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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

David Cross / Sean Patton (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arrested Development, Comedy Album, David Cross, Funny (ha ha), Mr Show, Philadelphia, PA, Sean Patton, Union Transfer on May 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 5, 2023] David Cross / Sean Patton

My wife and I saw David Cross back in 2016.  He was hilarious.

He’s consistently one of my favorite comedians.  I have enjoyed David Cross since the old days of Mr. Show, and the as Tobias on Arrested Development and even in Alvin and the, well, actually I’m just happy for him that he got a lot of money for it.

It was really puzzling that this show was at Union Transfer (as opposed to a seated venue).  I assume that they put in seats-who wants to stand up for a stand up?

This show was scheduled for the same night as Yves Tumor who I had very much wanted to see.  So David didn’t get my ticket purchase.  But the show sold out so he doesn’t care.

Sean Patton opened.  He’s a comedian I’d never heard of.  He had a special on Peacock, with a theme about people being broken.  People are like glow sticks–you gotta break them before they can shine.  He sounds dark but optimistic.

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The Walkmen (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2023)

Posted in Liily, Philadelphia, PA, The Walkmen, Union Transfer on May 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 4, 2023] The Walkmen

When I got a ticket to this show, I was swept up in the excitement of this reunion tour.  I didn’t really know The Walkmen, but I knew of them.  I mostly knew Hamilton Leithauser from his solo work.  But I was also very familiar with their hit “The Rat.”

They announced two shows at Union Transfer and then added a third one because the first two sold so quickly. So I was caught up and bought a ticket.  Although I’m quite certain this last night did not sell out.

As the day approached, I wasn’t even entirely sure I was going to go to this show because I was going out tomorrow night as well.

But I decided to head out and not feel like I missed anything.

I got there much earlier than I intended so I was right up front, which was cool.

After a time, the band came out and wow were they different from the wild chaos of Liily.

So the band was the classic lineup: drummer Matt Barrick, guitarist Paul Maroon, and multi-instrumentalist Walter Martin [all former members of Jonathan Fire*Eater–I had no idea] and bassist/organist Peter Matthew Bauer and singer Hamilton Leithauser [who playd in The Recoys]. (more…)

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Frost Children (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2023) [YVES TUMOR]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Frost Children, Philadelphia, PA, Pretty Sick, Yves Tumor on May 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 5, 2023] Frost Children

Yves Tumor had been on my list of artists I wanted to see live.  So when they announced a show at Franklin Music Hall, I grabbed a ticket pretty quickly.  I didn’t think it would sell out.  In fact I thought that Franklin Music Hall would be too big a venue for them.  I mean, had anyone even heard about them?

I hadn’t heard of either opening band.  But when I looked up Frost Children, I was intrigued.  Frost Children are siblings Angel and Lulu Prost from St. Louis, now living in New York City.

I listened to their album on Spotify and liked it enough.  Hyperpop with sound effects and glitches and interesting pitch-shifted vocals.  There’s was lots of cursing and aggression, but it was all really catchy.  Going back through their catalog, it’s clear that in the last three years since their debut, they have gotten much more inventive with their creations.  There’s not a lot of depth to the lyrics, but who cares when a chorus like

Like oh my god
what the fuck
who are you?

is so damned catchy and singalong able. (more…)

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Ministry / Gary Numan / Front Line Assembly (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Front Line Assembly, Ministry, Philadelphia, PA, Wax Trax! on May 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 4, 2023] Ministry / Gary Numan / Front Line Assembly [rescheduled from July 18, 2020, April 17, 2021; moved to March 9, 2022]

Ministry had several tour dates scheduled and cancelled in the last few years.  Most were pandemic cancellations, but some seemed out of the blue.

I had once really like Ministry, but I haven’t listened to much by them in ages.  So I think I’m pretty much done with the idea of seeing them live.  Seeing Skinny Puppy took care of my industrial needs and I suspect the Ministry crowd is more aggressive.

Gary Numan is a pioneer in the genre. And boy do I dislike him.  Actually, that’s not fair.  I hate the song “Cars” so freakin much that I’ll never get past it to explore him further. So, even if I had wantedto go to this show, Gary Numan might have kept me away.

Front Line Assembly was supposed to open for Ministry on the original 2020 tours.  They were eventually replaced.  FLA was one of the few bands on the industrial label Waxtrax that I never really got into.  I liked many bands on the label, but really never had much exposure to FLA (in the days before you could listen to things online).

