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Marco Benevento / Ghost Funk Orchestra (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, April 13, 2024)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Ghost Funk Orchestra, Karina Rykman, Marco Benevento, Philadelphia, PA on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2024] Marco Benevento / Ghost Funk Orchestra

I have seen Marco Benevento three times live.  Every time has been a wonderful, joyous experience.  And I promise myself I’m going to see him again soon.

I didn’t go to his shows last year because I needed a break from shows that week.

This year, I already had a ticket to see Swans and then my daughter and I were going to go see Jhariah, so I couldn’t go to see Marco this time.    But he’s always playing shows and I’m sure I’ll see him again pretty soon.

Ghost Funk Orchestra has a name that I was bound to love.  And yet when I listened to them I found that i didn’t really like them at all.

Ghost Funk Orchestra is the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum. The band draws heavy influence from the worlds of soul, psych rock, salsa, and beyond.

Even that description is perfect for me, but I feel like they take my least favorite elements from all of the genres and I instantly bristled at the vocals and the recording style.

They’re probably a lot of fun live, and I’m sure I would have enjoyed them opening for Marco, but I did not enjoy the album at all.

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Richard Thompson / Jonatha Brooke (Scottish Rite Auditorium, Collingswood, NJ, April 13, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Collingswood NJ, Jonatha Brooke, Richard Thompson, Scottish Rite Auditorium on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 13, 2024] Richard Thompson / Jonatha Brooke

I’ve seen Richard Thompson more than almost anyone else.

I really want to see him with a full band, but that doesn’t seem to happen much in our area anymore.  He even announced a tour with a full band, but this show was meant to be solo (with help from Zara Phillips).

I have never been to the Scottish Rite Auditorium, which was another reason that I was looking forward to this show.

And then I wound up having surgery earlier in the week.  I probably could have still gone to this show, but honestly it just felt like too much work, getting all the way down there and walking to the venue, all while trying to take it easy and recover.

I know he’s playing in Bethlehem later this year, but again, I don’t think it’s with a full band.  I need to hear Richard rock out on an electric guitar again!

I know Jonatha Brooke from when I used to live in Boston.  She was in a band called The Story and then went solo.  I really liked her album Plumb (1995) and then I pretty much lost track of her.  I had no idea she was still regularly putting out music.

I would have liked to hear her, although I see from the setlist that she didn’t play anything I knew.

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Kristof Hanh (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 13, 2024)

Posted in Kristof Hanh, Philadelphia, PA, Swans, Union Transfer on April 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 13, 2024] Kristof Hanh

I have been a fan of Swans since 1988.  I have a lot of their records on vinyl.  I have more on CD.  I went through a deep dive of Swans fandom  after college and then pretty much drifted away from them.

I’d been kind of intimidated away from seeing them live for years–I heard their shows were punishingly loud and that Michael Gira could be a rather contrary front man.

But my pal Phil Puleo has been playing drums with them for years and I thought it was time to see him and them.  (I had tickets to see them in 2021, but COVID).

So here they were back again.

I wasn’t sure who the opener, Kristof Hanh, was.  But when I looked him up I saw that he has been a member of Swans on and off since 1989.  He mostly plays lap steel guitar but also plays other guitars.  He has, in fact, played lap steel on the most recent album and some other recent releases as well.

Wikipedia says

His approach to the lap-steel guitar is non-traditional, often devoted to playing drones that can serve as either supporting background elements or take a more prominent role in the band’s music.

He came out and sat at his lap steel which was right in front of me.  He started playing and then smiled and said he was demonstrating the importance of electricity.  He turned on his gear and started playing.  He uses lots of effects and his sound was, indeed, full of drones.  He played melodies but also kept a large sound in the overall chords that he played. (more…)

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Moon Hooch (Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ, April 10, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Moon Hooch, Wonder Bar on April 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 10, 2024] Moon Hooch

I’ve been a casual fan of Moon Hooch for a number of years now.  I always enjoy watching their Instagram videos and I have one of their albums.

The band is a trio with two, TWO saxophones. Normally I wouldn’t enjoy two saxophones, but they do things differently.

They are known for their dance-oriented percussion-and saxophone music made by saxophonists Wenzl McGowen and Michael Wilbur and drummer Cyzon Griffin.

And yet, I just can’t bring myself to go see them live.  I fear that the crowd wouldn’t be one I’d enjoy… or something.

Perhaps I’m just getting carabby as I get older.

The show listing indicated an opening act but I haven’t been able to figure out who it is.

 

 

 

 

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Wax Jaw / Food Truck / (The Funhouse, Bethlehem, PA, April 5, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Food Truck, The Funhouse, Wax Jaw on April 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 1, 2024] Wax Jaw / Food Truck

I keep getting shut out of seeing Wax Jaw.  It’s insane how many concerts they sprinkle around for me to see which I somehow manage not to get to.

When I saw they were playing Bethlehem, I was super psyched to go!   Sure, I’ve never been to The Funhouse, but so what.

I wrote on the calendar that this show was Saturday night.  Only to realize on Friday that it was on Friday!  And we had already made plans.  Sigh.

This one was weird because there were no tickets available ahead of the show, it was only at the door.  I had no intention of getting here early or anything s oi guess it’s possible I could have been shut out (capacity 100) and that would have just pissed me off. (more…)

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Destroyer (solo) / Lightning Dust (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 4, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Mountain, Destroyer, Johnny Brenda's, Lightning Dust, Philadelphia, PA on April 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 4, 2024] Destroyer (solo) / Lightning Dust

Back in 2020, Destroyer was the last show I saw before everything shut down.  I bought tickets for them the last time they came to Philly (2022) but wound up going to Pup with my son that night instead.

