Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Johnny Brenda’s’ Category

The Goon Sax (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA, August 25, 2022) [BAND BROKE UP]

Posted in Interpol, Johnny Brenda's, Pavement, Philadelphia, PA, Spoon, The Goon Sax on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[BAND BROKE UP: August 25, 2022] The Goon Sax

I first heard of The Goon Sax in June of 2021.  Bob Boilen raved about them and I really liked the song he played.

I decided they would be fun to see live.

They were scheduled to do some U.S. shows opening for Interpol, Spoon & Pavement.  And during the tour, they set up a headline date at Johnny Brenda’s.  I was so excited to see them.

And then on July 12, they posted to Twitter that they were breaking up.  Before the big tour!

“after nine years of giving it our everything we’ve decided to draw the curtain on this band.

It’s taken us places stranger, more beautiful, and far beyond anything we could have imagined, and brought us to meeting and working with so many special and incredibly inspiring people. Our gratitude to everyone who’s been with us and allowed the madness of the last 9 years to happen is far beyond anything we can palpably express.”

So that sucks for me.

It’s crazy that they’ve been around so long and I’d never heard of them:

The Goon Sax formed in 2013. The band released their first album, Up To Anything, to widespread acclaim in 2016, and followed up with We’re Not Talking in 2018. In 2020, the trio of Riley Jones (drums, vocals), Louis Forster (guitars, vocals) and James Harrison (guitars, vcoals) signed with iconic New York City label Matador.  The Goon Sax’s third album, 2021’s Mirror II, was described as “a new beginning” by the label.

Read Full Post »

Peeesseye / TALsounds (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chris Forsyth, Johnny Brenda's, Peeesseye, Philadelphia, PA, TALsounds on July 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 24, 2022] Peeesseye / TALsounds

Peeesseye is an experimental band co-founded by Chris Forsyth, who has gone on to do some amazing work on guitar.  I’m going to let Ars Nova Workshop summarize them better than I ever could:

Peeesseye was formed in 2002 in Brooklyn by Chris Forsyth, Jaime Fennelly, and Fritz Welch. Though their instrumentation changed as often as their sound, the core elements were always Fennelly’s combination of harmoniums, oscillators and feedback, Forsyth’s alternately spacious and cutthroat guitar playing, and Welch’s hyper-mutated vocals and possessed percussion.

They persistently kept listeners off balance over the course of the ensuing decade, both through chameleonic stylistic shifts from one release to the next as well as with the unpredictable eclecticism of the music itself. Gestural lowercase formalism might explode into blaring noise, sprawling psychedelia shatter into raucous free improv, back porch minimalism mutate into avant-trickster performance art—all engaged with a sense of emotionally engaged intensity that forged a unity in their often evolving sound.

The group splintered geographically and musically after a final show in Antwerp in 2011, with Fennelly pursuing theatrically Kosmiche synth gleam as Mind Over Mirrors from bases in Washington State, Chicago, Maine, and North Carolina; Forsyth carving out his own territory as a bandleader and lyrical guitar anti-hero upon relocating to Philadelphia in 2009, most notably with his Solar Motel Band; and Welch shifting from music/noise/sound to various performance scenarios to visual art extrusion in his adopted hometown of Glasgow, Scotland.

After more than a decade apart, Peeesseye is reconvening for two performances to mark the 20 years since they first made noise together.

I love Forsyth, but i didn’t know much about Peeesseye.  I assumed it was hard to listen to, but I still really wanted to go to this show.

Then it turned out that I got tickets for Mitski that night–with the whole family on board.  So I had to miss out on this bizarre evening.

TALsounds is the ambient solo moniker of Chicago-based experimental artist Natalie Chami, who is also a member of the trio Good Willsmith, one half of the duo l’éternèbre, and a co-founder of the Screaming Claws collective.

The music seems to be synthy and chill.  Almost a direct opposite of the noise of Peeesseye.   Although some of the songs add some texture, it is mostly synth playing.

Read Full Post »

Japanese Breakfast / Yo La Tengo / Cate Le Bon [A Make the World Better Benefit] (The Dell Music Center, Philadelphia PA, July 23, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cate Le Bon, Chris Forsyth, Dell Music Center, Garcia Peoples, Japanese Breakfast, Johnny Brenda's, Make the World Better, Philadelphia, PA, Purling Hiss, Yo La Tengo on July 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 23, 2022] Japanese Breakfast / Yo La Tengo / Cate Le Bon

Everything about this show was geared for me to enjoy.

I love Japanese Breakfast and have seen them twice (the las time was fantastic).

I have been a fan of Yo La Tengo for years but have never seen them live.

I have wanted to see Cate Le Bon for a few years now and have had a few shows cancelled on me.  [Although I will be seeing her in October].

