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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Craig Finn (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 25, 2017) [JAPANDROIDS]

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Craig Finn, Japandroids, Lifter Puller, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Hold Steady, Union Transfer on February 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

2017-02-25-21-21-28[ATTENDED: January 31, 2017] Craig Finn

The universe has insisted that I see Craig Finn perform.  Last year he opened for My Morning Jacket, but my friend Jay and I arrived late and missed his whole set.  Well, here was a second chance.

Back then I had assumed that Craig Finn was one of the Finns from Crowded House.  It wasn’t until that MMJ concert that I discovered he was the guy from The Hold Steady, a band I’d never listened to.  I didn’t know much about him beyond that except that his delivery was kind of spoken/sung and there were comparisons to Bruce Springsteen.

I had gotten up pretty close to the stage, and I was surrounded by diehard Finn fans, so I felt like a bit of an imposter.  But he didn’t seem to mind and he played a really enjoyable set.

Given how raucous the Japandroids were he seemed like a bit of an odd match, but he certainly has a punk vibe, even if his songs are not very loud. (more…)

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Marco Benevento (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, February 10, 2017)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, José González, Karina Rykman, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Knife, The White Stripes on February 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 10, 2017] Marco Benevento

2017-02-10-23-18-04Back in August I saw Marco Benevento open for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium.  I didn’t know Marco, but his show was so much fun I promised myself I’d see him again.  So I was pretty psyched to see that he was playing at this venue.

Marco’s show back in August was just so much fun–I had arrived late, after being caught in traffic, and within minutes he had totally uplifted my mood.

So I was thrilled to find the Ardmore such a small venue where I could get up so close–check out the bottom of the page for the up close look at his modified piano.  And when he show began, I was right up at the front of the stage.

2017-02-10-22-12-11In addition to Marco, who is a fantastic entertainer, his band consists of drummer Andy Borger (whose drum set includes a cowbell and what looks like the alarm bell from a school) and my new favorite bassist Karina Rykman.  2017-02-10-23-37-07It was actually Rykman who first won me over back in August because she was just so happy.  I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone have so much joy playing on stage before.  And this show was exactly the same.  Of course it helps that she’s a great bassist with an amazing sound.  She doesn’t do a lot of fancy stuff, but her groove is spot on.

The three of them came out and started playing the suite from The Story of Fred Short.  It’s a series of seven interlocking songs with a great groove and a lot of room to jam.   I walked in the middle of this suite when I saw them this summer and I was really excited to hear it again.  I love the bass lines and, in this case, the whistle in “Walking with Tyrone.” (more…)

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WOLF! (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, February 10, 2017) [MARCO BENEVENTO]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Grateful Dead, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Katie Jacoby, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA, Santo & Johnny, Scott Metzger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, WOLF! on February 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 10, 2017] Wolf!

2017-02-10-20-38-07Back in August I saw Marco Benevento open for The Claypool-Lennon Delirium.  I didn’t know Marco, but his show was so much fun I promised myself I’d see him again.  So I was pretty psyched to see that he was playing at this venue.  WOLF! opened up. Technically the band was billed as WOLF! featuring Scott Metzger.  This actually didn’t help me, because I didn’t know who he was either.  The only other clue was that he was also in a band called Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (with Marco Benevento) who do mostly Grateful Dead covers.

I genuinely didn’t know what to expect from WOLF!, although I certainly had an idea of what they’d sound like from those bona-fides.  But boy was I wrong.2017-02-10-20-57-45

Turns out that WOLF! plays pretty much all instrumentals.  The songs are kind of surf guitar rock-ish, but not exactly.  They are jam-band-ish, but not exactly (the songs are relatively short).  And they all center around Metzger’s wonderful, melodic soloing. (more…)

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Parquet Courts (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 31, 2017)

Posted in Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox 20, Napoleon Dynamite, Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Smashing Pumpkins, The Rolling Stones, Toadies, Union Transfer on January 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 31, 2017] Parquet Courts

2017-01-31-21-54-46I was under the impression that Parquet Courts had been around for a while (they have 4 LPs and 3 EPS out), but they formed in 2010 and their first album to gain notice was released in 2012.  They’re just really prolific.

When I heard they were playing Philly I grabbed tickets right away assuming it would sell out.  I don’t think it did, but that didn’t stop it from being a really enjoyable, if brief, first concert of 2017.

I thought of Parquet Courts as a pretty  punky band–some of their songs are quite noisy and fast (and short).  But just the other night I watched them play, “Human Performance” on TV and I was quite surprised to see how kinda dorky they all looked–Oxford shirts and sweaters and the like–not stereotypical punks at all.  Which was cool.

