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Archive for the ‘2nd Grade’ Category

Remember Sports / 2nd Grade (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, July 25, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in 2nd Grade, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports on July 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 25, 2023] Remember Sports / 2nd Grade

Remember Sports is a Philly band who I instinctively didn;t like because of their name.  Then I heard them and fell in love with them.  Their off-kilter indie rock and wild vocals are just so much fun.

I really wanted to see them live.

And then Phish announced that their summer shows would be that night and the following night.  When I actually wound up with a seat for the first Phish night (instead of lawn) which was the 25th, well, it was hard to pass that up.

I hope they do another tour before too long.

I saw 2nd Grade open for Charly Bliss back in April and really enjoyed their set a lot.

They are a gentle boppy indie pop band.  Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name).  Most of the songs are around two minutes.

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Charly Bliss (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2023)

Posted in 2nd Grade, Charly Bliss, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on April 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 24, 2023] Charly Bliss

This was my third time seeing Charly Bliss.

This was their first headlining tour in three years.  It made me wonder what they’ve been doing, but I see they have been playing shows in the meantime.  Nevertheless, this one sold out immediately.

The last time I Saw them, I marveled at Eva Hendrick’s energy–she pogoed throughout so many songs.  The whole band was great and that was the case at this show as well.

They played a kind of greatest hits.  Six songs from their debut and six from their follow up.   The rest of the set was filled out with an oldie and four brand new songs.

Spencer Fox on guitar also seems to really enjoy himself–doing fun poses and dances while playing.

He and Eva also have an amazing rapport, especially when she plays guitar and they jam with each other.

Drummer Sam Hendricks is spot on, keeping these songs moving perfectly and bassist Dan Shure contributes lots of keyboards to flesh out the songs.

But really all eyes are on Eva.  She is a bundle of energy–in the way she sings so intensely and the way she dancey and smiles when she’s not singing.

Her outfits are often very interesting too.  Last time I saw the, she was wearing a skirt made of feathers.  This time it was a kind of Chain Mail made of little rubber (?) tchotchkes.   I saw kitty cats and dogs and letter and all kinds of things.

They seemed super psyched that we came out for (and sold out) the show.  She said she wasn’t sure if anyone still cared about them.  But we sure did.

For an encore, they showed their appreciation the only way they knew how–by playing a cover song t hat everyone knew but me: A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton whom I’ve ever heard of. But the song was fun anyhow.

They ended with “Julia” and with Spencer and Eva on their knees on the floor totally jamming out.

It was a ton of fun.  And I’m glad I was able to get a ticket.

April 24, 2023 November 14, 2019 October 8, 2018
Urge to Purge $$ Capacity ¥ Westermarck ⊗
Capacity ¥ Hard to Believe ¥ Scare U ⊗
DQ ⊗ The Truth ¥ Heaven $
Westermarck ⊗ Threat $ Gatorade ⊗
Chatroom ¥ Glitter ⊗ Ruby ⊗
Nineteen ** Supermoon $ Supermoon
Percolator ⊗ Camera ¥ Percolator ⊗
Heaven $ Ruby ⊗ DQ ⊗
Ruby ⊗ Heaven $ Black Hole ⊗
Black Hole ⊗ Under You ¥ Glitter ⊗
Boyfriend  ** Hurt Me ¥
UDK ** Bleach ¥
Calling You Out ** Blown to Bits ¥
Hurt Me ¥ Young Enough ¥
Hard to Believe ¥ Chatroom ¥
Fighting in the Dark (whole band) ¥ encore
Young Enough ¥ Percolator ⊗

encore
A Thousand Miles [Vanessa Carlton cover]
Julia ⊗

*2018: they played everything but “Totalizer” and “Julia” from Guppy.
*2019: they played everything but “Fighting In the Dark” from Young Enough.

