Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Johnny Brenda’s’ Category

Kiwi Jr. / 2nd Grade / Kate Davis (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 31, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in 2nd Grade, Johnny Brenda's, Kate Davis, Kiwi Jr., Philadelphia, PA on March 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 31, 2023] Kiwi Jr. / 2nd Grade / Kate Davis

I was supposed to see Kiwi Jr. open for Nap Eyes back in 2022, but the show was cancelled.

When I briefly listened to them then, I mused

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.

I thought they were a little more punk pop, but i can see how they would fit pretty well with Nap Eyes, even though they are more upbeat.

I was supposed to see a band called Grade 2 open for Anti-Flag but that show was cancelled.  Turns out Grade 2 is not the same as 2nd Grade.  Grade 2 are a classic punk band from the UK.  2nd Grade are an indie band from Philly.

They are a gentle boppy indie pop band.  Super catchy and poppy with delightful harmonies and a childlike quality (as befits their name).  Most of the songs are around two minutes.

I just heard about Kate Davis on All Songs Considered a few weeks ago.  They say

Kate Davis was trained as a jazz musician but after moving to New York and being influenced by bands such as Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear, she found her own sound.

Her song was slow and broody.  I didn’t love it, but she probably comes across well live.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul / Rentboy (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 29, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bolis Pupul, Charlotte Adigéry, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Rentboy on March 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 29, 2023] Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul / Rentboy

Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul put out an album (with a very cool cover) in 2022 that was on most Year End lists.  Musically it is described as effortlessly propulsive electro pop, but lyrically it is sharp and targeted.

Cultural appropriation and racism. Social media vanity. Post-colonialism and political correctness. These are not talking points that you’d ordinarily hear on the dancefloor but Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul are ripping up the rulebook with their debut album Topical Dancer. The Ghent-based duo, who broke out with their 2019 Zandoli EP on Soulwax’s record label DEEWEE, are rare storytellers in electronic music: they take the temperature of the time and funnel them into their playful synth concoctions – never didactic and always with a knowing wink.

Their new studio record – which cements them as a duo under both their names for the first time and is co-written and co-produced by Soulwax – is both a triumph of kaleidoscopic electro-pop and “a snapshot of how we think about pop culture in the 2020s.” It captures Charlotte and Bolis’s essence as musical collaborators and the conversations they’ve had over the past two years on tour, as well as their perspectives as Belgians with an immigrant background, Charlotte with Guadeloupean and French-Martinique ancestry and Bolis being of Chinese descent.

It’s not really my type of thing, but I thought it would be really interesting to experience.  If i had less going on this week, I would have tried harder to get to the show.

Rentboy is a Philadelphia based disco collective whose last album, Memory Forever, is a meditation on body memory and queer musical history

Read Full Post »

Rural Alberta Advantage / Georgia Harmer (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Georgia Harmer, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah Harmer, The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 25, 2023] Rural Alberta Advantage / Georgia Harmer

I had tickets to see Ibeyi, but when The Rural Alberta Advantage announced their show the same night, I decided I’d go to that show instead.

I wasn’t sure what our plans were for Saturday night so I didn’t get tickets ahead of time (what’s the point of buying two tickets you don’t use?).  But when I went to get tickets before the show, it was sold out!

I never would have guessed that a relatively obscure Canadian band would sell out, but they did.  Good for them/Bad for me.  I hope this means they will come back again soon.

Georgia Harmer is the niece of the outstanding Sarah Harmer.

She sings in a similar style as Sarah–their voices even have a similar timbre.  Her songs are pleasant and enjoyable–she’d be a great opening act.

Read Full Post »

King Tuff / Tchotchke (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, King Tuff, Philadelphia, PA, Sleater-Kinney, Tchotchke on March 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 23, 2023] King Tuff / Tchotchke

King Tuff is Kyle Thomas.  Thomas was a member of Ty Segall’s band for a time (and Segall plays on his albums).

