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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Rainbow Kitten Surprise / Indigo de Souza (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Indigo De Souza, Philadelphia, PA, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, The Met Philadelphia on October 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 10, 2023] Rainbow Kitten Surprise / Indigo de Souza

I really liked the couple of Rainbow Kitten Surpirse songs I’ve heard.  I actually thought they might be even weirder than they were with a name like that.  I’m not sure if I wanted to see them live or not, but I kept this on my radar. Especially since Indigo de Souza was announced as the opener.

I have been trying to see Indigo de Souza for what seems like years.   My first attempt was in Jan 2022.  But there were several cancelled shows (including one opening slot that I couldn’t make).  And then finally, her major headlining show in the area and I was unavailable that night.

So, that might have made me want to go to this show.  But that’s irrelevant because on May 23rd, they cancelled the entire Fall tour.

The band announced Tuesday night in a Twitter thread that the tour will be canceled due to a medical crisis, saying they will “turn off the lights for now.”

“We do not make this decision lightly, and we know that it will result in a lot of disappointment and concern, but we are a family, and we know that the most important thing we can do right now is to help get everyone healthy,” the thread said.

While the band did not put a timeline on its return, they did say they will make their comeback when their friend and fellow bandmate is in good health. The band said it hopes to return in full glory and pick up where it left off.

No word on how anyone is, but at the time, they stated

“One of our members is in a medical crisis. To make sure they have the time to get the proper treatment, we have decided to take down the entire year of shows.”

Hope the person is okay.

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Aunty Donna: The Magical Dead Cat Tour (Perelman Theater, Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2023)

Posted in Aunty Donna, Australia, Broden Kelly, Funny (ha ha), Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Mark Bonanno, Perelman Theater, Philadelphia, PA, Religion, Zachary Ruane on October 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 7, 2023] Aunty Donna

I don’t recall what made me check out Aunty Donna one night.  But the opening skit of the first episode had me cracking up.  I’ve been a fan ever since.

The only “problem” with them is that their jokes are so vulgar, so over the top rude, that it’s hard to share them.  Especially with the kids.  I mean, even their merch–which includes a hat that says Morning Brown is hard to explain without going a bit red in the face.

So what was this show going to entail?

Well, the promo told us this

Dear Human Beings,

Hello, I am a Magical Dead Cat, the titular Magical Dead Cat from the very title of this very show. I write to you today because I have discovered the most wondrous sketch show on the popular streaming service Netflix – Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. I was so impressed with said show that I issued Aunty Donna this challenge: entertain me with a 2 hour live show, one that features all new sketches, but also a few fan favourites. It MUST include a short interval, and based on availability / budget, possibly an opening act. If Aunty Donna succeeds in pleasing me with a rip-roarin’ show, I have promised to surprise them with a special, web slinging, mystery guest!
Come, sweet humans, and see if Broden, Zach and Mark are up for the task!

With loving grace,
The Magical Dead Cat.

The show also came with a warning that there would be occasional coarse kanguage.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It was filled front to back with nothing BUT coarse language.

They opened the show by having an announcer introduce each of the three comedians.  And as each one’s name was announced they came to the front of the stage and did a high-stepping dance.  But the announcer continued to re-introduce Broden and Mark, as Zach’s face fell and the other two grew exhausted from all of their dancing. (more…)

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Gladie: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, October 6, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Free at Noon, Gladie, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on October 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 6, 2023] Gladie

I saw Gladie open for Otoboke Beaver late last year and really enjoyed their set a lot.  I would happily see them again, although a Free at Noon didn’t really seem like a worthwhile trip.

Here’s the blurb from the show and what I missed

After a successful tour with Jeff Rosenstock, today’s Free at Noon performer Gladie made a pit stop at the World Cafe Live stage to dazzle fans with their indie rock magic. Performing songs from their last album Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out, along with a few favorites from other projects, the band truly came to impress.

The stage was decked out in the best gear, necessary for a classic Indie Rock experience. Guitarists Pat Conaboy and Matt Schimelfenig had full pedal boards, and used them frequently throughout the show, conjuring waves of distortion, their eyes were glued to the floor in true shoegaze fashion. The band started with their song “Mud,” immediately exploding into the room with a beautiful wall of sound that demanded the attention of everyone — a common theme that remained through the entirety of the show.

Lead vocalist Augusta Koch sang with intense power. She was able to strongly project (and even scream during some songs) her voice over the volume of the band, and listeners could also eel the emotion within her voice, whether the track had a somber energy or an exasperated energy. Koch’s lyrics were very impactful, influencing the tone of her vocals, as we heard during “20/20” where she and Schimelfenig harmonized to sing “I am angry, I am lonely, but I’m optimistic too.” Later, Schimelfenig took over vocals for “Fixer,” a song where he sings lead with a bit of a country twang from the band’s 2022 album Don’t Know What You’re In Until You’re Out.

Drummer Miles Ziskind was astounding to watch. The movement of his hands was difficult to track throughout the show due to his fills being so quick and precise. At stage left, bassist Liz Parsons accompanied the music with interesting lines throughout the set, especially on “Hit the Ground Running,” which was a bit groovier than the rest, allowing her to show off her skills. As the set came to a peak, “When You Leave The Sun” from Gladie’s 2020 album Safe Sins was the most commanding part of the set. It was faster, heavier, and built up a breathtaking ending with the band members blaring their instruments, hitting the crowd once again with that wall of sound.

That’s a lot of blurb for this fairly short set.  Here’s the setlist and you can listen to it here

  • Mud ⇔
  • 20/20 §
  • Hit The Ground Running ⇔
  • When You Leave The Sun §
  • Fixer ⇔
  • Nothing ⇔
  • Chaos Reigns [new single]
  • Born Yesterday ⇔

When I saw them they played:

  1. When You Leave The Sun §
  2. thank you card ¥
  3. Mud ⇔
  4. Twenty Twenty §
  5. …Heaven, Someday ⇔
  6. Hit the Ground Running ⇔
  7. Nothing ⇔
  8. Born Yesterday ⇔
⇔ Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out (2022)
§ Safe Sins (2020)
¥ thank you card EP (2020)

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Everything Everything / Pierre Kwenders (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 5, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Everything Everything, Philadelphia, PA, Pierre Kwenders, Underground Arts on October 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 5, 2023] Everything Everything / Pierre Kwenders

I recently heard of Everything Everything in glowing terms and when I saw that they were playing locally I made a note of it.  They are an

English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, sociopolitical lyrics.

Their music is interesting and they remind me of a few bands that I like, but I wasn’t blown away enough to want to check them out.

Pierre Kwenders is the stage name of José Louis Modabi, a Congolese-Canadian musician. His 2014 album Le Dernier empereur bantou was a shortlisted nominee for the Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2015, and a longlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.

he has a good vibe and nice flow, but I’m not sad to not see him.

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Margaret Glaspy (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023)

Posted in Margaret Glaspy, Philadelphia, PA, Tasha, Underground Arts on September 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 29, 2023] Tasha

I had been wanting to see Margaret Glaspy for a pretty long time.  She last played Philadelphia in 2016, about two months before I heard her album.  She was supposed to headline a tour back in 2020, but that show was postponed, so it’s not all her fault that it took me so long to see her.

And now, I’ve seen her three times in a year and a half.

Tonight I had tickets to see Explosions in the Sky, a band I loved seeing live and who I’ve wanted to see again (and again).  But when Margaret Glaspy announced her show for tonight, after careful consideration, I decided to see Margaret. The first time I had seen her was as an opener.  The second time was for a short free at noon.  So I had never seen her as a headliner, and that won out.

She was terrific. (more…)

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boygenius / Samia (The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA, September 30, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boygenius, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Samia, Sammus on September 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] boygenius / Samia

Boy I tried so hard to get tickets for this show.

My daughter has become a huge boygenius fan in the last few months and when this show was announced I was sure I’d be able to get us tickets.

But indeed, they sold out instantly.

Since then, I have entered many contests, and have done everything short of actually shelling out $400 a ticket to go to this show.

The only saving grace of the whole debacle is that boygenius is playing the All Things Go festival Sunday night, so we will at least see them–even if it may be from a mile away.

And just to rub this in, I also couldn’t get tickets to the Hozier show yesterday, and here’s a picture of the four of them hanging out in Boston.  Since he’s playing in Philly Friday, I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up to his show too.

Oh and Samia is also playing at All Things Go. She plays poppie indie rock.

I keep thinking that she is Sammus the rapper, who I am quite interested in seeing.

Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, better known as Sammus, is a nerdcore music artist who raps primarily about video game topics.

Samia is not her

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The Front Bottoms / Vundabar (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 30 & October 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Front Bottoms, Vundabar on September 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 30 & October 1, 2023] The Front Bottoms / Vundabar

I saw The Front Bottoms in 2021.

Since then we have tried and failed to see them several more times.  Most of the reasons were our own fault–my son being too tired or us just being very busy.  But so many missed opportunities that I pretty much gave up on the thought of seeing them again.

Then they decided to play two nights at Franklin Music Hall with an opening band that I want to see.

I might actually try to…

Ah, both nights are the same nights that my daughter and I are going to the All Things Go Festival.

Oh well.

Interestingly, Vundabar is also playing the All Things Go Festival.

Furthermore, they are playing Saturday night in Philly, then driving the two hours to Maryland to play at 12:30 in the afternoon at All Things Go and then driving the two hours back to play in Philly again Sunday night.

Impressive.  Hope they still have energy in the middle of the afternoon!

 

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Royal Blood / Bad Nerves (The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, September 30, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bad Nerves, Philadelphia, PA, Royal Blood, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 30, 2023] Royal Blood / Bad Nerves

I have been interested in Royal Blood for a few years.  I don’t really remember when they first hit my radar, but I think it was their debut album.

I had heard that their live show (for just two guys) was really impressive.

Apparently everyone else thinks so too as they have played a few different Philly festivals over the last few years.  I wasn’t interested in seeing them at an all day festival, and this was their first time playing a club in Philly since 2017.

At the time I was really intrigued by them being a duo and rocking out.  But since then, there have been so many duos who absolutely kick ass, that the novelty isn’t that great anymore.  I never really listened to much of their music anyway, so it’s no big deal that I’m not going because this show is the same weekend that my daughter and I are going to the All Things Go.

Bad Nerves is new to me, but they seem like a fun pop punk band from England.  They have one album of frenetic punk that reminds me of The Dickies.  Sounds fun.

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Slowdive / Drab Majesty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Drab Majesty, Philadelphia, PA, Slowdive, Union Transfer on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Slowdive / Drab Majesty

Slowdive is one of the classic shoegaze bands.  I didn’t really get into them back in the 90s as they were a little too slow for my liking (I mean, it’s in their name after all).  But I have since revisited my opinion.

Then, twenty years after they broke up, they reunited and made some more music.

I missed their show back in 2017 and would have been interested to see them this time (especially since their new album is really good).  But this show sold out before I even knew about it.  I’m not sure how I missed the announcement but there it is.

Alas.

Drab Majesty is opening for them.  I thought they might have been a band from the 90s as well, as their name sounded strangely familiar. But they actually formed in 2011

Drab Majesty is an American musical project founded by Andrew Clinco the drummer for the band Marriages.  Clinco adopted the androgynous character of Deb Demure for the project. Keyboardist and vocalist Mona D (Alex Nicolaou) joined the band in 2016. Drab Majesty combine androgynous aesthetics and commanding vocals with futuristic and occult lyrics, a style Demure refers to as, “tragic wave”. To create his imposing stage presence, Demure employed costumes, makeup and props to accompany his lush, ’80s-influenced soundscapes.

They sound perfectly retro (ala early Depeche Mode or Erasure).  It’s pretty tasty.  This would have been a good show.

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Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DIIV, Draag Me, Explosions in the Sky, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me

Explosions in the Sky twice.  After that second show, I promised myself that I would see them any time they toured.   It has been a few years and they announced their new tour was called The End.  It was wildly speculated that they were breaking up after it (and why wouldn’t people speculate about that).  So I made sure to buy a ticket immediately.

But after months of speculation, it was revealed that The End is just the name of their new album.  It doesn’t make the tour any less exciting, but it leaves a but of a bad taste.

This is the largest venue that I would have seen them play at–and I wasn’t all that excited about that either.

Well, when Margaret Glaspy announced  that she was playing a show at Underground Arts on the same night, at first I was bummed to miss her.  Then I decided that I had seen Margaret twice, but both were short shows and that I’d really like to see her headline.

So, yes, I’m giving EITS a pass.  It’s kind of a shame that bands aren’t postponing shows anymore (bite your tongue).

EITS said that they’d be having local bands open for them throughout this tour.  According to Pitchfork:

Draag Me started as the solo project of Zack Schwartz, one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia psych band Spirit of the Beehive. His first record under the Draag Me moniker, i am gambling with my life, was a collection of warm, hazy electro-pop with an undercurrent of anxiety.  With idle time during the pandemic, Schwartz started emailing scraps of songs to his Beehive bandmate Corey Wichlin, including some taken from Beehive’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH sessions. The two passed files back and forth, arranging and mangling them until full compositions emerged, ones more metallic and jittery than their predecessors.

The music is weird an unsettling–chopped up and stripped down.  It’s the kind of music that would be really hard to play live if it wasn’t all prerecorded in some way.  I’m curious how well they will be received–although a Philly show with a Philly band should probably be okay.  Interestingly, they are also opening for DIIV in Jersey City on Nov 1.  I don’t know DIIV at all, but I wonder how well they work with these two different bands.

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