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THE TRIP: Canaries, The Tubs, Hotline TNT, Wishy, Horse Jumper of Love (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, January 30, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Canaries, Horse Jumper of Love, Hotline TNT, House of Independents, The Tubs, Wishy on January 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 30, 2026] THE TRIP: Canaries, The Tubs, Hotline TNT, Wishy, Horse Jumper of Love

This I was pretty interested in this show because I knew two bands and I really want to see Hotline TNT.  But then this show was the same night as Jordan Klepper, who my wife was dying to see live.  He was great and I didn’t mind missing this long night of music.

I’m not sure what the order of the bands was.

I have never seen Horse Jumper of Love.  When they played previous shows I wrote: They play downbeat, rather depressing mope rock.  With occasional flares of noise attached.  I’d hope they’d be more lively in concert.  But I doubt it somehow.  They keep appearing on my radar though, so maybe I would like them.

I saw Wishy open for Momma.  I really enjoyed their set a lot–the two singers with great harmonies and, as I wrote about Sick Sweet, it’s a shoegazey masterpiece that I feel in love with the first time I heard it.  I would happily have seen them again.

Hotline TNT plays what I can only describe as classic shoegaze, which is definitely having a moment again.  Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, they don’t really mess with the classic shoegaze vibe all that much–not adding elements at all.  Their music warms my heart and I’d love to see them live.  This is the sixth time I’ve missed them since 2022.

Canaries are a noisy shoegazeish band from Richmond Virginia.  They’re not dipping into the heavier side of the genre, instead they are making a lot of crashing noises–a fun rowdy kind of shoegaze that I like.

The Tubs are a Welsh indie rock band from Cardiff, formed in 2018. The band was founded by Owen Williams and original guitarist George Nicholls. Along with Max Warren they were previously members of Joanna Gruesome. The current lineup is completed by Dan Lucas and Taylor Stewart.  I am surprised that one of the bands on this line up is Welsh (and maybe it’s not them), but their jangle pop is not too far off from the rest of the show.

This would have been a fun show to go to and a good chance to check out a bunch of bands.

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Halima (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 28, 2026) [SUDAN ARCHIVES]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sudan Archives, Union Transfer on January 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 28, 2026] Halima

I’ve known about Sudan Archives since her first album came out.  I wanted to see her in 2020, but her show sold out.  Then it was just before the COVID shutdown and her show wasn’t cancelled but hardly anyone went so I could have gone (but I didn’t know that and probably wouldn’t have gone anyway).  I had a ticket to see her a couple years ago but didn’t make it.  But then I finally saw her at All Things Go in 2023,so I was excited to get to see her again at her own show.

I had not heard of Halima, but she seemed to have some buzz around her.  She came out looking fierce in a half jacket with huge shoulders.  She had beads in her hair, marched out to the mic all by herself and started her backing music.

It was really impressive that she stood there with just the mic and her backing music playing as she sang her genre-unspecific music.  I really enjoyed the spare backing sounds of her songs.  omoge was a series of soft notes as she sang gently over them.    Her second song (which I never found the name of) was a bit more bouncy with some deep bass notes.

I really liked the sounds of cocoa body–a kind of percussive melody accompanied by deep bass notes.  Most of her songs were pretty short, but this one did have a middle instrumental section where Halima showed off her great dance moves.

Halima is British but she lives in Brooklyn.  I loved hearing her talk–there’s something really cool sounding about the way British singers say Phillleeee.  (more…)

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Agriculture (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 2026)

Posted in Agriculture, Knoll, Nina Ryser, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on January 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2026] Agriculture

I saw Agriculture open for Boris just two months ago.  I enjoyed their set so much that I knew I’d see them again and two months was not too short of a time to wait.

Agriculture calls their music ecstatic black metal and that description, while slightly vague, is really spot on.  There is screaming and growling, speed and heaviness but also a lot of brightness and beauty.

They put out a new album last year and most of their Boris set was from that album.  The headline set added two more songs form that record and a few more older tracks.

First out was guitarist Richard Chowenhill who started playing one note really really fast.  I was standing right in front of him and I was really blown away by how fast he was picking the string.   The rest of the band came out and started Flea, which features bassist Leah Levinson reciting lyrics while guitarist Dan Meyer who still has a big beard screamed gutturally.  The fact the the song shifts gears midway through to a pleasant, uplifting voice while Leah sings gently only make the screams that she does shortly all the more crazy.

I loved watching drummer Kern Haug.  He has exceptional sideburns and he plays so fast and yet with such precision.  I’m surprised for the second time that he wore a button down shirt,  But I was less surprised to see him trying to stretch out his back mid set because holy cow what a workout.

But it was really amazing being in front of Chowenhill as he played these amazing solos. Whether he shredded furiously or was doing fascinating finger tapping while sliding up and down the neck, the speed and accuracy were mind blowing.

It was pretty bizarre about half way through the show a guy pushed his way up front and started “singing” along to Leah’s screamed vocals. He clearly knew the words and he did try to sound screamy but it was almost like have a translator next to me.  I let him get in front so he’s stop shouting in my ear. (more…)

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Knoll (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 2026) [AGRICULTURE]

Posted in Agriculture, Knoll, Nina Ryser, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on January 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2026] Knoll

I hadn’t heard of Knoll until my physical therapist said he knew them.  He said they put on an incredible show.  And since I already knew that Agriculture was incredible, I was doubly psyched.

So Knoll set up their gear.  They had an old-looking end table (I would guess like 100 years old, with all kinds of filigree–but probably not worth anything) and interesting gear on it. The table also had a little light on it.  And then I realized that there were four floor lamps around the stage.

And these lights were the only things that lit the stage!  And, most interesting of all, each band member had a step on plug (like we use for our Christmas lights) and turned their individual light on and off throughout the show.

All five members of the band were dressed in all black–button down shirts and black pants.  And the lead singer, James Eubanks, has his head shaved, (possibly his eyebrows), his fingernails shaped into points.  He looks like Nosferatu.

Before the show, he busied himself by making sure all of the lamps were plugged in.  And as soon as they were ready.

BOOM.

I was in front of guitarist Cameron Giarraputo.  He was like a machine with the speed and technical expertise he brought to these incredibly fast songs.  It was a wall of noise.  And then Eubanks stepped up front and an unholy demon jumped out of his mouth.

He growled, he shrieked, he made sounds that I didn’t think a human could make and… apparently… there were words associated with these sounds. (more…)

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Nina Ryser (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 2026) [AGRICULTURE]

Posted in Agriculture, Knoll, Nina Ryser, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on January 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2026] Nina Ryser

Nina Ryser is a member of Palberta (I love that name) whom I saw live a while back.  I saw Nina solo back in 2022.  She was opening for Tropical Fuck Storm.  And tonight she was opening for Agriculture.  That’s two really heavy bands who chose her to open.  She is something of a Philly DIY institution, but she plays offbeat synth songs that are not at all like the headliners.

Most of the songs were built around a beat and a simple chord pattern.  There was a droney component to it and Nina’s vocals were kind of deadpan.  With her was Luke Knapp, on bass and other synthy sounds.

There were some good bass lines and fun synth sounds.  Nina tends to re-state her lyrics a bunch and the songs quickly become familiar (I’m not even sure if there are verses and choruses). (more…)

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Chris Gethard (Flounder Brewing Co., Hillsborough, NJ, January 16, 2026)

Posted in Chris Gethard, David Dondero, Flounder Brewing Co, Hillsborough NJ, Weird New Jersey on January 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 16, 2026] Chris Gethard

When I first saw a poster for a Chris Gethard show (I’m guessing at House of Independents), I thought his name was a joke–Get Hard, ha ha.  I’m sure he took a lot of abuse for that in school.

But I looked him up and discovered that he was part of an amazing podcast called New Jersey is the World (it ended about a year ago).  Gethard (pronounced Getherd) grew up in New Jersey and spent many years writing for Weird NJ.  And he knows this state better than just about anyone.

He does comedy nationally, but he seems to really relish doing shows in NJ.  Last year he did a show in every county (in pizza places, in basements, in a used furniture store (!) and now for the second time in Flounder Brewing.  (I’m bummed I missed the last one).

He has regular routines, but he also loves to tell stories about New Jersey, especially weird New Jersey. (more…)

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David Dondero (Flounder Brewing Co., Hillsborough, NJ, January 16, 2026) [CHRIS GETHARD]

Posted in Chris Gethard, David Dondero, Flounder Brewing Co, Hillsborough NJ, Kevin Devine on January 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 16, 2026] David Dondero

It’s interesting to me that my last show of 2025 was at the same venue as the first show of 2026–a venue I hadn’t been to before that previous show.  It helps that it’s 15 minutes from my house.

I have known about Chris Gethard for a little while.  I missed him the last time he came around here, but I soon as this show was announced I grabbed a ticket.  I saw that David Dondero was going to open for him.  I thought I didn’t know who he was, but it turns out I had seen a Tiny Desk of his back in 2014.  The folks at NPR Music love(d) him, but I was okay on him

his music is good but not especially memorable, but it’s his lyrics that Dondero is known for.  His songs are thoughtful and interesting and look at a variety of subjects.

Chris Gethard introduced him and said that he had known about David for decades and was a huge fan.  He was in Florida and David was playing a show and said he was moving back to New Jersey.  He and Chris connected and this tour was born.  (more…)

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Phish (Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, December 28-31, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Madison Square Garden, New York City, Phish on December 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 28-31, 2025] Phish

In 2023, I took my family to Phish on New Year’s Eve and we had a great time.  The show was fun and being in New York City after midnight was a hoot.

I didn’t feel like going last year.  But this year I asked the family if they wanted to go again.  And my son and wife said they’d go.  I snagged tickets for the 28th and the 3oth.

And then I had surgery on the 10th, and there was no way I was hoofing it into the city two weeks after a major surgery, so I happily resold to another fan.

 

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AF2K (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, December 21, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in AF2K, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Rush, The OBGMs on December 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 21, 2025] AF2K

My friend Doug is a huge Rush fan and likes seeing all of the local tribute bands.  He told me about AF2K (A Farewell to Kings) they play primarily 70s/80s Rush songs, and that’s my favorite era.

I also love that they were playing on 12/21.

But had just had surgery and even though this was a seated show, there was just no way.

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Champagne Jam 2025 (Brooklyn Bowl, The Foundry, Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 19-20, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties, Alex Orange Drink, Annie DiRusso, Balance and Composure, Brother Bird, Chmpagne Jam, Family Dinner, Funambulist, Kevin Devine, Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band, Leisure Hour, Palomino, Philadelphia, PA, Public Works, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Front Bottoms, The Lunar Calendar, This is Lorelei on December 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 19-20, 2022] Champagne Jam 2025

Every year for quite some time, The Front Bottoms have been doing a Champagne Jam at the close of the calendar year.

I got tickets in 2022 but we didn’t go.  This year I didn’t plan on going although my daughter surprised me by saying she wanted to go to one of the days.  Then I explained what all was involved–that it wasn’t just a headliner and opener and she agreed that she didn’t want to deal with all that.

So who was there this year?  It was much smaller than the 2022 edition, which seemed to have several venues involved.  This one was just the Fillmore and the Foundry. (more…)

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