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Archive for the ‘Quarantine’ Category

We Were Promised Jetpacks (Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, We Were Promised Jetpacks on June 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: June 17, 2020] We Were Promised Jetpacks

indexI had just seen We Were Promised Jetpacks back in February. The show was fantastic.

I never expected them to announce another show at Boot & Saddle (where I first saw them back in 2018).  Although at the end of our show (which was the last night of the tour), Adam said how much fun they’ve been having playing this year.

So I thought, hell yeah, I ‘ll see them again, if they’re sticking around.

This cancellation is one of the sadder ones.  Not because I was dying to see them, but because of the details of their cancellation:

Hello there,
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I hope everyone is doing ok and finding ways to bring some normalcy into their lives in these very strange times. I’m sure you don’t need to hear it from an ageing Scottish indie-rock band but wash your hands, stay inside, don’t be a dick, and lets stop the spread of this virus so we can all go back to hanging out with each other in real life as soon as possible.
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Unfortunately we have no option but to cancel our May – June North American tour. We were so looking forward to getting back out there and playing shows. I’m in no way exaggerating when I say that the tour we did in February was some of the most life affirming shit we’ve ever done with the band. I loved every second of it and I am so grateful to be able to do this with my pals.
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At the moment we can’t plan to reschedule the tour as our Visas expire in July and our priority this year is to finish writing and recording our fifth album. It’s been strange being unable to meet up and write in our rehearsal space, but we are trying to embrace technology and work on projects and send them back and forth over the internet. It’s a new way of writing for us and we’ve been enjoying it. It has definitely lifted our spirits and given us renewed focus.
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A couple months back we had put together an EP of unreleased songs and early demos of songs that are on The More I Sleep The Less I Dream. The EP is called ‘out of interest‘ and there will be a limited amount of vinyl available to pre-order ‪from May 6th‬ with release date of ‪June 19th.‬ Today, you can hear the first single entitled ‘when getting lost.’ (Link in bio.)
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That’s just about all our news. I’m so sorry we have to cancel but there’s not really any other option, I hope you understand and we will hit the road hard to make it up to everyone when we can. Thank you so much if you did buy a ticket. You will be able to get a refund at your point of purchase.
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Thanks for reading and please take care of yourself and others!
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Adam, Sean and Darren

 

Obviously, they’ll be back, but it’s a shame they couldn’t get in a few more shows.

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Bright Eyes / Lucy Dacus (Steelstacks, Bethlehem, PA, June 16, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Better Oblivion Community Center, Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst, Coronavirus, Lucy Dacus, Postponed, Quarantine, Steelstacks, The Replacements on June 16, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 16, 2020] Bright Eyes / Lucy Dacus [moved to July 29, 2021]

indexI’ve never been much of a fan of Conor Oberst.  Although after seeing him in Better Oblivion Community Center, I gained a new respect for him and foudn I actually liked him.

I don’t know a lot about Bright Eyes (except that the songs sound strangely like The Replacements to me).  I wasn’t planning on going to this show (even though Steelstacks is a cool venue).

However, I kept getting notifications that Lucy Dacus was playing at Steelstacks.  I have seen Lucy a couple of times and would be more than happy to see her again.  When I got the notification, I assumed it meant she would be playing inside in one of the smaller venues (which would be outstanding).  I didn’t realize it was because she was opening for Bright Eyes.

This show was in fact postponed until next July–over a year away.  I have no idea what my calendar will be like then, but I think maybe by next July, I could be ready for Conor and Lucy again.

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Car Seat Headrest / Twin Peaks (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, June 13, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Car Seat Headrest, Coronavirus, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Twin Peaks on June 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 13, 2020] Car Seat Headrest / Twin Peaks [moved to April 17, 2021]

indexI saw Car Seat Headrest two years ago. It was simultaneously a fantastic and a horrible show.  The band was great–better than I imagined they would be.

But the crowd was terrible.  Pushing, shoving, some guy crashing into me even though I was no where near the pit.  Just the worst crowd experience I can recall.

I didn’t plan on going to see Car Seat Headrest again.

