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Archive for the ‘The Spirit of the Beehive’ Category

The Spirit of the Beehive (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] The Spirit of the Beehive [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.

I enjoyed them–they were weird and fun to watch.  I wasn’t sure I ever needed to see the again, but I figured I’d see what they’d been up to for the last 7 years.

Their set was wild and chaotic.  Again, I was right at the barrier, so I’m sure I missed a lot.  Like last time, I couldn’t tell if the songs were really short or much longer.  The first song I thought might have been three different ones.  It was made even mor confusing because the musicians would switch instruments in the middle.  Their third guitarist Phil Warner, switched from electric to acoustic and back again in one song.

I also really enjoyed watching drummer Sean Hallock keep time to all of the different changes and styles of music (often in one song).

Zack Schwartz was on the far side from me and I felt like I heard his vocals the least, although his guitar was clear.  Bassist (mostly) Rivka Ravede has a fantastic bass sound–I loved when you could hear it over the rest of the music. She also sings on nearly every song, which is great–it adds so much dimension to the songs to have two (or three) lead vocalists in one song.

I was right in front of Corey Wichlin who sang a lot of lead parts in very different vocal styles–it was often hard to know who was singing.  He also played guitars and keys and the occasional triangle. (more…)

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Kassie Krut (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] Kassie Krut [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.  The opening band was Kassie Krut who I’d never heard of. I looked them up and found out that Kassie Krut was formed from Palm!

The band was formed by Kasra Kurt, guitarist, who wanted to explore more electronic music and Eve Alpert (both of who are phenomenal guitarists but who play no guitars on the album).  They were joined by Matt Anderegg on drums.

Their EP is loud and dancey and fun, but very noisy.  And live they were noisy, noisy and more noisy.  As with Polo Perks, this may have been because I was so close to the stage.  But I believe that all of the sounds were coming from the overhead speakers (there were no guitar amps to have sound coming from the stage).  Whatever the case I absolutely could not hear Eve singing (except the quieter bits of Reckless) and I couldn’t hear Kasra at all when he took to the mic.

Matt was on my right playing an electronic drum kit,  It was fun to watch because the bass pedal was literally a pedal hitting a small pad, slightly larger than the pedal itself, but it was cavernously loud.  The rest of the pads that he played generated all kinds of percussive sounds. (more…)

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Polo Perks <3<3<3 (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, March 5, 2025) [THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, Polo Perks <3<3<3, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on March 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 5, 2025] Polo Perks ❤ ❤ ❤ [rescheduled from November 9, 2024]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  Here it was all this time later and I was able to see them again.

Originally, the opening band was Kassie Krut, but sometime more recently they added Polo Perks ❤ ❤ ❤ to the roster.

I’d never heard of him and didn’t know if the ❤ was part of his name (it is) or if it’s supposed to be three asses or what (I still don’t).  Apparently, he is a NYC drill pioneer.

His DJ came out first, set up a folding table, laid down a laptop and a mic and started a beat.  Then Polo Perks came out on stage.  His DJ tried to get everyone really hyped up.  I was at the barrier and couldn’t see who was behind me.  But the guy next to me knew a lot of the words. (more…)

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The Spirit of the Beehive / Kassie Krut (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2024) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Kassie Krut, Palm, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on November 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 9, 2024] The Spirit of the Beehive / Kassie Krut [moved to March 5, 2025]

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive seven years ago and they were outstanding live.  I’d never heard of them before that show but they blew me away with their set which was a great mix of shoegaze and noise.  I said then that I’d like to see them headline a show.

They’ve been around a few times and I wasn’t planning on going to this show because it was the same night as Makoto Kawabata.

But then they had all of their gear stolen.

On October 5, SOTB announced on social media that their van and trailer were stolen at a hotel by the Seattle airport. The trailer had all the band’s gear and most of their merch inside of it. Later that day, they shared an update that they had found the trailer, but it was virtually empty. On Sunday morning, SOTB found out that the van had been found in Seattle and impounded, but before they were able to claim it, the van was somehow restolen from the impound lot.

Their GoFundMe raised over $75,000, and they are rescheduling shows.  I don’t know if they had any specialized gear. (more…)

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Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DIIV, Draag Me, Explosions in the Sky, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 29, 2023] Explosions in the Sky / Draag Me

Explosions in the Sky twice.  After that second show, I promised myself that I would see them any time they toured.   It has been a few years and they announced their new tour was called The End.  It was wildly speculated that they were breaking up after it (and why wouldn’t people speculate about that).  So I made sure to buy a ticket immediately.

But after months of speculation, it was revealed that The End is just the name of their new album.  It doesn’t make the tour any less exciting, but it leaves a but of a bad taste.

This is the largest venue that I would have seen them play at–and I wasn’t all that excited about that either.

Well, when Margaret Glaspy announced  that she was playing a show at Underground Arts on the same night, at first I was bummed to miss her.  Then I decided that I had seen Margaret twice, but both were short shows and that I’d really like to see her headline.

So, yes, I’m giving EITS a pass.  It’s kind of a shame that bands aren’t postponing shows anymore (bite your tongue).

EITS said that they’d be having local bands open for them throughout this tour.  According to Pitchfork:

Draag Me started as the solo project of Zack Schwartz, one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia psych band Spirit of the Beehive. His first record under the Draag Me moniker, i am gambling with my life, was a collection of warm, hazy electro-pop with an undercurrent of anxiety.  With idle time during the pandemic, Schwartz started emailing scraps of songs to his Beehive bandmate Corey Wichlin, including some taken from Beehive’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH sessions. The two passed files back and forth, arranging and mangling them until full compositions emerged, ones more metallic and jittery than their predecessors.

The music is weird an unsettling–chopped up and stripped down.  It’s the kind of music that would be really hard to play live if it wasn’t all prerecorded in some way.  I’m curious how well they will be received–although a Philly show with a Philly band should probably be okay.  Interestingly, they are also opening for DIIV in Jersey City on Nov 1.  I don’t know DIIV at all, but I wonder how well they work with these two different bands.

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The Spirit of the Beehive / Mary Jane Dunphe (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 8, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Mary Jane Dunphe, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 12, 2023] The Spirit of the Beehive / Mary Jane Dunphe

I saw The Spirit of the Beehive six years ago and they were outstanding live.  I’d never heard of them before that show but they blew me away with their set which was a great mix of shoegaze and noise.  I said then that I’d like to see them headline a show.

Well, here they are.  But it’s the same night that we have tickets to see Beck and Phoenix.  So, sorry SOTB.

It turns out that the show has sold out, so they didn’t me anyway.

Mary Jane Dunphe is a poet and musician who tells stories–not through direct narrative but through embodied presence and performance, through cinematic and fragmented memory, the wild transmission of feeling. Her versatile songwriting has garnered critical acclaim in past projects such as the visceral punk of Vexx and Gen Pop, the minimal dream pop of CCFX and CC Dust, and the lonesome country-rock of The County Liners–and now Dunphe’s debut solo album, Stage of Love, is the start of a captivating new chapter.

I listened to a couple of her songs and I like the big fat synth sounds she uses but I don’t really like her voice.  I feel like I wouldn’t enjoy her set.

 

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Dry Cleaning / The Spirit of the Beehive / Nourished By Time (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, February 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Nourished By Time, Philadelphia, PA, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on February 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 5, 2022] Dry Cleaning / The Spirit of the Beehive / Nourished By Time

Dry Cleaning are a kind of trendy British band.  They are of the spoken deadpan vocal/wild guitar noise variety.  I don’t love them, but I think their music is really interesting.  I thought they’d be fun to see live once.

But we had a family emergency and it wasn’t time to go to a show.  So, I didn’t really mind missing this one. (more…)

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Bully / Graham Hunt Band / Slomo Sapiens (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Baroness, Bully, Control Top, Dusk, Graham Hunt Band, Midwives, Mike Krol, Philadelphia, PA, Reruns, Slomo Sapiens, Sundial Mottos, The Spirit of the Beehive, Underground Arts, World Cafe Live on December 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 12, 2021] Bully / Graham Hunt Band / Slomo Sapiens

Look at this, yet another great show at Underground Arts that I didn’t go to. That place has really got my number–we just need to get our calendars to synch up better.

Bully is basically Alicia Bognanno and whoever she chooses to play with.  She writes great songs and has a unique and cool voice.  I really enjoyed Bully’s first album, Feels Like, but when it was announced that she was touring a new album (and playing Philly with Spirit of the Beehive AND Control Top!) well, I checked that album out right away. And it is very good.

I was pleased when it was announced that she’d be playing Underground Arts instead.  World Cafe Live is a better venue, but UA is much easier for me to get to.  Sadly the opening bands were not the same, but that’s okay.

And then…. Baroness announced they would be playing three nights at Kung Fu Necktie.  I couldn’t make the Saturday one (holiday party), so my only choice was Sunday.  Later they added another date for Monday, but I had already purchased my ticket and it seemed like way too much of a hassle to try to change it.  So Bully had to miss me.  Drat.  Come back again Alicia!

I’d never heard of Graham Hunt although apparently he is been in a lot of bands.  According to this write up

Hunt’s solo work continues to be an oddball amalgam of the best traits of his other projects: Midwives’ exacting focus, Reruns’ strong songwriting structures, and Sundial Mottos’ winsome, relaxed aesthetic all are apparent throughout the excellent new solo album Painting Over Mold. Even the distinct imprints of Dusk and Mike Krol, both acts Hunt has appeared with as a touring member, find cohesion across the record.

Slomo Sapiens continues the tradition of great band names from Philadelphia.  I didn’t know much about them, but they are described as a psychedelic “sludge rock” trio, which sounds pretty good to me.  Their newest album is called Cabin Fever Dreams.

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Bully / The Spirit of the Beehive / Control Top (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, July 18, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Bully, Control Top, Coronavirus, Mew, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Spirit of the Beehive, World Cafe Live on July 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: May 22, 2020] Bully / The Spirit of the Beehive / Control Top

indexI really liked Bully’s first album Feels Like, which came out back in 2005.  Then they just sort of disappeared (I gather there were label issues with their second album).

They have a good grungey guitar sound with a controlled screaming vocal from Alicia Bognanno.  They would probably be a lot of fun live.

The two opening bands are from Philly.  I’ve seen them both and would love to see them again.

The Spirit of the Beehive were outstanding live.  I’d never heard of them before but they easily blew me away with their set which was a nice mix of shoegaze and noise.

Control Top are an outstanding punk band with great lead vocals from bassist Ali Carter.  I was supposed to see them in march but that show was one of the first postponed.

This is an outstanding bill and although the show is cancelled, I really hope the three can do a show again in the future.

Amazingly there were four different shows I would have gone to on this night.  And this one might have won out.

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The Spirit of the Beehive (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, August 11, 2017) [THE DISTRICTS]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Districts, The Spirit of the Beehive, Union Transfer on August 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 11, 2017] The Spirit of the Beehive

I had never heard of The Spirit of the Beehive before this show.  They are a Philadelphia band with two albums and one EP on bandcamp.

I listened to them briefly before the show–their sound was noisy with a shoegaze element.  I didn’t have much time to explore them before I left for the show, so I was totally unprepared for the wild set the band played.

They were fun to watch.  And their music was wonderfully complex.

According to the latest album, Pleasure Suck, the band is composed of the hex, buzz, rat, ricky, and pail.  Some research provides me with names, although I’m not sure who to match with which nickname: guitarist/vocalist Zack Schwartz, drummer Pat Conaboy, guitarist/keyboardist Justin Fox, guitarist Tim Jordan and bassist/vocalist Rivka Ravede.

There were only four members on stage (based on the above, I’d guess that Jordan was not there as everyone else’s instruments seem to be accounted for). (more…)

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