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Archive for the ‘Pallbearer’ Category

Pallbearer (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026)

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Type O Negative, Underground Arts on April 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Pallbearer

I saw I had heard of Pallbearer but didn’t really know all that much about them.  I assumed they were a really heavy growling type of band.  So when Knoll announced that they were opening for them, I checked them out, enjoyed them and bought a ticket to the show.

It turns out that they are a doom metal band and the album that they were touring, Foundations of Burden, is a classic of the genre.

I had enjoyed the first two bands but when Knoll was done, a whole bunch of guys rushed to the stage.  One of them was actually a guy I’ve seen at a couple of shows recently (MMJ and Band of Horses–he even looks a bit like Jim James).  He is a massive headbanger (headbanging to Band of Horses!).  So he was finally in his element and he knew this album really well. There were a bunch of guys together who knew each other and they were all headbangers and fist pumpers.  And  while it was all harmless, I didn’t enjoy the vibe.

And when the band started I realized the real problem for me.  I was standing right in front of Brett Campbell’s guitar amps.  And it was LOUD!  So when he stepped up to the microphone and I literally couldn’t hear him I wasn’t too happy.  Later on, bassist Joseph D. Rowland sang another part and I couldn’t hear him either.

By the third song, when Devin Holt played a solo and I could hear it until Campbell started playing his guitar, I knew I had to move.

So the album has 6 songs which meant I was already half way through.  But I just wasn’t really enjoying myself.  So I left the front and headed toward the back.  And things were much better back there.  The sound was phenomenal–balanced perfectly and still loud as anything.  Mark Lierly was on drums with a fairly small kit net to the wall of amps–but he was certainly loud enough. (more…)

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Knoll (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Knoll

I saw Knoll open for Agriculture three months ago.  Then I saw that they were returning in three months to open for Pallbearer.  And they are the reason I went to this show (and why I listened to Pallbearer for the first time).

Knoll’s show in January was just mind blowing–intense and wild and loud and a little scary.  And I really wanted to see them again.  Last time I was in front of guitarist Cameron Giarraputo, so this time I wanted to experience it from the other side of the stage in front of Ryan Cook guitarist and trumpet (!) player.

What did I write three months ago?

I have seen a lot of extreme bands, but there’s nothing to prepare you for this.

And the show was largely the same.  Possibly the same songs, but it’s kind of hard to tell.  So I’ll quote from myself a bunch.

Knoll set up their gear.  They had an old-looking end table (I would guess like 100 years old, with all kinds of filigree–but probably not worth anything) and interesting gear on it.  The table also had a little light on it and there were four floor lamps around the stage.

This time I watched as singer Jamie Eubanks asked them to cut all of the lights.

These lights were the only things that lit the stage!  And, most interesting of all, each band member had a step on plug which turned their individual light on and off throughout the show.

All five members of the band were dressed in all black–button down shirts and black pants.  And the lead singer, James Eubanks, has his head shaved, (possibly his eyebrows), his fingernails shaped into points.  He looks like Nosferatu.

Last time I noted that Giarraputo was like a machine with the speed and technical expertise he brought to these incredibly fast songs.  The same was true of Cook–his wrsits moved so fast!

Drummer Jack Anderson must be exhausted by the end of the show playing so fast.

(more…)

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Lástima (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2026) [PALLBEARER]

Posted in Knoll, Lástima, Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on April 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 20, 2026] Lástima

I hadn’t heard of Lástima.  They are a Philly band who plays blackgaze which may be a term they made up, or maybe not.  But it makes sense.

They play fast, heavy, dark music with mostly growled vocals.  Back in the day we called these cookie monster vocals.  But cookie monster vocals are for fast singers and I think singers of this style of music sing more like real monsters–slow and deep and creepy AF.

What set this band apart was the inclusion of Thuy Nguyen on violin! (!).  From where I was you couldn’t always hear the violin (again, I need to stand further back from the stage) but when the rest of the band quieted down, the violin was a wonderfully mournful component.

I was in front of Eric Mauro on guitars and Hazel Whitman on bass.  I could kind of see Sam Hyla on drums, but really the most entertaining person was singer/guitarist Richie DeVon.

DeVon sang.  Sometimes in a normal voice (during the quiet section) but usually with a growl or a scream.   There were a few songs (or openings of songs) which had quiet piano parts.  DeVon played them and was usually accompanied by Nguyen on violin.  Toward the end he got down on his knees and screamed his head off while messing about with his effects pedals.  It was quite cathartic.  (more…)

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Pallbearer / REZN / The Keening (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 16, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Pallbearer, Philadelphia, PA, REZN, The Keening, Underground Arts on June 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 16, 2024] Pallbearer / REZN / The Keening

I’m more or less done with going  to heavy metal shows.  There are still a few bands I’ll go to see, but overall, there’s not much left that I’m curious about.

Pallbearer are a doom metal band (a subgenre I find myself drawn to more than other subgenres), but they mix in elements of prog metal as well, which is a major draw for me.  I’ve never seen them, but I would very much like to.

I dithered about this show because I had a few other shows around it and wasn’t sure if I wanted to go out on a Sunday night.   Then about two weeks before the show I realized that this was Father’s Day, and I certainly wasn’t going to go to a metal show by myself on Father’s Day.

REZN is a band I didn’t know, but when I checked out a few songs I really liked them.  Angry Metal Guy describes

 an esoteric brand of psychedelic doom that finds unique ways to incorporate each member’s talents. Synth maestro Spencer Oulette boasts credits for piano, sax, and flute, and bassist Phil Cangelosi even busts out a rainstick to set the mood.

(more…)

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Doug TenNapel–Tommysaurus Rex (2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Death, Dinosaurs, Dogs, Doug TenNapel, Fantasy, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jason Vieaux, Pallbearer, Short Books, Supernatural, Tiny Desk Concert, Yolanda Kondonassis on June 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

rexSOUNDTRACK: JASON VIEAUX AND YOLANDA KONDONASSIS-Tiny Desk Concert #443 (May 22, 2015).

yolandaTypically, the Tiny Desk doesn’t have performers back after they have played once.  But occasional exceptions are made, like when performers who played solo come back as a duo.  Like this.

Jason Vieuax was one of the first 20 people to play the Tiny Desk and Yolanda Kondonassis played back in 2010.  And here they are touring as a duo, which really helps to accentuate both of their skills.  And their music is beautiful together.

Vieuax is an amazing classical guitarist.  And Kondonassis plays an amazing harp that is more about singular notes than trills and “heavenly” sounds.  And in these songs, they work together doing harmony runs and fills–both instruments are lead instruments.

Apparently there aren’t very many pieces written for the combination of harp and guitar.  Kondonassis explains the origins of the Hovhaness piece (which gives some lovely context).

Vieaux explains the origins of the two movements of the Piejo suite.

The first piece is sweet, while the second one is a little more aggressive (but still lovely).  And the third one features some cool riffs and chords (especially on guitar) and percussion done on the instruments.

The three songs they play are

  • Gary Schocker: “Elysian” (from Hypnotized)
  • Alan Hovhaness: Fuga: Allegro – Andante grazioso, Canon: Allegro (from Sonata for Harp and Guitar, “Spirit of Trees”)
  • Máximo Diego Pujol: Vals, Candombe (from Suite mágica)

The pieces are familiar and yet quite different.  And 456+it is much fun to watch their fingers fly around their instruments.

[READ: January 24, 2015] Tommysaurus Rex

I brought this book home for Clark to read.  I wasnt going to read it myself but then I saw that I had read a book by TenNapel before and liked it.

But I did not care for this one.  Perhaps it was because it was marketed in my library as a kids book but I thought it was just too violent or something–the story turned me off.

Perhaps it was just that the story opens with the main character’s dog getting hit by a car and dying.  I mean, who needs that?  And the cover looks so fun, too. (more…)

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Doug TenNapel–Ghostopolis (2010)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Death, Doug TenNapel, Fantasy, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Pallbearer, Short Books, Supernatural on June 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PALLBEARER-“Legend” (2012).

For the past several years, NPR has been one of my favorite resources for new music.  They feature a new song every day, they play first listens of new albums, they have downloadable concerts and much more.   And every year their best albums picks invariably feature and album or two that I hadn’t heard of which prove to be amazing.

But this first half of the year’s album picks are really kind of disappointing. It’s a diverse mix (Leonard Cohen, Sharon van Etten, Bobby Womack, fun., some rappers I don’t know, a little classical, Spiritualized).  I’m not saying these choices are bad, I actually haven’t heard most of them.  But there was nothing that made me jump up and say, how did I miss that?

But then there was this cut from Pallbearer.  It’s a dirgey death metal song, slow and heavy.  Lately I’ve enjoyed death metal but I’ve been disappointed by the vocalists.  Pallbearer has a guy who can sing and whose voice rings through the sludge.  And there is sludge–some of the notes sound like the guitar is completely de-tuned.  But what’s cool about the recording is that it doesn’t sound sloppy or mushy–you can hear the sludginess in all its clarity.  The guitar solo is interesting too.  It also soars above the sludge, but it’s not a shredding solo, it’s melodic and quite pretty.

I’ll check out more from Pallbearer.  I’m always excited to see NPR promoting death metal.  It’s as good juxtaposition as the parts of this song itself.

You can see the NPR choices here.

[READ: June 10, 2012] Ghostopolis

Sarah gave me this book after reading it quickly and raving about it (this after our friend Megan gave it to her and raved about it).  And I read it quickly and will rave about it now too.

The book opens with an airplane that is having engine trouble.  The airplane, it turns out, is being flown by a little boy name Garth Hale.  Because it’s a toy plane (the reveal is great).  He’s being gross (barf bags everywhere) until his mother can’t take it anymore.  But she has reason to be gentle with him.  She has just found out that her son’s disease is incurable.

Meanwhile Frank Gallows is a special agent whose job is to send ghosts back to the afterlife.  He has a cool handcuff-like device that he has to attach to the ghosts’ arms or legs.  He then pushes a button and poof, back they go.  His first assignment today is to get Benedict Arnold (who plays a big role later on) out of the world.  Then he goes after a horse–a skeletal nightmare horse–which is overpowers for him.  As it floats through a wall, Frank manages to shackle its legs and poof.  Only after the poof does he realize that the horse was on top of a little boy.  A boy named Garth Hale.   Frank is in big trouble. (more…)

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