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Archive for the ‘Rx Bandits’ Category

Rx Bandits (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, March 13, 2025)

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rx Bandits, Zeta on March 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2025] Rx Bandits

So I didn’t know Rx Bandits at all.  When they started this tour last year (and played Philly), I skipped it even though I wanted to see Zeta.

But in the year since, I listened to this album and found that I liked it quite a bit.  And U still wanted to see Zeta, so I grabbed a ticket and investigated Rx Bandits more.

Rx Bandits had a simple set up–two guitars (singer Matt Embree & Steve Choi), a bass (Matthew Fazzi) and drums (Christopher Tsagakis).  And for a couple of songs they even brought out some horns (trombone: Andrew Borstein & saxophone: Dennis Passley).

This was a tour for their album The Resignation, which they played straight through.  I didn’t realize that they were initially a ska band and that they had morphed into something else over the years.

The band is tight and energetic and they rocked the venue (the crowd was nuts–I was on the barrier and was fairly safe).  They brought out the horns for Prophetic (and played the slow denouement that segued into Newsstand Rock. (more…)

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Zeta (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, March 13, 2025) [RX BANDITS]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rx Bandits, Zeta on March 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2024] Zeta

I was not familiar with Rx Bandits when they announced this show.  Indeed the only reason I was interested in this show at all was because Zeta was announced as the opener.

I had seen Zeta once and they blew me away. I would do just about anything to see them again.  So if just going to Asbury Park is the requirement, I was there.

I bought this ticket from the box office (always fun), although I had never really heard of the RX Bandits.  I was psyched to see Zeta.

Imagine my surprise then, when they announced another show in January–this one headlining.  So I got to see them in Jan and then again in March.  And this show was very different.

Well, not very different.  But quite different.  For one thing the stage was huge.  At the Foto Club, they were crammed around the drum kit.  Here, they all had space to move around.  But the focus, as always was on drummer Chino Sandoval–front and center and a whirling maniac.  They are still touring their fantastic new album, and I’m not entirely sure what they played from it.

I’m assuming the first two songs were the same as last time, but after that, I lost track.  I feel like the set was a little different because at one point Juan Chi stepped away from the mic and literally just screamed the vocals into the crowd.  There was some chatter before that but as soon as he started singing like that everyone was silent (even though I believe he was singing in Spanish).

As always, Antonio Pereira loomed behind the drums with his awesome bass sound.

Daniel Hernandez was on the other side of the stage.  He rapped a song and I’m fairly certain he sang part of Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine.  I admit that their sound was a little fuzzy (opening act problems) and they were really loud.  So I didn’t really understand a lot of what they were singing (it being mostly Spanish as well).  But the intensity is unmatched.

After every few songs, the crowd around me roared it’s approval, with a few “holy shit” moments.   This was especially true the two times that Chi hopped on the bongos and Hernandez played his own small drum kit.  It’s all percussion and bass, playing rhythmically and it’s awesome.

Sadly I’ll never know what the set list was, but it doesn’t matter.  I loved the show, Iloved that they clearly won over new fans and it was especially cool that two of the guys remembered me from January when we chatted for a little while.

 

2025 Asbury Lanes 2025 Foto Club 2023 Underground Arts
¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ ¿Por qué cargamos el peso de la melancolía del mundo entero sobre nosotros? £ La flor de la palabra @
¿Por qué sentimos la necesidad de romper con todo? £ Completar ∞
Privilege ¿ La flor del tiempo @
La flor de la palabra @ El Canto de La Victoria @
Completar ∞ Afrontar ∞
La flor del tiempo @ Sufrir ∞
Steps ¿ Magia infinita ∞
The Truth ¿
Yo el peor de todos (somos cosmos) XXV §
Shadows ¿
The Wild ¿
unknown setlist Magia infinita ∞

 

¿ Was It Medicine to You? (2025)
@ Todo Bailarlo (2022)
∞ Magia infinita (2018)/reissued 2024
£ L’Antiteoria del Todo (2016)
§ single (2013)

 

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Rx Bandits / Zeta (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Rx Bandits, Union Transfer, Zeta on March 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2024] Rx Bandits / Zeta

I was not familiar with Rx Bandits when they announced this show.  Indeed the only reason I was interested in this show at all was because Zeta was announced as the opener.

I had seen Zeta once and they blew me away. I would do just about anything to see them again.

But this show, which is right in the middle of a bunch of other shows that I’m going to, was just too much.

When I read about this tour, though it did make me think two or three times about whether I should go.  There’s only a handful of shows, and I always feel special when I am able t o go to a little tour like this. (more…)

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