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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Mdou Moctar / J.R.C.G. (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in J.R.C.G., Mdou Moctar, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 28, 2024] Mdou Moctar / J.R.C.G.

I saw Mdou Moctar at Ardmore Music Hall and it was pretty fantastic.  I wasn’t sure if I needed to see him again at a bigger venue, but this show was on my radar.

I didn’t buy a ticket because I assumed it wouldn’t sell out.  It was also squeezed right in between a few other shows I was going to and I am trying to limit the amount of shows I see in a week (honestly).  I was also assuming  that since I’d seen him fairly recently I wasn’t sure if I needed to see him again so soon.  Although it turns out he just announced an intimate semi-acoustic show in early July that I’m going to go to.

There are four Tuareg musicians who I’m interested in seeing.
Bombino, Imarhan, Mdou Moctar and Tinariwen.

I have seen Mdou Moctar.  I’ll be seeing Tinarwen in a few weeks.  We’ll see if the other two come my way. (more…)

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Quasi (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, June 27, 2024) [QUASI]

Posted in Marnie Stern, Philadelphia, PA, Quasi, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on June 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 27, 2024] Quasi

I was a middling fan of Quasi back in the 90s.  I liked some of their stuff but never really  thought al that much about them.  After Janet “left” Sleater-Kinney and got into a car accident, I was much more interested in supporting her, so I got back into Quasi and was pretty excited to see they were touring last year.

When they played Johnny Brenda’s last year it was just Sam Coomes (on keys–wow, somehow only on keys) and Janet Weiss (killing it on drums).  I really enjoyed the show a lot and was so glad to have seen them.

When they announced a new tour, of the album Featuring “Birds” (the first album I (and apparently everyone else) loved from them.  I knew I’d like to see them again.  I wasn’t keen on going to World Cafe Live because it’s kind of awkward to get to for me.  But this was my second time there in a month and the paring was awesome once again.

And, the best part is that when I got downstairs, Sam and Janet were right there selling their own merch!  I got to chat with both of them and they signed my vinyl.  It was very cool.

When they came on stage, I noticed that there were a lot of guitars up there–there were none last time.  There was also someone else walking around the stage.  This turned out to be Joanna Bolme, on bass and occasional guitar or keyboard.  Bolme played regularly with Quasi for well over a decade, and was around for Birds, as an executive producer.  She didn’t say anything (although she did help o untangle some cords for Sam).  But she really held the show together, especially when Sam switched to guitar–the low end would have been notably absent without her on those song. (more…)

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Dakhabrakha / Native Harrow (Concerts Under the Stars series Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, June 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Concerts Under the Stars series, DakhaBrakha, King of Prussia PA, Native Harrow, Philadelphia, PA, Upper Merion Township Building Park on June 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 28, 2024] Dakhabrakha / Native Harrow

I saw DakhaBrakha about two years ago.  I had wanted to see them for a while, but the timing was right after Russia invaded Ukraine.  I can’t believe the war is still going on.

Their music is like nothing else I’ve heard and their visually are just as compelling.  Traditional music but with contemporary elements.  It’s mesmerizing.

I have wanted to see them again and they seem to be playing around the area from time to time, but nothing ever works out.  Once again, King of Prussia is just a little too far, especially if I’d just gone out the night before.

I am still genuinely surprised they haven’t played McCarter in Princeton. It seems like a perfect combination.

(more…)

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Marnie Stern (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, June 27, 2024) [QUASI]

Posted in Marnie Stern, Philadelphia, PA, Quasi, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on June 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 27, 2024] Marnie Stern

I knew of Marnie Stern mostly from Late Night with Seth Meyers.  I had heard of her before the show as a notable guitar player (she was on Kill Rock Stars, so she was clearly iconoclastic).  So I was surprised that she was going to be on the show as, essentially a rhythm guitar player.  She was fine on the show, but she never really got to shine in any way (but I assume it was a reliable, steady gig).

When she put a new album out last year, I assumed it would be full of guitar wizardry, but I was surprised at just how weird it was.

