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Ninja Sex Party / TWRP (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 29, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Ninja Sex Party, Philadelphia, PA, TWRP on March 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 29, 2025] Ninja Sex Party / TWRP

When I saw that this tour was playing at Franklin Music Hall and The Wellmont, I instantly grabbed a ticket for the Wellmont because FMH is a pain in the ass, especially for a really crowded show.

I enjoyed the show so much at the Wellmont that the next day I told my family that I would 100% love to take all of them to see it tonight at FMH.

Logistically this never would have worked and I believe that it was nearly or actually sold out, so yea, didn’t happen.

Bummer, I would 100% see them both again.

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Beth Gibbons / Bill Ryder-Jones (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, March 29, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Beth Gibbons, Bill Ryder-Jones, Philadelphia, PA, Portishead, The Met Philadelphia on March 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 29, 2025] Beth Gibbons / Bill Ryder-Jones

I love Portishead, they’ve always been a favorite band of mine even if they are rather unprolific.  A lot of that is Beth Gibbons’ voice.  But I’m guessing more has to do with the music of Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley.

When this tour was announced I almost immediately grabbed a ticket.  And then I heard Beth’s solo album and I was kind of bored by it.  Her voice is still glorious but I wasn’t excited by the music.  And while it would be amazing to see such an icon…not if I don’t enjoy what they’re doing.

Bill Ryder-Jones is a songwriter.  I listened to a few minutes of something and found it really slow.  It sounds like maybe he’s a diverse musician, but I wasn’t interested in finding out more.

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TWRP (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, March 28, 2025) [NINJA SEX PARTY]

Posted in Montclair, NJ, Ninja Sex Party, TWRP, Wellmont Theater on March 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2025] TWRP

I’ve seen TWRP twice and pretty much promised myself I’d see them whenever they came around.  I’m only bummed I hadn’t heard of them earlier.  They were the reason I went to this show, although I did know that Ninja Sex Party were friends with the band.  So much so that TWRP was the backing band (in costume!) for Ninja Sex Party.

I was really oping to get close for this show, but I underestimated how popular Ninja Sex Party was.  It was packed!  Luckily I found a slightly elevated space and settled in for some fun.

TWRP shows are an adventure, with a story line running through the show.  There’s lots of asides and banter.  However, when they are the opening band, they are streamlined (well, more streamlined) with some banter but no overarching storyline.

But otherwise everything was the same.  Dr Sung came out on his hoverboard.  Commander Meouch was on bass.  Lord Phobos kicked butt on guitar and Havve Hogan was on drums.  Although with the huge lighting setup of NSP, it was hard to see him back there. (more…)

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Ida / Tsunami (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ida, Philadelphia, PA, Tsunami, Underground Arts on March 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 28, 2025] Ida / Tsunami

Back in the 90s I liked Tsunami.  I was never a huge fan, but I liked them enough.  Listening again, I maybe should have given them a better chance back then.

Here’s what philty mag said

“Daniel and I have a 23-year-old daughter, and her friends are interested in music from the ‘90s, and they’re like, ‘You’re parents are in Ida?!  What?!’” says Elizabeth Mitchell of herself and husband Daniel Littleton, co-founders of 1990s indie rock legends Ida.  This past weekend, Ida kicked off their first tour in more than a decade.  The tour has them paired with longtime friends and fellow ‘90s legends Tsunami, who haven’t actually toured since 1998.

Ida and Tsunami are currently amidst the Coin Toss tour, which has the bands double-headlining, sharing equipment and van space, and determining each night’s set order by the flip of a coin.  “I think it’s gonna have kind of a celebratory feel, more than just a two-band bill,” Mitchell tells me of the show, which will be at Underground Arts this Friday, March 28th.  Tsunami co-founder Kristin Thomson chimes in: “I almost made a shirt that said, ‘Expect Whimsy!’”

Ida was based in NYC and Tsunami in DC.  Tsunami’s own Simple Machines record label released Ida’s first three albums (1994’s Tales of Brave Ida, 1996’s I Know About You, and 1997’s Ten Small Paces) and the two acts regularly found themselves touring and collaborating together throughout the decade.  “It will be a very Gen X time!” Thomson jokes of the Coin Toss tour.

