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Archive for the ‘WXPN 88.5 FM–Philadelphia, PA’ Category

Hozier “Pop Up Show” (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 9, 2023)

Posted in Hozier, Julia Pratt, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on May 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 9, 2023] Hozier

Hozier announced a headline tour this year (first tour in several years) and I knew I had to get tickets.  My son is a big fan and the rest of us like him quite a lot.  We saw him at Newport Folk Festival a few years ago (although my son chose to skip that day) and he was amazing live.

The tickets went on sale mid March and I got 100% shut out from the Mann Center.  I probably could have gotten lawn seats, but that would have been decidedly uncool.  And by the time I decided whether or not to get lawn seats, they were all gone too (sold out the 14,000 capacity venue, no bad).

And then in mid April he announced he’d be playing some “pop up” shows.  Including one at World Cafe Live.

I never thought I’d get tickets, but somehow I managed to get two.  So my son and I went to Philly to see him.  And, without even talking about the show I can attest that it was 100% better than seeing him at the Mann Center and 1000% better than seeing him from the lawn at the Mann Center.

We arrived early in hopes of getting pretty close to the stage (WCL is quite small with great sightlines.  I didn’t think we’d get up front–and my son was fine with that–but I didn’t want to be too close to the noisy bar either).  We passed by the venue at 6:30 and saw a relatively small line.  But we had plans for Federal Donuts and fried chicken.  Only to discover after the three or four block walk that this location closed at 3 (two blocks from 2 colleges and you close at 3PM?).  That threw off all the plans, so we wound up going to an amazing Halal food truck.  I couldn’t walk and eat, so I stuff my gyro into my pocket and we headed into the venue (thank goodness they didn’t search for food).

We got down there and my son was delighted with how tiny the place was.  I didn’t want to stand right where people come in so we squeezed  to the other side.  Which was pretty good, although there were a couple of tall people who I knew would block our view from time to time.  So he sneaked around to the side.  I thought it might be a little far to the side (and in fairness, I couldn’t see all of the band), but the sightline for Hozier himself were perfect.  And that’s what we were there for.

Hozier and his large band (nine people in total) came out to much applause. (more…)

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Julia Pratt (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, May 9, 2023) [HOZIER]

Posted in Hozier, Julia Pratt, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on May 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 9, 2023] Julia Pratt

I was so excited to get tickets to this Hozier pop up show.  I actually assumed there would not be an opening act.  Although with the show slated to start at  7:30, surely they must have someone first.

And indeed, a few days ago they announced it would be Julia Pratt, a young Philly musician who will also be playing Philly Music Fest this year.

Julia has a powerful voice and seems like the nicest person in the world.  She was really sweet on stage and was genuinely delighted when people made heart signs back to her.

Her songs were simple (she told us which ones had been released or not) but catchy.

However, she did the thing that I hate the most in singers.  She turned one syllable words into seventeen syllable words by hitting every note on the entire scale.  It sets me on edge when singers do this and she did it constantly.  To me it sounds like compensating for a weak voice or someone who can’t hit a note.  But her voice was really nice when she sang normally.

But the crowd seemed to really enjoy the acrobatics so she kept doing it.  And she seemed really nice so I hope she gets lots of success.

But for me, it was an unpleasant 30 minutes, but also because there were drunken women next to me who almost got in a fight when one tried to sneak past the other.  Good grief.

 

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The Residents : Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023)

Posted in Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, The Residents, World Cafe Live on March 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 31, 2021] The Residents 

I’ve been an admirer of The Residents forever.  I’m not a fan exactly–I have some of their records.  I also have some of the CD-ROMS because they were one of the first entities to really make good use of CD-ROM technology.

Their music is bizarre.  Sometimes wonderfully so.  Sometimes not.  I’ve thought about going to see them for years now.  They played Philly in 2018, but i was going to see Built to Spill that evening, so there was no thought of The Residents.

Then in 2020, they announced a new show.  And that and all subsequent attempts were put on hold.

