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Archive for the ‘World Cafe Live’ Category

Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Basia Bulat, Mick Flannery, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 22, 2025] Basia Bulat / Mick Flannery

I saw Basia Bulat on a Tiny Desk Concert many years ago. She played the pianoette and sounded amazing.

That Concert is from 2011 and she has changed a lot since then.  I was going to see her in 2020, but the show was cancelled because of COVID. I listened to the new album and found it really poppy and totally not my vibe.  So I’m taking her off of my list of musicians to see.

I saw Mick Flannery back in 2021 when he opened for Kathleen Edwards.   He had a pretty strong Irish accent when he sings, and he had overtones of Van Morrison.  He’s been releasing music since 2007 and is apparently a pretty big deal:

Mick Flannery is one of Ireland’s most acclaimed songwriters and singers. The award-winning, double-platinum selling artist has released six studio albums, three of which reaching No. 1 status.

I enjoyed the set but didn’t feel compelled to seek out any of his music.

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Speedy Ortiz / The Tisburys / Big Benny Bailey (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, January 11, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Big Benny Bailey, Philadelphia, PA, Speedy Ortiz, The Tisburys, World Cafe Live on January 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 11, 2025] Speedy Ortiz / The Tisburys / Big Benny Bailey

I saw Speedy Ortiz as a headliner in July and as an opener in September.  I really didn’t expect to see that they were playing Philly again so soon.

I didn’t really feel the need to see them again so soon, and I was kind of enjoying not going to shows for the beginning of January.  So I stayed away from this one.

The Tisburys are a Philly band who I have just recently come to know (although I see they’ve been around for ten years).  They are described as early aughts-leaning pop/rock while keeping that indescribable Philly grit.  They played XPNFest which is probably why their name was familiar to me.  They have a folk rock vibe but their music isn’t folk rock.

I assumed that Big Benny Bailey was jazz band, but it turns out Big Benny Bailey is the country project of Shamir and Ben Pierce of Folkadelphia.  Which is a pretty fascinating mix.  Why is everyone going country these days?

 

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The Pineapple Thief (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, November 22, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, The Pineapple Thief, World Cafe Live on November 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 22, 2024] The Pineapple Thief

The Pineapple Thief is a progressive rock band which means I should instantly like them.  And yet I just can’t seem to get into them.  They fall on the more mellow side of progressive.

The main draw for me is drummer Gavin Harrison who I saw many times with King Crimson.  But, no matter how much you like a drummer, that’s a very small portion of the overall sound of a band.

Listening to their latest EP, I do rather like it, but it’s too late for me to be into them enough to see them.  Listening a little more they remind me a bit of Death Cab for Cutie, which I did not expect to say.

I do hope to see Gavin Harrison in something else soon though.

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Mary Timony: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, March 15, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Free at Noon, Mary Timony, Philadelphia, PA, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on March 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 15, 2024] Mary Timony 

Mary Timony is one of indie rock’s great guitar players.  I really enjoyed her band Helium, although I haven’t really listened to them in quite some time.

I didn’t go to her show last week, so i thought I had a nice gift of a Free at Noon today.  I grabbed a ticket even though I knew I had a doctor’s appointment earlier that morning.  I assumed t he appointment would be quick and I could get to World Cafe just in time.

Well, it turned out the appointment went really long and I was still in the office as of 11:30.  So, there was no way I could ever get to the venue on time.

So, I had to miss Mary once more. (more…)

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This is the Kit / Sam Amidon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, February 23, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sam Amidon, This is the Kit, World Cafe Live on February 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 23, 2024] This is the Kit / Sam Amidon

This is the Kit played Johnny Brenda’s back in October.  They are a band I know from NPR Music and I haven’t thought of them in a while.  I recall liking their music but that there was something unusual about it.

I enjoyed this blurb about them from bandcamp:

This Is The Kit is the musical project of Kate Stables and whoever joins her. You thought you didn’t like the banjo but you were wrong pal. Listen as Kate rips forward with her hypnotic twang pattern and a voice of rare, unaffected beauty.

Kate has a very British delivery.  Reading my review of their Tiny Desk Concert, I really liked them more than I remembered.

I’m happy for them that they have moved from Johnny Brenda’s to World Cafe Live and maybe this will get them some airplay on WXPN. (more…)

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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 stuffed 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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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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