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Spoon (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 24, 2026)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, Squirrel Flower, The Beths, The Fillmore Philadelphia on June 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2026] Spoon 

This was my fourth time seeing Spoon, a band I’ve never been a huge fan of.  That sounds worse than I mean.  I’ve liked them for years and I like many many of their songs, they were just not one of the bands that I got really into.  And yet, I will see them all the time when they play because their live show is so good.

I can’t believe it’s been four years since they last came to Philly.  That time, they cancelled and rescheduled a concert in 19 days (and even had new T-shirts printed with the new dates!).

My wife came along with me for The Beths (which she loved) and was indifferent to Spoon.  She had seen them with me at the PNC Bank Center in Holmdel when they opened for Beck seven years ago.  I told her that they would be better and more fun in this setting and she agreed they were (at PNC they played when it was still light out).

Spoon was headlining, but they still played a shortened set.

I assumed that this tour was an opportunity to play the two new songs that they’d released not too long ago (and which WXPN loves).  But amazingly, they didn’t play either one!

Chateau Blues and Guess I’m Fallin In Love are great songs and would have been so much fun to hear live.  But instead, they opened with a song from their debut album, one I hadn’t heard yet.  If I thought The Beths’ crowd was excited, they had nothing on the Spoon fans, who went crazy for this old song.

We were nearest to Alex Fischel, who is so much fun to watch.  So much so, that singer Britt Daniel spends a lot of time watching him too.  It’s odd that Britt introduced Alex and drummer Jim Eno but not bassist Ben Trokan or multi-player Gerardo Larios.

I told my wife that she’d know a few of the songs because they do get a bit of airplay.  She knew (and really enjoyed) The Hardest Cut.

Spoon songs soun distinctly Spoon so even if you don’t know a song you’ll feel comfortable with it.   But my wife recognized I Turn My Camera On.  And I was psyched to hear My Mathematical Mind and The Way We Get By (the woman behind me–who screamed a lot–was also happy to hear that one and sang along for a bit, but not too much, thankfully).

Then they played two songs I hadn’t seen them play before–2 deep cuts from their second album.  They followed that with the amazing The Underdog.  Such a fun song.  It’s got horns on the record but the live version doesn’t miss them.

Britt is a really fun frontman–he points and smiles at people, he really engages with the audience.  I’ve no idea if he’s a nice guy or a cocky jerk, but he definitely enjoys himself on stage.  It’s pretty amazing that this is my fourth time seeing them and they played five (older) songs that I hadn’t seen them play before. And one brand new song Lose Control that hasn’t been released as a single yet. (more…)

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The Beths (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2026) [SPOON]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, Squirrel Flower, The Beths, The Fillmore Philadelphia on June 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 23, 2026] The Beths

I love The Beths and I’m thrilled that my wife does too.  This was her third (my fourth) time seeing them.  And the previous time was only six months ago (do they ever go back to New Zealand?)

This was a double headline show, which I tend to think sucks for everyone.  The bands don’t play a full 90 minutes (or more) and the fans don’t get a full show from either of the bands that they like.  But sometimes it works out okay.  We were hoping the show wouldn;t run too late as we were both pretty tired.  So, the fact that Spoon kept it pretty short was ok.

But honestly we would have loved a bit more of The Beths!

After Squirrel Flower, we moved up fairly close to the stage.  Then a nice tall man (from Matawan) told us to go in front of him. Which was so thoughtful.  Although if he did that for everyone, he’s be in the back row.

The couple in front of us was interesting.  She was a huge Beths fan and he…stood sideways for the whole show.  He faced he partner.  I looked at his shoes and indeed they were pointing to the side.  And he turned his neck for the entire show to see the band.  Why would anyone do that?

The tall guy next to me was totally into it, drumming along, make hand motions and singing (quietly) everything.  This was a pretty dedicated fan base–surely everyone there saw them in December too.

