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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Tori Amos / Bartees Strange (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bartees Strange, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Tori Amos on August 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 1, 2026] Tori Amos / Bartees Strange

Back in the 90s, I was a die-hard Tori Amos fan.  Over the years I’ve moved on.  But I did see her four years ag (I can’t believe it has been that long).

I enjoyed that show, but I complained that she hardly played anything I new (yes, she has a like a dozen albums out but still).  And for my show she only played 17 songs.  For this one it was only 15!  After the last show I said “t was like seeing a friend who I had grown apart from.  We had a few things in common, but there were far more differences.”

So I had no intention of going to this show.  Looking at the setlist, she played these songs that I know

A Sorta Fairytale [really like this one]
Bliss [forgot about this one, but it rocks]
Putting the Damage On [she didn’t play anything from this, my favorite Tori album, last time]
Little Earthquakes [of course]
Spring Haze [she played it last time too]
Pretty Good Year [that would have been great to hear]

Fascinatingly, she didn’t play Precious Things.  And she did play Streets of Philadelphia [like last time]–next time, how about Philadelphia Freedom.  So, that’s 6 out of 15.  Not a great ratio.  

Bartees Strange opened up. I saw him 3 times in 3 and a half years and really didn’t need to see him again.  I really liked his earlier stuff, but the newer stuff I got sick of.  I realize I saw him last just over a year ago, so it’s not like the early stuff was super long ago.

 

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Babe Rainbow / Sam and Louise Sullivan / Sam Blasucci (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Babe Rainbow, Mapache, Philadelphia, PA, Sam and Louise Sullivan, Sam Blasucci, The Foundry on July 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 30, 2026] Babe Rainbow / Sam and Louise Sullivan / Sam Blasucci

I know of The Babe Rainbow because Levitation Records (who put out all kinds of cool psychedelic music) released a Levitation Sessions album and I like to check out any band that plays a session with them.  They played The Foundry three years ago and I wrote:

Babe Rainbow is from Australia.  They do play psychedelic music but it lands squarely on the delicate 60’s folk side of psychedelia.  Meaning it’s fun to have on, but I don’t need to see them live.  I felt the same way, although listening to more of their stuff, they might be more fun live than I realized.

Sam and Louise Sullivan are a family band. They grew up  playing traditional Irish and Old-time music as their parents moved them back  and forth across the country between Brooklyn, NY, and Portland, OR, usually  driving alongside a Ryder truck. Though they never stopped playing music,  Sam and Louise studied literature and visual arts. Louise started her own  ceramics business and Sam became a high school literature teacher to pay the  bills. Later, Louise joined Sam in Philadelphia and ended up working at the same Quaker prep school as an elementary classroom teacher. Louise is the visionary and the talent, holding  Sam accountable, making sure he doesn’t get too corny.  Interestingly, they have such a clean, earnest sound that it seems like it should be really corny and yet it isn’t.  Louise’s voice is wonderful and at least in this recording, I love the sound of their instruments.

Sam Blasucci is an American singer-songwriter based in California.  He’s one of the two members of Mapache, who I also do not know.  It sounds like his music is well suited to Babe Rainbow, with reviewers talking about his “easy Beach Boys-sounding pop”  and songs with “light percussion, a Caribbean feel, and a smooth groove”  as well as “R&B-inspired pop”  as well as “electro pop.”  Sounds like a very pleasant night.  Maybe next time I’ll rethink seeing them.

 

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Metric: All the Feelings Tour (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026)

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia on July 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Metric

When this tour (dubbed All the Feelings) was announced, I knew I was going immediately.  Stars, Broken Social Scene and Metric?  Three great Canadian bands who have all played with each other?  It sounded wonderful.

I saw Metric back in 2022 and thought their show was fantastic.  Their album Fantasties was one of my favorite albums of 2009.  I hadn’t listened to their subsequent albums as much, but I really enjoyed that show.  And I was excited for this one.  Their new album is much more synth poppy, which I didn’t love.  But I figured it sounded like a great opportunity for a live show.

