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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Kid Koala x Lealani (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Distorter, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Kid Koala x Lealani

I’ve been a fan of Kid Koala for a really long time.  His turntable skills are incredible.  I was able to see him once (I can’t believe it was 7 and a half years ago).  I’ve been wanting to catch him again ever since.  And here he was, playing with Deltron and doing his own set.  I didn’t know what the X Lealani meant, but we would soon find out.

Kid Koala came out and moved over to his three turntables.  And as he started playing some records, he said, I’m Kid Koala and I’m here to play records incorrectly.  And then his cameras turned on.  He had cameras mounted above the turntables so you could watch his hands as he scratched and spun his vinyl.

His set was so much fun and having the cameras on meant you could see that he had taped marks and other notifications on his vinyl that helped him keep track of where to put the needle.  Watching him spin the vinyl backwards to get it to exactly where he wanted it was amazing.  He didn’t play any of his own songs, he played samples and snippets of songs and had everybody bopping along.

After a few minutes, he brought Lealani out (I think she was eating dinner with him at La Chinesca–my son and I ate at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.)  Lealani is from Pomona California and Kid Koala introduced her as an incredible electronic musician.  She had one of those light up boxes that makes sound.  I don’t know what they’re called.  There was a camera on her as well and her hands were incredible.  She played elaborate beats and melodies on this box and the whole room was blown away.

Lealani left and Kid Koala played some more.  And then Lealani came back out with a guitar. She sang a kicking punk song while Kid Koala played some drums.  And then Kid Koala told us that he and Lealani had started a new band together and that they would be touring early next year.  This band is called Distorter and I’ll be there when they come to town.

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Lord Sko (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Lord Sko

When this show was announced–Deltron 3030 playing their debut front to back– I grabbed two tickets immediately.  I grabbed one for my son because even though he didn’t know the album, I assumed he’d enjoy the show.

In addition to enjoying his company, I enjoy picking him up on the way to Philly because it usually means we can get there super early.  Which we did–although traffic was a little heavier than I expected.  But we had time to get food at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.

I had looked at the previous show and they were done by around 10:20, which was great because we were going to grab churros (yum!) for the ride home.  However, the previous show did not have the extra opening act, Lord Sko.

I was expecting Kid Koala to come out to his turntables.  But instead, a person came out with a laptop and got us hyped up for Lord Sko.

His logo reminded me of Newport cigarette ads. And moments later he came out.  He had on a big winter hat with ear flaps.  You could barely see his face but you could see his long hair.  And you could hear him quite clearly.  I always think it’s weird when an opening act whom I assume few have heard of, tries to get the crowd hyped up by yelling at us to put our hands up.  I mean, have man, the bar is low, but you have to earn the love.

Anyway, he began rapping and his flow was really good.  Hiphopdx said of him

A true student of the culture, his sound is nostalgic yet fresh, fearless yet effortless. From standout tracks to a fire 2025 project, he’s building momentum fast. Hip Hop heads — don’t sleep on this one

There was some technical difficulties with the laptop, but Sko handled it very well.  He even did a freestyle while the laptop rebooted.

I cam away from his set with respect for the guy (who is like 20) and I’d happily see him again.

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The Mountain Goats: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025)

Posted in Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, The Mountain Goats, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on October 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] The Mountain Goats

I have wanted to see The Mountain Goats for years–pretty much ever since my friend Andrew introduced me to them (with burnt CD copies of albums).  I finally got to see them this summer while playing with Guster and that was great.  I had no idea that the band had so much fun up there and I really enjoyed their set (as I figured I would).

So when they announced this Free at Noon, I jumped at the ticket.  Sure I had just seen them two months ago, but they were great and I wanted more!

I walked in and the usher suggested I sit in the ADA section.  I didn’t want to, as I like being closer, but the crowd was big and rather tall, so I grabbed a seat and happened to be right next to the very Andrew who introduced me to them.  It makes sense that he would be there (he said the same about me) and it was a fun surprise.

The band came out and started with one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton.  I cannot believe that the song is 25 years old!

I actually wondered how many different songs I’d hear compared to the summer’s set.  Well, it was mostly the same, but of the nine songs they played, there were three that they didn’t play this summer.

But, it was also really fun to know the other songs.  I had really enjoyed Bones Don’t Rust last time and I really really liked Broken to Begin With–a terrific song from the new album.

I really like seeing John Darnielle pogo during the instrumentals and bounce from one musician to the next smiling at the music they are playing–sometimes seeming maybe surprised by a move or another.

