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Archive for the ‘Kung Fu Necktie’ Category

Lauren Ash (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2026)

Posted in Blink 182, Eraser, Green Day, Kung Fu Necktie, Lit, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports, Super Fun Night, The Afterglows, Weezer on October 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] Lauren Ash

I have enjoyed Lauren Ash as an actress for a pretty long time–since I first saw her on Super Fun Night, and then of course on Superstore.  I had no idea she had put music out.  Indeed, I found out that Lauren Ash put out a record when I saw this show listed at Kung Fu Necktie.  So I had to look her up.  And she has an album out.  And I really liked it–90’s era pop punk, funny lyrics and catchy as anything.

I thought it would be interesting to see her, but I had a ticket to see The Dillinger Escape Plan that evening–quite a different sound.

The more I looked into the DEP show, the less I was interested in seeing the first two bands (no offense to them, I just didn’t think I could handle a full on heavy night), so I decided to do something wacky.  The Lauren Ash show started at 7.  What if I went to the Lauren Ash show at Kung Fu Necktie, and when she was done, I could drive to Underground Arts and see just DEP.  I had tried a similar plan a few times before with varying results.  But I assumed that Lauren’s show would be fairly short and that all would work out.

Here’s some deets on Lauren’s music career

She exploded onto the music scene in 2023 with her pop punk single “Now I Know” (which debuted at #1 on the Canadian iTunes rock chart and #5 on Billboard’s Alternative Download Chart). Her debut album “Call Me When You Get This” released in September 2025 featuring her single “Whiplash” which was nominated for a “Hollywood Independent Music Award” for best rock/pop song. She performed her single “Sad This Christmas” on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and spoke about her music on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”.

I read some reviews of her UK shows and they were all positive, so I was in.

After The Droogettes set, her stage was set up wit a TV and a telephone.  When 9PM came around, the phone rang.  After several rings, Lauren’s voice said, can someone answer that please?  A woman answered it and Lauren thanked her and then asked if that person would start the TV.  Which she did.  And what played was a series of well wishes and teases from just about everyone from The Superstore cast as well as other folks (Cobie Smulders).  It was really funny and set a great tone for how the show might go.

Lauren’s band (a guitarist and drummer) came out on stage and then Lauren ran out to the stage.  She was psyched to be there and psyched to be playing music.  She brought an incredible energy.

The biggest surprise for me both on record and live is how high her voice is.  She has a pretty deep authoritative voice on her shows, but she was up an octave for these songs.  Of course I had to wonder if her higher voice had anything to do with her weight loss–I wouldn’t think so, but what do I know.

She started with Dumpster Fire and was clearly having a blast–jumping around stage and emoting the lyrics.  I enjoyed it a lot that she was snarky in her delivery when necessary–it added a lot to the presentation.  I know the album pretty well, so I was surprised when she played some songs I didn’t know.  Like The One Who Got Away (a 2024 single) and Now I Know (a 2023 single).

Lauren played guitar for a couple of songs and talked about how excited she was to be in a band. (more…)

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The Droogettes (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2026) [LAUREN ASH]

Posted in Kung Fu Necktie, Lauren Ash, Philadelphia, PA, Superstore, The Droogettes on October 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2026] The Droogettes

I found out that Lauren Ash put out a record when I saw this show listed at Kung Fu Necktie.  I had no idea she put out any music.  So I had to look her up.  And she has an album out.  And I really liked it–90’s era pop punk, funny lyrics and catchy as anything.

I had not heard of the opening band, The Droogettes who have clearly named themselves after A Clockwork Orange (their logo confirms).  Imagine my surprise to read that

Philadelphia’s The Droogettes have been making noise since 2013. Equal parts street punk grit and pop hook glory, their “Sugar Oi!” sound sits somewhere between Cock Sparrer’s working-class anthems and Blondie’s downtown cool – melodic, hook-driven, and built for singing along. After a six-year hiatus, the all-female five-piece is back, louder and sharper than ever.

The band came out on stage and clearly had a large fan base in the audience.  They are a five piece and while I didn’t really love their recorded sound, live, they were fantastic.  They played short punk songs–three chords, lots of backing vocal chanting and very little nonsense.  As Creepoid Records says: they inject the Punk and Oi! movement with an all-female alternative to a scene that is mostly male dominated.

They were great!  (New) lead singer Ami Friend (who is the singer for Lips of Kohl) has taken over vocals and she is great–intense, funny and full of energy.  I actually prefer her vocals to the original (sorry).

They played fun, fast punky songs.  Some had solos, but most didn’t and most had fun chanted choruses or just Hey Hey/ Oh Oh parts that were a lot of fun to sing along. (more…)

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Schizophonics / Descartes a Kant / Dale Crover (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dale Crover, Descartes a Kant, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Schizophonics, The Melvins on October 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 7, 2026] Schizophonics / Descartes a Kant / Dale Crover

The Schizophonics put on one of the most incredible high energy shows I’ve ever seen.  I will never forget it and I would like to see them again.  I’m not sure how they could handle a stage as small as Kung Fu Necktie because the stage as Asbury Lanes is pretty big and it could not contain the energy of Pat Beers on vocals and guitar.  It was insanity in the best way.  I’d be afraid he’d start destroying things on that tony stage.  And somehow with all of his chaos Lety Beers on drums and Sarah Linton on bass kept the show going smoothly.

When this tour was announced, I found out about it because Descartes a Kant, one of my favorite bands was opening and I want to see them again so badly!  I really want to see them headlining, but what can you do.  Having the two bands together on a bill was amazing.

And then, about a week ago, Descartes a Kant had trouble with their visas and had to cancel their shows.   This was a devastating blow.  I still wanted to see the Schizophonics, but now it just didn’t seem as much fun somehow.

So I just blew the whole show off.  I’m sure The Schizophonics will be back and Descartes a Kant has already promised they’d be back so… we’ll see.

Dale Crover of the Melvins was the first opening act.  I saw him with the Melvins recently although I don’t know much about his solo stuff.  I assumed it would be heavy and Melvins like but it’s not at all.  It’s weird, for sure, but it’s pretty mellow.  When he played in Europe recently, it included a very faithful cover of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon (!).

Maybe I should have gone after all.

 

 

 

 

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TsuShiMaMiRe / Countdown from Ten (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, May 30, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in つしまみれ, Countdown from Ten, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, TsuShiMaMiRe on May 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 30, 2023] TsuShiMaMiRe / Countdown from Ten

TsuShiMaMiRe (つしまみれ) are Japanese band who I had not heard of until this tour was announced.  Then I looked into them and I was hooked.  They have a punky vibe–bass-heavy and overdriven guitars–with influences of noise and Japanese pop music.  Their lyrics are often quirky and idiosyncratic and are about sex, food, love and peace.   But they also do weird things that lend them a more artsy sheen.

I listened to a few songs of theirs and new they would be a hoot to see live.

I was really excited to go and then through a confusing miscommunication at my house, I wound up not going.  Which was a real bummer since they don’t tour the US all that much.  But they were here last year as well, so maybe they’ll come back next year.

I could have seen Countdown from Ten three years ago, but was unable to get to that show (they were opening for Dysrhythmia).  Their bio is pretty simple: from the southern city limits of Philadelphia. We play eerie, high-energy music with uncommon rhythms and an abundance of grooves. CDFT is Ariel Golden (bass) Dan Getty (drums) and Cameron Davidson (guitar.)  So I was intrigued to see them this time.

Since they’re local, I’m sure they’ll be around again. I’d like to check them out too.

 

 

 

 

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Holy Fuck / Gus Englehorn (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Gus Englehorn, Holy Fuck, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA on April 15, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2022] Holy Fuck / Gus Englehorn

Back in 2022, I was really excited to see Holy Fuck.

The show was postponed, and then rescheduled but it was rescheduled to a date that I couldn’t make.  Now four years later they’re back at KFN (with their first album in all that time).  But my family was going to see The Last Dinner Party (which was a much higher priority).

They’ve always been an electronic band–with weird touches of psychedelics thrown together.  And evidently they were more popular than I realized [I had no idea their music was used in Breaking Bad and Mr. Robot].  The new album is somehow catchier and weirder.  And I’ll bet they are a lot of fun live.  Well, I guess in 2030 they’ll be back again.

Gus Englehorn is a former pro snowboarder reborn as a nomadic psych-pop prophet, Englehorn has lived a rollercoaster life that reads like one of the fantastical fables that fill his songbook.

Gus is a wonderful weirdo, making music that few people make and if possible, I think fewer people buy.  He writes pretty catchy melodies, but his lyrics are bizarre narratives.  It makes a ton of sense that his last two albums were produced by Paul Leary from The Butthole Surfers.

I hope he’s really fun live.

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Remember Sports (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, February 21, 2026)

Posted in Eraser, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports, The Afterglows on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] Remember Sports

A few years ago my son was listening to Remember Sports as I walked past his room.  I liked the song and made a mental note of the band.  I have no idea what song it was now, but it was really good.

I hadn’t really heard much about them since.  I assumed they had broken up.  But no, they just took four years to make their latest album.

They announced an album release show at Kung Fu Necktie and I grabbed a ticket, not really knowing what to expect.  Although during the show, they admitted that they’d played in Brooklyn the night before.

I felt a little bad being right at the front of the stage since I wasn’t a huge fan, but whatever–the songs were new (mostly) so I assumed most people didn’t know all the words yet.

They opened the set with the first three songs on the album.  The opening song Across the Line has been getting lots of airplay on WXPN so I knew that one well.   And I had listened to the album a few times so I recognized most of the songs. (more…)

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Eraser (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, February 21, 2026) [REMEMBER SPORTS]

Posted in Eraser, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports, The Afterglows on February 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] Eraser

Eraser came up next.  There are four people in the band Sonam Parikh: vocals, synthesizer;
Pier Harrison: guitar; Kat Bean: bass and Juliette Rando: drums. Before the show I had watched a video online of them at PhilaMOCA so I knew what was coming.  I don’t know if you’d call it No Wave or just good old fashioned noise rock, but that’s what it was.