I was somewhat taken aback when the stage setup was revealed for Metric.  In hindsight it didn’t look very different from the last time–dark and spare with lots of room for walking around.  But it was such a stark difference from the warm, crowded stage for Stars and Broken Social Scene.

The drums were straight back on a riser.  On either side of the riser were electronic gadgets.  Full sized gear that was lit up with colorful lights.  In the center of the stage was a small table with a keyboard and a light.  It was perfectly symmetrical.

The band came out and, holy cow, they had banks of lights al around the stage, including right at the front and those lights shone right at the people in the front row.  I felt like the family in front of me was really unhappy about that.  At any rate, they left about half way through the set for whatever reason.

I was front and center for this show so, I was right in front of Emily Haines.  Joules Scott-Key on drums in the back–but so dark that I could barely see him for most of the show.  Joshua Winstead was on to my right.  He often went back to that bank of electronica to do whatever he had to do.  I always enjoyed watching him play bass because he seemed to play very hard–even if sometimes the electronics drowned him out.  On the left was James Shaw playing guitar and also doing whatever to the wall of dials and gears he had back there.

They opened with their new single Victim of Luck, a song I love.  It sounded great.  I enjoyed that Emily would move her table of gear around the stage–sometimes parking it up front, other times pushing it out of the way to give her more room to more around.  Up next was Formentera, with a thumping bass and ringing guitars.

Youth Without Youth is another new song with some jagged guitars and a propulsive beat.  I wondered how some of the sounds were being generated.  Sometimes Emily played the keyboard, but other times, I’m guessing that James had manipulated the sounds so that his guitar sounded more like a synth.  I also enjoyed the Go Go Go Go part.

Then they played two songs from their second album. The bouncy Monster Hospital and the more moody Poster of a Girl.  (more…)

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Broken Social Scene (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026) [METRIC]

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia on July 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Broken Social Scene

When You Forgot It in People came out back in 2002, I listened to it quite a lot, but then Broken Social Scene fell of my radar.  I knew about a couple of projects over the years, but had no idea that they were still a going concern.  Earlier this year WXPN started playing a new song by them.  Indeed, the band put a new album out this year.

Two years ago, Broken Social Scene toured You Forgot It in People.  I grabbed a ticket and then lost some interest as the show drew closer.  I had a show lined up for the following two nights.  So I blew off the show.  Reviews made me realize I missed something fun and interesting.  Indeed, the family in front of me at this show said they have seen Broken Social Scene some 25 times.  So I was glad to finally get to experience them live.  And wow, what a fun spectacle.

Broken Social Scene is a loose collective of musicians who come and go.  For this show, the fewest number of people on stage at any given time was 7.  With it maxing out at around 15.  The main components of the band are Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and drummer Justin Peroff.  We learned midway through the set that earlier this summer, Justin was injured in Vancouver.  They had cancelled some shows, but Justin fully recovered and was playing with them tonight.  Two other guys have been with the band since almost the beginning, Andrew Whiteman who was on the far side of the stage.  I couldn’t see him too well, but he sang lead a few times and did some solos. Right in front of me, and most intriguing to me was Charles Spearin who played a double neck guitar/ bass.  I’d never seen one quite like this.  It was really small, but Spearin jumped back and forth between bass and guitar throughout the set.  Sam Goldberg also played guitar but switched off to bass once in a while.  During the first song, Cuase= Time, all three–Goldberg, Spearin and Whiteman all played the solo together.  Brendan Canning mostly played bass, but occasionally played guitar and keys.

Kevin Drew was center stage wearing a baseball at that said Captain, which I found amusing.   He was definitely the captain, introducing new people and telling stories between songs.  He also sang most of the songs, but not all of them. (more…)

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Tomahawk (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2026)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer on July 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Tomahawk

I’ve seen Mike Patton with two bands: Dead Cross and Mr. Bungle. I enjoy anything he does and am always happy to see what he comes up with (Although I didn;t like the Avett Brothers/Patton country sound all that much).  St this point, there’s realistically only two other bands I’d like to see him front live, Fantômas (which I doubt will happen) and Faith No More (which could happen).  I’d also like to see Mr. Bungle again, since the show I saw was their debut album only, but whatever.  Tomahawk is a Patton-fronted project that I was into for a bit and then it just felt like there were too many Patton related bands to keep track of at the time (Lovage, Peeping Tom, Fantômas, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) so I stopped following them.  Which is a shame because their music is quite diverse (I mean, all Patton music is diverse, often within the same song, but…oh forget it).