Then my friend Garry sent me a notification that The Residents were going to do a Free at Noon. What?!  I took half a vacation day and drove to Philly to see this remarkable opportunity.

Since their promo material still shows the giant eyeballs that they wore when they came out, I assumed we’d see at least one.  But instead, each member of the band had on a gaiter over their head which perfectly matched their eyeball-filled suits. Anonymity is key! (more…)

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xponential music festival (Wiggins Park, Camden, NJ, September 16-22, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Camden, NJ, Marina Stage, Wiggins Park, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA, XPN Fest, Xponential Music Festival on September 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 16-22, 2022] Xponential Music Festival

We went to this festival with the family back in 2016.  It was really hot.  The kids were in the in-between age where they didn’t really like the music but were too old to just enjoy being outside.

But we saw some really good bands.

It has felt like since then, the bands haven’t been all that interesting.  Although I do like that it’s in September and not July.

These headliners were not interesting to me at all.  We had seen The War on Drugs and it was a great show, but I didn’t need to see them again.  And the rest just weren’t very interesting to me.

In fact, usually the headliners are kind of irrelevant because the fun is in the side stages.

There were certainly a few performers I would have enjoyed seeing.  But most of them we have seen fairy recently.

The only band I haven’t seen who I’d like to is Catbite and maybe Sarah Shook & The Disarmers.  But neither one was worth going to a festival for.

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Home is Where (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2022) [FOXING]

Posted in Foxing, Greet Death, Home is Where, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 13, 2022] Home is Where

I saw Foxing three years ago without knowing much about them.  Their live show blew me away.  So when it was announced that they were playing Philly again, I had a choice. Go to the Bikini Kill show that I’ve had tickets to for years or go to the Kevin Devine show which I had gotten tickets for just in case it sold out, or blow off them both and go to Foxing.

Well, Bikini Kill was postponed (again) and Kevin Devine was a solo show (which is good, but I’ve seen him solo twice already), so I decided to go to Foxing without having a ticket.  Traffic was light, I got free parking (well, technically it cost 68 cents) and bought a ticket in cash with no handling fees!

I went downstairs and was kind of surprised at how young the audience was.  I was also surprised by how well people seem to know the opening band Home is Where who hail from Florida.

The band is a four piece: josiah gardella – drums ; trace george – guitar ; brandon macdonald – tantrum, harmonica, singing saw ; connor “fat slaps” o’brien – bass. (more…)

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Greet Death (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2022) [FOXING]

Posted in Foxing, Greet Death, Home is Where, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 13, 2022] Greet Death

After the wildness of Home is Where, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Greet Death.  I assumed they had gotten their name from Explosions In the Sky who have a song called that.  Which meant that they would probably be instrumental post-rock.

But they aren’t.

They are a four-piece from Detroit with two lead singers.   When I saw them I was in front of Samuel Boyhtari who has a more pleasant singing style.  On the other side of the stage was Logan Gaval who is more of the mouthpiece of the band, I’m guessing. (more…)

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Foxing (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2022)

Posted in Foxing, Home is Where, Philadelphia, PA, TV on the Radio, World Cafe Live on July 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 13, 2022] Foxing

I saw Foxing three years ago without knowing much about them.  Their live show blew me away.  So when it was announced that they were playing Philly again, I had a choice. Go tothe Bikini Kill show that I’ve had tickets to for years or go to the Kevin Devine show which I had gotten tickets for just in case it sold out, or blow off them both and go to Foxing.

Well, Bikini Kill was postponed (again) and Kevin Devine was a solo show (which is good, but I’ve seen him solo twice already), so I decided to go to Foxing without having a ticket.  Traffic was light, I got free parking (well, technically it cost 68 cents) and bought a ticket in cash with no handling fees!

The two opening acts were really good and I settled in for Foxing.  They had just announced a new live album that you could get online or you could get (autographed) at the shows.  I bought the LP before the show (only 20 were sold each night) and was stuck holding it the whole time (next time bring a bag).

