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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Wax Jaw / The Thing / Friend (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 12, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Friend, Philadelphia, PA, The Thing, Underground Arts, Wax Jaw on December 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 12, 2024] Wax Jaw / The Thing / Friend

Wax Jaw continues to play really close to me but always on nights that I’m already busy.

This show sounded like a ton of fun, but it was the same night that I was going to see Kathleen Edwards.  So, no dice yet again.

I see that Wax Jaw sets are still under an hour.  And  there’s nothing wrong with that, but it will effect ones decision where to go that night.

Friend is a raucous punk band from Philly.  In the video below for one of the songs they seem to be wearing goblin head masks.  They are all over the place with their sound, but its mostly loud and fast.  (They played a punk version of Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time–see below) (more…)

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Matt Sucich (Roy’s Hall, Blairstown, NJ, December 12, 2024) [KATHLEEN EDWARDS]

Posted in Blairstown NJ, Kathleen Edwards, Matt Sucich, Roy's Hall on December 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 12, 2024] Matt Sucich

Matt Sucich opened for Kathleen Edwards in 2022.  I found him to be enjoyable if not a little forgettable.  The thing I remembered most about his set was that he said his name a lot.  He did that for this set as well (he said his name is like an earworm, if he says it enough it will get stuck in your head).

He has a soft, smooth folksinger voice (in the Simon & Garfunkel vein) but his songs are a bit more Dylanesque in their storytelling style.  So you know what you’re getting with him.  He’s affable and his songs are enjoyable.

He made more of an impression on me when Kathleen raved about him and when he sang with her during her set.

I did make a note of the songs he played (unlike last time) so here’s the setlist.

Montauk ∑
Walking Song ©/∑
Make Peace ©
Real Time ¥
Give Love ¥/∑
Upper West Side ¥
Crazy Time to Be Alive ∑

∑ Talking to Walls [live] (2024)
¥ Holy Smokes (2023)
© Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself (2021)

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Aurora (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 9, 2024)

Posted in Aurora, Biig Piig, Norway, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on December 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 2, 2022] Aurora

This is my fourth time seeing Aurora.  When I saw her in 2018, she was barely known here and I thought she might never play the States again.  Well, three tours later, she has sold out one of the larger venues in Philadelphia.  Good for her, but not so great for us.

The place was packed and we arrived late enough that we were stuck way in the back.  And Aurora has a fan base that is quite…intense.  So there was lots of shrieking and such.  There was also a lot of talking off to the side–drunken idiots who needed to talk loudly despite everyone shushing them (but they also knew all the words so they were fans, wtf).

So I was annoyed when the show started, which is a shame because the show itself was pretty amazing.

She had really upped her production since the last tour, with big screens of dancers behind her.  My wife was really excited to go for some fun poppy dancing.  I joked that it was going to be an all acoustic mellow show.

And I’m surprised to say that my joke almost came true, kind of.

The show opened with the gothy, spooky Churchyard (more…)

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Suki Waterhouse / Bully (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, December 10, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Brontez Purnell, Bully, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Suki Waterhouse on December 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 10, 2024] Suki Waterhouse / Bully

Of all of the shows that I didn’t go to this year, this one intrigued me the most.  And I thought about going pretty much right up until the day of.

The reason I didn’t go is because I had shows the day before and two shows later in the week.  And I wasn’t entirely sure if I liked Suki.  My daughter and I saw her performed at All Things Go and I remember liking her a lot more than I thought I would, but not really remembering her show at all.

I really like the song I’ve been hearing on the radio and now (after the show) I’ve been hearing another one I really like.  Maybe I should have gone.

Although I really don’t like Franklin Music Hall.

I have seen Bully once and would really like to see her/them again (I mean, this show really was calling to me), but I had heard that the Bully set might be solo and I prefer her with a band.  There’s a photo from the show with someone else on stage with her, but it sounds like she played a few solo songs as well.

IOfalltheshowsthatI

 

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Biig Piig (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 9, 2024) [AURORA]

Posted in Aurora, Biig Piig, Norway, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on December 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 9, 2024] Biig Piig

Aurora has had some pretty interesting opening artists over the years.  I had never heard of Biig Piig, but apparently the rest of the world has.

Her name is Jessica Smyth and she’s got an interesting backstory.  She was born in Cork, Ireland, but as raised in Spain.  Spanish is actually her native language.  But she moved back to Ireland when she was 12 and then to London a few years later.  And in 2020, her singles Switch, Don’t Turn Around and Feels Right had combined streams of over 60 million. (more…)

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Ride (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Ride

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I didn’t realize that they had been broken up for 21 years when they released their reunion album in 2017.  Here it is 7 years after that and they’re still a going concern.

I didn’t know really anything since they’d reunited, so I didn’t really care what they played–I assumed they’d play the few songs that I did know since those were the hits.

And I really enjoyed the new songs quite a lot–they were some of my favorites of the night.  A guy up front (who was bouncing and dancing the whole show) shouted how great the new album was and the band got a kick out of it with Mark Gardener thanking him for the affirmation (they later gave him a pick and a setlist I believe). (more…)

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Rocket (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024) [RIDE]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ride, Rocket, Union Transfer on December 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 7, 2024] Rocket

I’ve known of (and enjoyed some of) Ride’s music for decades.  I was never a huge fan, but there were a few songs that I liked a lot.

Last year, Ride played a show with the Charlatans, but a snowstorm kept me away.  So here was another chance to see them.

I hadn’t heard of the opening band (there are a few different bands called Rocket).  And it’s not lost one me that the marquee would read Rocket Ride.

This band is from LA and holy cow, they scratched just about every musical itch I had.

Soft female vocals, shoegaze to heavy crunchy guitars.  It was all there.  I loved every second of their set.

When the first chord change of Portrait Show was exactly what I hoped it would be, I knew this band was for me.

I wished that Alithea Tuttle’s vocals were a little louder (it’s probably because I was standing s close to the stage) although the quieter mix worked well with the overall sound.  Her bass was great though, understated and used perfectly to emphasize some of the songs.  (more…)

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Basic / The Early / Totally Automatic (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Basic, Chris Forsyth, Johnny Brenda's, Nick Millevoi, Philadelphia, PA, The Early, Totally Automatic on December 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 7, 2024] Basic / The Early / Totally Automatic

I have seen Basic twice in recent months and didn’t really feel compelled to go again. I do enjoy their music (and would have enjoyed seeing them at Johnny Brenda’s, but I had tickets to see Ride tonight and there’s no way I was passing up them for this.

The Early says about themselves

Formed in north Jersey in 2004, The Early’s music metabolizes the textural grandeur of post-rock, the communicational intimacy of jazz improvisation, and the patient grooves of minimalism. Currently operating out of Philadelphia, PA.

So what does that mean?  Interesting and improvisational-adjacent jazzy instrumentals, from the sound of their most recent record.  The Early appears to be Alex Lewis – electric guitar, korg minilogue and Jake Nussbaum – drum set, percussion, contact mics.  I’m not sure if there were more people on stage.

The Early released an album with Totally Automatic this year.

Totally Automatic was formed by Anne Ishii, Eugene Lew and Matthew Smith Lee in the summer of 2021. They play unarranged music with each other, on drums, saxophone and electronics, and can be found around Philadelphia.

So this set would be even more improvised, this time with saxophone.

Probably not the most enjoyable night I could spend, but it would have been kinda fun.

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The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show (Scottish Rite Auditorium, Collingswood, NJ, December 6, 2024)

Posted in 'til Tuesday, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Aimee Mann, Christmas, Christmas Album, Collingswood NJ, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Josh Gondelman, Krampus, Paul F. Tompkins, Scottish Rite Auditorium, Slade, Ted Leo on December 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 6, 2024] The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show

My wife and I saw Aimee Mann 18 years ago.  When this show was announced, it sounded like a great way to see her again.  Way back then I didn’t know anything about Ted Leo.  And when the two of them got together as The Both, I was interested more for her than for him.  Now, all these years later, I’ve seen Ted Leo twice and am more interested in The Both because of him.

But I assumed that this would be a fun Christmas night out.

And it was.  But it also wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

I assumed that it would be the two of them singing Christmas songs and that their guests, the amazing Paul F. Tompkins, Nellie McKay and Josh Gondelman would add humor and song to the sets.

They had a backing band (whom they introduced but whose names I missed).  There was a bass player, a drummer and keys.  Aimee and Ted both played guitar.  The backing band started playing the haunting opening of Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime.  Then Aimee and Ted walked out (both dressed head to toe in black, which amused me) and sang.

And that’s basically what I expected.  Up next was a Christmas song that I barely knew but which I loved immediately–Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade.  It became a favorite Christmas song for me. (more…)

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Hundreds of Beavers (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2024)

Posted in Hundreds of Beavers, Mike Cheslik, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews on December 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 5, 2024] Hundreds of Beavers

I had seen an ad for Hundreds of Beavers and it looked weird and fantastic.

When I saw that it was playing at PhilaMOCA, I grabbed a ticket for myself and my son (my wife was bummed that she said no when I asked if she wanted a ticket, because she admitted that it sounded like fun).

So I picked up my son from school and we drove to Philly.  We had pizza at a nearby shop and wow was it bad.  It was made worse by the fact that when I poured grated cheese on it to make it more palatable, the grated cheese was actually sugar.

In fairness, it was in a sugar dispenser, but why is there sugar on the table at a pizza joint?  Have you ever had pizza with sugar on it?  It is, simply, not good.

But we were there in time for the movie and we grabbed seats in the back.

This was a special screening in which they had random prizes to give out (posters and such).  We didn’t win, but that’s okay. (more…)

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