But here’s a review of the album from treblezine which sums up her career briefly but nicely

Stern is a straight-up shredder whose playing style errs closer to the joyous fireworks of someone like Eddie Van Halen than she does any knotty, noisy experimentalists. That she happened to run in underground circles is by-the-by—there was always a great pop song buried within the chaos of her music. This is more visible than ever on The Comeback Kid. With her fifth and (you guessed it) comeback album, Stern has continued to chip away some of the raw spikiness of her early releases in service of a dozen stellar math pop tracks that might be (:whispers:) her strongest body of work yet.

I really enjoyed being right in front of Marnie, watching her tap away on her complex melodies with such ease. She also smiled and laughed through the whole set as she sang her complicated, sometimes perplexing, always exhilarating songs.

The rest of her band (whose names I didn’t catch) were also great.  Her drummer was incredible (I think it’s Jeremy Gara from Arcade Fire).  He smashed the hell out of the drums and really excelled at the crazy time signatures of the songs. (more…)

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Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary Tour / Feist (TD Pavilion @ The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Feist, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah McLachlan on June 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2024] Sarah McLachlan / Feist

I was a big fan of Sarah McLachlan’s music in the 1990s.  I went to a Lilith Fair and loved her for bringing female artists together on a tour and really breaking barriers.

This album is an especially wonderful album from start to finish.

But I also knew I would never go to this show–it was just way out of my wheelhouse these days.   And I don’t love the Mann Center for shows like this.  But it turns out that one of my college friends was there and it would have been fun to see her. (more…)

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Slomo Sapiens / Wax Jaw / Flatwaves (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 22, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Airiel, Blushing, Bodywash, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on June 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 22, 2024] Slomo Sapiens / Wax Jaw / Flatwaves

My failed quest to see Wax Jaw again continues.  This show was announced as Wax Jaw’s last show for a while, as they regroup and plan to record a new album.  So I would have really liked to go.  But I had tickets to see Frank Turner and his band who I have been trying to see for longer.  So, never mind.

I love the name Slomo Sapiens  I first heard of them last year and I wrote

Slomo Sapiens continues the tradition of great band names from Philadelphia.  I didn’t know much about them, but they are described as a psychedelic “sludge rock” trio, which sounds pretty good to me.  I’ve listened to a couple of songs and psychedelic sludge rock is right on the nose.

This show was actually an album release party for The Holy Babble, their second album.  It’s pretty good and I imagine they are lots of fun live.

Flatwaves are Philly-based garagegaze. And that’s pretty accurate.  They have a shoegaze vibe but with a kind of heaviness that’s a twist on the genre.

I’m sure this would have been an enjoyable show

 

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Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls / Amigo the Devil / Bridge City Sinners / Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 22, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners, Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Micah Schnabel, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Vanessa Jean Speckman on June 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 22, 2024] Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls / Amigo the Devil / Bridge City Sinners / Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman

I had been wanting to see him for a long time because I’d heard his live shows were amazing.  I saw him last year in a solo (more or less) performance.  And it was great.  So next, I wanted to see him with his band because I’ve heard the band version is even wilder with a more punk aesthetic and I do love a fun punk show.

For the last couple of years he has disappointed me by having a show on Mother’s Day and then on Father’s Day.  This year it was the week after and I was sure I would be able to go.

And then my son and his friend had car/motorcycle trouble about 90 minutes away.  There was no way I could go out and have fun while worrying about them.  So I stayed home (they had made arrangements to get home by then, but had been out in the heat and sun for nearly ten hours).

So, yet again, I miss Frank Turner and his band.  Luckily, he never stops touring, so I’m sure they’ll be back again, on some other inconvenient holiday, no doubt. (more…)

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Isiliel (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 21, 2024)

Posted in Isiliel, Necronomidol, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2024] Isiliel

Seven months ago, I spontaneously bought a ticket to see Isiliel at PhilaMOCA.  The show was weird but fun.

I’m going to repost (almost my entire review from that show and then add some details for this one:

So, who is Isiliel?  She is Himari Tsukishiro who is the main singer in the Japanese band Necronomidol.  As her site puts it

Isiliel is a solo dance/vocal project by Himari Tsukishiro (NECRONOMIDOL).
Mixing genres as diverse as folk, blackgaze and city pop via a worldwide team of veteran songwriters such as King Dude and NARASAKI of COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS, through Isiliel Himari will express hitherto unexplored depths of pathos and beauty on stage.

As Isiliel, she has one album out.  It is, as implied, a heavy metal sounding album, with heavy guitars and a lot of double bass.  But she does not sing like a heavy metal singer.  Her delivery is quiet and slow (and it’s in Japanese).

I hadn’t heard of either her or her main band until about a week before this show was announced.  But when I saw what Necronomidol looked like, I wanted to go to this show too.  It turned out she has some real fans in Philly.  The audience was probably about 30 people, but the show had about a week’s notice.  And several of these fans brought identical small red lanterns which they waved in time to the beat (I asked the merch guy if he was selling them and he said no–they brought them in!)

She wasn’t in corpse paint (like the other band), rather she was dressed much like she is on the album–a midriff baring top (with a metal breastplate) and short skirt.  Her hair is crazy long.

When the music started she began dancing.  It was sweet and a little weird–it reminded me a but of when my daughter was little and she would make up dances that seemed to fit with the music. (more…)

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Ted Leo + Pharmacists (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 21, 2024)

Posted in Dead Best, Ekko Astral, Philadelphia, PA, Ted Leo, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, Union Transfer on June 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2024] Ted Leo + Pharmacists / Ekko Astral

I saw Ted Leo + Pharmacists back in 2019 and really enjoyed the show.  At the time IW rote

Even though I like Ted Leo I really don’t know a lot of his songs–I’ve been more of a casual fan.  So I was delighted by the variety of sounds and styles he played from throughout his career.

Over the last five years I’ve wanted to see him again but for one reason or another I didn’t.  So when he announced a show at Union Transfer I grabbed a ticket.  I didn’t really give much thought to the fact that he was playing Shake the Sheets because I don’t really know any of his albums per se.  So I didn’t really care about that (It turns out when I saw him last time he played a bunch of songs from that album).

When the Isiliel show was announced for the same night I was quite torn.  I thought that the Ted Leo show would be more fun, but I didn’t know if Isiliel would ever come back, so I opted for that one. It ended at 10:30 and I had seen that most of the Ted Leo shows were ending around 11:30.  Since Union Transfer is about four block from PhilMOCA I decided to pop in and catch the end of Ted Leo and I’m really glad that I did.

So I missed the entire set from openers Ekko Astral (whom Ted praised very very highly and made me wish I had seen them–if I could have seen them in stead of Isenmor, that would have been amazing).  I’s like to make sure I see them again someday.

Luckily for me (but I would have hated this is I was there), Ted and the band didn’t go on until 9:40.  I just found out though that there were actually TWO opening bands, which explains the delay for Ted.

The middle opening act was (more…)

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Isenmor (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 21, 2024) [ISILIEL]

Posted in Isenmor, Isiliel, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2024] Isenmor

I hadn’t heard of Isenmor before this show.  They are

a dual-violin-fronted Gewyrdelic Folc Metal. Isenmor fuses the heart of the Old World with the spirit of those who sought out new shores.

They were good fun, dressed in vaguely period and vaguely authentic-looking costumes (not in the picture on the right), the two lead violins (Nick Schneider & Mark Williams) were great fun.  They both played lead, but there was also Pete Lesko on lead guitar who played solo or in harmony with the violins.  There were two lead singers.  Schneider was also the main lead singer and Tim Regan the second guitarist also sang a few songs.  David Spencer was on drums.  Folk metal has lots of stylistic changes and the drums have to match up–slow and quiet or some hefty double bass action.  (Keyboardist Jon Lyon was absent).

There were a surprising number of technical issues.  From the start, bassist Mike Wilson told us that he broke his bass just before the show!  So he was playing a guitar (although I thought his bass sound was still really good).  There were also a few glitches with the drums.  But they dealt with the problems very well and during one pause Schneider played a ripping jog that got the crowd clapping along. (more…)

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