Honestly it sounds like a great time, even if I wasn’t too familiar with their music anymore.  But I had tickets to Ninja Sex Party that night and I wasn’t going to pass that up.

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José Gonzáles (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, March 25, 2025)

Posted in José González, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on March 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 25, 2025] José Gonzáles

I was pretty obsessed with José Gonzáles’ debut album Veneer.  The melodies were gorgeous and his singing voice was so calming.  His song Heartbeats was so darn good.  It was surprising to discover it was a cover (by The Knife, a Swedish band that no one I know had heard of).

I hadn’t really thought about seeing him, although the last time he came arounds my friends saw him and said he was amazing.  (He has played Philly in 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2021).  So when he announced this tour (which wasn’t even going to Philly), but was going to Montclair!   And was seated!!  I grabbed tickets for my wife and I.

I was also delighted that there was no opening act.  Normally I love an opening act, but this was going to be a mellow show and I didn’t fancy an extra 30 minutes of someone else being mellow too.

The stage was set up with a platform (which was great–it meant we could see him completely) and this cool-looking object on stage.  It was metallic and silver and looked like  cash register or some other kind of old-fashioned odd musical instrument.  And then a roadie came in and sat on it.  Turns out that with the lighting and perspective, this simple wooden (not metallic) chair looked like a fascinating object (the stranger next to me agreed). (more…)

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Helmet: Betty 30th anniversary / Effusion 35 / Slomosa (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Effusion 35, Helmet, Philadelphia, PA, Slomosa, Underground Arts on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Helmet / Effusion 35 / Slomosa

I really liked the first Helmet album.  I bought betty, but I don’t remember much about it.  I probably haven’t listened to them in twenty years, and I think there have been some fifteen people in the band over the years, but I’ll bet they are still heavy as anything.  But I wasn’t that excited about this tour.

In Denver, War on Women opened, but not for us.  We had Slomosa and Effusion 35.

Slomosa is from Bergen, Norway.  They have created their own music genre, Tundra Rock.  It appears to be a meld of stoner rock and power metal.  I’m intrigued by them.  I listened to a couple of songs and found it okay, but a little flat.  They are probably great live though.

Effusion 35 is from Philly.  They seem almost like a heavy country band, although their earlier stuff is even less heavy–an odd pairing with Helmet to be sure.

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Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Basia Bulat, Mick Flannery, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery

I saw Basia Bulat on a Tiny Desk Concert many years ago. She played the pianoette and sounded amazing.

That Concert is from 2011 and she has changed a lot since then.  I was going to see her in 2020, but the show was cancelled because of COVID. I listened to the new album and found it really poppy and totally not my vibe.  So I’m taking her off of my list of musicians to see.

I saw Mick Flannery back in 2021 when he opened for Kathleen Edwards.   He had a pretty strong Irish accent when he sings, and he had overtones of Van Morrison.  He’s been releasing music since 2007 and is apparently a pretty big deal:

Mick Flannery is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed songwriters and singers. The award-winning, double-platinum selling artist has released six studio albums, three of which reaching No. 1 status.

I enjoyed the set but didn’t feel compelled to seek out any of his music.

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Reggie Watts / low iron (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, March 21, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in low iron, Philadelphia, PA, Reggie Watts, Underground Arts on March 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 21, 2025] Reggie Watts / low iron

I’ve been aware of Reggie Watts for a pretty long time.  I think I first encountered him on Comedy Bang Bang and since then his star has risen more and more.  He’s really funny and his beatboxing and improv skills are fantastic.

He also did a Tint Desk concert back in 2o12 which is super fun.  I didn’t really have a good reason for not going, it just didn’t line up well for me.  And I guess I’m far enough from seeing anything by him that I didn’t feel compelled to go.

low iron is a North Philadelphia-based DJ and community organizer  known for blending high-energy techno, electro, and bass with Philly club music and nostalgic hits.   She is active in the local queer and rave scene.

