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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Swervedriver (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, October 21, 2019)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Milkboy, Milly, Philadelphia, PA, Swervedriver on October 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2019] Swervedriver

Back in the 1990s, Swervedriver’s “Son of Mustang Ford” was one of my favorite songs.  I consistently put it on mix CDs at the time.  I still love it and it was the thought of hearing Swervedriver play it live that inspired me to check out this show (which I literally just found out about a few days ago).

The show was at Milkboy in Philadelphia.  I had never been to Milkboy before and really didn’t know much about it–except that it was pretty small.  It’s got a capacity of about 200.  The venue is upstairs from a bar, which looked quite nice.

I arrived early because I didn’t have a ticket (the ticket fee was over $8 for a $25 ticket!).  I arrived just after 7:30 and found a parking space right across the street from the venue (and did my worst driver’s side parallel parking job ever).  I actually couldn’t find the place at first and when I did, I wasn’t even sure which was the entrance.  So I wound up going in the wrong entrance and then having to ask where the band was (I could hear them upstairs).

The nice bartender pointed me the way and said they were running late.  It was actually Swervedriver still doing a soundcheck.  And the stairway to the venue was blocked by a chain.  The bartender said it wasn’t near sold out so not to worry about the ticket.

When the soundcheck was done, they opened the doors at a little after 8 and I went upstairs and was the first one in the venue… (!) [So much for an 8PM start time]. (more…)

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Milly (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, October 21, 2019) [SWERVEDRIVER]

Posted in Milkboy, Milly, Philadelphia, PA, Swervedriver on October 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2019] Milly

It turns out that there are two bands named Milly that are currently active.

One Milly is the musical project from Seth Milberger and Johnny Grushecky. (The Composure, The I Drive).  The two formed Milly in 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA. After a few years of crafting their songs and cutting their teeth on stage, [they released] their debut album Place In My Mind in 2018.

Milberger describes the band: “Milly is a little more simple and pop-driven with overlays of some oldies meshed with a fresh, modern, familiar sound.”

This is their logo on the left.

The second Milly is from Los Angeles.  This Milly is the lo-fi slowcore project of Brendan Dyer, and they’ve released two singles via Dangerbird Records with a new EP out in November.  (That’s the EP up on the right).

It was this second Milly that opened for Swervedriver, and they were an excellent choice (not the least of which was because the rhythm guitarist was wearing a Swervedriver shirt. (more…)

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Idles (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2019)

Posted in Bob Boilen, Bruce Springsteen, Grease, Idles, Paula Cole, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2019] Idles

I learned about Idles through NPR (of course).  I can recall Bob Boilen talking about their live show (I think at SXSW) and how amazing it was.  He said that they were very high on his must-see list.  And since then I have wanted to see them.  When they announced the show at Union Transfer I bought a ticket immediately.

I never really understand how bands become popular over here.  Most people I know have not heard of Idles.  And yet this show sold out very quickly.  I don’t understand why, given how many other bands that I think are bigger don’t sell out.  Maybe Philly just loves punk.

I know that Philly loves a mosh pit.  And boy did they ever get one.  Well, technically it wasn’t so much a mosh pit as a pogoing, bouncing, swarming mass of bodies.  And lots of crowd surfing–including from the band!

I knew a couple of Idles songs pretty well, but I didn’t know a lot of their songs.  However, I knew their basic style: lead vocalist Joe Talbot kind of speak/sings/screams lyrics of disaffection and the band alternates between quiet sections and full-on mayhem. (more…)

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Preoccupations (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2019) [IDLES]

Posted in Canadian Music, Idles, Philadelphia, PA, Preoccupations, The Foundry, Union Transfer on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2019] Preoccupations

I saw Preoccupations open for Protomartyr about a year ago.  At the time I wrote:

Preoccupations is a band from Calgary Alberta Canada.  They were originally called Viet Cong. They put out a stunning album called Viet Cong and then met all kinds of grief for the name (shows cancelled, etc), so they changed it to Preoccupations.  It’s amazing that a band as minor and indie as them would get so much grief, but whatever.

I thought their show was fantastic.  I loved the sound of their music and the energy that the band brought.

This show was similarly good–although perhaps the smaller venue of the Foundry made the band seem more dynamic.

I see that the setlist was largely the same for both shows (they haven’t put out new material since New Material in 2018).  I find it fascinating that much of the setlist comes from their first album Viet Cong.  I wonder why that is.

I also feel like for this show the band was considerably quieter than last time.  I realize that at the last show I was in front of speakers, and this one I was a little further back and therefore muffled.  But it seems like the overall wall of sound was somewhat lessened. (more…)

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The Head and the Heart (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2019)

Posted in Illiterate Light, Of Monsters and Men, Philadelphia, PA, The Head and the Heart, The Met Philadelphia on October 8, 2019| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2019] The Head and the Heart

After being really impressed by Of Monsters and Men last month, I had pretty high hopes for being impressed by The Head and The Heart as well (because I get the two bands mixed up even though I like them both).

It was the same venue, although this time we had seats instead of the GA section.

It was nice to not worry about your location between acts.  But holy crap, the people around me sucked so bad that they ruined the whole night.  I am writing this ten days after the show and I hate to say that I am still annoyed by them all.

The people next to me came and went and came and went and came and went all while we were seated.

The guy in front of me was an old man (older than me even).  During Illiterate Light we thought it was cute that he and his wife (I assume) were videoing things and being adorable together.  Then during The Head and The Heart he stood up.  And was a freaking giant.  Worse yet, the people next to them didn’t come to the show, so they had a lot of room, which meant he spread out and stood right in front of me (and here I was excited about having empty seats in front of me).  He also filmed nearly every song, but rather than being discrete or considerate of the people behind him, he held yup his camera to his face which meant elbows out thereby blocking even more of my view.  His wife also filmed a lot but she apparently didn’t realize that phone cameras come with a flash, because it was on every time she took videos.  How it took the people in front of them six songs to actually say something (and they were very polite about it) I can’t imagine.