He explained that the new album is about a sinking ship (which he is on). Rocks in My Pockets is about it as is Great Pirates.  (more…)

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Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons (Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA, October 2, 2025)

Posted in Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Marian Anderson Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Stardew Valley, Verizon Hall on October 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 2, 2025] Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons

My wife is a big fan of Stardew Valley.  Last November, when this show was announced, I grabbed tickets pretty quickly and basically assumed the day would never come.

Back in 2017 my son and I went to this very venue (then called Verizon Hall) to see The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.  We were really close to the stage which I don’t think was all that exciting for him.  or for me, really. So this time, my wife and I sat in  the balcony–straight back.

It was a great location as they played videos on the screen and we could see both the videos and the orchestra perfectly.  So what was this?

Curated by ConcernedApe, Symphony of Seasons features a 35-piece orchestra performing the most memorable music from the game, and a screen above the stage playing gameplay footage plus original content created exclusively for this tour.

Concert-goers can look forward to hearing the game’s most cherished songs as they watch their farm grow throughout the seasons and explore some of the valley’s most memorable locations, from Pelican Town to the Skull Cavern, Ginger Island to Calico Desert, the Submarine to the Wizard’s Tower and much more.

I have never played the game and have only caught glimpses and audio snippets around the house so while I knew the game I didn’t know any of the music.

The whole show was wonderful.  There was an opening video by ConcernedApe who told us that he made all of the music on his computer and how cool it was that there were actual people playing it now.

The video clips were largely from the game, but there were several videos of beautifully drawn scenes–the likes of which are not on the game.  My wife said it was amazing to see 3-D looking version of the  8 bit game.  It was also funny to hear people gasp when these scenes were projected or to laugh at the funny scenes in the game.  [There were four people behind us who felt compelled to talk and make each other laugh through the show, but whatever].  There was some cosplay and interesting merch. (more…)

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TWRP (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025)

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts on October 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] TWRP


My son and I saw TWRP open for Magic Sword back in 2023 and we loved them.  We saw them again when they headlined.  And they’re the reason I went to Ninja Sex Party (they opened the show and were NSP’s backing band).

And here they were playing Underground Arts!  They were originally supposed to play World Cafe Live but because of a shakeup at the venue, TWRP and several other bands abandoned WCL for other venues.  I love Underground Arts but I think WCL would have suited my purposes better (much better sight lines).

I arrived later than I intended and the place was packed.  So instead of being on the barrier, I was back a ways behind a whole bunch of tall people.  After the first two songs I moved back and off to the side.  Not the best view but better than what I had and I could see most of the band just fine.

The previous times that I’ve seen them, they were on pretty big stages, so it was interesting to see them crammed into the small UA stage.  But they did fine with it and I was pleased that Phobos the guitarist was always near the front of the stage so he wasn’t hidden by the big pole.

All of the fun aspects of TWRP were in place.  Dr Sung on his hoverboard, Dr Sung bragging about his awesomeness and the rest of the band keeping him in check.

This tour’s theme was a weekend camping trip.  There were leaves and things around the stage and the whole conceit that they were camping was on full display.

They opened with a new song (and a new chant: party party party party).  I haven’t listened to much of the new album.  They played 4 songs from it but they did not get rid of crowd faves like Bright Blue Sky (so much fun to sing along to) and of course Atomic Karate (even in this small area he was able to do his high kicks (baby) and use the nunchaku.

The segues into each song are always fun, like when he talks about all of the potential in the room as a warm up to Human Potential. (more…)

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LAPD [Los Angeles Power Disco] (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025) [TWRP]

Posted in LAPD, Los Angeles Power Disco, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP, Underground Arts on October 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2025] LAPD 

I was super excited for this show.  I wanted to get there early and get right up front for TWRP.  But I guess everyone else did too.  So I didn’t get a close spot at all.  I was annoyed by the people in front of me since they cut in at the least second and blocked about six shorter people.

The only consolation is that they were playing Weird Al as house music–which is a little weird since TWRP are funny, but aren’t comedy music.  But whatever, we all enjoyed it.

I’d never heard of Los Angeles Power Disco before this show.  The name was pretty funny (especially abbreviated LAPD).

The band came out on the tint stage and the trio crowded right up front.  There was a guitarist and a keyboard/bass/guitar player, and there was singer/guitarist Sarah Rayne.

Rayne had been in the band Cobra Man which played what they called Los Angeles Power Disco.  Then Cobra Man broke up very acrimoniously and Sarah took the name LAPD.

There was no drummer and honestly I don’t even know if the two guys on stage are part of LAPD or are touring musicians (LAPD has five songs out on Bandcamp, all released in 2025).

Sarah was dressed in a sequined unitard and was super interactive with the crowd.  I didn’t love the spot where I was (or the three tall people who jumped in front of us at the last second), so I couldn’t fully see what she was doing, but I know at one point she climbed on the barrier (holding hands with someone up front) and proceeded to high five and have people sing along to “Your. Time. To. Burn.” (more…)

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PUP (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2025)

Posted in Alanis Morissette, Ekko Astral, Jeff Rosenstock, Philadelphia, PA, PUP, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2025] PUP

My son and I have seen Pup twice and have enjoyed both shows immensely.  I assume I’ll want to see them whenever they come around because they are so much fun.

This was the first time we were fairly close to the stage (we were one person from the barricade at the beginning of the night, although by the end we had been pushed around a bit.  And indeed, my son jumped in the pity later in the night.

This was a busy bill–3 bands, with Jeff Rosenstock playing an hour.  I was really impressed with the efficiency of the night (are you listening Wet Leg?).  15 minutes between Jeff Rosenstock leaving the stage and Pup taking over.

I realized that I hadn’t listened all that much to their new album, which was not a great plan going into a tour for the new album.  All Pup songs are catchy and fun, so it doesn’t really matter if you don’t know them–except that when you know them you can sing/scream at the top of your voice.

But it wasn’t all new songs at all.  They opened with a new song (the opening song of the album). (more…)

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Jeff Rosenstock (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2025) [PUP]

Posted in Alanis Morissette, Ekko Astral, Jeff Rosenstock, Philadelphia, PA, PUP, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2025] Jeff Rosenstock

So I didn’t really know Jeff Rosenstock. I’d heard of him and I knew t hat he had done a lot of work with PUP AND I knew that people loved him, but he had completely slipped my radar.

But when he and his band came out, they were a ton of fun right from the get go.  And the crowd went bananas for them.

And he was very funny too.  Wearing orange shorts with a pink dye job on his hair (he said he had done it just before the show and it was still dripping down his neck).

They came out to the Friends theme and Jeff immediately told us to get to know the people around us.  But if we saw some fucking moron grope someone or get in someone’s face, get some other nice person and get that moron outta here.

And as one blurb says, the set was filled with fan favorites, singalongs, and chaos. (more…)

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Ekko Astral (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2025) [PUP]

Posted in Alanis Morissette, Ekko Astral, Jeff Rosenstock, Philadelphia, PA, PUP, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2025] Ekko Astral

We arrived at the venue plenty early and were right up near the barrier.  There was a giant “american” flag on stage, except the stripes were rainbow colored, the stars were pot leaves and the middle of the blue field said 666.  Amazing.

I had wanted to see Ekko Atral open for Ted Leo but I was late for that show.  So I was really psyched to be able to see them so soon.  And they were very clear about the rules: no bigotry of any kind would be tolerated.

And wow, what an opening.  We were right in front of bassist and singer Jael Holzman.  She was amazing and intense. Across the stage was guitarist Liam Hughes and he played the kind of noise guitar that I had to wonder how one even thinks of making sounds like that–and how he knew they would work so well.

On drums was Miri Tyler, playing loud and fast and acting almost like a distortion pedal for the overall sound. (more…)

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Garbage (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2025)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Garbage, Philadelphia, PA, Starcrawler on September 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2025] Garbage

Back in the 90s Garbage was my favorite band.  I loved everything about them.  I saw them twice when I lived in Boston (and wish I remembered those early shows better).  I’d seen them twice in the 21st century (but was surprised to see that the last time was eight years ago!).

Like a lot of people I don’t like the newer stuff quite as much as the older stuff.  I’m not sure what’s different–maybe it’s just me.  I like individual songs but don’t love listening to the albums front to back as much.

But the individual songs are still great.  And they sounded fantastic as they opened the show with two killer new tracks.  The band sounded huge and Shirley Manson’s voice was great.  She was wearing a leather jacket which she took off after the first two songs to reveal a jump suite with a handwritten Free Gaza on the back.

They handled the loud/quiet transitions on a song like Hold perfectly–even the lights were perfect.

The band members (aside from Shirley) don’t do a lot on stage (I just found out that guitarist Duke Erikson is 74 years old–no wonder this is their last big tour).

After the first two songs, they moved on to Empty–a super catchy song from a few albums back.  Guitarist Steve Marker (only 66) played the opening chords and like last time it was cool being able to hear the different guitar sound the guys had. (more…)

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