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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.: “Electric Dream Ecstasy Tour in US & Canada” (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018)

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Can, Canadian Music, Japanese Music, Ministry, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts, Yoo Doo Right on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.

Several months ago I purchased a ticket for Ministry in Morristown, NJ.  I’d loved Ministry’s brand of industrial noise in the early 90s, although I pretty much stopped listening to them altogether before Y2K.

But I saw that they were touring and that they were playing some older songs so I thought it might be a cathartic experience.

Then I found out that Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. were playing at a small club the same night.  Acid Mothers Temple is one of my friend Lar’s favorite live acts and it was fairly easy for me to decide to get a ticket to them and sell my Ministry one.  (I decided I’d rather be pummeled by psychedelia than vitriol and anger).

It was the right decision because Acid Mothers Temple was amazing. (more…)

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Yoo Doo Right (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018) [ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE]

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Can, Canadian Music, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts, Yoo Doo Right on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Yoo Doo Right

I hadn’t heard of Montreal’s Yoo Doo Right when I saw they were touring with Acid Mothers Temple.  But I may have been the only person there who hadn’t.

Before the band even started to set up, a guy with (reasonably) professional looking audio equipment set up his microphones right up on stage.  And another guy with a camcorder propped himself up near the side of the stage to record the whole set.

The band got their name from a Can song and they play a kind of psychedelic Krautrock-inspired indie rock.  It was a really great set and I totally got into it.

The band came out and set up their gear (poor John Talbot on drums needed a bigger cinder block as his drums kept sliding forward).  Charles Masson on bass stood center stage anchoring the flights of noise and melody from Justin Cober on guitar/keyboard/vocals.

Off to the left somewhat was Charles Bourassa on keys.  At first it didn’t seem like he was an integral part of the show, but I gather that after letting the other guys get the noise out of their system he was there to anchor the songs with synth melodies and more noise.  He was also lead vocals on a few songs.

I loved the noisy guitars that Cober played.  And how he switched back and forth between guitar and keys.  Between him and Bourassa, I’m not sure who was making what sounds.

There were some great sections of droning guitars and walls of sounds.  And they often has great moments when the bass and drums came in to anchor the song.

But when all was said and done they were just there to rock.

I chatted with th eband after the show and they were super friendly.  They have two EPS out on bandcamp right now.

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Gondola (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018) [ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE]

Posted in Gondola, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Gondola

I hadn’t heard of Gondola, the first of three bands this evening in The Black Box. They are a local Philly band with (apparently) a large following.  They are the first opening band I have ever seen called back for an encore.  They are also, subsequently the only band I’ve seen called back for an encore who was not allowed to play the encore because they ran out of time (apparently).

Gondola was fantastic.

They play a kind of psychedelic stoner metal, with heavy crunching guitars, awesome low end bass and some surprisingly catchy riffs.  I detected a serious 80s SST Records vibe from the sound of the guitar (solos especially) and the way the bass played off of it. (more…)

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Waxahatchee (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 16, 2018)

Posted in Allison Crutchfield, Feminism, Katie Crutchfield, Kevin Morby, Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Swearin', Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on April 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2018] Waxahatchee

I really enjoyed the newest Waxahatchee album and I was keen on seeing them/her.  Waxahatchee is more or less the work of Katie Crutchfield.

It amused me that I had purchased a ticket for this show and then a few weeks later I got a ticket for Superchunk and their opening band was Swearin’.  One of the lead singers in Swearin’ is Allison Crutchfield, Katie’s sister.  So I’d be seeing both Crutchfield sisters in less than a month.

I also learned recently that Allison usually performs with Katie in Waxahatchee when they tour.  And she did.  So I have seen and heard Allison Crutchfield quite a lot in the last month or so.

They played for an hour and ten minutes.  How do I know this?  Because the guy in front of me filmed the entire show on his phone and I could see the timer at the top.  And not just standing still and filming, he was swooping and angling, zooming in and trying to get every scene.  It was a little creepy to be behind him, I must admit.

Both Katie and Allison called Philadelphia home for a while, so this was a homecoming for them.  Katie said that she wrote most of the new album while in Philly.   (more…)

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Hurray for the Riff Raff (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 16, 2018) [WAXAHATCHEE]

Posted in Bedouine, Bruce Springsteen, Feminism, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Langston Hughes, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on April 16, 2018| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2018] Hurray for the Riff Raff

 I knew of Hurray for the Riff Raff (I love the band name) from a couple of songs, but it wasn’t until their most recent release that I learned that lead singer (and really the constant of the band) Alynda Segarra was not only Puerto Rican (she calls herself Nuyorican) but was active in her commitment to Latino causes.

This commitment is evident on their new album The Navigator which explores many aspects of Puerto Rican culture  and music, but keeps it wrapped in a rocking New York vibe.  Segarra is also a striong feminist, writing songs for an about women.  Her stage presence is a striking combination of “don’t fuck with me” and “I’m going to have a good time.”

Segarra is an excellent front woman. She commands a room and gets everyone involved in her songs.  She told empowering and infuriating stories to introduce the songs which made them even more engaging.

Most of the set came from their new album The Navigator which was great because I love the diversity of the disc.  There were a couple of songs in the middle of the set (which turned out to be older songs I think) that were a little flat musically, but the rest of the set was dynamite. (more…)

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Bedouine (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 16, 2018) [WAXAHATCHEE]

Posted in Bedouine, Feminism, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on April 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 16, 2018] Bedouine

When I bought the tickets for Waxahatchee I don’t think I knew who Bedouine was.  Then I saw her on NPR and was absolutely struck by her. I don’t really know what it was, something about her singing style I’m sure, but she was mesmerizing.

So I was really excited to see her live.  I didn’t really even know that much about her:

She was born Azniv Korkezian but chose the artist name Bedouine from the Arabic-speaking Bedouin people, who wander the Middle Eastern desert as nomads.  Azniv herself was born in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents; she grew up on an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Her family moved to the U.S [when she was] age 10.

Azniv came out on stage with her guitar and a glass of water and an electric candle on a stool.

She began singing and for 30 minutes we were enveloped in a feeling of warmth and good tidings.  Ironically, she herself was cold up on stage (it was pretty chilly that April night) and she had to warm her hands up after almost every song (the electric candle was no help).

Despite fact that she plays a very quiet guitar and her voice never rises above a quiet deepness, and despite the fact that the headliners were noisier bands, she commanded the room.

She had no set list (and no capo, she lamented after a few songs).  She played seven or eight songs including a couple of new ones.  There was even one song that did not have a name yet (she was looking for suggestions).  I’m looking forward to what she picks.

Her style doesn’t deviate all that much between songs, but her lyrics are interesting and there’s her voice–you can hear virtually every breath as she exhales.  It’s really wonderful.  I enjoyed that she has a song called “Nice and Quiet” which sums up her style quite well.

But despite the dark lighting and reasonably serious subject matter, she was fully engaged with us.  I was only two people from the stage and it often felt like she was singing to each of us individually.  She even made some jokes to the audience: “This song is like one beat faster, so hold on to your hats.”

She also thanked us for coming early and listening to songs we didn’t know.  But “Solitary Daughter” drew quite a reaction of familiarity which made her smile.

I don’t have a setlist, but I’m pretty sure she played

  1. You Kill Me
  2. Nice and Quiet
  3. Back to You
  4. Skyline
  5. new song
  6. Solitary Daughter
  7. Dusty Eyes
  8. One of These Days

There’s a fascinating interview with her on World Cafe.  She talks about working as a sound editor for reality TV before she started singing .  It’s fascinating to hear that she worked on: Cutthroat Kitchen; Catfish: The TV Show and The American Baking Competition.  She describes it as a little soul sucking.

Glad she left that life for this one.

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Lucy Dacus (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2018)

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA on April 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2018] Lucy Dacus

I first heard Lucy Dacus’ “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” a few years ago.  I liked it and thought it was really catchy and more than a little subversive.

Then a saw a live performance (which I can’t find now) and that simple, quiet quality of her music was blown away by moments of complete intensity.

I knew I wanted to see her and was excited to see that she’d be playing Johnny Brenda’s.  The show sold out pretty quickly.  So much so that they added an earlier show to the night.  At first I laughed wondering who would go to a show that started a 6:30, knowing that they had to be offstage by whatever time the next show started.

Then I thought to myself I could be home by 10PM!  So I bought a ticket for the early show and headed into Philly during rush hour traffic.

It was kind of weird having a show start at 6:30, but the room was dark and it was easy to forget that it was early once the first band started.  And then Lucy came out on stage with her guitar and the rest of her band. (more…)

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And the Kids (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2018) [LUCY DACUS]

Posted in Adult Mom, And the Kids, Johnny Brenda's, Lucy Dacus, Philadelphia, PA on April 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2018] And the Kids

I watched an And the Kids Tiny Desk Concert a while back.  At first I wasn’t that impressed, but over the course of 10 minutes they totally won me over and I knew I’d want to see them live (I didn’t quite get what they were doing in the beginning to really appreciate it).

I was pretty psyched that they were opening for Lucy Dacus.  But I was bummed to discover that their set would be shortened because I was seeing them for the early show (I think they did about 30 minutes rather 40).  I was even more bummed after the fact when I found out that the when given room and time, they put on a killer live show.

Instead, I got a great live show. (more…)

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Adult Mom (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2018) [LUCY DACUS]

Posted in Adult Mom, And the Kids, Genderqueer, Johnny Brenda's, Lucy Dacus, Mal Blum, Philadelphia, PA, Transgender on April 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2018] Adult Mom

Adult Mom is a band created by Stephanie Knipe.

I had heard of them, but wasn’t too familiar with them.  I knew that they had released a number of “bedroom recordings” which is unfairly dismissive.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t expecting them to rock out as much as they did.

Because Lucy Dacus was offering two shows this evening, it meant that the opening bands (and Lucy herself) was somewhat truncated for the first show.  So Adult Mom only played for about 20 minutes.  (more…)

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Screaming Females (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2018)

Posted in New Brunswick, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Screaming Females, Union Transfer on April 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 5, 2018] Screaming Females

It’s ironic, I suppose, that Screaming Females are a band from New Brunswick, NJ (not far from me) who apparently plays (or once played) lots of basement shows and unnamed clubs in that city, but I traveled all the way to Philly to see them for the first time.

I’m not the kind of person who gets invited to secret underground shows, and that’s fine.  I’ll happily see a band in a great venue with a rowdy crowd.

The focus in Screaming Females is centered on Maria Paternoster because she is a stellar guitarist and a compelling singer and front woman.  But we mustn’t forget King Mike Abbate on bass and Jarrett Dougherty on drums who have made up the band since the beginning.  All three were there in fine roaring form, working like a tight machine. (more…)

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