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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Superchunk (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 4, 2018)

Posted in Allison Crutchfield, Katie Crutchfield, Philadelphia, PA, Sebadoh, Superchunk, Union Transfer on April 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2018] Superchunk

I’ve been a fan of Superchunk for what seems like ever.  Their music is reliably punky and poppy.  Fun, sometimes funny, with clever lyrics and always a big hook.

I’ll admit that their music sounds pretty samey, but there is something to be said about that.  After they put out their 2001 album Here’s to Shutting Up, they didn’t exactly go on hiatus, they just kept a low profile for a half a dozen years or so, releasing limited edition records and such.  When they returned in 2007 I realized just how much I’d missed them.

When I saw that they were playing Philly I knew it was time to go see them.

It was really cool that the band was the (nearly) original members: Mac McCaughan of course, Jim Wilbur on guitar (he joined after their first album) and Jon Wurster on drums (he joined after the third album)–they’re both bonafides!  The only one missing was bassist Laura Ballance.  She plays on the albums but because of her hyperacusis, she no longer tours.  So, on bass we had Jason Narducy who has played with anybody who is anybody. (more…)

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Swearin’ (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2018) [SUPERCHUNK]

Posted in All Dogs, Allison Crutchfield, Katie Crutchfield, Philadelphia, PA, Superchunk, Swearin', Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on April 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 4, 2018] Swearin’

I was so excited to see Superchunk, I didn’t really care who opened for them.  But I was rather excited to see that Allison Crutchfield’s band Swearin’ was reuniting for this tour.

I didn’t know the band, but in the past year or so I have heard (and liked) more and more from Allison Crutchfield and her sister Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee).  It’s not fair to lump them together, but they were in a band together at one point and Allison has toured with Katie’s band, so I think it’s fair to discuss them in the same paragraph.

But this show was all about Allisson (and Swearin’ co-founder Kyle Gilbride, who might be overshadowed somewhat in the Crutchfield love).  On drums was original drummer Jeff Bolt and on bass was their friend Amanda Bartley (of the band All Dogs). (more…)

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Twain (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2018) [DARLINGSIDE]

Posted in Darlingside, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Twain, Union Transfer on March 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 31, 2018] Twain

Twain has become something of a punchline for my friends and I, because we all really disliked his set opening for Kishi Bashi.

What was bizarre was how much Kishi Bashi raved about him that night.  Then recently, Twain played SXSW and the NPR review of SXSW raved about him as well.

They said this:

 Twain’s vast, searching music conjures the cosmic folk of Tim Buckley: A welcoming, wandering rumination on life, the afterlife, loneliness and “the beauties of this earthly world,” “Solar Pilgrim” feels at once human and otherworldly. The latest project to feature singer Mt. Davidson — he’s worked with The Low Anthem, Spirit Family Reunion and others — Twain makes the kind of music that, had it been made 50 years ago, would be a cherished cult item today.

The recording they included was kind of interesting and I imagine that if he had a full band he might be more enjoyable–Darlingside said that he had had a full band on earlier shows.  They also raved about him quite a bit, even joking that it was fun to say his name–Twain–as a nonsense syllable when you had nothing else to say. (more…)

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 14, 2018)

Posted in Godspeed You Black Emperor, Liberty, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on March 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 14, 2018] Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Back in 2000, I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor at Maxwell’s in Hoboken.  My friend Lar was in from Ireland and he went to the show with me, which was pretty awesome.

It is one of the most memorable shows of my early concert-going experience.  Which is possibly why I waited 18 years to see them again.

Even though my friends Liz and Eleanor (who have seen them many times) told me to join them in the balcony, to close my eyes and drift to the music, I’m a close-up guy and I wanted to be a part of the show.

The band had a semicircle of chairs on stage.  I should have realized from the get-go that as soon as someone sat in one of them he would basically be blocking everything for me, but I didn’t think it through.

So the show began with “Hope Drone,” which is, as suggested, a drone.  (more…)

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Liberty / Tashi Dorji Duo (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 14, 2018) [GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR]

Posted in Godspeed You Black Emperor, John Zorn, Liberty, Philadelphia, PA, Tashi Dorji, Twain, Union Transfer on March 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 14, 2018] Liberty / Tashi Dorji Duo

I had never heard of Liberty / Tashi Dorji Duo when I saw they were opening for Godspeed You Black Emperor.   I also didn’t know if Liberty was a part of the duo or even if Liberty was a second opening act.

Well, it turns out that Tashi Dorji is a guitarist who often plays by himself.  But for this show he was with “the elusive Danish saxophonist LIBERTY (Mette Rasmussen).”

So what did this mean for the show?  Well, a brief search on Dorji revealed:

Tashi Dorji was born and raised in Bhutan, on the eastern side of the Himalayas. Residing in Asheville since 2000 and soaking up a vast array of music. Along the way, Dorji developed a playing style unbound by tradition, yet with a direct line to intuitive artistry. All references break loose during his playing, as Dorji keys into his own inner world.

and that

Liberty is a saxophone player whose music is defining a unique balance of uproar and beauty. Her ability to move between the often strict confines of genres and explore the elements makes her presence highly powerful. She has encapsulated her own personal vision of acoustic music, by amplification expanding her range in dynamics and rocketing a more prosaic stem.

So. (more…)

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We Were Promised Jetpacks (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, March 12, 2018)

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, We Were Promised Jetpacks on March 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 12, 2018] We Were Promised Jetpacks

I didn’t really know all that much about We Were Promised Jetpacks’ music, but I knew I wanted to see them live.  I had enjoyed what I’d heard but I knew there were diehard fans in the audience.

