Posted in Black Pumas, De La Soul, Guster, Hozier, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, The War on Drugs, Tinariwen on July 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: July 31-August 2, 2020] Newport Folk Festival
We went to Newport Folk Festival in 2019. We’ve had a kind of understanding that we would try to go again.
I’ve managed to score tickets for previous years (and then resell them when we couldn’t go). But this year I was shut out instantly. Which is fine as the festival often conflicts with our summer schedule.
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Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Lucius, Shakey Graves, Steve Gunn, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The War on Drugs on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: August 18, 2023] The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn
My wife and I saw The War on Drugs as our first show after the pandemic. And it was wonderful. We were seated in a terrible seats at The Met, but the show was chill and mellow and we sat far away and the music swept over us.
I wasn’t sure if we’d want to go to this show, though because Stone Pony Summer Stage is a questionable proposition. It’s a lovely venue but depending on the crowd, it can be terrible. Plus, I know that standing around for four bands can be exhausting. Especially since I wanted to see Lucius, but not necessarily Shakey Graves.
Steve Gunn is a musician who I thought I didn’t know, but I have seen a Tiny Desk of his. He plays a kind of slow acoustic guitar with an eastern-style drone. It’s slow and addictive but I don’t think I’d want to stand to hear it.
Lucius is a band that I’d like to see live but somehow keep missing, as they play every stage that I’m not going to.
Shakey Graves and Lucius were both at the Guster festival this past weekend. Which is kind of crazy. I had said that I didn’t want to see Shakey Graves, but when I re-read my thoughts about his Newport Folk performance from a few years ago, I remembered that I thought he’d be fun to see live–he’s great at getting the crowd psyched up.
But, honestly, we were happy to stay home on a Friday night.
Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, The War on Drugs, Union Transfer on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Kurt Vile & The Violators
Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music. So when he announced he was touring, and would be ending his run in his home town, of course we grabbed tickets.
I had seen Kurt playing in New Jersey four years ago and he was a delight. He switches instruments almost every song. he doesn’t talk a lot, but he seems to be having a really good time and is happy that we’re there with him.
It was amazing that he played almost none of the same songs tonight that he did four years ago. True he had two new albums to showcase since that time, but even the older cuts were mixed up (except for his biggest hit which I couldn’t imagine him not playing and “Waking on a Pretty Day”).
Kurt is pretty much exactly what you get on record–his delivery is pretty much the same, his guitar playing is the same. he comes across as the most natural performer you’ve ever seen. Like he literally just walked in and started playing.
I am a huge fan of some of Kurt’s songs. I love “Loading Zones” and could listen to him play that song for ages. (more…)
Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, The War on Drugs on January 27, 2022| 1 Comment »
[ATTENDED: August 5, 2021] The War on Drugs
A couple of years ago our friend Cindy invited us to see The War on Drugs with her and we said no. We didn’t really know them that well.
Cut to 2022 and they were the first live show we’d gotten to see this year.
Not a lot has changed about my appreciation of the band. They’ve always been a band that I kind of liked–good background stuff. Then I heard their Live Drugs album and realized that they are a great live band.
So they announced two shows in Philly and I asked if S. wanted to go. She had been listening to them a lot this past year and so I grabbed us tickets.
I like the Met but this is the second show in a row where we were in the back orchestra section. Now that I’ve been placed there a few times, I have finally got it in my head that when you buy tickets there, ORCH 5678 seats SUCK. The Met is a fairly small place, so even the further away seat isn’t bad, but there’s giant poles and the entire loge hanging above you. None of it really blocks your view, but it feels like watching a widescreen movie on a letterbox TV. (more…)
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