Plus, this is a benefit show for Make the World Better.

Their motto is “A park should be a place where you see joy every single day. That’s what we’re trying to do.” — Connor Barwin

We believe community-based redevelopment projects have a unique ability to strengthen neighborhoods by creating a sense of ownership over public spaces. We engage residents in all phases of a project, from concept to construction to ongoing programming and upkeep. We design with and for the community—pushing beyond typical play space design: we’ve built community garden plots and a media lab; we have painted murals and all of our projects have included green stormwater infrastructure.

However, we had tickets to Beach House and all four of us were going, so this show was shut out.

I’ve never been to the Dell Music Center.  It’s an outdoor venue near The Mann Center which probably means parking sucks.

Read Full Post »

Kevin Devine / Anika Pyle (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anika Pyle, First Unitarian Church, Johnny Brenda's, Kevin Devine, Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 13, 2022] Kevin Devine / Anika Pyle

The embarrassment of riches continued on July 13.  Initially the Bikini Kill show was rescheduled for this date–but it was postponed again.

I’ve been a fan of Kevin Devine for a few years.  I feel like I’ve seen him a bunch because he so often plays around here.  And yet I have only seen him three time (twice solo and once with his Goddamn Band).  I would love to see him again and would absolutely gone to see this show except that Foxing, a band I saw once who were amazing live were playing the same night.

I actually had tickets for this show but decided kind of last minute to see Foxing instead–it hadn’t sold out so I got a ticket at the box office.

I feel like it is far more likely that I’ll see Kevin Devine again soon.

Anika Pyle has written her own bio on he site:

Many know me as the front person in the short-lived but well-loved Chumped or the feminine exploration power pop project katie ellen. In February of 2021, I released my first solo record – Wild River  – a mix of song and spoken word poetry paying homage to my late father who died suddenly in 2019. The record explores failure, shame resilience, intergenerational trauma, and how to find hope after grief.

I hadn’t heard of her.  The few clips I’ve heard make it seem like her music is slow and moody.  Not my favorite mix.

Read Full Post »

Garcia Peoples / The Tisburys (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 12, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Garcia Peoples, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, The Tisburys on June 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 30, 2021] Garcia Peoples / The Tisburys

I ‘ve seen Garcia Peoples a bunch of times.  I like to think of them as my local jam band. I’ve seen them enough that I’ve actually missed them a few times and not been too upset about it because I am pretty sure I’ll be able to catch them again.

This show was the same night as a show by Diane Coffee who I had really wanted to see, so I didn’t even bother looking into tickets.

The Tisburys sounds like a band from Canada to me.  But they are actually from Philly.

Their sound is actually pretty much exactly what I’d expect from a band called The Tisburys.  Jangly power pop with a retro edge and a vaguely country vibe.  Think Jayhawks, I guess.

They’d probably frt pretty well with Garcia Peoples, who I’m sure put on an amazing show.

Read Full Post »

NNAMDÏ / Ghösh / Lizdelise (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 31, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in GHÖSH, Johnny Brenda's, Lizdelise , NNAMDÏ, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Philadelphia, PA on May 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 27, 2022] NNAMDÏ / Ghösh / Lizdelise 

I saw Nnamdi Ogbonnaya open for Wilco and Sleater-Kinney.

I really enjoyed his set which went in all kinds of interesting directions.  As this blurb puts it he

makes dreamy, fractured, and frisky music that rarely sits still. He pulls from indie rock, hip-hop, and jazz on songs that mine his experience as a self-described “Black, Jewish, first-generation Nigerian-American.” He was terrific last year at the Mann Center opening for Wilco and Sleater-Kinney, though he couldn’t play guitar because he had broken his wrist skateboarding.

That’s the show I saw, too.

I’m not sure why I didn’t go to this show.  I’d say just taking it easy at the end of May.

Ghösh seems like an unlikely fit for this bill.  I very much want to see them, but sandwiched between two mellow artists this seems a little off.  XPN explains them

Ghösh combines the darkest elements of aforementioned 90’s rave — pummeling beats and washy, distorted samples ala Atari Teenage Riot or Front 242– with the lyrical intensity of a 2009 LiveJournal entry co-written by Angela Davis and your little sister: they’re pissed off, informed, and ready to party.

It’s a weird mix on the surface, but with songs like “Dear Daddy” intoning how bad all cops are (“even my dad,” Symphony shouts) over a dizzying jungle beat, to a cover of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” where buzzsaw riffs that tear through the an avalanche of Miami bass empowered 808 kicks where they scream-rap “my suggestion is to keep your distance / right now I’m dangerous”, it’s clear the genreless entropy is not just intentional, but beautiful.

The band has honed their sound in the usual spots: basements, dive bars, the batting cages, defying the usual punk orthodoxy with ever slurred, tripped out vocal sample, every re-appropriation of 90’s hip hop and nu-metal, every radical, queer, noisy explosion. And it’s true, Philly gravitates to bands that push, explore and distort a myriad of experiences and influences, the eclectic shit, as much as we love three chord punk, staid indie rock, and meathead hardcore.

Lizdelise was described by NPR as

Liz de Lise is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who writes alternative folk songs with jazz influences. She creates lush soundscapes with acoustic and electric guitar, vocals and a loop pedal. She completed her one-video-a-month-for-a-year project in 2015.

For ease of searching I include Nnamdi, Ghosh.

Here’s a video of Ghosh

GHOSH  PhilaMOC

 

Read Full Post »

Bit Brigade / Super Guitar Bros. (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 27, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bit Brigade, Johnny Brenda's, Legend of Zelda, Philadelphia, PA, Super Guitar Bros. on May 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 27, 2022] Bit Brigade / Super Guitar Bros.

I saw Bit Brigade in 2018 and really enjoyed the show.  The premise of their live show is terrific

The band plays the soundtrack to a video game while their resident gamer plays the game.  The band is heavy and the sound is amazing.

Last time I saw them, they were playing The Legend of Zelda and it was phenomenal (The music is really good).  They came around last year playing a different game but I couldn’t go.

This time they were playing Zelda and Castlevania.  I’m sure it would have been a lot of fun.  But I just didn’t feel like going out.  They’ll be back, I’m sure.

Opening for this show was Super Guitar Bros.  They are two guys from Detroit who play acoustic guitar versions of video game theme music.  As their blurb says: “Gentle Video Game Guitar Covers For Relaxation.”

Sounds like a perfect pair.  And I’m absolutely ready to see them again.

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Lo Moon / Social Animals (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lo Moon, Philadelphia, PA, Social Animals on May 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 24, 2022] Lo Moon / Social Animals

Lo Moon is a kind of soft-rock indie rock band.  Their big influences are Talk Talk and Prefab Sprout.

There’s delicate, soft voices and pretty melodies.  I don’t really like them all that much, although I think that their single “Dream Never Dies” is outstanding.  It was the constant play of this song that made me even considering seeing them live (and hearing Matt Lowell hit those high notes).

But this show sold out before I even heard about it and I had plans already anyway.

Social Animals is a more rocking band that Lo Moon.  There’s a more propulsive feel to their songs which sounds a lot like other bands–I keep thinking they sound like someone else when I hear a song by them.  I’m not sure I’d want to see them, although maybe a short opening set would be good.

Read Full Post »

Shad / Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Christine Elise, Johnny Brenda's, Kuf Knotz, Philadelphia, PA on May 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 20, 2022] Shad / Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise

SHAD’s 2010 album TSOL is one of my favorite rap albums.  Of all of the rappers that come around to Philly to tour, SHAD is the one I’m most interested in seeing.

SHAD is from Canada although he was born in Kenya.  He raps about real issues but also has a thread of positivity through his songs, which I appreciate.

This happened to be a really busy week of shows for me, though, so I had to blow it off.

He comes to town every couple of years, so I assume he’ll be back maybe in 2024.

When he came to town in 2018 he played Boot & Saddle (RIP) and I couldn’t make that show either.  For that show Kuf Knotz also opened.

Kuf Knotz is a Philly rapper who blends hiphop poetry with deep grooves of soul and beats sun kissed with the spirit of Lo-Fi & 90’s era vibes , Kuf’s inimitable style focuses on unsubtle spirituality, that, like his music, focus on unity, positivity and creativity.

For this tour, he was with harpist Christine Elise

Christine Gallagher, MA, MT-BC, LMT, LPC “Christine Elise” is classically trained harpist, pianist, and vocalist.  In 2018, Christine and Kuf founded a community music therapy outreach performance project called Higher Grounds Music, using the power of music, clinical training, and performance experience to foster personal growth. Working in a strength based model, the workshops/performances are designed to support participants in building skills to build confidence, increase motivation and drive and strengthen self-care skills.

If they all tour together next time, I’ll have to go for an night of positivity.

Read Full Post »

Barrie / Rentboy (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 11, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Barrie, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Rentboy on May 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 29, 2023] Barrie / Rentboy

Barrie is a singer that I know exclusively from NPR Music.  I enjoyed a song or two from her, but it seems very unlikely that I would have gone to this show.   I’m a little surpirsed I included it in my list of shows to check out.

Rentboy is a Philadelphia based disco collective whose last album, Memory Forever, is a meditation on body memory and queer musical history.  They seem a little too disco for Barrie’s gentler sound.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »