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Archive for the ‘Temples’ Category

Temples (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 7, 2023)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Post Animal, Temples, Underground Arts on June 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 7, 2023] Temples

I saw Temples about a year and a half ago and the show was terrific.  The songs sounded like the albums without sounding exactly like the albums.  They were fun and funny and, without doing anything fancy, put on a heck of a show (probably because their songs are so good).

I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to this show because a literal cloud of smoke had fallen over the entire area.  Wildfires in Canada had sent plumes of really dangerous smoke over the entire Northeastern U.S.  Air quality was so bad that we were wearing masks again.  I wasn’t sure if it was safe to go out in it.  Technically it wasn’t, but it was okay with a mask.  I drove to Philly with my windows closed and a mask on the whole way.  It was weird to take the mask off inside, but I did because the place had a filtration system in place.

I hadn’t listened to the new record a much as I should have, but I do like the overall feel of the album.  So, having new songs sprinkled throughout the set was a nice way to get to really enjoy them.

Lead singer/guitarist James Bagshaw is a great presence up there under his curly hair.  His voice sounded great and it was cool watching him play the catchy riffs that the band has created.  He messed up the opening of one song and chastised himself.  But other than that his playing was spot on.

I really enjoyed their previous album Hot Motion a lot and would have loved to hear more songs from it.  But I understand you have a new album to promote.  Honestly they could have played for thirty more minutes and maybe played all of their songs that I like. But I have no complaints about the setlist.

Because “Certainty” from Volcano sounded amazing.  And Holy Horses from Hot Motion is one of my favorite songs of theirs. (more…)

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Post Animal (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 7, 2023) [TEMPLES]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Post Animal, Temples, Underground Arts on June 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 7, 2023] Post Animal

I hadn’t heard of Post Animal, but when I read about them, I was really interested in checking them out.

They came out on stage–all five of them–and proceeded to blow me away with a fusion of what I heard as Rush meets King Gizzard.

The Rush component came in some of their extended, prog-like songs that ended in chord patterns that were very much Rush adjacent.  The King Gizzard part came from some of the frenetic guitar soloing.  And what was really really fun about them was that every song was really different.

Some were straight up riff rockers.   Some had multiple parts.  Indeed, I didn’t actually know how many songs they played before they spoke.  I thought it might be one fifteen minute song, but i believe it was actually three shorter songs.

They had four different vocalists (some who switched off during one song, I believe). (more…)

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Temples (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 2020)

Posted in Mew, Philadelphia, PA, Temples, The Foundry, Union Transfer on January 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2020] Temples [rescheduled from November 10, 2019]

2020-01-24 22.38.08_previewTemples were supposed to play Union Transfer back in November.  For some reason, their show was moved to this month and moved from Union Transfer to The Foundry (this is quite surprising considering one venue is a Live Nation property and the other isn’t).  In fact even though my Union Transfer ticket was honored, I had to go through a rather laborious process to get it switched to an official Live Nation ticket (glad I got there early).

I’m still not sure why the show was moved or why it was downgraded to a much smaller venue because Temples was fantastic and the fans were totally into it.

I loved Temples’ first album and hadn’t quite realized that they’d put out two albums since that one.  Their new sound is a bit more keyboardy/dancey instead of the big retro sound of the first album.  But the overall vibe (and excellent riffmaking) hasn’t changed from album to album. (more…)

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Art d’Ecco (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 2020) [TEMPLES]

Posted in Art d'Ecco, Canadian Music, David Bowie, Philadelphia, PA, Sparks, Temples, The Foundry, The Retinas on January 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2020] Art d’Ecco [rescheduled from November 10, 2019, replaced Mattiel]

2020-01-24 20.43.21_previewArt d’Ecco is a band from Vancouver.  Well, technically, Art d’Ecco is the singer and it is his band.  Either way it is a fantastic name which perfectly encapsulates the look of he and style of dandies from the Pacific Northwest playing excellent garage glam.

I didn’t realize that there were going to be two opening acts.  So when The Retinas finished I assumed that Temples were coming out next.  (I also assumed I’d be getting home really early if the headliners were going on at 9:15).

I was surprised when Art d’Ecco came out because, while I didn’t exactly know what Temples looked like, I was fairly certain they weren’t a glammy band.  Plus, what happened to the singer’s big curly hair?

I was happy to discover that this wasn’t Temples because I didn’t think I could have been that off in my expectations.  But I was even happier to discover this new (to me) band who were fantastic. (more…)

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The Retinas (The Foundry, Philadelphia PA, January 24, 2020) [TEMPLES]

Posted in CHAPPO, David Bowie, Philadelphia, PA, Temples, The Foundry, The Retinas on January 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2020] The Retinas [rescheduled from November 10, 2019, replaced Mattiel]

2020-01-24 20.04.27_previewThe Retinas are a Philly band. I hadn’t heard of them before this show.

They are a guitar/bass/drum trio with a great sound.  In fact sometimes there were sounds and I’m not sure where they were coming from–loops?, samples? pedals? who knows.

They opened with a synth line (from where?) while singer Tom McHugh sang an opening lyric in his distinctive voice.

I loved the way the song built with some really impressive drumming from Anthony Filgnitti–whom I was standing in front of.  I couldn’t really see bassist Andy Silverman because of the people next to me, but his low end was essentially to anchoring the overall sound.

McHugh had great stage presence.  It helped that there were a lot of people  there to see them (at least McHugh said there were–and I actually saw someone with a Retinas jacket in the crowd). (more…)

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Mattiel / Temples (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 10, 2019) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Mattiel, Philadelphia, PA, Temples, The Foundry, Union Transfer on November 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[NOT ATTENDED: November 10, 2019] Mattiel/Temples [moved to January 24, 2020 at The Foundry]

I don’t know how often bands postpone their shows/tours.  I know sometimes visa problems keep bands out of the country.

Back in September I received this email about this show

Temples have postponed their fall tour and have moved their Philadelphia date to January 24th 2020. The show will no longer be taking place at Union Transfer but at The Foundry (29 E Allen St).

It seems really unusual that they would trade venues for a show. Especially since (I’ve learned a bit about venue politics) it is going from an independent venue to one owned by Live Nation. (more…)

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