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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Raue (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, May 7, 2026) [BIFFY CLYRO]

Posted in Biffy Clyro, Philadelphia, PA, Raue, Theatre of Living Arts on May 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 7, 2026] Raue 

I had never heard of Raue and assumed they were a young band from Scotland that Biffy Clyro were bringing along with them.  Well, it turns out that Raue (pronounced Roo-aye [German for Rough] is a duo from California.

When they two came out on stage, literally everyone in the room had the same thought: “how old are these two?”  I mean, they couldn’t be more than 16, right?  (Paige Kalenian (guitar vocals is 21, Jax Huckle drums, is 20).  And the thing was that while we were wondering how old they were, they were blowing everybody away.

They are a duo and Paige plays some serious guitar.  The songs are simple, but it never sounds like one guitar.  Somehow she make a full sound even when fingerpicking.  But that’s nothing compared to the wild drumming that Jax does.  I was right in front of him and holy cow he blew me away.  He has incredible speed, he throws in terrific fills and he;s really creative–it’s possible they sound so huge because of all the drums that Jax is playing.

Paige is just full of energy–she jumps all around the stage when she’s not singing.  They set the two of them pretty far apart, and Paige was all over the stage, bouncing from the drums back to the mic.  And their look was amusing too–Paige with dyed purple hair and sleeveless concert T while Jax was wearing an open Oxford shirt over a white Tshirt.

I liked Paige’s voice, but the only negative about the show is that she sang similarly on all of the songs–it’s a good sound for the grungy music they play, but I think it would be better if she had more range.  Having said that, it was kind of hard to hear her in the mix, so maybe she has more diversity than I realized. (more…)

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Dry Cleaning (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2026) [rescheduled date]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, YHWH Nailgun on May 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2026] Dry Cleaning [rescheduled from February 1, 2026]

Back in February, Dry Cleaning had to reschedule their American tour until May.  Back in 2022, a family emergency prevented me from going to this show.  I was interested in Dry Cleaning who at the time were a kind of trendy British band.  They are of the spoken deadpan vocal/wild guitar noise variety.   I thought they’d be fun to see live once.

So I was glad I did get to see them live.  But what I figured by the end of the night was that you will enjoy them a lot more if you know their songs well.  This is more or less true for a lot of bands; however, there are many bands that I’ve seen where I didn’t know them at all, but I was blown away. With Dry Cleaning, it’s hard to hear the spoken, deadpan words.  So if you focus on the words, you miss out on all the interesting music being made. And if you focus on the music, the words just become another sound.

So I definitely didn’t get the most out of the show.

They are such an odd band to experience because the Tom Dowse plays really noisy, odd and, at times, abrasive guitar sounds.  Lewis Maynard plays some really interesting bass lines melodies and sometimes thumps along with the Nick Buxton on drums.  Regardless of what the band is doing, Florence Shaw speaks at the same volume and speed.

They opened with Sliced by a Fingernail a new single with really random loud guitar noises.  Dowse is interesting to watch as he moves around a bit generating these sounds.  But the bassline is catchy and Florence even doo-doo-doos sometimes.  Which isn’t that unusual since she does occasionally “sing” lines like that.  But mostly it’s a quiet spoken word vocal which is often drowned out by the music. (more…)

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YHWH Nailgun (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, May 6, 2026) [DRY CLEANING] [rescheduled date]

Posted in Dry Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer, YHWH Nailgun on May 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 6, 2026] YHWH Nailgun [rescheduled from February 1, 2026]

I hadn’t heard of YHWH Nailgun (pronounced Yahweh Nailgun) before this tour.  They are a noise/experimental band from New York who originated in Philly.  I’m not sure if they were especially excited to play Philly since no one said anything before during or after the set.

Zack Borzone came out to the mic and made some noises–coos or barks or some such.  And he only got stranger from there.  Once the music started, he flapped his arms, he squatted down and stomped his feet.  He danced and swung his arms around and looked like he might fall over any second.  But he never did–controlled chaos.  Were there words?  I assume so.  Were they understandable? No.  Was it mesmerizing?  Absolutely.  He was also content to stare out at the crowd, making eye contact with everyone.  Unsettling.

