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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Rituals of Mine (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, April 26, 2018) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Built to Spill, House of Independents, Rituals of Mine, Sister Crayon, The Afghan Whigs on April 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2018] Rituals of Mine

Rituals of Mine was a band I hadn’t heard of.  They were opening on the co-headlining Afghan Whigs/Built To Spill tour.  I don’t know why Built to Spill played this one-off, solo headlining show in Asbury Park, but I was super thrilled to see them alone.  I do really like Afghan Whigs, but it didn’t seem like a double bill I wanted to attend.  Rituals of Mine came along with Built to Spill to Asbury Park.

I looked up Rituals of Mine and learned that they used to be called the worst band name ever: Sister Crayon.  They even released an album as Sister Crayon and have since re-released it as Rituals of Mine.

Before the band came out, the stage was covered with drums.  And Rituals of Mine’s drummer was off to the left.  When the lights dimmed, a strobe light started flashing in the bass drum, which was kind of cool. (more…)

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Bit Brigade (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2018)

Posted in Bit Brigade, Double Ferrari, Duck Tales, Johnny Brenda's, Legend of Zelda, Marble Madness, Philadelphia, PA on April 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 24, 2018] Bit Brigade

I had never heard of Bit Brigade, but I saw an ad in Johnny Brenda’s for a band who would be playing music from The Legend of Zelda and I was very intrigued.

Clark and I have been to see Symphonic Zelda twice, so I thought it would be interesting to hear a rock version of it.

But as I investigated, I saw that they also had a “Player One” who played the game while the band played.  What was going on here?

It turns out that, as bassist Luke Fields explained to us:

Noah is going to play The Legend of Zelda as fast as he can.  And we are going to play the soundtrack as loud as we can.

(more…)

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Double Ferrari (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, April 24, 2018) [BIT BRIGADE]

Posted in All Songs Considered, Bit Brigade, Cheap Dinosaurs, Double Ferrari, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, SXSW on April 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 24, 2018] Double Ferrari

I first heard about Double Ferrari when NPR covered them for their SXSW special.

They were described as “a thrillingly over-the-top throwback to a time when guitar virtuosos noodled their way to arena-sized stardom, Double Ferrari crafts giddily triumphant odes to giddy triumph.”  And why would you only have one Ferrari when you could have a Double Ferrari?

The song on the show was an instrumental based around guitar riffs.  That’s what they do.  I felt like they took the best solos from classic British heavy metal and built songs around them–with two guitars playing the parts in delicious over the top harmony.  And of course I love that the band Double Ferrari has a song called “Double Ferrari ” from the album Double Ferrari. (more…)

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Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.: “Electric Dream Ecstasy Tour in US & Canada” (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018)

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Can, Canadian Music, Japanese Music, Ministry, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts, Yoo Doo Right on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.

Several months ago I purchased a ticket for Ministry in Morristown, NJ.  I’d loved Ministry’s brand of industrial noise in the early 90s, although I pretty much stopped listening to them altogether before Y2K.

But I saw that they were touring and that they were playing some older songs so I thought it might be a cathartic experience.

Then I found out that Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. were playing at a small club the same night.  Acid Mothers Temple is one of my friend Lar’s favorite live acts and it was fairly easy for me to decide to get a ticket to them and sell my Ministry one.  (I decided I’d rather be pummeled by psychedelia than vitriol and anger).

It was the right decision because Acid Mothers Temple was amazing. (more…)

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Yoo Doo Right (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018) [ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE]

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Can, Canadian Music, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts, Yoo Doo Right on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Yoo Doo Right

I hadn’t heard of Montreal’s Yoo Doo Right when I saw they were touring with Acid Mothers Temple.  But I may have been the only person there who hadn’t.

Before the band even started to set up, a guy with (reasonably) professional looking audio equipment set up his microphones right up on stage.  And another guy with a camcorder propped himself up near the side of the stage to record the whole set.

The band got their name from a Can song and they play a kind of psychedelic Krautrock-inspired indie rock.  It was a really great set and I totally got into it.

The band came out and set up their gear (poor John Talbot on drums needed a bigger cinder block as his drums kept sliding forward).  Charles Masson on bass stood center stage anchoring the flights of noise and melody from Justin Cober on guitar/keyboard/vocals.

Off to the left somewhat was Charles Bourassa on keys.  At first it didn’t seem like he was an integral part of the show, but I gather that after letting the other guys get the noise out of their system he was there to anchor the songs with synth melodies and more noise.  He was also lead vocals on a few songs.

I loved the noisy guitars that Cober played.  And how he switched back and forth between guitar and keys.  Between him and Bourassa, I’m not sure who was making what sounds.

There were some great sections of droning guitars and walls of sounds.  And they often has great moments when the bass and drums came in to anchor the song.

But when all was said and done they were just there to rock.

I chatted with th eband after the show and they were super friendly.  They have two EPS out on bandcamp right now.

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Gondola (The Black Box, Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 21, 2018) [ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE]

Posted in Gondola, Philadelphia, PA, The Black Box, Underground Arts on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 21, 2018] Gondola

I hadn’t heard of Gondola, the first of three bands this evening in The Black Box. They are a local Philly band with (apparently) a large following.  They are the first opening band I have ever seen called back for an encore.  They are also, subsequently the only band I’ve seen called back for an encore who was not allowed to play the encore because they ran out of time (apparently).

Gondola was fantastic.

They play a kind of psychedelic stoner metal, with heavy crunching guitars, awesome low end bass and some surprisingly catchy riffs.  I detected a serious 80s SST Records vibe from the sound of the guitar (solos especially) and the way the bass played off of it. (more…)

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Ministry / Chelsea Wolfe (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, April 21, 2018) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chelsea Wolfe, Ministry, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on April 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 21, 2018] Ministry / Chelsea Wolfe

I’ve been a fan of Ministry for decades.  I even liked the first album With Sympathy (and listen to it now more than their hardercore stuff).  But when Land of Rape and Honey came out, it was the most intense thing in the world. It was incredible.

They put out a series of great heavy albums, although by 1999’s Filth Pig either I stopped enjoying it or they just weren’t as good.

So I guess it has been two decades since I cared about Ministry.  However, Al Jourgensen and his band keep touring and, since I’ve seen Slayer now, I thought I should see what a ministry experience is like.

However, I already had tickets to see Acid Mothers Temple and I have been really wanting to see them live, so I couldn’t pass this show up.

My friends really like Chelsea Wolfe, and American singer who combines gothic rock, doom metal, and folk.  I’ve listened to some of her stuff but it never really grabbed me.  Maybe she’s more interesting live?

 

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Jeff Tweedy (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, April 18, 2018)

Posted in Concert, Golden Smog, Jeff Tweedy, Loose Fur, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Wilco on April 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 18, 2018] Jeff Tweedy

I knew I was overbooking myself this particular week (this was my third concert in three days), but how could I pass up Jeff Tweedy playing in Princeton?  He’d never played here before.  Who knew when he’d do it again.  And I could get seats by walking right up the box office.

After seeing Wilco live I knew I’d want to see them again.  And while Wilco is much more than Jeff Tweedy, Jeff Tweedy by himself is pretty great.  Especially if you’re in Row E.

I came to Wilco pretty late in their existence.  I didn’t want to know about any alt-country bands back then.  Who needed to add -country to alt- music?  Well, then I heard “Via Chicago” live and I was hooked.  I have retroactively enjoyed all of their releases.

So how awesome was it that he opened with “Via Chicago” just for me? (more…)

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OHMME (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, April 18, 2018) [JEFF TWEEDY]

Posted in Concert, Jeff Tweedy, McCarter Theatre, OHMME, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, The Roches, Wilco on April 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 18, 2018] OHMME

I was slightly disappointed to find that Jeff Tweedy had an opening band as I was hoping for “an evening with” the Wilco frontman. When I looked up OHMME, really the only thing I learned from them was that they were once called HOMME.  But I’m not sure why they changes the name.

So I didn’t really know what to expect when two women came out on stage.  They each had a guitar and a microphone.

And then proceeded to play the most interesting duo rock that I’ve heard in a long time.

Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham (I’m not even sure who was who) played a vast array of styles and sounds (often within the same song) using just two guitars (and a violin) and their voices.  It was fantastic. (more…)

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Julien Baker (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 17, 2018)

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Julien Baker, Tancred, The Decemberists, White Eagle Hall on April 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

 [ATTENDED: April 17, 2018] Julien Baker

We saw Julien Baker open for The Decemberists almost exactly one year ago.  I knew her music (and that she was a quiet singer) but Sarah and I were really blown away by her live performance.

So when I saw that she was playing again, this time in a venue we’d never been to before, I thought it would be a fun birthday present for Sarah.  An opportunity to see this artist as a headliner when the crowd was there for her (we felt the Philly crowd was a bit rude for this quiet singer).

White Eagle Hall proved to be a gorgeous venue, both in appearance and sound quality.  Baker was an excellent first show to test out the acoustics because it was incredibly quiet and her voice and guitar rang out beautifully.  Although it must be said having the bars right on the floor did make for some unexpectedly loud bursts of noise. (more…)

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