So anyhow, Tomahawk put out an album in during the pandemic but hadn’t toured it.  Then, a few months ago, they announced this tour with the Melvins: a huge waste of your time and money (hilarious).

Even though I wasn’t a huge fan, I knew I had to see them.  In addition to Patton, the band featured Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard, Firewater) on guitar John Stanier (Helmet, Battles) on drums and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, tons of other things) on bass.  A great lineup.

The lights came up and the stage was fairly sparse. Drums in the back (with Stanier’s outrageously tall cymbals), a table of some sort out front for Patton and amps on either side. Because of the table, I couldn’t see Trevor Dunn very much (he hung back) until he came up to sing backing vocals.  But I had a great view of Denison and it was amazing watching him play.  He’s not flashy at all, but he does al kinds of interesting things to generate interesting sounds.

In fact, the whole show was not flashy at all.  There were no fancy lights or projections (just the band’s logo on a curtain in the back).  In fact, half way through the set I realized that the setlist was taped to Patton’s table.

They opened with the first song on their first album.  Rather appropriate, I think. The squeaking sound of some kind of effect opened the set as Patton whispered the lyrics to Flashback and the crowd went berserk.  The song took off and the mosh pit started.  Tomahawk is a hard band to mosh to, because their songs go at varying tempos and intensity.  But people managed it.

Tomahawk never toured that 2021 album, so they finally had a chance to play it live.  I suppose old school fans wanted to hear their earlier stuff (although, I mean this album is 5 years old, it’s not exactly new), but I really enjoyed this new stuff.   And the played 9 of the ten songs from it.

SHHH! has lots of vocal parts and I really enjoyed at the end of the song when Patton whispers the title.  It seemed like he was trying to get everyone to stop yelling things (which they did during the quiet parts), but I realized it was part of the song.  Predators and Scavengers has a cool riff and simple chugging guitar parts.  It was fun being in front of Duane Denison for this one.  I loved turning my head from Patton to see what he was doing and he was inevitably calmly playing some cool thing or other.

I had listened to the setlist before the show since I didn’t really know the songs that well (if at all) and one of my favorites was Business Casual.  It was really fun watching Mike and Trevor scream the lyrics and then whisper “bad cholesterol, business casual.”  Dension made interesting quiet guitar sounds while Dunn’s bass rumbled along.  I liked that Doomsday Fatigue had quiet moments–because Patton’s (and the whole band’s) range is tremendous and it’s fun to see them really show off what they can do. (more…)

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Stars (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2026) [METRIC]

Posted in Broken Social Scene, Metric, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Met Philadelphia on July 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2026] Stars

When this tour (dubbed All the Feelings) was announced, I knew I was going immediately.  Stars, Broken Social Scene and Metric?  Three great Canadian bands who have all played with each other?  It sounded wonderful.

Stars is a fantastic band and it took me far too long to see them live.  But now that I have, I’ve seen them every two years since that first time.  I was a little bummed that they weren’t the middle band for this show, but, as it turned out, they spent a lot of time on stage with Broken Social Scene, so it was no big deal.

The actual big deal, though, was that the show started at 7 instead of 8.  I probably could have gone home after work and been home for a second and then headed down to Philly, but I decided to go directly from work (which was a very smart idea).  I arrived way too early so I went to Federal Donuts to get a chicken sandwich only to find out that this location’s grill was off.  I also found out that Federal Donuts has closed a lot of their locations (No!).  So I’m not sure if this location (on 7th) no loner serves chicken (is the grill closed permanently?).  Devastating.

