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Archive for the ‘Lucius’ Category

Lucius (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, 2025)

Posted in Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Victoria Canal on May 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 22, 2025] Lucius

I saw Lucius last year when they played the anniversary of their debut album.  I enjoyed the show and their performance so much that I knew I’d want to see them again.  And I knew my wife would really enjoy it as well.

But I had no idea she’s enjoy it as much as she did.  She said it was her favorite concert of the year [UPDATE: at year’s end she maintains that belief].

The stage was set up with two large cacti flanking the keyboard set up of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig.  I love that they dress alike (down to the wigs they are wearing).  They wore red, beautifully decorated ponchos, and it’s amazing that they face each other and more or less mimic each others movements–they’re not a tightly choreographed ship, which is good.  They are more like a loose duo who can allow the moment to overtake perfect choreography.  And they’re all the better for it,

But mostly, Lucius are instantly recognizable because of the gorgeous vocals of Wolfe and Laessig,  And it gives you goosebumps to see them perform live.

There’s a several Lucius songs that I absolutely love.  There’s also some that I’m iffy about (but the hits greatly outweigh the misses for me).  And I really like the vibe of the new album a lot.  I’m sure that has a lot to do with Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs who produced the album (his fingerprints are all over it).  The opening song Final Days doesn’t sound like The War on Drugs, but it does sound like Lucius covering a War on Drugs song.

They followed up with Gold Rush, which I was surprised to hear so early as its the big hit from the album.  They wound up playing five new songs in a row.  Trespassers Will Be Shot uploaded several songs from our show (see below).  Things had mellowed, but when Stranger Danger came on and the guitars went crazy and Jess and Holly came to the front of the stage–it was electrifying.

The band had a simple set up.  Jess and Holly in the center.  On our right side was drummer Dan Molad and on our left was multi-instrumentalist (but mostly, an amazing guitarist–the sounds he generates are amazing) Peter Lalish.

They played the quieter 24 and then moved to Wildewoman for the amazing Tempest.  Since they had just toured the album last year I didn’t think they’d play too much from it, so it was cool to hear this one.

Then for the really fun Joy Ride, they put on matching hats and sat stage right in a couple of folding chairs.  We got a kick out of them snapping their heads left and right to the beat.

They jumped back to Wildewoman again for the awesome (and even more awesome live Nothing Ordinary) and the fantastic Genevieve, which was delightfully percussion heavy (Jess and Holly playing cowbells) and full of cool lighting. (more…)

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Victoria Canal (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 22, 2025) [LUCIUS]

Posted in Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, Victoria Canal on May 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 22, 2025] Victoria Canal

I had not heard of Victoria Canal before this show.

She has a fascinating backstory.  She was born in Germany but is of Spanish American heritage and was raised mostly in Spain.  And yet when she spoke she had no trace of an accent.

Canal was born without her right forearm.  What’s fascinating is that although she does not try to hide it at all, we didn’t notice for the first couple of songs.

Victoria played acoustic guitar and keyboards.  She also had really nice boots on.  Between songs she told delightful stories that really fleshed out songs like the new (and wonderful) Pseudo Zen Buddhist: A Screenplay.  Which she introduced by saying the song was about her ex boyfriend’s next girlfriend murdering him (she works in movies, hence the screenplay part).  It was great.

There was also a really funny intro to Yes Man, a song she write when on a songwriting retreat with Chris Martin of Coldplay.

Canal’s voice is soft and gentle with a really nice timbre.  And she can mix in some falsettos on a song like Totally Fucking Fine. (more…)

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Lucius (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, January 29, 2024)

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Jeff Taylor, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA on February 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 29, 2024] Lucius

I’ve had a ton of opportunities to see Lucius in the last two years.  My count is 5 (plus two at festivals I wasn’t going to).  For one reason or another (sometimes inertia) I just didn’t go.

Then they announced this ten year anniversary of their debut album and I thought that that would be really fun to see.  I really liked about half of the album a lot.  The rest was good.  And I figured in a live setting all of the songs would be great.

The strange thing is I had no idea that Lucius has released only three albums (and various other remixes and stuff).  So when they played in NJ last year, had I gone, I would have seen half of this album anyway!  In fact, had I gone to that show, I would have heard them play one of their newer songs that I love, “Next to Normal.”  Serves me right.

But there was something neat about going to this little mini-tour and being one of the select cities that got to see it.

It took them a while t o come out.  In fact, they turned the lights out at 8:45 and we sat in the dark until like 9:10, which is just weird.  But whatever.  The guys came out first and then Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig came out in matching outfits–berets and bold colored jackets00primary colors splitting the coats in half with brighter colors on the pockets.  They looked great.

There was a (tall) family in front of me and they were pretty good when they started singing “Wildewoman.”  There was a woman behind me who was singing very loudly.  She had a good voice, but honestly we are here to hear these two women with incredible voices.   Fortunately she was mostly in tune and easy to ignore. (more…)

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Jeff Taylor (Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA, January 29, 2024) [LUCIUS]

Posted in Brooklyn Bowl, Jeff Taylor, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA on January 31, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 29, 2024] Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor is an old friend of Lucius.  He is from new Jersey but lives in Pittsburgh.

He opened his set by humming a kind of dissonant sound as he strummed his guitar.  It went on for far longer than it should have and became kind of funny, but not actually funny.

Then he finally sang a line “We lost my dad,” and seemed to start the whole song over.   Whether he messed up or just wanted that line to hang there is unclear.

Jeff played an electric guitar and sang and I just couldn’t get into it.

By the end of his set I feel like he warmed me up a bit and I enjoyed the last few songs more.  But most of his songs were about breaking up with someone and they just weren’t that interesting.

I mean “Flashes” goes

Just push me away
Let me be free of you
You weren’t my kinda girl

So, yeah. (more…)

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The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Lucius, Shakey Graves, Steve Gunn, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The War on Drugs on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 18, 2023] The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn

My wife and I saw The War on Drugs as our first show after the pandemic.  And it was wonderful. We were seated in a terrible seats at The Met, but the show was chill and mellow and we sat far away and the music swept over us.

I wasn’t sure if we’d want to go to this show, though because Stone Pony Summer Stage is a questionable proposition.  It’s a lovely venue but depending on the crowd, it can be terrible.  Plus, I know that standing around for four bands can be exhausting.  Especially since I wanted to see Lucius, but not necessarily Shakey Graves.

Steve Gunn is a musician who I thought I didn’t know, but I have seen a Tiny Desk of his.  He plays a kind of slow acoustic guitar with an eastern-style drone. It’s slow and addictive but I don’t think I’d want to stand to hear it.

Lucius is a band that I’d like to see live but somehow keep missing, as they play every stage that I’m not going to.

Shakey Graves and Lucius were both at the Guster festival this past weekend.  Which is kind of crazy.  I had said that I didn’t want to see Shakey Graves, but when I re-read my thoughts about his Newport Folk performance from a few years ago, I remembered that I thought he’d be fun to see live–he’s great at getting the crowd psyched up.

But, honestly, we were happy to stay home on a Friday night.

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Guster’s On the Ocean Weekend (State Theatre & Thompson’s Point, Portland, ME, August 11-August 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bahamas, Brooke Annibale, Guster, Lucius, Madison Cunningham, Oshima Brothers, Shakey Graves, The Ballroom Thieves on August 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 31-August 2, 2020] Newport Folk Festival

There’s very few festivals that I’d like to go to, but Guster’s On the Ocean seems like a lot of fun.  It’s kid friendly (but there’s still adult things to do).  The band is very participatory and they curatea  weeknd’s worth of fun all in a pretty chill atmosphere.

My wife says that we might not like the other people there, which is true–Guster fans near us tend to be kind of partiers, but I still think it would be fun.

But not this year.

Here’s what was on the docket. (more…)

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Lucius / Danielle Ponder (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 11, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Danielle Ponder, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on April 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11, 2023] Lucius / Danielle Ponder

Last year I didn’t see Lucius on two separate occasions because the shows didn’t line up properly for me.

So when they announced a shwo at White Eagle Hall, I thought I’d try to get to it.

But it turned out to be opposite Sleaford Mods who I had been wanting to see for quite a while.  So, sorry Lucius.  I suppose I won’t get another opportunity, but if I do I’ll be sure to take it.

Although as I keep saying–

I’m not even 100% sure I want to see them live–I really like some of their songs a lot, but a lot are just kind of okay for me.  Although their harmonies are absolutely dynamite.

Danielle Ponder is a soul singer with an amazing voice.  Her raspy vocals on “Some of Us are Brave” are incredible.  I feel like she could easily be working with Hozier one of these days.

In 2020, NPR described her music as anthemic while compassionate; soulful, while bold and strong. She reverberates with a goosebump-inducing passion,.”

She’s be pretty great to see live.  And she has a fascinating backstory too:

Danielle attended Northeastern University where she received her Juris Doctorate. For 5 years, Danielle worked as a public defender where she provided criminal defense to the indigent community.

While working as a public defender, Danielle also toured Europe and scored an opening spot with George Clinton.

In 2018, after five years as a public defender, she made the gutsy decision to pursue her No.1 passion — music. In 2021, Danielle performed at the Newport Jazz Festival where her performance was hailed as one of the stand out performances of the event.

 

 

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Lucius / Celisse (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, May 7, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Celisse, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts on May 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 7, 2022] Lucius / Celisse

I didn’t see this show the night before in Jersey (even though I was offered free tickets) because I had a (better) show with my son to go to.

So they were playing the following night in Philly (originally Rina Sawayama was supposed to play the TLA, but she got bumped to the Fillmore–good for her).

But honestly, sometimes I can go to two shows in a row, but the Pup show was pretty exhausting, so it seemed smart to just hunker down at home.

I’m not even 100% sure I want to see them live–I really like some of their songs a lot, but a lot are just kind of okay for me.  Although their harmonies are absolutely dynamite.

Celisse Henderson is a wild rocking woman who plays a killer guitar–I think she’s more of a blues player than anything else, but with a modern, female spin on the blues..  I don’t think I knew who she was at the time, but I have since learned that she is a killer and I would have loved to see her.

 

 

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Lucius / Celisse (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Celisse, Lucius, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Lucius / Celisse

Lucius had played a Free at Noon show earlier in the day and I could have gone.  But for a couple of reasons I didn’t.

I’m not even 100% sure I want to see them live–I really like some of their songs a lot, but a lot are just kind of okay for me.  Although their harmonies are absolutely dynamite.

For this show, I was even offered free tickets the night before:

Sign up now to claim free tickets to enjoy the sweet sounds of Lucius w/ Celisse

I absolutely would have gone to this for free.  (It also tells me it was not selling very well).

But, it turns out that I had SIX shows to choose from this evening: Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean (which was actually cancelled), Destroyer (which I had bought a ticket for a long time earlier), Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

So Pup it was (and it was great).

Celisse Henderson is a wild rocking woman who plays a killer guitar–I think she’s more of a blues player than anything else, but with a modern, female spin on the blues..  I don’t think I knew who she was at the time, but I have since learned that she is a killer and I would have loved to see her.

 

 

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Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Joanna Sternberg, Lucius, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6, 2022] Joanna Sternberg / Lucius: Free at Noon 

I scored a ticket to this Free at Noon show because I have been very curious to see Lucius live.  I absolutely love about half of their songs.  And I rather don’t like many of their other songs.  So it’s been a toss up whether I really want to see them.  This Free at Noon seemed like the perfect way.

Then I found out that they were sharing the bill with Joanna Sternberg.

I don’t know anything about her, so it’s no offense to her, but I didn’t want to see such a short Lucius set (most Free at Noons are barely 40 minutes, so it seemed crazy to drive all that way for… 20?

So I stayed at work.

This session took place during Non-COMM, which probably meant that it was really really crowded.  Turns out they only played six songs, although they are probably the six I mist wanted to hear.  So maybe I should have gone.

Although I was seeing Pup that night, so I guess, maybe not. (more…)

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