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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Babymetal (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 13, 2019)

Posted in Babymetal, F.HERO, IRONBUNNY, J-Pop, Japan, Japanese Music, Kawaii, Mastodon, Philadelphia, PA, The Electric Factory, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 13, 2019] Babymetal

I first heard of BABYMETAL back in 2014 when they were a massive WTF in the music scene.

Here was a band that played heavy heavy music but the singers were teenage Japanese girls who were totally kawaii and who sang in a distinctly pop style.  The 17-year-old metal purist in me would have been infuriated by this abomination to metal.

But my adult self things this is an amazing amalgam of style and one that is designed to shake people out of their comfortable bubbles.   Even if you balk at the singing style (and the dancing), the music is really really heavy.  Like, impressively heavy.

But the juxtaposition doesn’t end there.  Between the heavy music comes occasional moments of synthy pop goodness.  It made my brain explode the first time I watched the video for “Gimme Chocolate.”  By the time I watched it a second time I was hooked and was determined to see them live.

Back in 2016, I somehow missed that they were playing the Electric Factory.  I was seeing Mastodon there two nights before their show but when I asked if there were any tickets left, they had sold out ages ago.  Boo!  [Looking at that setlist I see they played seven different songs last time!]

So, three and a half years later they finally came back into town and I bought a ticket right away.  Actually, I was supposed to be away for the weekend so I bought a ticket for Sunday in New York City.  This would have been so much work because I would have just come back from a camping trip, I would have had to drive into NYC to a place I’ve never been and it was a Sunday night.  So I was glad the trip was cancelled and I could go on Friday night after all!

I arrived and ran past the merch hoping to get a decent spot, but it was pretty packed.  I managed to get behind some short people and all was well for the opening band.  Then, when Avatar left, somehow 200 people pushed their way in front of all of us who felt like we were packed in pretty tight already.  I didn’t step back at all but somehow twice as many people were in front of me.  Woah. (more…)

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Avatar (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 13, 2019) [BABYMETAL]

Posted in AC/DC, Avatar, Babymetal, Marilyn Manson, Philadelphia, PA, Swedish Music, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 13, 2019] Avatar 

I have grown to really dislike the Fillmore (which is not how I felt almost exactly three years ago).  The sound is always excellent and it’s a nice big stage, but I feel the venue is too big and, more often than not the crowd is really unpleasant.  I’m sure this is because I’m a priss, but I don’t need rude people around more interested in the bar than the music, me pushing for no reason (a mosh pit is a good reason to push, but not much else is), and talking through a show.  It’s especially irritating with quieter bands.   Fortunately, Avatar is not quiet.

I had not heard of Avatar when it was announced that they’d be opening for Babymetal.  I didn’t really know who would pair up with Babymetal’s brand of JPopMetal.  Rather than going for another Japanese metal band (of which there are dozens of great ones to choose) they went with a more theatrical outfit.  And if Babymetal’s stage show weren’t as spectacular as it was, Avatar would have blown them away.

Avatar is a metal band from Sweden.  They formed in 2001. They started out as a “melodic death metal” band.  I’ve never quite understood this phrase, but Wikipedia tells me

The genre combines aspects of traditional heavy metal [like] fast riffing and harmonic guitar lines, with the heavily distorted guitars, fast double-bass drum patterns and occasional blast beats of death metal. The vocal style typically combines harsh screaming and growling with melodic singing.

On their first two albums, singer Johannes Eckerström emphasized the growling vocal style.  They became more melodic (with some growling and some singing) and then for their fourth album, Black Waltz, Eckerström added a “Clown” persona.

Since then, the Avatar show has become a, quite frankly, amazing spectacle. (more…)

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Built to Spill (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, September 12, 2019)

Posted in And And And, Babe Florida, Babymetal, Brazil, Built to Spill, Carpete Florido, Caustic Resin, Death Cab For Cutie, GAAX, Lê Almeida, Oruã, Prism Bitch, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, The Guardian, The Halo Benders, The Kinks, Transfusão Noise Records, Treli Reli Repi on September 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 12, 2019] Built to Spill

After the last time I saw Built to Spill (which was amazing), I felt like I didn’t really need to see them again.  The show was excellent and I was right in front of Doug–an amazing vantage point.

