Posted in Coronavirus, Dawn Richard, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Purity Ring, Quarantine, Union Transfer on June 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 27, 2022] Purity Ring / Dawn Richard [postponed from May 13, 2020 and April 21, 2021 and November 12, 2021]
This show came and went. I never got tickets and never wound up going.
I heard really good things about the show. And I have put them on my list of bands to see when they come around again.
I’m not sure what kept me away–sometimes, you just don’t feel like going outside.
It’s a cool poster though.
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Shannon Lay, Ty Segall, Ty Segall and the Freedom Band, Union Transfer on June 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 5, 2022] Ty Segall & Freedom Band / Shannon Lay [rescheduled from October 2, 2020 and June 24, 2022]
I have become a fan of Ty Segall in the last few years. He releases far too much music to keep tabs on him, but I’ve wanted to see his fuzzed out live show for a while now.
He has had a bunch of shows in Philly, both with Freedom Band and with his other band Fuzz get postponed over and over again.
Back in April the Fuzz show was finally rescheduled and I was really excited to see them. But we wound up going on vacation that week instead.
Now came this show, which I didn’t realize would be as amazing as it is (if this KEXP live performance is any indicator).
But my son was leaving for a trip to Europe in a couple of days and I wanted to spend time with the family. So I blew off this show.
Now, since he puts out new music all the time, I have to assume he’ll be back next year (and I hope with this kick ass band).
Shannon Lay is a former punk and now folk singer. Her songs are quite lovely but 100% unlike Ty Segall & Freedom Band.
However, Ty Segall also plays acoustic shows–he has one coming up in Philly in November (so that’s three shows in Philly in one year). and I wonder if she has played with him in these solo settings.
Posted in M.A.G.S., Philadelphia, PA, Runnner, The Foundry, Vundabar on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 23, 2022] Vundabar / Runnner [moved from March 25, 2022, First Unitarian Church]
This show was moved forward a couple of months. By this time I knew who Vundabar was and was interested in seeing them because of their ubiquitous (in my house) old song “Alien Blues.”
This show sold out before I really knew about it, so there was no way i was going.
I was also a little surprised to find out that their music doesn’t really sound like “Alien Blues”–that song is a bit more frenetic and weird than their most recent album anyway. Although most live reviews I’ve read say they are terrific live.
M.A.G.S. was supposed to open for this tour, but he couldn’t accommodate the new dates.
Instead, Runnner was the opener. Noah Weinman is the singer-songwriter behind the melancholy bedroom-folk project. I listened to a couple of songs and yes, “melancholy bedroom-folk” sounds about right. I wouldn’t have enjoyed them as an opener, especially if I thought Vundabar was going to be a rocking outfit.
Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Liz Stringer, Midnight Oil, Philadelphia, PA on June 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 22, 2022] Midnight Oil / Liz Stringer
When I was in college I was a DJ for a few years. My freshman year, I loved “Beds Are Burning” and played the song on my show all the time.
I enjoyed the rest of the album, but really don’t know much else by them.
When this tour–their final tour–was announced, I dithered about whether to get tickets. I assumed it wouldn’t sell out (it didn’t). I don’t love Franklin Music Hall, so that was a strike against it. A friend of mine said they were great live (she went to the NYC show and said it was great)./
But ultimately, I decided not to go (or buy a ticket).
And I’m okay with that.
Liz Stringer is an Australian singer who is beloved by many Australian musicians. She has a devoted cult following. but it never translates into mega sales. I’m a little surprised by this because her music is pretty straightforward with an alt-country feel that could appeal pretty broadly here.
I guess I’m not that upset that I missed her though.
Posted in Crossroads, Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Garwood, NJ, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Philadelphia, PA on June 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 20, 2022] Frank Turner / Kayleigh Goldsworthy
On September 15, Frank Turner announced that he would be playing Underground Arts on October 3. At 2PM!
This year, after announcing his show in Philadelphia, he announced that the next night he would be playing Crossroads the following night–a solo show–AFTER playing a show in Queens earlier in the day. Frank is a lunatic.
I wanted to see him, but the show started at 11 PM. Which, let’s face it, is too late, even for me. Plus, he was solo, and I want to see the band this time.
His opening act was announced as a special guest. The guest turned out to be Philly singer-songwriter Kayleigh Goldsworthy.
I saw her open for Frank at that 2PM show and really enjoyed her.
Kayleigh commanded the afternoon crowd right off the bat. She sang slow ballads that were full of angst. Her voice was really strong and she had the amazing confidence to have long (relatively) stretches of her song where very little happened. And we were rapt by her. Her voice sounded very familiar to me–like someone who I can’t place.
There are some videos available of the show 9which sounds like the audience was full of drunken men, perhaps no surprise there).
Posted in Avail, Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Pet Needs, Philadelphia, PA, The Bronx, The Fillmore Philadelphia on June 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 19, 2022] Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls / Avail / The Bronx / Pet Needs
I had been wanting to see him for a long time because I’d heard his live shows were amazing. I saw him last year in a solo (more or less) performance. And it was great. So next, I wanted to see him with his band because I’ve heard the band version is even wilder with a more punk aesthetic and I do love a fun punk show.
I grabbed a ticket to this immediately, not realizing that it was Father’s Day. It’s not a very Fatherly way to spend the day by being away from your family for hours. So I didn’t go. I probably wouldn’t have gone to all the bands (four is so many!), but still, it’s nice to be home with the family.
Avail is a melodic hardcore band that has been around since 1987. There would be a LOT of slam dancing for this set.
The Bronx is a punk band from (amusingly) Los Angeles. They’ve been around since 2022, but I’d never heard of them (clearly I’m not up on my punk bands). Slam dancing here as well, although their newer stuff is less punk and a bit more metal. Interestingly, the band also released several mariachi albums under the name Mariachi El Bronx. I wonder if they play any of that in these shows. Probably not.
Pet Needs is a punk band from England formed by brothers Johnny and George Marriott. Their debut album: ‘Fractured Party Music‘, was mixed and mastered by Frank Turner. They have a good punk sound but they mix it up with slower parts in their songs, too.
Posted in Anjimile, Philadelphia, PA, tUnE-yArDs, Union Transfer on June 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 18, 2022] tUnE-yArDs / Anjimile
I saw tUnE-yArDs in 2018 and enjoyed the show. There’s questions about her appropriation of African culture into her music which makes me think, rather than enjoy, her music.
So I wasn’t likely to go to this show even if it hadn’t been right up against Kraftwerk, which there was no way I was missing.
Anjimile Chithambo is a folk singer from Boston, Massachusetts. Her music is pretty, but I don’t care for her singing style at all, which is kind of slow and deliberate and, to me, a little tedious.
Posted in Kraftwerk, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on June 18, 2022| 1 Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 18, 2022] Kraftwerk 3-D [rescheduled after July 30, 2020 cancellation]
Kraftwerk are one of the most influential bands of all time–and most people don’t know them. They created electronic music and have been sampled hundreds of times.
I never even considered that I would see them live. And then they announced this 3-D tour celebrating their 50th anniversary!
My understanding of their live shows was that the four members would stand on stage in front of these tint platforms and play their electronic music and that was pretty much it. So the 3-D component sounded like an interesting addition.
Normally I wouldn’t want to see a band that wasn’t full of original members. Kraftwerk really only has one–Ralf Hütter is the only guy still in the band from the beginning. Of the other three, Fritz Hilpert has been on board since 1987, Henning Schmitz since 1991 and Falk Grieffenhagen since 2012. Florian Schneider another co-founder just died in 2020, but he had left the band twelve years ago. So while they aren’t original guys, the four have been together long enough to count as Kraftwerk for sure.
I was bummed when the whole tour was cancelled for COVID. But here it was, two years later (52nd anniversary) rescheduled and ready to go–no doubt unchanged in any way. (more…)
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, The Still Tide, Union Transfer on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2022] Strand of Oaks / The Still Tide
I have seen Strand of Oaks a number of times–although mostly as a solo venture.
I kind of forget that he plays with a full band (and they rock). This would have been a fun show to see, but it was scheduled for the same night as Belle and Sebastian which we’d already gotten tickets for. Plus, the night turned out to be the same as my daughter’s graduation. So, this one was never going to happen. I hope that he comes back to Philly again soon.
The Still Tide are from Brooklyn but are now based in Colorado.
I’ve listened to a couple of songs and they remind me of Lone Justice–rock with a countryish kind of feel. They actually seem like a good fit for Strand of Oaks.
Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Franklin Music Hall, Los Bitchos, Philadelphia, PA on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2022] Belle and Sebastian / Los Bitchos
This was a terrible week for concerts for my wife and I.
After missing out on Sigur Ros because of an awards ceremony at my daughter’s school, this evening was scheduled for her graduation as well.
Obviously, those events are very important and there was no question which we would go to. It’s just maddening that these dates were announced so late that we had already gotten tickets to both events long before the conflict came up.
Oh well.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing Belle & Sebastian again.
Los Bitchos is a four piece from London. The band consists of Serra Petale (guitar), Agustina Ruiz (keytar), Josefine Jonsson (bass), and Nic Crawshaw (drums; percussion). They predominantly play instrumental music in the style of cumbia from the 70s and 80s.
And they are a lot of fun. Sounds like a great opening act.
I Just Read About That... 