 

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Liily (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 4, 2023) [THE WALKMEN]

Posted in Liily, Limp Bizkit, Magic Sword, Philadelphia, PA, The Intelligence, The Walkmen, TWRP, Union Transfer on May 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 4, 2023] Liily

I wasn’t even entirely sure I was going to go to this show.  I only really knew one song by The Walkmen.  But I decided that I wouldn’t stay home.  I’d go check out this reunion show.

The opening band was Liily who I had not heard of before.  They came out–a four-piece from L.A.–and Charlie Anastasis the bassist (who had an awesome mop of curly hair), played a chord that rung out and feedbacked for about 90 seconds.  All the while the singer Dylan Nash stood at the front of the stage kind of confrontationally.

Then the band kicked into “Wash.”  It had a stomping bass and squealing guitars from Sam De La Torre.  But it was drummer Maxx Morando who soon claimed all my attention. (more…)

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The Walkmen / Lilly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 2 & 3, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Liily, Philadelphia, PA, The Walkmen, Union Transfer on May 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 2-3 2023] The Walkmen / Lilly

When the Walkmen announced this ten year reunion tour I must have missed it entirely, because by the time I heard of it, these first two shows were sold out and they had announced a third.

When I got a ticket to this show, I was swept up in the excitement of this reunion tour.  I didn’t really know The Walkmen, but I knew of them.  I mostly knew Hamilton Leithauser from his solo work.  But I was also very familiar with their hit “The Rat.”

The third night proved to be plenty of fun and I really enjoyed the opening band Lilly.

From what I can see, it looks like The Walkmen played an extra song on the second night.  But I think we got the best Lilly set.

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Spiritbox / After the Burial / Intervals (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, May 2, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in After the Burial, Intervals, Philadelphia, PA, Spiritbox, Theatre of Living Arts on May 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 2, 2023] Spiritbox / After the Burial / Intervals

Spiritbox opened for Ghost on their last tour. I was really impressed by them, mostly because singer Courtney LaPlante has a beautiful delicate voice and then can, on a dime, scream with the best of them.  I don’t necessarily like screamed/growled lyrics, but I love a singer with great range.

They have a broad range of sounds in the band too, with industrial and electronic elements quite prominent.

When we saw them, some fans had travelled a pretty long distance to see just them.

I’d have enjoyed this show but it was sold out even before I heard about it.

After the Burial are a progressive metal band, with a lot of emphasis on the metal.  They have a very growly vocalist, which kind of ruins the impressive intricacies in their music.

Intervals is an instrumental progressive metal band. I prefer my progressive metal to be instrumental because I don’t really like the direction metal vocalists have gone.  Intervals might be a little too perfect, though, being really precise instead of having a good feel.  But I’ve only listened to two songs by them.

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Placebo (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2023)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Kate Bush, Philadelphia, PA, Placebo, Poppy Jean Crawford, Tears for Fears on April 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2023] Placebo

When Placebo announced their first American tour in ten years, I immediately grabbed a ticket.  I was vaguely surprised that my wife wanted to go–she loves a couple of their songs, but doesn’t know much else by them.

I had forgotten that originally, they had announced the tour in the fall of 2022 (with no Philly date, the closests show was Brooklyn, boo).  But they had to postpone for logistical reasons.

She did, however, guess exactly right what the show would be like–loud rocking guitars, cool lights and a fun time.  I, a big fan for decades, was completely wrong about the show.  I didn’t think it would rock that hard–knowing that they have moody songs as well.

Before the show, I checked setlist, not to see what they were playing but to see album distribution.  I found that they were playing 11 songs from their new album (!) out of 22 songs in total.

I was a little bummed about this, not because I don’t like the new album, but because I’ve never seen them before and I wanted to hear a greatest hits show.  I mean it’s been ten years.  [Turns out the band hated doing their retrospective tour ten years ago and almost broke up because of so clearly they weren’t doing that again].