Sometimes an opening act can tell you a little bit about the show (sometimes not at all).  But this inclusion of a techno DJ made me think this show might be more dancey than funny, so I gave it a miss.

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Rx Bandits (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, March 13, 2025)

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rx Bandits, Zeta on March 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2025] Rx Bandits

So I didn’t know Rx Bandits at all.  When they started this tour last year (and played Philly), I skipped it even though I wanted to see Zeta.

But in the year since, I listened to this album and found that I liked it quite a bit.  And I still wanted to see Zeta, so I grabbed a ticket and investigated Rx Bandits more.

Rx Bandits had a simple set up–two guitars (singer Matt Embree & Steve Choi), a bass (Matthew Fazzi) and drums (Christopher Tsagakis).  And for a couple of songs they even brought out some horns (trombone: Andrew Borstein & saxophone: Dennis Passley).

This was a tour for their album The Resignation, which they played straight through.  I didn’t realize that they were initially a ska band and that they had morphed into something else over the years.

The band is tight and energetic and they rocked the venue (the crowd was nuts–I was on the barrier and was fairly safe).  They brought out the horns for Prophetic (and played the slow denouement that segued into Newsstand Rock. (more…)

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Zeta (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, March 13, 2025) [RX BANDITS]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rx Bandits, Zeta on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2024] Zeta

I was not familiar with Rx Bandits when they announced this show.  Indeed the only reason I was interested in this show at all was because Zeta was announced as the opener.

I had seen Zeta once and they blew me away. I would do just about anything to see them again.  So if just going to Asbury Park is the requirement, I was there.

I bought this ticket from the box office (always fun), although I had never really heard of the RX Bandits.  I was psyched to see Zeta.

Imagine my surprise then, when they announced another show in January–this one headlining.  So I got to see them in Jan and then again in March.  And this show was very different.

Well, not very different.  But quite different.  For one thing the stage was huge.  At the Foto Club, they were crammed around the drum kit.  Here, they all had space to move around.  But the focus, as always was on drummer Chino Sandoval–front and center and a whirling maniac.  They are still touring their fantastic new album, and I’m not entirely sure what they played from it.

I’m assuming the first two songs were the same as last time, but after that, I lost track.  I feel like the set was a little different because at one point Juan Chi stepped away from the mic and literally just screamed the vocals into the crowd.  There was some chatter before that but as soon as he started singing like that everyone was silent (even though I believe he was singing in Spanish).

As always, Antonio Pereira loomed behind the drums with his awesome bass sound.

Daniel Hernandez was on the other side of the stage.  He rapped a song and I’m fairly certain he sang part of Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine.  I admit that their sound was a little fuzzy (opening act problems) and they were really loud.  So I didn’t really understand a lot of what they were singing (it being mostly Spanish as well).  But the intensity is unmatched.

After every few songs, the crowd around me roared it’s approval, with a few “holy shit” moments.   This was especially true the two times that Chi hopped on the bongos and Hernandez played his own small drum kit.  It’s all percussion and bass, playing rhythmically and it’s awesome.

Sadly I’ll never know what the set list was, but it doesn’t matter.  I loved the show, Iloved that they clearly won over new fans and it was especially cool that two of the guys remembered me from January when we chatted for a little while.

 

2025 Asbury Lanes 2025 Foto Club 2023 Underground Arts
¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ ¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ La flor de la palabra @
¿Por qué sentimos la necesidad de romper con todo? £ Completar ∞
Privilege ¿ La flor del tiempo @
La flor de la palabra @ El Canto de La Victoria @
Completar ∞ Afrontar ∞
La flor del tiempo @ Sufrir ∞
Steps ¿ Magia infinita ∞
The Truth ¿
Yo el peor de todos (somos cosmos) XXV §
Shadows ¿
The Wild ¿
unknown setlist Magia infinita ∞

 

¿ Was It Medicine to You? (2025)
@ Todo Bailarlo (2022)
∞ Magia infinita (2018)/reissued 2024
£ L’Antiteoria del Todo (2016)
§ single (2013)

 

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