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Archive for the ‘Gustaf’ Category

The New Pornographers / Gustaf (Concerts Under the Stars series Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, August 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Concerts Under the Stars series, Gustaf, King of Prussia PA, Philadelphia, PA, The New Pornographers, Upper Merion Township Building Park on August 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 7, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

This was yet another show at the Concert Under the Stars in King of Prussia, which I think would be pretty fun to go to, but KoP is pretty far.  And this night was out of the question as my daughter was showing at the 4H Fair. Plus, we could have seen them in Jersey City the night before (which we didn’t).

The weather was terrible so they moved the show to Ardmore Music Hall.  And the 4H Fair was cancelled.  In theory we could have gone to this one.  But then my daughter was called in to do her show even though the Fair was closed to outsiders.  So we went there instead.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

 

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The New Pornographers / Gustaf (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, August 6, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gustaf, Jersey City, NJ, Neko Case, The New Pornographers, White Eagle Hall on August 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 6, 2024] The New Pornographers / Gustaf

I saw New Pornographers’ back in 2019 (I didn’t realize it was quite so long ago).  I enjoyed the show quite a lot.  And almost wondered if I didn’t need to see them again since they played pretty much everything I wanted to see.  And yet, they were really good and I enjoyed the show a lot–I suspect they are always worth seeing.

That show featured Neko Case on vocals–she wasn’t going to be with them on this tour.  That didn’t actually impact my decision at all about this one because, The New Pornographers are excellent without her as well.

This show happened to be on a night that my daughter was going to be doing stuff at the 4H Fair.  I wanted my wife to come with me, and that was proving to be challenging with out timing.  I hadn’t gotten a ticket but i assumed it wouldn’t sell out.

Then the night of the show it was raining like crazy.  Her event was moved forward and I realized that every time I got to White Eagle Hall, I have to park outrageously far away.  And I realized that I didn’t want to be wet or standing in a venue where everyone was wet.  So we stayed home.

I was actually really excited to see Gustaf who I saw open for Idles almost three years ago.  I’ve wanted to see them again because they were outstanding.  But again, sometimes things prevent you from doing what you want to do.

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Gustaf / Jim E. Brown / Rentboy (Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gustaf, Jim E. Brown, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Rentboy on May 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 22, 2024] Gustaf / Jim E. Brown / Rentboy

Two years ago I wrote this:

I saw Gustaf open for Idles and they were weird and wonderful and someone I definitely wanted to see live again–preferably headlining.  They have a very late 1980’s punk aesthetic with spoken words and random sounds.  Plus a lot of humor.  I was really excited for this show.  But by the time it came around, having missed a whole bunch of shows that I was really looking forward to, I wound up blowing off this one as well.

Shame, really.

And I can’t believe the same thing happened this time too.  I had shows lined up from Saturday through Thursday.  I didn’t think I’d make them all, but here’s the fourth night in a row that I couldn’t go to a show.

Tonight’s was because my daughter’s school had an awards night scheduled for tonight.  So obviously I’m going to that instead.  But the timing, ugh.

The two openers are bands/performers I have missed in the past.

Jim E. Brown opened for Wax Jaw.

Poet and Artist/Activist Jim E. Brown was born in Manchester on September 10, 2001, just one day before the 911. He is an alcoholic and has several degenerative conditions.

His YouTube videos say

19 year old British pop sensation Jim E. Brown returns with his latest album, Torture

His music is weird and comically dark.  It makes weird sense that he’d be paired with Gustaf.

Over simple melodies, Brown speak/screams lyrics to songs like “I texted you a photo of the sunset and you never responded” and “I know I’m going to die of a stroke.”  Sounds interminable and wonderful.

Rentboy has been an opener for two different bands that I didn’t see.  They are a Philadelphia based disco collective whose new blurb says

Rentboy is the musical project of Bobby Brown. After three releases of increasingly lush, Americana-influenced dance pop, Rentboy’s next EP, “Get Worse” is a hard left turn. Mashing together the minimalist aggression of 2000s garage rock and the mangled production of hyper pop, the lead single “Aperol Spritz” sounds like a late night walk home from a particularly decadent party you can’t remember but wouldn’t want to forget.

I didn’t think I’d like  them all that much but the one song I listened to is weird and fun.

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Yard Act / Gustaf (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Gustaf, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts, Yard Act on October 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 16, 2022] Yard Act / Gustaf

Yard Act are from that peculiar line of art punk that features noisy guitars and a lead vocalist who mostly speaks/yells/gripes.  Sometimes a little of that goes a long way and sometimes it works really well.

I actually didn’t know them all that well.  Although I know some people who hate them passionately–probably because they are much heralded.

At any rate, I was far more interested in seeing Gustaf who I saw open for Idles last year.  They were weird and artsy and amazing live and I need to see them again.  It seemed like a great opportunity to see what Yard Act was all about at the same time.

Then all of a sudden the show was cancelled.

I actually posted on the Gustaf Instagram to discover that Yard Act had been invited to appear at the Mercury Prize Awards on the 18th.  So we lost out on the show.  Good for them.  Bad for us.

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Gustaf / Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gustaf, Johnny Brenda's, Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo, Philadelphia, PA on April 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 14, 2022] Gustaf / Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo 

I saw Gustaf open for Idles and they were weird and wonderful and someone I definitely wanted to see live again–preferably headlining.  They have a very late 1980’s punk aesthetic with spoken words and random sounds.  Plus a lot of humor.  I was really excited for this show.  But by the tuime it came around, having misse da whole bunch of shows that I was really looking forward to, I wound up blowing off this one as well.

Shame, really.

Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo is the project of Steven Perez, a Philadelphia musician with sincere love for hip hop, poetry, punk and hardcore, pop, R&B, salsa, bachata, merengue, and even more. Perez has lived in Philly since 2016, writing, playing punk and indie, and he started releasing solo material under the Pedazo moniker in 2019 after years of struggling with doubts about sharing his own music.  Pedazo is a kaleidoscopic project, pinned on samples from past recordings of pop and merengue, salsa, bachata and other styles of Caribbean music, all of which Perez heard in his family’s home in Florida growing up.

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Idles (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2021)

Posted in Full show video, Gustaf, Idles, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on October 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2021] Idles

I saw Idles two years ago and the show was amazing.  A raw, raucous punk show with all kinds of slam dancing, crowd surfing (including the band), and shouting.  But also an incredible feeling of warmth and love from the band.

I’m gathering that the band always opens with “Colossus.”  A loud, slow, rumbling repeating bass note from Adam Devonshire shook the whole place.  And then Joe Talbot came out and started singing the slow, quiet introduction.

But the band and the crowd were just waiting in anticipation for the BOOM, when the song took of and the pit started flailing around.

Since I saw them last, they put out a new album, with another one on the way.  The only played one song from the forthcoming album, but they did play a bunch from Ultra Mono.  They sprinkled the songs throughout the set, interspersing classic tracks with the new ones.

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Gustaf (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 13, 2021) [IDLES]

Posted in Gustaf, Idles, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on October 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2021] Gustaf

I had not heard of Gustaf when this show was announced, but when I looked them up, they promised to put on a fun show.  And boy did they ever.

Gustaf is a five-piece from Brooklyn: Guitarist Vram Kherlopian, lead singer Lydia Gammill, bassist Tine Hill, vocalist/percussionist Tarra Thiessen and drummer Melissa Lucciola.  They are a classic old school art-punk band.

They make weird music and they have a lot of fun.  It was a terrific set.

The band was spread out across the stage with guitarist Kherlopian in front of us on the left.  It was fun watching him playing and not playing.  The kind of guitar work that is sparse and punchy.  The other side of the stage had the rhythm section.  Lucciola and Hill were the backbone of the band, keeping things grounded while the rest of the band did their weird things.  Thiessen might have been having the most fun as she played a Chock Full O Nuts Coffee can for percussion and often had her voice manipulated to sound deep and slow. (more…)

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