t really appreciate them at all.

So while I don’t know their music well, and don’t know the album Full City Devolution any more than any of their other albums, I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually see the band properly.

But then my daughter was going to Minnesota and so I missed all for the shows this week.  Luckily I was able to resell this show, so no loss for me.  And maybe Thursday will headline again soon–I mean they sold out this time, so they know there’s interest.

Chris Conly is a Brooklyn musician,  I listened to two of his songs and hated them both.  He reminds me of George Thoroughgood, and the last thing we need is another George Thoroughgood.

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The Teeth (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2026)

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Purples, The Kinks, The Teeth on March 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2026] The Teeth 

Two years ago, I had never heard of The Teeth before I saw that they had sold out three nights at Johnny Brenda’s months and months before these shows happened.

So who were they?  The Teeth was an indie rock band from Philadelphia consisting of twin brothers Aaron MoDavis on rhythm guitar and Peter MoDavis on bass.  I was intrigued by them and was even more intrigued when I saw that they were going to open for Dr. Dog on their tour last year.  From their images and the few songs I’d heard, I assumed that they’d be a weirdo band.  And I wanted to see them.

So I was pretty happy to have grabbed a ticket for this show.  While the show was starting, I met a guy who was born in Norway but who moved to California when he was three.  He had found The Teeth a few years ago (via Dr. Dog who always praised The Teeth) and fell in love with them.  He was very excited to be seeing them for the first time.  When he asked me how I knew them, I told him the above story.

I was very amused by their stage backdrop which was a bunch of hand drawn and cut out images stuck to the Johnny Brenda’s curtain.

After the comedian, it took some time before the band came out.  And what was so much fun is that they came out of the door upstairs!  They walked through the crowd, all while Herb Alpert’s Behind the Rain played, came down the stairs and climbed onto the stage.  And that’s when I realized how normal these guys were (except for Brian Ashby’s amazing mustache). (more…)

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The Teeth / Lindsey Noel (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lindsey Noel, Philadelphia, PA, The Teeth on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] The Teeth / Lindsey Noel

It was nearly two years ago that I first heard of The Teeth when they played Johnny Brenda’s and sold out before I even knew who they were.  But this year I managed to score a ticket for their second of two nights.  For this show that I didn’t go to, they had Lindsey Noel opening for them again.

Here’s what I wrote in 2024.

I had never heard of The Teeth before I saw that they had sold out three nights at Johnny Brenda’s months and months before these shows happened.

So who were they?

The Teeth was an indie rock band from Philadelphia consisting of twin brothers Aaron MoDavis on rhythm guitar and Peter MoDavis on bass.

After abruptly breaking up 15 years ago The Teeth are reuniting for a pair of special shows at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia. Twin brothers Peter MoDavis (Bass) and Aaron MoDavis (guitar) will reassemble with Jonas Oesterle (drums) and Brian Ashby (guitar) on their favorite stage in the City of Brotherly Love.

Opening for this show was magician Lindsey Noel.  I watched a clip of her performing in front of Penn and Teller and it was quite good.  But what a weird opening act!

Here’s some more about The Teeth: (more…)

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Mae Martin (Kimmel Center/Miller Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Mae Martin, Philadelphia, PA, Taskmaster on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] Mae Martin

I decided I would like to see my favorite Taskmaster contestants if they came to the United States.  I have seen a few of them already and Mae Martin was a favorite contestant for me.  But we had recently watched Mae’s TV show Feel Good and it was funny but very dark as well.  I didn’t really investigate any of Mae’s standup, but I kind of got the feeling that it was all kind of dark and I didn’t think I wanted to go to that kind of comedy show.

It turned out to be on the same night as the Lucius show that I was super excited to go to, so it was a moot point anyhow.  I might reconsider if they come back around–but I will have to see just how dark the show gets before I commit.

Of course I have just watched a few clips and it looks very funny and not dark at all, so what do I know?

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Wanda Sykes (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Wanda Sykes on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] Wanda Sykes

Whenever I think about comedians that I like, they’re usually British.  Because I receive ads for comedy clubs, I feel like there are hundreds of American comedians and I don’t know any of them. So I forget that there are quite a few American comedians who I really like.  And Wanda Sykes is one of them.  I don’t know much about her standup, but she cracks me up whenever I see her.  I didn’t hear about this show until recently and we had had tickets to Lucius for quite a while already.

When I looked at the tour poster I saw that she was only doing six dates!  And Philly was one of them.  That makes me think she doesn’t tour very often and I’ll have to keep an eye out in case she comes back any time soon.

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Orcutt Shelley Miller (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, March 23, 2026)

Posted in Orcutt Shelley Miller, Philadelphia, PA, Solar Myth, What is New on March 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 23, 2026] Orcutt Shelley Miller

When I saw Thurston Moore about a decade ago, Steve Shelley was drumming for him.  I thought it would be fun to see each of the Sonic Youth members since I never got to see the band.  Then I saw Kim Gordon a few years ago.  And while I saw Lee Ranaldo decades ago, that doesn’t feel like it counts for various reasons.  But heck, an opportunity to see Steve Shelley again is not to be missed.

I didn’t know who Bill Orcutt was (and shame on me, I guess–he is best known for being in the band Harry Pussy).  I thought I didn’t know who Ethan Miller was, but then I realized I had seen him with Heron Oblivion about 8 years ago and I loved that set and I loved watching him.  But yes, the main draw of this trio for me was Steve Shelley.  Then I listened to their album and I loved it.

Bill Orcutt plays a loose, but great-sounding guitar.  It was fascinating to see that he has literally one pedal in front of him.  A small box which he stepped on from time to time.  I couldn’t really tell what the difference was after he stepped on it (maybe more distortion?), but overall the sound was great.  He played some wild solos–some seemingly on the verge of just nonsensical noise and yet he never let the sound get away from him.  But he also held back when there was a chance for Miller to play some soloing stuff.

Ethan Miller plays a small violin-shaped bass (a Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass) and the sound he gets from it is fantastic.  Unlike Orcutt, he has a bunch if gear.  He’s got some pedals that he messed around with and, in a moment of technological genius, I saw him turn on his phone and hold up a photo of his amp so he could set the dials to the exact specifications.  Miller is the only person who spoke (it must be 9 o’clock) and he seemed to having a really good time.

But not as good a time as Steve Shelley.  He smiles through the whole set, just seemingly thrilled to be playing drums.  It was such a treat to watch him.  And while his kit is pretty sparse, he really conveys a lot.

It was cool to watch Bill check in with Steve with a nod or glance that it was time to change tempo or end the songs. (more…)

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