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Archive for the ‘Franklin Music Hall’ Category

Bikini Kill / Brontez Purnell (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2022) [rescheduled, rescheduled again and again]

Posted in Alice Bag, Bikini Kill, Coronavirus, Feminism, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Riot Grrrl, The Bags on July 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 13, 2022] Bikini Kill / Brontez Purnell [rescheduled from November 22, 2020 and October 2, 2021; moved to April 7, 2023]

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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.

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(more…)

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Midnight Oil / Liz Stringer (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, June 22, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Liz Stringer, Midnight Oil, Philadelphia, PA on June 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 22, 2022] Midnight Oil / Liz Stringer

When I was in college I was a DJ for a few years.  My freshman year, I loved “Beds Are Burning” and played the song on my show all the time.

I enjoyed the rest of the album, but really don’t know much else by them.

When this tour–their final tour–was announced, I dithered about whether to get tickets.  I assumed it wouldn’t sell out (it didn’t).  I don’t love Franklin Music Hall, so that was a strike against it.  A friend of mine said they were great live (she went to the NYC show and said it was great)./

But ultimately, I decided not to go (or buy a ticket).

And I’m okay with that.

Liz Stringer is an Australian singer who is beloved by many Australian musicians.  She has a devoted cult following.  but it never translates into mega sales.  I’m a little surprised by this because her music is pretty straightforward with an alt-country feel that could appeal pretty broadly here.

I guess I’m not that upset that I missed her though.

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Belle and Sebastian / Los Bitchos (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Franklin Music Hall, Los Bitchos, Philadelphia, PA on June 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2022] Belle and Sebastian / Los Bitchos

This was a terrible week for concerts for my wife and I.

After missing out on Sigur Ros because of an awards ceremony at my daughter’s school, this evening was scheduled for her graduation as well.

Obviously, those events are very important and there was no question which we would go to.  It’s just maddening that these dates were announced so late that we had already gotten tickets to both events long before the conflict came up.

Oh well.

I’m sure we’ll be seeing Belle & Sebastian again.

Los Bitchos is a four piece from London.  The band consists of Serra Petale (guitar), Agustina Ruiz (keytar), Josefine Jonsson (bass), and Nic Crawshaw (drums; percussion).  They predominantly play instrumental music in the style of cumbia from the 70s and 80s.

And they are a lot of fun.  Sounds like a great opening act.

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The Menzingers / Oso Oso / Sincere Engineer (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 13, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, oso oso, Philadelphia, PA, Sincere Engineer, The Menzingers on May 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 13, 2022] The Menzingers / oso oso / Sincere Engineer

I have seen The Menzingers twice.  The first time I missed most of their set.  The second time I was in a terrible location and the sound was dismal.  I told myself that I really wanted to see one good set with them.

They play Philly all the time, but I think I might just be over seeing them.  I feel like I’ve been shut out of seeing them enough (and I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth from the crowd last time), that maybe I don’t need to see this mythical third show anymore

Especially if Oso Oso is the support band.

I saw them open for The Front Bottoms and said

I’m not sure if I was annoyed by the crowd (SO CROWDED) or what but I found oso oso to be one the most meh band I’ve seen on a long time.  I really felt nothing for them. …

Their music was fine–occasionally catchy but not really memorable and I found that I really didn’t like the lead singer’s voice.  It wasn’t bad or awful, it just didn’t seem to fit the music and I found myself enjoying their instrumental sections a ton more.

Someone near me said that they thought he was so stoned he couldn’t sing right.  He did seem like he was a little off, including his weird between song banter and chants.  But maybe he’s just a weird guy.

I haven’t heard of Sincere Engineer, but listening to her now I’m blown away.  I love her/their stuff.  The band is from Chicago and the blurb says

Deanna Belos has been a fixture in the Chicago punk scene since she was in Junior High, attending shows, singing along, and raising hell in general. But she was more than just a face in the crowd, Deanna was a radiant friend to all, and at some point she picked up a guitar and made a different contribution to the Chicago underground scene: her own music under the name Sincere Engineer. Over the last couple years we’ve encouraged her to keep writing songs and she surprised us all by assembling a great band and recording an impressive album. Her debut, “Rhombithian”, was produced by Matt Jordan (You Blew It!, Dowsing, etc.) and pairs the sounds of Chicago punk and the youthful Midwest “emo revival” movement. No one is more excited about music than Sincere Engineer, and Deanna plans to play a lot of shows and bring her infectious energy to the rest of the planet in support of “Rhombithian”.

She plays grungey emo pop punk stuff.  With a heavy grungey guitar.  But what sets Sincere Engineer apart is Deanna’s voice–a snarl that doesn’t detract from her natural melody.  It’s the perfect voice for these songs.  Plus she has a song called “Corn Dog Sonnet No.7”

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PUP (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022)

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, PUP, Sheer Mag on May 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2022] PUP

It’s kind of funny that the headliner is the only band on this bill that I hadn’t seen before.

I was really excited to see PUP.  I knew some of their songs and t hen slowly I knew and liked even more of them.  After watching their Tony Desk on NPR, I knew they were fun guys who probably put on a great show.

The backdrop was in  the same deliciously surreal style as the poster (which I love).  And then the band came out.

Stefan Babcock played the opening song from the new album (about just learning to play piano and writing a song on it because the label wanted them to) on a keyboard.

And as soon as the song ended, the whole place exploded into a pogoing slamming chaotic fest of fun.  They blasted through one song from each of their albums and everyone sang/screamed the words to all of them.

The light show was simple but really effective, with a bank of lights behind the drums and beams shooting out from time to time. (more…)

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Sheer Mag (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [PUP]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, PUP, Sheer Mag on May 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2022] Sheer Mag

I saw Sheer Mag back in 2017 and enjoyed their set quite a lot.  I had said that

They play a terrific swagger-filled hard rock (comparisons to many riff rock bands of the 70s abound).  And they are fronted by bad-ass singer Tina Halladay whose gritty voice sounds quite a bit like some of high-pitched male singers of the era.

They haven’t really made any new music since 2019, which is kind of a surprise as they were pretty prolific up until then.

This show had them playing a few songs from each of their albums and some of their earlier 7 inch records too.

This being a home town crowd, I thought the band would bring something extra.  It seemed like they were a little cranky or something. (more…)

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Pinkshift (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2022) [PUP]

Posted in Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Pinkshift, PUP, Sheer Mag on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2022] Pinkshift

Pinkshift is from Baltimore and they play a great mix of grunge and punk all coordinated by lead singer Ashrita Kumar.

I saw them open for Mannequin Pussy last year and they were amazing.  I was psyched that they were opening for Pup and made sure my son and I arrived early.

The band has only gotten better since we last saw them.  Kumar remains an amazing front woman, channeling her anger and aggression into an amazing set of songs and really getting he crowd pumped.

Guitarist Paul Vallejo and touring bassist Mikey Stabekis  were locked in step as they rocked.  Sounds like original bassist Erich Weinroth has been let go]. And drummer Myron Houngbedji was completely intense.

Here’s a funny detail I didn’t know.  (more…)

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Car Seat Headrest (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 1, 2022)

Posted in Bartees Strange, Car Seat Headrest, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Toy Bastard on April 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2022] Car Seat Headrest

I saw Car Seat Headrest four years ago at Union Transfer and it was one of the least pleasant shows I’d been to.  The music was great, but the crowd was uniformly terrible–especially near me.  

I wasn’t sure if I’d want to see them again, but then my son got really turned on to them (I had nothing to do with it) and he really wanted to see them live.  I couldn’t pass that up, and I assumed the crowd would be a little different in this much bigger venue.

And, yes, the crowd was much better–although it felt really crowded in there!

The crazy thing is that the doors opens at 7:30.  We arrived at 7:25 to an enormous line.  And we didn’t get in the venue until after 8.  I asked my son if he wanted to get up front or get merch.  He chose merch–I think getting close will win out next time.  I would have loved to have been closer for sure.

The fascinating thing about Car Seat Headrest now is that lead singer and main Headrest Will Toledo wears a modified gasmask for the entire set.  It’s pretty neat as it has a microphone in it and the eyes light up to display emotions (cute eyes, angry eyes, heart and swirly lines).  The good thing is that Toledo sounds fine through this odd system. (more…)

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Bartees Strange (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, April 1, 2022)

Posted in Bartees Strange, Car Seat Headrest, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, The National on April 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2022] Bartees Strange

I saw Bartees Strange open for Lucy Dacus back in October.   I was delighted by how well he was received by the Car Seat Headrest crowd.

His set was very similar to that last one.  He exchanged out a couple of songs for newer ones, but the general vibe was the same.

He came out by himself, wearing a bright year rain slicker and started with a quiet opening of “Far.”  After a couple of minutes, the rest of the band came out and rocked out the rest of the song.

I’m not sure if he had the same band playing with him–I assume so.  He got the crowd moving with one of his faster songs, “Mustang.”  And, like last time, he followed it with the rap of “Kelly Rowland” with the memorable refrain: “Broke ass nigga but I got Versace dreams.”

Mixing it up some more, he followed that with the bouncing “Weights.”  He looked up at the audience and chuckled, “Oh, my mom’s here.”

Then he introduced the new song “Hold the Line.”  He wrote the song for George Floyd’s daughter, and it was quite a powerful moment.

He followed that with a cover of Lemonworld by The National.  I thought last time that it was kind of mellow but the chorus rocked pretty hard.

He introduced the “jazz standard” called “Boomer” and ripped the song through the venue with everyone dancing and singing along.

He ended the set with another new song, his new single “Heavy Hearts.”  It’s a bit more mellow, and I probably would have ended with Boomer, but the set was really solid regardless.

Bartees is a great performer and I’m glad to see him getting some attention.  His merch was also really cool.

2022 2021
Far £ Far £
Mustang £ Mustang £
Kelly Rowland £ Kelly Rowland £
Weights £ Weights £
Hold the Line € 17 ∞
Lemonworld (The National cover) Flagey God £
Boomer £ Lemonworld (The National cover)
Heavy Heart € Stone Meadows £
Boomer £

∞ Horror (2025)
€ Farm to Table (2022)
£ Live Forever (2020)

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LCD Soundsystem (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, March 28, 2022)

Posted in DJ Dave P.--Making Time, Franklin Music Hall, LCD Soundsystem, Philadelphia, PA on March 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 28, 2022] LCD Soundystem

Usually I like to give a separate post for an opening act.  But the opening act for this show was a DJ named Dave P. who does a show called Making Time.  Or Making Time is a show and he is one of the DJs.  Or something.  I didn’t quite get it.

So Dave P. spun music before LCD Soundsystem came on.  It was kind of funny because they always play music before a band comes on.  So instead of a playlist, it was an actual person spinning songs.  But he wasn’t on stage–he was up above in the balcony.  And he never spoke.  So it almost didn’t make a difference.  The tunes were pretty good though (but waaay too loud–much louder than the band was).

The biggest gripe I had was that he played until 9:30  (I had arrived at  around 7:30).  So I basically stood there for two hours.  Why didn’t LCD Soundsystem come on at 9 or something?  The show could have ended at a more reasonable time as well.

So the band came out at 9:30.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show.   I like a bunch of LCD songs, but they’re all kind of monotonous dance songs.  So what was a live show going to be like. (more…)

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