But WWPJ were also working on a new album–finishing it up by the end of the month, they said.  So there would be new songs which meant most people wouldn’t know all the songs.   This was their second night at Boot & Saddle and the final night of their tour.

WWPJ are from Glasgow.  And of course, I enjoyed hearing Adam Thompson’s accent when he spoke.  They played with one of the darkest stage lighting I think I’ve ever seen.  And since they were all wearing black, it was like a black hole up there.  Which worked well with their moody, often loud sound.

I was in a slightly bad location (up front) for them because it seemed like I couldn’t hear the vocals very clearly and that Michael Palmer on guitar was a little too quiet.

Sean Smith’s bass was a wee too loud in the beginning but that got EQ’d properly.  Darren Lackie’s drums were just perfect all night.  He used those drums like a lead instrument much of the time and that was awesome. (more…)

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Active Bird Community (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, March 12, 2018) [WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS]

Posted in Active Bird Community, Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, We Were Promised Jetpacks on March 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 12, 2018] Active Bird Community

I have always loved the name of the headlining band–We Were Promised Jetpacks.  I didn’t know too much about their music but what I’d heard I’d enjoyed.

I thought it might be fun to see them in a small setting, so I grabbed a ticket (before they sold out).

The opening band was Active Bird Community who I’d not heard of.  Imagine my surprise to see they formed in 2005 (!–apparently when they were ten years old or something) and put their first record out in 2012.

The band had great stage presence (touring for years, obviously).  And they wrote incredibly catchy rocking songs.  They seemed to be having a lot of fun and I enjoyed their set a lot.  I was in front of lead guitarist Andrew Wolfson who was really fun to watch, playing with his gear and making really interesting sounds. (more…)

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An Evening with Nada Surf (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 9, 2018)

Posted in Guided By Voices, Joy Division, Nada Surf, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on March 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 9, 2018] Nada Surf

Nada Surf has been on my bands-to-see-live list for some time.   Matthew Caws the lead singer and primary songwriter had played a solo gig nearby recently, but I wanted to see the whole band.  So I was really excited to see that they were going to play An Evening, which always means “no opener.”  I love a good opening band, but if I can see twice as much of a headliner, well, that’s even better!

And this was going to be a celebration of their album Let Go.  This was the fifteenth anniversary of this, their third album, and it was going to be played in its entirety.  Which is  great since pretty much the whole album is terrific.

Nada Surf has a fascinating history.  They were huge with their sorta-novelty hit “Popular.”  When they put out their second album, The Proximity Effect, the label thought there were no hits, so the band was dropped.  The guys went to France (Matthew Caws and bassist Daniel Lorca initially met at The Lycée Français de New York (The French High School of New York) a private, independent bilingual French school and also spent time in Belgium and France as kids).  The album was released and well received.  They eventually self-released it back home.

Then they released Let Go in Europe and the U.S. (with different track listings).  Caws thanked Barsuk for releasing the album basically sight-unseen back in 2002.

And the entire first set was the album front to back. (more…)

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Jessica Lea Mayfield (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2018)

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Daddy Issues, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Mal Blum, Mal Blum and the Blums, Philadelphia, PA, Transgender on March 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 8, 2018] Jessica Lea Mayfield

I first saw Jessica Lea Mayfield (who I’d assumed was a country singer) on a Tiny Desk Concert back in 2016 (it aired in 2014 when she had just released Make My Head Sing…).  She had pink hair, electric guitars and a lot of glitter.  And her sound was decidedly grungy.  At the time I remember thinking that the contrasts she brought–her delicate voice, her simple but poignant songs, her look, and her promise that her shows get really loud–were really compelling.  So when last November she scheduled a date at Boot & Saddle, I was bummed that I couldn’t go.  But then she cancelled the date and it was rescheduled to March.  And so she became my second show in a pretty long string of shows this month.

I really like her latest album Sorry Is Gone.  And once again her look is very different–she quite glammed up on the album cover.  So I didn’t know what to expect when she came out.  And that was all the more thrilling.  When she finally did come out, green hair, blue nail polish, yellow heels and a flower dress, it was just a perfect microcosm of everything I think about Jessica Lea Mayfield.

The surprise came when Audrey from Mal Blum and the Blums came back onstage.  This time she was playing bass for JLM.  If you’re doing double duty on a night, it’s probably fun to switch instruments.  On drums was Emily Maxwell who plays with Daddy Issues.

When Jessica came up on stage, she was unabashedly polite and rather sweet.  She has a quiet voice (in song and speaking) and thanked us all for coming. (more…)

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Mal Blum and the Blums (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, March 8, 2018) [JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Mal Blum, Mal Blum and the Blums, Philadelphia, PA, Transgender on March 8, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 8, 2018] Mal Blum and the Blums

I was unfamiliar with Mal Blum before this show.  Mal Blum is a songwriter who plays both solo shows and with the backing band The Blums.  Mal’s songs are great–catchy melodies and darkly comic self-reflective lyrics.  But I am particularly glad to have seen The Blums because the backing band was great and really seemed to infuse the show with a lot of fun (I suppose the solo shows are fun as well, but this is all I have to go on).

Mal was front and center of course on guitar and vocals.  On lead was Audrey Zee Whitesides and she was great–playing wild solos and then backing off to let Mal take center stage again.  Barrett Lindgren was on bass and he was particularly excited to shout Go Birds! (he is from Philly and had been holding off shouting that for many shows now).  On drums was Piyal Basu who was new for this tour (no pictures apparently).  He did a great job–I particularly enjoyed the time when Audrey “encouraged” him when an upcoming tempo change was imminent. (more…)

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