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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Dogma / Frayle (Fowler Blast Furnace Room-SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA, April 2, 3026) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Dogma, Fowler Blast Furnace Room, Frayle on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 2, 3026] Dogma / Frayle

I heard about Dogma a few weeks ago.  I love a weird gimmick and it doesn’t get more gimmicky than nuns in corpse paint.  I though they would be fun to see, but this show was scheduled for a night that I already had two commitments so I knew I wouldn’t be going.

And then I investigated the band a little more an I found all kinds of shenanigans going on:

After three ex-members of the nun-themed metal group called out “the person who now controls the project,” saying that he betrayed “the artists, his partners, and the fans,” in late October, the last two weeks have snowballed into meteor-size ball, barrelling down at full speed. Elaborating that the three witnessed during tours “unilateral decisions, broken promises, manipulation, mistreatment, and lies to the fans. The person who now controls the project is a threat to Dogma’s future and is not an artist or a musician. He turned a band into a brand, and people into disposable pieces. He betrayed the artists, his partners, and the fans.”

The band has put out an album and it’s surprisingly poppy metal.  But the band is pretty talented and I enjoyed what I heard.  But I gather that the people who made the album are mostly no longer in the band (they all go by pseudonyms and are, basically easily replaced, I guess).  I don’t know anybody involved so I wouldn’t have missed anyone in particular.  But that still sucks.

But it’s all moot because their visas were held up too long for them to make this tour.  They are looking to reschedule.  I hope I can go if they come back because even though the scandals and everything are awful, it would be fun to see nuns in corpse paint in the tiny Blast Furnace Room.

Frayle is a doom metal band from Cleveland.  Their bio says they draw their inspiration from bands like Sleep, Portishead, Bjork, Kyuss, & Black Sabbath which is a wild mix.  The guitar bass and drum players all wear masks and the singer has some fascinating jewelry on her face.  I really like the way she under-sings the songs and would totally see them live if they come around.

 

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Dirty Three (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 2, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dirty Three, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 2, 2026] Dirty 3

I have a list of bands that I want to see.  The list is pretty long, but I do have them ranked roughly by how much I want to see them.  I also have a category of bands that I assume will never tour again but that I want to see if they ever do.  And Dirty Three was on top of that list.  I couldn’t believe when they announced that they were playing Underground Arts.  I bought my ticket instantly and couldn’t wait to see them.

And then about a week before this show, my daughter told me that she wanted to go to Minnesota for a college visit.  And it had to be the first days of April.

I was obviously bummed but was really happy that the trip was fun and helped her decide on a school.

I assume that Dirty Three will never come back to the States (their previous visit was in 2003).   Huh, I didn’t realize that they had put out a new album in 2024 (first since 2012), so maybe if they make another album before ten years pass, they may come back again).

The show sounds like it was wild (of course) and they played for two and a half hours!  I wonder if anyone filmed it.

 

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Thursday presents Full City Devolution / Chris Conly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, April 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chris Conly, Philadelphia, PA, Thursday, Union Transfer on April 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 1, 2026] Thursday / Chris Conly

I have seen Thursday twice.  Both times they opened for My Chemical Romance.  The first time was in the Prudential Center.  The second time was in Giants Stadium.  Both times the sound wasn’t great and while i knew them a little better the second time, I felt like I couldn’t really appreciate them at all.

So while I don’t know their music well, and don’t know the album Full City Devolution any more than any of their other albums, I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually see the band properly.

But then my daughter was going to Minnesota and so I missed all for the shows this week.  Luckily I was able to resell this show, so no loss for me.  And maybe Thursday will headline again soon–I mean they sold out this time, so they know there’s interest.

Chris Conly is a Brooklyn musician,  I listened to two of his songs and hated them both.  He reminds me of George Thoroughgood, and the last thing we need is another George Thoroughgood.

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Joseph / The Man, The Myth, The Meatslab (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, April 1, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Joseph, The Man The Myth The Meatslab on April 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 1, 2026] Joseph / The Man, The Myth, The Meatslab

My wife and I saw Joseph back in 2018.  She didn’t really know them but I was fond of their tight harmonies.  They were great and they played everything I wanted to hear.  I didn’t feel like I needed to see them again.  A few years ago one of the sisters, Allie, left the band and they are now a duo (with backing musicians).  That was one more reason I didn’t need to see them.  I’m sure they’re still really good, but it’s not the band I liked and the memory of that show is enough for me.

The Man, The Myth, The Meatslab is a new project from Jamie Clarke (I don’t know what his old project was).  He gets credit for a bizarre name, but boy I did not care for his lo-fi downer folk.  He reminded me of Hayden but less compelling.

Not sad about missing this one.

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The Teeth (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2026)

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Purples, The Kinks, The Teeth on March 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2026] The Teeth 

Two years ago, I had never heard of The Teeth before I saw that they had sold out three nights at Johnny Brenda’s months and months before these shows happened.

So who were they?  The Teeth was an indie rock band from Philadelphia consisting of twin brothers Aaron MoDavis on rhythm guitar and Peter MoDavis on bass.  I was intrigued by them and was even more intrigued when I saw that they were going to open for Dr. Dog on their tour last year.  From their images and the few songs I’d heard, I assumed that they’d be a weirdo band.  And I wanted to see them.

So I was pretty happy to have grabbed a ticket for this show.  While the show was starting, I met a guy who was born in Norway but who moved to California when he was three.  He had found The Teeth a few years ago (via Dr. Dog who always praised The Teeth) and fell in love with them.  He was very excited to be seeing them for the first time.  When he asked me how I knew them, I told him the above story.

I was very amused by their stage backdrop which was a bunch of hand drawn and cut out images stuck to the Johnny Brenda’s curtain.

After the comedian, it took some time before the band came out.  And what was so much fun is that they came out of the door upstairs!  They walked through the crowd, all while Herb Alpert’s Behind the Rain played, came down the stairs and climbed onto the stage.  And that’s when I realized how normal these guys were (except for Brian Ashby’s amazing mustache). (more…)

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John Miller Giltner (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2026) [THE TEETH]

Posted in John Miller Giltner, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Purples, The Kinks, The Teeth on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2026] John Miller Giltner

I was delighted when I saw that The Teeth has comedians open for them on the last time they played Johnny Brenda’s.  They did the same this time.  Although last night’s show opened with a magician (which sounds awesome), I got a kick out of John Miller Giltner.

They are a young comedian (meaning he uses a bunch of young person slang) and they used a powerpoint presentation (which was really funny).  It opened with a slide that said Comedy set for The Teeth.  Which is pretty spot on.

The main point of their comedy was about how they had a bed with no frame (it’s amazing how much material you can get out of that).  This included a phot of said bed and a lengthy story about the person he was dating’s reaction to the lack of bed frame.

But it started off funny when John said that in order to get through this set they were going to need to borrow someone’s vape.  A woman nicely obliged.  If they didn’t have the vape it would induce a panic attack for sure (the panic attack graphics on the powerpoint were hilarious).

An unintentionally funny part came when they clicked the wrong button and reset the whole PowerPoint.

There was a funny part about being nonbinary and the way his dad was supported but said the worst things.

The end of the set featured a long call with Amazon help.  He called up to say that he had given his then girlfriend a video game controller and she broke up with him and he wondered if he could get some kind of rebate since she broke up with him.  The woman on the other end of the call was confused but polite and ultimately sweet.  It was a funny bit of reality in a wild set.

I do rather like the idea of a comedian opening for a rock band and think more bands should consider it.

Here’s an article about another of Giltener’s performances.  I think our night was maybe a variant of this but cut much shorter.

 

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The Format / Ben Kweller / Adult Mom (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Adult Mom, Ben Kweller, Franklin Music Hall, Fun., Philadelphia, PA, The Format on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 28, 2026] The Format / Ben Kweller / Adult Mom

I didn’t know The Format when they first came around.  But when their new song was played on the radio, I thought Damn this sounds like the band fun.  So it turns out that it’s the same guy!  Spectrum Culture says

You know those stories about people who win the lottery, amassing millions and millions of dollars overnight and then working like nothing happened? That’s Nate Ruess. His old band, fun., put out a single (and album) big enough that he could probably live the rest of his life comfortably. His even older band, the Format, reunited to such massive hype that they had to cancel their reunion tour twice and still sold out the third one immediately.

Rock Doc tells us that they played TWO shows in Philly–one in Franklin Park (free) and one at Franklin Music Hall.

The Format are back on the road behind their latest record Boycott Heaven, and that journey brought Nate Ruess and Sam Means to Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall. Between the band’s original rise and eventual breakup nearly two decades ago, Ruess’ hugely successful run with FUN, and a solo career on top of that, these two have seen plenty of the music industry’s peaks and valleys. None of that history dampened the appetite for their reunion – the show sold out almost instantly.

Since I didn’t know and didn’t know anything about this show, it sold out before I even thought about going to it.  I had tickets to The Teeth anyhow.  But Rock Doc continues:

Ruess remains as captivating a frontman as he’s ever been, and he wore his emotions openly throughout the night. The setlist was a clear love letter to the back catalog. Of the twenty songs they ran through, only three came from the new album – a conscious decision to center the night around the songs people have been carrying with them for the better part of twenty years.

I don’t know much about Ben Kweller.  He’s just always kind of been there.  He’s a mellow rocker who plays guitar and piano and has done an album with Ben Folds.  He’s played with lots of people I like, but I’ve never really made the connection to him. I have to assume he’ll open for someone I want to see some day.

I saw Adult Mom almost ten years ago and I enjoyed their set.  A lot has happened to Stevie Knipe over the years including a bout with cancer.  They seem to be back though and put out their first album in 4 years last year.

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Lucius: A History Worth Repeating: Songs and Stories (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, March 27, 2026)

Posted in Pink Floyd, Wilco, Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver, Lucius, Roger Waters, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 27, 2026] Lucius

My wife and I saw Lucius 10 months ago and we really enjoyed the set (she didn’t really know them and became an instant fan after the show).  When they announced a show in Princeton, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Even if it was going to be the same show,  I wanted to experience it again.

Bu it turned out that this was an entirely different show–a retrospective of songs and stories.  Just like Taylor Swift, or more in my orbit, just like Guster.  When Guster did their We Have Eras Too tour, they created a narrative, telling stories between the songs and acting out little skits.  Lucius did basically the same thing (with no skits and a bit more melancholy).

The stage was spare but interesting.  There were three sections–a couch, a piano and a microphone and behind the instruments was a series of (I assume) the various costumes that the woman wore over the years on mannequins.

The lights went dark and Holly and Jess began talking.  I assumed it was a recording because there were no lights but I was pretty sure I saw them walk to the piano.  The narration was done as diary entries (we wondered if they were the actual dairies or a cotemporary edited version (not that it matters)).  They told us about how they met (Berklee) and how they got the band name (Jess’ dog was called Lucius–which leaves out why the dog was name Lucius, of course).

They told about how a friend suggested they sing at the same time (their signature sound) and how they wrote an early EP called Songs from Bromley House.  They sang a song called Shenandoah (Not the traditional one) and played piano.  It was spare and lovely.

Then they introduced the two guys who would be playing with them that night.  Guitarist Peter Lalish and bassist Solomon Dorsey (that’s right, no drums).  They sat at a couch and played the Bon Iver song “Skinny Love” and talked about the apartment they were living in in NYC.  (more…)

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Tigers Jaw / Hot Flash Heat Wave / Creeks (solo) (The Arrow, Allentown, PA, March 27, 2026/Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 5, 2026/Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 16, 2026)

Posted in Allentown PA, Creeks, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Grist Mil, Philadelphia, PA, The Arrow, Tigers Jaw, Union Transfer on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, April 5 & April 16, 2026] Tigers Jaw / Hot Flash Heat Wave / Creeks (solo)

About five years ago, I had seen Tigers Jaw two times in about a year.  I enjoyed both shows quite a lot but haven’t felt compelled to see them again for whatever reason.  Looking back I definitely enjoyed both shows,  But I guess there are just bands that I like better.

Checking out their tour dates, I am fascinated by the fact that, if I had wanted to, I could have seen them three times spaced apart far enough that it wouldn’t have been like seeing them three nights in a row.  They started in NY, then played Allentown.  They went up the coast to Maine and CT and then New York City and a week after Allentown they popped into Garwood.  Then they went down the east coast to Florida and back and played their second to last date in Philly.  Three area shows in 20 days!

Hot Flash Heat Wave are a  California based power pop band with a pleasant mix of post-punk and smooth emo.  The review from Troy, NY says

the group had a new-wave rock vibe to them, reminding me of a lighter-hearted version of The Smiths. The energy got heavier later on, with one of the vocalists jumping into the tight crowd in a way that was akin to a hardcore performance.

They have a retro synthy vibe and are definitely fun.  I see their older stuff is more guitar based.  So who knows what this set was like

WXPN says Hot Flash Heat Wave’s music contains surf rock staples, new wave vocal patterns, and a touch of grunge on top of them being seriously unserious on stage. Arguably, they’ve created a new subgenre of hyper pop perfect for the Tigers Jaw millennials that like to dance.

Creeks is the solo project of Jon Simmons from Balance & Composure (who are broken up, I guess).  Creeks is a band, but he was solo for these shows.

Turns out Grist Mil stepped up to fill the first slot, last minute in Allentown.  I hadn’t heard of them, but this review from Hashtag says

Grist Mil has created the perfect chill record to soundtrack the start of summer. Waves of haze and distortion move across guitars, crossing paths with bright synthesizers and emotionally packed lyrics. Fresh off shows supporting Balance and Composure and Oso Oso, fans of both bands will find appeal in the music of Grist Mil, also striking similarities to indie-electronic acts like M83, and blips of shoegaze and more pop-forward elements. The EP is written in concept, following through the main character’s tumultuous journey.

I listened to a couple songs–catchy but lo fi.  Nice.

The Crossroads show was an album release show for Tigers Jaw.

If I had thought about it more I might have tried to get to one of these shows, but at the very least Union Trasnfer sold out, so they didn’t miss me.

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The Teeth / Lindsey Noel (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lindsey Noel, Philadelphia, PA, The Teeth on March 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 27, 2026] The Teeth / Lindsey Noel

It was nearly two years ago that I first heard of The Teeth when they played Johnny Brenda’s and sold out before I even knew who they were.  But this year I managed to score a ticket for their second of two nights.  For this show that I didn’t go to, they had Lindsey Noel opening for them again.

Here’s what I wrote in 2024.

I had never heard of The Teeth before I saw that they had sold out three nights at Johnny Brenda’s months and months before these shows happened.

So who were they?

The Teeth was an indie rock band from Philadelphia consisting of twin brothers Aaron MoDavis on rhythm guitar and Peter MoDavis on bass.

After abruptly breaking up 15 years ago The Teeth are reuniting for a pair of special shows at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia. Twin brothers Peter MoDavis (Bass) and Aaron MoDavis (guitar) will reassemble with Jonas Oesterle (drums) and Brian Ashby (guitar) on their favorite stage in the City of Brotherly Love.

Opening for this show was magician Lindsey Noel.  I watched a clip of her performing in front of Penn and Teller and it was quite good.  But what a weird opening act!

Here’s some more about The Teeth: (more…)

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