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Squirrel Flower (The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2026) [SPOON]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, Squirrel Flower, The Beths, The Fillmore Philadelphia on June 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 23, 2026] Squirrel Flower

I saw Squirrel Flower open for Soccer Mommy back in 2021.  At the time I wrote that I found her solo stuff kind of dull, but then she brought a band out for the second half of her set and I liked the songs a lot more.

About mid way through I felt like they sounded like a slightly grungier version of Cowboy Junkies.  It was still a little slow for me but I enjoyed a few songs.

Despite enjoying a couple of songs, I didn’t feel compelled to see her again, especially since she was going on at 7.  So we left a little earlier than I would for an 8PM show and we arrived with Squirrel Flower starting her final song.  It was, like the others, very slow.  Here’s one thing I noted last time:

In an interview, she says that “Hurt a Fly” is her first ever Squirrel Flower song with key changes (!).

I believe it.  She did change her vocal note at some point in the song but it was mostly forgettable.  So I’m glad we didnt stand through 40 minutes of her.

 

(more…)

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Black Country, New Road / Horsegirl (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Country New Roads, Franklin Music Hall, horsegiirL, Horsegirl, Philadelphia, PA on June 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 23, 2026] Black Country, New Road / Horsegirl 

I was vaguely intrigued when Black Country, New Road first came out (NPR music loved them).  And then in 2022, lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood announced his sudden departure from the band four days before the release of Ants From Up There which resulted in the cancelling of the band’s planned first US tour.

I didn’t like the sound of the band with the new singer quite as much so I didn’t go see them when they returned.  I am really surprised they were playing Franklin Music Hall–how did they get so huge?  I’ve listened to their newest album and liked it even less.  So yea, I wasn’t going to this show.

Horsegirl has a super catchy song called Switch Over that I like quite a lot.  They remind me of a few 90s alt rock bands,  there’ssome Stereolab and an Elephant 6 bands vibe, there’s even a Nico feel in the vocals.  Their newer records is a slower and a bit different from their previous record (which they say is their High school record).  I tend to prfer the less mature stuff, so I actually prefer the previous album.  But this one is good too.

They are not to be confused with horsegiirL, a German DJ who wears a horse head mask.

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Ratboys / Shallowater (The Arrow, Allentown, PA, June 22, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Ratboys, Shallowater, The Arrow on June 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 22, 2026] Ratboys / Shallowater

I’ve seen Ratboys three times and have really enjoyed all of their live shows.  I didn’t love this new album as much–it goes too deep into the country angle.  And yet, I know that their live show is great.  But I couldn’t make this show as I had a show the night before and the night after.

Interestingly, they are playing Jersey City in July  as well as a small festival in Philly (but I’m not going to that one).

Shallowater is an interesting band.  I listened to the first song on their album and it was slow and somehow slower.  I was absolutely going to turn it off, but I didn’t and then midsong it got hugely loud and distorted.  Evidently this genre is called slowcore?  They describe their sound as West Texas dirtgaze.  So this first song starts out really slow (like Low) and I did like that it was a full sound, not a bedroom low fi sound. It picked up about 90 seconds in and then after two and a half minutes they all jump on the distortion pedals and the song turns into chaos with a noisy distorted guitar solo for about a minute and then it all drops off again into the quiet acoustic sound once more. I’m definitely intrigued, especially since I hated them when they started–sometimes you have to listen all the way to the end of a song.

The other songs on thei album run to 7 and 8 minutes long.  I may need to dive into them a bit more.  I’m quite fascinated.

I would like to get back to The Arrow again, as it was a nice venue.  But this show wasn’t the one.

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The Sadies (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, June 21, 2026) [KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, The Sadies, The Stone Pony on June 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2026] The Sadies

I was vaguely aware of The Sadies. I was mostly aware of them because their singer Dallas Good died suddenly and the entire Canadian music scene was upset about it.  I assumed The Sadies were done, but, as Dallas’ brother and the band’s new singer and guitarist said, this show and every show that we play for the rest of our lives is dedicated to my younger brother.

That’s pretty devastating.  But it was clear that The Sadies put everything into their shows.

So The Sadies’ songs fall into two categories–a kind of country & western (as opposed to country) song with a heavy dose of surf rock sprinkled all over the song.  And hugely enjoyable instrumentals that showcase Travis Good’s fantastic guitar playing.

What that means is that most of their songs sound basically the same.  And yet, they played for almost 50 minutes and I not only was I never bored, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Which is pretty impressive given that they are a three-piece with a simple drum kit (played expertly by Mike Belitsky) and an upright bass (played by Sean Dean).  An upright bass doesn’t lend for a lot of fast improv.