So, with no dinner, but a six pack of donuts, I headed over to The Met, got to my secret free parking spot, and listened to my audio book.  But there was threat of thunderstorms.  I didn’t want to get into the venue too early, but I also didn’t want to get soaked, so I headed in around 6:15.  Merch was okay, but I didn’t get anything.  I moseyed down to the pit and happily stood behind the front row of people (a nice short woman in front of me).  This family was very nice and had seen BSS many times.

Right on time, Stars came out and, as usual, Torq was his funny engaging and charismatic self.  Amy Millan looked wonderful and seemed to be having a great time as well.  And their onstage rapport is always amazing together.  Torq talked about how great it was to be able to do something with your best friend.

The rest of the band has remained the same for 20+ years.  Last tour I learned that bassist Evan Cranley and guitarist Chris Seligman are the main composers of Stars’ music while Torq Campbell and Amy Millan write lyrics.  Drummer Pat McGee and lead guitarist Chris McCarron keep everything going.  And Torq played melodica a bunch. (more…)

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Melvins (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 27 2026) [TOMAHAWK]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Melvins, Tomahawk, Union Transfer on July 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2026] Melvins

Despite everything in the world indicating that I should be a Melvins fan, for whatever reason, I just never followed them.

And I’d never wanted to see them live.  Then in 2023, they did a coheadlining tour with Boris (which I wasn’t going to miss).  During that show, Dale Crover had an injury so Coady Willis played drums.   But this time, Dale was back and BOTH drummers were up on stage.

Recent bassist (they have had many bassists) Steven Shane McDonald (who was one of the main dudes in Redd Kross, a band I have never gotten into) was on bass and is a lot of fun.  Despite Melvins being a heavy punk band, McDonald acts like a massive hippie.  He has long hair, was wearing a jump suit with eyes all over it and is very chill (except when he’s screaming).   He also plays his bass in a great way–lots of reverb and pedals and often playing high on the neck creating a sound that doesn’t seem to fit what I think of the Melvins’ sound, but which worked really well.

And then there is Buzz Osbourne (King Buzzo).  Last time he was on the far side of the stage, but this time i Was right in front of him.  Like last time he was wearing a caftan with a giant eyeball on it and of course, his legendary hair.  I didn’t realize he was a “good” guitar player.  I assumed the band played sludgy slow songs with just a few chords.  I kind of assumed that they didn’t care about the music.  But that’s wrong.  Buzz played solos and clearly does give a shit.

Last time, it took a couple of songs to win me over, but tonight I was fully into it.  As were most of the audience (I deliberately arrived earl than I normally would because I knew people weren’t going to blow off the opening band).  Indeed, after fifteen minutes a mosh pit started (not bad for an opening band).

As I said I always assumed Melvins songs were slow and sludgy, but most of the earlier songs in the set were pretty fast tempo.

I’m going to admit, though, that the most fun part of the show was the two drummers.  I’ve seen a few bands with two drummers and it’s always neat.  You kind of think they can’t possibly stay in sync, but come one, they are drummers of course they can.  What was really fun about this pair was that Dale is right handed and Coady is left handed so they mirrored each other.  Mostly they played the same thing but from time to time, one of them would add extra fills or wood blocks or something.  I loved at the end of the first song the both held their sticks over the heads in a X shape while they prepped to start song 2. (more…)

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Wunderhorse / Been Stellar (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Been Stellar, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Wunderhorse on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2026] Wunderhorse / Been Stellar

Wunderhorse is a band whose name sounds like a lot of other bands that I like (or at least hat I know).  I know WXPN liked them, although when I played the song tha they had been playing a lot, I didn’t recognize it.  And I didn’t really like it.  I have nothing against the band but nothing about the songs grabbed me at all.

So, yea, I wasn’t going to see them.

I have enjoyed the band name Been Stellar for a little while now.  I’m not even sure if I knew their music, but their name gave me a chuckle.  They have opened for two bands that I was interested in seeing, but I didn’t go to either show.  Last time, when they opened for Fontaines D.C. I said I listened to a few clips and didn’t really get much of a feeling from them–fuzzy alt rock.  They’re kind of a buzz band, but I’d need to hear more.  When I first listened to them in 2023, though I really liked them.  I guess tastes change.

