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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Kishi Bashi (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2024)

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Sweet Loretta, Tall Tall Trees on January 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2024] Kishi Bashi

This was our SIXTH (!) time seeing Kishi Bashi and it was so different from the last time!

The previous show was an anniversary show of his debut album.  This one was supporting his new album.

The previous show was at the tiny Foundry and this one was at the (relatively) huge Brooklyn Bowl.  And, K. came out with a fantastic outfit (stunning jacket and pants) and a kick ass keytar!

Tall Tall Trees was on banjo and keys, but his backing band was the guys from Sweet Loretta!  And they suited him perfectly.

K. busted out a violin of course, and stayed with some of the newer dancier songs for a while.

There was a couple in front of us who were pretty grossly all over each other (their elaborate dance routines took up way too much space).  But they were also huge fans and knew all the songs, so I couldn’t be too annoyed.

Although the first songs were new, he didn’t leave out the old stuff, jumping right into It All Began with a Burst (and he still builds the songs with a looping pedal).

I loved the way he mixed up the albums he played from, with a dancey and lovely Can’t Let Go Juno, followed by a beautiful (fantastic harmonies from Sweet Loretta) Marigolds.

After playing Colorful State from the new album, he did a fun beat boxing improv which he said he hoped someone recorded and might send it to him so he could develop it later (I did, but he didn’t acknowledge it).

The rest of the band stayed away as he did a fantastic solo rendition of I am the Antichrist to You.  K. has always had a great voice but it has gotten even better over the years.  Then he busted out an acoustic guitar for the lovely, gentle Summer of ’42.

The band returned for the appropriately large Violin Tsunami and then played the Talking Heads cover.

And  then things got crazy.  The band returned dressed in costumes including one of the crew dressed in golden wings like Icarus for Escape from Knossos/Icarus with some seriously heavy rocking from the Sweet Loretta guys (some killer guitar soloing) and some wicked use of the keytar.  The chaos settled into a big dancealong of Hahaha Pt. 2 a very unexpected (but welcomed) song choice!

Lilliputian Chop continued the dancey/funky vein and then we were joined by Mr Steak (how much I love how silly Kishi Bashi shows can get).  Mr. Steak danced to his song and we all danced along.

Kishi Bashi has not gotten to the point where he’s not going to play some of my favorite songs because he has so many songs.  But he didn’t leave out the fantastic Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! (complete with beatboxing and looping).

The set ended with a fun clapalong of Honeybody.  And yes everybody was in the best mood after that.

For the encore, K and  the band all moved to the center of the floor (we hung back away from the throngs.  They gathered round and stood on a chair and sang the sweetest Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear.  It was like a campfire in the dimly lit room.   It was followed by a more soaring Manchester.

Then they ended with a fun cover of Rod Stewart’s Ooh La La with the chorus I wish that I knew what I know nowwhen I was younger.  They continued to sing the song from the middle of the floor to backstage.

What a fun-filled night.  I’m only surprised more people don’t know about him.  We look forward to show number 7!

 

2024 Brooklyn Bowl 2022 The Foundry 2019 Union Transfer
Violin Akai € Intro / Pathos, Pathos ∇ Marigolds Ø
Chiba Funk € Manchester ∇ F Delano Ø
Late Night Comic € Bright Whites ∇ Hey Big Star $
It All Began With a Burst ∇ It All Began With a Burst ∇ Say Yeah $
Can’t Let Go, Juno $ Wonder Woman, Wonder Me ∇ Carry on Phenomenon ∠
Marigolds Ø Atticus, in the Desert ∇ Honeybody $
Colorful State € I Am the Antichrist to You ∇ Honeybody Remix $
solo improv Beat the Bright Out of Me ∇ Can’t Let Go, Juno $
I Am the Antichrist to You (solo) ∇ This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) Theme From Jerome (Forgotten Words) Ø
Summer of ’42 (solo) Ø Q&A ∠ I Am the Antichrist to You (solo) ∇
Violin Tsunami Ø Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear Ø This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (solo)
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads cover) (solo) Marigolds Ø Violin/Banjo improv
Escape from Knossos € I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) (Meat Loaf cover) Bright Whites ∇
Icarus IV € The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Q&A ∠
Hahaha Pt. 2 ∠ Honeybody (began with studio arrangement which bled into performing in the style of the Mattsoro remix) $ Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear Ø
Lilliputian Chop € encore Angeline Ø
The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Violin Tsunami Ø Violin Tsunami Ø
Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Ode to My Next Life $
Honeybody $ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
encore Atticus, in the Desert ∇
Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear (acoustic, in crowd) Ø (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes cover)
Manchester (acoustic, in crowd) ∇ The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠
Ooh La La (Rod Stewart cover) (acoustic, in crowd) It All Began With a Burst ∇
encore
Annie, Heart Thief of the Sea (acoustic, in crowd) Ø
Manchester (acoustic, in crowd) ∇
Summer of ’42 (acoustic, in crowd) Ø

