[POSTPONED: July 13, 2022] Bikini Kill / Brontez Purnell [rescheduled from November 22, 2020 and October 2, 2021; moved to April 7, 2023]
About a week before this show was supposed to happen we got another update that the show was postponed yet again.
I like to note that I bought ticket to this show on November 10, 2019.
The reunited riot grrrl stars were originally set to play a host of North American shows across June and July this year, but had to postpone them due to a positive COVID case in their touring party.
Original support act Alice Bag is long gone replaced by Brontez Purnell who is still slotted to support next year.
Brontez Purnell is an American writer, musician, dancer, and director based out of Oakland, California. He is the author of several books, including Since I Laid My Burden Down, and the zine Fag School; frontman for the punk band The Younger Lovers; and founder of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company.
[DID NOT ATTEND: July 12, 2022] Barenaked Ladies / Toad the Wet Sprocket / Gin Blossoms [rescheduled from July 14, 2020 and July 13, 2021]
I haven’t seen Barenaked Ladies in a while. They always put on a good show, although i feel like I’ve enjoyed the last few a little bit less than the previous ones.
I always consider going to their Last Summer on Earth tours, but i typically dislike the other bands that are playing with them–usually 90s bands that I assumed were broken up. Which doesn’t really speak all that well of BNL (unless it speaks well of them trying to boost old bands).
I never liked Gin Blossoms.
I liked Toad the Wet Sprocket for their name (which comes from Monty Python) but couldn’t tell you a single song they sang.
So, it was very unlikley that I was going to this one. And I didn’t.
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As recent as mid-May this concert was still listed as happening in 2021, but when you clicked to buy tickets, the ticket pages said 2022.
I know that the whole “Last Summer on Earth” thing is a joke, but it’s getting a little creepy now.
I was kind of hoping they’d switch opening bands by now but, instead of this show, I think I’ll be seeing them at the Festival of Ballooning on July 24th instead.
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I have seen Barenaked Ladies almost more than any other band. I’ve seen them from way back in the early days to a few times in the last few years. They are reliably solid live (if not a bit predictable with their setlists).
We didn’t see them for last year’s “Last Summer on Earth” tour. They have been using that name for the last several years, it may be time to think of a new name, especially given the current state of the world. I wasn’t planning on going to this show mostly because I don’t really like the opening acts. And, honestly, unless the show was something special and different, it would entirely depend on the opening acts whether I went or not. Maybe they’ll mix them up for next year.
Toad the Wet Sprocket got their name from a Monty Python skit which immediately made me like them. I think I ha a cassette of their first album, maybe. I haven’t really thought of them in years and remember them being kind of inoffensive. Oh, wait, they had a pretty big hit with “All I Want,” a sweet slightly alt folk rock song. I’ll bet there would be lots of lighters up for that song.
I really hated Gin Blossoms back in the 90s. They were so overplayed and hardly qualified as alternative or college rock, but they were lumped in that category. They had a number of songs that I probably know all the words to even though I never listened to them on purpose.
With a lineup change I’d consider seeing them next summer, especially if they changed the name of the tour.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Deftones / Gojira / VOWWS [rescheduled from August 22, 2020 and August 27, 2021]
I was pretty excited to see this Deftones show. But I was even more excited when my son said he wanted to go to the show with me. Well, it had sold out a long time ago and I couldn’t get a Pit ticket for a reasonable price. I didn’t want my son to be in the balcony while I was in the pit. But I also didn’t want the reverse.
But then, what happened was that I got a ticket to see Beach Bunny across town on the same night. And so, my daughter and I went to the Beach Bunny show and I gave my son the Deftones ticket. Yes, he would be by himself in the pit.
The timing actually worked out just fine, because while Wednesday bailed on our show, VOWWS bailed on their show. This meant I had to do some mathematical time keeping to see if I’d have to leave Beach Bunny early to get him so he wasn’t hanging around on the streets of Philadelphia.
But it turned out that his show ended almost exactly the same time as our show. Since our show was only ten minutes away, there was still plenty of foot traffic when I went to go get him.
