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Archive for the ‘Ortlieb’s’ Category

Weird Nightmare (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2026) [WEIRD NIGHTMARE]

Posted in Golden Apples, Metz, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Weird Nightmare on June 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2026] Weird Nightmare

I first heard about Weird Nightmare on the radio.  WXPN played one of their songs, saying the guy behind the band, Alex Edkins, was the former lead singer in Metz. I really enjoyed Metz and was bummed that I only had one chance to see them before they went on hiatus.  Metz is super noisy, so I was really curious what this new “radio friendly” song would sound like.  And it was great–super catchy with a cool fuzzy guitar solo and a Dinosaur Jr sound.

It became one of my favorite songs of the year so far.  And when this show was announced I grabbed a ticket immediately.  Later on, I had the choice between this show and The Breeders (who I loved in the 90s) and I chose  this one.  I don’t know how the Breedersd were (probably pretty good), but I really loved being in this small venue right up against the stage.

I assumed that Weird Nightmare had one album out and they would play the whole album.  Turns out this is their second album and they played songs from both releases.

They opened with Headful of Rain a bouncy, catchy song that totally belied the background of Metz!  I’m not sure who the live band was, although on record Loel Campbell is on drums and Roddy Kuester is on bass.  I have no reason to think anyone else is playing with him.  Campbell sang great backing vocals on the first song and then his unnamed rhythm guitarist sang fantastic harmonies with Campbell on most of the rest of the set. (more…)

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Golden Apples (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2026) [WEIRD NIGHTMARE]

Posted in Golden Apples, Metz, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Weird Nightmare on June 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 26, 2026] Golden Apples

I had not heard of Golden Apples before this show and yet I recognized one of the songs on new the album when I listened to it.

Golden Apples is the output of Russell Edling.  The blurb on bandcamp says his partner Mimi Gallagher is a bandmate (I’m amusing she played guitar and sang as well).  There was also a bassist, keyboardist and a drummer who I know I’ve seen with another band, but I never got her name.

I got to Northern Liberties 30 minutes early but didn’t find parking until 5 of.  I speed walked to the venue and walked in just as the band hit their first note.  Ortlieb’s can hold about 75 people, and it wasn’t crowded when I first walked in, so I had a great view of the band.

The songs were simple and catchy with the two guitars playing off of each other.  The bass sounded great in the room, by the way.

I enjoyed the simple but catchy guitar riff of followed by the totally rocking High School. During this song, Russell stepped off the stage (it’s about 6 inches high) and played his solo among the crowd (which was empty up front). (more…)

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Blvck Hippie / Grocer / Little Hag (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, May 16, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Blvck Hippie, Grocer, Little Hag, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA on May 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 16, 2026] Blvck Hippie / Grocer / Little Hag

Ortlieb’s is a fascinating venue.  Very small.  Intimate.  Impossible parking.

I was interested in this show first because I really like Grocer and would like to see them again.  But then I listened to Blvck Hippie and was totally hooked.  The Blvck Hippie website says that Blvck Hippie

is a Black Fronted Sad Boy Indie Rock Band based out of Memphis, TN. Their genre is Post Punk, Indie Rock, VHS Rock.

The band is Josh Shaw and a bunch of other people.  I assume that as a live show he has a full band.  The live album from Audiotree sounds grea (as all Audiotree live albums do)–really filling out the sound better than the albums do.

I would have really enjoyed this night of quirky alt rock.  But it had been a busy week and sometimes you just have to accept that it’s important to stay in on a Saturday night.

I saw Grocer open for Speedy Ortiz two years ago  They are a trio from Philly: Cody Nelson – Drums/Vocals, Danielle Lovier – Bass/Vocals and Nicholas Rahn – Guitar/Vocals.  Each member sings and each singer’s musical style is a little different making for a wide ranging musical set all held together by this great band having a lot of fun.  I don’t think I stopped smiling once during there set.  I definitely want to see them again.