So most of the embellishments came from Travis.  Dallas’ voice was a bit softer, while Travis’ has a darker edge to it, which makes some of these dark songs sound even darker. In a song like Oak Ridges his voice also goes deeper. (more…)

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Kurt Vile and the Violators (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, June 21, 2026)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, The Sadies, The Stone Pony on June 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 21, 2026] Kurt Vile & The Violators

My wife has become a huge fan of Kurt Vile in the last few years, so any chance to see him, we’ll take.  She had never been to The Stone Pony before and as a Jersey native, she really ought to have been there at least once.  This was my third time there and I really haven’t enjoyed the vibe at any of the shows.

And tonight’s was weird too.  The Stone Pony is a weird venue–it’s very wide and very shallow.  It may also slope down away from the stage (It probably doesn’t but it feels that way).  After checking out the beach for a few minutes we headed inside and saw that it was pretty crowded.  We found our spot and then realized the guys in front of us were really drunk.  They moved soon after Kurt started (and eventually the one guy fell over and the had to be removed).  But then a very tall woman who was near us suddenly wound up in front of us.  Which sucked.

After a few songs behind her, I had to move a few feet over to be able to see.  Halfway through when the drunk guy fell over and had to leave I was able to get back to my wife and we enjoyed the show together.

So this tour was for his new album Philadelphia’s Been Good To Me.  And yet he opened with two songs not on the album.  All subsequent show, he jumped right to the new album.  So I’m not sure why we got Jesus Fever (which no one else did, but no complaints, it’s a great song) and Hey, Like A Child was earlier in the seton this tour.

I was pretty fascinated to see just how many people knew the words to all of his songs.  He was pretty excited to play The Stone Pony (his first time) so maybe he gave us an extra song or two.

And then it was on to the new album.  Red Room Dub is a delightful instrumental (is this is first instrumental, I don’t know), but he put words to it (no idea what they were though).  Zoom 97 is slow, chill song with the fun line “jump n my whip (yeah!)”  His backing band is always so solid–they never show off, they just keep things going as they need to.  (more…)

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Jimmy Eat World : 25 Years of Bleed Amaerican / Thrice / Hey Mercedes (Skyline Stage at The Mann Center, June 19, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hey Mercedes, Jimmy Eat World, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Skyline Stage at The Mann, Thrice on June 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 19, 2026] Jimmy Eat World / Thrice / Hey Mercedes

Like everyone else in the world, I liked Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American album.  I became a little obsessed with them, as I tend to do.  But I didn’t really listen to anything else by them.  I considered going to this show but realized that I didn’t like the album enough to head to the Mann to see them.

Interestingly, Bolero Brewery announced that at their Bolero festival this year, their headliner was going to be someone touring a big anniversary.  If you guessed who it was you would get two tickets.   I guessed Jimmy Eat World and I was super psyched to see them at Bolero.  But it wasn’t them and I don’t even know the headliner that they were talking about.  So that was a bummer.

Thrice is a post-hardcore band from California.  I don’t know them at all, although they’ve been around since the late 1990s.  I just read about them a bit on Wikipedia and I don’t really understand how I don’t know them.  They are certainly the kind of band I would have really enjoyed–especially given their philanthropy.  They were pretty heavy back in the day although their sound has moved in many different directions over the years.

Hey Mercedes was formed out of the ashes of the band Braid.  I don’t know either band (I guess I never really got into the emo scene).  Hey Mercedes is pretty catchy upbeat pop punk.

This would probably have been a fun night, but I’m not upset about missing it–woulld have enjoyed it much more 20 years ago probably.

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Daisy Grenade / Vienna Vienna (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Daisy Grenade, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, Vienna Vienna on June 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 18, 2026] Daisy Grenade / Vienna Vienna

Daisy Grenade opened for Pierce the Veil but we missed them. I wanted to see them because I like what they call bubblegrunge.

Daisy Grenade is an alt-pop duo led by Dani Nigro and Keaton Whittakker hailing from their hometown of NYC. Their songs hit like chaotic diary entries equal parts heartbreak, rage, delusion and rebellion. They’re giving bubblegrunge a bloody nose, wrapping raw vulnerability in distortion and glitter.

I listened to their newer stuff and liked it a bit less-it’s more poppy than their earlier stuff.  Tonight was my daughter’s graduation, though so I didn’t mind missing this show.

Vienna Vienna deems his cathartic take on alternative music “glimmer rock.”  His music reflects his journey with queerness and self-acceptance, creating a space of shared catharsis at his shows. The music blends pop-punk, queer pop, and soft-rock ballads, celebrating strangeness and authenticity.

I’ve listened to a couple of his songs and I really like them–he’s fun and catchy.  They’ve got a great voice and a great sense of melody.  I hope they opene for someone else that I see in the future.

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Algernon Cadwallader (RUBA Club, June 17 & 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Algernon Cadwallader, Amanda X, Cara Beth Satalino, Philadelphia, PA, RUBA Club on June 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17 & 18, 2026] Algernon Cadwallader

Algernon Cadawallader has reunited and played a bunch of shows.  Before they reunited I had not heard of them.  But I had since listened to them and thought they sounded pretty great.  I have not been able to get to any of their shows in Philly, which is especially crazy since they seem to play pretty often now.

I had also never heard of the RUBA Club.  It is possible that it once stood for Russian United Beneficial Association. Now just known as the Ruba Club in Northern Liberties.  It is a non-profit social club, venue, and production space which hosts events, shows, and parties in our cabaret bar and ballroom theater.

This was a SPECIAL EVENT hosting the 20th anniversary show of Algernon Cadwallader’s first demo

The band said they were Soooo stoked to share these nights with two artists who were part of our story since the early days.

June 17th was Cara Beth Satalino.  June 18th was Amanda X. (more…)

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Chinese American Bear / Layton Wu (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chinese American Bear, Layton Wu, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2026] Chinese American Bear / Layton Wu

I hadn’t heard of Chinese American Bear until I was looking at the PhilaMOCA site for another show.  The name was cute and I looked into them and immediately wanted to see them live because their live shows are playful and interactive. Tong leads the audience in singing Mandarin and dancing.  There is a background dancer in a dumpling hat or a bear hat, and the duo throw dumpling or boba plushies into the crowd.

I mean, how fun would that be?  But we had tickets to see Wilco (why do all the good events happen on the same night?).  Since they’re from Seattle there’s a chance they’ll come back to the East Coast sooner rather than later.  The band consists of married couple Lingbo Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten. They play psychedelic C-pop (or mando pop) with both Mandarin and English lyrics.

Layton Wu is a New York based Taiwanese bedroom pop singer.  He might be too soft for my liking.  I wonder if he’s more fun live.

 

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An evening with Wilco (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, June 17, 2026)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Levitt Pavilion, Wilco on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 17, 2026] Wilco

This was my third time seeing Wilco.  I’ve been trying to see them again since 2021 but for some reason it never worked out.  In fact, I’ve been trying to see them a lot since 2016, but it never worked out until tonight.

SteelStacks outside is a fun venue and I grabbed a ticket for my wife and I.  The last time I saw Wilco it was a co-headlining tour with Sleater-Kinney, so their set was short.

But this time, it was just them, so they did two sets (although, somehow they played fewer songs than when I saw them ten years ago).

We arrived at SteelStacks wih plenty of time, but were kind of herded into the grassy area.  I didn’t even realize that they had a merch table.  I probably would have bough the poster (see below) so it’s probably for the best that I didn’t know about it.

This was my wife’s first time seeing them and I knew she’d enjoy the show, both for the songwriting and for the wildness (because Wilco may be dad-rock, but they absolutely crush thing live).

Wilco has been around forever, so they have a million songs to choose from.   It’s possible that you’re not going to hear your favorite song at any of their sets, but it’s pretty likely that you’re going to hear a bunch of your favorites–and some unexpected deep cuts.

I’m not a massive Wilco fan.  I enjoy most of their stuff, although I haven’t really listened to the two latest albums.  And, yea, I really start at around Summerteeth, but I could easily make an ideal setlist and this show covered most of it.

We got off to a great start with Handshake Drugs and If I Ever Was a Child.  Jeff was playing acoustic guitar and we were in front of Nels Cline (with a clear view of Glenn Kotche on drums).  They played a few newer songs that I didn’t know.  I was intrigued by the lyrics to Cruel Country, especially since the first line is cleanly stated–I love my country.  It’s hard to feel that way, but I guess it’s nice to be reminded that we could feel that way again.

It’s always interesting seeing what the crowd gets excited by.  I was really pleased to hear Evicted (I love that guitar melody); there was a huge reaction for I’m Always in Love, but an even huger reaction for Hummingbird.

I’d often wondered if Pat Sansone ever felt like Nels Cline gets all of the love (I didn’t realize they joined in the same year).  But at this show Pat had some absolutely stellar, showoffy guitar solos.  In fact, there were two extended jams in which he and Nels played off of each other.  It was really fun and the songs they chose to do them in were totally rocking so it just felt like a fantastic jam session.

Bassist John Stirratt has been with Wilco since the beginning and for this show, he sang a song that he wrote (and sang on) on the debut album.  The song was It’s Just That Simple, which I didn’t recognize, but it was fun to see Jeff on bass. (more…)

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