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Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, July 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Finn Wolfhard, Philadelphia, PA, Sleeper's Bell, Stranger Things, Union Transfer on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 26, 2026] Finn Wolfhard / Sleeper’s Bell

Just how many of the cast from Stranger Things are also musicians?  Well, just about all of them, it seems.

And so here comes Finn Wolfhard.  He played The Foundry a couple of years back and here he’s at Union Transfer.  I have no idea how well the show sold, and I didn’t have any intention of going, but I’m fascinated by the whole thing.

I checked out his solo stuff and its kind of fun–I imagine he’s a great frontman.  But I didn’t care enough to look into it any further.   But in fairness, his sound is good–a Pavement-adjacent sonic palette with hints of other genres poking in.  And his songs are really short.

Okay, so this review from Get Alternative says

The show was nearly sold out and super packed, a line around the block snaked down the street, to get inside the venue.  Finn Wolfhard, a Canadian actor/musician … is 23. He released his second solo album on July 10th.  He had a full band backing him up and their scrappy indie rock was fun and energetic. The lighting was excellent, mostly blue with bits of yellow shining through, and candelabras spread throughout the stage as a backdrop. This was a memorable show and an exciting night of music.

The review also mentions Sleeper’s Bell, who I didn’t know.

Opening up the show was Sleeper’s Bell, a band from Chicago who are in their mid twenties. They play indie folk and are fronted by vocalist Blaine Teppema and guitarist Evan Green, and played with a drummer and bassist as well for this tour. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to open for Finn and played a few songs from their latest album ‘Clover’ from 2025, as well as a smattering of new and unreleased songs. They had a quieter vibe to them and Blaine’s pretty voice shone through the instrumentation. A highlight of the set was the song ‘Corner’ a single from 2024. They finished up the set by playing ‘Hey Blue’ the final track from Clover.

They are definitely too quiet for me.

(more…)

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Kurt Vile and the Violators / Twisted Teens / They are Gutting a Body of Water // Pavement / Ratboys [A Make the World Better Benefit] (The Dell Music Center, Philadelphia PA, July 24 & 25, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dell Music Center, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Make the World Better, Pavement, Philadelphia, PA, Ratboys, TAGABOW, They are Gutting a Body of Water, Twisted Teens on July 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24 & 25, 2026] Kurt Vile and the Violators / Twisted Teens / They are Gutting a Body of Water // Pavement / Ratboys

When this show was announced, I really wanted to go. I mean, Ratboys, Kurt Vile and Pavement!  Holy cow.  But I have really bad memories of Dell Music Center (parking is a nightmare) and I just felt like I didn’t really want to BE there.  I thought my wife might like to go because she loves Kurt.  But we had seen him a few months ago at the Stone Pony.  And I have seen Ratboys a few times (and blew them off a few times already in recent weeks.  So, although I would have liked to see Pavement….well.  Alas, it’s not going to happen.

How did Pavement get mixed in with this normally Philly heavy lineup?  See below.  Also, I’ve enjoyed some Pavement over the years, but I find the aggressive love that people have for them a alittle offputtingm so it is comforting to read (from an article quoted below) “I would like to note that they lack the pretentious, cynical, self-seriousness of some of those who followed them in the ensuing decade-plus.”

I have been interested in They are Gutting a Body of Water for a while. Their name sounds like they should be harsher than they are.  But I haven’t ever really gotten a real sense of thei live show, so I wasn’t willing to start at the Dell Center

Of the five bands, Twisted Teens was the only one I’d never heard of.  They’ve from New Orleans and recently signed to SUB POP and here’s a few words of description: “Fans of Raw Power-era Stooges, Eastern mysticism, or the punk-to-country pipeline should tuck in” (Atwood Magazine). “Here to put some steel wool type hair on your chest. Gritty, toothy lofi punk with some stoink on it” (Sims Harden).  I’m gathering it’s a country-punk vibe. (more…)

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