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Archive for the ‘Franklin Music Hall’ Category

The Last Dinner Party (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2026)

Posted in Florence Road, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Last Dinner Party on April 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 15, 2026] The Last Dinner Party

The Last Dinner Party played Johnny Brenda’s in Philly back in 2023 and I really wanted to go.  But we had tickets to another show so I missed out. It’s amusing that they mentioned that show at this show and how they hadn’t been back since then (yes, we know).  I’m still bummed that I missed that one, but my daughter and I did get to see them at All Things Go and tonight, my daughter and my wife joined me for this much much bigger show.  (To go from Johnny Brenda’s to Franklin Music Hall is a huge leap).

The stage was set up simply but with a cool look–fabric draped all along the back wall and a mobile of birds high above the stage.  At one point the mobile spun and the birds, which were reflective, shone lighted birds across the black of the stage–very cool looking.

So The Last Dinner Party is slightly gimmicky with the way dress, but it does look very cool and they transcend that look with fantastic songs and a great stage presence.  And indeed, this was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.  They didn’t do anything especially fancy, but their engagement with the audience, their presence and their sheer kickassery was phenomenal.  I loved them at All Things Go but this show was even better.

The opening strains of Walking Into the Pyre played over the speakers as they came out on stage.  The four women filled the front of the stage–keys (Aurora Nishevci), lead guitar, mandolin and flute! (Emily Roberts), vocals (Abigail Morris) and guitar (Lizzie Mayland).  Something was amiss though as their bassist was clearly not Georgia Davies.  Well, it turned out that Georgia hurt her back and was being attended to by a doctor.  She would be heading back to England shortly.  In her stead was Max Lilley who is their bass tech (he’s in a band called Slow Team as well).

They have always had a rotating touring drummer.  I think his leg of the tour it’s Davo–he off in the back, essential but not prominent. (more…)

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Florence Road (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 15. 2026) [THE LAST DINNER PARTY]

Posted in Florence Road, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The Last Dinner Party on April 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 15, 2026] Florence Road

Florence Road is a band from Bray, County Wicklow in Ireland.  I had listened to one song before this show and it must have been Rabbits Can Swim, because I thought that they were a pretty but mellow indie rock band.

They came out on stage right around 8: lead singer and guitarist Lily Aron, guitarist Emma Brandon, bassist Ailbhe Barry, and drummer Hannah Kelly.  And they proceeded to blow our hair off.  They opened with None the Wiser.  Aron’s voice is really powerful.  My wife, who normally doesn’t even really pay attention to the opening band remarked at how strong her voice was.  And the band kept up with her–they rocked hard and were really impressive.  It was also interesting that they just put out their second EP (Spring Forward) but this opening song wasn’t on it–it’s new.

There were a lot of people there who knew the band (apparently) but they won the entire crowd over by the end of the song.  The next song Miss was a bit quieter, but Aron’s voice still soared around the room.  By the time of Storm Warning  which had some really cool staccato power chords near the end, they could do no wrong.  Heavy continued with more loud guitars and then switched to a pretty, quiet ending with drummer Kelly on piano.

They stayed quiet for Rabbits with Barry on acoustic guitar.  Hanging Out to Dry was a mid tempo song showing that they can do it all.  They followed it with another new song 7563–no idea what that means, but it was fun hearing them sing that chorus at the end.  That brought the tempo back up.  And then someone in the audience shouted for Break the Girl, which seems to be one of their dancier songs.

They ended the set with the aptly named Goodnight.

Aron and Emma Brandon were both funny when they chatted to us.  They told us it was their first time in Philly and I have to assume it won’t be their last.  They made a ton of new fans tonight.

2025
None the Wiser §
Miss ⇒
Storm Warnings ⇒
Heavy ♣
Rabbits Can Swim ⇒
Hanging Out to Dry ⇒
7563 §
Break the Girl  ♣
Goodnight  ♣

§ single (2026)
⇒ Spring Forward EP (2026)
♣ Fall Back EP (2025)

 

 

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The Format / Ben Kweller / Adult Mom (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Adult Mom, Ben Kweller, Franklin Music Hall, Fun., Philadelphia, PA, The Format on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 28, 2026] The Format / Ben Kweller / Adult Mom

I didn’t know The Format when they first came around.  But when their new song was played on the radio, I thought Damn this sounds like the band fun.  So it turns out that it’s the same guy!  Spectrum Culture says

You know those stories about people who win the lottery, amassing millions and millions of dollars overnight and then working like nothing happened? That’s Nate Ruess. His old band, fun., put out a single (and album) big enough that he could probably live the rest of his life comfortably. His even older band, the Format, reunited to such massive hype that they had to cancel their reunion tour twice and still sold out the third one immediately.

Rock Doc tells us that they played TWO shows in Philly–one in Franklin Park (free) and one at Franklin Music Hall.

The Format are back on the road behind their latest record Boycott Heaven, and that journey brought Nate Ruess and Sam Means to Philadelphia’s Franklin Music Hall. Between the band’s original rise and eventual breakup nearly two decades ago, Ruess’ hugely successful run with FUN, and a solo career on top of that, these two have seen plenty of the music industry’s peaks and valleys. None of that history dampened the appetite for their reunion – the show sold out almost instantly.

Since I didn’t know and didn’t know anything about this show, it sold out before I even thought about going to it.  I had tickets to The Teeth anyhow.  But Rock Doc continues:

Ruess remains as captivating a frontman as he’s ever been, and he wore his emotions openly throughout the night. The setlist was a clear love letter to the back catalog. Of the twenty songs they ran through, only three came from the new album – a conscious decision to center the night around the songs people have been carrying with them for the better part of twenty years.

I don’t know much about Ben Kweller.  He’s just always kind of been there.  He’s a mellow rocker who plays guitar and piano and has done an album with Ben Folds.  He’s played with lots of people I like, but I’ve never really made the connection to him. I have to assume he’ll open for someone I want to see some day.

I saw Adult Mom almost ten years ago and I enjoyed their set.  A lot has happened to Stevie Knipe over the years including a bout with cancer.  They seem to be back though and put out their first album in 4 years last year.

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Gigi Perez / Hannah Jadagu (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 16, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Gigi Perez, Hannah Jadagu, Philadelphia, PA on October 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 16, 2025] Gigi Perez / Hannah Jadagu

Screenshot

Back in May, Gigi Perez headlined TLA (capacity about 1,000) and now just five months later, she’s headlining Franklin Music Hall, one of the largest midsized venues in Philly.  That’s what kind of summer she had!

My daughter and I saw Gigi Perez open for Girl in Red and I was really interested in seeing her as a headliner.  Since this show I’ve seen her two more times (in short sets, but still).  I wouldn’t want to see her in FMH, one of my least favorite venues.

I feel like I’ve been hearing about Hannah Jadagu for a while, but when I looked her up, she released her first album in 2021.  So maybe it’s her I’m thinking of, maybe not.

Jadagu plays sweet bedroom pop music.  She’s got a really nice voice.

So, yeah, I wasn’t going to this show, but it’s cool to see Gigi’s star keep ascending.

 

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Garbage (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2025)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Garbage, Philadelphia, PA, Starcrawler on September 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2025] Garbage

Back in the 90s Garbage was my favorite band.  I loved everything about them.  I saw them twice when I lived in Boston (and wish I remembered those early shows better).  I’d seen them twice in the 21st century (but was surprised to see that the last time was eight years ago!).

Like a lot of people I don’t like the newer stuff quite as much as the older stuff.  I’m not sure what’s different–maybe it’s just me.  I like individual songs but don’t love listening to the albums front to back as much.

But the individual songs are still great.  And they sounded fantastic as they opened the show with two killer new tracks.  The band sounded huge and Shirley Manson’s voice was great.  She was wearing a leather jacket which she took off after the first two songs to reveal a jump suite with a handwritten Free Gaza on the back.

They handled the loud/quiet transitions on a song like Hold perfectly–even the lights were perfect.

The band members (aside from Shirley) don’t do a lot on stage (I just found out that guitarist Duke Erikson is 74 years old–no wonder this is their last big tour).

After the first two songs, they moved on to Empty–a super catchy song from a few albums back.  Guitarist Steve Marker (only 66) played the opening chords and like last time it was cool being able to hear the different guitar sound the guys had. (more…)

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Starcrawler (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 16, 2025) [GARBAGE]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Garbage, Philadelphia, PA, Starcrawler on September 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 16, 2025] Starcrawler

I wanted to see Starcrawler for a few years before I finally got to.  And the buildup was more than the band could live up to.

I saw them last year open for Boris (a strange fit) when they played for an hour and I found them more or less unpleasant.  They really make me like the and hate them at the same time.

Last time I quoted someone else as saying “they strike me as rich kids cosplaying as punk rockers,” which seems fairly apt.  Also that

singer Arrow DeWilde tried to irk the crowd by referring to San Francisco repeatedly as “Frisco” after commenting, “Last night in Fresno was better than this shithole.” I have a friend who had seen them in Fresno the night before who said that Arrow said something similar onstage then.

This was one of the things that I found so irritating about them in the past, they are strangely confrontational.  It may be part of the schtick, but it’s weird–especially for an opening band.

Arrow was less confrontational than in the past, although she did yell at the audience for not bouncing their heads along to their song (weirdly, that was to the slowest song they played–we certainly bounced for the faster songs). (more…)

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Wet Leg (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 15, 2025)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Mary in the Junkyard, Philadelphia, PA, Wet Leg on September 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 15, 2025] Wet Leg

I saw Wet Leg three and a half years ago when they were something of a novelty buzz band because of their song Chaise Lounge.  I saw them at Underground Arts (capacity 650).  It was packed and I could barely see them, but it was still a fun show.

After the show, I thought “I’m not sure if the band will do anything more after this.  But they certainly felt like more than a joke band with one hit.  It will be interesting to see if they comeback to Philly and can fit into a larger venue.”

Now, three years later, the band has released their second album, have an entirely new look and have a bunch of songs that are bona fide–not novelty–hits.  So it’s no surprise that they are playing a bigger venue (FMH is 2500 people).

FMH is one of my least favorite venues to go to.  It’s always overcrowded and full of really tall people.  Most shows annoy me and I should probably stop going there all together, but it is the last small venue before bands move on to much bigger stages, so there are certain bands that can only fit in a venue that size.  I dislike the parking (it’s even worse now that all of the nearby lots have been attached to parking meters (and Jesus, there were NO spots on the street–on a Monday night??)  So we drove around a bit and arrived a little later than I wanted to, so we were just behind the ring of tall people who always seem to build a wall around the short people up front. (more…)

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Mary in the Junkyard (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, September 15, 2025) [WET LEG]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Mary in the Junkyard, Philadelphia, PA, Wet Leg on September 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 15, 2025] Mary in the Junkyard

Mary in the Junkyard is a trio from London. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Clari Freeman-Taylor, viola and bass player Saya Barbaglia and drummer David Addison.

I had never heard of them and they have an EP and some singles out, so they are pretty new.

I listened to the singles today and rather liked them.  But they really didn’t come across very well at Franklin Music Hall.  It felt like everything was wrong to me.  The drums were really loud.  The guitars were sometimes loud, but Clari’s vocals were always quiet–very hard to hear.

I had pretty high hopes for their set because the songs had really interesting components–guitar lines or when Saya switched from bass to viola and added some really weird sounds to the songs.  But None of the songs had any hooks.  Which is weird because they’re there on the album.

I suspect that seeing them in a smaller venue (FMH is quite cavernous) would suit their sound much better.  I’d be interested in seeing them again, but in a small club.

At least the crowd reacted positively to them–and there was a lot to like–they just never won me over (and I love finding great opening bands).

I’m assuming this is the setlist.  It’s what they’d played at most of their shows

  1. Drains §
  2. Blood
  3. Midori
  4. Goop ∠
  5. New Muscles
  6. Web
  7. Tuesday  ¾
  8. This is my California ¼

§ single (2025)
¼ single (2024)
¾ single (2023)
∠ This Old House ()

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TV on the Radio / Soul Glo (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, July 29, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Soul Glo, TV on the Radio on July 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 12, 2025] TV on the Radio / Soul Glo

I loved the first three TV on the Radio albums. Not sure I ever listened to the other two (Acually I loved Happy Idiot, but probably don’t know anything else from that album).  But that last album came out over ten years ago so I never thought they’d tour, especially since singer Tunde Adebimpe had just released a (very successful) solo album.

But holy cow when they announced this tour, I wanted in so badly!  But it happened to be on the same night as The Swell Season, which my wife and I didn’t want to miss.

So I had to pass by TV on the Radio.  Will they ever tour again?  Who knows.

Soul Glo as the opening band added a frenetic tone that I wouldn’t have expected from TV on the Radio.  They are a wild live band and I hope got more fans from this show.

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MJ Lenderman and the Wind / This is Lorelei (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 17, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, MJ Lenderman and the Wind, Philadelphia, PA, This is Lorelei, Water from Your Eyes on May 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 17, 2025] MJ Lenderman and the Wind / This is Lorelei

I feel like people have been talking about MJ Lenderman for a while (although there are a lot of guys who go by 2 initials and their last name so I may be thinking of someone else).  But I see that he’s been putting out music since 2019.

I also saw know that he’s been playing with Wednesday and did a song with Waxahatchee.

His voice is a distinctive twang/whine that I sort of don’t like but kind of do.  It’s that whole alt-country thing that I mostly don’t like but maybe do.

Lenderman has a couple of songs that I like but I was really surprised that he was playing Franklin Music Hall–such a big venue.  Even if I liked him a little more I wouldn’t want to see him there.

This is Lorelei is Nate Amos who also sings in Water from Your Eyes who I’ve heard of but don’t know.  His records seem like simple bedroom pop, but I gather that when he plays live he has a band with him.

Either way this show was not on my must see list.

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