Because they weren’t full headlining, they kept things relatively tightly paced.  The show started like the last one with the fantastic Straight Line was a Lie which got everyone bouncing.  They followed it with the really fun No Joy which is especially fun because at two points song the song, Jonathan Pearce on guitar and Benjamin Sinclair on bass stomp on a little stomp rocket thing and penny whistles fly into the arm which the catch an proceed to play.

It was interesting that they played some songs that they didn’t play six months ago.  Like they played Knees Deep from Expert…  It’s a fun bouncy song (because they all are, right?).  Then they jumped back to Future Me, one of many songs that have wonderful backing vocals from Jonathan, Benjamin and drummer Tristan Deck.

Things shifted gears dramatically when Liz said she was going to sing the next song by herself.  She told us it was about her relationship with her mother, so it was clearly Mother, Pray for Me.  The thing I didn’t know about the song (or her) was that her mother is a devout Catholic Indonesian woman.  Liz was born in Jakarta and moved to Auckland at age four.  That made some of the lyrics even more meaningful.  This song is a surprise because it’s not poppy and punky, it is slow and beautiful.  And I am really surprised that she played it during this shortened set.  It stops all 0f the energy and, thankfully, the crowd is rapt.  It must be a very meaningful song for her to bare herself like this.

When it was over and she thanked everyone for being quiet (except two people who whooped?), Jonathan told us about a club in New Zealand that is right across from their studio and it’s about to close that very night.  They were trying to raise money for it and said that all profits from merch would go to the venue.  But they needed $150,000 by midnight.  And holy shit, they raised it (well, the club did, not The Beths alone–but “Auckland indie band The Beths were one of the almost 3000 donors, sending $9633.38 from the band and “the people of Philadelphia””.)  It was a pretty lengthy chat which meant that they didn’t get to do their usually fun introductory banter.  Although TRistan did give a plug for Ben’s wonderful blog breakfast and travel updates.com.

They touched on their previous album a couple of times with Best Left (not to be confused with Best Laid Plans) with that echoing pulsing guitar intro (some things are best left….to rot).  And then only one song from Jump Rope Gazers (the wonderful title track)–this is why a double headline show isn’t as much fun, only ten songs?

I was delighted that they played Metal, the recently ubiquitous single that is so much fun.  The melancholy Til My Heart Stops was followed by the similarly melancholy (but somehow bouncy and poppy) Little Death.

They ended the set with Expert in a Dying Field, another super fun and catchy song.  I felt that they had enough time to squeeze in the amazing I’m Not Getting Excited (it’s only like 2 minutes long) but they were done (and Ben says they removed all of their gear in 9 minutes).  It was a great set, marred only by the fact that I wished it was 45 minutes longer.

2025 2025 2023 2022
Straight Line Was a Lie ⇒ [2] Straight Line Was a Lie ⇒ Future Me Hates Me ¶ [2] I’m Not Getting Excited Ω
No Joy ⇒ [2]  No Joy ⇒ Knees Deep ⊗ Not Running  ¶
Knees Deep ⊗ [2] Silence is Golden ⊗ [2] Out of Sight Ω [2] Great No One 
Happy Unhappy  ¶ [2] Future Me Hates Me ¶ [3] A Passing Rain ⊗ A Real Thing [new]
Mother, Pray for Me ⇒ [2] Metal ⇒ Not Running ¶ [2] Happy Unhappy 
Best Left ⊗ [2] Til My Heart Stops ⇒ Best Left ⊗ Out of Sight Ω
Jump Rope Gazers Ω [4] Mother, Pray for Me ⇒ Dying to Believe Ω [2] Acrid Ω
Metal ⇒ [2] Your Side ⊗ I Want to Listen ⊗  Jump Rope Gazers Ω
Til My Heart Stops ⇒ [2] Uptown Girl  ¶ [2] Head in the Clouds ⊗ Uptown Girl 
Little Death  ¶ [4] Mosquitoes ⇒ Jump Rope Gazers Ω [2] When You Know You Know ¢/⊗
Expert in a Dying Field ⊗ [3] Ark of the Covenant ⇒ I Told You That I Was Afraid ⊗ Mars, the God of War Ω
Jump Rope Gazers Ω [3] When You Know You Know ⊗ [2] Whatever  ¶
Best Laid Plans ⇒ I’m Not Getting Excited Ω [2] Little Death 
Little Death  ¶ [3] You Wouldn’t Like Me ¶ Future Me Hates Me 
I’m Not Getting Excited Ω [3] Silence is Golden ⊗ River Run: Lvl 1 
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Hugh Martin cover) Expert in a Dying Field ⊗ Dying to Believe Ω
Expert in a Dying Field ⊗ [2] encore
encore You Are a Beam of Light Ω
Roundabout ⇒ [Roundabout replaced Take since roundabouts / traffic circles came up earlier in the show.  First time as closer.] Little Death ¶ [2]

⇒ Straight Line Was a Lie (2025) (played everything from it except Take)
⊗ Expert in a Dying Field (2022)
Ω Jump Rope Gazers (2020)
¶ Future Me Hates Me (2018)
¢ Demos 2014-2020

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Squirrel Flower (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2026) [SPOON]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, Squirrel Flower, The Beths, The Fillmore Philadelphia on June 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 23, 2026] Squirrel Flower

I saw Squirrel Flower open for Soccer Mommy back in 2021.  At the time I wrote that I found her solo stuff kind of dull, but then she brought a band out for the second half of her set and I liked the songs a lot more.

About mid way through I felt like they sounded like a slightly grungier version of Cowboy Junkies.  It was still a little slow for me but I enjoyed a few songs.

Despite enjoying a couple of songs, I didn’t feel compelled to see her again, especially since she was going on at 7.  So we left a little earlier than I would for an 8PM show and we arrived with Squirrel Flower starting her final song.  It was, like the others, very slow.  Here’s one thing I noted last time:

In an interview, she says that “Hurt a Fly” is her first ever Squirrel Flower song with key changes (!).

I believe it.  She did change her vocal note at some point in the song but it was mostly forgettable.  So I’m glad we didnt stand through 40 minutes of her.

 

(more…)

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An evening with Wilco (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, June 17, 2026)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Levitt Pavilion, Wilco on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 17, 2026] Wilco

This was my third time seeing Wilco.  I’ve been trying to see them again since 2021 but for some reason it never worked out.  In fact, I’ve been trying to see them a lot since 2016, but it never worked out until tonight.

SteelStacks outside is a fun venue and I grabbed a ticket for my wife and I.  The last time I saw Wilco it was a co-headlining tour with Sleater-Kinney, so their set was short.

But this time, it was just them, so they did two sets (although, somehow they played fewer songs than when I saw them ten years ago).

We arrived at SteelStacks wih plenty of time, but were kind of herded into the grassy area.  I didn’t even realize that they had a merch table.  I probably would have bough the poster (see below) so it’s probably for the best that I didn’t know about it.

This was my wife’s first time seeing them and I knew she’d enjoy the show, both for the songwriting and for the wildness (because Wilco may be dad-rock, but they absolutely crush thing live).

Wilco has been around forever, so they have a million songs to choose from.   It’s possible that you’re not going to hear your favorite song at any of their sets, but it’s pretty likely that you’re going to hear a bunch of your favorites–and some unexpected deep cuts.

I’m not a massive Wilco fan.  I enjoy most of their stuff, although I haven’t really listened to the two latest albums.  And, yea, I really start at around Summerteeth, but I could easily make an ideal setlist and this show covered most of it.

We got off to a great start with Handshake Drugs and If I Ever Was a Child.  Jeff was playing acoustic guitar and we were in front of Nels Cline (with a clear view of Glenn Kotche on drums).  They played a few newer songs that I didn’t know.  I was intrigued by the lyrics to Cruel Country, especially since the first line is cleanly stated–I love my country.  It’s hard to feel that way, but I guess it’s nice to be reminded that we could feel that way again.

It’s always interesting seeing what the crowd gets excited by.  I was really pleased to hear Evicted (I love that guitar melody); there was a huge reaction for I’m Always in Love, but an even huger reaction for Hummingbird.