** new songs (2023)

$ = Supermoon EP (2019)
¥ = Young Enough (2019)
⊗ = Guppy (2017)
$$ = Soft Serve EP (2014)

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2nd Grade (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2023) [CHARLY BLISS]

Posted in 2nd Grade, Charly Bliss, Gladie, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on April 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 24, 2023] 2nd Grade

I could have seen 2nd Grade play with Kiwi Jr. last month.  But I went to a different show that night instead.

Originally, Gladie was supposed to open this show.  But at the last minute, 2nd Grade took their place.  I had been looking forward to seeing Gladie again as I thought they were great.  But I was happy to see 2nd Grade since when I looked them up last time I found

They are a gentle boppy indie pop band.  Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name).  Most of the songs are around two minutes.

And that’s how they played fourteen songs in some 30 minutes.

“Favorite Song” is a fun song about how people’s favorite songs changed during their relationship.  “W-2” is, as he said, a song about taxes.

They have some fun titles.  “Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider” is super catchy with lyrics that are not challenging.

The band is lead by guitarist and vocalist Peter Gill (who actually played bass at our show).  Catherine Dwyer played second guitar and had a nasty word for the PPA who had recently thrown “3 hour limit” parking signs all over the area.  The applause wasn’t as strong as it could have been, probably because most people walk there.  But for me, I was 100% in agreement.

On lead guitar was John Samuels who also played at Johnny Brenda’s the night before with someone else.  His guitar was a little too loud (or I was standing too close to the amp), but his solos were interesting.

Gill had a good rapport with the audience (for a Philly band, they seemed largely unknown, although there were definitely some fans–one of whom even requested a song).  “My Bike” was supposed to come after Sharona but he said they were going  to skip it–you don’t want to hear that. But later on someone did request it, so they dropped the last song on the setlist “Work Til I Die” to fit it in.

They had fun with Controlled Burn which has a big chant at the end: “if you know the title “Controlled Burn” you can chant along.  Which we did.

Most of the songs were indeed under two minutes, with a couple running a little longer.  They were delightful pop nuggets that ricke da little harder than on record–but not much.  A delightful opening band.

  1. Favorite Song ⊗
  2. W-2 ∇
  3. Strung Out on You €
  4. Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider ∇
  5. Me and My Blue Angels €
  6. Superglue ⊗
  7. When You Were My Sharona ∇
  8. Controlled Burn €
  9. Made Up My Own Mind *
  10. Velodrome ∇
  11. Hands Down €
  12. My Bike ∇
  13. Shooting From the Hip ∇
  14. As Long As We Can Talk About It ⊗


€ Easy Listening (2022)
∇ Hit to Hit (2020)
⊗ When You Were Here Tour Revisited (2018/2021)

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Kiwi Jr. / 2nd Grade / Kate Davis (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in 2nd Grade, Johnny Brenda's, Kate Davis, Kiwi Jr., Philadelphia, PA on March 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 31, 2023] Kiwi Jr. / 2nd Grade / Kate Davis

I was supposed to see Kiwi Jr. open for Nap Eyes back in 2022, but the show was cancelled.

When I briefly listened to them then, I mused

Kiwi Jr. is a fun Canadian band, recently described as “clever, easy-going jangle pop” that I’d really like to see live. So I hope this lineup stays the same when Nap Eyes comes back to Philly again.  Some day.

I thought they were a little more punk pop, but i can see how they would fit pretty well with Nap Eyes, even though they are more upbeat.

I was supposed to see a band called Grade 2 open for Anti-Flag but that show was cancelled.  Turns out Grade 2 is not the same as 2nd Grade.  Grade 2 are a classic punk band from the UK.  2nd Grade are an indie band from Philly.

They are a gentle boppy indie pop band.  Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name).  Most of the songs are around two minutes.

I just heard about Kate Davis on All Songs Considered a few weeks ago.  They say

Kate Davis was trained as a jazz musician but after moving to New York and being influenced by bands such as Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear, she found her own sound.

Her song was slow and broody.  I didn’t love it, but she probably comes across well live.

 

 

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