Then he announced he was touring the Keep It Like a Secret album.  This is the album that introduced me to the band 20 years earlier and it has some of my favorite songs on it.  So yes, of course I was going to go see that.  It turned out that the Philly show was on a night I was busy (but I did get a ticket just in case–turns out my plans changed but then Babymetal announced a show for that night so I sold my BtS ticket for and went to Babymetal instead).  But this show at Starland Ballroom was going to happen the night before my plans anyway, so I grabbed a ticket for this show.

I have mixed feeling about Starland.  If you get there late–and it’s a popular show–forget about it.  When we saw Death Cab for Cutie, we were lucky to get in the door.  So for BtS I left really early and got there really early and was about the 17th person in the building.  So I had my pick of where to stand.

Last time I saw BtS, I was right in front of Doug Marstch, like right on the stage.  It was incredible watching him from so close.  And yet, due to acoustics, I could barely hear him at all.  So I told myself that this time I would stand back and enjoy the whole experience.  But things got the best of me.  First off, there was a gate, so I wasn’t going to be right up against the stage.  But more importantly as I stood back in a sweet spot, I watch all these tall people push past me and I couldn’t help myself, I had to grab a railing spot.  So once again I was right in front of Doug and his massive amplifier.  I could hear the vocals a little bit better than last time, but again, it wasn’t the same as hearing the full band.  And, honestly I could barely hear the second guitarist.  So, I have really learned my lesson for next time.  But again, it was so cool seeing him work his magic up close that I’m willing to overlook some things.

But NEXT TIME, for sure I will stand back.

Oh and check out this cool poster for the tour.

(more…)

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Prism Bitch (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, September 12, 2019) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Built to Spill, Prism Bitch, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on September 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 12, 2019] Prism Bitch

I hadn’t heard of Prism Bitch before this tour.  I looked them up and listened to their EPs on bandcamp and rather liked them.

They have great lyrics and a catchy punky style, including a song called “Tits Off” which I think they played but I’m not sure.  But mostly they have a lot of energy.

Before they went on, we could see their ankles and feet below the screen that was in front of the stage.  I was amused that they all seemed to be wearing different colors.  And indeed as the screen went up they were revealed to be all wearing matching Adidas tracksuits. (more…)

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And And And (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, September 12, 2019) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in And And And, Built to Spill, Prism Bitch, Roddy Doyle, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom, The Commitments on September 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 12, 2019] And And And

When I saw the band that was opening for Built to Spill was called And And And, I knew it sounded familiar.  I knew it was from some work of fiction.  And then it finally came to me that it was from The Commitments. Roddy Doyle’s hilarious book that inspired the movie.

The band is mentioned here:

Jimmy Rabbitte: What do you call yourselves?
Derek: “And And And.”
Jimmy Rabbitte: “And And fuckin’ And?”
Derek: Well, Ray’s thinking of putting an exclamation mark after the second “and.” Says it’d look deadly on the posters.
Jimmy Rabbitte: Psshh…
Outspan Foster: You don’t like it? You think it should go at the end?
Jimmy Rabbitte: I think it should go up his arse.

Excellent.

I instantly loved this band from Portland who were so bold as to take this name (no exclamation points). (more…)

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Of Monsters and Men (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 10, 2019)

Posted in Hozier, Iceland, Of Monsters and Men, Philadelphia, PA, The Head and the Heart, The Met Philadelphia on September 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 10, 2019] Of Monsters and Men

Back at Christmas 2011, S. bought me the debut albums by Of Monsters and Men and The Head and the Heart.  I instantly fell in love with both bands (and sometimes can’t tell who is who when I hear one of their songs).  This concert might help me distinguish but we’re also seeing The Head and the Heart in the same venue in a month.

But maybe the spectacle of this show will help me distinguish them.

Because it was a wonderful spectacle.

I love thinking about how this band of six or seven musicians from Iceland somehow conquered the world with their singalong anthems.  It’s also fascinating to me that they only released their third album this year.

I really like the new album.  It sounds a bit different (more synthy, poppy) but it remains very OMAM.

They played a lot from the new album which was fine. In fact, they played 19 songs in total, spanning all of their records, but focusing mainly on their first and third releases. (more…)

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Lower Dens (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 10, 2019) [OF MONSTERS AND MEN]

Posted in Lower Dens, Of Monsters and Men, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on September 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 10, 2019] Lower Dens

Back in 2010, Lower Dens did a Tiny Desk Concert.  I watched it in 2015 and really liked them.  Everything that I liked about them involved the interplay of singer Jana Hunter’s guitar with either the vocals or the bass.   So I was pretty happy to see that they were going to open for Of Monsters and Men.

A few days ago I listened to the new Lower Dens album and really didn’t like it all that much.  It’s more synthy, but that’s not why I didn’t like it.  I certainly liked the lyrics, but I just didn’t like the whole delivery.

I didn’t really know what to expect when the band came on stage.

Front and center was Jana Hunter.  Hunter looked very masculine (I loved the shirt Hunter was wearing), but that was rather puzzling because I thought the singer was a woman.  Plus the whole set was very synthy and didn’t sound like those early songs at all.  I genuinely wondered if I had the wrong band in my head.

I have since read that Hunter is gender fluid, so that’s cool.  Hunter’s voice really does run the gamut from low to high, so Hunter’s gender doesn’t make any difference to the voice.

But that still doesn’t change the fact that I was really bored by the set. (more…)

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Boris (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, September 8, 2019)

Posted in Boris, Coaltar of the Deepers, D-Day, Japan, Japanese Music, Jersey City, NJ, The Novembers, White Eagle Hall on September 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 7, 2019] Boris

It was almost exactly two years ago that I first saw Boris.  They had come out with a new record and were actually thinking of calling it quits.  But they were inspired to do a tour, which I was sure was their last one, and it was spectacular.

Yet in the last two years they have signed to Third Man Records and have done a live session there.  They are just about to release a two album set called Love Evol (technically Lφve Evφl) and reissue Feedbacker and Akuma No Uta.  So when they announced that they were coming back–and coming to Jersey City–there was no way I could pass it up, even if it meant three concerts in three days.

Especially since the last time they played pretty much the whole new album, which was great, but I wanted to hear some older stuff too.

After the previous two nights of cutting it very close to the start of the show, I knew I wanted to get their early, in part because I had some merch to buy.  I’ve gotten very frugal about buying merch and I often don’t buy anything.  But Boris is a band that’s hard to find stuff here.  And even though Third Man was reissuing records which would mean they are much easier to get, I wasn’t taking any chances . So I arrived plenty early, bought some vinyl (and now greatly regret not buying the Tears EP, which I somehow didn’t know about and now see that it is impossible to get anywhere else). (more…)

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Uniform (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, September 8, 2019) [BORIS]

Posted in Crawl, Drunkdriver, Jersey City, NJ, Public Image Ltd, Set in New Jersey!, The Men, Uniform, White Eagle Hall on September 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 8, 2019] Uniform

Uniform is a duo from New York.  But for this tour that had a live drummer Michael A. Engle (from Crawl).  The main two guys in the band are former Drunkdriver singer Michael Berdan and recording engineer Ben Greenberg (formerly of the Men) on guitar and other sounds.

I looked them up before the show to see who they were and the general impression I got was that they were loud.

So when the band walked on stage, I said to the guy next to me, “time for earplugs.”  And before I could put the second one in, Berdan pressed a button on a machine behind him and out blasted the single loudest sound I’ve ever heard.  Granted, I was standing literally right in front of the massive cabinet that the sound came from, but holy crap.  I assumed it was some kind of accidental feedback.  But indeed, no, that was the opening sound of the band.

And it never let up. (more…)

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Fontaines D.C. (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2019)

Posted in Art Brut, Fontaines D.C., Full show video, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA on September 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 7, 2019] Fontaines D.C.

I had heard of Fontaines D.C. from NPR.  They raved about the band’s live show.   I was pretty exited to get to see them in a small place like Johnny Brenda’s.  Then I was really quite surprised that they sold out.  I feel like a lot of times bands that I think have a lot of buzz either don’t or don’t have it in Philly.

But it was sold out and the crowd knew the band really well (much better than I did).

When Pottery went off stage, the floor cleared out a bit and I got a great spot right up front.

Then they turned on these awful blue lights.  Was that the band’s decision?  Why were they like that for the whole show?  Who thought that wa sa good look for anyone?  But I didn’t really care because I was ready to hear this legendary (already) band.

They are an interesting band to be sure.  Many (but not all) of their songs are fast.  But all of their songs feature lead vocalist Grian Chatten speak-singing ala Art Brut but with a Dublin accent.  On stage Chatten is something of a caged tiger, walking around grabbing the mic stand, lurching, looking distracted or pissed off.  And then he bursts out his vocals.  (more…)

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