But they came out (with a very strict policy of no cameras) in a wall of lights.  Brain Molko and Stefan Olsdal stood up at the front.  Brian switched guitars nearly every song and Stefan switched between bass and guitar with stark frequency. (more…)

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Poppy Jean Crawford (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2023) [PLACEBO]

Posted in Deap Vally, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Placebo, Poppy, Poppy Jean Crawford, Tears for Fears on April 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2023] Placebo

When When Placebo announced their first American tour in ten years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I was vaguely surprised that my wife wanted to go–she loves a couple of their songs, but doesn’t know much else by them.  I had actually forgotten that they had set up a tour in of the States in 2022 with no Philly date and then cancelled the tour.  But there was the Philly show and there was my ticket

Deap Vally were supposed to open.  We had seen them open for Blondie a number of years ago and I really liked them.

But then it was announced a month or so ago that Poppy Jean Crawford would open.  I thought that it was Poppy and I was really excited because I’ve wanted to see her.  But no, it was Poppy Jean Crawford–whom I had never heard of.

Her brief bio says

Poppy Jean schooled herself in L.A.’s DIY scene, hanging out at places such as the Smell and taking an interest in writing music.  She joined her first band, Crosseyed and Pantyless, at 15. Playing Experimental Folk Punk in the nude.
Feeling she had more to offer, Poppy released her first single, “Dead Girl” at 16.

She was not nude when she came out on the stage, but she was in a bodysuit and I was very impressed with her body confidence.  She sang a few songs without a guitar and a few songs with a guitar.

To her right was a guy who looked like Howard Stern playing keys.  On her left was a woman playing bass.  She was pretty superfluous because almost all of the sound came from the synths.  But she looked good.

I had to assume that PJC was annoyed by the “no cameras” rule, because no one filmed her or her band at all–and a young band needs any exposure they can get.

Anyhow, Poppy has a nice powerful voice.  Her songs are simple but catchy and I mostly enjoyed her set.  Because I have no reference point, I’m remembering that I really liked a couple of her songs and kind of didn’t like a couple other ones for some reason.

The big surprise came about 2/3 of the way through the set when she played a cover of Tears for Fears “Head Over Heels.”  The pacing was much slower which was odd.  I couldn’t decide if i liked it or not.

She didn’t say anything until the very end of her set.  But she had an amazing stage presence–utterly fearless.  (she’s been performing for eight years or so, so that makes sense).

Overall, a thumbs up.

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Restorations / Space Cadet / Orbits (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 28 & 29 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Orbits, Philadelphia, PA, Restorations, Space Cadet on April 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 28 & 29 2023] Restorations / Space Cadet / Orbit

Restorations was scheduled to pay one Philly Date (hometown date) in 2020, which was cancelled.  These two shows aren’t exactly rescheduled shows, but they kind of are.

And, I didn’t hear a single thing about them until long after they were sold out.

I saw them open for Band of Horses six years ago, and they were great.  Like with many opening bands, I thought it would be great to see them headline (especially in a small place like Johnny Brenda’s).

I would have absolutely gone to one (or both) of these shows.

The first night was billed as New and Old Songs.  The second night was billed as LP2

For the first night, they played songs from LP2, LP3, LP 5000 and Restorations as well as some new songs.

The second night they played all of LP2 and some other new songs.

They haven’t really done anything since 2019.  I’m not sure if it was a hiatus or what, but it sure seems like they are back.

Space Cadet is from Massachusetts.  It’s a little hard to find details about them.  But this review from Geoff Wilbur Music is pretty succinct

The songs on Space Cadet‘s Lion on a Leash (available digitally and on vinyl) recall the jangly, energetic radio-friendly rock of Harvey Danger and Semisonic. Vocalist Matt Hock and guitarist David Walsh were two-fifths of punk rock outfit The Explosion, and a bit of that frantic punk energy can be found powering Space Cadet’s songs, as well.

They play catchy pop rock with an edge.

Orbits (not to be confused with about six other similarly named bands (they are not The Orbits, Orbit, Orbital or Atom & the Orbits) are from Philly and Cleveland.   Clevescene says

With Orbits, Toby Reif (the Sidekicks) and Maxwell Stern (Signals Midwest, Timeshares, Meridian) expand upon the music they explored with their previous bands. And yet, Orbits’ densely layered vocals, down-tuned guitars, synthesizers, and odd timings position the record as “a unique vessel for exploring ideas well outside the realm of their past output,” as it’s put in a press release.

The guitars are loud and a little sloppy (not exactly sloppy, but noisy and unpolished).  The vocals are too (with cool loud harmonies).  The songs are short.  It’s a fun record and probably a fun live show.

 

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