Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Oranssi Pazuzu / Wayfarer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Oranssi Pazuzu, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Wayfarer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 21, 2026] Oranssi Pazuzu / Wayfarer

I had not heard of Oranssi Pazuzu until about a week ago.  I’m not even sure what made me look into a band with a name like this.  But as soon as I saw that they were a Finnish psychedelic black metal band I had to see what they were all about.

And they are an interesting proposition.  The music definitely gets heavy, but there are lots of gentle samples (flute perhaps?) through some of the quieter more psychedelic moments.  My only complaint is the black metal component because the singer more or less growls quietly (presumably in Finnish) over the music.   Musically, though, I’m really intrigued by them.  Because I didn’t know enough about them, and because I already had tickets to see Black Angels, I didn’t really look into them very closely.  But having sat with them a bit and listened to them a but more, I think this would have been the better choice, especially since they haven’t toured the US in 7 years and presumably won’t be back for a long while, if ever.

Wayfarer is Denver’s gothic country-infused black metal band.  They have an interesting aesthetic (black metal, with sludge, with death metal, heated to a boil on the scorching stones of the Rockies) and I like their musical components, but once again the singer is a deep cookie monster type singer–yes, black metal, I know–but as a person who likes lyrics, it’s hard to get into a song when you just can’t understand what the singer is doing.  This is another band I think I’d probably enjoy live more because I could focus on the music rather than the words.

I enjoyed the Black Angels show, but yea, this might have been the better choice.

Read Full Post »

The Black Angels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026)

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] The Black Angels

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas.  I’ve known about them for about ten years.  Their music sounds pretty similar from album to album–fuzzy guitars, catchy riffs and Alex Maas’ recognizable haunting voice.  I saw them in 2022 and really enjoyed their set, although I remember being surprised at how minimal everything was.  It was also pretty dark on stage–so it was hard to see everyone clearly.

And that proved to be if not the same, then similar for this show.

This was a tour of their debut album Passover.  This album isn’t my favorite of theirs, but I do enjoy a full album show. I got into The Black Angels with their second album and my favorite one is Indigo Meadows, but as they played the album in full I realized just how much I do like it.

I also had  to laugh because there’s a guy who my wife and I saw at the MMJ concert who we called Jim James.  We saw him again at Band of Horses, then I saw him at Pallbearer and now at this one.  He’s a nice guy, a real headbanger.  He and his friends were having a great time at all of these shows, so I figured I was in for a good time.

Before the band came on, their logo was projected on the stage, spinning like the inside of a record.  Then the band came out and most of the lighting on stage was provided by the projections behind them.  This cast the band in eerie lights–sometimes moving shapes, sometimes stripes, visuals that obscured more than they illuminated.  And, connecting to the cover of Passover, it was all black and white.

The opening song, Young Men Dead, featured big fuzzy guitars in a simple riff that introduced Alex Maas’ vocals.  They have a new bassist since 2024, Misti Hamrick who also plays keys.   She and guitarist Jake Garcia switched off on bass (his bass was loud and ponderous on The First Vietnam War).   Although Christian Bland is the primary lead guitarist, Garcia does his fair share as well, playing the intro riff on The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Knotfall (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Knotfall

Knotfall is another band from Philly. I’m guessing that the band is the project of singer/guitarist (and for one song, drummer) Sami Rahman.  Because there have been different people on the different releases.

They totally threw me for a loop when I listened to them because I thought that they were basically a shoegaze band (since Mint Field is).  August in the Water starts their album and this set.  It has quiet guitars and soft vocals.  It’s quite lovely and I could see how they fit with Mint Field.  The song built to a louder sound, but still rather shoegazey (actually I found that his voice sounded a bit like Grandson and sometimes like Pavement).   But as the song reached the end, he started screaming in an intense, voice cracking sort of way.  And then the song dropped down to quieter moments again.  It was surprising on record but it was even better live.

Beyond Memory had an early Cure feel with lots of fuzz and I loved when the song broke and the two guitars played a really cool and clear riff–that blasted through the fuzz.  But the bigger surprise came at the end of the song when it shifted gears into a really heavy sound and really dark almost doom metal riff.  It was great and really intense–I would have happily let that riff continue for several more minutes, but it stopped after just a few runs through.

Sami told us that five of the six songs they were playing were from their recently released debut album.  Surprisingly they didn’t have any for sale and their shirts (which were really cool) were only Small-Large. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Sherrie (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Sherrie

I like going to PhiaMOCA, it’s so casual and it’s such a great space to meet and chat with a band.  For whatever reason, I was early for this show.  When I walked in (probably at 7:30) Sherrie was still doing a sound check.  It was pretty weird and slightly awkward.  But it was hot out and cool inside, so I did some NY Times puzzles and listened to the band get ready for the show.

Sherrie is a band from Philadelphia.  When I saw that they were opening for Mint Field, I went to their bandcamp site and saw that they had three songs out.  I hadn’t realized until writing this that each of these songs came out at a rate of one a year, and that none of the songs were released in the last five years.

I can’t find out much about the band.  The lead singer is Rae and there’s a guy who has been with Sherrie since the beginning, whose name is Drew.  Their Instagram page has a few things up before COVID and then nothing until 2024.  Ah, and then I see that their first gig was at Ortlieb’s in March 2024–they were a two piece.  Then they played Johnny Brenda’s in April of this year as a five piece.  For this show they were a four piece.

Sherrie describes their music as dream pop, but it feels more like bedroom pop to me–remarkably spare, although it is sweet.  There’s not a lot of movement from the band–except for the last song when the Rae walked over to the keyboard that someone else was playing and pushed a button to change the sound of the keys.  She stayed for a bit and then turned it off again. (more…)

Read Full Post »

An evening with They Might Be Giants (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 15, 16 & 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, They Might Be Giants, Union Transfer on May 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 15, 16 & 17, 2026] They Might Be Giants [rescheduled from March 13, 2020, September 8, 2020, April 15, 2021 and March 22, 2022 moved to January 12, 2023]

Back in 2022, my wife and I saw They Might Be Giants at Union Transfer in a very sold out room.  It was a fun night celebrating the anniversary of Flood.  Here they were, four years later playing THREE nights at Union Transfer.  With this simple promise

➡️Three Nights with @tmbgofficial
👉The Bigger Show Tour. Only 2026 area appearances!
👉3 very different shows. 2 “Evening with” performances. 8-piece band.
3 horns. 2 sets. 0 openers. Starts early. Gets loud.

This was basically something you wanted to get tickets to al three nights and I just didn’t think I had it in me to do it.  I also assumed that something else would come up that would make it impossible to see all three nights.  Amazingly nothing did.  But as I said, I just didn’t think I could do it.

I’m sure it was a lot of fun though.  Here’s some details

Night 1 focused on Factory Showroom [29 songs]
Night 2 focused on John Henry [30 songs]
Night 3 focused on Lincoln [34 songs]

Clearly night 3 was the one to go to.  I probably should have grabbed a ticket for that one at least.  Alas.

 

Read Full Post »

Blvck Hippie / Grocer / Little Hag (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Blvck Hippie, Grocer, Little Hag, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA on May 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 16, 2026] Blvck Hippie / Grocer / Little Hag

Ortlieb’s is a fascinating venue.  Very small.  Intimate.  Impossible parking.

I was interested in this show first because I really like Grocer and would like to see them again.  But then I listened to Blvck Hippie and was totally hooked.  The Blvck Hippie website says that Blvck Hippie

is a Black Fronted Sad Boy Indie Rock Band based out of Memphis, TN. Their genre is Post Punk, Indie Rock, VHS Rock.

The band is Josh Shaw and a bunch of other people.  I assume that as a live show he has a full band.  The live album from Audiotree sounds grea (as all Audiotree live albums do)–really filling out the sound better than the albums do.

I would have really enjoyed this night of quirky alt rock.  But it had been a busy week and sometimes you just have to accept that it’s important to stay in on a Saturday night.

I saw Grocer open for Speedy Ortiz two years ago  They are 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.  I don’t think I stopped smiling once during there set.  I definitely want to see them again.

Little Hag is a from Asbury Park.  Formed in 2016 in the suburbs of central Jersey by Avery Mandeville, guitarist Matt “Fern” Fernicola and drummer Owen Flanagan; joined in recent years by bassist Mitchell Warren-Devlin and keyboardist/vocalist Cara Introcaso.   Narc Magazine says “fans of opinionated, unflinchingly explicit, female-led punk rock should jump straight into this one.”  Musically they’re a bit softer than one might expect with more synth than feedback.  But the lyrics to Show Me Your Head alone make them worth checking out

Remind rich men that they’re ugly
Remind rich men that they will always be ugly
Remind rich men that we hate them
Remind rich men that we can and will kiss them

Mark, show me your head
Elon, show me your head
Jeff, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it
Donald, show me your head
JD, show me your head
Ben, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it

I hate rich men cause they’re rich
But mostly I hate them because they’re ugly
It’s important to bully them
Cause bullying works and it hurts people’s feelings

Mark, show me your head
Elon, show me your head
Jeff, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it
Donald, show me your head
JD, show me your head
Ben, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Ghostface Killah / ZekeUltra / J the Audiophile / Dell P (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 14, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dell-P, J the Audiophile, Philadelphia, PA, The Chameleons, Underground Arts, ZekeUltra on May 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2026] Ghostface Killah / ZekeUltra / J the Audiophile / Dell P

It was unlikely that I’d go to a Ghostface Killah concert, but he’s a member of Wu-Tang and it would be interesting to see one of them live.  And in Underground Arts.

I had talked to my physical therapist about this show and he told me that he had seen Ghostface and that he was boring live.  And really that’s all I needed to hear to know that I wasn’t going to go.

ZekeUltra is a young low key rapper.  Kind of mumbly but you can understand him.  His new album is full of songs that are less than 2 minutes long.  After having seen this kind of performer with Earl Sweatshirt, I can tell I wouldn’t have enjoyed this.

J the audiophile is a hip hop, soul, electronic dance music, disco, and funk DJ, music producer, and all around vinyl enthusiast living large in the City.  He is dedicated to the preservation of vinyl culture in Philadelphia.  He has some albums out.  I think they’re all instrumental with spoken samples.  I guess for a live show he would be spinning, but I don’t know if it would be his own stuff or just DJing.  But I love the retro vibe he’s playing.

Dell-P is a Philly rapper who has nice old school flow–aggressive and clear–with catchy choruses.

Even though I didn’t want to see the first two, J the audiophile and Dell-P are pretty great.

Read Full Post »

Courtney Barnett (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, May 12, 2026)

Posted in Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Momma, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Truman Sinclair on May 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 12, 2026] Courtney Barnett

Before Courtney started, a woman near us was talking to someone who had not seen her before and she said to be ready because she rocks a lot harder that you may think.  And she totally does.  For a trio, her band totally ripped. And when she soloed, it never felt like a bass player playing behind one guitar.

I can’t remember what the audience was like for her last time, but this time I found them really awful.  There were some metal dudes to the side of us who were headbanging and almost moshing.  But it was only the few of them and they did not sit well with the other people around us.  There was a guy who was very chatty with everyone around him throughout the set and the poor woman in front of me really could never see well no matter how she arranged herself until she finally moved elsewhere about half way through the set.  I think once she moved I felt better too.  But my poor wife was behind a woman with very long white hair, which we initially thought would be a safe place, but she proved to be a writhing, arm waving irritant, who never moved up into the ample space in front her.  So yea, even though Courtney was great, the show was annoying.

But you can’t blame Courtney for her fans,

She came out on stage and launched right into Stay in Your Lane, the ubiquitous single from her new album.  The song is fun, but it’s even more fun when she gets to do her live guitar work around it.

I’m intrigued to see that eight years later, her second and third songs of her set were the same: City Looks Pretty and Avant Gardner (which the crowd went berserk for). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Emo Philips (Helium Comedy Club, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Emo Philips, Helium Comedy Club, Philadelphia, PA on May 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2026] Emo Philips

Now that I’ve discovered Helium Comedy Club I am blown away by how many famous comedians do stand up there.  I really have no sense if it’s a typical sized club for comedians–most of the ones I’d been to before were in seated concert venues which are much larger.  Can someone like Emo Philips not draw a bigger crowd?  Or is this just business as usual for a comedian (I mean Patton Oswalt was there too).

Anyhow, I saw Emo Philips open for Weird Al and he was hilarious.  I would absolutely have gone to this gig except I had two other shows already lined up that night.  And I really wanted to see The Joy Formidable again.

Maybe Emo will tour again.

Read Full Post »

Avatar / Fleshgod Apocalypse / Frozen Soul (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Avatar, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Franklin Music Hall, Frozen Soul, Philadelphia, PA on May 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2026] Avatar / Fleshgod Apocalypse / Frozen Soul

I’ve seen Avatar 3 times and I really love their live show–theatrical and funny and weird and really really heavy.   I’ve wanted to see them again and I’ve wanted to take my son.  He saw them open for Pierce the Veil in a weird arena and didn’t get to appreciate their live show at all.

I was pretty excited for this show–although it was at Franklin Music Hall (which is the main reason I didn’t grab a ticket right away).  But then it turned out that my Joy Formidable show was moved to this night and so I was glad I hadn’t bought one yet.

Avatar seems to always be touring so I ‘m sure they’ll be back before long.

Fleshgod Apocalypse is an Italian band who I’d never heard of and now after listening to some of their songs I absolutely must see them live.   They use full on symphonic samples with their insanely fast music (the drummer never stops). This is not metal with an orchestra, this is like an orchestra playing speed metal.  Some of their songs are lovely, almost classical pieces, and then the singer comes in singing true death metal growly vocals.  But they’ve also got someone who sings soaring operatic vocals.  I don’t know what thei live show is like, but I really hope they come back soon so I can find out.

Frozen Soul is an extreme metal band from Texas (which is so much less interesting than Italy or Sweden).  They play slow and heavy with  growled vocals that are suprisingly understandable.  I’m not really into the growly sound all that much so I’m not that impressed by this one.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »