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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Brooke Annibale (Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2025) [MARGARET GLASPY]

Posted in Brooke Annibale, Daphne Gale, Margaret Glaspy, Milkboy, Philadelphia, PA on October 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 15, 2025] Brooke Annibale

I was happy to see Margaret Glaspy again. And I was especially happy that she was playing in Milkboy–a venue that I really like but which has terrible parking.Last time I Was here I got a parking ticket for the end of my car jutting into a motorcycle area.  I drove around a bit tonight and wound up parking in the exact same spot!  But this time I pulled forward enough that only my bumper was in the motorcycle zone… no ticket, phew.

But between driving around and then slowly getting to the venue, I missed about half of Brooke Annibale’s set.  I also had to stand pretty far in the back–I like to get close because of the strange layout of the room–narrow and very deep.  But I was able to focus on Brooke’s gorgeous voice.

I really enjoyed the lyrics of her new song Bolder Font.

I had no idea that that Brooke Annibale had been releasing music since 2005 (!).  She talked about touring for awhile and how much she liked Margaret Glaspy.  Originally, Brooke wasn’t supposed to play at this show, but she was added last minute (which I guess is why she was on first since Daphne Gale is a much newer musician).

Her albums have more orchestration, but her it was simply her and her guitar–lovely folksinger vibes.  I wish I had seen her whole set.

It also turns out that Brooke was part of Guster’s On the Ocean festival this year.

Setlist

Hold On
Things We Don’t Believe Anymore
Patience
My Favorite Part
Bolder Font
Home Again

 

 

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My Morning Jacket (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2025, Night 2 of 2)

Posted in Balthvs, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on October 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2025] My Morning Jacket

After such a great night last night, we wound up leaving a little bit later (figuring there was no Friday night traffic) and arrived a few minutes later than last night.  But when I walked up to the merch line there was literally one person in front of me–moments later when I looked again, the line was huge, going up the stairs.  Then we headed down to the pit.  It was a little more crowded than last night.  We were going to try to get in front of Jim, but that’s what everyone else wanted, too.  So we camped out more or less where we were the night before, in front of Carl.  We were two people back from where we were, which isn’t bad at all.

So yes, last night as pretty tiring and we’d had a busy day, but we were psyched for a second night of My Morning Jacket.  And I was super psyched when they opened with Highly Suspicious, a totally ripping song from Evil Urges and one that I’d forgotten about–it was also the first time I’d seen it live.  This was also when I learned that Carl Broemel can do so many great backing voices (including the deep, angry chanting of “highly suspicious”).  They followed it with Off the Record, one of the poppier songs off of Z.

Then Carl Broemel moved over to the pedal steel guitar and they played the short but fun Climbing the Ladder.   It was interesting that last night Carl played the saxophone on a few songs but didn’t play it at all tonight. And last night he didn’t play the pedal steel at all but he played it about three times tonight.

And it was pretty clear that if last night’s show was all about jamming, tonight show was shorter, more rocking songs.  And the guys in the front who were headbanging last night had much more cause to do so tonight.

Speaking of the pit.  Tonight’s crowd was fascinating.  There was a guy who kept walking around the pit area hugging and fist bumping people.  He switched places with people and let other be on the barrier.  In fact, one of the long-haired headbangers let some of the shorter folks switch places with him for a song or two.  It was an incredibly generous and, dare I say it, loving thing to do.  Appropriate for the next song Love Love Love, the only song they played from their previous self-titled album.  The lighting at the shows was fairly simply but effective.  They had five panels mounted behind them.  All of the panels had lights that moved and spun and changed colors. But during Love Love Love, they spelled out Love! which was pretty nice.

Up next was Wordless Chorus, one of the great MMJ songs.  The crowd went nuts and we all sang the wordless chorus over and over as Jim walked around the stage, coming over by us at last. (more…)

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Destroyer / Jennifer Castle (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Dan Bejar, Destroyer, Jennifer Castle, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on October 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2025] Destroyer / Jennifer Castle

I had tickets to see Destroyer here in 2022, but other things got in the way.  After seeing Destroyer open for Father John Misty, I was curious to see how he would tour for this new album (a huge band or a small band?)

Well, we had tickets for My Morning Jacket the two nights before this show and even though I wanted to go to this one, there was just know way I could do it.  So I missed out on Dan and his band again,  But I’m sure he’ll be back again.

Incidentally, here’s a review of his show (well, actually, more of him than of the show) in San Francisco

He’s a notoriously shy performer—Early reviews of Destroyer all recall him coming on stage already drunk, if not drink-in-hand prepared for it.  English major dropout, lover of French New Wave films and 40s era jazz. The Vancouver-based artist stands aloof on stage, staring at seemingly nobody in particular, in what seems like an attempt to pretend the crowd isn’t there. He sips his beer in between songs and crouches down, closing his eyes while his bandmates do the rest. Something tells me that this is his most comfortable and preferred way of performing.

And it answered my question about his live band

Joined by the two guitarists, the bassist and drummer were feverish and impossible to take your eyes off of. The keys player and trumpeter (with his own pedal board, mind you!) took the edges of the stage, with Bejar in the center.

So I know what I missed.  And I’d like to see it again.

Jennifer Castle is a Toronto based singer songwriter.  She released two albums under the name Castlemusic.  She has played with everyone from U.S. Girls to Fucked Up.  Her 2014 album has chamber folk and psychedelic components an her previous album had psychedelic folk elements.

She sounds interesting, although the few songs I’ve listened to are far more folk than psychedelic.  And she’s a little too slow for my tastes.

 

 

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My Morning Jacket (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2025, Night 1 of 2)

Posted in Balthvs, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on October 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 10, 2025] My Morning Jacket

A couple of years ago we saw My Morning Jacket at the Met.  They played two nights in a row but we only went to one.  I’m not going to say the second night was better, but they played a lot of great songs that second night as well.  So when they announced two nights again, I grabbed GA tickets (to finally get up close to the band) for both nights.

We greatly enjoyed Balthvs and the fact that we were one person away from the barrier for most of the show.

The lights dimmed and the band came out and they were off, playing Steam Engine.  The song is 7 minutes on record and they stretched that thing out with some lengthy soloing and jamming.  It went over 15 minutes and the band sounded in great form.

I had thought that they might play all of Z (since they have been touring the album), but they didn’t (which is fine).  For this show they played three songs off of it.  One of them was It Beats 4U which, amazingly, I had not seen live before.

When we saw them last time, they didn’t play anything from The Waterfall.  Tonight they played two songs, the delightful In Its Infancy and, later on, Spring (Among the Living).

My two favorite MMJ albums are Evil Urges and Circuital, so I’m always excited to hear songs from them.  They played Circuital, which made me quite happy.  I don’t really know their first few records all that well–they’re a little too slow and not very catchy.  But the crowd seems to love when they play a deep cut like X-Mas Curtain (this is one of their older songs that I really do like, so I enjoyed hearing it).

Speaking of the crowd… we were in the pit and most of the people around us were VIP purchasers and other die-hards.  The guys in the front on the barrier all had long hair and proceeded to headbang through the whole show.  It was pretty funny and they made the front of MMJ’s Instagram page the following day.

And we were right in from of Carl Broemel and it was amazing watching him do…everything.  He played amazing solos, he played saxophone, he even sang fantastic backing vocals.  But it was so cool when he stepped up to the edge of the stage, about 6 feet from us and just wailed on that guitar.  (more…)

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Balthvs (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 10, 2025, Night 1 of 2) [MY MORNING JACKET]

Posted in Balthvs, My Morning Jacket, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on October 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 10, 2025] Balthvs

A couple of years ago we saw My Morning Jacket at the Met.  They played two nights in a row but we only went to one.  I’m not going to say the second night was better, but they played a lot of great songs that second night as well.  So when they announced two nights again, I grabbed GA tickets (to finally get up close to the band).

For both nights, the opener was BALTHVS, a band I didn’t know.

They are from Colombia and when I first heard a song, I lazily said they reminded me of Khruangbin.  I see that online people compare them to Khruangbin a lot, which seems to be unfair.  I don’t know Khruangbin all that well, but both bands have a similar vibe.  However, on further listen, BALTHVS has got its own thing down quite well.  But it’s fair to say they’re in the same general area of “World psychedelic funk.”

