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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Sondre Lerche / mmeadows (City Winery Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in City Winery Philadelphia, mmeadows, Philadelphia, PA, Sondre Lerche on May 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 24, 2022] Sondre Lerche / mmeadows

I’ve been a fan of Sondre Lerche for about eight years.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to see him live, but when the night of the show came up, my wife and I decided to just stay home instead.  She didn’t really know him–sometimes I get tickets for a show I think she’ll like–and I’m sure that impacted her decision to stay home.

At the same time, it felt like a long drive for a seated show of mellow folk, no matter how good it was.

Here’s a review from the NYC show the night before

Lerche said that his newest album was written and recorded in Norway, where he grew up and hunkered down during lockdown. He kept busy training for marathons, started a wine company, wrote children’s books, and busted out creative new music videos during that span. He also discussed how his working methods have allowed his artistry to evolve and branch out in unique ways.

Lerche’s music has continued to evolve over the years and now encompasses an extraordinary range of styles, each amazing in their own right, from jazz and addictive instrumental ballads to pop melodies and rhythms. Approaching each song is much like examining a gallery piece: once you can overcome the rush and excitement of the melody and can focus on the lyrics, you let them sink in. His thought-provoking, introspective poetry strikes a chord and makes you love and appreciate the songs more with each listen. These elements come together with eclectic, but incredibly appealing results.

I don’t really know mmeadows, but their music is pretty interesting.  Rough Trade publishing describes them this way:

Longtime collaborators Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green come together for the first time as a duo in mmeadows. The band’s distinct sound is informed by their deep musical backgrounds: Kristin is a current member of indie royalty Dirty Projectors, while Cole has worked directly with Beyoncé on two albums, ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Four.’ Drawing from their disparate influences, mmeadows sees two people connect in what Paste Magazine calls a sonically “singular” way.

Vocal-focused pop songwriting is the heartbeat of mmeadows, who liberally use found sounds and esoteric vintage instruments in their productions and performances. The band released their first EP, Who Do You Think You Are?, in April 2020.

Perhaps a but too poppy for me, but I’ll bet they’re fun live.

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Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini: An Evening with Mouth Congress (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Paul Bellini, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Scott Thompson, The Kids in the Hall on May 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 21, 2022] Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini: An Evening with Mouth Congress

I love PhilaMOCA and can’t believe how many of their shows I’ve had to miss since they reopened.

Of course this one I wouldn’t have missed ina million years.  Except I didn’t even HEAR about it until it was long sold out.  [Plus, we went to Music Man on Broadway so I wasn’t around].

So what the hell was this?  And are you telling me that for an extra $15 I could have met a Kid in the Hall?

PhilaMOCA is excited to host The Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson and KITH writer Paul Bellini for a documentary screening and reunion performance of their 1980s gay punk band Mouth Congress! This is not a tour, this is a one-off just for Philly proudly organized in-house by PhilaMOCA!

The event will feature a screening of the pseudo-documentary MOUTH CONGRESS followed by a live performance, sketches, and a Q&A with Thompson and Bellini.

About Mouth Congress:
Mouth Congress was formed in a basement in November of 1984 when Paul Bellini rented a beatbox from an audio store. He wanted to experiment with sounds and try his hand at songwriting with his sister’s boyfriend, guitarist Rob Rowatt, and her high school buddy, bassist Gord Disley. Their cacophony immediately drew the attention of Scott Thompson, who at the time was on the cusp of joining a local comedy troupe called The Kids in the Hall. Since they only had the beatbox for a month, they recorded dozens of sketches for songs. Then, about ten months later, they made their stage debut with Brian Hiltz’s band I Want functioning as back-up. From start to finish, Bellini either tape-recorded or video-taped everything the band ever did, from jam sessions to costume fittings to lyric-writing sessions to live shows. This dragged on for about 4 years, so you can imagine how much media he accumulated. But by 1991, both Thompson and Bellini were so preoccupied with their work on The Kids in the Hall television series that they quietly put all the Mouth Congress media into a deep, dark hallway closet. They didn’t forget about it, though. For years, Bellini pondered the idea of making a film about the band. Then, in 2011, he dug all this stuff out of the closet, showed it to Thompson, and the two men set about trying to shape it all into something.

Synopsis:
It’s a cold, snowy night in Toronto. Melancholy, an 8-year old girl, is spending the night at her Uncle Kevin’s place. Uncle Kevin is Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall. After a day of Josef von Sternberg cosplay (he dons an ape suit like Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus), Uncle Kevin sets Melancholy up in his den to watch a DVD of a movie he was in called Lilo & Stitch.

But Melancholy isn’t interested in Lilo & Stitch. Instead, she finds an old VHS tape labelled Mouth Congress and her curiosity gets the best of her. As she watches the first five minutes of this bizarre rock band on stage, she is captivated. Kevin catches her in the act and admonishes her for snooping, but she is hooked. For a bedtime story, she insists on being told the history of Mouth Congress.

NOTE: There will no longer be a 10:00 PM performance (no controversy, the performers just want to put their all into a single performance).
Admission is $40, Admission + post-show Meet & Greet is $55

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Little Simz (Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Little Simz, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, Theatre of Living Arts on May 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: May 15, 2022] Little Simz

I’ve never been to a rap show, but this week I had an opportunity to go to three that I wanted to go to: DAVE (British), SHAD (Canadian) and Little Simz (British).

I really like Little Simz’ delivery and attitude and I thought she’d be a lit of fun to see live.  Apparently a lot of other people did too, because this show was originally scheduled for The Foundry but it got moved to TLA.

However, on April 20, Little Simz cancelled her American tour.

Little Simz has cancelled her upcoming US tour, citing the financial unviability of the undertaking as an independent artist.

“I take my live shows seriously and would only want to give you guys nothing but the best of me,” the 28-year-old rapper and actor, born Simbiatu Ajikawo, tweeted.

“Being an independent artist, I pay for everything encompassing my live performances out of my own pocket and touring the US for a month would leave me in a huge deficit. As much as this pains me to not see you at this time, I’m just not able to put myself through that mental stress.”

The 11-date tour was due to commence in May. It would have been the first time that Simz had showcased her widely acclaimed 2021 album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, in the US. A representative for the musician could not confirm whether the cancellation would also affect her planned dates in Canada and South America.

Simz advised artists to “know your worth and stick to your guns”.

Good for her for knowing her worth.  And obviously the stress would be too much, but I still think she might have made some money on this tour.

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An Evening with Jens Lekman and local youth orchestra / Leslie Deshazor (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Every Little Thing, Jens Lekman, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on May 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2022] Jens Lekman [original show was cancelled, so technically not rescheduled from April 19, 2020]

I have really enjoyed Jens Lekman over the years. His Tiny Desk Concert is tremendous.  He was even the subject of a request in an episode of Every Little Thing, a podcast that S and I really like.  (A caller could not get a fragment of a song out of his head and it was one of Lekman’s).

I have been wanting to see him for a while and this show with a local youth orchestra sounded kind of fun.

Jens Lekman originally announced a unique North American tour where he’d perform with local youth orchestras in various cities for 2020, but the dates were put on hold because of the pandemic. He’s now announced new dates for the tour, beginning this April and running through May. He’ll be joined by violinist Leslie DeShazor for the shows. “This is a tour that I have been working on and looked forward to for almost four years,” Jens writes. “The idea originally came to me in 2015 when I was invited to Cincinnati to perform a show with a group of young string players from the organization MyCincinnati. The show ended up being one of the most memorable moments of my whole career. The energy that is present when a young person is still exploring and mastering an instrument is something I’ve always been drawn to. As someone who’s been playing music more or less professionally for over 15 years I often have to go back to this youthful source to remember and learn. To let the students become my teachers.”

It’s unclear to me whether Leslie DeShazor played a set before or was a featured part of the orchestra. (more…)

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Shad / Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Christine Elise, Johnny Brenda's, Kuf Knotz, Philadelphia, PA on May 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2022] Shad / Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise

SHAD’s 2010 album TSOL is one of my favorite rap albums.  Of all of the rappers that come around to Philly to tour, SHAD is the one I’m most interested in seeing.

SHAD is from Canada although he was born in Kenya.  He raps about real issues but also has a thread of positivity through his songs, which I appreciate.

This happened to be a really busy week of shows for me, though, so I had to blow it off.

He comes to town every couple of years, so I assume he’ll be back maybe in 2024.

When he came to town in 2018 he played Boot & Saddle (RIP) and I couldn’t make that show either.  For that show Kuf Knotz also opened.

Kuf Knotz is a Philly rapper who blends hiphop poetry with deep grooves of soul and beats sun kissed with the spirit of Lo-Fi & 90’s era vibes , Kuf’s inimitable style focuses on unsubtle spirituality, that, like his music, focus on unity, positivity and creativity.

For this tour, he was with harpist Christine Elise

Christine Gallagher, MA, MT-BC, LMT, LPC “Christine Elise” is classically trained harpist, pianist, and vocalist.  In 2018, Christine and Kuf founded a community music therapy outreach performance project called Higher Grounds Music, using the power of music, clinical training, and performance experience to foster personal growth. Working in a strength based model, the workshops/performances are designed to support participants in building skills to build confidence, increase motivation and drive and strengthen self-care skills.

If they all tour together next time, I’ll have to go for an night of positivity.

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Pom Pom Squad / Chloe Lilac (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chloe Lilac, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Pom Pom Squad on May 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2022] Pom Pom Squad / Chloe Lilac

I was really interested in seeing Pom Pom Squad–their album Death of a Cheerlader was really good retro-grungy pop fun.

Then I saw them (unexpectedly) open for Nada Surf and they were fantastic.

That was about six month ago and I thought they’d be even better in a headline show.

But I’d already had a ticket for another show this night (which I wound up not gong to anyway).  I was feeling some seasonal concert burnout by the end of May for sure.

Chloe Lilac is a young Brooklyn singer.  It seems like her earlier stuff is a little more synthy but her newest stuff has a bit more grunge (with lots of f-bombs) and would work well with Pom Pom Squad.

Clout says

Chloe Lilac is an artist that has been growing exponentially as of late.   All it felt like she needed to solidify this was a full body of work to represent this step up, which is now here in the form of her latest extended play DOUCHEBAG.

The EP is packed full of huge tunes, from its unapologetic and brass title track, to the confrontational ‘WHO IS EMILY?’, to the more calculated and thoughtful closer ‘JANSPORT’. Chloe Lilac has shown that she is an artist that can do it all, and do it all in the context of her razor-sharp indie pop sound.

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Beach Bunny (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 18, 2022)

Posted in Beach Bunny, C., Deftones, Ky Vöss, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Union Transfer, Wednesday on May 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 18, 2022] Beach Bunny

T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021.  I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….).  Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.

I had really enjoyed her at Union Transfer and was looking forward to what she’s do at this show.

Last time the stage was filled with old video game cabinets.  This time it had old small TV screens.

Lili Trifilio came out with bunny ears on and jumped right in with “Oxygen.”  The crowd seemed very young to me (which, I guess to me they were very young, but I believe the Fillmore was designed for a largely under 21 crowd).

My daughter seemed a little overwhelmed by the crowd and the show and decided to hang nearer to the back.  She felt like she could see better, which may have been true).  But i always feel disconnected from the show when I’m too far back.  (more…)

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Sleaford Mods / Sorry (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sleaford Mods, Sorry, The Foundry on May 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 19, 2022] Sleaford Mods / Sorry

It’s weird to me when bands that I like feud with each other.

So it was weird to me that Idles and Sleaford Mods would have some kind of shouting match feud with each other, especially since they both advocate for the same thing (it’s not even worth getting into what the feud was about).

I love Idles.  I like Sleaford Mods–but I also thought they’d be really cool to see live.

I was pleased to get a ticket for this show, but then The Front Bottoms announced a show at White Eagle Hall and my son was really keen on going to see it.  So, I basically blew off this show for The Front Bottoms.  Which we wound up not going to anyway.  Fortunately, Sleaford Mods seem to come to Philly a bunch, so I think I’ll get to see them next year.

Sorry is a fascinating band from England with kind of spoken/sung deadpan lyrics.  But defining their music is really a challenge

Matty Pywell of GigWise stated that “Listening to Sorry’s discography is to hear a safari of different sounds, as eye catching as the next. One area might contain the grumbled discontent of punk and rock, whilst if you look close enough you can catch a flash of hip-hop and jazz. Grouping them into a single genre is a fool’s errand”. Lorenz and O’Bryen have themselves talked about their genre in music, describing it as pop music, while Lorenz has stated that “It’s just a bit annoying to be called post punk or grunge because I don’t think we are that.

I actually think the music is pretty weird and not very poppy at all.  They’d have been a great opening act for Sleaford Mods and I hope they come back to the US sometime too.

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Ky Vöss (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 18, 2022) [BEACH BUNNY]

Posted in Beach Bunny, C., Deftones, Ky Vöss, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Union Transfer, Wednesday on May 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 18, 2022] Ky Vöss [Wednesday cancelled]

T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021.  I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….).  Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.

Of course I got her a ticket!

It also happened to be the same night as my rescheduled (three or four times) Deftones show which I was incredibly excited to go to.  Which my son really wanted to go to having recently gotten into the Deftones.

I tried so many different ways to make this night happen for all of us.

Perhaps I could get a ticket for him for Deftones and we could go together.  Mine was GA, but GA was upselling for like $300 (NO!).  I could get him a seat in the balcony–that would suck) and even that was upselling for like $175 (NO!).  (more…)

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Kikagaku Moyo / Nina Ryser (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 18, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Kikagaku Moyo, Nina Ryser, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on May 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Kikagaku Moyo / Nina Ryser

I saw Kikagaku Moyo in 2019 and they were amazing.  I’ve wanted to see them again, but they are from Japan, and the Pandemic kept them away.

They finally announced a new show for 2022 and I was psyched.  Too bad it aligned with the Deftones show that I’d been waiting to see for a couple of years. Too bad also the Beach Bunny show that I was going to take my daughter to see fell on the same night.

Then Kikagaku Moyo announced that this was going to be their last tour–they were going to break up.  So I’ll never see them again.

Alas.

Nina Ryser is one third of Palberta.

I happened to see her later on in the year opening for Tropical Fuck Storm

Nina Ryser is a member of Palberta.  ..  Like the rest of her Palbertans, Ryser is a prolific songwriter who is classically trained but who likes to push the boundaries of what music should do. …  For this little set, she and her husband played keyboards (and all manner of gadgets).  The set sounded improvised, but I’m sure it wasn’t. … Most of the songs were built around a beat and a simple chord pattern.  There was a droney component to it and Nina’s vocals were kind of deapan. … My favorite parts of the show occurred between songs where Nina would mess around with looping pedals and make these interesting collages out of bits of the song she’d just played.  There was definitely some improv in here and I enjoyed watching her manipulate the sounds to create something cool.

Wish I could have seen Kikagaku Moyo instead.

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