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L.A. Witch (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026) [THE BLACK ANGELS]

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[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] L.A. Witch

I hadn’t heard of L.A. Witch before this show, but the name sounded promising.  I’m not sue what I expecting, but this band did not bring that.  There was nothing witchy–comical or otherwise) about their songs, which were kind of slow and surfy.

I guess if I had just looked at Wikipedia I would have seen that that is exactly what they sound like:

the band’s sound has been described as a “mix of forlorn psych folk, lethargic lo-fi blues and boozy garage rock drones steeped in moody, drugged-out surf reverb.”

Sade Sanchez (vocals, guitar) plays a hollow bodied electric guitar with lots of reverb.  A couple of songs picked up the pace with Irita Pai’s bass propelling Drive Your Car, but Sanchez’ voice just didn’t do anything for me.  Drummer Ellie English was solid, but with the simple music, there wasn’t too much excitement there.  But, I guess that’s the deal with garage rock, right? (more…)

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The Black Angels (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2026)

Posted in L. A. Witch, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Angels, Union Transfer on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 21, 2026] The Black Angels

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas.  I’ve known about them for about ten years.  Their music sounds pretty similar from album to album–fuzzy guitars, catchy riffs and Alex Maas’ recognizable haunting voice.  I saw them in 2022 and really enjoyed their set, although I remember being surprised at how minimal everything was.  It was also pretty dark on stage–so it was hard to see everyone clearly.

And that proved to be if not the same, then similar for this show.

This was a tour of their debut album Passover.  This album isn’t my favorite of theirs, but I do enjoy a full album show. I got into The Black Angels with their second album and my favorite one is Indigo Meadows, but as they played the album in full I realized just how much I do like it.

I also had  to laugh because there’s a guy who my wife and I saw at the MMJ concert who we called Jim James.  We saw him again at Band of Horses, then I saw him at Pallbearer and now at this one.  He’s a nice guy, a real headbanger.  He and his friends were having a great time at all of these shows, so I figured I was in for a good time.

Before the band came on, their logo was projected on the stage, spinning like the inside of a record.  Then the band came out and most of the lighting on stage was provided by the projections behind them.  This cast the band in eerie lights–sometimes moving shapes, sometimes stripes, visuals that obscured more than they illuminated.  And, connecting to the cover of Passover, it was all black and white.

The opening song, Young Men Dead, featured big fuzzy guitars in a simple riff that introduced Alex Maas’ vocals.  They have a new bassist since 2024, Misti Hamrick who also plays keys.   She and guitarist Jake Garcia switched off on bass (his bass was loud and ponderous on The First Vietnam War).   Although Christian Bland is the primary lead guitarist, Garcia does his fair share as well, playing the intro riff on The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven. (more…)

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