However, I have been quite interested in seeing Twin Peaks.  I don’t know a ton about them, but the few songs I’ve heard I’ve liked a lot.

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Holy Fuck (Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2020) [postponed]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Coronavirus, Holy Fuck, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine on June 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 10, 2020] Holy Fuck [moved to February 16, 2021]

indexHoly 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.

Their newest album Deleter has delved into more of a 90s dance style with lyrics and everything.

I’ve considered seeing them a few times over the years, but i never really liked their releases enough to really want to go.  But I have recently heard that their live show is much more exciting than their records, so maybe I’ll make a point to see them next year.

download (68)

 

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EOB (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 8, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, EOB, Kiss, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Radiohead, Thom Yorke, Union Transfer on June 8, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 8, 2020] EOB [moved to June 11, 2021]

indexI used to be the kind of fan who would listen to anything that a band member released (blame Kiss for that four solo albums stunt back in the 70s).

But not every solo project is worthwhile.  And some of these solo shows are even more heavily attended than the main band.

So I didn’t really need to see Thom Yorke on his solo outings.  But the new EOB album sounds really good (from what I’ve heard of it).  I’d be curious to see what the third best known member of Radiohead was like live.  I’m not certain I was going to go to this, but it was certainly intriguing.

I do hope the tour gets rescheduled.

UPDATE: This is the first show that has been rescheduled to a new date on which I already have tickets to a rescheduled show.  Now, do I want to see EOB or King’s X?

 

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Hyukoh [혁오] / Hot Flash Heat Wave (TLA, Philadelphia, PA, June 7, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Hot Flash Heat Wave, Hyukoh, 혁오, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, Theatre of Living Arts on June 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 7, 2020] Hyukoh / Hot Flash Heat Wave

index

Hyukoh (Korean: 혁오) is a South Korean indie band.  Oh Hyuk is a well regarded indie rocker and this

I don’t really know all that much about them, but I have really been enjoying the kind of music that South Korea has been exporting lately.

Listen to how great “Wanli万里” is.  Excellent guitars, a great bass and relentless drums.  He even sings in English on the more mellow “Ohio.”  They released a new album in January and were planning to tour it here in the States.

Here’s their official word:

We have made the difficult decision to cancel HYUKOH 2020 WORLD TOUR – NORTH AMERICA due to increasing uncertainty regarding safety and travel feasibility caused by coronavirus. We are devastated to share this disappointing news, but we are currently prioritizing the health and well-being of our fans and tour crew above all during this unprecedented time. Refunds will be available from point of purchase. We are grateful for your continued support. Thank you.

코로나19의 전 세계적인 확산으로 인해 혁오 2020 월드투어 – 북미 일정이 취소되었음을 알려드립니다. 관객과 밴드 및 스태프의 안전을 위해 신중히 고려하여 내린 판단임에 팬 여러분의 너른 양해 부탁 드립니다. 감사합니다.

I hope they come back after their summer tour of Asia.

Hot Flash Heat Wave are from California (so not a local band tacked onto this tour).  I’m not sure how they got paired up with Hyukoh, but good for them.  They have a kind of trippy psychedelic vibe which is always fun live.

 

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Acrobuffos (McCarter Theatre, Princeton NJ, June 6, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Acrobuffos, Cancelled, Coronavirus, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, Quarantine, Theater on June 6, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: June 6, 2020] Acrobuffos

indexS. took her Girl Scouts to see Acrobuffos and said it was great.  I had actually wanted to go to the show but was on a Scout hike that weekend.

So when they announced they were coming to McCarter, I bought us all tickets.

Of course, now McCarter has cancelled the rest of their season, so we can only hope that the troupe comes back next season.

What are Acrobuffos?

Visual, completely wordless, comedic physical theater. The Acrobuffos present sophisticated image-driven performances, playing games using poetic mime. They are not your typical clowns – they are artists and surrealists – who will not be easily categorized.

Who wouldn’t love that?