BALTHVS is a trio from Bogotá Colombia.  Balthazar Aguirre plays guitar and sings, Vanessa Muñoz a plays 5 string bass and sings and Santiago Lizcano plays drums.  The band came out and jumped into some amazing songs.  [Founding bassist Johanna Mercurian recently had a baby and obviously didn’t tour this time]

Year of the Snake is a cool slinky instrumental and it really showed off Balthazar’s guitar chops.  I also loved that Vanessa’s bass was complex–making great use of the five string.  And Santiago was a beast behind the kit. (more…)

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Rafia Bhatiq / Ian Chang / Riley Mulherkar (Solar Myth, Philadelphia PA, October 8, 2025)

Posted in Ian Chang, Philadelphia, PA, Rafiq Bhatia, Riley Mulherkar, Solar Myth on October 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2025] Rafia Bhatiq / Ian Chang / Riley Mulherkar

Technically this show is a Rafiq Bhati show, but the show was a trio and they were all equal partners so for me they all get top billing.

I know of Rafiq from his (amazing) work with Son Lux.  When I was lucky enough to see them in 2022 I felt

Drummer Ian Chang is just amazing to watch as he plays all sorts of different things and in unusual rhythms.  But then I would notice that guitarist Rafiq Bhatia was making some incredible sounds out of his guitar and I would wind up watching him for awhile.

So here was Rafiq touring his new album Environments.  This album is more or less an hour of sound shapes and explorations.  Rafiq is a guitarist but there is very little traditional guitar playing on the album.

Watching them live it was fascinating to see that Rafiq would play little bits and pieces and then he would sample himself and mess around with these new sounds.  He sat and played guitar and he had a gear box of some kind next to him.  And he would frequently reach over and twist knobs–and you could hear trills and low notes floating around.

For one song in the middle of the set, he put his guitar down and made sounds using that box– I don’t know what the original sound sources were for this, but it was fun to watch.

Ian Chang is one of my favorite drummers to watch.  He plays spare rhythms with occasional explosions of sound.  He uses brushes, mallets, stick and he has a laptop that he tinkered with from time to time.  When the set opened (Aviary I) he gently touched the various percussive elements on his kit (bells, cymbals, rims).  As the song progressed he had bursts of snare and crashes of cymbals but very rarely did he create a steady beat (except for one song late in the set where they locked into a real groove for a few minutes).  The songs didn’t call for it and his drumming was a great punctuation to Rafiq’s sounds.

I didn’t know Riley Mulherkar at all before this.  I’m not a huge fan of horns, but his trumpet playing was amazing.  For the opening bit (Aviary I), he blew into his trumpet but didn’t produce any notes.  Rather, it was like he was generating a kind of musical wind.  His subtlety was incredible as he played incredibly softly.  My very little understanding of the trumpet is that you blow harder to get the notes higher.  Somehow, he was able to create high notes while playing so delicately as to be almost inaudible.  And of course, he played loud blasts as well.  Of the three, he was the least interesting to watch, but he was the most fascinating to try to understand what he was doing. (more…)

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Deltron 3030 (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025)

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Distorter, Gorillaz, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Deltron 3030

I really enjoyed the Deltron 3030 album. Del the Funky Homosapien is one of my favorite rappers.  Dan the Automator is an amazing producer and Kid Koala is the king of the turntables.  Their futuristic band set in 3030 was a great combination of the three of them.

When this tour was announced–the 25th anniversary of their debut album–I grabbed tickets immediately.  I brought my son with me (he was not born when the album came out) because I thought he’d really like the show.  And he did!

After Kid Koala’s set, the trio emerged.  Dan the Automator stood behind a massive bank of sound equipment, Kid Koala took his place behind his turntables and Del (Deltron 0) walked out and stood in the middle of the other two.

And then came the opening announcement from the album–and we were all thrilled.

Then Del started rapping 3030 and it was real. There were visuals on the screen behind them–perhaps videos from 25 years ago–or maybe new for the show.  They often had lyrics on the visuals and occasionally, they showed the cameras facing Kid Koala’s turntables. (more…)

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Kid Koala x Lealani (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Distorter, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Kid Koala x Lealani

I’ve been a fan of Kid Koala for a really long time.  His turntable skills are incredible.  I was able to see him once (I can’t believe it was 7 and a half years ago).  I’ve been wanting to catch him again ever since.  And here he was, playing with Deltron and doing his own set.  I didn’t know what the X Lealani meant, but we would soon find out.

Kid Koala came out and moved over to his three turntables.  And as he started playing some records, he said, I’m Kid Koala and I’m here to play records incorrectly.  And then his cameras turned on.  He had cameras mounted above the turntables so you could watch his hands as he scratched and spun his vinyl.

His set was so much fun and having the cameras on meant you could see that he had taped marks and other notifications on his vinyl that helped him keep track of where to put the needle.  Watching him spin the vinyl backwards to get it to exactly where he wanted it was amazing.  He didn’t play any of his own songs, he played samples and snippets of songs and had everybody bopping along.

After a few minutes, he brought Lealani out (I think she was eating dinner with him at La Chinesca–my son and I ate at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.)  Lealani is from Pomona California and Kid Koala introduced her as an incredible electronic musician.  She had one of those light up boxes that makes sound.  I don’t know what they’re called.  There was a camera on her as well and her hands were incredible.  She played elaborate beats and melodies on this box and the whole room was blown away.

Lealani left and Kid Koala played some more.  And then Lealani came back out with a guitar. She sang a kicking punk song while Kid Koala played some drums.  And then Kid Koala told us that he and Lealani had started a new band together and that they would be touring early next year.  This band is called Distorter and I’ll be there when they come to town.

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Lord Sko (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025) [DELTRON 3030]

Posted in Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Deltron 3030, Kid Koala, Lealani, Lord Sko, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] Lord Sko

When this show was announced–Deltron 3030 playing their debut front to back– I grabbed two tickets immediately.  I grabbed one for my son because even though he didn’t know the album, I assumed he’d enjoy the show.

In addition to enjoying his company, I enjoy picking him up on the way to Philly because it usually means we can get there super early.  Which we did–although traffic was a little heavier than I expected.  But we had time to get food at La Chinesca.  And, lo and behold Kid Koala was sitting there two tables away.  I was going to say hi, but with the cane I am not subtle or fast.  So I assumed he would walk past us and I’d say hi then; but he went out a different way.  Waah wahh.

I had looked at the previous show and they were done by around 10:20, which was great because we were going to grab churros (yum!) for the ride home.  However, the previous show did not have the extra opening act, Lord Sko.

I was expecting Kid Koala to come out to his turntables.  But instead, a person came out with a laptop and got us hyped up for Lord Sko.

His logo reminded me of Newport cigarette ads. And moments later he came out.  He had on a big winter hat with ear flaps.  You could barely see his face but you could see his long hair.  And you could hear him quite clearly.  I always think it’s weird when an opening act whom I assume few have heard of, tries to get the crowd hyped up by yelling at us to put our hands up.  I mean, have man, the bar is low, but you have to earn the love.

Anyway, he began rapping and his flow was really good.  Hiphopdx said of him

A true student of the culture, his sound is nostalgic yet fresh, fearless yet effortless. From standout tracks to a fire 2025 project, he’s building momentum fast. Hip Hop heads — don’t sleep on this one

There was some technical difficulties with the laptop, but Sko handled it very well.  He even did a freestyle while the laptop rebooted.

I cam away from his set with respect for the guy (who is like 20) and I’d happily see him again.

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The Mountain Goats: Free at Noon (World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA, October 3, 2025)

Posted in Free at Noon, Philadelphia, PA, The Mountain Goats, World Cafe Live, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on October 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 3, 2025] The Mountain Goats

I have wanted to see The Mountain Goats for years–pretty much ever since my friend Andrew introduced me to them (with burnt CD copies of albums).  I finally got to see them this summer while playing with Guster and that was great.  I had no idea that the band had so much fun up there and I really enjoyed their set (as I figured I would).

So when they announced this Free at Noon, I jumped at the ticket.  Sure I had just seen them two months ago, but they were great and I wanted more!

I walked in and the usher suggested I sit in the ADA section.  I didn’t want to, as I like being closer, but the crowd was big and rather tall, so I grabbed a seat and happened to be right next to the very Andrew who introduced me to them.  It makes sense that he would be there (he said the same about me) and it was a fun surprise.

The band came out and started with one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton.  I cannot believe that the song is 25 years old!

I actually wondered how many different songs I’d hear compared to the summer’s set.  Well, it was mostly the same, but of the nine songs they played, there were three that they didn’t play this summer.

But, it was also really fun to know the other songs.  I had really enjoyed Bones Don’t Rust last time and I really really liked Broken to Begin With–a terrific song from the new album.

I really like seeing John Darnielle pogo during the instrumentals and bounce from one musician to the next smiling at the music they are playing–sometimes seeming maybe surprised by a move or another.

He explained that the new album is about a sinking ship (which he is on). Rocks in My Pockets is about it as is Great Pirates.  (more…)

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