This show was a solo show which, despite how much I enjoyed Dan Bejar, I was 100% not interested in.

I genuinely can’t imagine Destroyer without the rest of the band (doesn’t matter who is playing, I just want the extra musicians).  So I had no intention of going to this one.

Lightning Dust is a band I had forgotten about.  The band is a side project of Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, both members of Black Mountain, who I saw open for Primus a few years ago.

Unlike the heavy Black Mountain, Lightning Dust plays haunting, minimalist instrumentation with spooky, goth-like lyrics.

I have their 2013 album Fantasy, but honestly haven’t thought about them in about a decade.

I’ll bet it was a quiet, minimalist night.

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Adam Ant: Antmusic 2024 / The Beat starring Dave Wakeling (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, April 3, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Adam and the Ants, Adam Ant, New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre, The Beat, The English Beat on April 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 3, 2024] Adam Ant: Antmusic 2024 / The English Beat

My friend Garry got me into Adam Ant at a time when I didn’t like much beyond heavy metal.

I knew of him of course (he was all over MTV) but it wasn’t until I started to really listen to him that I found I really liked the stuff he was doing.

I’d never seen him before and really wouldn’t have gotten a ticket to this show if it wasn’t so close–Philly would have been too far for my level of commitment on this one.

When I found out my college friend Alison was going (I haven’t seen her in decades), I was pretty psyched for the evening.

Then it started raining.  A lot.  It rained for two days.  (more…)

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Land of Ozz: The Ultimate Ozzy Osbourne Experience (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, March 29, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Land of Ozz, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA on March 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 29, 2024] Land of Ozz

Land of Ozz is an Ozzy Osbourne tribute band.  My son knows one of the guys in the band and this is how I’d heard of them.

I’m not inclined to go to an Ozzy tribute show because I stopped caring about Ozzy Osbourne once he got a TV show.

But since my son knows the guy in the band I did think we might go.  This show was the same night as Arlo Parks, so I didn’t think we’d go anyhow, but when I decided not to go to Arlo, I did consider this show.

That’s when I saw that they had sold out Sellersville Theater!  It’s not huge, but I’ve been there for bands that haven’t sold it out.  So that’s great news for them.

Their reviews are pretty stellar as well.  Maybe if they play closer to home we’ll check them out.

 

 

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Arlo Parks / Chloe George (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 29, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arlo Parks, Chloe George, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on March 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 24, 2024] Arlo Parks / Chloe George

I had been trying to see Arlo Parks since 2021 when she sold out The Foundry (and I found out that there were tickets available day of, boo).  How weird that a year later, she was headlining Franklin Music Hall, one of the larger venues in Philly.

Arlo Parks was supposed to open for or co-headline with Clairo at the Fillmore on February 26 2022, but the show was cancelled and when Clairo came back around in July, she had a different opener (my daughter and I went to that show).

I was looking forward to seeing Arlo even if I don’t love Franklin Music Hall, but as the show approached, I was feeling less excited about the prospect.  I listened to her album and liked it, but didn’t know if I wanted to go all the way there for it.

Then I saw her at All Things Go (after I had the tickets for this show).  I enjoyed her set, but I wasn’t really blown away by it.  I assumed that it was because we were really far away and her songs are rather intimate.   I was pretty insistent that I was going to make this show, but as the day drew closer, I lost my motivation.

I didn’t feel all that great and I wasn’t especially interested in Chloe George.  Arlo’s set is barely over an hour, which gave me the split feeling–it’s not that long, I should go and I’m not driving an hour just for an hour show. Ultimately, I decided I didn’t feel like going out to the show.  But I did manage to sell my ticket!

I think this means I’m not going to be seeing Arlo live.

I hadn’t heard of Chloe George.  I don’t normally care so much about being “the old guy at shows geared to the youth, but occasionally I realize that I’m way older than everyone else at the show.  That’s how I felt when I read this about Chloe George

Chloe George, born Chloe Gasparini, is an American musician from Los Angeles. George rose to fame after a cover of “Ghost Town” she posted on TikTok went viral. George has co-written songs with artists such as Dua Lipa and Normani.

I listened to a few of her songs and didn’t think much of them.  So that made it even harder for me to want to go to this show.  I’m a little bummed but not terribly bummed that I didn’t go.

 

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The Rural Alberta Advantage (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2024)

Posted in Julianna Riolino, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 27, 2024] The Rural Alberta Advantage

I saw a video of The Rural Alberta Advantage at Massey Hall in 2018 (it was from 2014).  This was the first real exposure I had to the band and the first time I saw how intense they were live.

Since then, they have played Philly three times.  I don’t think the first one registered.  But the second time I was ready to see them. But I already had  tickets to a different show that night.  I decided, however, that I’d rather see RAA, but when I went to get a ticket, it was sold out! (good for them).

But this time, there was no way I was missing them.  I arrived early, got on the barrier and marveled at the stage set up.  Keys, guitar and drums, with the drums on the right side and the drummer facing the other two.

The came out of the mystery door at the side of the stage and immediately started playing FSHG as they walked into the crowd.   Nils Edenloff walked around and sang while Amy Cole sang backing vocals.  I’m not sure if Paul Banwatt played any percussion as I couldn’t really see him.  But soon enough they were marching the song up to the stage. (more…)

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