 

 

 

2016 Union Transfer 2015 TLA (opening for Guster) 2014 New Brunswick (opening for Rod y Gab)
Stranger Things Theme [recordong] violin improv violin improv
Statues in a Gallery $ Atticus, in the Desert ∇     It All Began With a Burst ∇
Hey Big Star $ Bright Whites ∇ Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her ∠
m’lover $ Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her ∠ Atticus, in the Desert ∇ 
Atticus, in the Desert (featuring extended banjo percussion solo) ∇     The Ballad of Mr. Steak ∠ Bright Whites ∇
Bright Whites (with improv interlude featuring flute solo) ∇ Q&A ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
Carry on Phenomenon ∠ Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠ Manchester ∇
Who’d You Kill $ Manchester ∇
Can’t Let Go, Juno $
Say Yeah $
Ode to My Next Life $
I Am the Antichrist to You ∇ (solo)
The Ballad of Mr. Steak (featuring Mr. Steak) ∠
Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! ∠
It All Began With a Burst (with “Don’t vote for Trump” vocal loop) ∇
encore
Honeybody $
Q&A ∠
Manchester ∇
€ Kantos (2024)
Ø Omoiyari (2019)
$ Sonderlust (2016)
∠ Lighght (2014)
∇ 151a (2012)

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Speedy Ortiz / Foyer Red / Grocer (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 31, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Foyer Red, Grocer, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, Speedy Ortiz on December 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: December 31, 2023] Speedy Ortiz / Foyer Red / Grocer [CANCELLED]

indexI saw Speedy Ortiz back in September and the show was fantastic.  I already had tickets to see Phish on New Year’s Eve, so it was unlikely that I’d be going to this show.

A few days before  the show, the band announced that they had to cancel because someone in the band had COVID (it’s a few days later and the message is gone, so I can’t quote it here).

So that sucks for them and for everyone who was planning on spending New Year’s Eve there, including the other two bands.

I could have seen both bands back in 2022 at different shows.  Here’s what I wrote then:

Foyer Red has crazy sounds, weirdo words and multiple singers.  And somehow despite all the weirdness (their 2021 album is called Zigzag Wombat), the songs are catchy

Post-Trash says

Foyer Red is a Brooklyn five-piece that makes sweetly sung, charmingly zany art rock. In 2022 they hit the ground running with several great singles — “Pollen City,” “Pickles,” and “Flipper.” In December, the band celebrated signing to Carpark Records by releasing the delightfully spontaneous single, “Etc.”

That first line is enough to make me want to see them. (more…)

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Wax Jaw / Trash Boy / Jim E. Brown (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jim E. Brown, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Trash Boy, Wax Jaw on December 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 18, 2023] Wax Jaw / Trash Boy / Jim E. Brown

I was pretty excited to go to this show.  I had seen Wax Jaw a few months ago and they were outstanding.  This was to be their last show of the year and it was back on home turf.  It was also going to be my last show of the year and it seemed like a great one to go out on.

Then it rained.  And rained.  And rained.  Our area was flooded like crazy–schools closed, rivers overflowing, the works.  I probably could have still gone to the show.  It looked like Philly wasn’t as badly affected as my area was, but when I looked on the map, it did suggest that  there were flooding issues along the way and around the venue.  It just didn;t seem like it was worth going to the hassle.

So I stayed home.

Bummer.

I’ve seen a couple of videos and the show looks insane.  I hope someone has recorded the whole show. (more…)

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Karina Rykman (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 15, 2023)

Posted in Boygenius, Butthole Surfers, Coyote Island, Karina Rykman, Marco Benevento, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, Tom Tom Club, Ween on December 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 15, 2023] Karina Rykman 

I‘ve seen Karina Rykman play bass with Marco Benevento three times.   She exudes a joy that is infectious.  And her sound with Marco is outstanding–her fuzz bass is unparalleled.

So I’d wanted to see her solo for a while, even though her solo songs are a bit more discoey than I would have liked. She opened for Guster back in April and she and her band blew me away.  In fact, my wife liked her so much that she was totally on board with seeing her again.

Yes, her singing voice is rather discoey (she must use lots of effects on it to sound so echoey and outer-spacey, but man, when she jams, she gets down and dirty and often quite heavy.  But she also steps back and lets her impressive guitar player Adam November take over.  And her drummer Chris Corsico is pretty awesome too.

She sold out Milkboy (I was supposed to see her there in 2020 and I think it would have been a very different show) which she was pretty thrilled about.  And the crowd was 100% dancing to her groove.

She opened with three songs from her album Joyride (which had not come out in April).  “Joyride” and “All That You Wanted” are softer songs that accentuate her way with melody and hooks–the choruses are dynamite. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VIII/IX] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 15 & 16, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 15 & 16, 2023] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

I had every intention of going to this Winter Classic.  I even had a ticket to night one.  Which I bought very specifically because I had a ticket to another show on Saturday night.  Then at about 3PM on Friday the 15th, I realized that my other show was actually tonight!

And my wife and I were going to that show together.

And the Saturday night show sold out a long time ago.  Sigh.