The lights went down and a recorded song played while fireworks were projected on the screen behind the stage.  Then the band came out.  For some reason I thought there were more of them, but there were only five.  And they were loud enough that they could have been ten.

Foxing released a new album last year and this was the tour for it, so there were lots of “new” songs.  But the fans knew them all (I mean the record has been out almost a year).

Singer Conor Murphy is a dynamic frontman.  He moves around, he jumps, he screams, he engages with the audience.  It’s like every note he sings is personally connected to him.  He has a delicate falsetto (not unlike TV on the Radio) but he can scream, like really roar, with the best of them.

And the way the band jumps from quiet to HUGE is really impressive. (more…)

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KT Tunstall / Christine Havrilla (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, December 22, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Christine Havrilla, Gupsy Fuzz, Indigo Girls, KT Tunstall, SOPAC, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on December 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 22, 2021] KT Tunstall / Christine Havrilla [moved from August 23, 2020]

So KT Tunstall was supposed to play three shows in my area.  The show at Ardmore was added when the other shows were rescheduled.  Then COVID pushed the shows back again.

For some reason this show was listed as being on December 8 for a short time before it was corrected to being on December 22.

That meant that it looked like she was playing four shows in the Philly area at different venues.

I like Ardmore, although if I can see a band closer I will go there instead.  Even though KT’s SOPAC show was postponed, the fact that it was postponed and not cancelled meant that I could just wait until she came back to South Orange. (more…)

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Stars: The Together Tour / Kevin Devine (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Kevin Devine, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, World Cafe Live on December 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 11, 2021] Stars / Kevin Devine

Back The Montreal band Stars, whom I loved in the early 2000s and would love to see live, announced plans to play some Christmas shows in New York.  I knew I couldn’t go–logistically there was no way.

Then I saw that they also announced a show at World Cafe Live.  Yes!

But it was the same day as our holiday party.  There was no way I could get to this one either.  I held out hope that our party might end early, but again, the logistics were not in my favor.

Kevin Devine, whom I love and whom I have seen live a few times was opening.  I would love to see him again as well.  It really was a perfect bill.  But sometimes timing doesn’t work out.

So Stars, please come back to Philly or NJ.  I will cancel everything else for you.

 

 

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KT Tunstall / New Reveille (SOPAC, South Orange, NJ, December 10, 2021) [rescheduled date POSTPONED again and again]

Posted in Ardmore, PA, John Lennon, KT Tunstall, New Reveille, Postponed, Sellersville, PA, SOPAC, South Orange, NJ, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on December 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: December 10, 2021] KT Tunstall / New Reveille [rescheduled from March 27, 2020 and February 12, 2021]

I enjoyed watching the saga of KT Tunstall’s shows getting scheduled and postponed and reschedule and postponed again.  Not because I want her (or anyone to be unhappy), but because it was a good bellweather as to what was going on.  Unlike most artists, KT was really game to get out there.

Plus she had three shows in my area and it seemed like I saw her name all the time.

Well, things finally opened up and she was playing her shows.  Of the three, I was most likely to go to this one since it was closest.  And then a short time before the show, it was postponed as well.  But her other shows weren’t

But this time it wasn’t because of COVID or other health related issues, it was actually a boon for her (although not for SOPAC).

She was invited to sing at the 41st Annual John Lennon Tribute Concert at Symphony Space in New York City.  A good reason to postpone a show.

I see that in the new year, KT is on the West Coast, so I’m not sure when she’ll be back for SOPAC, but I’m sure her local fans will be waiting.

New Reveille is an Americana/bluegrass band from North Carolina.  They’ve got banjo, fiddle and a ton of attitude.  While they are definitely in the country vein, I think the bluegrass and the rockingness (they cover The Killers live) makes them a potentially fun live band.  For the three shows in the area, she has three different opening acts.  This one might be the most fun.

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