I’d often wondered if Pat Sansone ever felt like Nels Cline gets all of the love (I didn’t realize they joined in the same year).  But at this show Pat had some absolutely stellar, showoffy guitar solos.  In fact, there were two extended jams in which he and Nels played off of each other.  It was really fun and the songs they chose to do them in were totally rocking so it just felt like a fantastic jam session.

Bassist John Stirratt has been with Wilco since the beginning and for this show, he sang a song that he wrote (and sang on) on the debut album.  The song was It’s Just That Simple, which I didn’t recognize, but it was fun to see Jeff on bass. (more…)

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The Fab Faux with the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, June 13, 2026)

Posted in John Lennon, Montclair, NJ, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Beatles, The Fab Faux with the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings, Wellmont Theater, Wings on June 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 13, 2026] The Fab Faux

I’ve said many times that I don’t do cover bands.  And yet, here’s another one.  Well, this one was different. There is literally no way to see The Beatles anymore and since my wife is a huge Beatles fan and a friend (who is in a different Beatles cover band) said these guys were great, I got tickets for us.

Recently The Fab Faux (a truly great name) played Abbey Road and a Hard Day’s Night in their entirety.  So I was psyched for an evening of Beatles music.  They even had Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings with them, so I imagined a chronological tour through the years of Beatles albums.

They opened with Got to Get You Into My Life and I was pretty impressed.  The vocals were really good and of course the musicianship was top notch.   They followed it with Savoy Truffle (in which they sing “creme tangerine”).  I recognized the music but not the words at all.  (It’s a late cut on the White Album, but I guess I never paid much attention to it.  My wife was pleased to hear it.

Then they played a song that neither of us really knew.  Junior’s Farm is a song by Wings and neither of us are big Wings fans, so…

But then they started playing some familiar songs–Back in the U.S.S.R.–and I was really blown away by how good their voices were–Paul and John were just perfect.  I loved Paperback Writer and Taxman and it was around this time that I noticed that the people in the front row (we were in the middle section) were going nuts.  Like nuts as if this were, not the actual Beatles, not that nuts, but like a super famous band of musicians.

Speaking of the crowd, when we sat down, a guy next to us had brought three inflatable cushions to sit on.  It looked like he had some kind of trouble walking, so I assume it was medical.  But this guy was in the front row and he was going to be easily six inches taller than he was meant to be.  They were in the wrong seat anyhow, and had to move, so I don’t know what happened after that.

They played It Don’t Come Easy (and the drummer sang this Ringo song).  I realized that I didn’t know this was a Ringo Starr song.  Huh.  And then a fantastic cover of I am the Walrus.  And then they played Jet by Wings.  Don’t get me wrong, it was fun hearing this song played live, but, seriously, what was with all of the spinoff songs?  (more…)

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Holy Wars (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026)

Posted in Hole, Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA on June 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Holy Wars

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to play some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons. I actually assumed that Oxymorrons was the headliner.  Especially when I went upstairs and saw that the Oxy drum were set up (and every band used them).  But Holy Wars were the headliner and the crowd that was there was really into them.

The guy who was in front of me was a huge fan of Holy Wars–he had gotten to the venue at like 4:30 and chatted with the band.  He must have been super psyched when lead singer, Kat, leaned right up to him during one of the songs and let him sing a line or two.

So Holy Wars is technically a duo of vocalist Kat Leon and Nicholas Perez on guitar.  For the live show they had a bassist and drummer too.  They’ve been around for a few years and have a few albums out.  Their style has changed pretty dramatically over the years.  Their earliest stuff is much less heavy.   And their middle stuff is more electronic.  But their newer stuff is guitar based and almost nu metal.  Kat seems to really get into this new style.

Kat is a great frontwoman–she clearly loves what she does and has a lot of fun up there.  The rest of the band didn’t do much, but I think all eyes are on her.  I gather that this was a tour to support their new album, the awkwardly named Shadow Work/Light Work, because they played most of it.

They opened with I Feel Everything the first proper song on their new album.  Kat has a few different vocal styles and I wondered if she was putting some kind of effect on her voice when there seemed to be some kind of echo during certain parts.  The song has a really heavy almost 5 string bass sound.  But what I thought was really cool was that their bassist was using a hollow bodied 4 string bass.  It looked huge and sounded really deep.  He also sang the occasional ugly backing vocals.

Their drummer, Johnny Tuosto was a beast back there.  I don’t know if he had effects on his drums, but his snare was occasionally so piercing.  He really added a lot to the sound.

They followed it with Kill the Light a song that switches between heavy parts and quieter moments.  It really showed off how diverse Kat’s vocals can be.  She dedicated Crucify to a lot of people they hate (she didn’t say names).  I enjoyed the slow, screamed chorus.  Then she said they would play some old songs.  (more…)

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Oxymorrons (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026) [HOLY WARS]

Posted in Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA on June 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Oxymorrons

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to playt some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons.  This was my third time seeing them and it was the best one yet.

My son and I saw them twice in a bout a year back in 2023.  Since that time they have been all over the world oening for everybody.  They have played to massive crowds.  And here they were playing for 100 people and they gave it 100%.

I had never been to Nikki Lopez before.  The place is SMALL.  So much so that everyone on stage was basically right in front of me.  And since both singers move around so much, they were within inches of me from time to time.  I am only surprised that they didn’t walk into the crowd–it was certainly logistically possible.

While guitarist Jafe Paulino was setting up, frontmen, Demi “Deee” and his brother Kami “KI” came bouncing up on stage.  They have so much energy and are so fun.

Last time we saw them their drummer was Matty Mayz. He has since left (to start a restaurant, I believe) and as of May, their new drummer is Amani Drums–and he was phenomenal.  Their  setup hasn’t changed since we saw them last.  One guitarist playing the riffs which belies how solid and huge they sound. With Amani on the drums, that’s all there is in terms of music (they definitely have some kind of backing music somewhere).  Their songs have big punk riffs that are catchy and powerful.  And that’s when Deee and KI come in.  The verses are rapped and the choruses are sung.  It’s not “rap rock” it’s an organic blend of punk and rapping that works perfectly, blending rap’s rage with punk rage.

When we saw them last time, they were just about to release Melanin Punk.  Since then, they’ve put out an EP

They opened with Justice, which is from their debut, has a cool riff, aggressive rapping and then a big ol chorus (I’m tired of justice, I’m tired of pain, the rain only washes a few of the stains).  They followed this with Green Vision.  I was worried that they’d only play songs I didn’t know since it had been a while, but these first two songs I’ve seen twice before–which was perfect for singing along.

They also played a few songs from Melanin Punk, including Head for the Hills which I hadn’t seen them play before.  I was surprised that their set was so short, but I didn’t realize that many of their songs are so short–everything is so intense and bouncy and exhausting that it feels like the songs are long.  But Melanin Punk is less than 2 minutes and Enemy (a fantastic song) is just over 2 minutes.  And I guess since Head for the Hills has a guest verse, they leave that one out, shortening the song live.

I had to laugh when I remembered that we were supposed to help out on Melanin Punk, by singing a “la la, la la la” part.  But that part is only in the intro, so we didn’t have to do it again.

I also loved that they are still telling the origin story of their name

They were thinking about names and thought that Oxymorons was a great name.  But they found out an old punk band already had the name.  So they contacted them and the old geezers said they would sell them the rights for $25,000.  So they decided to put a second R in their name because R’s are free.  They kept the $25K and copyrighted their new name.  So when they shout TWO R’s we shout NOT ONE!

Two R’s Not One–a catchy slogan and a way to not forget their name.

They played two songs from the 2025 EP.  The naughty, but fun Laughing While Crying and the ripping BLK SHEEP, which has the superfun sing along “fucking why not” at the beginning of each line.  And man the melody is so frikkin catchy.

I’ve liked Definition (which I’ve also now seen 3 times) from the first time I heard it.  A killer melody singing

Can’t define me
I am, who I am on my own
Don’t try me again
We are ’bout to take you to another level
If you weren’t ready, baby, you’re in trouble
Can’t define me, don’t try me again

They ended with Look Alive, a ripping song that ended with Jafe making all kinds of noise with his guitar against the speakers and the mic stand and anything else he could scrape it against.  And that was that.  Only a half hour but with 2 hours worth of sweat.

I know that they have played all over the place–and are currently playing the Warped Tour this weekend.  I am genuinely surprised they aren’t bigger.  Because they are one of the best live bands I’ve seen–especially if you see them from two feet away.

June 2026, Nikki Lopez January 2023, The Foundry March 2022, Union Transfer
Justice µ Intro Think Big µ
Green Vision µ Think Big µ Green Vision µ
Head for the Hills ♣ Green Vision µ Django µ
Melanin Punk♣ Ghost of Chuck Berry µ Definition µ
Laughing While Crying ∞ Enemy ♣ Happy Birthday to You
Deadass drum interlude Deadass Interlude Pretty People µ
Enemy ♣ Definition µ Justice µ
BLK SHEEP ∞ Melanin Punk ♣
Definition µ Django µ
justice interlude Pretty People µ
Look Alive (netic) ♣ Look Alive (Netic) ♣
Justice µ (with preceding interlude)
Encore
Lapdance (N.E.R.D. cover)

∞ Create, Destroy, Rebuild, Repeat EP (2025)
♣ Melanin Punk (2023)
µ Mohawks & durags (2021)

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Palinoia (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026) [HOLY WARS]

Posted in Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Palinoia

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to play some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons. A few days beforethe show, I received an email: IMPORTANT – Your upcoming event at Nikki Lopez Philly has changed.

Which was worrying.  But they just wanted to let us know that there was an opening act–Palinoia.  Here’s their deal

Palinoia is a post-hardcore/metalcore band from eastern PA and NJ, formed by lead vocalist Via Weiss, bassist Adam Tomcho, drummer Thomson Estabrook, and guitarist Kenan Salazar.  Palinoia [are] influenced by 2000s alternative metal, contemporary post-hardcore, and modern metalcore. Their sound is marked by heavy melodic riffs and searing vocal hooks.

And that’s pretty accurate.  They are a solid four piece.  Estabrook broke his snare drum after five songs (he had a replacement).  I was in front of Tomcho and I was happy to see that on a number of songs, he was playing some really cool bass lines.  He used a four string for most songs, but for one of them he switched to a five string and added a lot of cool riffs to the song.

Their first song was Harridan, their single. I was really impressed by Salazar’s guitar playing.  He had serious shredding chops, but he didn’t show off with them.  Some songs didn’t have solos, but the ones that did were really tasty.  Like in Lilith.  Lilith has some what I think of as chunky chords–heavy notes one or two at at time, which works well to transition parts of the song.  I also liked that this one had a cool bent note during the chunky part.

They played a cover song which I didn’t know (but she was sure everyone would).  I didn’t know it was a cover, but I assumed it was because it didn’t sound anything like their own stuff.  I don’t know Thrice at all, but it was catchy.

I actually thought the staccato chords and soaring chorus of Lay This to Rest were catchier than Harridan, but what do I know.

They slowed things down with Falling, a quieter song that allowed Weiss’ voice to be heard more clearly.  Since for the other songs everybody was really loud, I couldn’t tell how good her voice was.  Last December was similarly melodic with some more quiet moments–and the five string bass with some great bass lines.  Salazar switched to a seven string guitar for this song, too.

When they said they had only one more song, someone shouted, No Two!  And Via told us that they didn’t know any more.  They played their entire EP (but not in order) and one cover.  Scarlet Letter is a moodier piece that stretched out to nearly 6 minutes.  The middle section has some cool heavy riffs and guitar tricks that I rally liked.

It was fun seeing a brand new band.  I have no idea how many shows they’ve played out, but they sounded great.  And maybe this show will give them some more exposure.

