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Archive for the ‘Johnny Brenda’s’ Category

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.

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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.

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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.

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A Place to Bury Strangers / Lunacy / Glove (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 9, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in A Place to Bury Strangers, Glove, Johnny Brenda's, Lunacy, Philadelphia, PA on May 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 9, 2022] A Place to Bury Strangers / Lunacy / Glove

A Place to Bury Strangers is one of those bands that I have heard about for years whose music I had never heard.  And like The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, they have a long name that is rather evocative but which implies a heaviness that may or may not be there.

I put this show on my “check out” list mostly because I was curious as to what this band actually sounded like.

When I played their songs on Spotify I was taken aback by how much they sounded like The Church (at least on “Always Gonna Be the Same”).  That’s their latest single (okay I’m writing this long after the concert happened).

Their other songs are a lot louder and darker, which means this Wikipedia entry makes sense

Commonly known by the initials APTBS, the band plays a heavy, atmospheric Wall of Sound–influenced blend of noise rock, shoegaze and space rock. The band is known for the loudness of their intense live shows. A Place to Bury Strangers are commonly referred to by music writers as the “loudest band in New York”, a reputation the band developed even before the release of their first album.

Fascinating.

Sometimes you can tell a lot about a band by their openers.  The two openers for this show were darkwave and a kind of 80’s synth alt rock.  I think I would have enjoyed this show about twenty years ago.

Glove is a retro synth band, in the vein of Depeche Mode or New Order.  They’re from Tampa but look like they are straight out of the 80’s UK music scene.

Sounds kinda fun.

Lunacy is Pennsylvania’s industrial darkwave monk who plays Dark, dystopian vibes; deep electronic cuts that shake and rattle with power.

I suspect I know exactly what this show was like and there was very little movement in the audeince.

 

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Born Ruffians / Sham Family (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 30. 3022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Attack on Titan, Born Ruffians, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Sham Family on April 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 30, 2022] Born Ruffians / Sham Family

I blew off seeing Typhoon so I could see Born Ruffians, a Canadian band that is hard to pin down exactly, except that they make hyperactive poppy punk that is catchy but not super catchy.  They’re probably not even going to sell a million records, but they should have a pretty devoted fan base.

The band is a trio–singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, and drummer Steve Hamelin.  They put out a trio of albums in 2020/2021 all thematically similar. Juice was my favorite.  They have a great set available from The Live at Massey Hall series (see video below).

However, my wife and daughter were out that night and I was home with my son.  We started watching Attack on Titan and I decided that I would much rather spend the night with my son than these bands, so I blew off the show and we enjoyed some bonkers anime. (more…)

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Gustaf / Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Gustaf, Johnny Brenda's, Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo, Philadelphia, PA on April 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 14, 2022] Gustaf / Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo 

I saw Gustaf open for Idles and they were weird and wonderful and someone I definitely wanted to see live again–preferably headlining.  They have a very late 1980’s punk aesthetic with spoken words and random sounds.  Plus a lot of humor.  I was really excited for this show.  But by the tuime it came around, having misse da whole bunch of shows that I was really looking forward to, I wound up blowing off this one as well.

Shame, really.

Pedazo De Carne Con Ojo is the project of Steven Perez, a Philadelphia musician with sincere love for hip hop, poetry, punk and hardcore, pop, R&B, salsa, bachata, merengue, and even more. Perez has lived in Philly since 2016, writing, playing punk and indie, and he started releasing solo material under the Pedazo moniker in 2019 after years of struggling with doubts about sharing his own music.  Pedazo is a kaleidoscopic project, pinned on samples from past recordings of pop and merengue, salsa, bachata and other styles of Caribbean music, all of which Perez heard in his family’s home in Florida growing up.

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Pillow Queens / Deanna Petcoff (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Deanna Petcoff, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Pillow Queens on April 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 9, 2022] Otoboke Beaver [postponed to October 2, 2022]

I really like Pillow Queens, an Irish band, with four members–two of whom sing great harmony vocals.  They write clever songs about growing up queer in Irish Catholic Ireland, and their music totally rocks as well.

I would have definitely gone to this show, although somehow I missed hearing about it.  Duh.

Well, plus I was in D.C. this evening.  But next time they come around, I’ll be there.

Canadian musician Deanna Petcoff has a powerful voice and a fun bouncy song called “Devastatingly Mediocre.” I think they probably sounded great togther.

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Otoboke Beaver (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 9, 2022) [postponed to October 2, 2022]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Otoboke Beaver, Philadelphia, PA on April 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: April 9, 2022] Otoboke Beaver [postponed to October 2, 2022]

I’m not sure if this was a COVID-related postponement, but it came at a good time for me, because we had booked a vacation for the following day and it would have been hard to justify going out to see a band the night before a long drive.

I am very excited about seeing Otoboke Beaver.

 

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Ryley Walker / Tonstartssbandht (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 15, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Coronavirus, Destroyer, Full show video, Johnny Brenda's, Kiwi Jr., Nap Eyes, Postponed, Quarantine, Ryley Walker, Tonstartssbandht on March 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 15, 2022] Ryley Walker / Tonstartssbandht.

I’ve seen Ryley Walker four times, but never on purpose.  He’s been the support band for every show that I’ve seen him in.

So I thought it would be interesting to see what he was like when he was the headliner.

But this show was in between two days that I was going to shows and my brother-in-law was in town, so I decided to give it a miss.  Walker plays all the time so I’m sure I’ll see him again.

I’d never heard of Tonstartssbandht.  On their blurb for the concert, all it said was Andy & Edwin.  Wikipedia tells me they are

an American psychedelic, noise rock band consisting of brothers Andy (guitar and vocals) and Edwin (drums and vocals) White.  They formed c. 2008 when Edwin was 20 years and Andy was 18. Their influences include the Beach Boys, The Velvet Underground demos, and Can live recordings. As of December 2017, the band has released 17 live and studio albums, as well as a series of solo recordings and collaborations.

Woah.

Markit Aneight has a full show video of both Ryley Walkerand

and Tonstartssbandht

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Nap Eyes / Kiwi Jr. (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, January 8, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Destroyer, Johnny Brenda's, Kiwi Jr., Nap Eyes, Postponed, Quarantine on January 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: January 8, 2022] Nap Eyes / Kiwi Jr.

indexNap Eyes opened for Destroyer in the last show I saw before the quarantining.  I really wanted to see them headline a tour and do their own thing.

They had scheduled a show at Johnny Brenda’s for May of 2020 which was cancelled.  Then they bided their time and waited until 2022 to schedule their new tour.  But people are jerks and wouldn’t get vaccinated and now the virus had transformed itself so that everyone is going to get it.

I actually tested positive this week and wouldn’t have been able to go to this show anyhow, so I guess I’m glad the tour is on hold for a bit.

But damn, I want to see some Nap Eyes!

Kiwi Jr. is a fun Canadian band, recently described as “clever, easy-going jangle pop” that I’d really like to see live. So I hope this lineup stays the same when Nap Eyes comes back to Philly again.  Some day.

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