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Archive for the ‘Lip Critic’ Category

Lip Critic (Warehouse on Watts, Philadelphia, PA, June 16, 2025)

Posted in Halloween, Hello Mary, Lip Critic, Philadelphia, PA, Warehouse on Watts on June 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 16, 2025] Lip Critic

I had not heard of Lip Critic and never imagined that they would be headlining this show.  But when they started I realized why they were better suited as the headliners–because they are crazy and would be very hard to follow.

I actually wondered if they were even playing songs or just improvising loudly on stage (they are playing songs and do have records out, so settle down).  It’s not just that it was loud (it was), it’s that it was chaotic in the extreme.

There were two drummers (yay), a guy who made all the sounds but who faced away from the audience the whole time (but did a lot of dancing)  and then the singer/screamer, who was fun and funny and brought a good time to all the chaos. (more…)

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Hello Mary (Warehouse on Watts, Philadelphia, PA, June 16, 2025) [LIP CRITIC]

Posted in Halloween, Hello Mary, Lip Critic, Philadelphia, PA, Warehouse on Watts on June 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 16, 2025] Hello Mary

Iwas supposed to see Hello Mary about a half dozen times and it kept falling through for one reason or another.

So when they announced this show at Warehouse on Watts, where I had never been before, I grabbed a ticket quickly, having no idea how quickly it would sell out.  I loved that the venue was so small, and I had great access for seeing them for the first time.

They had a newish album out for this tour and I was ready for it.  I was closest to bassist Mikaela Oppenheimer who plays some awesome basslines.  On the far side was singer guitarist Helena Straight (who makes some gorgeous noise/feedback while not playing cool melodies), and and then at the kit was drummer Stella Wave.   Float started with washes of keys (from Mikaela) and guitar while Stella and Helena ooh’d the intro.  By the end, the song was a wall of noise and screamed vocals.  It was a great opening.

They followed it with a classic 90s-sounding rocker Stinge from their debut album–a great guitar riff and intermittent quiet parts.  Even their quieter songs like Courtesy have a good grunge tone. (more…)

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Halloween (Warehouse on Watts, Philadelphia, PA, June 16, 2025) [LIP CRITIC]

Posted in Halloween, Hello Mary, Lip Critic, Philadelphia, PA, Warehouse on Watts on June 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 16, 2025] Halloween

I first heard about Warehouse on Watts back in 2021, when some kind of Yves Tumor Halloween show was being presented there.  I didn’t understand what was happening that night and really had no idea what to think of this venue.  I’ve only been interested in the venue one other time since then, but I didn’t go to it.  But here at last was someone (Hello Mary) that I really wanted to see and they were playing there.

Imagine my surprise to find out it’s a block away from The Met Philly.  It’s a cool, small club with a short stage and walls that you can lean against if need be.  I really liked it and would happily go back.

So I arrived really early and was able to check out the place a but before Halloween started.  I can’t believe that in 2025 a band can call themselves Halloween and there’s no real conflict.  Has no one ever called their band Halloween before?

Halloween is a Philly based band and they play an interesting mix of sounds.  They are probably based around shoegaze, with fuzzy swirling guitars.  The vocals are quiet ( I often couldn’t hear them, but I could tell there was singing).  Guitarist Sia Dokos (who also sang lead sometimes) played really cool interesting chords and noises and I wished that I was on their side of the stage to really see what was going on). (more…)

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