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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Hooveriii / Gift (Dolphin Tavern, Philadelphia, PA, February 15, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dolphin Tavern, Gift, Hooveriii, Mudhoney, Philadelphia, PA on February 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 15, 2023] Hooveriii / Gift

I have come to like Hooveriii over the last couple of years and was really looking forward to seeing them.

They played with Acid Dad and Frankie and the Witch Fingers at PhilaMOCA a few years ago and I had a tough choice that night between this show and Torres (which I went to and it was awesome).

I hadn’t heard of Gift, but I listened to their album and thought it was really good.

I was quite looking forward to this show–in a strange venue that I’d never heard of before.  (more…)

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SOAK. / Katie Malco (no venue, Philadelphia, PA, February 5, 2023) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Katie Malco, Philadelphia, PA, Soak on February 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 5, 2023] SOAK. / Katie Malco

I saw SOAK. four years ago and really enjoyed the show.  It was intimate and Bridie Monds-Watson was compelling and powerful.

I was really excited that she and Katie Malco were going to come to the States for a small tour.  Their location in Philly was TBD, but there are so many venues in Philly that I assumed they’d have no trouble securing a spot. (more…)

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Dry Cleaning / The Spirit of the Beehive / Nourished By Time (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Nourished By Time, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on February 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 5, 2022] Dry Cleaning / The Spirit of the Beehive / Nourished By Time

Dry Cleaning are a kind of trendy British band.  They are of the spoken deadpan vocal/wild guitar noise variety.  I don’t love them, but I think their music is really interesting.  I thought they’d be fun to see live once.

But we had a family emergency and it wasn’t time to go to a show.  So, I didn’t really mind missing this one. (more…)

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Oxymorrons “Melanated Punk Mini Tour” (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 20, 2023)

Posted in N.E.R.D., Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, The OBGMs on January 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 20, 2023] Oxymorrons

My son and I saw Oxymorrons open for grandson about a year ago.  No opening band has made such an impact o me. They were intense and fun and catchy and crazy and just all around wonderful.

So when they announced this mini tour and that it would hit the Foundry, I knew that he and I would have to check them out again.  But I was sure the tint Foundry stage wouldn’t be big enough to keep them in.

I was also sure that the show would sell out and we’d be in for a massive thrashing mosh pit.  That’s why we stayed to the side the whole night (he wasn’t in the mood for slam dancing).

This meant we were right next to guitarist Jafe Paulino.  I suggested that the stage was too small for them and he laughed and said he’d be hopping over those guardrails in no time.

When they came out, drummer Matty Mayz, (I had forgotten how much fun he was) had his laptop set up and he got the intro pumping as the frontmen, Demi “Deee” and his brother Kami “KI” came bouncing up on stage.

Deee and KI were great at engaging the audience.  They are excellent at getting everyone hyped up. (more…)

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Pinkshift “Melanated Punk Mini Tour” (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 20, 2023) [OXYMORRONS]

Posted in Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, The Foundry, The OBGMs on January 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 20, 2023] Pinkshift

I was really excited for the show–the Melanated Punk Mini Tour featuring Oxymorrons and The OBGMs.  At the last minute, Pinkshift was added to the bill, which made things even better!

I’ve seen Pinkshift three times.  Each show is really intense, because this band does not hold back.

This set felt a little different.  First because they were playing songs mostly from their new album.  I hadn’t heard the new album yet but it turns out I’d heard many of the songs live before.

Pinkshift is officially a trio now.  Although they do have a bassist of tour with them, the main trio was made up with pretty cool eye makeup.

This was the closest I’d been to the band so I really got to see drummer Myron Houngbedji in action.  He was, frankly, amazing.  In fact, a few times, someone in the audience shouted something like My man on the drums is really bringing it! (more…)

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The OBGMs “Melanated Punk Mini Tour” (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 20, 2023) [OXYMORRONS]

Posted in Crash and the Boys, Oxymorrons, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Foundry, The OBGMs on January 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 20, 2023] THE OBGMs

I was really excited for the show–the Melanated Punk Mini Tour featuring Oxymorrons and The OBGMs (who I didn’t know but after listening to them, I realized how good they were.  At the last minute, Pinkshift was added to the bill, which made things even better!

The show was listed as starting at 7:30 (which on a Friday night usually means a lot of traffic).  Bu then Pinkshift said the fun started at 7, so my son and I left stupidly early to avoid traffic and arrived earlier than ever only to find out that the show did not start at 7.

And that’s fine.  It’s nice to be early.  Also, that Pinkshift wasn’t the first band.

The OBGMs (The oOohh Baby Gimme Mores) are from Toronto.  They came out and proceeded to tear the roof off of the place.

After playing a weird riff that sounded like a wild version of Black Sabbath, the whole band started bashing out “Cash” from their new album The Ends.

Dreadlocked lead singer Densil McFarlane also played guitar as he pogoed and screamed the lyrics.  (more…)

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They Might Be Giants: 30th Anniversary Flood Show (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 12, 2023)–[at last!]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Tár, They Might Be Giants, Union Transfer, Whiplash on January 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 12, 2023] They Might Be Giants [rescheduled from March 13, 2020, September 8, 2020, April 15, 2021, March 22, 2022 and June 16, 2022]

After five failed attempts, They Might Be Giants FINALLY got to play Union Transfer.

It was only mildly anti-climactic that they played Union Transfer the night before with a show that was billed as an entirely different show but which, when setlists were compared, turned out to be almost exactly the same.

January 11 (left): note the similarly-named show title which implied something different.  From the venue:

We assume that means songs from their latest album, ‘Book’ and some ‘Flood’ “faves”, and a bunch of horns on stage. How many horns? We can’t say for sure…Maybe 5, maybe 100!?

It felt a little cheaty that this day-ahead show got the same (more or less) show as us.  But hey, who cares, at least we didn’t splurge for the second day.  Because I’d have been a little cheesed to get the same show two nights in a row, no matter how good it was.  And it was really good!

So I saw They Might Be Giants about twenty-five years ago in Boston.  I don’t remember a lot from the show, but it was the Factory Showroom tour and they played a lot of my favorite songs as well.

I haven’t seen them live since then, even though I know they put on a good show.  I’m not sure why it neve happened.  Possibly because when I try to see them a pandemic occurs.

We arrived a little later than intended, had to stand on a huge line (there was no opening act), although everyone at a TMBG show is friendly, and then wound up on the side lower balcony in Union Transfer–where I’ve never stood before.  It was actually kind of nice-we were above most of the heads and still felt a part of the mass of people.

The band also was giving out “paper crowns” that said THEY on them.  John F:  “Be sure to grab one so you can sell it later.”

The Johns came out at 8 as promised and jumped right into “Letterbox” from Flood.  But it’s not the first song from Flood.  So clearly, they weren’t going to play the album in order.  They never said they were going to, just that they were going to play the whole album.  Aha! (more…)

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Champagne Jam 2022 (Brooklyn Bowl, The Foundry, Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 16-17, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Another Michael, Chmpagne Jam, Flycatcher, Joyce Manor, Kevin Devine, Lunar Vacation, Philadelphia, PA, Riverby, Shannen Moser, Slothrust, Soul Glo, Sweet Pill, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Front Bottoms, Titus Andronicus on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 17-18, 2022] Champagne Jam 2022

Every year for quite some time, The Front Bottoms have been doing a Champagne Jam at the close of the calendar year.  Brooklyn Vegan talked about in 2019:

The Front Bottoms‘ annual holiday concert Champagne Jam has taken place in NYC and NJ in the past, and this year it moves to Philadelphia. It happens December 21 (the Saturday before Christmas) at The Fillmore Philly Complex.

2022 saw them return to Philly, which has three venues all more or less connected.  I don’t know how the set times are structured–if there’s any way to see everyone (probably not).  But then again, I dind;t want to see everyone.

I bought my son and I tickets to the Saturday December 17 show figuring it was one last opportunity to see The Front Bottoms (since we kept missing them for one reason or another).  Then we wound up scheduling our own holiday jam for the same night.

So we weren’t going to go to the Friday night show anyhow, but here’s the full lineup:

Friday, December 16, 2022 in the Lobby

  • DJ Spicy Brown

Friday, December 16 2022 at The Foundry 

  • Flycatcher are from New Brunswick, NJ  According to The Deli
    • Flycatcher are a four-piece rock combo hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, three of whom have immaculately sculpted facial hair (well ok one of them has a bushy beard but still it’s neatly trimmed and shaped). On the musical side of things Flycatcher carry on in the fine tradition of immaculately sculpted extremely catchy power-pop-that-rocks made in the Tristate Area with oft-witty lyrics and a distinctly que será, será attitude as established by such legendary acts as Fountains of Wayne, The Feelies, The Smithereens, and the ripe-for-revival Cucumbers.
    • They sound like they are worth checking out–the one song I’ve listened to is pretty slackery.
  • Sweet Pill is an emo band from New Jersey. The band consists of vocalist Zayna Youssef, guitarist Jayce Williams, guitarist Sean McCall, bassist Ryan Cullen, and drummer Chris Kearney.  The video I watched for High Hopes was super catchy (and set in a bowling alley).
  • Another Michael is a band who have opened for a bunch of shows I haven’t gone to.  They play a kind of mellow indie rock with lead Michael’s vocals veering into R&B styles.  Not quite my thing.  But that’s only one dud in a bill I didn’t even think about going to.
  • Slothrust are from Boston.  In a review from The Revue (in Canada) from 2021, they talk about an evolving band:
    • In the 8 years we’ve been covering Slothrust, we’ve seen the band change a lot musically. They’ve shifted from the early days of jazz-infused grunge, which eventually grew into much bigger and less easy to classify sounds. Each record feels like a rebirth, from Everyone Else having a fine polish on that distinctive Slothrust sound but expanding on it at the same time. The Pact felt like an even more diverse records, with the band diving more into electronic sounds and even diving into poppier sounds. It set up any future releases nicely to dive even more into the trio’s widening approach. Their latest record, Parallel Timeline, heralds yet another rebirth of the band.  “Cranium” kicks off the record and immediately sets the tone. This is a slower Slothrust, as the chugging basslines and heavy drums are nowhere to be found. All the things that make Leah Wellbaum stand out as an artist, however, are on full display. Her voice, her surreal lyrics, and, at about halfway through the song, her guitar work. “Once More For The Ocean” hits a bit harder, kicking of with a ripping guitar solo, but it stays a bit in that pop realm with a bunch of sections that just beg to be sung along with.

Sounds like a really good night and some bands I should be on the look out for.

Friday, December 16, 2022 at Fillmore Philadelphia

  • Lunar Vacation I saw Lunar Vacation open for The Beths and they were great.  I’d happily see them again.
  • Emperor X is from Louisville, Kentucky (and presumably not the Emperor X from Berlin).  He plays a kind of low-fi pop that I see is described as a “bummer jam” which is absolutely not my thing.
  • Joyce Manor is a punk band from California who I always think are someone else.  Their latest album 40 oz to Fresno was described by The New York Times (!!!) as “relentlessly tuneful 17-minute collection of all-killer, no-filler power-pop.”  I rather like their clean punk sound.
  • The Front Bottoms are the stars of the night and the main attraction.  They were, no doubt fantastic, and I love that they give a lot of other New Jersey bands a platform.

Saturday, December 17, 2022 at Brooklyn Bowl

  • Shannen Moser I’ve seen Shannen Moser twice.  Her intense folk songs are quite good
  • Shane Henderson was the singer of Valencia and now does mostly production.
  • Tom May has “lived the dream” of being a full time, working, self-supporting folk musician.  Tom is also the founder and host of the nationally-syndicated live radio program, River City Folk.
  • Kevin Devine is someone I love and I was really looking forward to seeing his set–and hoping that it didn’t conflict with any of the other headliners.

Saturday, December 17, 2022 at The Foundry

  • Riverby are from Philly.  They are a fun indie rock band with a loose sound (and a cover of “Walk Through the Fire” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • Hotline TNT is the shoegaze/indie rock project of singer-songwriter Will Anderson (a.k.a. Flip Sandy). The project began after Anderson moved from Vancouver to Minneapolis. Now based in New York, Anderson still handles the songwriting himself and has played live shows with several different lineups.
  • Kid Sister is a rapper who has appeared with Sault.

Saturday, December 17, 2022 at Fillmore Philadelphia

  • Prince Daddy & The Hyena is an American rock band from Albany, New York, formed in 2014 described as indie rock with punk and “slacker” influences
  • Soul Glo is a band I really want to see. They are an extreme punk band and will probably scare the heck out of me.  It would have been safest to see them amid all of these other bands
  • Titus Andronicus is a band I should probably love, but I just can’t get into them.
  • The Front Bottoms headlining a second night.

This seems like a really fun festival.

Jordan Norris nicely posted a video of The Front Bottoms from both shows

Friday night:

Saturday night

Also

Also, The Flycatcher review had these two videos (because of a song called sodas in the freezer)

And a Shasta commercial

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Modest Mouse (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 15, 2022)

Posted in Mattress, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 15, 2022] Modest Mouse 

Last year, Modest Mouse was the first concert I saw after the pandemic. This year, Modest Mouse was the last concert I’ll see in 2022 (nothing dramatic about that, I just don’t have any more shows lined up until next year).

As I’ve said before, I wasn’t planning to see them.  In fact, I felt like I had seen them even more recently than last year.  But this was a special tour–the 25th anniversary tour of their album The Lonesome Crowded West, with a really stripped down band.  Last time I saw them, there were six people on stage (there were like nine the previous show).  This time it’s just a four piece: Isaac Brock and co-founder Jeremiah Green joined by (regular) bassist Russell Higbee and guitarist Simon O’Connor who played last time I saw them.

This meant a stripped down, really rocking show.  Which befits the far more stripped down and rocking sound of this earlier album. 

Normally I’m all about seeing the opening band.  But I’ve had a few liberating experiences lately where i have deliberately blown off the opening band and been pleased with the decision.  I hadn’t heard of the band Mattress.  I looked them up before the show and learned that Mattress is the project of Rex Marshall.  And that the act is pretty much Marshall wearing a gold lame suit and acting like an abrasive lounge singer.

I listened to a song online and decided that I did not need to stand through that.  Sidenote:  It reminded me a lot of Wetface the weird, is-it-a-joke band who opened for Built to Spill this summer.  I sat through that twice and consider that my penance.  (incidentally, I often think of Built to Spill and Modest Mouse in the same breath for some reason, so it’s interesting that they would have similar bands on this year’s tour).

So that mean I got to the Fillmore around 8:45.  The evening happened to be one of the rainiest nights in recent memory.  It rained hard.  All day.  I very much considered not going to this show because of the weather.  But I decided to go and drove through the terrible lashing rain.  I kinda thought that the rain might keep others away and, if I was arriving late, maybe I could get free parking at the the Fillmore lot.  Indeed no.  In fact, it was full.  So I went past the lot and immediately got lost in the bowels of the roads beneath 95.  Holy cow.  I drove for about 8 minutes in crazy rain knowing where I was but having not idea where I actually was.  I finally found my way to the casino for parking and hurries across to the venue only to find a lineup! (more…)

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Lemonheads (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022)

Posted in Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on December 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2022] Lemonheads

Back in 2018, I saw Evan Dando play a solo set in Jersey City.  It was him with an acoustic guitar and he played over forty songs.

It was a shambolic affair, but fun.  I didn’t really feel compelled to see him again, but I thought it would be fun to see him with a band.  And when he announced this 30th Anniversary of It’s a Shame About Ray, my favorite album of theirs, I grabbed a ticket.

Juliana Hatfield finished and didn’t really need to clear her gear (as we’ll see).  And yet for some reason, it took Evan and the other two guys almost 45 minutes to come out on stage.  

This wasn’t an auspicious sign.  I was actually 40% surprised the show hadn’t been cancelled outright.  But it sounds like Evan Dando has gotten his shit (somewhat) together, so maybe this is a new lease on life for him.  

Eventually the band came out on stage.  Bassist Farley Glavin and drummer Lee Falco came out first.  Then Evan came out on stage, grabbed an acoustic guitar and they launched right into “Into Your Arms.”  This is one of my favorite songs of the 90s–so sweet and delightful.  I had literally no idea that it was a cover until I was reading someone else’s review of this tour (it was written by Australian duo Love Positions (Robyn St. Clare (who wrote the song) and Nic Dalton).  It sounded like he hadn’t really warmed up yet and this was his way of easing into the show.  He didn’t hit any of the higher notes.  But he still wounded quite good. (more…)

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