[ATTENDED: November 19, 2022] Manic Street Preachers
When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight.
I saw the Manic Street Preachers 23 years ago. And while I haven’t kept up with their releases, I have listened from time to time. But their albums from the 1990s are some of my favorites of the era. And I have never seen Suede and their debut album is one of my favorite albums ever. They haven’t toured the US in about 25 years. I bought a pit ticket and was pretty psyched.
I was quite surprised to find out that it hadn’t sold very well. But the people around me were super into the show and knew every word to every song (which is more than I knew).
My favorite two MSP albums are Everything Must Go (1996) and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998) and they started off with a song from Truth, the roaring “You Stole the Sun from My Heart.” The followed it right up with “Everything Must Go.” I was so excited to find out that James Dean Bradfield still sounded amazing. He hit some great high notes and was full of power. Their touring musician (whose name I didn’t catch) added some nice deep backing vocals to the songs.
I was more or less in front of bassist Nicky Wire who was pretty chill–although he did wear a boa for one song. He used to wear dresses or skirts, but he was just wearing a MSP T-Shirt. He said a few things (he is known to be controversial), but I didn’t really understand anything he said. (more…)
When Mercyful Fate announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. They were one of my favorite metal bands back in high school. I listened to their two albums constantly. My friend Joe and I used to jam to them, learning how to play fast metal.
They basically broke up in 1985 and lead singer King Diamond went solo. He was the main focus of the band for me, so I followed his career for an album or two then gave up on the whole thing.
I had no idea they’d reunited in the 90s and released a bunch of albums.
But after their 1999 album Mercyful Fate went on hiatus again. And now, here they were back together after 23 years. Well, sort of together again. The new lineup features two of the five original dudes. The King of course and original guitarist Hank Shermann. Then there are some dudes who joined them for the mid 90s reunion drummer Bjarne T. Holm and guitarist Mike Wead. The final piece was supposed to be Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera, but he was off playing with Armored Saint. So they found Becky Baldwin, who has been on a dozen albums by bands I don’t know. But she totally kicked ass on stage and frankly it was nice to have a female presence on stage.
After Kreator was gone, we all rushed the stage and waited. There was some turmoil as a big dude seemed to be lurking and lurching at the women in the audience. I anticipated trouble, but none was had. And then people started pushing . Really hard. Because the pit was being formed. So I was far from where I started but still plenty close enough.
As with Kreator, I thought that the sound was too loud. But that compliant is more for the fidelity of the music than the actual volume. It felt like the music was very crackly and I actually thought it sounded better with earplugs in. I also thought it was very un-Mercyful Fate like to play lead guitar in a baseball hat and sunglasses, but such is Hank Shermann’s deal I guess.
But honestly who cared as long as the music sounded good and that King Diamond could still do his magic.
They opened with “The Oath” and I was immediately transported back to 1985. The riffs were spot on and, amazingly King Diamond sounded just as unholy and insane as always.
The stood at the top of the stage–there was a balcony over the drum riser with stairs leading to the stage–in front of a “marble” room. He wore a giant horned mask and a red robe. And of course his face was painted white. And he had his femur bone/cross/microphone. The song started, the recognizable riff blasting through the speakers, and the King’s unholy falsetto soaring through the crowd: “I deny Jesus Christ.”
Yup, the giant floating upside down cross and goat’s head pentagram weren’t the only thing Satanic about this meeting. It was followed by a song from their debut EP, “A Corpse Without Soul.”
I wasn’t really sure how many people liked Mercyful Fate. I mean, I know they are hugely influential (Metallica covered them after all), but who knew if that translated into actual fans. But not only were there a lot of people there, most of them seemed to know all the words.
They played a new song, but I didn’t really care all that much about it. I haven’t listened to anything past 1985 by them and doubt that I will. It seemed to be a historical, rather than a Satanic song. Between these three songs, it had been over twenty minutes already!
By this time, the King had gone up to the room and removed his horns. He came back with the crown that he wears for most of the show.
And then they moved onto a song from Melissa. It quickly became clear that I know Melissa a bit better than Oath, because every note of “Curse of the Pharaohs” was instantly familiar. King Diamond hit those insanely high notes of the chorus with no trouble. It was almost shocking how short the song is when compared t o the others.
King Diamond was pretty fun and funny throughout the show. He invited us to “A Dangerous Meeting.” They followed that up with “Doomed by the Living Dead,” another deep cut that shows a really catchy chorus.
I was pretty delighted that this tour was pretty much all classic songs–no 90s songs at all. I wouldn’t exactly say hit after hit, but for a fan of those two records it felt like hit after hit.
