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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Nina Ryser (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, November 3, 2022) [TROPICAL FUCK STORM]

Posted in Johnny Brenda's, Lily Konigsberg, Nina Ryser, Old Maybe, Palberta, Philadelphia, PA, Tropical Fuck Storm on November 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 29, 2022] Nina Ryser

Nina Ryser is a member of Palberta (I love that name) whom I saw live a while back.  I recently also saw her bandmate Lily Konigsberg solo, so that’s 2/3 of Palberta I’ve seen solo now.   (Clearly Anina Ivry-Block will be opening for someone in the near future).  I have also seen Nina Ryser play drums for Old Maybe.

Like the rest of her Palbertans, Ryser is a prolific songwriter who is classically trained but who likes to push the boundaries of what music should do.

For this little set, she and her husband played keyboards (and all manner of gadgets).  The set sounded improvised, but I’m sure it wasn’t.

Most of the songs were built around a beat and a simple chord pattern.  There was a droney component to it and Nina’s vocals were kind of deapan.

I know she played “Shelf the Trophy.”  She played another song that reminded me of a lo-fi Stereolab.

My favorite parts of the show occurred between songs where Nina would mess around with looping pedals and make these interesting collages out of bits of the song she’d just played.  There was definitely some improv in here and I enjoyed watching her manipulate the sounds to create something cool.

She ended the set with the catchiest song.  I don’t know what it’s called but there was a repeated refrain of “you never looked better.”  It was simple, but the vocal line complemented the music really nicely.

There’s so many interesting Philly-based musicians and so many places to play.  It’s quite a rich scene.

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Superorganism / Blood Cultures (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Blood Cultures, Hugh Augustine, Philadelphia, PA, Superorganism, Union Transfer on November 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 5, 2022] Superorganism/Blood Culture

I had seen Superorganism four years ago.  They were buzzing around with a couple of left field hits and at the time I thought they could be the next big thing or an internet meme.  Well, they drifted away.  But came back somewhat surprisingly at the end of last year.

Although I hadn’t heard they even released an album when this show was announced.

I’d had a good time at the last show so I grabbed a ticket.  Evidently the show did not sell well as Union Transfer sent out this:

You are invited to bring a friend for FREE! No catches or hidden fees etc. Just roll up to the show with your ticket(s) and let the door people and ticket scanners know you are bringing your friend as a free plus one / guest. They’ll hand over a complimentary ticket for your friend to use on the spot and that’s it. Free show!

It had been a long week and the kids were both going to a homecoming dance, so we decided to stay home (even though I would have brought her for free).

The opening band Blood Cultures has a fascinating gimmick

Blood Cultures is an experimental indie pop group from New Jersey. First known as a single person and now recognized as a collective (a quartet as of 2019), the band’s members remain anonymous, their faces obscured by black hoods in all photos. As they have explained, their anonymity is crucial to their ethos and aims “to keep the relationship between the listener and the music as pure as possible”. Hailed as some of the most exciting music coming out of New York by NME in 2018, Blood Cultures’ genre-bending sound is often characterized as psychedelic pop, electropop, and chillwave. Blood Cultures released their first album, Happy Birthday, in 2017. The band released its second album, Oh Uncertainty! A Universe Despairs, in September 2019. Their third record, LUNO, was released on May 28, 2021.

They sound pretty interesting and I would have definitely enjoyed checking them out.  I’m also really surprised I hadn’t heard of them before.

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Let’s Eat Grandma (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2022)

Posted in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Julien Chang, Let's Eat Grandma, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on November 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2022] Let’s Eat Grandma

I first heard about Let’s Eat Grandma back in 2016 from NPR music.  They had put out an album, I, Gemini that was weird and quirky, the creation of two weird and quirky girls–Rosa Walton (r, on the poster) and Jenny Hollingworth.  The album was really bizarre–strange music and spoken/shouted lyrics in thick Norwich accents.

I really wanted to see this concoction live, but they were quite young at the time and didn’t come over to the States until 2018.  Their 2018 album, I’m All Ears had a very different sound (more synthy and dancey, but still quirky).  The song “Hot Pink” from that album is about as weird as a catchy pop song can be.

Then in 2022 they put out Two Ribbons.  They had a series of personal crises in this time and it feels like a lot of the quirkiness was bashed out of them.  This makes the new album poppier and a lot mre accessible but to me a bit less interesting.