I had arrived plenty early and was only one person from the stage when they started (not always great for sound but great for pictures).  (more…)

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Mary Lattimore (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 31, 2017) [PARQUET COURTS]

Posted in Hop Along, Jarvis Cocker, Jeff Zeigler, Kurt Vile, Mary Lattimore, Parkay Quarts, Parquet Courts, Philadelphia, PA, Quilt, Sharon Van Etten, Thurston Moore, Union Transfer on January 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 31, 2017] Mary Lattimore

2017-01-31-20-21-17I wasn’t sure who would be opening for Parquet Courts.  I was surprised and delighted to see that the opening act was going to be a harpist.   I had never heard of Mary Lattimore before, although on looking her up it seems quite likely that I have heard her before–she seems to be a go-to harpist for a lot of bands [a shortened list includes these records: Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts ; Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications ; Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo & Wakin on a Pretty Daze ; Sharon Van Etten – Are We There? ; Quilt – Plaza ; Hop Along – Painted Shut].

When I arrived her harp was onstage–lit up and gorgeous–and I was really excited to hear her show.

She came out while we were waiting and made some final adjustments.  And then a few minutes later she sat down at the harp, quietly thanked us for coming and began playing. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic II, Night 3] (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016)

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Happy Birthday, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Strand of Oaks

2016-12-04-23-07-54I had gotten a notification  that Strand of Oaks was adding a 3rd show at Boot & Saddle because the other two sold out.  I really liked Heal a lot and thought that a chance to see the band in a small setting would be great.

I had no idea that the “band” would be only Tim Showalter (naturally) with opening act Jason Anderson.  I thought the show might be really loud, but it wasn’t.  They both played electric guitars, but not at ear splitting volume.  They played perfectly off of each other–waves and waves of guitars layered wonderfully (with occasional keyboards as atmospheric background).  There were no drums or percussion and the whole set was like an electrified folk show.

There’s a new Strand of Oaks album coming out soon, and this was a chance for him to play some new songs.  So his setlist was a mix of new songs and a few of the more recognizable songs from Heal.

I initially thought I’d be late for the show and that I’d never get close (150 person capacity seemed like it might be packed tight).  But no, I was able to get up nice and close to the stage.  Anderson started playing some gentle guitar sounds, then–and this is what I love about Boot & Saddle–I heard someone saying excuse me, and Showalter himself was making his way through the crowd to the stage right next to me.  So that was pretty cool. (more…)

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Jason Anderson (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016) [STRAND OF OAKS Winter Classic II, Night 3]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah McLachlan, Strand of Oaks, Tim Showalter on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Jason Anderson

I thought that this show started at 8, but parking wasn’t very friendly near the Boot & Saddle so I wound up getting in the place at 8:15.  I didn’t know who Jason Anderson was, but I always try to see the opening act.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover he wasn’t going on until 8:30.

So I was standing there waiting for him to come up on stage, when the stage lights went out and a light above me turned on.  I thought they were just putzing with the lights, but then a guy with a guitar grabbed a chair and stood on it right behind me up against the side wall.

This was Jason Anderson.  He had opened for Strand of Oaks all three nights at the sold out shows at Boot & Saddle.  He said that he had told the crowd the last night that he would play an electric set, but it felt right to do this acoustic set right there.

The room was dim (so dim that I couldn’t even get a picture of him–this one is of him playing with Strand of Oaks (I didn’t realize he was going to do that)).  He had someone holding up a lyric book as he told us he was going to sing a couple of songs that he had just written.

And what came next was an incredible half an hour.

From the start, Anderson was passionate and personable and won everyone over as he described what each song was about. He was honest and emotive and was really earnest about how pleased he was that we were all there and how we needed to really appreciate where we were at the moment.

And it sounds kind of cheesy to write it, and it felt a little cheesy at first, but Anderson was able to break through the hard exterior of everyone in the place and allows us all to give into the moment.

The first song was called something like “Sometimes Windows, Sometimes Walls.”  He said it was about those times when we scroll through Facebook over and over in case you missed something.  After he sang the chorus, he asked us to sing along with it.  And we did.  And we sang louder when he asked and quieter when he asked.  The Boot & Saddle is so small (the show was sold out at 150 tickets) that it sounded amazing.  And we all fed off the energy.

Each of his six songs had a story (usually funny, but not always).  He often interrupted the song to comment or fill us in on something else.  And then he continued, talking about how great the vibe was in the room.  And it really was.

His second song was a bout a toll booth worker in New Hampshire (he’s from New Hampshire).  The song was full of wonderful details. He told us that his friend loved the song and that his chorus “I remember you.  You remember me” was totally Sarah McLachlan-and he sang a line of her song too.

Anderson continually asked everyone to step closer, making it ever more intimate as more people came in.  He said that he doesn’t go to church but his spirituality comes from music and events like this where all different people–friends and lovers and relatives ans strangers–all gather together and live in one moment as it happens.