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Douglas Coupland–Kitten Clone: Inside Alcatel-Lucent (2014)

Posted in Alain de Botton, Canadian Content, China, Cigarettes, Coronavirus, De La Soul, Douglas Coupland, France, Geoff Dyer, Holmdel, NJ, Liaquat Ahamed, NPR/PRI/PBS, Olivia Arthur, Paris, France, Quarantine, Racism, Sa-Roc, Set in New Jersey!, Sexism, Star Trek, Technology, The Future, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert on June 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

alcaterlSOUNDTRACK: SA-ROC-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #30 (June 4, 2020).

sarocI have never heard of Sa-Roc, but I was blown away by her lyrics and delivery.  I really enjoyed that her delivery was intense and serious, even angry, but her delivery was so thoughtful.

If you want protest music for the uprising of the American consciousness, then look no further. Sa-Roc (born Assata Perkins) is an emcee from southeast Washington, D.C.

Sa-Roc bears her heart and soul here, weaving together influential threads from her upbringing; Pan-Africanism, the hardship of her father’s experience as a sharecropper in Virginia and her own childhood in Congress Heights, D.C., an area ravaged by violence and the crack epidemic in the 1980s.

In this Tiny Desk (home) concert, she debuted two exclusives, “Deliverance” is about reassessing where you are in making a commitment to change things. I love the beats and the lyrics.  She references Posdnous and De la Soul and then has this moment where she says this is the world’s tiniest violin and a violin sample plays.

After the song, she lights some sage to clear the energy.  She wants her space to experience joy and to be a stress-free peaceful environments.

“Hand of God” is her latest single about staying true to yourself.  It has a sung chorus and Sa-Roc has a pretty singing voice along with her flow.  In the second verse she raps with a sped up version of herself which is pretty neat.

“r(E)volution,” is from her upcoming album, The Sharecropper’s Daughter, which is produced by her partner in life and DJ, Sol Messiah.  It starts with a pretty guitar and a great bass line

On “r(E)volution” she spits bars: “Embedded in the home of the brave, the darkest of interiors. / Saw street scholars and soldiers defect cuz they post-traumatic stressed from the American experience.”

“Forever” is for little girls who ever felt like they were held to impossible societal standards; and if the world told them they weren’t good enough, weren’t valuable enough, weren’t worthy enough, weren’t dope enough to take up space or use their voice; they didn’t come from the right area or the right class or education; didn’t have the right skin tone or complexion; anything that made them feel less than.  This is about how dope you really are with all of your perfect imperfections.

I love that after a quiet clapping moment the song soars with guitars and bass.

[READ: May 8, 2020] Kitten Clone

In the Douglas Coupland collection Shopping in Jail, there was an essay called “All Governments Seem to Be Winging it Except for China.”  The essay said that it came from this book: Kitten Clone.

I wasn’t sure how interested I really was in reading about the history of Alcatel-Lucent, but I should have known that Coupland would do his thing and find an interesting and unique way to write about something that should be dull.

The only weird thing is that Coupland implies that he is alone on this excursion, but the photographs are not his (which is surprising since he loves art) the pictures are by Olivia Arthur.

This book is part of a series called Writers in Residence created by Alain de Botton, with the slogan: “There are many places in the modern world that we do not understand because we cannot get inside them.”  Coupland’s book is the third in the series.  The other two are Geoff Dyer: Another Great Day at Sea: Life Aboard the USS George H.W. Bush and Liaquat Ahamed: Money and Tough Love: On Tour with the IMF.

This book looks into the past, present and future of Alcatel-Lucent and the cover of the book sets the stage: (more…)

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Mountain Goats (John Darnielle solo) (Musikfest Cafe, Steel Stacks, Bethlehem, PA, June 4, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Coronavirus, John Darnielle, Musikfest Cafe, Postponed, Quarantine, Steelstacks, The Mountain Goats on June 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: June 4, 2020] Mountain Goats (solo) [moved to October 12]

indexI like The Mountain Goats quite a lot.  I think John Darnielle is a great songwriter.

I’ve never seen them (or him) live and I’ve often thought it would be an enjoyable night, but they’re usually just under my radar.

I’d usually prefer to see a band rather than its lead singer solo, but in this case, I don’t know if it would make that much of a difference to me.  Seeing him at the Musikfest Cafe would be pretty fantastic–a great venue with excellent acoustics.

The biggest surprise to me is how quickly his shows sell out.  If this one hadn;t sold it, it was very close, by the time it was postponed.

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Joyce Carol Oates–“Still Life” (Harper’s, June 2020)

Posted in Coronavirus, Death, Eurydice, Excerpt, Hades, Hadestown, Harper's, Hospitals, Joyce Carol Oates, Orpheus, Persephone, Quarantine on June 4, 2020| Leave a Comment »

june2020SOUNDTRACK: HADESTOWN-Tiny Desk Concert #977 (June 1, 2020).

hades

It’s unusual for a Tiny Desk blurb to tell us when the Tiny Desk happened.  Sometimes there are clues, but this blurb tells us straight out it happened on March 2, in “the Before-Times.”

Which you can tell because there are “16 performers bunch[ed] up behind the desk, singing formidably in close proximity as a large crowd gathers just off camera.”

I’ve never heard of Hadestown, but it sounds pretty interesting.  Evidently it is a Tony-nominated hit musical.

They’d wanted to get this Tiny Desk done, but kept running into delays until they finally managed to coordinate when “playwright Anaïs Mitchell–who wrote both the musical and the 2010 folk opera on which it’s based–was eight months pregnant.”  She also plays guitar and sings.

This is a “five-song distillation of a robust and impeccably staged Broadway production.”

A raucous full-cast tone-setter, “Way Down Hadestown” lets Hermes the messenger (André De Shields, in a role that won him a Tony–he also plays the train whistle) and Persephone (Kimberly Marable, filling in for Amber Gray) set the scene.  I love that Marable is acting (with her face) while listening to Hermes sing.  The song is a kind of piano-based rag song (played by Liam Robinson who later plays accordion) until midway when the whole band kicks in with a muted trombone solo from Brian Drye (who also plays glockenspiel!).

The musical is really about two loves stories: Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone.

A medley of “Come Home With Me” and “Wedding Song” finds Orpheus (Reeve Carney) and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada) meeting and falling in love.

Gentle guitar from Ilusha Tsinadze opens as Orpheus sings his (comical) lyrics.

A singer , huh?
I also play the lyre.
Oh a liar and a player too.

As the song builds, strings are added from Megan Gould (violin) and Malcolm Parson (cello) and a pulsing upright bass from Chris Tordini.

“When the Chips Are Down” showcases the three Fates — spirits who often drive the characters’ motivations — as played by Jewelle Blackman (who also plays accordion), Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer (who also plays violin) and Kay Trinidad (who also plays percussion).

It opens with some interesting picked and harmonic’d guitar and a bouncy piano and a funky off kilter beat (and percussion) from Ben Perowsky.  Liam Robinson also get s a fun piano solo.

In “Flowers,” Eurydice looks back with regret and resignation on her decision to leave Orpheus for the promise of Hadestown.

Mitchell herself plays guitar and sings the opening and then lets Eva take over vocals.

Finally, the set concludes with “Why We Build the Wall,” which quickly became Hadestown‘s most talked-about number. (Mitchell wrote it a full decade before the 2016 election, but you’d never know it.) Though the song includes the full cast, it’s also a show-stopping showcase for the sonorous thunder of Patrick Page, who performs with a gravity befitting the king of the underworld.

It opens with two acoustic guitars playing a slightly discordant melody. Page’s deep voice is incredible.  It’s a call and response song that is remarkably prescient:

The enemy is poverty and the wall keeps out the enemny and we build the wall to keep us free.

I don’t know what will happen to Broadway after the virus is gone, but it would be a shame to lose a show like this.

[READ: June 4, 2020] “Still Life”

This is an excerpt from Oates’ new novel Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.  The blurb tells what the story is about but this excerpt seems like the beginning of the story and context rather impacts the way you think about what you’re reading.

The story is about John Earle “Whitey” McClaren.  He is sixty-seven and is in the hospital trying to piece together what happened.  I feel like not knowing the reason he is in the hospital would make this story more compelling.  But having just the except without context would make the excerpt far less interesting.  So I won’t spoil.

He tries to explain what’s happening, but he can’t talk.  He realizes he’s not even breathing on his own. (more…)

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