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Archive for the ‘Strand of Oaks’ Category

Strand of Oaks / Stella Ruze (Concerts Under the Stars series Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, June 28, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Concerts Under the Stars series, King of Prussia PA, Philadelphia, PA, Stella Ruze, Strand of Oaks, Upper Merion Township Building Park on June 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 28, 2025] Strand of Oaks / Stella Ruze

I have seen Strand of Oaks five times.  I always think I’ve seen them more because I had planned to go to all of the Winter Specials that he played in Philly.  But I haven’t gone to that many, although the last one was great.

When he announced this Concert Under the Stars, I immediately penciled it in.  And then about a week later I saw that Babymetal was playing the same night in a venue that would allow us to see them pretty well.  So I grabbed two tickets for Babymetal and knew I’d have to wait to see Strand of Oaks again–maybe this winter?

I assumed that Stella Ruze was a folk singer.  Turns out they are a roots rock band from Philly.  “They blend four-part vocal harmonies and horn arrangements into a new, genre-bending sound.”  I’m not sure how genre-bending their sound actually is.  It’s kind of folky and sounds like it woul dbe great to hear at an open air show.

 

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic X] (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2024)

Posted in Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Union Transfer on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2024] Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic X]

I’ve seen Strand of Oaks five times now.  Three of these were Winter Classics.  I kind of assumed that I’d go to all of the Winter Classics (but I knew I wouldn’t make all of them).  However, I’m surprised that I haven’t seen one since Winter Classic V.

After a really fun opening set from Pat Finnerty and what was basically the rest of the Strand of Oaks band, they all came back, this time with Tim Showalter–and he received a very warm welcome.  I’m not sure how full the event was–the previous years he’s played two sold out nights at Johnny Brenda’s, but Union Transfer is much larger.

But the crowd was really into it, especially the guy a few people down from me who was jumping and pogoing through every song.

I can’t believe that it’s been five years since I last saw a Strand of Oaks show.  I really enjoyed his 2021 album In Heaven, but I didn’t enjoy the latest album Miracle Focus quite as much.  I didn’t really think this show would focus on that album–the Winter Classic is meant to be a fun night for Tim and the fans, and not a typical tour show).  But I was actually surprised how little he played from it, especially since his keyboard player was up front (and I felt a little too quiet).

Instead, he played six songs from In Heaven.  I was pretty pleased with the song selection, although there are a lot of older songs that I would have loved to hear too.

In between the In Heaven songs, he played Party at Monster Lake and Fantasy Wranglers from the new album and a great powerful version of Ruby.  At the end of Ruby he asked us if we’d mind if his friend Pat Finnerty played a fucking guitar solo and Pat did.  I had figured out that Pat was a remarkably talented musician from his improv set and from the solos he’d been playing, but for this solo, he played a really great solo that wasn’t obnoxiously showoffy or fancy, it was just grooving and rocking and the band was fully behind him. (more…)

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Pat Finnerty (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2024) [STRAND OF OAKS]

Posted in Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, Union Transfer on December 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2024] Pat Finnerty

Pat Finnerty opened for Strand of Oaks for the last three Winter Classics. And these three are the ones that I missed.

And now that I’ve seen him I’m even more bummed that I missed those three shows.  Because he was funny and he and his band were super talented.

Pat told us that he and his band (which was all of Strand of Oaks and his cousin Mike) were there to warm up Strand of Oaks and that this show was going to be all covers.

The house music was ZZ Top’s Legs and he said that they had to play the whole song if they had started it.  He won me over immediately by saying imagine going to your bandmates and saying hey, I’ve got a new song, it’s called Legs.  Band: What’s it about?

He then asked the keyboard player to learn the keyboard part so they could play Legs at the end of the set.

He also told us that he had cash and would give cash to anyone who earned it.  Last time, he saw some woman really dancing when he played a blues riff, she got $4.  At our show, a guy received $2. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VIII/IX] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 15 & 16, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 15 & 16, 2023] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

I had every intention of going to this Winter Classic.  I even had a ticket to night one.  Which I bought very specifically because I had a ticket to another show on Saturday night.  Then at about 3PM on Friday the 15th, I realized that my other show was actually tonight!

And my wife and I were going to that show together.

And the Saturday night show sold out a long time ago.  Sigh.

By my calculations, this should be Winter Classic XIII, but the poster says IX, so I’ll trust he’s right.  And I’ll make sure I’m there for Number 10.

~~~~~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks / Friendship (Upper Merion Township Building Park, King of Prussia, PA, June 17, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Friendship, King of Prussia PA, Strand of Oaks, Upper Merion Township Building Park on June 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2023] Strand of Oaks / Friendship

I really like Strand of Oaks, both musically and because I have a real soft spot for Tim Showalter who is such a nice guy.

I have seen them five times, primarily because he started doing an annual Christmas show at Boot & Saddle, which I really liked going to.  He did one this past year at Johnny Brenda’s and it sold out before I had even heard about it.

This would have been a fun opportunity to see him at the 37th annual Concert Under the Stars in King of Prussia, PA.  I do love an outdoor show, after all.

However, the show was a little further than I wanted to go and we had just celebrated my son’s graduation.  So it seemed like a good nice to stay in.  I’m sure Tim and his band will be back again, and maybe this time I’ll even get to the Christmas show.

Although a DJ on WXPN said that this Strand of Oaks show was the best show he’d seen all year.  So maybe I should have dragged ass down there.  Although I aslso see they only played ten songs, so maybe not….

Friendship is from Philly.  They were suppose to open for Indigo de Souza for all of her cancelled shows and theyn they were replaced by someone else when the show finally went on.

According to their bandcamp page

Onstage, bassist Jon Samuels is the only Friendship member who stands up. He is usually swaying back and forth as the songs bear down, pulling together and apart. Friendship’s new record, Dreamin’ is an exorable wave of motion, endlessly rocking between intimacy and loneliness.

I listened to two of their songs and absolutely hated each of the vocalists (I think they were different, if not then I hated both styles of singing that the one vocalist had).

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VII] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2022] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

Somehow I missed that this show happened and only found out about it tonight in 2023.

It was the same dates, Dec 9 and 10, although on Fri and Sat.  Pat Finnerty opened both nights.

I have no idea how I missed it so completely.

There’s some clips on you tube from these shows.  Here’s one

~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks / The Still Tide (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks, The Still Tide, Union Transfer on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2022] Strand of Oaks / The Still Tide

I have seen Strand of Oaks a number of times–although mostly as a solo venture.

I kind of forget that he plays with a full band (and they rock).  This would have been a fun show to see, but it was scheduled for the same night as Belle and Sebastian which we’d already gotten tickets for.  Plus, the night turned out to be the same as my daughter’s graduation.  So, this one was never going to happen.  I hope that he comes back to Philly again soon.

The Still Tide are from Brooklyn but are now based in Colorado.

I’ve listened to a couple of songs and they remind me of Lone Justice–rock with a countryish kind of feel.  They actually seem like a good fit for Strand of Oaks.

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Baroness: Your Baroness Tour (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2021)

Posted in Baroness, John Baizley, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2021] Baroness: Your Baroness Tour

Back in 2017 I saw Strand of Oaks play Union Transfer.  Toward the end of the set Tim Showalter called John Baizley on stage.  I didn’t know who he was but I was taken by his look (bald with a big beard) and his terrific voice (and guitar playing).  Turns out he’s the main force behind Baroness (he draws/paints all of the cover art, too).  I got into Baroness and wanted to see them live.

Since then I’d had a few chances to see them, all of which were dashed or one reason or another.  I did get to see an acoustic performance when they put their last album out in 2019, but that’s not the same, obviously.

Finally, Baroness announced the Your Baroness tour–a tour of small clubs which would feature an all-request set.  And the three (!) Philly shows (where Baroness is based) would be at Kung Fu Necktie, a club I’d never been to but always wanted to check out.  (It has about 100 person capacity, so…intimate show!). (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VI] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Full show video, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2021] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

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Against Me! / Baroness / Drug Church (Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA, May 30, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Against Me!, Baroness, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, Dilly Dally, John Baizley, Quarantine, Sherman Theater, Strand of Oaks, Stroudsburg, PA on May 30, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: May 30, 2020] Against Me! / Baroness / Drug Church

indexI had a ticket to see Against Me! on their “2 Nights / 4 Records / 48 Songs,” tour.

I was mostly interested in seeing Dilly Dally who was opening, but I thought it would be interesting to see Against Me! as well. My night was for the White Crosses/Transgender Dysphoria Blues albums.  I actually don’t know those newer albums (I have New Wave), but I was interested in hearing them.

This show seemed like a good opportunity to check them out

But the main reason I wanted to go to this show was for Baroness.

I saw ‎John Baizley play with Strand of Oaks a few years ago and he was a great addition.  I hadn’t heard his band, but I immediately had to check them out.  I really liked them.  Last year I got to see and meet Baroness at an in store performance at Vintage Vinyl, but seeing Baroness acoustic in a record store (as cool as it was) is nothing like seeming them as full band in concert.

Unfortunately their Philly stop was at the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest that had a good line up but sounded like a nightmare, honestly.  But when they set up the rest of their dates, they didn’t do Philly again.

I don’t know Drug Church, but I’ve read that their sound mixes hardcore punk with alternative rock and grunge.  I listened to their song “Avoidarama” (love the name) and I really liked it (it’s far more grunge than hardcore and no screaming vocals).  “Grubby” has a bit more punk elements, and I liked it too.  I hope they tour with them when this gets rescheduled.

This show in Stroudsburg is the closest their were coming and even though they weren’t headlining (double headliner, I guess) it was the best I could do.  I’ve never been to a show in Stroudsburg before and I was curious how the commute there would compare to Philly.  But I’ve heard the Sherman Theater is really nice.

Since this show was at the end of May, I was counting it as a sort of holding out hopes for shows to not get cancelled.  But better safe than sorry.

 

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