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Archive for the ‘Portrayal of Guilt’ Category

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2024] Touché Amoré

I saw Touché Amoré open for Deafheaven last year and I knew I wanted to see them again as a headliner.

I was happy to see them at Union Transfer and I was happy that my son wanted to go with me.  But a four-band night was a lot to ask.  And having too much food for dinner and being way overdressed for a concert (it was cold out, but warm inside) meant that he didn’t enjoy the show as much as I hoped he would.  And his unhappiness always mars a show for me.

And yet, Touché Amoré was amazing.  My son admitted that even though he didn’t feel great, he was really impressed by them.

The band has a big, clean sound and singer Jeremy Bolm screaming the lyrics.  The best thing about his screaming is that it is intense like old school punk, but it is completely clear. so the powerful lyrics really show through.

Like last time, for every last line of a verse or chorus he put the mic out for the audience to sing the last word or phrase. And they did.

I love the sound of the band–not too complicated–but every song has something interesting going on in it.  Drummer Elliot Babin is a maniac behind the kit.  And I loved that you could hear both guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt very clearly. And bassist Tyler Kirby would punctuate songs with excellent thumping bass.

Some of their songs are really short.  Art Official is about 90 seconds, and Nine is 45 seconds! (more…)

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[ATTENDED: November 2, 2024] Soul Glo

I had seen Soul Glo back in May and was happy to have seen them, but I didn’t think I needed to see them again.  So their appearance on this bill was enjoyable for me mostly because I thought my son would really enjoy their set.

Like last time, there is no setlist written out online, although setlists from a few days earlier make it seem like they played a longer show for this concert (which I don’t think was true).

I was on the other side of the stage this time, closer to GG Guerra on guitar.   But aside from that, the set was the same chaotic, wild fun.

Pierce Jordan has a pretty harsh voice–the better to scream the lyrics.  I really couldn’t understand much of anything, but the tone was quite clear.

But he has great stage presence and did engage the audience in a speaking voice where he made the point of the songs pretty clear. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: November 2, 2024] Portrayal of Guilt

Portrayal of Guilt is a black metal band with an album called Christfucker.  They are a growly/screamy band and they are heavy as anything.

So it was kind of funny to see the guys in the band wearing Tshirts and jeans and baseball hats and then growling in an inhuman way.

I also get a kick out of when a band that sings so growly then speaks pleasantly between songs.

This kind of music isn’t really my thing, but my son and I agreed that seeing a band like this is such a visceral experience that we were both glad to have seen them.  He enjoyed them so much he bought a shirt.

I’m always happy to see a band like this open for someone (bring earplugs) and they were particularly good.  (more…)

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[ATTENDED: November 2, 2024] Soft Blue Shimmer

I invited my son to this show because I had seen Touché Amoré last year and they were fantastic.  He was at school and I picked him up and we drove to Philly together.  The plan was to get there really early and have dinner and then meander to the show.  If we missed any bands, that was okay because I didn’t really know the other bands (except Soul Glo).

I had listened to Soft Blue Shimmer and really liked them and I was a little bummed if we’d missed them.  But it turned out that our dinner was fairly quick and we arrived at Union Transfer in time to see almost the entire set from Soft Blue Shimmer (we may have missed one or two songs).

Given the rest of the bands on the tour, Soft Blue Shimmer seems like an outlier–their name is a great descriptor of their sound (while the other bands are pretty or very heavy).  It’s a testament to Touché Amoré’s tastes that their openers were so varied.

The band is Charlie Crowley on guitar and vocals, Kenzo Cardenas on drums, and Meredith Ramond on vocals and bass.  There was a fourth member at our show but I didn’t catch a name.

The setlist below is based on a show from the following night but seems pretty accurate.

Their songs are soft and shimmery, a delightful mix of shoegaze and pop.  Both singers sound great together and the rest of the band fills out the sound nicely.

I would definitely see them again.

2024
9090
Chihiro
Shinji
Emerald Bells
Memory/Fantasy
Canti §
Love Being



§ single (2024)
♥ Love Lives in the Body (2022)
≅ Heaven Inches Away (2020)
∅ Nothing Happens Here EP (2019)

 

 

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[DID NOT ATTEND: June 27, 2024] Baroness / Filth is Eternal / Portrayal of Guilt

I’ve seen Baroness in two settings–an acoustic in-store and in a tony, crowded club.  I’d like to see them in a bigger space.  I’d also like to check out he Sherman Theater, which is just about on the edge of how far I’m willing to go for a show.

But this show conflicted with the Quasi tour, and Quasi won out.  Mostly because of the opening bands (and, yes, I like Quasi more).

I see that Ruby the Hatchet was opening for some of the shows and I would like to see them as well, but instead we had two bands I hadn’t hear d of and who, honestly, sound like they’d be too heavy to tour with Baroness.

Filth is Eternal I assumed was a heavy sludgy band, but I was 100% wrong. (more…)

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