I really enjoyed his Black Moon Spell album, but when I saw this show was anounced, I listened to his newer album and didn’t think all that much of it.  At this point I’m kind of looking for excuses not to go to shows–there’s so many I want to go to that I’m happy to pass on iffy shows like this.  So that was a good enough reason not to go.

Tchotchke is a band from New York comprised of Anastasia Sanchez, Eva Chambers and Emily Tooraen.  They used to be called Pinky Pinky which I think is a much more apt name for the style of music they play–it’s a kind of an updated doo-wop, pop sheen aesthetic.

Really not my thing, although I heard that if you went to their merch booth after the show they handed out a tchotchke to each person.

Read Full Post »

Messthetics / James Brandon Lewis Trio (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 19, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Fugazi, James Brandon Lewis Trio, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, The Messthetics on March 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 19, 2023] The Messthetics / James Brandon Lewis Trio

I really like The Messthetics (including the name).  The band has at its core drummer Brendan Canty and bassist Joe Lally who were both in Fugazi.  Along with guitarist Anthony Pirog, they make cool and interesting instrumental rock.  They have been pretty high on my list of bands to see.

However, the timing of this show was kind of rough.

Plus, the opening band or co-band or maybe even headliner (it was unclear), was James Brandon Lewis Trio.  JBL is a saxophonist.  he is typically joined by Lally and Canty (I assume he was on this show as well, but who knows).

I just didn’t think I wanted to hear roughly an hour of jazz, even if it was really good (which I’m sure it was).

So I stayed home instead, and had a great night in with the fam.

Read Full Post »

Quasi (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 17, 2023)

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Quasi, Sleater-Kinney on March 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 17, 2023] Quasi

I explored Quasi’s music back in the late 1990s mostly because I loved Janet Weiss’ drum work with Sleater-Kinney.  I had no idea who Sam Coomes was (he was her husband at some point but is no longer), but he was clearly the main songwriting force behind the band (Janet is credited with some song, but Sam wrote the majority).

I lost track of them during the 2000s (they release sporadically and Sam does a ton of other work with other people–for instance he has played keyboards on every Built to Spill album since Keep It Like a Secret].  They have put out about five albums that I hadn’t heard of, including their most recent Breaking the Ball of History.

Janet Weiss got into a car accident about four years ago and broke her leg and collar bone.  It seemed like she’d never play again.  But she fought through the grief and man, she was amazing to watch.

I went to this show in part because I like their older songs and in part to give Janet Weiss some support.  She clearly didn’t need the support from me as everyone was there to cheer her on.  Apparently they used to sell “Janet Fucking Weiss” shirts, but don’t any longer.

And so they came out on stage, Janet and Sam setting up their own gear.  Since it’s just the two of them, they face each other.  Sam plays keyboards (which is the most limiting way of describing his performance) and Janet pounds the hell out of the kit. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Bat Fangs (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 17, 2023) [QUASI]

Posted in Bat Fangs, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Quasi on March 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 17, 2023] Bat Fangs

I hadn’t heard of Bat Fangs when this show was announced.  But when I looked them up I was really excited to hear them. I really love duos, especially bands that can really rock even with a two person set up.

I wound up missing the very beginning of this set (parking around Johnny Brenda’s can really suck).  But I caught most of it.

Rather than being a duo, however “(Betsy Wright (Ex Hex) shreds ‘n’ howls over Laura King’s (Flesh Wounds / Speed Stick) deep-thunder drums),” there was  third person on stage playing bass.  I have recently found out that bassist was Chrissy Tashjian (lead vocalist and guitars for the amazing Philly band Thin Lips).

I was a little bummed that they weren’t a duo, but Chrissy’s bass playing was awesome and their backing vocals were pretty incredible.  Indeed, each musician was great.  Betsy Wright played some fantastic guitar solos–shredding like nobody’s business.  And Laura King not only beat the hell out of the drums, but (for some of the songs) the patterns were complex and really interesting.