By my calculations, this should be Winter Classic XIII, but the poster says IX, so I’ll trust he’s right.  And I’ll make sure I’m there for Number 10.

~~~~~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

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Coyote Island (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 15, 2023) [KARINA RYKMAN]

Posted in Coyote Island, Karina Rykman, Marco Benevento, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA on December 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 15, 2023] Coyote Island

Coyote Island opened for Karina Rykman.  I hadn’t heard of them and when I listened to a song or two I thought they sounded kind of folkie and mellow.  Turns out

Coyote Island is the musical vision of producer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Mike O’Hehir. For many years Mike travelled the country with guitar in hand. With roots in folk music, the sound quickly expanded into a new genre-bending realm of psychedelic indie. With good vibrations, dancey grooves, and tropical psychedelia, Coyote Island offers you a sonic vacation from the doldrums of existence.

Okay, so that’s promo blather but it’s not far off.

When the band started, they played an excellent instrumental jam.  It rocked and was really grooving.  Their second song was kind of lite-reggae.  I don’t like reggae, but I enjoyed this song because it deviated from the formula in little ways.

Their next song was, as the blurb says, kind of tropical psychedelia.  There’s definitely the tropical element in the drums from Ryan Benoit.  And five-string bassist Garrett Roy Jones played a great low-end.

It was lead guitarist Amir Rivera who really blew me away.  I loved the way he casually played some really amazing solos.  He was fast, but also very clean and tasteful.

I don’t have any song titles, although I do know that they played a super fun and hugely surprising cover of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” by Kylie Minogue–sung by Amir.  Another really fun moment was when Mike broke a guitar string–a low E of all things–and had to get a new guitar.  He climbed off the stage to their gear which was stacked up in the crowd.  While he grabbed and tuned a guitar, Amir led the rest of the band in this rippling fun instrumental.  None of this is to dismiss Mike, whoc joined in about halfway through and added a ton of little details.

Indeed, Mike is a fun and engaging front man.  He’s got a smooth island-inflected singing voice [I was stunned when he said they were from Maine as they sound like the least Maine-sounding band I could imagine].  He had on a fun outfit and was generally smiling and happy.

When the set was over he walked through the crowd and happily talked to anyone.

Without question they would make an excellent opening band in nearly any situation.  I hope to see them again.

 

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Dogstar / Archer Oh (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Archer Oh, Dogstar, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on December 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 14, 2023] Dogstar / Archer Oh

I toyed with the idea of going  to this show, probably for the same reason that a lot of other people did.

To see Keanu Reeves!

I can’t decide if I like Keanu ironically or not, but it’s still pretty wild to think that a celebrity of his star power could have been just a few feet from me.

I genuinely had no idea what Dogstar sounded like.   So here’s the blurb from Underground Arts (more…)

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Open Mike Eagle (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2023)

Posted in Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Navel on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 11, 2023] Open Mike Eagle

Open Mike Eagle is probably my favorite rapper.  His wordplay is great.  His topics are great and he seems like a really good guy.

He came out to the little stage, gave a brief introduction and started right in with “Very Much Money.”

My friends are superherosNone of us have very much money thoughThey can fly, run fast, read PortugueseNone of us have very much money thoughThey know judo and yoga, photography, politicsSome of them leap over buildingsWriters, magicians, comedians, astronautsNone of it mattered when niggas was hungry

He told us we could help by buying merch.

Open Mike has a new album out and he played a song from it right away, the excellent “BET’s rap city.”  Mike has his gear–a laptop and some kind of triggering sample device on the table.  Mike’s device was also on a milk crate so he didn’t have to bend over–cheap and effective.

He didn’t do as much live music manipulation as Pink Navel did, although he did do some.  But he did leave his work area and come around front a few times.

Like during “Relatable” one of my favorite songs of his.  I love his delivery on this song and it was cool having him come right to the edge of the stage–I wonder if he had thoughts of coming down into the crowd.

I found Open Mike through his album Brick Body Kids Still Dream, so I was psyched that he played three songs from it.  I absolutely love “(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home” with it’s super catchy chorus.  He delivered the chorus in a really different way, which was fun.  And the gentle refrain of the following song “Legendary Iron Hood'”s “Ain’t nothing gonna stop me now” was great to hear.

Turns out that I now his What Happens When I Try to Relax EP better than just about anything else.  So it was great to hear Relatable and the follow up “Microfiche.”  I absolutely love his vocal style and his delivery–and the rhymes of this song are excellent.

For “79th and Stony Island” he did a fun freestyle.

Then it was time for a few more new songs. “WFLD 32” has a slow cadence and drunken horns over more if his clever lyrics

I started rockin’ simply then expandеd
This execution’s iffy but I planned it
I protect it if it gives me an advantage
Still want to be the greatest MC on the planet
Yeah, ’cause I’m immature
If I can name my own sicknesses then it’s cured
I’m finished at high ninety-percentage pure
COVID makin’ it impossible to finish tour

Then the new titles “a new rap festival called falling loud” and “we should have made otherground a thing” which features the lyric “Bonded over MF DOOM.”

This led to him playing the song “For DOOM” saying that a dream came true when he was able to rap with DOOM.  He followed that up with a song just for him, by playing (and silently rapping along with) the Madvillain song “Raid.”

There were two songs from his darker EP Anime, Trauma and Divorce, like “Death Parade” with the chorus that discusses the cycle of trauma

Should’ve been cool, but dude got screwed up
‘Cause shit got burned up, so he fucked her up
Then she turned big, I got chewed up
That shit fucked me up, so I’ma fuck you up
A kid caught hell, that kid grew up
And messed his kid up, he fucked her shit up
Then she fucked dude up, it all got screwed up
And that fucked me up, so I’ma fuck you up

And “Bucciarati” has a video with the awesome Paul F Tompkins (see below).

He ended the set with another song from Brick, 95 Radios, which features a chorus everyone can easily get into.

He said that normally he would take a little encore break and pretend to leave the stage.  But in Milkboy there’s nowhere to go. So fuck that.  He would stay and do more rap on purpose!

This was my first rap show and I realized it’s kind of weird to watch a guy rap when there’s nothing else to look at.  No band, no one else on stage.  But Mike was captivating.  And when he told us that the next song was a gang initiation, I think we were all ready to join up.  “Maybe Gang (an initiation)” is another great song from the Relax EP.

It has my favorite line

Confident, I keep my password on my license plate

And with the chorus, he rapped it heavier and heavier

We is not a gang, we all look the same as you
But don’t be ashamed, we all make the same snafu
We got different names, we might get the same tattoo
Maybe it’s a gang, maybe it became that too

It turned out that one of the guys near me went to high school with Mike.  Mike knew it and they were nudging each other on all night. It was really fun.

Mike ended the night with one more song, a track from an early EP.  “Ziggy Starfish (anti-anxiety raps)” is one of his faster songs and his flow was outstanding.

The show was short–about an hour. But it was great.   I was delighted to finally have seen him and I’ll certainly see him again if he comes back next year.

SETLIST

  1. Very Much Money (Ice King Dream) ©
  2. BET’s rap city ♥
  3. I’ll Fight You ∞
  4. (How Could Anybody) Feel at Home ∏
  5. Legendary Iron Hood ∏
  6. Relatable (peak OME) ≅
  7. Microfiche ≅
  8. 79th and Stony Island ∞
  9. WFLD 32 ♥
  10. a new rap festival called falling loud ♥
  11. we should have made otherground a thing ♥
  12. For DOOM ∞
  13. Raid (Madvillain cover)
  14. Death Parade ψ
  15. Bucciarati ψ
  16. 95 Radios ∏
    encore
  17. Maybe Gang (an initiation) ≅
  18. Ziggy Starfish (anti-anxiety raps) ¥
© Dark Comedy (2014)
¥ A Special Epsiode Of (2015)
∏ Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (2017)
≅ What Happens When I Try to Relax EP (2018)
ψ Anime, Trauma and Divorce (2020)
∞ A Tape Called Component System With the Auto Reverse (2022)
♥ another triumph of ghetto engineering (2023)

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Pink Navel (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2023) [OPEN MIKE EAGLE]

Posted in Milkboy, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Pink Navel on December 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 11, 2023] Pink Navel

I had been to Milkboy once before.  But for some reason I thought I was at a different Milkboy location.  However, this location is the one I was at last time.  It’s a weird space.  The music is upstairs from a bar.  It’s long and narrow, holding about 200 people.

For this show I arrived just on time, driving along a narrow side street assuming there would be no main street parking (I may have been wrong there).

I walked up the stairs and the guys in front of me were taking a long time to get in for some reason, and as I stood there, Pink Navel started.  The crowd was spaced out so it was pretty easy to sneak up to the front and get close enough to watch Pink Navel do his thing.

I hadn’t heard of Pink Navel, but the short version (from Pitchfork) is

Devin Bailey, the rapper, producer, and singer who records as Pink Navel, has an effervescent and nasal voice, an extensive knowledge of animated television, and an immense, somewhat intimidating pool of references and SAT words.

Pink Navel was a funny and engaging: “Anyone fucking with this say oh yeah!” (more…)

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Hello Mary / Bruiser and Bicycle (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Bruiser and Bicycle, Cancelled, Hello Mary, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on December 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: December 7, 2023] Hello Mary / Bruiser and Bicycle

I could have seen Hello Mary back in the spring when they opened for Blondshell.  I didn’t go to that show because I had other plans, although I did see Blondshell at the Free at Noon earlier in the day

Hello Mary opened for Blondshell and I wrote

I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope they tour soon, maybe as a headliner.

And then they announced the (admittedly short) headline tour.

But on November 29, they posted on Instagram

We are sad to announce we are postponing our east coast shows in early December 😦 refunds are available wherever you purchased your tix. Buuut we are excited to be hitting Albany and DC in March instead with @sspu see you there 🐶

Bummer.  I like the album even more now.

Bruiser and Bicycle (which I thought was two different bands) are a weirdo band who draw comparisons to Animal Collective.   As Picthfork wrote:

With their debut, Woods Come Find Me, the Animal Collective comparisons were inevitable. Though unsuspecting and humble in nature, their lo-fi sound tapped into similar vocal hijinks and manic acoustic arrangements as Sung Tongs, prompting a pavlovian response for anyone who ever bookmarked Said the Gramophone on Internet Explorer. Founded by multi-instrumentalists Nick Whittemore and Keegan Graziane, Bruiser and Bicycle spent four years perfecting their follow-up, Holy Red Wagon, and honing their identity away from their freak-folk touchstones. While the comparisons are still easy to draw, the band embarks on its own winding adventures with the help of drummer Joe Taurone. What sounds at first like free-spirited chaos settles into a strange rhythm, like three different heartbeats that just happen to intertwine snugly.

I feel like seeing them live would be the best first way to experience them.  Maybe someday.

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