I read a review of their live show to make sure I still want to go, and it did make me want to go.  But I couldn’t help feel that there was something a little flat about the whole thing. (more…)

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Julien Chang (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2022) [LET’S EAT GRANDMA]

Posted in Julien Chang, Let's Eat Grandma, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on November 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2022] Julien Chang

I hadn’t heard of Julien Chang (pronounced “Chong” according to him) before this show.  He has an album out and a new one out on November 4.

I had listened to a couple of songs beforehand and found them to be nice enough.  I was in no way prepared for the band that he brought with him.

His lead guitarist Utah Miller was really fantastic.  They looked really young, but there was some serious shredding going on.  Julien’s bassist (whose name I didn’t catch played some great riffs and a few sliding bass-like sounds.  He also played guitar on a couple of songs (for a three guitar attack!).  But his most impressive bandmate was drummer Maya Stepansky.  She was all over the kit but in a very controlled manner.  With a small drum kit, she played some really impressive and timely fills.  She had a lot of subtle moments of the cymbals and was just a stellar accompanist.

Then there was Chang himself.  He wrote and played all of the songs on the record (with a couple of exceptions) and his songwriting skills is really quite accomplished.  I found some of his arrangements to be really complex and wonderful.  He has a jazz composer’s technique, with time changes and major rhythmic shifts in the songs.  And obviously allowing Miller to shred and Stepansky to riff shows a complex song structure.

I’m not even sure how to best describe his music.  It felt jazzy and poppy.  There were some prog rock elements (in the time shifts) and musically I really enjoyed what I heard.

I haven’t heard any of the studio recording of these songs, but I feel like they will simply be a lot better live.

  1. Heart Holiday
  2. Snakebit
  3. Butterflies in Morocco
  5. Marmalade

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Chris Forsyth (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 29, 2022)

Posted in Chris Forsyth, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, Espers, Heron Oblivion, Johnny Brenda's, Meg Baird, Philadelphia, PA, Ryan Jewell on November 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 29, 2022] Chris Forsyth

I saw Chris Forsyth a few years ago and have been wanting to see him again.  It didn’t really matter what he was playing, I knew I’d enjoy his improv-filled jamming rock songs.

I was pretty excited to see him at Johnny Brenda’s as I knew I could get up close to watch him play.  It turned out that this particular show lined up with the Philadelphia Phillies’ first home game of the World Series.  Which meant that a) it was impossible to find parking and b) hardly anyone was in the concert hall.  Which was fine for me.  And probably for him, as I’m sure he sold a bunch of tickets ahead of time.

After raving about Meg Baird, Chris came up on stage with some of the band that Meg had used.  Douglas McCombs (from Tortoise!) and my favorite new (to me) drummer, Ryan Jewell.

The show started with Chris on a guitar that he didn’t play for the rest of the night.  The song was quiet and a little trippy.  A simple guitar chord structure with very loud simple bass line from McCombs.  I thought I knew the new album pretty well, but I didn’t recognize this song.  Nevertheless is was clearly a Chris Forsyth song with an interesting riffs and a tasteful solo or two.   I enjoyed how after about three or four minutes of this quieter introduction, the band totally rocked out. (more…)

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Meg Baird (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, October 29, 2022) [CHRIS FORSYTH]

Posted in Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, Espers, Heron Oblivion, Johnny Brenda's, Meg Baird, Philadelphia, PA on November 1, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 29, 2022] Meg Baird

I saw Chris Forsyth a few years ago and have been wanting to see him again.  Having Meg Baird co-headline was a bonus.  As Chris said:

On this tour, Meg & I will each be doing a set with a great band (Douglas McCombs, Ryan Jewell, and Charlie Saufley, and if they don’t appear throughout your music library, how did you even get this email?). Although it’s very much a co-bill / co-headline thing, we’ve decided that Meg will play first and I will play second, mainly for volume/dynamic considerations.

Meg’s name sounded familiar to me and I realized that I have an album that she made with harpist Mary Lattimore.  But it also turns out that she is the drummer for the band Heron Oblivion whom I saw back in 2018.  Turns out that Charlie Saufley is also in Heron Oblivion.

For this set, Meg sat at a keyboard, although mostly she played acoustic guitar.  Saufley played lead and Douglas McCombs played bass.  I was also pretty excited to find out that Ryan Jewell was on the drum kit.  He is one of my favorite drummers to watch.

Meg sat right in front of me and I was enthralled by her voice (which can soar to incredible heights).  For Ashes she “oohed” rather than singing words and it was angelic.  She sounds like she could be singing with a Fairport Convention or another sixties British folk rock band.  (more…)

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“Weird Al” Yankovic : The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour (Miller Theater, Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia, PA, October 28, 2022)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Elton John, Emo Philips, Funny (ha ha), Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Miller Theater, Philadelphia, PA, Religion on October 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2022] “Weird Al” Yankovic

This was my ninth time seeing Weird Al.  I’m shooting for ten.  We’ll see if he can muster up one more tour (why did I skip the Strings Attached tour)?

I was pretty thrilled by the first Ill-Advised Vanity Tour.  It was great seeing so many songs that rarely got played (amusingly, I had seen some of those songs on their original tours back in the early 2000s, which is pretty crazy.

I was hoping that this tour would be a whole new set of obscure old songs.  I thought that for this reprise–The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour–he might pull out “Buckingham Blues” for the Queen’s death or something really odd like “Slime Creatures from Outer Space” or holy cow, “Genius in France” would have blown my mind.

I see that he actually played a largely different set in NYC (which I considered going to, but decided against).   Including “I’ll Sue Ya” (not a favorite, but I haven’t heard it before) and “Velvet Elvis (talk about an obscurity!).  But he also did the two songs that I would LOVE to hear live….and it might have been worth the hassle of Carnegie Hall just to hear “Nature Trail to Hell” and “Albuquerque.”

Having laid out that complaint, we did get four songs I hadn’t heard live before including a wonderful “Don’t Download This Song” and the sheer surprise of “Buy Me a Condo.”  And this new, improved, extended version of “Craigslist” was outstanding.

I will never complain about hearing “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota”–and the crowd was really into it.

Of course, any “Weird Al” show is a good time.  Al gave amusing introductions to all of the songs and even did an amusing “encore” bt where he stood at the side of the stage checking his phone and then arguing with the band about whether they were going to do an encore or not.

The encore was worth the price of admission.  He did a (straight and fantastic) cover of Elton John’s “Saturday’s Alright for Fighting.”  And the closing medley of songs in very different styles was outstanding.  I especially enjoyed that someone in the audience was able to do the Yoda chant dance. (more…)

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We Were Promised Jetpacks / Breakup Shoes (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, October 30, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Breakup Shoes, Housemartins, Jersey City, NJ, We Were Promised Jetpacks, White Eagle Hall on October 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 30, 2022] We Were Promised Jetpacks / Breakup Shoes

I’ve seen We Were Promised Jetpacks a couple of times and they put on a ripping show.  I had seen them play White Eagle Hall back in 2020 and it was fantastic–the crowd was really responsive.

But recently one of their original members left and they seem to have changed their sound a bit.  I didn’t enjoy it quite as much.  But they tour around here all the time, it seems (especially for a band from Scotland).  I’m curious if their shows will be as intense.  However, this show was right in the middle of a bunch of shows–I had been to shows the four nights previous.  So I had to give up something and this was it.

So, I’m sure WWPJ will be back again.

Breakup Shoes reminds me of The Housemartins/non-funny Barenaked Ladies–soda pop sweet, surf-flavored indie rock but with dark lyrics that you might not pick out.  All of this wrapped in a more 90s sound–buzzy guitars and fuzzy production with guitar solos.

I rather enjoyed the few songs I heard.

 

 

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Band-Maid (Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park American Dream, East Rutherford, NJ, October 30, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Band-Maid, East Rutherford, NJ, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park American Dream on October 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 30, 2022] Band-Maid

I saw Band-Maid on the 26th.  It was fantastic and really fun.

I would have loved to see them again.

In fact, this show might have actually been easier for me to get to and maybe less crowded than TLA.

But this venue was insane.  It was a theme park … in a mall?  And I couldn’t find ANY information about where the band would even play.

Evidently, they played in the center of the mall or something.  And it looked really crowded.  I still can’t find much information about how the show worked.

But this fan loved the experience

 

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Emo Philips (Miller Theater, Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia, PA, October 28, 2022) [“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Emo Philips, Funny (ha ha), Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Miller Theater, Philadelphia, PA, Religion on October 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2022] Emo Philips

I saw Emo Philips open for Al four years ago.  I rather enjoyed his set.  As I said:

Emo’s comedy is really dark but–delivered in his bizarre manner that goes somehow beyond deadpan–it makes his jokes really hilarious

I wasn’t sure if I needed to see his set again–I wasn’t sure how different it would be.  And so, coupled with a Phillies game, it being a Friday night and it taking place in the center of Philadelphia, I rather assumed I’d be late and miss some or all of his set.

I arrived at the show at a little after 8 and by the time I got to my seat I guess I missed about half of his set.

(more…)

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