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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Built to Spill: There’s Nothing Wrong with Love 30th Anniversary Tour / Kicking Giant (Franklin Music Hall, September 6, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Built to Spill, Franklin Music Hall, Kicking Giant, Philadelphia, PA on September 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 6, 2024] Built to Spill / Kicking Giant

I have seen Built to Spill five times and have enjoyed every show.  This tour promotes the 30th anniversary of the album There’s Nothing Wrong with Love.  I thought I knew this album pretty well, but it turns out that I really started getting into them with the album AFTER this one.

But I was still really excited to see this show.  They announced a show at Franklin Music Hall which bummed me out because I don’t really like that venue (and it was the same night that I had tickets for at least 3 other shows).  But then they announced this show at Asbury Lanes which was awesome.  I grabbed a ticket right away.

I couldn’t go to that show, which did leave this show.  But I already had tickets to see St. Vincent, so I’m missing this show.

Last time that BtS toured, they came back through the area a second time about four months later (Philly in May, Bethlehem in September), so I secretly hope that they will do that again maybe early next year?  But they played a lot of shows on this tour, so I’m not holding my breath.

The name Kicking Giant sounded familiar (more…)

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Peter Hook & The Light (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 4, 2024)

Posted in Joy Division, New Order, Peter Hook & The Light, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on September 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2024] Peter Hook & The Light

Back in 2022, Peter Hook & The Light toured Philly.  I grabbed tickets but we wound up not going.

This show was described as being all Substance–both the Joy Division and the New Order compilation albums.  I was pretty excited to see the show.  Last time El Ten Eleven opened and I had REALLY wanted to see them.  This time there was no opener, which was great in that it would be a pretty early night but bad because it mean there was no good parking nearby.

But that’s okay.  I arrived plenty early and got a decent spot near the stage (between two really tall guys one of whom didn’t smile for the whole show).

And after a show time, Peter & the Light came out on stage.  I hadn’t really given any thought to his band, which includes David Potts guitar (and lead vocals on a couple of New Order songs), Paul Kehoe drums (at first I wasn’t sure what he was doing since here were a lot of electronic drums, but when he kicked in it filled up the room) and Martin Rebelski keyboards and synthesizers (who frankly did most of the heavy listing in this show–playing bass lines and synth lines and drum lines).  Hook’s son Jack Bates plays bass, and guitar.  Indeed, when Hook wasn’t playing those super memorable bass lines, Bates played them.

I knew roughly what they were going to play (they told us, after all), but I didn’t realize that New Order would come first.

I also thought I knew Substance quite well, so I was puzzled how come I didn’t recognize the first couple of songs.  It turns out that each show they are playing a couple songs not on the album first (and they vary per show).

I thought I knew Substance really well, but it’s possible I haven’t listened to it in a really long time.  It wasn’t until Temptation that I started to fully recognize everything.  The early songs sounded great and sounded familiar, but it took me a while to really groove to it (unlike the guy in front of me who was literally dancing (and had a lot of room around him) from the time of the house music. (more…)

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / Geese (The Dell Music Center, Philadelphia PA, August 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dell Music Center, Geese, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA on August 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 27, 2024] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / Geese

I’ve seen King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard three times.  Each time the show has gotten more and more crowded and chaotic (which is great for them but not so much for me).  The last time I saw them, I was pretty far back in the crowd and even that far back there was a lot of mini-pit situations going on.  I basically decided I wasn’t going to see them again, but I’d still love their music.

Then they announced this show at The Dell Music Center, which I’d never been to.  It’s an outdoor venue near the Mann Center.  It has seats (or bench seats at least) and promised that I’d get to see them without having to fight to stand up the whole time.  So I was pretty excited for this one. (more…)

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Big ‡ Brave / Spiritual Poison / Bruise Bath (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, August 23, 2024)

Posted in Big ‡ Brave, Bruise Bath, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Spiritual Poison on August 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 23, 2024] Big ‡ Brave / Spiritual Poison / Bruise Bath

I saw Big ‡ Brave open for Sunn O))) back in 2017.  

They play slow and loud.  And their songs are very bass-heavy even though there is no bass!  Two guitars making very low rumbles.  The band is a trio–2 guitars and a fairly sparse drum kit.  Robin Wattie on guitars and vocals, guitarist Mathieu Bernard Ball and drummer Louis-Alexandre Beauregard.

I really enjoyed the way some of the songs were maybe two chords, sometimes possibly even one chord, just repetitive and lulling (but really noisy) until it began to morph into something else.

I would have loved to see them again.  I cannot even comprehend how loud they would have been in that tiny venue (and how loud it would have been downstairs!)  But it was the night before we were going on vacation, so I wasn’t going to go out. (more…)

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Steven Page & Tom Hampton (McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Haddon Heights, NJ, August 14, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Haddon Heights, NJ, McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell, Philadelphia, PA, Steven Page, Summer Concert Series, Tom Hampton on August 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 14, 2024] Steven Page & Tom Hampton

The summer concert series is a delight.  I really enjoyed going to see Kathleen Edwards there a few years ago.  It’s free and it’s a beautiful venue–especially if it’s a nice night.

I love seeing Steven Page and would have really enjoyed going to this show.  But my brother in law was in town and he was heading to the airport that day, so it really messed with our schedule.

I have not heard of Tom Hampton and what I discovered is

Multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Tom Hampton enjoyed a long career as a sideman to a bevy of notable artists before landing an extended road stint with Marshall Tucker Band and ultimately landing with Poco, where he stayed until the passing of founder Rusty Young in 2021. Refocused on writing and releasing his own material, there’ll be lots of new music coming in 2024.

Odd choice, I suppose.  I wonder how many people have heard of him.

 

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The New Pornographers / Gustaf (Concerts Under the Stars series Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, August 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Concerts Under the Stars series, Gustaf, King of Prussia PA, Philadelphia, PA, The New Pornographers, Upper Merion Township Building Park on August 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 7, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

This was yet another show at the Concert Under the Stars in King of Prussia, which I think would be pretty fun to go to, but KoP is pretty far.  And this night was out of the question as my daughter was showing at the 4H Fair. Plus, we could have seen them in Jersey City the night before (which we didn’t).

The weather was terrible so they moved the show to Ardmore Music Hall.  And the 4H Fair was cancelled.  In theory we could have gone to this one.  But then my daughter was called in to do her show even though the Fair was closed to outsiders.  So we went there instead.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

 

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Speedy Ortiz (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024)

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz on August 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Speedy Ortiz

I saw Speedy Ortiz back in 2018 and then… they sort of disappeared.  When they returned back in 2023, I saw  them twice, for a Free at Noon before the release of their new album and then a month later when they played the new album in full.

Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play Milkboy on New Year’s Eve, but the show was cancelled because of COVID in the band.

So this show was the rescheduled show from New Year’s (New Year’s in July).  And then in June, Sadie Dupuis posted this

 i had a bike accident monday after a car cut me off and, considering philly drivers and roads, i’m way lucky i’m alive and it didn’t go worse. 🚴😵‍💫  my elbow is, as they say formally in the medical-industrial complex, “totally effed,” but i’m scheduled for surgery monday and i’m being led to believe i’m in the best orthopedic hands out there. it’s going to be a long and annoying road to recovery but i love guitar more than anything and i’m famously stubborn so i’ll get there, don’t worry

They had to cancel shows with Mary Timony, but Sadie said she’d do anything to get this Milkboy show done, even if that meant not playing guitar and teaching all of her parts to Dylan Baldi of Cloud Nothings.

Sadie said it was like doing karaoke.  And when she realized that she’d be a “stand up” singer, she asked for a tambourine to keep her hands busy.  Then she learned that people who play tambourine off their thigh tend to protect themselves from serious bruising. (more…)

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Grocer (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz on July 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Grocer

This was the third time I could have seen Grocer.   The first time I didn’t go to the show and the second time was when Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play this show in July.

I thought I knew Grocer from NPR music but I didn’t (I think i got them mixed up with Florist who sound NOTHING like them).  Grocer is a trio from Philly: Cody Nelson – Drums/Vocals, Danielle Lovier – Bass/Vocals and Nicholas Rahn – Guitar/Vocals.  Each member sings and each singer’s musical style is a little different making for a wide ranging musical set all held together by this great band having a lot of fun.

The first song “Mating Call” opened with quiet guitars, quiet vocals from Cody Nelson and bird calls.  By the end of the song, the band was furiously singing “It powers on, but the signal’s gone.”

Up next was “Arts & Lit” sung by Nicholas Rahn.  It had an interesting riff, a jumpy melody and fun backing vocals.  I really enjoyed the sounds and effects that he used.  He had some kind of foot pedal that he slid back and forth which manipulated the sound and made his guitar soar into space. (more…)

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Queen Rat (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2024) [SPEEDY ORTIZ]

Posted in Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Queen Rat, Speedy Ortiz on July 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Queen Rat

I was worried that I’d be a little late for this show but I parked (illegally it turns out) and managed to get into Milkboy pretty easily.

Queen Rat came on just as I leaned I could sit on the comfy stool to the left side of the stage (I assume a bouncer sits there during heavier shows?).   But it was perfect for my presently handicapped state.

Their bio says

Queen Rat is a rock trio born in Ohio, growing up in Philly. Drawing from rock heroes ranging from Hole to the Raincoats to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the band pairs pensive, observant lyricism with a versatile grunge-rock style. Following the release of their debut album, Until It’s Not, in 2022, they relocated to Philadelphia and released their latest single, Cut Me A Garden, in 2023. Talk to Queen Rat about books, jumping, or birds.

I found them to be much less aggressive than any of the bands listed above, playing an almost lo-fi vibe.

There were fuzzy guitars, for sure, but the pacing was slow and thoughtful with a few moments that rocked out–especially when drummer Kate Bertrand really kicked it in.

I particularly enjoyed the way Tile Floor ended with a lengthy outro of more or less the same lyrics repeated: (more…)

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Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, July 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cavalier, Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Previous Industries, Still Rift, Video Dave on July 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 27,  2024] Previous Industries ft. Open Mike Eagle + Video Dave + STILL RIFT / Cavalier

I saw Open Mike Eagle at the end of last year and really enjoyed his set.  Previous Industries is a low key supergroup, I guess.  (Although, it’s arguable that many people don’t know them individually).

Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave and STILL RIFT have worked together in various ways over the years and here they are together–rapping with each other on the songs.

The songs are kind of slow–emphasizing the lyrics rather than the melodies.  The songs are also thoughtful and not lyrically interesting.  One of the songs, for instance, references The Giving Tree (even mentioning Shel Silverstein).

And  a fun lyrics from Open Mike

Got it made, got it made, like I was hot for the teacher
It’s a sound blaster car with the Altec Lansing speaker
I like David Lee Roth and not the other guy
It’s ’95 South, so I can learn to do the butterfly
It’s Triple F.A.T. Goose stocked even in the summer time
My sweatshirt counting sheep with both words underlined
Yeah, and Mrs. Fields to the cookie stop
As quick as Mr. Owl licked the center of a Tootsie Pop

This is exactly the kind of rap event I would really enjoy.  I couldn’t go mostly because it was a Saturday and our schedule was pretty busy that week.  (more…)

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