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The Dead Milkmen / Flag of Democracy / YDI (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 17, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Flag of Democracy, FOD, Philadelphia, PA, The Dead Milkmen, Underground Arts, YDI on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 17, 2024] Dead Milkmen / Flag of Democracy / YDI

I‘ve been a fan of The Dead Milkmen for over 30 years and have never seen them live.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see them in their reunion days, because I didn’t know if they’d play anything old.  But I have been trying to see them now since 2022–this was my third show that I was aware of, although I know they’ve done a number of Philly shows since 2017.

The last few times I had tickets something came up but this time I was determined to go.

And then something came up.

I was selling a car and when someone came to buy it, it wouldn’t start.  And then it seemed like it was out of gas.  And then somehow the keys got locked in the car.  It was hours long and really cold.  And when it was done I just wanted to take a nap, not go to a punk show.  So I stayed home.

But it was okay because I had a ticket for tomorrow night’s show as well (just in case).

I was intrigued to see F.O.D. who I literally only know about from the Dead Milkmen song Nutrition.

And I’d never heard of YDI.  But they have a pretty fascinating history.  Which will be included in the review of their show.

 

 

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Sloppy Jane (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, February 16, 2024) [DEAP VALLY]

Posted in Deap Vally, Philadelphia, PA, Phoebe Bridgers, Sloppy Jane, Underground Arts on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 16, 2024] Sloppy Jane

I was vaguely aware of Sloppy Jane before this show was announced. I didn’t realize that Phoebe Bridgers was in the band a long time ago.  I certainly didn’t know that they were a theatrical practically avant-garde sorta punk band with a front woman who was amazing.

Haley Dahl leads this band of fascinating musicians which includes a cello (Daniel Hass) two viola (one may be a violin) Ruby Wang and Isabella Bustanoby who also plays bass.

There’s also Lily Reszi Rothman on keys and flute.  Mostly hidden from my view was a drummer whose name is Kim (I couldn’t hear the last name) and a guitarist whose name is, I believe Ryan Howe.

The show began with an instrumental Overture–Haley conducted the strings and keys with some crazily wild moves, including jumping in the air.

The strings segued after some five minutes (and since I didn’t know what to expect, I thought maybe it was all like this) into “Party Anthem,” a quiet song that builds into a catchy song with lots of great backing vocals that turns into a really fun song with a lengthy “la la la” melody that everyone sang.

The song segued into the piano ballad which features the line “I pledge allegiance to Jesus and Your Living Room Floor.”  This mellow song segued into another mellow song, although this one was far from chill.  A classic murder ballad, “Judy’s Bedroom”

You cleaned the dirt from your shoes
Out of Judy Bruce’s bedroom
The gesture did not get you very far
Because when they found her dead
In the foldings of her dress there was
Fibers from the lining of your car

All with a very upbeat “la la la” section. (more…)

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Illiterate Light / Caiola (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, February 15, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Caiola, Illiterate Light, Johnny Brenda's, Mo Lowda & The Humble, Philadelphia, PA on February 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 15, 2024] Illiterate Light / Caiola

My wife and I saw Illiterate Light two times within a few months.  The first time was opening for someone and they really impressed us.  The next time was headlining Johnny Brenda’s.  The show was a ton of fun, although the lighting and smoke made it really hard to see what was going on.

That was four years ago and I guess I just didn’t care enough to see them again.  I don’t even know how much new stuff they’ve put out since then.

Okay, not much. One album and an EP.  They sounded pretty good, but some shows just don’t happen.

Caiola is the music of Jordan Caiola a songwriter/musician/producer based out of Philadelphia. He founded the indie rock band Mo Lowda & The Humble in 2010 and released his first solo record in October of 2020.  I am aware of Mo Lowda, but have never really been interested enough to listen to them.

He has a nice voice and sings pleasant folk songs.  He’s pretty much exactly who I’d think would open for Illiterate Light.

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Militarie Gun / Pool Kids / Spiritual Cramp / Spaced (First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, February 14, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in First Unitarian Church, Militarie Gun, Philadelphia, PA, Pool Kids, Spaced, Spiritual Cramp on February 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 14, 2024] Militarie Gun / Pool Kids / Spiritual Cramp / Spaced

I found out a bout this show a few days ago because Pool Kids was playing it. I wasn’t going to go to the Church, so it didn’t really matter who was playing.

I’ve heard of Militarie Gun, who are apparently a post-hardcore supergroup (made up of bands I’ve never heard of) that draws major inspiration from the melodic post-hardcore of the ’90s as well as more alternative-leaning acts.  They formed in 2020, so haven’t been around as long as I assumed for how much I’ve heard their name bandied about.

Their new EP has duets from Bully and Mannequin Pussy.

I feel like I should like them, but I’m not sure yet.

The whole reason I would have gone to this show was for Pool Kids.  I’ve seen them twice and they are amazing live.  They’re one of my favorite bands right now and I’d definitely want to see them again (although preferably as a headliner).

I hadn’t heard of Spiritual Cramp and given the other bands on this tour, I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  They’re kind of all over the place genre-wise, which is kind of fun.  They seem to veer punk but are more new wave.  And this little bit from a Pitchfork review seems really apt:

Spiritual Cramp are among a wave of bands, including Militarie Gun and Turnstile, who emerged from hardcore backgrounds and broadened their palettes to include softer, artsier flourishes. [Like] when the Clash realized the natural alliances between punk and reggae, filtered through a hard-sashwaying garage rock lens. Spiritual Cramp integrate dub, spiky guitars, and oi-like crowd-starters, all with a kitschy wink rather than flatly imitating their predecessors. The music is ecstatic rather than enraged, semi-ridiculous rather than self-serious.

I’ve listened to a bunch of their songs and the latest one sounded like The Hives, so they can please (or upset) everyone.  I’ll bet they are really fun live.

Spaced is (despite the visuals of their albums) a hardcore band with a pretty traditional hardcore vibe.  They are from Buffalo.  The big difference for me is that the singer is female and her growling angry voice adds a new tone to the somewhat overdone format of growling angry men.  I liked what I heard

Lexi Reyngoudt – vocals
Joe Morganti – guitar
Donny Arthur – guitar
John Vaughan – bass
Dan McCormick – drums

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Arthur Conan Doyle–“The Red-Headed League” [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes] (1891)

Posted in Adventure, Arthur Conan Doyle, Banks, Fraud, Mystery, Robbery, Sherlock Holmes, Short Story on February 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus

[READ: February 4, 2024] “The Red-Headed League”

The third story in this collection is one that I have heard of and that I know is significant in the canon.  But I didn’t know anything about it, which made reading it even more fun.

Like most stories, it starts with Watson coming over to Holmes’ place while he’s just meeting with a client.  He says he’s quite puzzled by this one.

Jabez Wilson is a man with red hair.  He owns a pawn shop and is not terribly busy these days.  He has a man working for him and the only way he can keep the man is because he accepts half pay.  The employee brought to Wilson’s attention an ad in the paper about the red-headed league.

The league has an endowment and they are looking for a new member to replace one who has left.  For 100 pounds a month, all you need to do is work for a few hours a week.  The line for interviews is very long, but Wilson has the perfect flame-red hair that gets him the gig.  His job is to copy the encyclopedia every day from 10-2.  He is not permitted to leave during those hours and he cannot miss a day or the gig is forfeited.

Pretty weird. (more…)

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Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, February 10, 2024, 3PM matinee)

Posted in Nels Cline, Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet, Philadelphia, PA, Solar Myth on February 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 10, 2024] Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet

I was excited about this show for a couple of reasons.  I love Nels Cline’s work in Wilco, but I never get to ficus on him because there’s so much else to see in Wilco.  Plus, this was a 3PM matinee show!  I could go to a show and see a great band and be home for dinner!

Well, then Scott Thompson announced a show that evening, so I guess I would be very busy on this Saturday.

I was also excited because I had never been to Solar Myth before, but I’d heard it was a great venue.  Well, little did I realize that Solar Myth is Boot and Saddle!  The venue has been remodeled into more of a coffee shop 9although they do serve wine as well).  They sell jazz records, the bathrooms are less weird and there’s even more room by the door to the venue.

Best of all though is that they didn’t change anything in the performance room.  Our show was seated and I feel like most shows there are seated.  But honestly that just gives you much better sight lines.

So the Consentrik Quartet was introduced by someone from Ars Nova, the non-profit arts company that puts on a lit of experimental shows in New York and Philly.  They bought Boot & Saddle and basically turned it into an experimental jazz club.  Which sounds dire, but this show was packed (all three shows at Solar Myth had sold out).  he told us that contributions to Solar Myth helped Nels Cline get a grant to make music during the pandemic.  So tickets to this show were basically there to keep music like this going.  Pretty cool.

The Consentrik Quartet consists of Nels Cline (Guitar), Ingrid Laubock (saxophone), Chris Lightcap (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums).  The music was 100% experimental jazz, with some parts that were catchy and swinging and other parts that were noisy and skronking with wild sax soloing and crazy chords from Nels.

Each musician was excellent.  Chris Lightcap had the least work to do aside from holding everything together as it spiraled in all directions.  His bass was grounding and perfect, sometimes bowed with occasional runs of his own, but mostly just perfectly placed upright bass notes. (more…)

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An Evening With Band of Horses (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, February 8, 2024)

Posted in Band of Horses, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on February 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 8, 2024] An Evening With Band of Horses

My wife and I saw Band of Horses three times in three years.  But we hadn’t seen them in eight years!  I couldn’t believe it had been so long because the previous show (the first headlining show we’d seen) was so good, so impactful, that we think of it as one of the best shows we’ve seen.

This show promised to be even better because it was going to be an evening with the band–no opening act!

The first set was acoustic.

Ben Bridwell came out and sang St. Augustine solo.  It was lovely.  He had lost his voice about a week ago and I wasn’t sure how good he would sound, but he sounded perfect.

He then invited out Brett Nash to play guitar with him and sing “Part One.”  The harmonies were wonderful.

Then the rest of the band came out.  Creighton Barrett played a small drum kit, Ryan Monroe sat at a grand piano and Matt Gentling played upright bass.

Here the harmonies became outstanding.

Visually the set was charming with each guy in his own little area.  Each one had a lamp and there were candle all over the stage.

Despite the set being acoustic, it wasn’t specifically quiet or mellow.  Indeed, some of the songs were jaunty and rocking but in a fun folk rock way.  (more…)

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Mannequin Pussy: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, February 9, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Free at Noon, Mannequin Pussy, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on February 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 9, 2024] Mannequin Pussy

I have a ticket to see Mannequin Pussy in May and was in no way expecting then to do a Free at Noon in February.  But I was pretty excited to see them in such a small intimate setting.

Then life got in the way.  We were up late the night before seeing Band of Horses and then I had a very late morning getting to work, which made leaving work for a few hours to see a concert harder than it might actually seem.

I did get to listen live on the radio and the band sounded amazing.  I’m really looking forward to seeing them in May.  And I’m looking forward to when they release the live stream of the show.

There’s a great write-up about the set here.

SETLIST

  • I Don’t Know You
  • Nothing Like
  • Sometimes
  • Loud Bark
  • I Got Heaven
  • Romantic
  • Of Her
  • Aching

 

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DJ Shadow /Holly (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 8, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ Shadow, Holly, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on February 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 8, 2024] DJ Shadow / Holly

I really liked DJ Shadow’s debut album.  I also bought his remix album.  And then promptly assumed he stopped doing music (or something).  So, essentially I hadn’t thought about him in some 25 years.

He hasn’t released all that much over the years, but his previous album was well received.

I wasn’t sure if I necessarily wanted to see him live.  I mean a DJ… how interesting can that be.  But I was curious to see him do his thing and I’d heard that his live shows were good.

So I bought a ticket.

And then Band of Horses announced a show for the same night.  My wife and I love Band of Horses and there was no way I was passing them up to see a DJ that I wasn’t all that sure about.

So, no DJ Shadow for me.  Maybe I’d see him next time he comes around.  We’ll see. (more…)

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Joe Jack Talcum (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 2024) [KEVIN McDONALD]

Posted in Joe Jack Talcum, Kevin McDonald, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Scott Thompson, The Dead Milkmen, The Kids in the Hall on February 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 7, 2024] Joe Jack Talcum

I was so excited to hear about  this show as soon as it was announced.  When Scott Thompson came to PhilamMOCA in 2022 I completely missed it until after it had happened.  So I was psyched to get in on this before it sold out (and a second show was added, but without a musical opener).

I didn’t know who the musical opener was going to be until day of the show where I saw it was Joe Jack Talcum from the Dead Milkmen!  I had somehow thought it might be someone from Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, although it makes 100% more sense that it was a local Philly fella.

I have never seen The Dead Milkmen even though I’ve been a fan forever.  I’ve also never seen Joe Jack in any context, so this proved to be a fun, if simple introduction.

He sounded much the same–slightly off-key and really into his songs.  He played acoustic guitar and harmonica and he sang five Dead Milkmen songs and 1 original.

I recognized the first song which was from the final Dead Milkmen album that I seriously listened to.  It made me want to relisten to the album. (more…)

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