Pier Harrison was so much fun to watch.  They would play simple melodies and then go nuts making wild sounds and playing bizarre chords.  The keyboard was pitched to what was almost a toy keyboard sound–tinny and noisy, playing usually one or two note melodies like early new wave bands.

The rhythm section was solid.  I especially enjoyed drummer Juliette Rando who kept the beat but added fun flourishes as needed.

Sonam Parikh was an aggressive frontwoman.  She seemed annoyed that people weren’t dancing (even though the music was pretty weird and not entirely danceable).  Twice, she jumped down next to me and sang from the audience.  She said they were going to be playing in France soon, which kind of blows my mind that a weird Philly band was playing in France, but good for them.

Their set was fun and relatively short, so that was good.

I can’t tell what the setlist was, although they do have an album out on bandcamp.

One song from the setlist:

Simon Says ♠

♠ Hideout

 

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The Afterglows (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, February 21, 2026) [REMEMBER SPORTS]

Posted in Eraser, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Remember Sports, The Afterglows on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 21, 2026] The Afterglows

The Afterglows are a Philly band–a duo–Sam Cook-Parrott and Michael Cantor (although I’m not sure who was who).

They took the stage at 7 (the show was pushed up a but, I guess because KFN had an event at ten).  One guy on guitar and another on bass and keys/drum machine.

Their songs were simple but their harmonies were really great.  They had a kind of slow, dreamy quality–retro in a pleasant way.

The lead vocals we shared between the two, with the bassist’s voice being the higher.  For one song, they switched instruments (and apologized for the delay) and then they went back to the basic setup.

Their set was really pleasant.  Songs of love and loss with simple melodies and nice harmonies.  None of which were more than 3 minutes I don’t think.

The last song, How This Ends rocked a lot more.  It was louder and even had a noisy guitar solo at the end.   A fun way to end the set.

SETLIST

Don’t Make Me Lonely §
Sea of Hate §
I’m Closing the Door ∇
The Nearest Window §
Here Comes the Night §
Bless My Soul ∇
Born Again §
How This Ends §

§ The Sound of the Afterglows
∇ The Afterglows

 

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Kool Keith / MC Homeless / DJ Halo: The Punk Rap Tour (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, April 6, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ Halo, Kool Keith, Kung Fu Necktie, MC Homeless, Philadelphia, PA on April 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 6, 2025] Kool Keith / MC Homeless / DJ Halo

Kool Keith is a weirdo rapper who I liked back in the old days.

He was supposed to play Johnny Brenda’s during the pandemic.  But those shows got cancelled.

I wrote this back then

Kool Keith is a wacko alternative rapper.  I really liked him a lot back in the 1990s. He was part of the Ultramagnetic MC’s and Dr. Octagon. he also had the alias Black Elvis.

I had more or less forgotten about him and didn’t realize that he was still making music, but he has been consistently releasing music since the 1990s.

A lot of his music is aggressively, explicitly, sometimes disturbingly sexual (Dr. Octagonecologyst, anyone?) which was once amusing but feels really wrong now.

I didn’t really know about this show until it was cancelled and I’m not sure that I’d actually want to go (I had a few other shows I was more interested in that night).  I’ve also heard mixed things about Keith live, but I feel like it would be a fun experience.  The postponed date is a year away–we’ll see.

When he performed again in 2023 I didn’t go for various reasons.  And then this show was announced at Kung Fu Necktie.  Once again, I was intrigued.  And yet I’ve learned that underground hip hop shows are pretty boring if yo udon’t know the music really well.  And I don’t.  So. (more…)

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Baroness: Red & Blue (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, December 15 & 16, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Baroness, John Baizley, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 15 & 16, 2024] Baroness

Three years ago, Baroness played three nights at Kung Fu Necktie.  I was able to get to one of the shows and it’s the only time I’ve seen them play.  This year, they announced that they were going to play all of their Red and Blue albums at Kung Fu Necktie.  The first show was announced, but I already had tickets to Strand of Oaks that night.

(Incidentally, it’s because of Strand of Oaks that I know Baroness at all)

Back in 2017 I saw Strand of Oaks play Union Transfer.  Toward the end of the set Tim Showalter called John Baizley on stage.  I didn’t know who he was but I was taken by his look (bald with a big beard) and his terrific voice (and guitar playing).  Turns out he’s the main force behind Baroness (he draws/paints all of the cover art, too).  I got into Baroness and wanted to see them live.

So I stuck with Strand of Oaks and them moments later they announced a SECOND show the following night.  And that night happened to be the night of our big cookie party, which meant that there was no way I was going to go.

I hoped hoped hoped that they’d announce a third night (like last time).  I even asked them on their IG account of they could add a third night (like last time) but it never happened.

This is something like the fifth time that I have NOT seen them for one reason or another.  I do hope to see them in a full sized venue some day.  We’ll see.

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