Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Fontaines D.C. (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022)

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Fontaines D.C.

I saw Fontaines D.C. in September of 2019 just as they were getting a buzz about them.  The show was sold out and crowded.  And, it turns out people knew them very very well.  And they wanted to dance.

Johnny Brenda’s does really lend itself to that and when one guy took exception, he started to get really rough.  It was not a great experience.  So I wanted to see them again, to cleanse my palette.

Fontaines have to be the most disaffected band that ever existed.  Not an expression on any of them.  They seem like they are disgusted with everyone there.  And lead singer Grian Chatten feels simultaneously like he is not there and is the only thing there.

He often seems like he’s in his own world and then he seems to focus on the audience and consumes everyone.  (more…)

Read Full Post »

Godspeed You! Black Emperor / Myriam Gendron (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 22, 2022 and Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 23, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Godspeed You Black Emperor, Jersey City, NJ, Myriam Gendron, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 22 & 23, 2022] Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Back in 2000, I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.  My friend Lar was in from Ireland and he went to the show with me, which was pretty awesome.

I waited 18 years to see them again, but the last time I saw them, the show was marred by the crowd.  Or perhaps I was just always in the wrong place.  I couldn’t see well from where I was so I moved–something I never do.  I tried a few spots and none felt right and a couple were near some genuinely unpleasant people to be standing near.  So I never enjoyed myself, even though the music was good.

So I thought I’d try a redo.  I was excited to see them in Jersey City, but then the Fontaines D.C. sow came up.  I figured I’d go see them the next night, but we wound up having a big birthday party that day and it seemed rather crass to go out later that night.  So, I missed them. And that’s ok.

Myriam Gendron is a Quebec musician I hadn’t heard of, but this review makes me want to check out her records.  This is for her latest album:

Delving deep into traditional music from Quebec, France, and the United States, she rewired segments of songs to emphasize evocative lyrics and tossed out others that she found abhorrent. Singing in French and English … these historic songs become universal, while her tender voice maintains the soft power to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

Woah.

Read Full Post »

Just Mustard (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2022) [FONTAINES D.C.]

Posted in Fontaines D.C., Just Mustard, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 22, 2022] Just Mustard

Just Mustard are a five piece band from Dundalk, Ireland.  They make a fantastic noisy mess of shoegaze combined with a wall of noise and singer Katie’s droney but at times piercing vocals.

The blew away Underground Arts when they opened for Fontaines D.C.

They have a new album coming out soon and they played a bunch of songs from it.  Lead singer Katie Ball was wearing a cheerleader-type outfit with her name in letters across he front.  This was about the only whimsical thing in their entire set.

The band exuded seriousness and they were exceptional musicians.  Drummer Shane Maguire played some amazing and unexpected fills and when he hit the snare hard (which wasn’t always) it cracked to attention.  I was in front of guitarist David Noonan who played a lot of rhythmic sounds (not so much rhythm guitar as rhythmic sounds–his playing was very percussive.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Lorde / Remi Wolf (The Met Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Lorde, Philadelphia, PA, Remi Wolf, The Met Philadelphia on April 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2022] Lorde / Remi Wolf

I have enjoyed most of Lorde’s output even if she is quite poppy.  In fact, I love the song “Solar Power.”  I find her rather intriguing and was curious about seeing her live.

This sow sold out (or nearly sold out) very quickly, so I didn’t bother even trying to get tickets.  It sounds like there was some kind of controversy at recent shows about her shushing people while she was singing.  Which is kind of cheesy, although, having been to shows where someone with an amazing voice is drowned out by a fan who cannot sing, I understand the sentiment.

Remi Wolf is a singer songwriter whom I do not know.  The fact that she appeared on American Idol in 2014 makes me not like her.  That’s unfair, but whatever.

Read Full Post »

Motionless in White [Trinity of Terror Tour] (Fillmore Philly, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022)

Posted in Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Lilith Czar, Motionless in White, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on April 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2022] Motionless in White

As soon as I heard that Motionless in White was from Scranton (and they called Philly home), I understood why they were the headliners.  Apparently they always sell out in Philly as well.

After Ice Nine Kills, there was a major shift in the audience.  Whether they were leaving or just getting drinks, it allowed me to get very close to the stage.  So when Motionless in White came out I really got to experience them pretty well.

I was a little puzzled by lead singer Chris Motionless who may have had white face paint on.  He was also wearing what looked like an army flak jacket (with no shirt underneath–ouch.

I also think there was no bassist for the band (I see that it was announced in Buffalo that he was expecting a new baby, so that’s sweet).  I’m not sue how they compensated or maybe they didn’t bother.  (more…)

Read Full Post »

Fruit Bats / Johanna Samuels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 19, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Fruit Bats, Johanna Samuels, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 19, 2022] Fruit Bats / Johanna Samuels

Fruit Bats released a song at the beginning of the year and S. really liked it.  Then they announced a concert right around her birthday, so I spontaneously grabbed us tickets.

We joked how we never listened to any other songs by them and wouldn’t know anything at the show.

As the show grew closer, things were kind of crazy and we ultimately decided not to go.  So we’ll never know if we like more than that one song.

I hadn’t heard of Johanna Samuels but I see she is described as “A student of classic songwriting with a certain nod to the current in-vogue Blood On The Tracks-era Dylan” which sounds pretty good.

Read Full Post »

Ice Nine Kills [Trinity of Terror Tour] (Fillmore Philly, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022)

Posted in Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Lilith Czar, Motionless in White, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on April 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2022] Ice Nine Kills

Ice Nine Kills put on a wonderfully theatrical show.  There’s costume changes, props and murder victims.  Their songs are often very catchy and they are frequently about horror movies (hence the murder victims).

After seeing them back in 2019, I knew I’d want to see them again.  I’ve tried to see them with my son a few times, but he winds up getting invited by a friend and they go together (last time they scored VIP which I don’t even bother trying to do).  So I was pretty excited to go to this show.

And I was consequently a little bummed that their set was only going to  be about 50 minutes.  (more…)

Read Full Post »

Black Veil Brides [Trinity of Terror Tour] (Fillmore Philly, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022)

Posted in Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Lilith Czar, Motionless in White, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on April 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2022] Black Veil Brides

When I grabbed tickets for this tour, I wound up getting them via a Black Veil Brides Presale, because I never got the INK presale to work.

I had never heard of the Black Veil Brides, but that didn’t matter, because I could still get the tickets, right?  Even my son and his friend were a little surprised the three bands were together because they said that BVB and Motionless in White peaked like ten years ago.

I also had no idea that this was a triple headline bill.  I mean, yes I can see it was advertised as such, but since I hadn’t heard of the other two bands I assumed that the other bands were listed, but it was an INK show.

Then the day before, when I went to check what time INK went on, I saw that the three bands were rotating who went first and that we would not know who was playing first until we got there.  Woah, no wonder it was so packed so early. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Lilith Czar [Trinity of Terror Tour] (Fillmore Philly, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022)

Posted in Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills, Lilith Czar, Motionless in White, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on April 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2022] Lilith Czar

I was pretty excited to take my son and his friends to see Ice Nine Kills again.  This was his fourth or fifth time seeing them already.  It would be my second.

The tickets said 6:30, which usually means that the doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:30.  I couldn’t find anything to the contrary so we arrived at 6:25, figuring we’d get there nice and early–get merch and get right up close.

We walked right in and I thought, huh, are we really that early?

Well, indeed, no.  As I stood on the merch line that wrapped all the way into the venue, I looked at the Fillmore Instagram site which said that the doors opened at 5 and the first band went on at 6:30.  WTF.

So I thought I indicated to the kids that I’d get on the merch line for them and they could come when I was close to the end of the line.  Clearly I didn’t say that as they thought I ditched them and was up near the front.  Meanwhile, I was standing on line, facing away from the stage and missing the opening band Lilith Czar pretty much entirely.

I was in the room, so I heard everything, I just couldn’t really focus on her at all.

I didn’t know her music (and didn’t know she was opening the show until last night).  But I do know that she did a rocking cover of Stevie Nick’s “Edge of Seventeen” (which I always thought was called  “One Wing Dove”).

Heh, looking her up now, I see that she was on The Voice and is now married to the singer from Black Veil Brides and formerly recorded as Juliet Simms.

I wish I could have given her more attention because I liked the sound of her set, and thought the rocking “Edge of Seventeen” was quite good.  She praised Philly as the best crowd of the tour.  I know that bands say this all the time, but it felt like she had a legit reason.  She said it was the first time anyone had crowd surfed to “whatever song.”

According to Setlist, she played this

  1. Intro Poem [taped]
  2. Feed My Chaos √
  3. 100 Little Deaths (Juliet Simms cover) √
  4. Edge of Seventeen (Stevie Nicks cover) √
  5. Lola √
  6. King √
  7. Anarchy √

√ Created by Filth and Dust.

Read Full Post »

El Ten Eleven / So Totally (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in El Ten Eleven, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, So Totally on April 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 16, 2022] El Ten Eleven / So Totally

El Ten Eleven are a great duo who play incredibly complex instrumentals with just an incredible drummer Tim Fogarty and an amazing multi instrumentalist Kristian Dunn who plays doubleneck guitar/bass and tons of pedals.

I recently got turned onto them and I really want to see them live.  This show was announced long after the other two shows of that day had been secured, so there was no way I was going to this one.  But I’d still have liked to.

Fortunately they are opening for Peter Hook & The Light later this year.  It won’t be as good as a headline show, but I’m still psyched to see them.

So Totally are a wild band from Philly who I would love to see as well.

The four members of So Totally initially put out a cathartic EP a few years ago called a cheap close-up of heaven. Earlier this month, they followed up with their earnestly determined debut full length in the shape of…. The quartet is made up of Roya Weidman and Matt Arbiz both singing and playing guitar, Ryan Wildsmith on bass, and drummer Joe McLaughlin.

So Totally cites The Pixies, Swirlies, and Medicine as influential favorites. They add: “The Smashing Pumpkins have a lot of influence on our rhythm section as far as drum style, and Interpol who usually have melodic bass lines rather than just playing with the guitar. We also love the idea of mixing genre and combining classic-influenced rock with fuzz and psychedelia, so we like music that keeps you on your toes rather than feeling predictable!”  So Totally comically tagged “fuck a genre” on the album’s Bandcamp page.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »