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Modest Mouse (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 15, 2022)

Posted in Mattress, Modest Mouse, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 15, 2022] Modest Mouse 

Last year, Modest Mouse was the first concert I saw after the pandemic. This year, Modest Mouse was the last concert I’ll see in 2022 (nothing dramatic about that, I just don’t have any more shows lined up until next year).

As I’ve said before, I wasn’t planning to see them.  In fact, I felt like I had seen them even more recently than last year.  But this was a special tour–the 25th anniversary tour of their album The Lonesome Crowded West, with a really stripped down band.  Last time I saw them, there were six people on stage (there were like nine the previous show).  This time it’s just a four piece: Isaac Brock and co-founder Jeremiah Green joined by (regular) bassist Russell Higbee and guitarist Simon O’Connor who played last time I saw them.

This meant a stripped down, really rocking show.  Which befits the far more stripped down and rocking sound of this earlier album. 

Normally I’m all about seeing the opening band.  But I’ve had a few liberating experiences lately where i have deliberately blown off the opening band and been pleased with the decision.  I hadn’t heard of the band Mattress.  I looked them up before the show and learned that Mattress is the project of Rex Marshall.  And that the act is pretty much Marshall wearing a gold lame suit and acting like an abrasive lounge singer.

I listened to a song online and decided that I did not need to stand through that.  Sidenote:  It reminded me a lot of Wetface the weird, is-it-a-joke band who opened for Built to Spill this summer.  I sat through that twice and consider that my penance.  (incidentally, I often think of Built to Spill and Modest Mouse in the same breath for some reason, so it’s interesting that they would have similar bands on this year’s tour).

So that mean I got to the Fillmore around 8:45.  The evening happened to be one of the rainiest nights in recent memory.  It rained hard.  All day.  I very much considered not going to this show because of the weather.  But I decided to go and drove through the terrible lashing rain.  I kinda thought that the rain might keep others away and, if I was arriving late, maybe I could get free parking at the the Fillmore lot.  Indeed no.  In fact, it was full.  So I went past the lot and immediately got lost in the bowels of the roads beneath 95.  Holy cow.  I drove for about 8 minutes in crazy rain knowing where I was but having not idea where I actually was.  I finally found my way to the casino for parking and hurries across to the venue only to find a lineup! (more…)

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Lori Hahnel–“Dearest Clara” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #17] (2022)

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Clara Schumann, Dresden Germany, Hingston & Olsen, Lori Hahnel, Robert Schumann, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar on December 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 17, 2022] “Dearest Clara”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 17. Lori Hahnel, author of Vermin, has practiced her scales enough for one day.

As Hahnel explains, “Dearest Clara” came out of the work I’ve been doing the past few years on a novel based on the life of Clara Schumann, the 19th-century German composer and pianist.

This is a few diary entries from Schumann (nee Clara Wieck). (more…)

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Lemonheads / Juliana Hatfield / On Being an Angel (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, December 16, 2022) (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 21, 2022) [RESCHEDULED DATE] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hennessey, Jersey City, NJ, Juliana Hatfield, Leah Hennessey, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, White Eagle Hall on December 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 16, 2022] The Lemonheads / Juliana Hatfield / On Being an Angel [moved from April 21, 2022]

Back in 2018, I saw Evan Dando play a solo set in Jersey City.  It was him with an acoustic guitar and he played over forty songs.

It was a shambolic affair, but fun.  I didn’t really feel compelled to see him again, but I thought it would be fun to see him with a band.  And when he announced this 30th Anniversary of It’s a Shame About Ray, my favorite album of theirs, I grabbed a ticket.

This show had been announced for a pretty long time before any other American dates were added.  I never bothered to get a ticket for it and eventually it sold out.  I’d much rather go to Union Transfer than a sold out White Eagle Hall show.  So, it was an easy decision.

It sounds like he played some extra or different songs at WEH (we didn’t get Mrs. Robinson).   But that’s okay.

Leah Hennessey was supposed to open but she was replaced by Juliana Hatfield and On Being an Angel.

I was a big fan of Juliana Hatfield back in the 90s.  I thought she was the bomb.  She had toured Philly back in 2015 and I considered going because it was the Juliana Hatfield Three playing again (I should have gone!).  She also played in 2019, but I wasn’t quite as sure about that one for some reason.  But here she was opening for The Lemonheads!

A few minutes after On Being an Angel cleared their stuff, Juliana came out.  It was just her and her guitar plugged into a tiny amp.  The volume was perfect  She sounded great.

On Being an Angel are a four-piece from Austin.  Given that they were opening for Lemonheads and Juliana Hatfield, I was expecting a sound that fit in with them.

They were actually a bit heavier and a bit more fuzzy than I would have expected.  And I loved their sound instantly.

And then singer Paige stepped up to the mic and…we couldn’t hear her at all.  Was it Union Transfer’s fault?  That seemed unlikely.  We were very close to the stage and that can certainly impact how you hear a band, but it seemed like the lead guitar (from Nick) was just cranked up super loud and drowned out everything else.

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Lemonheads (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022)

Posted in Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on December 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2022] Lemonheads

Back in 2018, I saw Evan Dando play a solo set in Jersey City.  It was him with an acoustic guitar and he played over forty songs.

It was a shambolic affair, but fun.  I didn’t really feel compelled to see him again, but I thought it would be fun to see him with a band.  And when he announced this 30th Anniversary of It’s a Shame About Ray, my favorite album of theirs, I grabbed a ticket.

Juliana Hatfield finished and didn’t really need to clear her gear (as we’ll see).  And yet for some reason, it took Evan and the other two guys almost 45 minutes to come out on stage.  

This wasn’t an auspicious sign.  I was actually 40% surprised the show hadn’t been cancelled outright.  But it sounds like Evan Dando has gotten his shit (somewhat) together, so maybe this is a new lease on life for him.  

Eventually the band came out on stage.  Bassist Farley Glavin and drummer Lee Falco came out first.  Then Evan came out on stage, grabbed an acoustic guitar and they launched right into “Into Your Arms.”  This is one of my favorite songs of the 90s–so sweet and delightful.  I had literally no idea that it was a cover until I was reading someone else’s review of this tour (it was written by Australian duo Love Positions (Robyn St. Clare (who wrote the song) and Nic Dalton).  It sounded like he hadn’t really warmed up yet and this was his way of easing into the show.  He didn’t hit any of the higher notes.  But he still wounded quite good. (more…)

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Juliana Hatfield (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022) [LEMONHEADS]

Posted in Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on December 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2022] Juliana Hatfield

I was a big fan of Juliana Hatfield back in the 90s.  I thought she was the bomb.  And I was really excited to see her play live when she opened for the B-52s at Boston College back in 1993.  I actually hated the B-52s (they were so overplayed at my college in 1991 that I never wanted to hear “Love Shack” again in my life) so I left before they came on.

And then, some time around 2000 I lost track of her.  I was always happy to hear she was putting out new music, but I didn’t give it much of a listen.  However, her 2018 album that is all covers of Olivia Newton John songs is pretty sweet.

She had toured Philly back in 2015 and I considered going because it was the Juliana Hatfield Three playing again (I should have gone!).  She also played in 2019, but I wasn’t quite as sure about that one for some reason.  But here she was opening for The Lemonheads!

A few minutes after On Being an Angel cleared their stuff, Juliana came out.  It was just her and her guitar plugged into a tiny amp.  The volume was perfect  She sounded great as she started singing a song I knew immediately.. (more…)

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On Being an Angel (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022) [THE LEMONHEADS]

Posted in Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on December 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2022] On Being an Angel

On Being an Angel are a four-piece from Austin.  Given that they were opening for Lemonheads and Juliana Hatfield, I was expecting a sound that fit in with them.

They were actually a bit heavier and a bit more fuzzy than I would have expected.  And I loved their sound instantly. 

And then singer Paige stepped up to the mic and…we couldn’t hear her at all.  Was it Union Transfer’s fault?  That seemed unlikely.  We were very close to the stage and that can certainly impact how you hear a band, but it seemed like the lead guitar (from Nick) was just cranked up super loud and drowned out everything else.

The guy next to me even typed out on his phone (fix the vocal levels) but no one reacted to that.

Then I saw this comment in a 2019 review of them in Austin: “[On Being an Angel] tore apart the crowd’s broken chatter with a roaring wall of sound. Rumbling electric fuzz nearly drowned out Paige Applin’s faint vocals as the slowcore quartet played.”  The rest of the band sounded great–a big grungy sound that I was really excited to hear on record, too.

But when I listened to the (first) record, the sound was really different–far more mellow, far less noise.  The opener, “Eyes Shut” has a fantastic 90s alt rock sound with a catchy lead guitar riff.  But on record, it’s a quiet folk song with no riff at all.

The newer record (on being a tape vol. 2) has a much heavier sound.–much more satisfying.  Paige’s vocals are also forward in the mix.  (more…)

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Foals / Inner Wave / Glove (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Foals, Franklin Music Hall, Glove, Inner Wave, Philadelphia, PA on December 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 14, 2022] Foals / Inner Wave / Glove

Back in 2008, Foals were a weird indie rock band.  Cryptic, with odd instrumental passages.  By their third album, Holy Fire, they had ditched all of that for huge bombast.  But it was still great, “Inhaler” was my favorite song of the year, getting bigger and bigger until it somehow exploded.

I kind of forgot about them, and then heard that they were releasing a two part epic: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost.

In 2022, they released their most recent album, Life is Yours, recording now as a trio.  I actually hadn’t heard anything from the album.

I had tickets to see the Lemonheads that night.  And I really wanted to see them, so Foals would have to wait until next time.

Although now that I check the setlist, I think that Foals show might have been the better bet.  Maybe.

Inner Wave was going to open for Chicano Batman when I saw them in 2020, but when the show was rescheduled, there was a new opening band.

Inner Wave is a five-piece ensemble, and three of the bandmates – lead vocalist and guitarist Pablo Sotelo, bassist and vocalist Jean Pierre Narvaez, and guitarist and keyboard player Elijah Trujillo – go all the way back to middle school. Some back-in-the-day homies left the band in 2016, and keyboardist Chris Runners and drummer Luis Portillo joined the group. [They are] an indie rock quintet who seamlessly float between psychedelic and synthwave sounds.

I can see them opening for Chicano Batman with their retro sounds and soft vocals.  I don’t exactly see it working with Foals.

Glove opened for A Place to Bury Strangers, a show I did not go to.  Glove is a retro synth band, in the vein of Depeche Mode or New Order.  They’re from Tampa but look like they are straight out of the 80’s UK music scene.

I don’t quite see them opening for Foals either, unless the new Foals music is a lot more synthy.

 

 

 

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VII] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2022] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

Somehow I missed that this show happened and only found out about it tonight in 2023.

It was the same dates, Dec 9 and 10, although on Fri and Sat.  Pat Finnerty opened both nights.

I have no idea how I missed it so completely.

There’s some clips on you tube from these shows.  Here’s one

~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

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An Evening of Solo Projects from Wilco Members: Autumn Defense / Nels Cline Duo / Eucademix (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, December 8, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Chris Lightcap, Eucademix, Glenn Kotche, Nels Cline, Nels Cline Duo, Wilco, Yuka Honda on December 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 8, 2022] Autumn Defense / Nels Cline Duo / Eucademix

When this show was first announced, I grabbed a ticket immediately.

Two of my favorite members of Wilco are Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche.

So to be able to see them do their work solo was incredible.

Then all of a sudden, when I looked at the show poster it looked like this —>
instead of the one at the bottom of the post.

Where was Glenn?

There was no word or information.  A day or so before the show I discovered that Glenn had hurt his arm (or something) and wasn’t going to be there. (more…)

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Bit Brigade / Standards (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bit Brigade, Ducktails, Johnny Brenda's, Legend of Zelda, MegaMan II, Philadelphia, PA, Standards on December 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 4, 2022] Bit Brigade / Standards

I saw Bit Brigade in 2018 and really enjoyed the show.  The premise of their live show is terrific.

The band plays the soundtrack to a video game while their resident gamer plays the game.  The band is heavy and the sound is amazing.

I can’t believe they were here in May and are back now in December and I didn’t get to go to either show.

For this show they were playing MegaMan II and Ducktails, two games I don’t know at all, so maybe that had some impact on my decision.

Standards opened the set.  Once again, I had not heard of the opening band for a Bit Brigade show.  But once again, they picked wisely.  Broadway World (!!!) has this succinct review of their music

Led by ebullient guitarist Marcos Mena, the pair boast a fruitful combination of musical chops and catchy guitar-driven melodies which has garnished popularity among fans who laud standards for their uniquely danceable brand of complex instrumental rock. For almost five years, their instrumental compositions have captivated audiences all over the world.

I need to reiterate this one part: uniquely danceable brand of complex instrumental rock.

It’s a spot on description.  The guitar is kind of showoffy intense and complicated, but never obnoxious and the light touches of synth and almost chiptune, make the songs really delightful and bright–almost like a video game is scrolling past.

 

 

 

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