He said the show was great. And Markit Aneight kindly recorded the entire Deftones set.
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I was pretty excited to see this show this summer. It turned out, however, that the show was the night that we returned home from vacation. Ie, it would have been a pretty exhausting day. So, the fact that Deftones decided to postponed until May was fine with me.
I’m bummed that Poppy is no longer part of the tour because I’d really like to see her. But she is now headlining her own tour–which I don’t really want to see. I’m not sure a full show of hers would be that much fun. But hey, maybe she’ll be back on board
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I saw Deftones at a lousy location (Sands Bethlehem hall), but it was one of my favorite shows that year. The crowd was pushy and shovey, but Chino came within five feet of me and the energy was amazing.
Plus at the end of the show, when a roadie threw out a drumstick, I actually got it.
I knew I’d want to see them at least one more time, but wow was I surprised to see that they were going to play The Met in Philly, which I think of as a more “delicate” hall. I’d be slightly afraid for the seats at a Deftones show.
The opening acts were really intriguing as well.
Gojira area French heavy metal band whose 2012 album I loved. Heavy and very technical I’d imagine they put on a great show.
Poppy is an absolute mystery. She’s an internet creation whose every song is is a different genre. Her latest album was really really heavy but with that fake internet sheen on it (in a Babymetal kind of way but less sincere, if that’s possible). I’ve been intrigued by here since I first heard about her, but I wouldn’t want to see her show if she was headlining. This seemed like a great way to experience her weirdness. I hope that she is still on the bill next year and that she is still into metal, otherwise it could be kind of awkward.
I really thought that this show at the end of August might go on but on May 19, they sent this note.
Due to the current regulations, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we must reschedule our North American summer tour dates with special guests, Gojira and Poppy. We’re currently rescheduling the dates for 2021, and you’ll be the first to know once they are confirmed. All tickets will be honored or refunded upon our next announcement regarding the tour.
I’m glad they are promising to come back And by then, their new album (due in September) will be familiar to all of us.
[CANCELLED: May 13, 2022] Sinéad O’Connor [rescheduled from April 5, 2020 and September 18, 2021]
Lots has been going on in Sinéad O’Connor’s world in the last, oh, decade or so. It’s no real surprise that this show was postponed or cancelled or whatever it is. In addition to inner turmoil, she also suffered the death of her son. And she announced she will not be performing live in 2022 “due to continuing grief over the tragic loss of her beloved son Shane”
On March 24, City Winery sent out this message:
Dear Ticket Holders,
Due to circumstances beyond our control, City Winery is forced to reschedule SineadO‘Connor‘s performances in NYC, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Many of you have been holding onto tickets since 2019, and we are grateful for your patience and support. We’ve had to navigate multiple reschedulings due to the pandemic, Sinead‘s personal tragedy, and travel restrictions. We understand the disappointment and don’t want you to wait any longer for a refund.
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I have seen Sinéad O’Connor four times. although the last time was in 1998.
[POSTPONED: April 15, 2022] Spoon / Margaret Glaspy [moved to May 4, 2022]
This was supposed to be a chaotic week of concerts, but between our vacation and this show being cancelled, it wound up being no concerts at all.
Spoon has postponed the upcoming dates of their previously announced tour due to a positive COVID case in their camp. The Philadelphia, New York City and Detroit shows on April 15, April 16 and April 18 have been postponed to next month.
That was fine for me and the new date works very well.
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 11 & 12, 2022] Waxahatchee / OHMME [rescheduled from April 14 and October 5, 2020 and May 16, 2021 and October 15, 2021]
This show had been rescheduled four or five times. The final time was after the tour had been successful so far. But at the last minute, they had to postpone the final two Philadelphia shows.
I don’t recall what was going on in my life at the the time, but I was happy about the postponement and wrote
This one worked in my favor. And I’m looking forward to that rescheduled show next year.
Of course, the Fuzz show was scheduled for the same day and I hadn’t seen Fuzz before so I was planning on going to that show instead.
But then we went on vacation, so the whole debate was moot.
Originally support was from OHMME, then Katy Kirby. This time it was from Madi Diaz who is a folk singer I know of, but not very well.
[POSTPONED: April 3, 2022] Holy Fuck (rescheduled from June 10, 2020 and February 16, 2021; moved to August 13, 2022]
The resurgence of COVID meant Holy Fuck postponed their tour one more time. I was bummed about this one because I didn’t have too many shows around this time. But the new date is in a crowded field of shows
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Not only did Holy Fuck cancel this tour, Boot & Saddle closed its doors. Mega cancelled.
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After seeing that this show was postponed, it gave me an opportunity to explore their music. I was now looking forward to seeing them in the new year. Well, I guess February is still too soon to plan anything, so this tour has also been cancelled.
Holy Fuck have a great name that pretty much guarantees they won’t get much in the way of airplay or advertising.
Of course their music isn’t super commercial either–although it can be quite catchy (and has been used in a bunch of soundtracks). They play an electronic dance music but in a decidedly old-school fashion. They don’t use laptops at all, employing all manner of old school equipment. (more…)
[POSTPONED: March 25, 2022] Diavolo [rescheduled from April 28, 2020 and April 29, 2021 moved to April 13 2023]
And now, the resurgence had made a third postponement.
By 2023, I wonder if any of the same people will still be in the troupe?
~~~
One might have thought postponing this show an entire year would have been sufficient. But now they have postponed again for nearly another entire year. I think I’ll be very ready to see a Cirque by then.
I love going to see Cirques–all kinds of fun acrobatics and stunts on display. When my kids were younger, we went to a lot of them. Then we stopped for a while and I felt it was time to do it again.
Diavolo is in fact a dance company, but they perform amazing acrobatics and physically demanding pieces (as you can see from the reviews like: “Diavolo’s performers are fearless, elegant and strong with a sense of timing by which a Swiss watch could be set, and the way the troupe interacts with the moving sets, makes for a truly spectacular and awe inspiring show.”).
I found out about this show after it was cancelled, but when I saw that it was rescheuled for April of 2021, I was really interested in going to see it with the family.
VOYAGE is Diavolo’s newest adventure, inspired by travels in space and the 50th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing. A young woman dreams of traveling distances only astronauts can, escaping from the ordinary world into a surreal landscape of infinite possibilities. Gravity-defying bodies join her on a large wheel structure that rolls along the stage and on the journey in a universe that is alive with kinetic energy, fantastical whimsy, and surprising transformation.
TRAJECTOIRE is a signature Diavolo work that takes the audience on a visceral and emotional journey through the ebb and flow of the human experience. Watch as performers jump on and off a “Trajectoire” which is a 3,000 pound boat made of wood, aluminum, and steel that continuously rocks back and forth. Watch the performers struggle to find their balance on a voyage of destiny and destination in a daring display that shows the transcendence of the human soul against all odds.
[CANCELLED: March 24, 2022] Fu Manchu / Speedealer [rescheduled from May 9, 2020 and March 18, 2021]
This show had been rescheduled for March of 2022 after two previous cancellations. But with the rise of more COVID cases Fu Manchu decided to cancel once more. It strikes me that they seem quite content to just cancel a show and then work with the venues for a future show, so I’ll assume they’ll be back to Philly eventually.
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This concert was never formally cancelled it seems (as of last week you could still get tickets for it). But Fu Manchu officially cancelled all of their shows on the tour. No word yet if they’ll be back, but I hope so.
Fu Manchu is one of the great stoner rock bands. They have been around for thirty years with a similar fuzzy, grungey sound. I missed them the first time around but because more keenly aware of them when their 2018 album Clone of the Universe featured not only an 18 minute song, but also a guitar solo from Alex Lifeson of Rush.
Their early stuff is really catchy and I wish I had known about them for longer. They seem like they’d be a really fun live band.
Speedealer was originally called REO Speedealer, which I love. They were told to cease and desist from REO Speedwagon (imagine that). They play a kind of aggressive garage metal. They have a punk edge and the lead singer has a growly punk voice that is clear enough amid the roughage.
I feel like they don’t quite pair with Fu Manchu (they seem a bit too aggressive) and would pair better with Monster Magnet.