June 2026, Nikki Lopez
Harridan ∞
Lilith ∞
Falling (Back to You) ∞
The Artist in the Ambulance (Thrice cover)
Lay This to Rest ∞
Last December ∞
Scarlet Letter ∞

∞ Palinoia EP (2026)

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Built to Spill (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, June 3, 2026)

Posted in Built to Spill, Guerrilla Toss, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 3, 2026] Built to Spill

Built to Spill is a fascinating band.  I’ve seen them seven times.  They change their setlist nightly which is awesome, and even some of the bigger “hits” don’t get played every show.  They didn’t play Carry the Zero the last time I saw them and there’s no song that they’ve played at every show (I Would Hut a Fly is pretty close).

So they are an indie rock band who tour a lot but who don’t put out a ton of new music.  And yet their fan base is devoted (and pretty obnoxious).  The age range is pretty broad, but there are a mix of twenty-somethings scattered in there who are awful–drunken bros and chatty girls.  The girls next to me couldn’t stop talking and taking pictures of each other and the bros at the bar were audible during the quiter moments–one of them even said something about the bass player which was borderline salacious.

This is the third time I’ve seen the band with this lineup: Melanie Radford on bass and Teresa Esguerra on drums.  It’s the most times I’ve seen them with the same players.  And they have really been gelling.  Onec of the most fun parts of the shows is when Dug does a lengthy improvised solo and Melanie steps back and looks over at Teresa and they smile and get into a tight groove.  It’s great!

Teresa plays in Prism Bitch who opened for BtS back in 2019 and Melanie Radford plays in Blood Lemon who opened for BTS in 2022.  As a trio, they are fantastic.  A friend of mine says he misses the larger band, and yea, it is cool when there are two guitars playing off each other, but this format give Dug a lot of space to play around.

Every setlist is different, even from show to show.  I’m intrigued, though, that they never play songs from Ancient Melodies of the Future (I’ve only seen them play one song from that record).  But as for the other albums, he mixes it up.  And tonight’s show started with Some Other Song and Spiderweb.  The crowd was really loud after his solos–I’m fascinated that there’s so many people who enjoy jammy guitar solos.

I was psyched to hear The Plan, a personal favorite.  It was followed by The Wait which I haven’t seen them play since 2019.

By this time I was getting really annoyed by the girls near me.  They were talking so much.  And I wanted to let it not bother me but they were so annoying.  But they were also apparently really into the show.  They were excited by Center of the Universe, but I have to wonder what songs they really like.

They started Tomorrow, a song I had not heard them play before and a guy at the far left of the crowd shouted They’re Playing My Song!  And he bounced his way to the middle right in front of me, obnoxiously singing and facing everyone until he pushed his way to the barrier ans shouted along. Security came a few moments later and the loud girls next to me started shouting No No, He didn’t…  whatever.  At that point I had to leave the area because I hated everyone.  I was glad my wife hadn’t come because the crowd was awful. (more…)

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Guerilla Toss (Asbury Lanes, June 3, 2026) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Built to Spill, Guerrilla Toss, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 3, 2026] Guerilla Toss

Back in December, Built to Spill and Guerilla Toss played a show at Union Transfer.  I was really excited to go, but it was right after my surgery so I couldn’t make it.  I was especially bummed because I have wanted to see Guerilla Toss for a while.

So it’s awesome that they continued the tour together this summer.

I had heard a lot about Guerilla Toss’ live show and how wild it was.  Reviews I’ve read suggest that back in 2014, Guerilla Toss was a wild band with nudity and short sets.  They have now become far more traditional, but they are still plenty weird.  It’ sjut that now there are catchy, danceable moments within the noise.

So, this show wasn’t particularly wild, but the songs were great and weird and singer Kassie Carlson is a wonderful presence onstage (with great vocal dynamics).  She has a diverse delivery style, sounding at times like the B52s, but also making some fascinating squeaky sounds.

Their bassist Zach Lewelleyn has some fantastic bass lines in the songs.  He’s also either really tall or playing a fairly small bass guitar.  Guitarist Arian Shafiee (who founded the band) plays equally weird riffs and chords.

I couldn’t really see Peter Negroponte (another co-founder) on drums, but he did sing backing vocals a lot. (more…)

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