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Archive for the ‘Pom Pom Squad’ Category

Pom Pom Squad / Chloe Lilac (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chloe Lilac, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Pom Pom Squad on May 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2022] Pom Pom Squad / Chloe Lilac

I was really interested in seeing Pom Pom Squad–their album Death of a Cheerlader was really good retro-grungy pop fun.

Then I saw them (unexpectedly) open for Nada Surf and they were fantastic.

That was about six month ago and I thought they’d be even better in a headline show.

But I’d already had a ticket for another show this night (which I wound up not gong to anyway).  I was feeling some seasonal concert burnout by the end of May for sure.

Chloe Lilac is a young Brooklyn singer.  It seems like her earlier stuff is a little more synthy but her newest stuff has a bit more grunge (with lots of f-bombs) and would work well with Pom Pom Squad.

Clout says

Chloe Lilac is an artist that has been growing exponentially as of late.   All it felt like she needed to solidify this was a full body of work to represent this step up, which is now here in the form of her latest extended play DOUCHEBAG.

The EP is packed full of huge tunes, from its unapologetic and brass title track, to the confrontational ‘WHO IS EMILY?’, to the more calculated and thoughtful closer ‘JANSPORT’. Chloe Lilac has shown that she is an artist that can do it all, and do it all in the context of her razor-sharp indie pop sound.

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Nada Surf (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 19, 2021) [rescheduled, rescheduled again]

Posted in Drinking, Jersey City, NJ, Nada Surf, Pom Pom Squad, The Gravel Pit, White Eagle Hall on November 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 21, 2021] Nada Surf [rescheduled from May 28, 2020 and April 18, 2021]

This is my third timing seeing Nada Surf and I decided that S. needed to see them as well.

This was the third time for this show and I was delighted that it finally happened.  And at the nearby (relatively) White Eagle Hall.

My plan was to not get too close to the stage, but we were so early that it was hard not to get too close (especially as the taller guys start filling in the gaps).

The one difference for this show was that bassist Daniel Lorca was not there.  He had hurt his leg and had to miss the tour.

Friends, we sadly have to report that Daniel can’t be with us for the November US tour due to knee and ankle injuries he recently suffered. In his place will be the band’s longtime friend Ed Valauskas of The Gravel Pit. Here’s to a speedy recovery!

I wasn’t familiar with The Gravel Pit, but Valauskas did a great job.  Although I did miss Lorca’s dreadlocks and unique bass sound.

Their set was an excellent mix of songs from throughout their nine song career.  It was interesting that they essentially played all of the songs that the previous time I saw them in 2020 (one of the few bands I saw in 2020), but they added all of the new songs on top of it.   So this concert was six songs longer! (more…)

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Pom Pom Squad (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, November 19, 2021) [rescheduled, rescheduled again]

Posted in Drinking, Jersey City, NJ, Nada Surf, Pom Pom Squad, White Eagle Hall on November 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 21, 2021] Pom Pom Squad S.G. Goodman [rescheduled from May 28, 2020 and April 18, 2021]

Initially the opener for this show was supposed to be S.G. Goodman who had a song with a lot of airplay on the WXPN.  I liked it and then I got sick of it, but was interested in seeing her.

But when she was replaced by Pom Pom Squad I was pretty thrilled.

I had seen a Pom Pom Squad video some time ago and I loved their 90’s grunge sound and attitude.  They seemed like a bit of an odd fit for Nada Surf who is a bit more mellow, but it seemed like they were maybe going set the tone for Nada Surf a bit more.

The band was initially a solo project for Mia Berrin, but have expanded to include an unnamed bassist, Shelby Keller on drums and Alex Mercuri on lead guitar.

I had recently read Rock Stars on the Record and Mia Berrin was interviewed in it and she said her favorite album was Live Through This by Hole.   That totally makes sense given their overall sound.  However, Mia, who is in her early twenties, seems relatively drama free at the moment. (more…)

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Eric Spitznagel–Rock Stars On The Record: The Albums That Changed Their Lives (2021)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adam and the Ants, Against Me!, Alice Bag, Alice Cooper, Amanda Shires, Asia, Bad Brains, Beach Slang, Bjork, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, Buggles, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Craig Finn, Crass, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Dip-in Books, Don McLean, Donny Osmond, Drive-By Truckers, Elton John, Eric Spitznagel, Fishbone, Frank Turner, Frank Zappa, Fugazi, Gwar, Henry Rollins, Hole, Interviews, Iron Maiden, John Lennon, Kiss, Kristin Hersh, Laura Jane Grace, Leonard Cohen, M.I.A., Mac Demarco, Mannequin Pussy, Mark Mothersbaugh, MC5, Minor Threat, Mitski, Nickelback, Oasis, Pom Pom Squad, Procol Harum, Rainer Maria, Sex Pistols, Soul Asylum, Stevie Wonder, Superchunk, Suzi Quatro, The Buggs, The Left Banke, The Mothers of Invention, The Runaways, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Todd Rundgren, Van Halen, Wendy & Lisa, White Denim, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yoko Ono on August 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: see below.

[READ: August 2021] Rock Stars On The Record

I saw this book at work and rolled my eyes.  I thought well, here’s another book about musicians talking about music.

Really, most musicians aren’t very interesting and it was probably just the same old same olds talking about albums that have been praised to high heaven already.

But then I saw a few names that intrigued me.  So I read it.  And it was fantastic because Eric Spitznagel did a magnificent job with this task.

Not only because he chose diverse people (some hardly even rock stars, really) who had interesting things to say, but because of the way he followed up his questions with better questions–questions that the musicians seemed excited to answer.

And also because the list of people turned out to be really interesting.  I didn’t recognize a number of names, but that’s because they might have been the guitarist for a famous lead singer).  And this made it really interesting.

I don’t know if it’s worth stating the why’s of each person here (each interview is basically four pages) but I will state each person’s favorite record (with a few extra comments here and there). (more…)

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