Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

The Decemberists: 20 Years Before the Mast: 20th Anniversary Tour (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 18, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, The Decemberists, The Met Philadelphia on August 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 18, 2020] The Decemberists: 20 Years Before the Mast [moved to August 17, 2021]

indexI’ve been a fan of The Decemberists for years and I am surprised by how few times I’ve seen them.  We were supposed to see them two years ago and then Colin Meloy’s voice went out just in time for our show, so that was cancelled.

I was surprised that this tour didn’t include a stop in Red Bank, but a show at the Met in Philly is almost as good.

I was really really hoping that this show wouldn’t be postponed–it seemed like a milestone date somehow.  Plus, I had AMAZING seats.  Fortunately, the show was postponed to exactly a year minus a day away (as many shows tend to be) and my amazing seats are still good.

Here’s their official word on the postponement from May 27:

Adored Mailing List Recipients,

As you might remember from previous emails, there was some discussion over whether or not 2020 was *in fact* the 20th Anniversary of The Decemberists. Did the band start out in 2000? Or was 2001 our proper debut? There are recollections of Decemberists shows happening in 2000 in some form, and yet our first website and logo proclaimed us “Est. 2001” — for reasons lost to time. Well, we’re happy to report that that controversy is settled once and for all, and it only took a global pandemic to do so.

And so: Twenty Years Before the Mast, The Decemberists’ 20th Anniversary Tour will be coming to your town in the summer of 2021, not this summer.

Read Full Post »

Waxahatchee / Fenne Lily (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, August 14, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Coronavirus, Fenne Lily, Jeff Tweedy, Lucy Dacus, OHMME, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Union Transfer, Waxahatchee on August 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 14, 2020] Waxahatchee / Fenne Lily [moved to April 6, 2021]

indexWaxahatchee was supposed to play Union Transfer back in April.  That show was rescheduled to October.  But in the interim, she scheduled this date at Asbury Lanes.

Union Transfer holds about 1,000 people.  Asbury Lanes holds about 100.  What a different experience that would be.  Even if you went to both shows.

The one real difference though is the opening act.  OHMME is in Union Transfer, Fenne Lily is here.  I loved OHMME when I saw them and want to see them again.

I saw Fenne Lily open for Lucy Dacus and I really enjoyed her.  In fact, I would enjoy seeing her again as well.  So, her as an opening band isn’t a bad thing by any means, It’s just not as good as OHMME.

I’ve seen Waxahatchee twice–once with a full band and once solo.  I like her, although I wasn’t sure I wanted to see her again.  She has a new album out and I’ve heard it’s much more mellow than her last couple, so that doesn’t really appeal to me.

I’m curious if this show will be rescheduled.  It would be fun to see her in a small space (with social distancing).

wxa

Read Full Post »

Bit Brigade (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, August 9, 2020) [rescheduled date–POSTPONED]

Posted in Bit Brigade, Coronavirus, Johnny Brenda's, Legend of Zelda, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine on August 9, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 9, 2020] Bit Brigade [rescheduled from March 29]

indexBit Brigade was one of the first shows to get postponed due to the pandemic.  They were also one of the first bands that I saw post about how the band was their livelihood and how they were going to lose a lot of money from a postponed tour.

I sure hope they managed to make some money on the side and I’m very sorry for them that the show was postponed again.  Bit Brigade has played Johnny Brenda’s before and I’m sure they will be back again.

I saw Bit Brigade play Johnny Brenda’s back in 2018.  The premise behind a Bit Brigade show is that the band plays the soundtrack to a video game while their resident gamer plays the game.  The band is heavy and the sound is amazing.

Last time I saw them, they were playing The Legend of Zelda and it was phenomenal (The music is really good).  They came around last year playing a different game but I couldn’t go.

They were playing Zelda again this time around and although it might be more fun seeing a different game, each show is different depending on how well their gamer plays.

I really want to bring my son to this show, but Johnny Brenda’s doesn’t allow anyone underage to come to the show.

I don’t think that an opening act had been announced at this time.

 

Read Full Post »

Porridge Radio (Boot & Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, August 7, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Coronavirus, Philadelphia, PA, Porridge Radio, Postponed, Quarantine on August 7, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 7, 2020] Porridge Radio

indexI heard about Porridge Radio from NPR.  They are exactly the kind of weirdo post-punk British band that I love and would never hear anywhere on the radio.

Singer Dana Margolin is more of a talker than a singer.  Her accent is thick and her intensity is palpable.  The band mixes melody and noise in an unexpected way.  And of course there’s “the growing legend of their intense live shows.”

This show promised to be about twenty people (which technically would have been okay for a legal small gathering) and it would have been fantastic.

I hope they can make it back.

Read Full Post »

Stick Men (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, August 5, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, King Crimson, Postponed, Quarantine, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, Stick Men on August 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 5, 2020] Stick Men [moved to April 1, 2021]

indexBack in June, as larger shows were getting postponed into August and September, I held out hope that August might allow for some smaller shows like this one.

I had never heard of Stick Men until after a King Crimson show when I heard some fans talking about how amazing Stick Men are.

The band is a trio of Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto and Markus Reuter.  Levin and Mastelotto play in Crimson (stick and drums respectively) and Markus Reuter plays his eight string touch guitar covering much more ground than a guitar or a bass.  Mastelotto’s drumming encompasses not just the acoustic kit, but a unique electronic setup too, allowing him to add loops, samples, percussion, and more.

To be able to see these musicians up close (without all the distractions of the amazement of a King Crimson concert) would be so cool.  Stick Men play once in awhile, although the last few times they’ve been around I couldn’t make it.

Rescheduled to April is a good thing, although I wish they were somewhere closer than Sellersville.

Read Full Post »

The National / Julia Jacklin (Steelstacks, Bethlehem, PA, July 31, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Bob's Burgers, Coronavirus, First Aid Kit, Julia Jacklin, Postponed, Quarantine, Steelstacks, The National on July 31, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: July 31, 2020] The National

indexI like The National quite a lot.  Although sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes their songs can be more than a little dour.  But they also have a tremendous sense of humor–they have done three songs for Bob’s Burgers after all.

I never really considered seeing live them until my friend Armando told me how great they were in concert–one of his favorite live bands.  Since he and I both love seeing Phish and Pearl Jam, I figured I should put them on my list.

When I saw they were playing SteelStacks, I immediately grabbed a ticket.  Nevermind that S. and I were going to be leaving for the Newport Folk Festival that evening (probably). I didn’t think that one through, but I remained optimistic that I could pull it off.

We saw Julia Jacklin open for First Aid Kit tow years ago.  About her set I said

Jacklin is not a partier, but nor is she a downer either.  She is thoughtful and inquisitive.  Her music, even live, is fairly spare–except when it’s not–and she sings pretty quietly–except when she doesn’t.  She was charming and funny–delightful in an opening act.

When the Newport Folk Festival was cancelled on April 29, I was very bummed.  My silver lining was that I might get to see The National.  However, on June 10, The National announced that they would be cancelling their tour.

Well, now I certainly hope they come back next year.

Read Full Post »

Flora Cash / Beau Young Prince (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Beau Young Prince, Flora Cash, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, The Foundry on July 30, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 30, 2020] Flora Cash / Beau Young Prince

indexI was looking at upcoming shows and was shocked to see that Flora Cash was headlining The Fillmore.  (It makes a ton more sense that they were headlining The Foundry).

I saw them open for Aurora two years ago.  I’d never heard of them and then a few months after the show, one of the radio stations around here started playing their single “You’re Somebody Else,” which is a cool song.

I wouldn’t have gone to this (there were two other shows I would have gone to first), but it is neat to have seen someone long before they were big enough to do a small headline tour.

I’d never heard of Beau Young Prince.  He’s a young rapper and the first comment on the first song I listened to said, “No drugs, no money, no mumble…love it!” which pretty well sums it up.  He uses autotune and raps pretty well.  I’m pleased at the diversity of this line up.

Read Full Post »

Built to Spill (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2020/White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, July 31, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Jersey City, NJ, Kraftwerk, Marshall Poole, Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia, PA, Prism Bitch, Quarantine, The National, Union Transfer, White Eagle Hall on July 30, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 30/July 31, 2020] Built to Spill [White Eagle Hall show moved to July 30, 2021]

indexI’ve seen Built to Spill a bunch of times. The last time I promised myself I wouldn’t get too close to the stage, but I did.  The problem with being so close is the way Doug Martsch has his guitar set up.  His amp is right next to him and it is so loud.  From where I was you could barely hear anything else.  Of course I’m there to watch Doug play, so it’s not too bad.  But I promised myself I would stand back to fully appreciate his band.

On this newly announced tour, his whole band was going to be different.  In fact, I have seen at least three different lineups for the band over the years.  This tour was going to feature drummer Teresa Esguerra of Prism Bitch (who opened for Built To Spill last time) and bassist Melanie Radford of Marshall Poole.  I knew it would be a very different show.

Unfortunately, I had tickets to Kraftwerk on July 30 and tickets for The national on July 31 (not to mention we were supposed to leave for the Newport Folk Festival on the night of the 31st as well).  So I sure hope he keeps this line up when he;s ready to play again.  And I will stand back and take it all in.

Read Full Post »

Kraftwerk 3-D (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 30, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Kraftwerk, Philadelphia, PA, Quarantine, The Met Philadelphia on July 30, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: July 30, 2020] Kraftwerk 3-D

indexKraftwerk are one of the most influential bands of all time–and most people don’t know them.

I know a lot of their songs, although I’m sure at a Kraftwerk concert I probably wouldn’t know half of the songs.

And yet, when they announced a North American tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary in which they will bring their beloved 3D visuals, music, and performance art on the road to play a career-spanning set this summer, I grabbed tickets immediately.

Normally I wouldn’t want to see a band that wasn’t full of original members. Kraftwerk really only has one–Ralf Hütter is the only guy still in the band from the beginning/  of the other three, Fritz Hilpert has been on board since 1987, Henning Schmitz since 1991 and Falk Grieffenhagen since 2012.  Florian Schneider another co-founder just died this year but he had left the band twelve years ago.

Nevertheless, Kraftwerk is decidedly not about the musicians, they are about the music.  And the spectacle.  And a 3-D show is pure spectacle.

I was really holding out hope that this show would not be cancelled.  I hope they decide to try again next year, (Hütter is only 73, after all) because a 51st anniversary is just as good!

 

Read Full Post »

Kim Gordon: No Home Tour (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, July 24, 2020) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Kim Gordon, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Sonic Youth, Union Transfer on July 24, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 24, 2020] Kim Gordon

indexKim Gordon was a founding member of Sonic Youth (duh).  I never got to see Sonic Youth while they were together (how could I have missed them??).

I recently saw Thurston Moore solo and it was fantastic.  Kim Gordon’s solo output is a bit more esoteric, but I’d love to be able to see her live at least once.

I was really looking forward to this show.  But then on May 6, Kim Gordon announced

Due to the ongoing desire to keep everyone safe, my US shows have now also been cancelled. Tickets will be automatically refunded at point of purchase. I look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

I hope she can come back around when things are better.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »