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Archive for the ‘Deap Vally’ Category

Deap Vally (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 16, 2024)

Posted in Deap Vally, Philadelphia, PA, Sloppy Jane, Underground Arts on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 16, 2024] Deap Vally

My wife and I saw Deap Vally open for Garbage and Blondie back in 2017.  Here’s how I summed them up seven years ago

So Deap Vally is a duo: Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums and vocals).  And as with many duos these days, they are able to get a huge sound out of just a guitar and drums (even during the guitar solo which can often leave a big sound feeling a bit empty).

We enjoyed their brief but loud set.  And I kind of forgot about them.  They did a project with The Flaming Lips (Deap Lips) which I knew of but have never heard.

And then a few months ago, they announced that their project as Deap Vally was coming to an end and they were going to go on their final tour.  I had enjoyed their set and thought it would be fun to see them one more time.

They were playing their album Sistrionix in full.  It also turns out that they re-recorded the album recently because their record label had the rights to it and they wanted a new version (hence 2.0).

The premise of the band is pretty simple–simple bluesy heavy rock–a few chords and occasional riff and lots of fuzz and drum.  It works pretty well, although to be honest a headlining show is a little samey.

I wonder if they weren’t playing the album straight through if there would be a bit more variety in the set.

Which is not to say that the show was bad.  None of their songs are very long and so none overstay their welcome.  Lindsey clearly has a lot of fun up there, but I feel like she might enjoy a little more freedom to walk around or, as she does from time to time, jam over by the drum kit.  But most of the songs are pretty short and there’s not a lot of jamming time.

I enjoyed the set quite a lot especially with the addition of Smashley Williams on backing vocals.  She stood in the back and kind of danced and sang from time to time and she was a fun addition. (more…)

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Sloppy Jane (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 16, 2024) [DEAP VALLY]

Posted in Deap Vally, Philadelphia, PA, Phoebe Bridgers, Sloppy Jane, Underground Arts on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 16, 2024] Sloppy Jane

I was vaguely aware of Sloppy Jane before this show was announced. I didn’t realize that Phoebe Bridgers was in the band a long time ago.  I certainly didn’t know that they were a theatrical practically avant-garde sorta punk band with a front woman who was amazing.

Haley Dahl leads this band of fascinating musicians which includes a cello (Daniel Hass) two viola (one may be a violin) Ruby Wang and Isabella Bustanoby who also plays bass.

There’s also Lily Reszi Rothman on keys and flute.  Mostly hidden from my view was a drummer whose name is Kim (I couldn’t hear the last name) and a guitarist whose name is, I believe Ryan Howe.

The show began with an instrumental Overture–Haley conducted the strings and keys with some crazily wild moves, including jumping in the air.

The strings segued after some five minutes (and since I didn’t know what to expect, I thought maybe it was all like this) into “Party Anthem,” a quiet song that builds into a catchy song with lots of great backing vocals that turns into a really fun song with a lengthy “la la la” melody that everyone sang.

The song segued into the piano ballad which features the line “I pledge allegiance to Jesus and Your Living Room Floor.”  This mellow song segued into another mellow song, although this one was far from chill.  A classic murder ballad, “Judy’s Bedroom”

You cleaned the dirt from your shoes
Out of Judy Bruce’s bedroom
The gesture did not get you very far
Because when they found her dead
In the foldings of her dress there was
Fibers from the lining of your car

All with a very upbeat “la la la” section. (more…)

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Poppy Jean Crawford (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 29, 2023) [PLACEBO]

Posted in Deap Vally, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Placebo, Poppy, Poppy Jean Crawford, Tears for Fears on April 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2023] Placebo

When When Placebo announced their first American tour in ten years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I was vaguely surprised that my wife wanted to go–she loves a couple of their songs, but doesn’t know much else by them.  I had actually forgotten that they had set up a tour in of the States in 2022 with no Philly date and then cancelled the tour.  But there was the Philly show and there was my ticket

Deap Vally were supposed to open.  We had seen them open for Blondie a number of years ago and I really liked them.

But then it was announced a month or so ago that Poppy Jean Crawford would open.  I thought that it was Poppy and I was really excited because I’ve wanted to see her.  But no, it was Poppy Jean Crawford–whom I had never heard of.

Her brief bio says

Poppy Jean schooled herself in L.A.’s DIY scene, hanging out at places such as the Smell and taking an interest in writing music.  She joined her first band, Crosseyed and Pantyless, at 15. Playing Experimental Folk Punk in the nude.
Feeling she had more to offer, Poppy released her first single, “Dead Girl” at 16.

She was not nude when she came out on the stage, but she was in a bodysuit and I was very impressed with her body confidence.  She sang a few songs without a guitar and a few songs with a guitar.

To her right was a guy who looked like Howard Stern playing keys.  On her left was a woman playing bass.  She was pretty superfluous because almost all of the sound came from the synths.  But she looked good.

I had to assume that PJC was annoyed by the “no cameras” rule, because no one filmed her or her band at all–and a young band needs any exposure they can get.

Anyhow, Poppy has a nice powerful voice.  Her songs are simple but catchy and I mostly enjoyed her set.  Because I have no reference point, I’m remembering that I really liked a couple of her songs and kind of didn’t like a couple other ones for some reason.

The big surprise came about 2/3 of the way through the set when she played a cover of Tears for Fears “Head Over Heels.”  The pacing was much slower which was odd.  I couldn’t decide if i liked it or not.

She didn’t say anything until the very end of her set.  But she had an amazing stage presence–utterly fearless.  (she’s been performing for eight years or so, so that makes sense).

Overall, a thumbs up.

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Blondie (Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, July 28, 2017)

Posted in An Unkindness, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Count Basie Theatre, Deap Vally, Garbage, Jefferson Starship, Johnny Marr, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, TV on the Radio on July 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2017] Blondie

When I saw that Blondie and Garbage were touring together (“The Rage and Rapture Tour”) I casually asked Sarah if she wanted to go.  It’s possible that Sarah was a bigger Blondie fan that I realized.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Blondie (I didn’t even realize that she grew up n the same town as I did!).  But I love The Best of Blondie and “Atomic” is one of my favorite songs from the era.  I believe that I even stood behind her at a Ramones concert in 1989, but alas I will never know for sure.  Retroactively I’ve realized just how important she was/is and I was pretty excited to see her live.

I knew that Shirley Manson loved Blondie but I didn’t realize he admiration was reciprocated.  I just read that Debbie Harry and Blondie asked Manson to deliver their induction speech upon entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a little over a decade ago. (more…)

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Garbage (Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, July 28, 2017) [BLONDIE]

Posted in Blondie, Chrissie Hynde, Count Basie Theatre, Deap Vally, Garbage, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey! on July 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2017] Garbage

When I saw that Blondie and Garbage were touring together (“The Rage and Rapture Tour”) I casually asked Sarah if she wanted to go.  She said yes and so cousin Kate got us tickets the same day she bought the King Crimson seats. I’ve never seen Blondie, but I loved Garbage.

I had seen Garbage at the Starland Ballroom almost exactly one year earlier.  That show was great. They played a really long set, played a lot from their debut album and I was really close.

For this show we were a bit further back (it was row T), but the view was great.  And, frankly, my location in Starland was hampered by some tall people.  So I had a pretty clear view of the show (except for the drunken people who were coming in later and later and later).

The sound was spectacular (I feel bad for Deap Vally that their sound wasn’t).  I especially appreciated how I could hear the difference between Duke Erikson’s guitar and Steve Marker’s guitar (when they alternated notes, you could really hear the sonic differences in their guitars). (more…)

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Deap Vally (Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, July 28, 2017) [BLONDIE]

Posted in Blondie, Count Basie Theatre, Deap Vally, Garbage, Pearl Jam, Red Bank, NJ, Wilco on July 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2017] Deap Vally

My friend Kaylo [who has the best concert karma I’ve ever heard of and–even though she and her family live in Minnesota–we have made a pact to see Pearl Jam and Wilco should they ever play together somewhere.  A long shot but a drool-worthy one] saw Deap Vally open for Death From Above 1979 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club last summer and said they were great.  I had heard their song “Royal Jelly” on NPR and really liked it (and their album is the genius named Femejism which is pretty solid as well).

So Deap Vally is a duo: Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums and vocals).  And as with many duos these days, they are able to get a huge sound out of just a guitar and drums (even during the guitar solo which can often leave a big sound feeling a bit empty).

I loved that Lindsey was wearing a custom-made (Sarah asked her) fringed, sequined red body suit.  Julie was more hidden behind her kit, but she was also bedecked in sequins.

They played a half-dozen or so songs and they rocked (they were quite a bit louder than Blondie, but maybe only slightly louder than Garbage).  But I loved the band’s ability to impress an audience (I’m assuming a slightly older audience given Blondie) with their solid songs and stage presence).

They were genuinely happy to be playing and both seemed to be having a lot of fun.  And Lindsey’s guitar sounded tremendous (Julie’s drums were pretty great, too).

The one flaw was that Lindsey’s vocals sounded a little less great but that’s because of the venue, not her.  They were not hooked up to the sound system I don’t think, because everyone else’s voices were pretty clean.  But if you listen to “Julian”. you can hear that she’s a little muddied.  And that’s a shame because their lyrics are really great.

Like “Smile More”

And I am not ashamed of my mental state
And I am not ashamed of my body weight
And I am not ashamed of my rage
And I am not ashamed of my age
And I am not ashamed of my sex life
Although I wish it were better
I am not ashamed I am no one’s wife
Although the idea does sound kind of nice

I don’t know all of the song titles that they played, but I did get a video of the the great stomper, “Baby I Call Hell” from their album Sistrionix.

They closed with “Royal Jelly” which sounded perfect.  I thought I’d taped a clip but apparently I didn’t.

After their set they were out in the foyer signing things and giving high fives.  If I had known they were going to be out there I would have brought my copy of Femejism for them to sign. Instead, I just told them how much I enjoyed their set and wished them luck.  And Sarah got this excellent picture of them.

 

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