Since I didn’t know anythig about them I didn’t know if the songs were as short as they seemed (they are–the longest song on their new album is 1 minute and 20 seconds.  And most of the time when the songs ended abruptly after 75 seconds with no indication that they were ending, there was a pause before everyone applauded. (more…)

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Bloodywood (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2026)

Posted in Ankor, Bloodywood, Ladrones, Philadelphia, PA, The Pretty Wild, Theatre of Living Arts on May 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 5, 2026] Bloodywood

My wife and I saw Bloodywood open for Babymetal about a year ago.  We loved everything about them–their intensity, their positivity and just how heavy they were.  So when they announced a headline tour I grabbed a ticket for myself, my wife and my son.  My son had a final exam the next morning so he opted not to come.  (Smart kid).   So that left my wife and I.  Normally I love seeing opening bands–some of my favorite live bands are band I first saw when they were an opener.

But I looked at this lineup and saw three openers–bands that I have never heard of–and told my wife that we could skip them all.  She had something to do until around 6:45, so we left a little around 7.  I figured we’d get into Philly with a bunch of extra time and then stroll in around 9 right after the third band finished.

Well, we didn’t realize it was Cinco de Mayo and had no idea that South Street was blocked off in a number of places because of some kind of free taco festival.  And we got caught in the middle of it.  We drove about a mile in 45 minutes, finally escaped the chaos and found a parking garage.  When we walked to South Street, there were crazily drunken people everywhere and police on every corner.  We negotiated the cops and entered the venue at around 9:15.  My wife later told me she thought they were going on at 9 so she was panicky and didn’t understand why I wasn’t.  Well, there was no merch line, so I bought a shirt and we headed into the packed room.

I don’t really like being so far back, but TLA is fairly small, so even being n the back isn’t so bad.  Aside from the guy who inexplicably felt the need to put both his hands over he head for most of the songs, I could see fine and the sound was great.

So Bloodywood is a metal band from New Dehli who started out as a band making heavy metal parodies of Bollywood songs.  In 2016, Katiyar quit his job as a corporate lawyer and together with Jayant Bhadula formed a two-piece band with the intention of “destroying pop songs”.

Now, live, the band is a six-piece.  Katiyar plays guitars and flute!  Bhadula sings and growls.  Raoul Kerr officially joined in 2019 and does rap vocals.  The touring band since 2019 includes Vishesh Singh on drums, Roshan Roy on bass and Sarthak Pahwa plays the dhol (an Indian drum that sounds amazing). (more…)

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9 to 5 (Bart Luedeke Center Theater: Rider University, May 3, 2026)

Posted in 9 to 5, Bart Luedeke Center Theater, Dolly Parton, Musicals on May 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 3, 2026] 9 to 5

This was our third musical performance at Rider University (exactly one year since the previous one).  Their theater program is fantastic and this entire performance was great.

The singers have great voices.  The actors have excellent timing.

Many of these performers have gone onto Broadway in varying roles.  And it really shows.

We have said of these shows that I’m sure there would be a difference between seeing this show on Broadway as opposed to a college.  Bigger budget, bigger stars, for instance.  But it would be hard to improve on the quality of the performances.

9 to 5 The Musical, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick, is based on the seminal 1980 hit movie. Set in the late 1970s. this hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era is outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic.

Pushed to the boiling point, three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot they call their boss. In a hilarious turn of events, Violet, Judy and Doralee live out their wildest fantasy – giving their boss the boot! While Hart remains “otherwise engaged,” the women give their workplace a dream makeover, taking control of the company that had always kept them down. Hey, a girl can scheme, can’t she?

The show was really funny.  Based on the movie but with extra songs.  A few parts dragged a bit, but I blame that on the book, not the performers.  In fact, everyone was great.  I felt bad for the boy playing Mr. Hart because he’s really a terrible person.  The biggest surprise for me (but clearly not for those in the know) is that a video clip of Dolly herself opened and closed the show.  It was a fun way to bring us into and out of the make believe world.