Then it was on to a whole bunch of songs from Melissa. They played pretty much all of the album (skipping “Into the Coven” and “At the Sound of the Demon Bell”).
The King climbed up to his room as Hank and Mike played the opening guitar riff and solo of “Melissa.” King came out and knelt in front of the pentagram as he crooned the opening words. I’ve listened to this song so much, I knew everything that was coming. It was pretty awesome.
They followed it with the remarkably short “Black Funeral” and then the album opener “Evil” which I swear EVERYONE sang along to (except the high notes, thankfully).
The final song of the set was “Come to the Sabbath” (which he of course invited us to).
I knew they were playing “Satan’s Fall” on this tour and I was unreasonably excited to hear it. I didn’t know if there was anything else I especially wanted to hear. “Nuns Have No Fun” would have been a hilarious addition, but I didn’t expect it. And quite frankly, I was happy for the show to be relatively short.
So after an encore break, the band came out and began the epic journey. It was crazy hearing that riff, hearing that voice (even if I had no idea what the words actually were), and feeling everyone moshing and slamming and singing around me. If I had been 15, it would have been the greatest moment of my life, I’m sure.
The song was epic and they finished it and we all went crazy.
Then the band gathered near the front of the stage and it was very funny to see King Diamond smiling and waving to people.
There were actually some dudes shouting “one more song” as if a) you could top “Satan’s Fall” and b) you could actually tell King Diamond what to do.
Markit Aneight posted a full video of the show
The Oath Ø
A Corpse Without Soul ¥
The Jackal of Salzburg [new]
Curse of the Pharaohs ϖ
A Dangerous Meeting Ø
Doomed by the Living Dead ¥
Melissa ϖ
Black Funeral ϖ
Evil ϖ
Come to the Sabbath Ø
encore
Satan’s Fall ϖ
new song 2022 Ø Don’t Break the Oath (1984)
ϖ Melissa (1983) ¥ Mercyful Fate EP (1982)
I found out about Starcrawler in 2018, a few months after they played their first Philly show at Johnny Brenda’s. They had also played the Non-Commvention a few months later, which where I decided I really wanted to see them live.
Their stage show was supposed to be insane with lead singer Arrow de Wilde being a force to be reckoned with (who seemed to always end up bloody–fake or otherwise). I was super excited to see them open for The Distillers in 2019, but Brody Dalle hurt her back during warm up and the show was cancelled a few minutes before the show started. Later Distillers shows had other opening acts.
They played a show in 2019 at Boot & Saddle, but I had other plans for that night. Then they were supposed to open for Red Fang in 2021, but that show was cancelled. So, basically, I’ve been wanting to see them for a pretty long time.
I actually don’t know a lot of their songs. I absolutely love two of them, but as for the rest, I was there more for the spectacle than the actual songs. I was concerned that the 2022 Starcrawler would be different from the 2018 version. And, well, it was. This version of the band is all dressed up in tuxedos. Not a drop of blood to be seen. (more…)
Vixen was (I see is) a glam metal band from the late 80s. They broke up in 1992 and then reunited with crazy drama) and are still active.
Vixen77 are a Philadelphia punk band. They chose the name Vixen77 as a reference to the energy and the musical influence of late 70’s punk. The band consists of guitarists Caitlin and Liz (I’m not sure who was who, but one of them was wearing a Flyers sweater and lost her glasses twice during the set! I think it was LIz), bassist Jaz, drummer Sarah, and singer Samantha,
The band came out on stage and proceeded to rock their asses off. It was a solid set of simple, fast, angry rockers.
Samantha has a great stage presence (the day-glo hair was a nice touch) and even though she screamed and snarled, she had a really powerful voice and could hit some pretty high notes. Both guitarists sang backing vocals, although Liz sang most of them–and she had a powerful voice too.
I couldn’t really see Sarah on drums, but when I did she was smiling the whole time. Jaz on bass hung in the back (but that may have been due to the size of the stage) and while she didn’t do anything fancy, for a couple of songs she had a nice rumbling solo section that kept the song rollicking on. (more…)
[ATTENDED: August 30, 2019] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020 and again on October 23, 2021]
After the previous King Gizzard show in this very venue, I was all set to wait in line for this one. People arrive very early for the merch. But when I got there (close to 8), there was no line to get in. That’s because the merch line was (once again) insanely long. It went almost to the stage. In fact, it was unclear who was on line and who was just milling about. Well, even though I would have liked a poster, I certainly didn’t need to wait in that line (or spend $50).
The show started very late. While waiting last time, I felt a sense of existential “what’s the point” last time, and I kind of felt this this time. It’s crowded, it’s hot, we’re just standing here.
And then they came out and all was forgotten. They launched into Oddlife. By the way, the band has released six albums since the last time they played here, so who knew what was coming. This song featured the “Flying Microtonal Banana” guitar, so there was bound to be a couple more microtonal music.
Up next was “Billabong Valley” on which Ambrose sang (and played guitar).
At some point, all the yahoos who were hanging back started pushing in trying to get into the center for the inevitable pit. I was really blown away last time at how mobile the KGATLW crowd was. Slamming, pogoing, bouncing, just full body contact everywhere. We were all pushed way away from our original position.
After the looming fun of “K.G.L.W.” Stu switched guitars to his new inverted flying V. Although they had played songs from Infect the Rat’s Nest last time, this time they played two different songs from it, and they inserted the thrashing “Predator X” from Omnium Gatherum which fit perfectly.
Then things slowed down immensely for the mellow acoustic vibe of “Her and I,” the final song on I’m in Your Mind Fuzz.
So far, “Billabong Valley” was the only song they’d played for me before.
Then they began “Crumbling Castle” and the fans went nuts. It’s one of my favorite songs, but I didn’t know it was everyone’s favorite song (who knows with KGATLW–they have 22 albums out). “Castle” and “Her and I” take about 20 minutes alone, and this show was turning from a headbanging ball into a jam fest. Especially when it segued into “The Fourth Colour” also from Polygondwanaland/
Then Ambrose said it was time to dance as they played King Gizzard’s rap song “The Grim Reaper.” There was much dancing and waving. And then they segued into “Ice V” the only song from the three albums that they released in October. It’s probably my favorite track on Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.
Then they called Leah Senior out and she began reciting some of Altered Beast with Leah doing the narration. In 2018, they had played us Alter Me I and Altered Beast I. This time it was Alter Me III and Altered Beast IV It was like the ended the story four years later.
They ended with “Evil Death Roll” a rollicking good time from Nonagon Infinity. They jammed this out for a pretty long time, throwing in teases from other songs.
Comparing this show to previous shows, the number of songs in significantly lower. But they really jammed out some songs in the middle, giving this a more psychedelic feel than previous shows. This in no way stopped the crowd from pushing and shoving and surfing. Indeed ,some guy was just pushing me, for no reason that I could see–quite hard too–until I asked him to switch places with me. Which he did.
Despite how much I love them, I decided that I don’t think I’ll be seeing them again. The crowd is just not my crowd. Unless they play somewhere else (but there’s really nowhere bigger than Franklin Music Hall) and they keep selling that venue out pretty easily.
Markit Aneight had a much better view than me and filmed the whole show
Franklin Music Hall October 22, 2022
Franklin Music Hall August 30, 2019
Union Transfer June 18, 2018
Oddlife ∑
Planet B ℜ
Digital Black ⊗
Billabong Valley ⇔
Perihelion ℜ
Vomit Coffin ⊗
K.G.L.W. £
The Great Chain of Being Ω
The Lord of Lightning ⊗
Mars for the Rich ℜ
Stressin’ ℘
Cellophane β
Predator X Ø
I’m in Your Mind β
Alter Me I ⊗
Organ Farmer ℜ
I’m Not in Your Mind β
Altered Beast I ⊗
Her and I (Slow Jam 2) [Iron Lung tease] β
Cellophane β
Evil Death Roll ∝
Crumbling CastleΔ
I’m in Your Mind Fuzz β
Billabong Valley ⇔
The Fourth ColourΔ
The Balrog ⊗
Nuclear Fusion ⇔
The Grim Reaper Ø
Acarine €
Rattlesnake ⇔
Ice V ¥
Murder of the Universe ⊗
All Is Known Ω
Alter Me III (with Leah Senior) ⊗
The Bird Song €
Crumbling Castle Δ
Altered Beast IV (with Leah Senior) ⊗
Let Me Mend the Past ∼
The Fourth Colour Δ
Evil Death Roll ∝
(Altered Beast & Hypertension teases;
contained elements of Invisible Face)
[ATTENDED: October 22, 2022] Leah Senior [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020 and again on October 23, 2021]
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard created a record label (Flightless) and they released Leah Senior’s latest album.
I had listened to Leah Senior when it was first announced that she was going to open for them on the tour. I think her new album wasn’t out yet, because I found what I heard to be fine, decent folk music.
Or as NME says:
Her first two albums, 2015’s ‘Summer’s On The Ground’ and 2017’s ‘Pretty Faces’, are sparsely arranged folk records – usually just Senior and her guitar, maybe a bit of piano – with songs she says were often born from anguish. But on ‘The Passing Scene’, Senior moves away from the sounds of early Joni Mitchell to something echoing the late-’60s, jazzy, jam-band sound of Karen Dalton’s ‘In My Own Time’. Senior says she approached recording with a sense of playfulness for the first time.
Because live, these songs were delightful! Fun and bouncey with a fantastic band and, the killer ingredient: backing vocals by her sister, Andi. Together the two of them sang beautiful harmonies.
I expected to like her set, but I was enchanted by it. By her voice, by the way her band fleshed out these songs and by the overall vibe she generated. She played guitar for the first few songs and then switched to piano/keyboards for the rest.
I was less enchanted by the loud dude near me who felt compelled to talk a lot about which King Gizzard albums he had and how much he hated baseball and how mean the Aussies were during the lockdown. Fortunately, the person he was talking to moved away from him and he was left talking to no one and we all enjoyed the last few Leah Senior songs ever the more.
I couldn’t see her all that well–a wall of KGATLW fans were in my way, but her voice soared over any obstacles.
I saw Stereolab for the first time back in 2019 (after they had been away from Philly for 11 years). I was a fan since the early 90s but had never seen them.
I really enjoyed the previous show–it was everything I wanted. When they announced a new 2022 tour I wasn’t sure if I needed to go. But I figured, why not?
Like last time, the Groop’s was set up in a half circle with Tim Gane on guitar to my far left and Lætitia Sadier singing, playing keys and guitars on my far right. In the middle from left to right was drummer Andy Ramsay, keyboardist Joe Watson (with a giant Fender Rhodes), and bassist Xavier Muñoz Guimera.
As I mentioned for Fievel is Glaque, the crowd was really annoying. I’m not sure what half of these people were doing here. Do drunken college girls in 2022 like Stereolab? Are they all over TikTok? (No, apparently).
Of course, I felt like a poser myself because I didn’t know most of the songs. Stereolab has put out a ton of records and even more compilations of one-off singles. And, like last time they played three songs from one of these compilations (which I haven’t listened to in forever).
Last time, they played the bulk of their songs from their albums that came out in the 1990s, with a few from the 2000s sprinkled in. This time it was a lot more “recent” stuff. I was sure they’d throw in a few songs I knew, but it wasn’t until “The Free Design” that I recognized a song. They playe da few thigs from Dots and Loops, and usually a hugely long song would have me really excited, but I didn’t recognize “Refractions in the Plastic Pulse” which runs 17 minutes on the record (I feel like I should have been super excited for this song but I really wasn’t).
And then the set jumped between rare stuff and “newer” songs. I just wasn’t feeling it.
Perhaps it was me, or the crowd around me rubbing me the wrong way. Whatever the case, I just didn’t enjoy this set as much as I thought I would. The band sounded great. Although I did notice that I wasn’t as blown away by the bass like I was last time (song choices or mixing levels, I guess,, because I’m sure Gimera was great. I also felt like Tim Gane wasn’t quite as much of a maniac as he was last time–I feel like I was less awed by his playing than I was last time.
Lætitia Sadier sounded great. In fact everyone sounded good, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Or maybe I just like Union Transfer better than Franklin Music Hall (I do).
Sadier told us they were playing a special encore for us. A song they hadn’t played since 2001. I was pretty excited, except when they started it, I didn’t know it. Well, actually I did know it because it came from Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, which I know I’ve listened to. But apparently not all that much.
The second encore was French Disko, one of only two songs that they played last time. Normally I love when a band plays a wholly different setlist for a show, but this one went so far into the obscure that I was really excited to hear the two dupes. “French Disko” is super fun song and I did really enjoy that one.
They ended with a song that they released with Nurse with Wound which I didn’t know. That segued into another obscure song. And the night was over.
I’ve enjoyed Stereolab as background listening and as foreground listening. Generally speaking anything they play is cool with me. But I think a lot of factors made this show really less than enjoyable.
I’m sure there are many fans who would look at this setlist and tell me how jealous they were. But I was getting a little nervous because this was two shows in a row that I had been really looking forward to from which I came away feeling meh.
Although here’s a video from Markit Aneight of the whole show. So maybe if I watch it again I’ll enjoy it more
[ATTENDED: September 23, 2022] Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets [rescheduled from January 25, 2021]
Back in 2019 I saw Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets play old, obscure and unpopular Pink Floyd songs. And it was awesome.
When he first came up with the idea:
Mason says he wished to revisit songs that were staples of early Pink Floyd shows from 1969–1972, as well as other songs that were never performed live by Pink Floyd during this era. Mason said the group was not a tribute band, but that they wanted to “capture the spirit” of the era. And they were going to play some of “Atom Heart Mother,” my personal favorite.
The band would consist of (and still does) Dom Beken on keys, Lee Harris and Gary Kemp on guitars and vocals, and long time Pink Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt (man, he has played with EVERYBODY) on bass and vocals.
I enjoyed the Met Philly’s experience. But this time the show was going to be at the Miller Theater, part of the Kimmel Music Center complex. Although I was quite far back and I said
I didn’t get a close seat because I didn’t really think it would be worthwhile. But if he tours this show again (maybe with one or two different songs?) I would see them again, but I’d be much closer.
But this time, I decided to get even further away (sort of). I grabbed a seat in the top tier (4th balcony), but in the front row. I had a GREAT view! Until I realized that the metal safety bar was EXACTLY at my eye line when I sat back. So I had to lean up or down to see the whole stage. (more…)
[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Natural Information Society
Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music.
So when he announced a tour that would be culminating at Union Transfer, obviously we were going to go. I’m a fan of the opener Chastity Belt, but I was bummed that they weren’t opening our leg of the tour. So that left two possibilities for us: Sun Ra Arkestra or Natural Information Society.
I had seen Sun Ra Arkestra and enjoyed their wild free jazz craziness. I knew S. wouldn’t like them. But it turned out that the question was moot because I was taking my daughter to another show on the Sun Ra night anyhow. So Natural Information Society it was.
I had never heard of them and had no idea what they were like. (more…)
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Deftones / Gojira / VOWWS [rescheduled from August 22, 2020 and August 27, 2021]
I was pretty excited to see this Deftones show. But I was even more excited when my son said he wanted to go to the show with me. Well, it had sold out a long time ago and I couldn’t get a Pit ticket for a reasonable price. I didn’t want my son to be in the balcony while I was in the pit. But I also didn’t want the reverse.
But then, what happened was that I got a ticket to see Beach Bunny across town on the same night. And so, my daughter and I went to the Beach Bunny show and I gave my son the Deftones ticket. Yes, he would be by himself in the pit.
The timing actually worked out just fine, because while Wednesday bailed on our show, VOWWS bailed on their show. This meant I had to do some mathematical time keeping to see if I’d have to leave Beach Bunny early to get him so he wasn’t hanging around on the streets of Philadelphia.
But it turned out that his show ended almost exactly the same time as our show. Since our show was only ten minutes away, there was still plenty of foot traffic when I went to go get him.
He said the show was great. And Markit Aneight kindly recorded the entire Deftones set.
~~~~~~~
I was pretty excited to see this show this summer. It turned out, however, that the show was the night that we returned home from vacation. Ie, it would have been a pretty exhausting day. So, the fact that Deftones decided to postponed until May was fine with me.
I’m bummed that Poppy is no longer part of the tour because I’d really like to see her. But she is now headlining her own tour–which I don’t really want to see. I’m not sure a full show of hers would be that much fun. But hey, maybe she’ll be back on board
~~~
I saw Deftones at a lousy location (Sands Bethlehem hall), but it was one of my favorite shows that year. The crowd was pushy and shovey, but Chino came within five feet of me and the energy was amazing.
Plus at the end of the show, when a roadie threw out a drumstick, I actually got it.
I knew I’d want to see them at least one more time, but wow was I surprised to see that they were going to play The Met in Philly, which I think of as a more “delicate” hall. I’d be slightly afraid for the seats at a Deftones show.
The opening acts were really intriguing as well.
Gojira area French heavy metal band whose 2012 album I loved. Heavy and very technical I’d imagine they put on a great show.
Poppy is an absolute mystery. She’s an internet creation whose every song is is a different genre. Her latest album was really really heavy but with that fake internet sheen on it (in a Babymetal kind of way but less sincere, if that’s possible). I’ve been intrigued by here since I first heard about her, but I wouldn’t want to see her show if she was headlining. This seemed like a great way to experience her weirdness. I hope that she is still on the bill next year and that she is still into metal, otherwise it could be kind of awkward.
I really thought that this show at the end of August might go on but on May 19, they sent this note.
Due to the current regulations, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we must reschedule our North American summer tour dates with special guests, Gojira and Poppy. We’re currently rescheduling the dates for 2021, and you’ll be the first to know once they are confirmed. All tickets will be honored or refunded upon our next announcement regarding the tour.
I’m glad they are promising to come back And by then, their new album (due in September) will be familiar to all of us.
When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight.
I Just Read About That... 