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Archive for the ‘LANDMVRKS’ Category

POPPY (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 9, 2026)

Posted in LANDMVRKS, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Thousand Below on July 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 9, 2026] Poppy

When Poppy announced this show, I managed to get a ticket for $20 off, which was great.  I hadn’t realized that this would be my third time seeing her in less than a year and a half.

But each show has been different in one way or another.  Tonight’s show featured the giant cubes that were in use for Landmvrks.  But these were special for Poppy.  Each cube had a platform on top of it, so when the show started, Poppy was on top of one  and the drums were setup on top of the other–easily fifteen feet high.  And on the stage were three masked musicians.

A recording of Constantly Nowhere played and then Poppy appeared on top of the cubes and sang have you had enough (which I see she has opened the show with all three times that I’ve seen her).

I’m so intrugued by Poppy because she started as a seriously Pop pop singer and just a few years later, she is beloved by the metal community.  And why not?  Her songs are heavy as anything and she screams with serious intensity.

She mixed up the rest of the set.  Climbing down to the stage, she sang The Cost of Giving Up.  This song has serious pop chops and is really catchy, although the middle section has some of her most intense screaming.

As I mentioned for Landmvrks, the place was packed.  And, I hate to say it, I’m not sure how I feel about Poppy fans.  A trio in front of me was pogoing and bouncing into everyone even though there were several circle pits in the area.  And that’s not cool to crash into others but to be afraid of the circle pit.

I was really surprised she played Concrete third.  I love this song, it is so bizarre, with that weird guitar lick and then the insane J-pop section that shifts into a rocking section and then shifts again into a more or less sixties pop song.  All within 90 seconds.  And then what a riff!  It’s an insane and great song–straight out of the Babymetal playbook.  Any question about her metal bonafides are put to rest with the new song Bruised Sky–heavy and noisy with great screams.

Her band was a little different this time around.  Actually the lead guitarist might be the same, but for this show one of the masked guitarists was a woman.  This worked really well, when the guitarist sang backing vocals or even an occasional lead part.  The masks were really different this time too–scary Japanese theater type masks. (more…)

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LANDMVRKS (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 9, 2026) [POPPY]

Posted in LANDMVRKS, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, The Fillmore Philadelphia, Thousand Below on July 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 9, 2026] LANDMVRKS

When Poppy announced this show, I managed to get a ticket for $20 off, which was great.  I hadn’t realized that this would be my third time seeing her in less than a year and a half.

I didn’t care about the opening act, Thousand Below, a post-hardcore band from San Diego.  I mean, I’m kind of done with post-hardcore at this point.  They do have interesting vocals, but I didn’t really care if I saw them.

After a stressful day, in which my wife bore the brunt of the tasks, I wasn’t sure if I should go out, but she was going to chill, so I went, but left a little later than usual.  And, as happens when I’m not in a hurry, I made it to the Fillmore in plenty of time.

There was no line, so I assumed I’d saunter up near the front and listen to the two openers before enjoying Poppy.

Well, I walked in and it was PACKED.  I couldn’t believe so many people wanted to see Thousand Below.  I found an okay spot and then lights dimmed and a guy ran on stage and as they started, it was clearly LANDMVRKS.  Evidently Thousand Below went on at 7.  Oops.

The stage had two large cubes with video screens on them.  The image for LANDMVRKS was their name and a collection of statues.  Music sounded from backstage and then Florent Salfati ran out on stage wearing an Eminem shirt and rapping in French!  His flow was fast (although I think French might lend itself to fast rapping).  And then the rest of the band came out and they played a blast of a chord and they were off.

LANDMVRKS are from Marseille and have been around since 2014 (first album 2016).  Their later albums are heavier and have some rap elements and serious growling.

The three guys on stage were so mobile, they were almost exhausting.  I’m not sure which guitarist was which, but whether it was Nicolas Exposito (a founding member) or Paul Cordebard (joined in 2017) he kicked really high, ran in place and was always in motion.  He also had a great low growl and surprisingly good harmony vocals when needed.  Bassist Rudy Purkart was similarly active, going back and forth around the stage and singing too.  And Kévin D’Agostino on drums was a beast, but he was tucked in between the boxes and was kind of hard to see, but his drumming was fast and intense.

They had a really heavy sound, but they also had some very pretty moments as well.   I was really impressed with Salfati’s voice which was at times really lovely and delicate and could also descend into a crazy guttural growl.   I couldn’t detect an accent in his voice at all.  Even when he spoke to us (saying how excited they were to be in the U.S.), his accent was barely noticeable.

There was a guy in front of me who was clearly a huge fan.  He knew the beats and filmed the whole thing. (more…)

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