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Archive for the ‘Remember Sports’ Category

[ATTENDED: October 16, 2026] Wax Jaw

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

I have seen Wax Jaw twice, although I laugh at the number of times I haven’t seen them but could have (14 times).  I’m curious that each time I’ve seen them, they’ve played ten songs.  Huh.

So they were the headliners of the side stage and they exploded onto the stage with Lace Up.  Within moments, guitarist George Fenton was on the floor getting a mosh pit going!

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about the Wax Jaw printed setlist is that between songs, they write things which they (sometimes) say to the audience.  Like after the first song, Shane Morgan said, as was printed “I like to see the pit going crazy, just don’t be a creep” (as an intro to Creepshow).

So they played three songs from their 2025 album, which I actually didn’t know that well, even though I was obsessed with their debut EP.  The new album is also really good–punkier and more diverse–I just missed it entirely somehow–along with half a dozen shows.

The setlist notes that Bite the Apple was a new song and then says that they just got back from Europe, so buy some merch. They had new merch, but I didn’t love any of it. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: October 16, 2026] Remember Sports

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

I had seen Remember Sports just a few months ago when they headlined Kung Fu Necktie.  I feel like they should be a bigger band since WXPN was playing one of their songs a lot–and they were asked to do a Free at Noon today (I didn’t go since I was seeing them tonight).   I was surprised that they were going on when they were (2nd of 4).  But I never know if opening on the main stage is better than headlining the side stage.  I actually thought they might be bigger than Sweet Pill, but I was massively mistaken about that.

Nevertheless, they are such a dynamite live band.

It was much more crowded here than at KFN.  Like last time, I was in front of guitarist Jack Washburn who is really fun to watch–he played great solos and switched easily from noisy to quiet.   I could barely see bassist Catherine Dwyer who was in shadow for much of the set.  But like last time, she sang excellent backing vocals and in true bass player fashion, was chill and low key–she did make a joke about some basketball podcast being taped in Underground Arts, so she was geeking out about that.

Last time I couldn’t see drummer Connor Perry, but this time he was right up front too, and I was really impressive by his intensity–the songs aren’t super heavy or anything (well, a couple are) but he was a maniac behind the kit.

But really all attention is on singer/guitarist Carmen Perry.  She played an acoustic guitar for the first couple of songs and then switched to an electric for the rest.  Her voice is great with a lot of variety, including some really powerful screams.  But I’m amused every time she speaks between songs because she is so quiet and almost nervous–after belting out a song like Bug, she asks how everyone is doing and if they like living in Philly.   This isn’t as weird as it seems, it related to her saying that they had just come back from Europe and she asked what people think of when they think of Philly and the overwhelming answer is Cream Cheese!

Although their set didn’t differ radically from when I saw them, they did mix things up and only played 7 songs from the new album “We have a new album out.  We like it.”

They played five songs from the new album–a great mix of tempos and intensities.  Then they dipped into some older songs, one from their previous EP and one from their debut album.  But they also played three older songs that they didn’t play last time.

Pinky Ring from their last full length and then two from an album they didn’t touch when I saw them last time, 2015’s All of Something.  Reality TV, a fast punky song and Washing Machine, a sweet gently rocking song.  They ended with Cut Fruit, a track with a noisy intro (again, Washburn does great things with noise and feedback) that turns into a simple, catchy song.  It was a perfect, compact set.

They set was short, and it was great, except for the trio of (presumably drunk), really obnoxious guys who were shouting to each other through most of the songs.  What the heck?  And no one said anything to them (they were pretty intimidating looking, I will admit) and I made sure to avoid them going forward.

 

October 2026 (Underground Arts) Feb 2026 (Kung Fu Necktie)
Ghost ® Across The Line ®
Across The Line ® Bug ®
Yowie ® Thumb ®
Bug ® Tiny Planets Π
Thumb ® You’re So Sorry Π
Leap Day £ Cut Fruit ®
Tiny Planets Π Selfish ®
Pinky Ring ♣ Ghost ®
Nevermind ® Fridge ®
Reality TV ⊗ Yowie ®
The Washing Machine ⊗ Calling Out §
Cut Fruit ® Easy ♣
Zucchini ®
Soothe/Seethe ®
Nevermind ®
Leap Day £
Out Loud ♣

 

® The Refrigerator (2026)
£ Leap Day EP (2022)
♣  Like a Stone (2021)
§ Slow Buzz (2018)
⊗ All of Something (2015)
Π SPORTS (2013)

 

 

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[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] Midfield

When this show was announced as part of Philly Music Week, I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Three of the four bands were bands I had either seen or wanted to see.  The only band I didn’t know was Midfield.