However, I really didn’t enjoy the songs. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Gilla Band (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, February 22, 2023)

Posted in Gilla Band, Girl Band, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Pure Adult on February 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2023] Gilla Band

When Irish quartet Gilla Band first became a band back in 2011 or so, they were called Girl Band.  I first heard about them in 2015, when the single “Why They Hide the Bodies Under My Garage” came out.  It was noisy and abrasive and painful and wonderful.

I lost track of them for a bit (WIkipedia says they had a hiatus for health issues).  Then in 2021 they announced they were changing the name of the band because it was a “misgendered name” and that their former name could have been “propagating a culture of non-inclusivity.”  Which is pretty cool.  They changed it to Gilla Band (keeping the G and the Band).

The quartet has remained the same since the beginning: vocalist Dara Kiely, guitarist Alan Duggan, bassist Daniel Fox and drummer Adam Faulkner.  This is probably a good thing because I don’t see how anyone could reproduce what these guys do.

They opened with a bunch of older songs.  First up was “Lawman” which has scraping guitars and a mechanical sliding bass. as Dara sing/speaks (in a manner not unlike Mark E. Smith) as the song slams forward.   The end of the song features some high pitched noises that I don’t now how guitarist Alan Duggan even thought to make.   That song pushed six minutes and they followed it with the 90 second blast of noise called “Heckle the Frames.”  I loved the guitar that was just a high pitched note sliding up the neck.  (Is it about making fun of Glen Hansard’s band?)

“Pears for Lunch” was largely quiet (relatively) until about half way in when the guitars turned into a wall of noise.  “Fucking Butter” was amazing because bassist Daniel Fox was playing these really nigh notes that didn’t sound like a bass at all. The guitar was just a buzzsaw of scraping playing along with the drums.  Somehow the guitar made a increasingly higher and higher sound that seemed to keep going up and up long after he reached the highest point of his strings. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Pure Adult (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, February 22, 2023) [GILLA BAND]

Posted in Gilla Band, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Pure Adult on February 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 22, 2023] Pure Adult

I knew about Gilla Band and have listened to a few of their songs.  They’re a bit too abrasive to listen to for fun, but I imagined that their live set would be amazing.

I had no idea who would open for them, and had not heard of Pure Adult.

Pure Adult is technically a duo: Jeremy Snyder and Bianca Abarca.

Although on stage there were five people.

Pure Adult is that wonderful kind of band that I feel like was more prevalent in the 1990s (and maybe bands like this have always been around and I don’t know them).  They play weird music that doesn’t really fit a style or pattern.  There are catchy parts and non-catchy parts and sudden stops and starts and vocals that may or may not match with the music.  The singers are weird and the lyrics have no context and feel like they are story songs.  In other words, they will never be popular and never make any money.  But they may find some fans on college radio stations.  And they will always be amazing live.

They came out and Jeremy Snyder looked like someone straight out of a 70s movie (possibly pornographic).  He had on tan pants (maybe polyester) with a button down shirt and a jacket.  He had shaggy hair and a bushy mustache.  He jumped around the stage shouting and relating his lyrics.

Bianca Abarca was on keys, but they traded off when she sang the lead parts.  She also did some cool moves–the Johnny Brenda’s stage was way too small for them.

Their guitar player Nelson Antonio Espinal (in the dim light I pictured him as Paul Rudd in a big curly wig) played some wild solos and made some great noises as well.  I also really enjoyed the sounds that their bassist created ( I didn’t get the name of him or their drummer who was solid and handled the wild time changes easily). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VII] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2022] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

Somehow I missed that this show happened and only found out about it tonight in 2023.

It was the same dates, Dec 9 and 10, although on Fri and Sat.  Pat Finnerty opened both nights.

I have no idea how I missed it so completely.

There’s some clips on you tube from these shows.  Here’s one

~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »