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Archive for the ‘Kung Fu Necktie’ Category

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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Descartes A Kant (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 22, 2024)

Posted in Descartes a Kant, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Quick Chills, Star Carr on October 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 22, 2024] Descartes A Kant

In 2018 Descartes A Kant, Bob Boilen talked about Descartes A Kant at SXSW and said they were an amazing band live.  I have wanted to see them ever since, but (I assume since they are based in Guadalajara Mexico) they never came anywhere close to us.

And then, SIX YEARS later, they announced a show in Philly after releasing what might be my favorite album of 2024, After Destruction.  It’s a concept album of sorts, with songs that are not really connected but have am idea running through them.  The band has enlisted the help of a DAK machine which is designed to help you navigate life.  The album opens with Hello User, in which the DAK welcomes you to its programming.

And that is how the show opened as well.  Although, like Star Carr, they seemed to have a bunch of technical difficulties and I wondered if we didn’t get an encore because of it (I honestly don’t know).

But they had their big DAK machine on stage and their bassist Memo Ibarra turned it on, and the voice over from the record welcomed us to the show. (more…)

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Star Carr (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 22, 2024) [DESCARTES A KANT]

Posted in Descartes a Kant, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Quick Chills, Star Carr on October 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 22, 2024] Star Carr / Quick Chills

Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles (8 km) south of Scarborough.

I had never heard of it. Nor the Baltimore-based band of the same name.

Star Carr is psychedelic street punk.
Oren Folus-drums, Don McIntosh-guitars and vocals, Sebästian Grey-bass and vocals.

Their band site says :

“Do you like the MC5? The Stooges? Wish Motorhead sang about unions and the Baltimore uprising? Wanted to put Thin Lizzy, The Business, and Hawkwind in a blender and hear how it sounded? You’re gonna wanna listen to Star Carr!”- Tyler Vile, poet, author

And that is pretty spot on.  They were very loud in the small space, but they were really good.  Heavy, crunchy, nice riffs.  Two singers, heavy drums.

But I felt bad for them because they took a really long time to set up and then only played about 20 minutes.  I’m not sure what they played, but their new album had just come out so I assume it was mostly from that. (more…)

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Public Memory / Mint Field (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Kung Fu Necktie, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, Public Memory on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2024] Public Memory / Mint Field

I found out about this show just a few days before it was supposed to happen.  It happened to be on the same night as Yard Act AND Charly Bliss, so no matter how much I want to see Mint Field (and I want to see them quite a lot), I wasn’t going to pick this show over those two.

Especially since I think Public Memory was opening.  I’ve never heard of Public Memory.  And Interlocuter says of the band

Public Memory is the latest project of musician Robert Toher. He was formerly a member of the band APSE, which had a distinct take on postpunk and post rock, and his subsequent project ERAAS rooted that moody propulsive rock sound into a more electronic-based realm. Public Memory continues in this dark and lovely musical direction.

Neither of those other bands is familiar to me, but from what I can gather Public Memory is primarily slow moody gothy synth.  I kind of like it.

But for me the real treat would be Mint Field.  Here’s just a few great blurbs about them: (more…)

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