Turns out they are a pop punk band from Philly.  Their songs are catchy and a lot of fun.  The band was great and their singer Matt Kelly has a strong deeper voice but he occasionally adds a falsetto.

I wasn’t clear how many people knew them, although there were two guys standing next to me who knew all of their songs really well.  There was also a mosh pit but only a few solo dudes were dancing in it.

They played seven songs in 30 minutes and if the guys next to me were an indication, the last song is their biggest.  I really enjoyed them, as pop punk is my latest jam and I’d happily see them again.

  1. Southpaw ∇
  2. Battle Scars §
  3. Nothing Changes §
  4. Fishtown and Down ∇
  5. Some Way Some How §
  6. Tidal Wave ∇
  7. Out of Time ∇

§ single (2026)
∇ Midfield (2024)

 

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[DID NOT ATTEND: October 16, 2026] Remember Sports

I enjoy a Free at Noon show, but it is just such a hassle.  I have to really want to see a band to head all the way there midday.  I really enjoyed seeing Remember Sports a few months ago and would have really enjoyed seeing them again.  But, and this seemed like the best reason to not go to this Free at Noon–I was going to see them that night at Philly Music Fest!

Although they did what a few other bands have done recently, and that is playing a song or two during the Noon show that they don’t play that night.

This set was all songs from the new album (The Refrigerator), so the night’s show was more varied, But they did play Selfish this afternoon.  And they played Out Loud, a great show ender.  It makes sense that they didn’t play it at PMF because it’s like 7 minutes long and they didn’t have enough time to jam during the Music Fest set.

You can listen to the Free at Noon set here.

 

That Night at Phill Music Fest Free at Noon
Ghost ® Across the Line
Across The Line ® Yowie
Yowie ® Selfish  [not play at PMF]
Bug ® Ghost
Thumb ® Cut Fruit 
Leap Day £ Bug
Tiny Planets Π Thumb
Pinky Ring ♣ Leap Day
Nevermind ® Out Loud  [not play at PMF]
Reality TV ⊗
The Washing Machine ⊗
Cut Fruit ®

 

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[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] Lauren Ash

I have enjoyed Lauren Ash as an actress for a pretty long time–since I first saw her on Super Fun Night, and then of course on Superstore.  I had no idea she had put music out.  Indeed, I found out that Lauren Ash put out a record when I saw this show listed at Kung Fu Necktie.  So I had to look her up.  And she has an album out.  And I really liked it–90’s era pop punk, funny lyrics and catchy as anything.

I thought it would be interesting to see her, but I had a ticket to see The Dillinger Escape Plan that evening–quite a different sound.

The more I looked into the DEP show, the less I was interested in seeing the first two bands (no offense to them, I just didn’t think I could handle a full on heavy night), so I decided to do something wacky.  The Lauren Ash show started at 7.  What if I went to the Lauren Ash show at Kung Fu Necktie, and when she was done, I could drive to Underground Arts and see just DEP.  I had tried a similar plan a few times before with varying results.  But I assumed that Lauren’s show would be fairly short and that all would work out.

Here’s some deets on Lauren’s music career

She exploded onto the music scene in 2023 with her pop punk single “Now I Know” (which debuted at #1 on the Canadian iTunes rock chart and #5 on Billboard’s Alternative Download Chart). Her debut album “Call Me When You Get This” released in September 2025 featuring her single “Whiplash” which was nominated for a “Hollywood Independent Music Award” for best rock/pop song. She performed her single “Sad This Christmas” on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and spoke about her music on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”.

I read some reviews of her UK shows and they were all positive, so I was in.

After The Droogettes set, her stage was set up wit a TV and a telephone.  When 9PM came around, the phone rang.  After several rings, Lauren’s voice said, can someone answer that please?  A woman answered it and Lauren thanked her and then asked if that person would start the TV.  Which she did.  And what played was a series of well wishes and teases from just about everyone from The Superstore cast as well as other folks (Cobie Smulders).  It was really funny and set a great tone for how the show might go.

Lauren’s band (a guitarist and drummer) came out on stage and then Lauren ran out to the stage.  She was psyched to be there and psyched to be playing music.  She brought an incredible energy.

The biggest surprise for me both on record and live is how high her voice is.  She has a pretty deep authoritative voice on her shows, but she was up an octave for these songs.  Of course I had to wonder if her higher voice had anything to do with her weight loss–I wouldn’t think so, but what do I know.

She started with Dumpster Fire and was clearly having a blast–jumping around stage and emoting the lyrics.  I enjoyed it a lot that she was snarky in her delivery when necessary–it added a lot to the presentation.  I know the album pretty well, so I was surprised when she played some songs I didn’t know.  Like The One Who Got Away (a 2024 single) and Now I Know (a 2023 single).

Lauren played guitar for a couple of songs and talked about how excited she was to be in a band. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] Remember Sports

A few years ago my son was listening to Remember Sports as I walked past his room.  I liked the song and made a mental note of the band.  I have no idea what song it was now, but it was really good.

I hadn’t really heard much about them since.  I assumed they had broken up.  But no, they just took four years to make their latest album.

They announced an album release show at Kung Fu Necktie and I grabbed a ticket, not really knowing what to expect.  Although during the show, they admitted that they’d played in Brooklyn the night before.

I felt a little bad being right at the front of the stage since I wasn’t a huge fan, but whatever–the songs were new (mostly) so I assumed most people didn’t know all the words yet.

They opened the set with the first three songs on the album.  The opening song Across the Line has been getting lots of airplay on WXPN so I knew that one well.   And I had listened to the album a few times so I recognized most of the songs. (more…)

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[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] Eraser

Eraser came up next.  There are four people in the band Sonam Parikh: vocals, synthesizer;
Pier Harrison: guitar; Kat Bean: bass and Juliette Rando: drums. Before the show I had watched a video online of them at PhilaMOCA so I knew what was coming.  I don’t know if you’d call it No Wave or just good old fashioned noise rock, but that’s what it was.

Pier Harrison was so much fun to watch.  They would play simple melodies and then go nuts making wild sounds and playing bizarre chords.  The keyboard was pitched to what was almost a toy keyboard sound–tinny and noisy, playing usually one or two note melodies like early new wave bands.

The rhythm section was solid.  I especially enjoyed drummer Juliette Rando who kept the beat but added fun flourishes as needed.

Sonam Parikh was an aggressive frontwoman.  She seemed annoyed that people weren’t dancing (even though the music was pretty weird and not entirely danceable).  Twice, she jumped down next to me and sang from the audience.  She said they were going to be playing in France soon, which kind of blows my mind that a weird Philly band was playing in France, but good for them.

Their set was fun and relatively short, so that was good.

I can’t tell what the setlist was, although they do have an album out on bandcamp.

One song from the setlist:

Simon Says ♠

♠ Hideout

 

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[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] The Afterglows

The Afterglows are a Philly band–a duo–Sam Cook-Parrott and Michael Cantor (although I’m not sure who was who).

They took the stage at 7 (the show was pushed up a but, I guess because KFN had an event at ten).  One guy on guitar and another on bass and keys/drum machine.

Their songs were simple but their harmonies were really great.  They had a kind of slow, dreamy quality–retro in a pleasant way.

The lead vocals we shared between the two, with the bassist’s voice being the higher.  For one song, they switched instruments (and apologized for the delay) and then they went back to the basic setup.

Their set was really pleasant.  Songs of love and loss with simple melodies and nice harmonies.  None of which were more than 3 minutes I don’t think.

The last song, How This Ends rocked a lot more.  It was louder and even had a noisy guitar solo at the end.   A fun way to end the set.

SETLIST

Don’t Make Me Lonely §
Sea of Hate §
I’m Closing the Door ∇
The Nearest Window §
Here Comes the Night §
Bless My Soul ∇
Born Again §
How This Ends §

§ The Sound of the Afterglows
∇ The Afterglows

 

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[DID NOT ATTEND: April 15, 2025] Remember Sports / Anna McClellan

Remember Sports are a Philly band that I’ve been vaguely interested in for a while.  They play indie punk and lead singer Carmen Perry has a distinctive almost unpleasant voice that I find really compelling.

But since I didn’t know them that well and there were four other shows I could have gone to tonight, this one didn’t have much of a chance.

Anna McClellan is an indie musician based out of Nebraska.  Her music (and vocals) seem really raw.  She seems to be also pushing the boundaries of unpleasantness, but might fall on the other side of it for me.

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[DID NOT ATTEND: July 25, 2023] Remember Sports / 2nd Grade

Remember Sports is a Philly band who I instinctively didn;t like because of their name.  Then I heard them and fell in love with them.  Their off-kilter indie rock and wild vocals are just so much fun.

I really wanted to see them live.

And then Phish announced that their summer shows would be that night and the following night.  When I actually wound up with a seat for the first Phish night (instead of lawn) which was the 25th, well, it was hard to pass that up.

I hope they do another tour before too long.

I saw 2nd Grade open for Charly Bliss back in April and really enjoyed their set a lot.

They are a gentle boppy indie pop band.  Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name).  Most of the songs are around two minutes.

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