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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Deafheaven (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022)

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on March 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Deafheaven

I’m not a huge fan of Deafheaven, but the more I kept seeing this show advertised (and postponed and rescheduled) the more I thought I might really like to see them live.

I like their blend of shoegaze and screaming metal.  I couldn’t listen to a lot of it, but I figured a show would be just right.

The band’s newest album, however, is very different from past efforts.  There is almost no screaming at all.  Lead singer George Clarke who pretty much only screamed a largely incoherent rasp on previous records actually sang on this one.  The music wasn’t vastly different although it tended to be a bit less intense.

When I looked to see what their setlist was like, the show in late 2021 had them play the entire new album and then a couple old ones.  I wasn’t that excited by that prospect, but figured I’d still enjoy it.  And after Holy Fawn, I was ready.

They opened with “Shellstar” which is quite a pretty song.  I think I would have really liked it if it weren’t Deafheaven.  Plus, I had never seen any footage of them before.  Clarke was a wildly intense figure, but he was dancing and moving and shuffling.  Dressed all in black in a button long sleeve shirt, he moved about the stage and fully engaged with the audience. (more…)

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Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ EBG III, Gang of Four, Guitar Army, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on March 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 8, 2022] Gang of Four / Guitar Army / DJ EBG III

I am not a huge fan of Gang of Four.  But I like some of their records quite a lot and I would have really enjoyed seeing them.  Especially since they seemed to be playing a lot of their Entertainment album.    But I already had tickets to see Tigers Jaw, a band I’ve been interested in for a little while.  UPDATE CIRCA 2025: Gang of Four has not come back and when they did return in 2025, they skipped Philly entirely.  Hmmph.

Guitar Army has a promising name, but their bio says that they are “a rock n’ roll band that hasn’t forgotten its roots. Formed in Windsor with strong dose of Detroit rock, rhythm and blues, Guitar Army has been kickin’ out the jams in the Windsor/Detroit circuit for more than 25 years.”  And indeed, they sound like a rock and roll band that’s been around for 25 years.  Possibly fun live, but not that great on record.

I can’t find anything about DJ EBG III except that he he also spun records for a David Bowie tribute night.  He’s clearly Philly based and that’s all I know.

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Holy Fawn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022) [DEAFHEAVEN]

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on March 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Holy Fawn

Holy Fawn was supposed to open a show I was going to go to a while ago.  I didn’t go for whatever reason, but here they are again.

“Candy” started out kind of slow and atmospheric.  There were quiet guitars and whisper/sung vocals by Ryan Osterman.  It had a powerful shoegaze vibe.  After a minute or so drummer Austin Reinholz started hitting a martial beat that felt like it was heading to a burst of noise.  But that never came.  It wasn’t until almost four minutes into the song that it burst forth.  And at nearly five minutes started screaming in an intense growl–but just for the end of the song.

“Dark Stone” worked the other way.  After some slow swirling intro sounds, the band played a heavy chord and then silence.  And it worked that way as the full band kicked in–loud crashing chords followed my ambient noise.  vocals were quiet and clean as the band played a picked guitar melody and interesting sounds from the second guitarist Evan Phelps.  The song just built and built on a wall of noise with crashing guitars, lots of cymbals and screams from bassist Alexander Rieth (who was into the music bodily–bouncing and headbanging like crazy). (more…)

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Midwife (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 6, 2022) [DEAFHEAVEN]

Posted in Deafheaven, Holy Fawn, Midwife, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on March 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 6, 2022] Midwife

I was intrigued by the setup on the stage.  On the microphone stand there was a old-school telephone receiver.

Then Madeline Johnston came onstage with her guitar.  She spoke into the telephone and her voice sounded distant and far away.  It was pretty neat.

She then triggered a drum beat and started playing guitar over it.  She sang into it and her voice was spooky and sounded like it was coming from outer space.

Midwife plays was she calls Heaven Metal and falls into the “Slowcore” and “Sadcore” genre. (more…)

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Circa Survive / Tigers Jaw / Soul Glo (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 4 & 5, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Circa Survive, Philadelphia, PA, Soul Glo, Tigers Jaw, Union Transfer on March 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: March 4 & 5, 2022] Circa Survive / Tigers Jaw / Soul Glo

I feel like I should have known Circa Survive.  When this tour was announced there was a lot of hype about it.   I mean, two nights at Union Transfer! (they are a Philly band after all).  This was to be a tour of their ten year old (sort of) album Blue Sky Noise.  They’re alt and emo and I’m just really surprised I’ve never heard them.  The hype made me interested enough to check out the album and I liked it (although I’m not sure of Anthony Green’s voice).

And then just before the tour started, they cancelled it

Circa Survive have announced that they have decided to cancel their Blue Sky Noise Anniversary Tour in part due to the mental health struggles of frontman Anthony Green.

The band had this to say, “It breaks our hearts to announce that we are officially cancelling the BSN Anniversary Tour. This includes the dates that were being rescheduled for the summer as well.

“There are multiple factors at play here but most pressingly Anthony is currently struggling with a mental health crisis and unable to be on tour at this time. A focus on self and family is of the utmost importance right now therefore postponing or rescheduling any further doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.

“We’re absolutely devastated over this and feel awful for everyone it affects. We hope you will accept our most sincere apologies and regrets with this news and the last minute nature of this announcement. All refunds will be available at point of purchase (VIP buyers, check your email).

“Although we are somber and wounded in this moment, our art and this community have always been guiding lights of hope and healing for us in times like this. We look forward to better days where we can celebrate overcoming these hardships together.”

I saw Tigers Jaw last year when they headlined Union Transfer.  It was an album release show for their I Don’t Care How You Remember Me record.  I didn’t know them that well, but since this was an album release show, nobody did.  It was terrific and I was surprised that they were opening this one.  When this show was cancelled they announced a show in Garwood a few days later and I saw them there which was a lot of fun.

Soul Glo is a band I really want to see. They are an extreme punk band and will probably scare the heck out of me.  I’ve heard their live shows are really intense.  Although probably not so much as an opening band.

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Lucy Dacus: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 4, 2022) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, World Cafe Live on March 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: March 4, 2022] Lucy Dacus: Free at Noon [moved to July 8, 2022]

indexI have seen Lucy Dacus quite a few times and she always puts on a mesmerizing show.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see her perform a Free at Noon (they are fun to do but such a HUGE part of my Friday.  And then it was revealed that she would be doing her upcoming shows lying on her back.

A few weeks earlier, she had “an unexpected medical issue (not COVID related).” She wrote:  “sup, I have two herniated discs and the only way I’m not in pain is laying down SO tonight’s show I will be singing from a couch, I am both sorry and also pleased to offer this most humiliating and hilarious moment to you good people….”

A few days earlier she played a Sold-out show at the Stone Pony (I wasn’t planning on going but when I heard about the couch I was bummed it sold-out and I couldn’t go). (more…)

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Superchunk / Torres (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 2, 2022) [postponed]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Torres, Union Transfer on March 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: March 2, 2022] Superchunk / Torres [moved to June 11, 2022]

I saw Superchunk four years ago and really enjoyed their fast and furious set.  I realized that most bands that I like, I want to see twice.  So when they announced a new show, I was ready.

In mid February, when Omicron was surging, they announced that they were going to postpone their tour until the summer, which makes sense given their new single is “Endless Summer.”

It actually worked out alright for me as I was out late the night before seeing Dazey and the Scouts.

I’ve seen Torres four times and she always puts on a great show.  I’m glad she’ll be playing with them in June as well.

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Marco Benevento (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, February 25, 2022)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Deer Scout, Elton John, José González, Karina Rykman, Leon Russell, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Floyd, The Knife on February 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 25, 2022] Marco Benevento

Almost exactly five years ago to the day I saw Marco Benevento headline a show at the Ardmore Music Hall.  That show blew me away, it was so much fun.  The whole band: Marco on keyboards, Karina Rykman on bass and Andy Borger on drums were terrific.  And the three of them laid down a fantastic groove all night.

The trio was almost the same tonight. This time Dave Butler was on drums, but it was still Marco and Karina.  I looked up Karina and found that she is 23, which means she was 18 last time!  She was fantastic then and even better tonight.

There was supposed to be an opening act: Deer Scout.  But for whatever reason, they didn’t come and it was announced a few days ago that Marco would play two sets.

I arrived a little later than I wanted to, but he didn’t go on exactly at 8, so that was fine.  I was also amused because for the first time in a while, I was one of the youngest people there.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead had played three nights in Philly a few weeks ago and it was clear that people who were at that show were here as well (Marco plays with JRAD, although his music is not similar at all).  There was a lot of tie-dye and a lot of long gray beards.  I decided not to get mixed up with that crowd so I hung back a bit. (more…)

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The Beths (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in National Treasure, New Zealand, Philadelphia, PA, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] The Beths

The Beths are from New Zealand.

I really enjoyed hearing them talk between songs–super cool accents.

They only have two albums out but they have a pretty rabid fan base–if the guys who sang along loudly to everything were anything to go by.

The Beths were originally supposed to play King Fu Necktie in April 2020.  The show was moved to World Cafe Live, but was ultimately cancelled because of COVID.  They scheduled a new date at Underground Arts for January, but that got pushed back a month as COVID cases rose again.

And then, finally, they were here! (more…)

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Lunar Vacation (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 24, 2022)

Posted in Lunar Vacation, Philadelphia, PA, Pivoting, The Beths, Underground Arts on February 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2022] Lunar Vacation

The Beths were supposed to play shows in 2020 at World Cafe Live.  First in April, then in August.  Then that was all scrapped and then rescheduled for January 2022.  That was then pushed back until February.

Weakened Friends were slotted to open for them over these shows.  But the new show had Lunar Vacation signed up for them.

And they were delightful.

They are from Atlanta, and I had to laugh when singer Grace Repasky asked if anyone did the Wordle yet.  When we acknowledged that we had, she commented that it was a very British word (Bloke). (more…)

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