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Archive for the ‘Promise of the Real’ Category

Particle Kid (Fillmore Philly, Philadelphia, PA, November 7, 2021) [THE FLAMING LIPS]

Posted in Micah Nelson, Neil Young, Particle Kid, Philadelphia, PA, Promise of the Real, Radiohead, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Flaming Lips on November 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 7, 2021] Particle Kid

I have always been delighted yet puzzled by the name Particle Kid (the band created by Willie Nelson’s youngest son Micah (who also plays in his brother Lucas’ band Promise of the Real).  I read recently that the name comes from his father intending to call him the Prodigal Son, but apparently misspoke and called him Particle Kid, which is pretty damn funny.

As is Micah.

Micah was able to use The Lips’ video screen to project images on, which was cool.

The band for this tour was Micah Nelson – Guitar, vocals Aroyn Davis – Bass, vocals Milo Gonzales – Guitar Anthony Logerfo, Drums, vocals.

And they were excellent.  Even though Micah is the main figure of the band, Milo Gonzaes was an amazing guitarist to watch. He could play fast riffs and then alternate with incredible unreal sounds.  And then there was Aroyn Davis, an amazing bass player who was all over the neck playing low and high notes and also using effects pedals to create bizarre wonderful effects. (more…)

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Illiterate Light (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, January 27, 2020)

Posted in Duo, Illiterate Light, Jim James, Johnny Brenda's, Neil Young, Promise of the Real, Rock duo, The Head and the Heart, The Met Philadelphia on January 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 27, 2020] Illiterate Light

S. and I saw Illiterate Light open for The Head and the Heart back in October.  We were really impressed by them–their power (especially for just two people), their intensity, and their overall sense of fun.  In fact, because of annoying crowd people around me, I enjoyed Illiterate Light more than TH&TH.

I knew that they would be really great to see when they were the headline act, so when they announced a show at Johnny Brenda’s, I quickly got us both a ticket.

The band is a duo with Jeff Gorman on guitar and bass pedals (and what a huge difference those bass pedals make) and Jake Cochran on drums (and dancing).  The dancing is important because unlike most drummers, Cochran plays his drum kit standing up.  This allows him a lot of mobility–he wanders the stage, hangs out with Gorman and hits cymbals from all angles.

We couldn’t help but notice that there were several camera dudes all around the stage.  They told us that they’d be filming this show for some kind of upcoming something or other.  I’m looking forward to seeing it (we’re bound to be in it).  Although there was SO MUCH FOG (which is why my pictures are so hazy) that I have to wonder how good their video will be.

The guys came out and set up their gear (I was amused at how much more stuff Cochran had–I guess since his floor tom is removable?).  Although when Gorman brought in his foot pedals (a cool Moog device) he raised it over his head to much applause. (more…)

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Illiterate Light (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2019) [THE HEAD AND THE HEART]

Posted in Geddy Lee, Illiterate Light, My Morning Jacket, Neil Young, Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia, PA, Promise of the Real, Rock duo, The Head and the Heart, The Met Philadelphia on October 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2019] Illiterate Light

I had heard of Illiterate Light from NPR, but didn’t really know them.  They played at Newport Folk Festival but were early on Saturday and we arrived after them.

Traffic getting to this show was terrible and I was annoyed that we’d miss Illiterate Light (or part of their set anyhow).  S. said she didn’t mind missing the opening act as long as we made it for The Head and the Heart.

We walked in just as Illiterate Light took the stage and we got seated around the middle of the first song.  And I couldn’t get over how loud they were (particularly opening for a not-especially-loud band like The Head and the Heart).  They had big rocking guitar and crashing drums.

Then I looked up and realized that there were only two of them on stage. (more…)

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Neil Young + Promise of the Real (Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ, July 16, 2015)

Posted in Band of Horses, Buffalo Springfield, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, Neil Young, Promise of the Real, Set in New Jersey! on July 18, 2015| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 16, 2015] Neil Young + Promise of the Real

2015-07-16 22.28.13Sarah has always wanted to see Neil Young.  And she finally got to, back in October.  And now here it is just nine months later and she gets to see him again.

I enjoyed his previous show quite a lot, but said I didn’t need to see him again unless he was with a band (which I assumed would be Crazy Horse).  But here he was with a new band (just what does Crazy Horse do in their off years?).  The band was Promise of the Real, which features Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s son) and for this tour also featured Willie’s other son Micah (whom I gather is not usually in the band?).  I knew nothing about POTR, but I did get the new Monsanto album, so I got a sense of what they sounded like.

Speaking of the Monsanto album….  Lyrically it’s strident and a little obvious, but musically it’s really quite good–a lot of variety with some good loose rock.  And when they played it live, where it really loosened up, it sounded even better.

But back to the show.  Sarah and I predicted that he would play the entire Monsanto album, talk a lot about GMOs, and then maybe play a few classics.  We could not have been more wrong.

The show opened (well, actually, the concert opened with a Native American dance which we missed–I gather they were going to march on Washington and asked if they could address the crowd first) with two people planting seeds along the stage.  They put out plants and scattered seeds all over the place (I can’t believe no one slipped on them!  And then Neil came out.  It was like the previous show.  He played a few acoustic pieces on his various instruments: (more…)

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