But the worst were the people behind us.  A loud row of eight loud talking, loud boasting, loud everything.  The craziest thing about them is that they were all huge fans of the band, they knew every word, knew when they played a “rare” song and sang along to just about every lyric. (more…)

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Illiterate Light (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2019) [THE HEAD AND THE HEART]

Posted in Geddy Lee, Illiterate Light, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia, PA, Promise of the Real, Rock duo, The Head and the Heart, The Met Philadelphia on October 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2019] Illiterate Light

I had heard of Illiterate Light from NPR, but didn’t really know them.  They played at Newport Folk Festival but were early on Saturday and we arrived after them.

Traffic getting to this show was terrible and I was annoyed that we’d miss Illiterate Light (or part of their set anyhow).  S. said she didn’t mind missing the opening act as long as we made it for The Head and the Heart.

We walked in just as Illiterate Light took the stage and we got seated around the middle of the first song.  And I couldn’t get over how loud they were (particularly opening for a not-especially-loud band like The Head and the Heart).  They had big rocking guitar and crashing drums.

Then I looked up and realized that there were only two of them on stage. (more…)

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The Distillers (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2019)

Posted in Brody Dalle, Death Valley Girls, Edith Piaf, Full show video, Philadelphia, PA, Queens of the Stone Age, Spinnerette, Starcrawler, The Distillers, Union Transfer on October 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 7, 2019] The Distillers [rescheduled from June 1 & August 14]

The Distillers and Starcrawler were supposed to play a show at Union Transfer on June 1.

I bought tickets because I wanted to see Starcrawler–a band whose live show is becoming legendary.  I thought I didn’t even know The Distillers.  This turned out not to be true.  About a year earlier I had watched an NPR Field Recording with Brody Dalle.

Dalle (who is Australisn, which is hard to imagine given her speaking/singing voice which has no accent) has been in a bunch of bands.

First was The Distillers who broke up in 2006.
Then she formed Spinnerette who put out a couple of records until roughly 2011.
Then she did a solo album in 2014.
She has done all kinds of guest appearances, especially with Queens of the Stone Age.

Then she reconvened The Distillers in 2018.

I listened to a couple of their songs and was pretty excited to go to a old good punk show with a legendary singer. (more…)

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The Tallest Man on Earth (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2019) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, The Tallest Man on Earth on October 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 7, 2019] The Tallest Man on Earth

I was pretty excited to see The Tallest Man on Earth since last year I had to skip the show for my own personal reasons.  So I was bummed that on June 20, I was refunded my money because this tour was going to be cancelled.

Kristian himself sent out this apology:

Hello Sweet People,

The universe has gotten in the way of my plans and I have to cancel 8 shows on my fall tour: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and New York.

I’ve never done this before and it was an incredibly hard decision, but ultimately it is less of a choice than a necessity. I’m very sorry and I will find a time to make up these shows as soon as I can. Tickets will be refunded in full. If you have already purchased tickets you will be receiving information on getting a complete refund. You can also go here [thetallestmanonearth.com/refunds] for all the information you need.

Also, to avoid raising any concern, please know that I’m fine. I’m healthy and I feel good. No other shows will be affected this year. I hope I haven’t ruined your plans too much and I can’t wait to make this up to you. I am going to think of a really fun way to do that.

Ok, be well, talk soon.
Kristian

 

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Death Valley Girls (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2019) [THE DISTILLERS]

Posted in Death Valley Girls, Hole, Philadelphia, PA, Sharkmuffin, The Distillers, The Saint, Union Transfer on October 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 7, 2019] Death Valley Girls [rescheduled from June 1 & August 14, replaced Starcrawler]

I had the opportunity to see Death Valley Girls twice in August.  The first time was with The Distillers who had to cancel their second show at Union Transfer due to a different injury.  The second (and it probably happened because of that cancellation) was with Sharkmuffin, a band I really wanted to see but wasn’t free that night.

So I was pleased that they were opening for The Distillers again a few months down the line.

I actually didn’t know much about them before seeing the show.  I had an idea of what they sounded like but, for instance, I had no idea that they were founded by Patty Schemel, the original drummer for Hole.  I also had no idea that there was a man in the band (Larry Schemel–Patty’s brother).  Patty Schemel has since left, replaced by Laura Kelsey.

So what exactly do the Death Valley Girls sound like?

Well, they’re sort of a fuzzy rock band with goth leanings.  The goth leaning come primarily from their look and their lyrics–not their sound. (more…)

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Team Dresch (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2019)

Posted in Family Outing, LGBTQ, Philadelphia, PA, Queer, Screaming Females, Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, The Butchies, Union Transfer on October 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2019] Team Dresch

Back in the mid 90s (when things were pretty great), as I was exploring more and more indie music, I was drawn to the Pacific Northwest scene.  There were a lot of great bands fronted by or comprised entirely of women–it was like discovering a gold mine of new sounds and voices.

This led to discoveries like Sleater-Kinney and Team Dresch.

This also led to exploring the Candy Ass record label (run by Team Dresch singer/bassist Jody Bleyle) and the amazing Free to Fight compilation.  As well as the Chainsaw records label (run by Donna Dresch).  They shared a lot of bands.

Team Dresch is one of the great queercore bands and they opened my eyes to a lot of avenues of queer culture that I didn’t know about.  I’ve become a huge LGBTQ+ advocate over the years and I attribute much of that to discovering Team Dresch and all that they stand for. (more…)

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