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Archive for the ‘Wax Jaw’ Category

Wax Jaw / Trash Boy / Jim E. Brown (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jim E. Brown, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Trash Boy, Wax Jaw on December 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 18, 2023] Wax Jaw / Trash Boy / Jim E. Brown

I was pretty excited to go to this show.  I had seen Wax Jaw a few months ago and they were outstanding.  This was to be their last show of the year and it was back on home turf.  It was also going to be my last show of the year and it seemed like a great one to go out on.

Then it rained.  And rained.  And rained.  Our area was flooded like crazy–schools closed, rivers overflowing, the works.  I probably could have still gone to the show.  It looked like Philly wasn’t as badly affected as my area was, but when I looked on the map, it did suggest that  there were flooding issues along the way and around the venue.  It just didn;t seem like it was worth going to the hassle.

So I stayed home.

Bummer.

I’ve seen a couple of videos and the show looks insane.  I hope someone has recorded the whole show. (more…)

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Wax Jaw: EP Release Show (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, October 21, 2023)

Posted in Grace Vonderkuhn, Philadelphia, PA, Silk City, The Cowpokes, Wax Jaw on October 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2023] Wax Jaw 

Wax Jaw has only been around for a little over a year.  In that time, they have released a couple of singles and amassed a huge local following.

Wax Jaw was born out of the summer-time daydreams and blossoming friendship of Greg Blanc (bass) and Sean Vannata (guitar) in June 2022. They immediately shared a vision of writing lively, upbeat tunes that would make even the most reserved audience member come alive during their shows. Keeping this priority in mind, a five-person lineup was curated one member at a time until the band reached its final form in January 2023. Since then, Wax Jaw has wasted no time sinking their teeth into the bleeding hearts of Philly audiophiles through their animated stage presence, vintage visuals, and high-energy performances. They recently played back-to-back sold out shows at Silk City and PhilaMOCA – most notably sharing a stage with nationally acclaimed acts Wine Lips and Acid Dad. With a six-song EP set to release in September, Wax Jaw is the innovative, all-gas-no-breaks band to watch!

I could have seen them open for Acid Dad a little while ago, but decided to stay home that night. (more…)

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Grace Vonderkuhn (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, October 21, 2023) [Wax Jaw EP release show]

Posted in Grace Vonderkuhn, Philadelphia, PA, Silk City, The Cowpokes, Wax Jaw on October 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2023] Grace Vonderkuhn 

Grace Vonderkuhn has been on my list of bands to see for a while now, although I don’t exactly remember how I first heard about this band from Deleware.

Grace Vonderkuhn is a 3-piece rock band from Wilmington, Delaware. Uniting in 2016, the outfit consists of Grace Koon, songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Brian Bartling—bassist, and Dave McGrory, who plays the drums and sings. They combine shoegaze, post-punk, and psych influences with sharp pop sensibilities. The band toured throughout the US, showcased at SXSW, recorded an Audiotree live session, and were featured on NPR following the release of their first full-length album, Reveries (2018 Egghunt Records). Grace Vonderkuhn went on to release their sophomore album, Pleasure Pain, on Philly-based record label Sheer Luck Records in 2021. They have shared the stage with countless bands including Camp Cope, Shame, Ought, Titus Andronicus, Lower Dens, No Age, and The Districts. The band is currently working on their third full-length album and playing shows.

I had heard good things about them, but I guess I didn’t actually listen to them that much before the show because they blew me away.

Grace Koon is a killer guitar player. She’s not showoffy at all, but she can play great solos, weird chords and a pretty diverse array of sounds. She also sings in a couple of different styles from gentle to deep and menacing.  Brian Barling on bass doesn’t just keep up with Grace, he often plays counterpoint to her melodies.  And Dave McGrory on drums is the secret weapon. He plays different patterns and rhythm and his backing vocals are great–he often sings high over Grace’s low, grittier vocals. (more…)

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The Cowpokes (Silk City, Philadelphia, PA, October 21, 2023) [Wax Jaw EP release show]

Posted in Grace Vonderkuhn, Philadelphia, PA, Silk City, The Cowpokes, Wax Jaw on October 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2023] The Cowpokes

So much was going on tis evening that I didn’t know what I’d get to see.

A long time ago I had purchased a ticket to see Genesis Owusu on this evening.  Then this Wax Jaw show was announced.  I’ve been really wanting to see wax Jaw live, so I decided maybe I’d go to that show instead.  Then I found out that the Wax Jaw show would be over by like 9:30 (because of a late night DJ show at Silk City). Then mu daughter decided to have a birthday party that night.  Fortunately she didn’t need me to be there.

So I left after picking up the food and figured that I’d probably miss The Cowpokes.

Cowpokes are a country rock band from Philadelphia. Comprised of Jia Binder, Cami Bachman, Dylan Michael, and Winnie Malcarney, they are among the enlightened few to understand that the Byrds are better than the Beatles.

I wasn’t sure I’d mind missing them as the whole country angle doesn’t appeal to me.  But a country PUNK band turned out to be a lot of fun.  I arrived in the beginning of their set but missed a song or two.

They were stomping and pogoing.  There was a kind of country twang in the vocals, but it was like a Philly country twang which I rather liked.

I don’t know who was who, but I enjoyed that the guitarist who I presume is male was wearing a house dress.  I loved that the guitar who presented female also played  flute solo and then later played lap steel!  And the bass player/singer had a great voice.   I also loved that the drummer had some really fast fills and rolls and even knocked one of his cymbals off its stand at some point (someone in the crowd jumped up on stage and replaced it).

I don’t know what they played (they have only one song out on bandcamp), but it was rocking and good fun.  I’m glad I caught them.

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Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 12, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arckist, Big Stink, Blue Daze August, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, The Azures, Wax Jaw on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist

It’s crazy that I could have gone to Crossroads three nights in a row (two Tigers Jaw shows on the following two nights) when I feel like they never have bands I want to see.

I have seen Wax Jaw on YouTube a few times and I’m not sure how I found out about them.  They are brand new (having just released their first EP) and yet they have a big following.  Because they are great.  I keep wanting to catch them but something comes up.  Like the fact that I planned to be home tonight.

Besides how can I possibly go out for FIVE bands in a night.  And if Wax Jaw are just putting out their first EP, are all of these bands just a year old?  And will each set be 20 minutes?

Let’s find out

First is Arckist

WRAT’s Jersey artist of the week says

Arckist is a young band with a classic style. The members range in age from 17 to 20 and their musical tastes are well beyond that.  Lead vocalist, Lily Slix is a Jersey Rock veteran, who began her musical career as a solo artist. Since the age of 12, she’s written, recorded, and released original music on a yearly basis and performed all over. She’s rocked legendary venues like the Stone Pony.   On August 18 Arckist will release their Debut EP on all digital platforms. “Don’t Push Me Around” features five hard-hitting tracks aimed at reviving the hard rock of the past with the energy and perspective of today’s modern youth.  It’s brimming with 1970s sensibilities and a dash of the ’90s. Expect heavy guitars, thunderous rhythm sections, and roaring vocals. August 18th all five songs will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and all digital platforms.

The EP is 23 minutes.

[UPDATE: This album is riff-rock, sounds fully realized and is very 70’s heavy rock sounding.  With really dumb lyrics.  Lily Slix has a voice much older than her age.  I would have loved this were I in high school, but these days I don’t–not my thing anymore].

Blue Daze August has a full length out.  It is 26 minutes.  I can’t find any blurbs about them at all.  They are from Toms River, NJ

[UPDATE: Fast pop punk, catchy and fun.  This would be really fun to see live.  What’s exciting about this band is that they are essentially a pop punk band, they throw in all kinds of unexpected moments, like a wholly unexpected saxophone on the new single and a fun jazzy breakdown on another song and “Manhattan” slows things down but retains a kind of snotty edge that I like.].

Big Stink is from Montclair.  They have a few releases totaling about 25 minutes.  Their bandcamp says

 A crunchy three-piece hailing from the depths of a sticky Montclair basement.  Emo Garage you say!? perhaps.

[UPDATE: Heavy distorted screaming accompanies heavy distorted thumping drums and bass.  It’s got an early Mudhoney vibe.  I quite like it and I’m sure t hey are wild live].

The Azures have the longest blurb on bandcamp.  But they only have one song there.  They have two songs on Spotify.  And yet they are the highest on the bill.  Huh.   They are also from Toms River.

The Azures are a four-piece psychedelic blues band from Central Jersey, influenced heavily by the Delta era of original southern rock as well as all the wild shit that went down in the 70’s like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. Please enjoy the music! Caio – The Azures

Given the blurbs, I feel like I would like them least of the four.  But I’ll give them all a listen tomorrow.

[UPDATE: I listened to the record and I like their vibe, although I suspect I would like them more live than on record..]

Wax Jaw said they were going on 9:15-9:30 with the music starting at 8.  I don’t quite understand how that would work.  Is every band playing ten minutes?    If they were going on later, I considered driving down just to see them, but I don’t think I can squeeze it in.

 

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Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hot Seat, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Strawberry Moon, Wallace Tonight, Wax Jaw on September 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 1, 2023] Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight

I have recently discovered the Philly band Wax Jaw and I am mildly obsessed with them.  I have yet to see them live, but I really want to.  When I saw this show at Ortlieb’s, I thought it might be a great time to see them.

But there were a couple of problems.

The big one is that my son was moving to college the next day.  Yea, there was no way I was not going to be home to help him (and we were up until almost midnight getting everything together).  The second, obviously minor thing is that Wax Jaw was not the headliner.

Strawberry Moon was the headliner.  I hadn’t heard of them, but imagined they would be kind of a psychedelic band.  And nothing could be further from the truth.  Their bandcamp summary says:

rock and roll with big ole vocals and dancey riffs

And that’s pretty spot on.  There’s some great rocking riffs and lead singer Katie Bowles has a powerful voice that never turns into screaming.  The rest of the band is Liam McElroy – guitar ; Gray Stephenson – bass ; TJ Meade – drums.  The poster says “Introducing Christian” which I assume means another member of the band, but who knows.

They are  a classic sounding band who probably put on a killer live show.

Wax Jaw I only know from a show I didn’t see (which had video online afterward).  There’s something wonderfully primal about them–kinda surfy but with a real punk rock feel.  Or as, this review in Before Tomorrow says

With a blend of surf rock, new wave, and popost-punk influences; Wax Jaw can only be described as something akin to the love child of The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and The Dictators all wrapped up into one package of sound that you may have expected to hear leaking from the doors of The Hot Club in the late 1970s. In the seemingly brief time they have been together, Wax Jaw has already garnered an extensive roster of sold out shows across the Philadelphia area and after our experience, it is undeniable that this streak will continue.

The review also goes on to say that it sounds like they stole the show. (more…)

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Acid Dad / Wine Lips / Wax Jaw (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Acid Dad, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Wax Jaw, Wine Lips on April 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 21, 2023] Acid Dad / Wine Lips / Wax Jaw

I saw Acid Dad back in October and really liked them.  I knew I wanted to see them again, so when they announced this show on the same night that I had a ticket for M83, I was torn.

I decided to grab a ticket because they were really cheap.

And then the day of the show, I wound up not going out at all.  We had been doing things around then house and it felt kind of weird to leave a guest at home.  So I bailed on all of the shows.

Wine Lips is a band I didn’t know.  They are a trio of Cam Hilborn on Guitar and Vocals with Aurora Evans on Drums and Charlie Weare on Bass.

Their music seemed to fit well with Acid Dad as this review says:

“Fuzzy, loud and fast, Wine Lips are a garage/ punk/ psychedelic band whose music feels like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. A no holds barred kind of rock n roll that’ll make you want to buy a motorcycle, just to crash it.” – Sled Island

Wax Jaw must have been added at the last minute because I didn’t even know they were supposed to be there.  They are a Philly five piece who describe their music as “philly dirty surf rock” which fits the bill.

But Markit Aneight has a video of their show (I assume ones of Acid Dad and Wine Lips are coming) and I really liked them.

I missed a good night.

Interestingly, Wax Jaw had their debut live show at PhilaMoCA just a couple of months earlier.  And here’s that show.

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