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Archive for the ‘Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Lydia Persaud & Christine Bougie (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, December 3, 2022) [STARS]

Posted in Bahamas, Christine Bougie, Lydia Persaud, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Foundry, The Weather Station on December 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2022] Lydia Persaud & Christine Bougie

I have been a fan of Stars since about 2004.  I have wanted to see them for a really long time.  I thought I’d be able to see them last year on their Christmas Together Tour.  It was at LPR in New York (which is just too much of a pain to get to) and at World Cafe Live.  But it happened to be on the same night as our holiday party, so I couldn’t swing it.  I never guessed they’d do another one.  So this year I made sure to get tickets and schedule our party around this show.

I didn’t know who would be opening.  Technically, the opening act was just Lydia Persaud, but since it was just Lydia and her guitarist Christine Bougie, (and I’d never heard of either before) I’m listing them both here.

Lydia was speaking for herself, but I believe that they both play together in a lot of things.  Lydia has been a member of The Soul Motivators, The O’Pears and Dwayne Gretzky and she and Christine are part of the the Queer Songbook Orchestra.  

They played a jazzy set of remarkably sad music. (more…)

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Dinosaur Jr. / Guided By Voices / Eugene Mirman (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA, December 2, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bob's Burgers, Dinosaur Jr., Eugene Mirman, Guided By Voices, J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on December 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 2, 2022] Dinosaur Jr. / Guided By Voices / Eugene Mirman

I have seen Dinosaur Jr. three times and I don’t really need to see them again.  They were great but there’s not a lot new in the mix to make it worth the trip. And that’s fine.

Guided By Voices are supposedly the greatest (or at least the most prolific) indie band of the 90s. And I’ve never really gotten into them.  I like some of their songs just fine, but I feel like Robert Pollard plays two chords for 80 seconds and write some nonsense and there’s the new GBV song.

If I had seen them open for someone I’m sure I’d appreciate it, but they weren’t going to drag me to this show.

Eugene Mirman is a comedian and the voice of Gene on Bob’s Burgers.  I wanted to go to this show just for him.  But I didn’t.  Once again, though, I love a comedian opening for a rock band.

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Open Mike Eagle / Serengeti / Video Dave (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, December 2, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, Serengeti, Silk City, Video Dave on December 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 2, 2022] Open Mike Eagle / Serengeti / Video Dave

This was the first show I saw advertised at Silk City.  I was intrigued (I’m always intrigued by a new venue).

Open Mike Eagle is probably my favorite rapper at the moment.  His lyrics are clever and thoughtful with bite and I really enjoy the music he puts with the lyrics.

I was in a bit of a concert burnout by this time of year though.  December is not my favorite time of year to go to shows, so I never got tickets or anything.

This was Open Mike’s first tour in Philly since the pandemic, so I probably should have gone.  But I do hope he comes back (in the fall, maybe).

I have not heard of Serengeti and his bio says something like: a rapper from Illinois who has released many albums since the 2000s. His latest song is called “a okey test,” featuring sicker man, and is streaming now.

But this article from The Guardian makes him sound amazing: [some highlights here but the whole article is fascinating] (more…)

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Pond / Cryogeyser (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 1, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cryogeyser, Philadelphia, PA, Pond, Underground Arts on December 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2022] Pond [rescheduled from January 12]

I saw Pond back in 2018 at Union Transfer.  The show was really fun and the crowd was really intense.

I was surprised that they’d downgraded their tour to Underground Arts this time.

I’m not sure what didn’t inspire me about this show as my recollection of the previous show is petty positive.  And it has been four years.

Well, maybe next time the come I’ll go to that one.

Opener Cryogeyser says this about themselves on their bandcamp: “Three piece from Los Angeles. Cute.”

Flood Magazine writes that

 Distortion and reverb are their friends, but none of their music feels consumed or overwhelmed by such effects. A mix of dreampop, shoegaze, and grunge, the LA-based trio balance their stone-heavy rhythmic section of bassist Hunter Martinez and drummer McCoy Kirgo with the swirling melodies and heaven-reaching vocals of singer-guitarist Shawn Marom.

Their music is quite stark and spare, though for all the reverb.  There’s also a sense of 50s girl group about them.  I’d be curious to see how that translates live.

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Måneskin (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 2022)

Posted in Måneskin, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on November 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 29, 2022] Måneskin

Back in May of 2021 I was pretty excited that Måneskin won Eurovision 2021.  I am in no way a Eurovision watcher, but during the lockdown I decided to do some dives into recent Eurovision happenings.  Måneskin was unusual–a rocking band who were glammy but heavy.  Their song “Zitti E Buoni” had it all (in a tidy three minute package).

I enjoyed the song, played it a few times and then kind of forgot about them.

So it was weird when, a few months later, my daughter became obsessed with them.  I realized that in 2022, it’s easy to be obsessed with a band from a non-English speaking country, but it still made me happy because obviously I am obsessed with lots of bands from far away places.

Måneskin announced a small concert in October 2021 and I missed out on the announcement and it sold out very quickly.  That sucked because she would have loved to see them (and it would have been pretty cool to see them in a small club before they toured the States).

It took almost five months for Måneskin to announce a proper U.S. tour.  There was no way I could miss out on these tickets and I grabbed them immediately.  She was thrilled and I was pretty excited to see them as well.  I was somewhat surprised, but not really, that it sold out.  But I was a bit more surprised that they announced a second show in Philly.

That one didn’t sell out and as the show approached, the idea came to us to go to the non-sold out show instead.  There was also the possibility of a few her friends going to–we may have been our own crowd.  Various things came up and it turned out to be just my T, S and me.  But i did manage to sell our Monday tickets, so it worked out. (more…)

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Måneskin (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 28, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Måneskin, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on November 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 28, 2022] Måneskin

I bought tickets to this show back in march–the day they went on sale and old out.  My daughter and I were excited to go, although  wasn’t sure how much she’d enjoy a sold out show.

As the day grew closer, we thought it might be more fun to go to the second night–not sold out, tickets still available. I also bought one for my wife so the three of us could enjoy the show together.

I was able to sell these tickets and all was well.  We may have gotten more poseurs at our show, but it was still more fun.

~~

Back in May of 2021 I was pretty excited that Måneskin won Eurovision 2021.  I am in no way a Eurovision watcher, but during the lockdown I decided to do some dives into recent Eurovision happenings.  Måneskin was unusual–a rocking band who were glammy but heavy.  Their song “Zitti E Buoni” had it all (in a tidy three minute package).

I enjoyed the song, played it a few times and then kind of forgot about them.

So it was weird when, a few months later, my daughter became obsessed with them.  I realized that in 2022, it’s easy to be obsessed with a band from a non-English speaking country, but it still made me happy because obviously I am obsessed with lots of bands from far away places.

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The Menzingers / Touché Amoré / Screaming Females (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 25, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Screaming Females, The Menzingers, Touché Amoré on November 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 25, 2022] The Menzingers / Touché Amoré / Screaming Females

I have seen The Menzingers twice.  The first time I missed most of their set.  The second time I was in a terrible location and the sound was dismal.  I told myself that I really wanted to see one good set with them.

I had tickets to this show and then the Guster show came up.  So clearly we pick Guster over this. But when we decided not to go to Guster, I didn’t feel like going to this either.

I think I’m done with them.

I love the name Touché Amoré, although I don’t know much about the band.  This Pitchfork review of their album Lament, gives a fascinating look into the lead singer’s headspace.  Sounds like a pit was inevtiable.

Screaming Females is another band that I really liked for a pretty long time but I’m a little over at the moment.  Maybe I’ll come back to them again.

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Ty Segall / Charles Moothouse (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Charles Moothouse, Philadelphia, PA, Ty Segall, Ty Segall and the Freedom Band, Union Transfer on November 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 24, 2022] Ty Segall / Charles Moothouse

I have become a fan of Ty Segall in the last few years.  He releases far too much music to keep tabs on him, but I’ve wanted to see his fuzzed out live show for a while now.

He has been in Philly three times this year.  Once with his band Fuzz.  Next with the Freedom Band and now as an acoustic solo artist.

I was trying to slow my shows down a bit by the end of this year (I had seen so many!).  Plus, when I finally do get to see Ty Segall, I want it to be with a big noisy fuzzy band, not as an acoustic performer.

So, I opted to give this one a miss.  Wonder if I’ll regret it someday.

Charles Moothouse was an unfamiliar name to me, but that’s because I’ve never read Ty Segall’s liner notes.  Wikipedia tells me

Charles Frances Moothart is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. … Moothart is the drummer for Ty Segall’s current backing band, The Freedom Band. He was previously the guitarist for Segall’s backing band, the Ty Segall Band, and is the guitarist and vocalist in the pair’s hard rock project, Fuzz. Additionally, he is a member of Segall’s collaborative project with Ex-Cult’s Chris Shaw, GØGGS.

So, yea I guess they were a good match.

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Jinjer (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 23, 2022)

Posted in JInjer, P.O.D., Philadelphia, PA, Space of Variations, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts, Ukraine, Vended on November 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 23, 2022] Jinjer

I saw Jinjer almost exactly one year ago to the day.  It was also the night before Thanksgiving (that’s kind of weird, no?}

When they announced this show I bought a ticket immediately.  Last year, there was no war in Ukraine.  There was no crisis or concern.  This year, I wanted to support them and their country.  I didn’t even really pay attention to the rest of the bill.

P.O.D. (really?), Vended and from Ukraine, Space of Variations.

I didn’t want to see any of these other bands (well, maybe Space of Variations).  And I didn’t want to spend two and a half hours standing around listening to bands I didn’t really want to hear.

So I thought I might not go.  But I listened to some Jinjer and decided that I did want to see them after all.  Especially when I saw that they were playing “Pisces” on this tour (which they didn’t play for us last time). (more…)

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Suede (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 19, 2022)

Posted in Manic Street Preachers, Philadelphia, PA, Suede, The London Suede, The Met Philadelphia on November 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 19, 2022] Suede

When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight.  It was listed as a dual headlining show with the bands switching who would play first.  It just happened that we had Suede as the second band and I feel that, given how exciting Suede was, we saw them in the right order.

The first Suede album (or The London Suede, if you must) is one of my favorite albums of all time.  It’s glammy and trashy and catchy and wonderful.  Brett Anderson’s voice is unique and magnificent and Bernard Butler’s guitar work was like nothing else at the time.  When Butler left during the recording of their next album, it seemed like curtains for the band, but young guitarist Richard Oates stepped in and is a force unto himself.  I still think of him as the new guy, even though he’s been in the band for over twenty years.

Suede broke up in 2003 and I guess I lost touch with them.  But they reunited in 2010 and have been putting out new albums ever since.  Although I wasn’t really aware of these records–they really fell off my radar.  I had never seen Suede live (and they haven’t toured the States in something like twenty-five years).  I looked at their European shows and saw that they were playing a lot of songs from the new album.  But I hoped that they would throw a bone for the U.S. fans and play some oldies too.

The band came out and set up their first song, a lengthy instrumental opening.  And then Brett Anderson slowly marched out.  He shuffled and danced and was surprisingly goofy.  I evidently didn’t know anything about Suede’s live show, because I wasn’t expecting anything like the way Anderson bounced around, crawled on the floor, and, yes, climbed into the audience and sang with us.  It was awesome. (more…)

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