Little Hag is a from Asbury Park.  Formed in 2016 in the suburbs of central Jersey by Avery Mandeville, guitarist Matt “Fern” Fernicola and drummer Owen Flanagan; joined in recent years by bassist Mitchell Warren-Devlin and keyboardist/vocalist Cara Introcaso.   Narc Magazine says “fans of opinionated, unflinchingly explicit, female-led punk rock should jump straight into this one.”  Musically they’re a bit softer than one might expect with more synth than feedback.  But the lyrics to Show Me Your Head alone make them worth checking out

Remind rich men that they’re ugly
Remind rich men that they will always be ugly
Remind rich men that we hate them
Remind rich men that we can and will kiss them

Mark, show me your head
Elon, show me your head
Jeff, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it
Donald, show me your head
JD, show me your head
Ben, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it

I hate rich men cause they’re rich
But mostly I hate them because they’re ugly
It’s important to bully them
Cause bullying works and it hurts people’s feelings

Mark, show me your head
Elon, show me your head
Jeff, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it
Donald, show me your head
JD, show me your head
Ben, show me your head
I want to put a hole in it

(more…)

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Wax Jaw: video shoot and dance party / DJ PTFERRIS96 (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in DJ PTFERRIS96, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Wax Jaw on February 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 7, 2025] Wax Jaw / DJ PTFERRIS96

Yet again, Wax Jaw eludes me.

This show sounds amazing–a rocking show with an opportunity to watch the band make a video.  How cool would that be?

The blurb says

This will be a Wax Jaw banger to end all Wax Jaw bangers, and all attendees will get to:
⭐️ star in a wax jaw music video
💀 thrash to a fresh wax jaw set
🪩 dance all night with @ptferris96

~BLACK AND PINK ATTIRE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED~

And, yea, I don’t want to be in a Wax Jaw video.  And they don’t want me in a Wax Jaw video.

 

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Wax Jaw / Life in Vacuum / Porcelain / Born Loser DJs (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 1, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Born Loser DJs, Life in Vacuum, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Porcelain, Wax Jaw on March 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 1, 2024] Wax Jaw / Life in Vacuum / Porcelain

I have recently discovered the Philly band Wax Jaw and I am mildly obsessed with them.  They recently posted that they have existed for one whole year.  In that time I could have seen them six times, but only saw them once.  And I am looking forward to seeing them again.

The confusing thing about this show is that I have seen two posters for it.  The one on the right implies that Porcelain arethe headliners.  The one below implies  that Wax jaw are the headliners.  What to believe?

I already had plans for this night and I didn’t want to give them up for a 20 minute Wax Jaw set.  Although it does sound like Wax Jaw is headlining.

Well, I already had plans.  Plus, Wax Jaw is playing in Bethlehem in a few weeks anyhow.

Porcelain is from Austin.  Post-Trash says

The quartet of Ryan Fitzgibbon (US Weekly), Eli Deitz (Dregs, Votive), Steve Pike (Exhalants, CSSS), and Jordan Emmert (Super Thief, Pleasure Venom) bring a great deal of experience together from different pockets of the city’s noise rock and punk scene, the pieces coming together to create something better than the sum of it’s parts.

I’ve never heard of any of those bands.  I like the sound of their music but I don’t really like the singer.  I bet they crush it live though, their drummer sounds like a maniac.

Life in Vacuum is from Toronto. Although Stereogum adds more details

Life In Vacuum are a band based in Toronto, formed in Ukraine, playing an aggressive form of indie rock that pulls from a few different subgenres. I hear some Fugazi-style post-hardcore and some Metz-esque noise-rock in the mix.

They play an abrasive thumping hardcore that’s lurching and unsettling. Probably amazing to see live.

Born Loser is a record label that Life in Vacuum is on.  I gather someone from the label will be spinning songs from the label between bands?

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Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hot Seat, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Strawberry Moon, Wallace Tonight, Wax Jaw on September 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 1, 2023] Strawberry Moon / Wax Jaw / Hot Seat / Wallace, Tonight

I have recently discovered the Philly band Wax Jaw and I am mildly obsessed with them.  I have yet to see them live, but I really want to.  When I saw this show at Ortlieb’s, I thought it might be a great time to see them.

But there were a couple of problems.

The big one is that my son was moving to college the next day.  Yea, there was no way I was not going to be home to help him (and we were up until almost midnight getting everything together).  The second, obviously minor thing is that Wax Jaw was not the headliner.

Strawberry Moon was the headliner.  I hadn’t heard of them, but imagined they would be kind of a psychedelic band.  And nothing could be further from the truth.  Their bandcamp summary says:

rock and roll with big ole vocals and dancey riffs

And that’s pretty spot on.  There’s some great rocking riffs and lead singer Katie Bowles has a powerful voice that never turns into screaming.  The rest of the band is Liam McElroy – guitar ; Gray Stephenson – bass ; TJ Meade – drums.  The poster says “Introducing Christian” which I assume means another member of the band, but who knows.

