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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Geese (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 31, 2025) [VAMPIRE WEEKEND]

Posted in Geese, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Vampire Weekend on May 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 31, 2025] Geese

There had been some buzz around Geese when they were announced as openers for this show.  I knew their song Cowboy Nudes and found it odd but very catchy.

As this show came around, they started playing another song on the radio and I realized that Geese is pretty weird. So I was curious what their live show would be like.  We arrived pretty early, but the pit was already pretty crowded.  Turns out Geese already had a huge fanbase.  The front of the pit was full of big time Geese fans.

They opened their set with Islands of Man, and I thought that the most distinctive thing about the band (Cameron’s voice) was rather subdued. The song starts softly and fairly quietly with interesting guitar parts from Emily Green.

And the rest of the band was amazing too.  As the show went on, I couldn’t take my eyes off of drummer Max Bassin–he was doing some wild and complex parts.  And midway through the show I realized that bassist Dominic DiGesu was playing some amazing fills too.

For Jesse, Cameron continued to sing in a kind of subdued manner, until the bridge where he got a little shouty.  And it worked really well with the jamming music.  Tomorrows Crusades was super catchy with a great guitar line and Cameron singing in a kind of falsetto.  (more…)

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Wishy (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 30, 2025) [MOMMA]

Posted in Momma, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wishy on May 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 22, 2025] Wishy

I Was happy that Wishy opened for Momma.  I knew one or two songs by them and really liked them.

The band came out–a five piece, with the two singer/guitarists Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites.  They harmonize perfectly with each other–both vocally and on guitar.  There’s something very appealing about the two singers going Ah ah ah in harmony on Planet Popstar.  There’s a few different parts in this song so I actually wasn’t sure if they were playing different songs or one long one (it’s only 4 minutes, but is pretty complicated)

Wishy released an EP this year and they played half of it.  That left five songs from last year’s Triple Seven, which is the album t hat I first heard them from.  The (very simple ) guitar riff in Persuasion is wonderful–and when the harmony guitar came in–fantastic.

Love on the Outside is mostly Kevin on guitar, but after a verse, the band kicks in and the harmonies are terrific.  The rest of the band is guitarist Dimitri Morris , bassist Mitch Collins, and drummer Conner Host.  It almost seems like overkill to have three guitarists in the band, but all three do different things to make the sound enormous. (more…)

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Lucius (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, 2025)

Posted in Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Victoria Canal on May 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 22, 2025] Lucius

I saw Lucius last year when they played the anniversary of their debut album.  I enjoyed the show and their performance so much that I knew I’d want to see them again.  And I knew my wife would really enjoy it as well.

But I had no idea she’s enjoy it as much as she did.  She said it was her favorite concert of the year [UPDATE: at year’s end she maintains that belief].

The stage was set up with two large cacti flanking the keyboard set up of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig.  I love that they dress alike (down to the wigs they are wearing).  They wore red, beautifully decorated ponchos, and it’s amazing that they face each other and more or less mimic each others movements–they’re not a tightly choreographed ship, which is good.  They are more like a loose duo who can allow the moment to overtake perfect choreography.  And they’re all the better for it,

But mostly, Lucius are instantly recognizable because of the gorgeous vocals of Wolfe and Laessig,  And it gives you goosebumps to see them perform live.

There’s a several Lucius songs that I absolutely love.  There’s also some that I’m iffy about (but the hits greatly outweigh the misses for me).  And I really like the vibe of the new album a lot.  I’m sure that has a lot to do with Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs who produced the album (his fingerprints are all over it).  The opening song Final Days doesn’t sound like The War on Drugs, but it does sound like Lucius covering a War on Drugs song.

They followed up with Gold Rush, which I was surprised to hear so early as its the big hit from the album.  They wound up playing five new songs in a row.  Trespassers Will Be Shot uploaded several songs from our show (see below).  Things had mellowed, but when Stranger Danger came on and the guitars went crazy and Jess and Holly came to the front of the stage–it was electrifying.

The band had a simple set up.  Jess and Holly in the center.  On our right side was drummer Dan Molad and on our left was multi-instrumentalist (but mostly, an amazing guitarist–the sounds he generates are amazing) Peter Lalish.

They played the quieter 24 and then moved to Wildewoman for the amazing Tempest.  Since they had just toured the album last year I didn’t think they’d play too much from it, so it was cool to hear this one.

Then for the really fun Joy Ride, they put on matching hats and sat stage right in a couple of folding chairs.  We got a kick out of them snapping their heads left and right to the beat.

They jumped back to Wildewoman again for the awesome (and even more awesome live Nothing Ordinary) and the fantastic Genevieve, which was delightfully percussion heavy (Jess and Holly playing cowbells) and full of cool lighting. (more…)

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Victoria Canal (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, 2025) [LUCIUS]

Posted in Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Victoria Canal on May 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 22, 2025] Victoria Canal

I had not heard of Victoria Canal before this show.

She has a fascinating backstory.  She was born in Germany but is of Spanish American heritage and was raised mostly in Spain.  And yet when she spoke she had no trace of an accent.

Canal was born without her right forearm.  What’s fascinating is that although she does not try to hide it at all, we didn’t notice for the first couple of songs.

Victoria played acoustic guitar and keyboards.  She also had really nice boots on.  Between songs she told delightful stories that really fleshed out songs like the new (and wonderful) Pseudo Zen Buddhist: A Screenplay.  Which she introduced by saying the song was about her ex boyfriend’s next girlfriend murdering him (she works in movies, hence the screenplay part).  It was great.

There was also a really funny intro to Yes Man, a song she write when on a songwriting retreat with Chris Martin of Coldplay.

Canal’s voice is soft and gentle with a really nice timbre.  And she can mix in some falsettos on a song like Totally Fucking Fine. (more…)

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Pierce the Veil (Skyline Stage at The Mann Center, May 19, 2025)

Posted in Daisy Grenade, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Pierce the Veil, Skyline Stage at The Mann, Sleeping with Sirens on May 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2025] Pierce the Veil

My son and I have seen Pierce the Veil twice in the last two years.  The first show at the Stone Pony Summer Stage during a pending hurricane.  We got soaked and the show was cut short.

The second show was in a fairly large arena and we were pretty far away from the stage.  It was good but unsatisfying.

But this one was at the Skyline Stage at the Mann, an outdoor venue that allows you to get close.  And this time my daughter wanted to come as well.  So I grabbed us three early tickets.

We had been put in the ADA section (my hip) and the kids were allowed to be there with me or they could leave if they wanted.  The ADA section is raised and is off to the side.  So, you get clear unblocked views of the stage (yea!) but at a weird angle (boo) with slightly distorted sound (boo).

I told the kids that I would not be offended if they wanted to go on  the lawn.  I would have if I was less held up.  So they looked at the setlist and decided that they’d like to be in  the lawn for the first part of the show and then maybe come back at the side for the hits at the end.

They enjoyed being on the lawn although they said it was hard to see the stage very well (it’s a very tall stage).  And then about half way through the show, my daughter came back to hang with my while my son made his way to the pit, where he slam danced for the next 45 minutes.  He had a blast and said it was the best show he had ever been to.

I enjoyed the show quite a lot as well.  Although, WOW was it cold.  I mean, mid-May, but the temps were in the 50s with a heavy wind.  And sitting on the side, there was no place for warmth.  Of course, I would feel much more into the show if I were in the mix with other people. But having said that, the band sounded great.  They were full of energy and seemed to be having a total blast.

We both agreed that this was the best of the three shows BY FAR! (more…)

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Sleeping with Sirens (Skyline Stage at The Mann Center, May 19, 2025) [PIERCE THE VEIL]

Posted in Daisy Grenade, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Pierce the Veil, Skyline Stage at The Mann, Sleeping with Sirens on May 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2025] Sleeping with Sirens

My kids both really like Pierce the Veil and I got into them as well.  So when they played the GA stage at the Mann Center, I got tickets for all three of us.

The Mann Center is a great venue, but if you go there at the wrong time, the traffic can really suck.  And when the show starts at 6:30, there’s really no way we were going to arrive for all of the bands.

I was looking forward to seeing Daisy Grenade, but we missed them entirely.  Social Casualty says of them:

Female alt-pop, bubble grunge duo Daisy Grenade is led by Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittakker. They aspire to make diary-entry-like songs, bringing you through the growing pains of being a woman in today’s society. With raw emotions, wrapped up with femininity as a weapon, and a theatrical touch on top, they’re turning bubble grunge into something catchy and sharp with a side of something sweet.

So yea, that was a bummer to miss them. But we did arrive in plenty of time to see Sleeping with Sirens.  (more…)

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Japanese Breakfast / Ginger Root (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ginger Root, Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on May 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 16, 2025] Japanese Breakfast / Ginger Root

When this show was announced, it sold out pretty quickly.  We were bummed because we saw Japanese Breakfast on Halloween a couple of years ago when she said she’d be going to Korea for a year or so.

But soon after, they announced another show on the night before (I always think it’s funny to have the second show come before the first show, but realistically I suppose it doesn’t matter to the band unless they were planning on going all out for that final show.

So when they announced night 2 I grabbed tickets right away and we enjoyed yesterday’s show from the pit.  The shows were almost the same although I’m a little bummed that they did a final encore of Everybody Wants to Love You which they didn’t do for us.  But I’ve seen the song a few times so it’s no big deal.

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Japanese Breakfast (The Met Philadelpia, Philadelphia, PA, May 15, 2025)

Posted in Ginger Root, Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on May 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 15, 2025] Japanese Breakfast

We had seen Japanese Breakfast play their last American show for a year or so on Halloween 2023.  It was a lot of fun and felt like a really special night.

When they announced their new album, For Melancholy Brunettes… I was concerned because that sounded like a bummer of an album.  And, first single Orlando in Love wasn’t especially gripping.  It was pretty, but didn’t really have a hook.

But I knew that they always put on a good show so it was definitely worth seeing.

The curtain rose on a giant clam shell, which Michelle Zauner came out and sat in and played Here is Someone and Orlando in Love.

She switched from acoustic to electric guitar and returned to the clamshell throughout the show.

The rest of the stage was cool too, with a nautical theme and billowing smoke.

They played three songs from the new albums, with Honey Water being the most upbeat.  But they didn’t stay on this vibe for the whole show because they moved on to the Soft Sounds album, playing three great songs, Road Head, Boyish and The Body is a Blade.

Then it was back to the new album for the bouncy Mega Circuit and the more chill Leda.

They only played one song from Psychopomp, and then moved up to Jubilee for the bouncy Slide Tackle.  A few more new songs were followed by Kokomo, a really fun song from Jubilee. (more…)

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Ginger Root (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 15, 2025) [JAPANESE BREAKFAST]

Posted in Ginger Root, Japanese Breakfast, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on May 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 15, 2025] Ginger Root

Japanese Breakfast announced a show at The Met and it sold out instantly.  But then they announced another show (for the day before) and I grabbed us a ticket.

Ginger Root opened both shows.  I didn’t know them, but they seemed to have a good following.  And the band was full of charisma.  They are an indie band from California led by Cameron Lew.  He describes the music as “aggressive elevator soul.”

And Camerom Lew is a fantastic front man.  He is also the creative force behind the visual and audio components of Ginger Root.  Indeed video may be more important that audio for the band.

Ginger Root was without a doubt the best live band I have seen for music that I didn’t really like all that much.  Not that the music was bad, it just wasn’t quite my vibe.  But the live show was so good I would 100% see them again.

As they took the stage there were two video screens that announced We are your openers for this evening.  We’ll be done in ~40 minutes.

And as soon as the band started, their on-stage cameraman began filming them and projecting it on the screens.  He used all kinds of old-school effects, giving the video and almost 80’s feel.  Especially when the screens were bordered with a white line and the legend: You’re listening to Ginger Root. (more…)

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Joseph / Tune-Yards [FREE AT NOON] (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia Pa, May 8, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Joseph, Philadelphia, PA, tUnE-yArDs, World Cafe Live on May 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 8, 2025] Joseph / Tune-Yards [FREE AT NOON]

I had a ticket to this Free at Noon and drove into Philly to see it.

I have seen both Joseph and Tune-Yards and enjoyed them both, although I was more interested in seeing Tune-Yards.  I’ve never seen a Free at Noon with two bands before and wasn’t really sure how this would work–but this was part of NON-COMM so who knew how things worked at that.

Joseph was a trio, but Alison had recently left (amicably) and so Joseph was now a duo.  Tune-Yards was also a duo Merrill Garbus and multi-instrumentalist Nate Brenner.  They played all new songs except for one older track.

In total, Tune-Yards played six songs and Joseph played five.

But I didn’t see any of it.  Traffic was insane and I didn’t get anywhere near the venue until quarter after and since it was NON-COMM, there was no parking to be had.  So, I blew the whole thing off and grabbed some Federal Donuts for lunch instead.

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