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Archive for the ‘Kianí Medina’ Category

The Mars Volta (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025)

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] The Mars Volta

My son and I saw The Mars Volta open for Deftones in an arena and the sound was terrible.  They played an unreleased album so it was really hard to know what was going on in a cavernous place where all subtlety was lost.

So when they announced a headlining tour I grabbed tickets for my son and I.  And what a treat to get there early and be right up front for the show.

Visually there wasn’t a lot going on–the band is largely dressed in black and white and there was only a black curtain behind them.  The lights tended toward the dark and the blue so you couldn’t see super clearly.  But this was really all about the music.

This show was for them to play their new album, Lucro sucio straight through, just like they did opening for the Deftones.  That set was 40 minutes (like the album) but this show was about twice as long with lots of trippy jamming sections.

The set opens quietly with Fin wherein Cedric Bixler-Zavala sings to a synth opening–his voice soaring to great heights–as it did all night, his voice is incredible. (more…)

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Kianí Medina (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025) [THE MARS VOLTA]

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] Kianí Medina

After Feliz y Dada, I wasn’t really sure what to expect next.  The change was pretty dramatic.

Out came two normal-looking people.  They stood in the same place as Feliz y Dada but could not have been more different.

Kianî Medina is from Puerto Rico and she sang soaring vocal lines over a pre-programmed backing track and live guitars from her brother Jerry.  The songs were kind of dancey but the live guitar added so much texture and, at times, rocking out.

She sang in Spanish and has a gorgeous voice.  I liked how the songs were mostly synthy (sometimes synth sounds triggered by the guitar) and dancey and then the guitar sound would come in an play some ripping solos.

Kianî had some smooth dance moves especially when Jerry soloed.  And on one of her middle songs (I don’t have a setlist or know any song titles), things slowed down for a lovely sounding ballad.

It was followed by a staccato dance song with some cool guitar–Jerry’s guitar playing sounds like Omar’s on this one.  (more…)

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Feliz y Dada (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025) [THE MARS VOLTA]

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] Feliz y Dada

My son and I saw The Mars Volta open for Deftones in an arena and the sound was terrible.  They played an unreleased album so it was really hard to know what was going on in a cavernous place where all subtlety was lost.  But my son was intrigued and I told him we could see them again.

So when they announced a headlining tour I grabbed tickets for my son and I.  And what a treat to get there early and be right up front for the show.

The opening band was Feliz y Dada, whom I had no heard of.  When I looked  them up it was unclear if they were a real band, a novelty band or possibly even members of The Mars Volta.  Many speculated that the lead singer was Teri Gender Bender.  I never found out, but I didn’t care because their set was bizarre and wonderful.

The stage was curtained off to give them a small area up front.  A massive stack of (fake) speakers was behind them and they were given a black curtain to hide the rest of the stage.

Feliz y Dada is a trio.  All three members wear masks with a kind of horn on top and four eyes.  They also wear robes and dance around slowly–waving their bodies back and forth–a perfect encapsulation of “alien life.”

There is literally nothing like them.  The guy on the left had a large pyramid that he kept tapping as if he was playing bass notes or something (it clearly didn’t make any sound, but it did light up). I assume the guy on the right was playing all of the sounds–although it’s also possible he simply started the song and then pretended to play things like the guy on the left.

The singer was singing live but her voice was so distorted and auto-tuned as to be unrecognizable and completely un-understandable.  But she danced around slowly and approached everyone in the front in a slow and methodical way–waving and seeming to suss out what the vibe was.  She also sang into a telephone at one point for what I think was Well Hello.

They sang four short songs and that was that. (more…)

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