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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile (Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA, November 3, 2017)

Posted in Belly, Courtney Barnett, Gillian Welch, Happy Birthday, Jen Cloher, Kurt Vile, Philadelphia, PA, Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA on November 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 3, 2017] Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile

I have been a fan of Courtney Barnett’s since I first saw her on a Tiny Desk Concert about 3 years ago.  Bob and Robin from All Songs Considered have raved about her and her live show.  I was really bummed to have found out about her last Philly show a little too late.

So she has been high on my list of artists to see.

I really like a bunch of Kurt Vile songs, although I don’t listen to him all that much (but “Pretty Pimpin'” is amazing).  When they got together for this album/tour, it kind of made sense.  Although I found that I was a little disappointed that Courtney played more like Kurt than Kurt played like Courtney.  The album is kind of slacker folkie and not indie rocking.  Although the good spirit and fun that they clearly had quickly won me over.

I knew the backing band was the Sea Lice, with a somewhat revolving cast.  I was hoping to get Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney on drums, but instead we had Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, who was terrific, Rob Laakso (from Kurt’s Violators) on bass and Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin) on keyboards (with wonderful backing vocals). (more…)

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Jen Cloher (Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA, November 3, 2017) [COURTNEY BARNETT & KURT VILE]

Posted in Courtney Barnett, Galaga, Jen Cloher, Kurt Vile, Philadelphia, PA, Tower Theater on November 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 3, 2017] Jen Cloher

Sarah and I were really excited to see Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile.  And we were really intrigued that Courtney’s wife, Jen Cloher was opening for them (it is not lost on me that Courtney has said she used to go to see Jen when Courtney was just starting out and that Jen is opening for her).

I have never been to the Tower Theater before.  I had been told it’s a great venue.  Well, Sarah and I had a pretty miserable experience in and around the venue (which had nothing to do with the music).  It took forever to get there.  Sure, it was a Friday night, but it took us almost two hours.  The Theater is in a fairly residential area, so the traffic around it was dreadful.  And then parking was a nightmare, and we had to pay $20 at a garage that was clearly just people co-opting a commuter parking lot and making money off of it.  The Theater entrance was packed, so it took about five minutes to get through the security and ticket checkers.  And then the front foyer was just a mass of wall to wall people.  When we finally got to the actual theater entrance, Cloher was already playing and there were no ushers to help us with our seats.

We got to our seats, finally, and managed to hear all of two songs. (more…)

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King Crimson (Merriam Theater, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2017)

Posted in David Bowie, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, King Crimson, Merriam Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, The Academy of Music on November 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2017] King Crimson

I saw King Crimson back in July.  And I had great seats.  It seems excessive to see them again just a few months later.  However, given that at any second, Robert Fripp could decide they were never going to tour again, it seemed like it behooved me to attend once more. Besides, the shows have been amazing.

This time I got very good seats on the left side of the audience.  This meant I could watch Fripp play guitar (he was blocked from my other seats).  I also had a  very clear view of bassist Tony Levin, which was awesome.  And I was close to drummer Pat Mastelotto who is so much fun to watch.

The lineup was pretty much the same as last time except that last time drummer Bill Rieflin was back on keyboards.  This time Rieflin was on sabbatical again, replaced on keys by Chris Gibson.

The lineup: Tony Levin (bass, Stick, more); Mel Collins (saxes, flutes); Jakko Jakszyk (guitar, vocals),  Chris Gibson (keyboards and effects): Three drummers: Gavin Harrison, Pat Mastelotto and Jeremy Stacey (also keyboards).  And of course, Robert Fripp (guitar). (more…)

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Boris (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, October 28, 2017)

Posted in Boris, Endon, Helms Alee, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 28, 2017| 2 Comments »

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2017] Boris

I’ve been a fan of Japanese band Boris for about ten years since my friend Lar got me into them.  But I really got into them with the reissue of Pink last year.  I was bummed to have just missed their tour supporting the Pink reissue and immediately put them on the top of my bands to see live.

And how much do I love that touring poster.

There was a rumor that they were about to call it quits after 25 years, but they decided to do one last album (which has turned into something more entirely).  It also meant another tour of the States.

I could say that I was slightly disappointed when I discovered that they were only going to be playing the new album in its entirety, until that is I realized that Boris could play pretty much anything I and I’d be excited to see them (plus the new album is really good). (more…)

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Helms Alee (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, October 28, 2017) [BORIS]

Posted in Boris, Endon, Helms Alee, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2017] Helms Alee

It was going to be hard to follow up Endon.  And thankfully, Helms Alee did not try to out-intense them.

Rather, they went for a different sound–one that was really fantastic.

Helms Alee is a trio from Seattle.  I was standing more or less in front of bassist Dana James and drummer Hozoji Matheson-Margullis.

Dana James had an incredible bass sound.  Low and fat and loud and rumbly.  It was great.  And Hozoji Matheson-Margullis was so intense on the drums.  Her kit was fairly small (I loved the design on the drum head even if I still can’t figure it out), but man, did she bring the power.

On the right was guitarist Ben Verellen.  He and James played similar rumbling riffs for much of the songs, but he would occasional punctuate the songs with some great solos.   (more…)

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Endon (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, October 28, 2017) [BORIS]

Posted in Boris, Endon, Helms Alee, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on October 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 28, 2017] Endon

I had never heard of Endon before this show.  They are a Japanese metal band who seems to have coined the term “catastrophic noise metal.”

And they were easily the most intense band I have ever seen live.

The guys on the left walked out on stage.  They said nothing, just picked up their gear.  The guitarist played a chord and everyone around me immediately put in earplugs. (more…)

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Modest Mouse (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 11, 2017)

Posted in Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on October 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2017] Modest Mouse

I saw Modest Mouse at Starland Ballroom a couple of years ago.  And then I saw them outdoors at Steelstacks in Bethlehem, PA.

And in both instances, I found their fan base to be pretty obnoxious (for various reasons).  I really wanted to see them again (their lives shows are pretty great), so this time I was prepared for obnoxious fans, which made everything more palatable.

And now having seen them three times, I understand why they sell out all the time–their lives shows are amazing and the crowd is somewhat justified for being so obnoxious–it’s a wild and raucous time.

The band came out and set up–horns, violins, percussion–it’s a pretty large group up there. (more…)

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Metz (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 11, 2017) [MODEST MOUSE]

Posted in Canadian Music, Metz, Modest Mouse, Nirvana, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on October 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2017] Metz

2017-10-11-20-23-18-e1508356087344 (1)I knew of Metz from NPR, which is kind of funny given the kind of in your face pummeling metal noise that this three-piece from Canada makes.

I was pretty psyched that they were opening for Modest Mouse (not exactly the most logical fit).  But I should have learned from the last time I saw Modest Mouse at Starland Ballroom that there would be a huge line outside–I missed a lot of Mimicking Bird’s set last time.  This time I missed the opening minute or so of Metz’ set.  But it was loud enough that I could hear it from where I was standing.

And when I got onto the floor itself it was plenty loud enough. (more…)

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Katy Perry (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, October 8, 2017)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Beetlejuice, Dark Crystal, Duran Duran, Katy Perry, Newark, NJ, Noah Cyrus, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey! on October 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2017] Katy Perry

For Tabby’s birthday, I bought her (and us) tickets to see Katy Perry.  She’s a pretty big fan and we thought this would be a fun “big” concert (bigger than “Weird Al”, anyhow).  I’m not a Top 40 person (no duh), but I like a few of her songs (“Firework” and “Roar” are wonderfully catchy uplifting anthems).

I had heard that her shows put the spectacle in spectacular.  And I love spectacle.  I wish we had been able to get a little closer (but I wasn’t paying $500 a ticket), but hey for a first concert it wasn’t too bad. (more…)

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Noah Cyrus (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, October 8, 2017) [KATY PERRY]

Posted in Katy Perry, Newark, NJ, Noah Cyrus, Ponyo, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey! on October 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2017] Noah Cyrus

When I looked up to see if Katy Perry would have an opening act, I was mildly disappointed to see that Noah Cyrus wa opening.  I had never head of him, but I assumed he was part of the Cyrus clan. Well, I was right and wrong.

Noah Cyrus is part of the Cyrus clan, but Noah Cyrus is a girl–younger sister of Miley.

When I looked her up to see if I might know her songs, I learned a far more interesting fact: she was the voice of our beloved Ponyo in the English language version of the movie!

We were told she would go on at 8:00 but by 8:10 there was still no sign of the opening act–and the ladies behind us were so drunk and so obnoxious–that we decided to go buy some merch. As we came back from that insanity, Noah was just going on stage.

She sang six or seven songs to a largely empty front of the stage.  She had a lot of energy and her first song was pretty catchy. (more…)

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