I wanted to include the cast here in case we wind up seeing anyone on Broadway some day (more…)

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Foo Fighters (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, May 2, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Foo Fighters, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom on May 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 2, 2026] Foo Fighters

In February of this year, Mitski announced a surprise intimate show at Starland Ballroom.  We went and it was terrific.  Now, two months later, the Foo Fighters did the same thing!

But this time, the tickets were for sale old schoool–at the venue, and that just wasn’t possible for me.  Correct, I didn’t want it bad enough.  People got there at 5AM.  The only thing worse than waiting for hours on line would be waiting for hours online and finding out the last ticket was just sold.

Foo Fighters announced this past Wednesday that the enormously popular rock band would perform two intimate club shows in the New York City area. On Thursday the band would perform at the 1200-capacity Irving Plaza in New York City. On Saturday, the band would perform at the 2500-capacity Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

The club shows were two rare opportunities to see Foo Fighters up close. The last time Foo Fighters played New York City was in 2024, before 42,000 fans at Citi Field. That open-air stadium performance was abruptly abbreviated due to a torrential downpour and lightning. The band last performed in New Jersey in 2023, headlining the final day of the Sea.Hear.Now festival on the beach in Asbury Park, before an audience of 35,000 fans.

Old school style, the tickets announced on Wednesday afternoon would go on sale at the two clubs’ box offices the following morning. Early arrivals would receive a wristband that guaranteed the later purchase of tickets. Fans wearing wristbands would be allowed to purchase two tickets for $30 apiece. The fans turned out at both locations and, once the box offices opened on Thursday at 10 a.m., the electronic tickets sold out within an hour.

But DannyPaps94 was there and recorded the whole thing.

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The Afghan Whigs (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 1, 2026)

Posted in Mercury Rev, Philadelphia, PA, The Afghan Whigs, Union Transfer on May 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2026] The Afghan Whigs

I hadn’t really thought about seeing The Afghan Whigs.  I liked a few of their early albums, but hadn’t really thought about them much at all once they got back together in 2011.  Two of my friends had raved about the band live, though, so when they announced this show and that it was a 40th anniversary tour (instead of a new album tour) I grabbed a ticket right away.

Upon entering the venue, a sign said that the Whigs and Mercury Rev would like us to enjoy the show with out eyes, not with our phones.  Now, I like to take some pictures and I like to grab clips of songs here and there, but I try to be very considerate in my camera usage.  I never hold mine above my head.  So I was on board with this request–it didn’t forbid some photos but it didn’t want a lot.  And for the most part the audience around me was good–but it seemed like Greg Dulli was getting annoyed by some of the people up front who were filming a lot of the show.

I didn’t really know what to expect from the show.  I didn’t think they’d do anything fancy, and they didn’t.  I also had the idea that Greg Dulli had a devoted fanbase of women of a certain age.  He does and they were there in force and they were loud!  And it was a great show.  Sure the ladies screamed a lot but it was in good fun and Dulli seemed to enjoy it.  At one point he winked at someone in the front row and tossed her a pick.

I had listened to some of the newer albums, and, basically, they all have the same tone and vibe, which I like and that meant that any song they played would sound good.  And they did.  I didn’t know most of the songs in the set very well, but the band was great, Dulli sounded great and I have a really good time.  They only played one song from their most recent album (which they toured not too long ago, so that makes sense.  They played the most songs from their previous two albums, but touched on their entire catalog. (more…)

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Mercury Rev (Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA, May 1, 2026) [THE AFGHAN WHIGS]

Posted in Mercury Rev, Philadelphia, PA, The Afghan Whigs, Union Transfer on May 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 1, 2026] Mercury Rev

I hadn’t really thought about seeing The Afghan Whigs.  I liked a few of their early albums, but hadn’t really thought about them much at all once they got back together in 2011.  Two of my friends had raved about the band live, though, so when they announced this show and that it was a 40th anniversary tour (instead of a new album tour) I grabbed a ticket right away.

And I was even more excited that the opener was Mercury Rev.  I really liked their weird first albums but I really loved Deserter’s Songs (from 1998).  Their newer stuff (alright, everything since Deserter’s Songs, I’ve found kind of boring (I admit I haven’t listened to all of it but what I have has been pretty bland).  So I haven’t wanted to see them headline a show.  But seeing them as an opener sounded grand, because surely they’d play at least a few of the songs I loved.

So it’s pretty odd that I literally just realized that I saw them 26 years ago.  I guess the show wasn’t that memorable (although 26 years is  a long time).  I really wish I had a better memory of it because it’s a setlist I would kill for (even if they didn’t play anything from their then two middle albums).

But here they were (I was much closer for this show, to be sure), 26 years later with Jonathan Donohue singing and Grasshopper on guitar as the only continuous members.

What struck me immediately is that in front of the drums which were on the side of the stage, there was a small step and Jonathan climbed up it, creating quite the striking figure as he conducted the drummer.  Donohue was wearing a big hat (that reminded me of the Waterboys for some reason) and a tightly buttoned peacoat with white sleeves (unbuttoned, sticking out of the sleeves of the coat).  It was quite the look and immediately told us that he was an artist.

Now, I haven’t paid much attention to Donohue in the last 25 years, so I was really surprised when he sang… differently. (more…)

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Stick Men (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, April 29, 2026)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Pat Mastelotto, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin on April 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 2, 2024] Stick Men 

About a year and a half ago I saw Stick Men for the first time and it was fantastic.

I was able to get up close to the stage to see Tony Levin (the main reason I wanted to go) play the Chapman Stick up close.  I have seen him play with King Crimson but have never been THIS close.  I didn’t know much about Markus Reuter, who also plays a kind of Stick–his own U8 Touch guitar.  But wow, he was amazing.  And he made playing these crazy complicated song so easy.  And I can’t forget Pat Mastoletto, who I’ve seen several times playing drums with King Crimson.  He’s amazing to watch, but I laughed to myself at what an amazing show this was if he was the least interesting thing on stage.

I enjoyed the show so much last time and I was really looking forward to this show as well.  The lineup was the same as last time.  And I was able to get nice and close.

I don’t know many of their actual songs.  And it doesn’t matter.  They mostly play instrumentals that are complicated and fantastic to watch.  Much like saying you could listen to a favorite singer sing the phone book–whatever the instrumental equivalent is, I was happy to watch it.

In fact, they opened this show with a relatively brief impov–almost a warm up–and it was fun to see them noodling on their instruments.  But it tunrs out that they played ten of the same songs as last time (in a different order) and that actually worked out really well, because  recognized them from last time, so it was even more fun knowing what was coming next.

They started with Cusp.  Reuter’s guitar is so fascinating because he holds it upright like a cello and both hands are just moving all over the fretboard.  Like a Chapman Stick but shaped like a guitar.  For this song, he was playing most of the bass line while Tony played lead on the Stick.

They followed it with the title track from their new EP Brutal–it was great–very heavy and rocking and featuring Tony going “uh!” (more…)

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Tim Motzer (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, April 29, 2026) [STICK MEN]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Pat Mastelotto, Stick Men, Tim Motzer, Tony Levin on April 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 29, 2026] Tim Motzer 

About a year and a half ago I saw the exact same lineup in the exact same place.  Tim Motzer opened for Stick Men.  Last year I hadn’t heard of Tim, but this year I had a much better idea of what to expect.  Last year I wrote

Tim Motzer is a Philly-based guitarist.  For his live show, he plays acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.  He loops his melodies and creates percussion by tapping on the hollow bodied acoustic (and gets a lot of different sounds from it).

Last time he played four songs.  This time it was five.  But the show started the same way (actually this time, someone in the front row said, “Take us on a journey, Tim.”

The first song was on the acoustic guitar.  It was fun to watch him build and then deconstruct the melodies and work within the drum beat that he created.

This year he said he had some new pedals.  One of the seemed to make his acoustic guitar sound like a glitchy electronic concoction. It was pretty neat.  Last time eh didn’t say the names of any songs.  But his year he told us he was working on an album and he was going to play songs that he was working on.  The first was Chaos Resolution.   He didn’t name the next one. (more…)

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