They are  a classic sounding band who probably put on a killer live show.

Wax Jaw I only know from a show I didn’t see (which had video online afterward).  There’s something wonderfully primal about them–kinda surfy but with a real punk rock feel.  Or as, this review in Before Tomorrow says

With a blend of surf rock, new wave, and popost-punk influences; Wax Jaw can only be described as something akin to the love child of The Cure, Siouxsie and The Banshees, and The Dictators all wrapped up into one package of sound that you may have expected to hear leaking from the doors of The Hot Club in the late 1970s. In the seemingly brief time they have been together, Wax Jaw has already garnered an extensive roster of sold out shows across the Philadelphia area and after our experience, it is undeniable that this streak will continue.

The review also goes on to say that it sounds like they stole the show. (more…)

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Spotlights (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2023)

Posted in Heatmap, LaMacchia, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Spotlights on June 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2023] Spotlights

I saw Spotlights open for Deftones back in 2016.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but their live show left a lasting impression on me.  I had been trying to see them again since then, but it never worked out for one reason or another.

Finally, they were playing at Ortlieb’s, a bar I’d never been to. So it was cool to check out this venue and see  this band.

The openers started late for one reason or another and so Spotlights didn’t go on until after 10.  They were supposed to end at 11 (a dance party in the main part of the bar was scheduled for 11).  They said they were going to be quick, which I guess meant minimal banter because it didn’t see to shorten their set at all.

The one thing I had remembered from their show was how big and loud this trio sounded.  Originally, Spotlights was a duo–husband and wife Mario and Sarah Quintero–but they seemed to have taken drummer Chris Enriquez into their family and he is a beast.  Enriquez is a perfect compliment to their wall of sound.

And indeed, when Sarah plugged in her bass, the sound was so big my arm hairs vibrated. They played four songs from their new album.  One of which (“Algorithmic” I think) got a huge response from the crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, Ortlieb’s holds about 75 people.  So it was a close, tiny room.  A guy next to me even put his vinyl purchases on the stage (which was about six inches high).  Of course, mid-set, Mario asked him to move them so he (Mario) could stand there and interact with the crowd.  Mario eventually came onto the floor and gave that guy a hug.  (more…)

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Heatmap (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2023) [SPOTLIGHTS]

Posted in Heatmap, LaMacchia, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Spotlights on June 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2023] Heatmap

Heatmap is from Philly and should not be confused with Heatmaps.  They weren’t originally on this bill and I’m not sure when they got added.  But wow, what a great find.

The band is a trio and they have two EPs out.

I stood right in front of their bassist who played a 1974 Gibson (I only know this because someone asked him and I overheard the answer).  It had such a great sound and it worked perfectly with the way he plays.  The bass is almost a lead instrument.  Not like Primus (they sound absolutely nothing like Primus), but sort of like Primus in that the bass plays the main riff/melody line and the guitar mostly throws sounds and textures over the top of them.

Couple that with their drummer’s complex and amazing drum patterns (now two songs have the same beat and pretty much none of them are just bass/snare) and Heatmap proved to be the most exciting band to watch.

On record, the bass prominence is less notable–it’s still there, but the guitars are more prevalent.  But live, sometimes the singer/guitarist wasn’t playing anything as the bass played the cool post-punk lines and the drums thumped away with lots of floor toms. (more…)

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LaMacchia (Ortlieb’s, Philadelphia, PA, June 23 2023) [SPOTLIGHTS]

Posted in Casablanca, Heatmap, LaMacchia, Ortlieb's, Philadelphia, PA, Shipping News, Spotlights on June 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2023] LaMacchia

LaMacchia is John LaMacchia.  John LaMacchia is the guitarist for Candiria, a metal band I don’t know who plays a kind of mathcore/prog something or other.

LaMacchia is his first solo album, and it’s a very different feel.  He and Sabrina Ellie are the main singers and the album has a much more mellow vibe.

For this show, he had a band and I really enjoyed their set a lot.  There was no female vocalist, but there were outstanding harmonies from his bassist (who had an excellent sound and was really fluid in the basslines) and his guitarist/keyboardist who seemed to be doing all kinds of things over there.

Their drummer was a guest drummer for the night and he was really good, too.

Overall, I was really impressed with how the band could maintain an overall heavy sound but still have excellent (at times) three part harmony.  There was also some diversity in sound up on stage too, with a couple of the songs being almost atmospheric.

“Disconnect” even had a sample from Casablanca (who samples Casablanca?). (more…)

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