For one of the songs he asked us to echo the first line of the chorus, which we did.  And when we echoed the second line, he stopped us and said that he didn’t think it worked.  he confirmed it with us and then said we should only do that first line.  We laughed and agreed and continued.

He thanked Tim Showalter (the heart of Strand of Oaks) for letting him play like this and then he said “This song is for Tim, it’s “For Mike.”” And we laughed and he said he didn’t realize how strange that would sound.  This was a touching song written for a friend whose wife had recently died.

The final song was “All My Love For You.”  He had the lights turned down even further (almost dark) and taught us the chorus.  As the song was moving along he jumped off of the chair and walked to the middle of the room and told everyone to take two steps closer.  He was surrounded as he sang.  And he encouraged us to close our eyes as we sang along.  As we sang, he told a story between our lines.  Eventually we opened out eyes and ended the song and it was over.

I have never been in an environment quite like that.  It was really amazing–warm and comfortable and strangely powerful.

The only bummer thing about it was how quickly the vibe dissipated after his set was over.

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Mike Gordon (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, November 28, 2016)

Posted in Beck, Fiona Apple, Marco Benevento, Max Creek, Mike Gordon, Philadelphia, PA, Phish, Robert Palmer, Union Transfer on November 28, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 28, 2016] Mike Gordon

mgfall_insta-768x567I saw Phish for the first time this summer.  But I’ve been a fan of the band (especially their live stuff) for years. And while Trey Anastasio is the defacto leader of the band, I’ve always loved Mike–his bass playing is funky, his songs are a catchy and he seems like  a generally fun guy.

2016-11-28-23-38-12So when I saw that he was playing a small club tour, I grabbed tickets right away.  With Phish I could never get anywhere near the stage, but here at Union Transfer I could have been literally up against the stage.  I was frankly surprised at how uncrowded the show was–where were all the Phish-heads?

I really like Mike’s album Overstep (from 2014), and was happy to see he’d be playing songs from that album as well as covers and new songs.

But aside from that I didn’t really know exactly what to expect.  I wasn’t sure if the point of this band was to be different from Phish–short structured songs–or just a chance to play with different people or what. (more…)

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Dinosaur Jr. (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, November 26, 2016)

Posted in Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis, Jane's Addiction, Lou Barlow, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 26, 2016] Dinosaur Jr.

2016-11-26-22-33-27I saw Dinosaur Jr. open up for Jane’s Addiction this summer.  I enjoyed their set (in fact, I was really going mostly to see them although I did like Jane’s as well).  But after it was over, I realized that I didn’t want to see them as an opening act. I needed a full show.

So even though it had been just a few months, when I saw that they were doing a headlining tour, I decided to check them out again.  And I’m really glad I did.  They played twice as many songs and were on more than twice as long.

The guys were able to stretch their songs out more and to pick from a really diverse set of songs.  2016-11-26-23-15-04Of course, being the headliners didn’t mean anything fancy–their stage set up (amps and more amps) was exactly the same as this summer.  And it’s possible that J. Mascis talked even less.  They were there simply to rock.

2016-11-26-22-59-14The only time that bassist Lou Barlow spoke was to berate people for complaining that they couldn’t hear the vocals.  The same thing happened at the summer show as well.  Barlow seemed pretty angry as he told us that we were standing in front of the guitar amps and that the vocals were coming through the house speakers.  So if we wanted to hear the vocals we needed to move to the back of the club.  “It’s Fucking Physics!”  I didn’t move back (the show was pretty crowded and I had a good spot), but I was able to hear the vocals much better than at the Summer Stage show.  I had planned that I would stand nearer the back to see if it was true, but I had a hard time passing up the chance to be so close. (more…)

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Easy Action (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, November 26, 2016) [DINOSAUR JR.]

Posted in Dinosaur Jr., Easy Action, Laughing Hyenas, Negative Approach, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on November 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 26, 2016] Easy Action

2016-11-26-20-44-16I had never heard of Easy Action when I saw that they were opening for Dinosaur Jr.  When I looked them up online I was taken to a Swedish glam metal band.  I was fairly surprised.

Then somehow I figured out it wasn’t that Easy Action.  Rather, this Easy Action is the creation of singer John Brannon.  Brannon is apparently notorious (or at least well-known), although I had never heard of him. He was in the punk band Negative Approach who I had heard of but didn’t know (they only released an Ep and an album).  And then later Laughing Hyenas who I also don’t know.  He formed Easy Action in 2001 and they released a second album in 2005.  And not much since then.

During the show, Brannon said it had been a couple of years since they’d played together and he thanked J. for getting them all back on stage.

About the only thing that Easy Action had in common with Dinosaur Jr. was that they were loud.  I arrived a few minutes into their set and I could hear them outside the building.  When I walked in the room, it was so loud that I had to stuff the earplugs in my ears as I ran to the bathroom. (more…)

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