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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

An evening with Porridge Radio (solo) (Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, April 28, 2024) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA, Porridge Radio on April 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: September 24, 2022] Porridge Radio (solo)

I heard about Porridge Radio from NPR back in 2020.  They are exactly the kind of weirdo post-punk British band that I love and would never hear anywhere on the radio.

Singer Dana Margolin is more of a talker than a singer.  Her accent is thick and her intensity is palpable.  The band mixes melody and noise in an unexpected way.  And of course there’s “the growing legend of their intense live shows.”

They played a show in 2022 and I couldn’t make it.  And I hoped they’d come back.

This show was announced on March 29.  (Less than a month ahead!)  I grabbed a ticket immediately even though I had purchased tickets to see Ty Segall back in August!  Ty’s show was a must see as I kept missing him.  But Porridge Radio was such a weird opportunity (even if I was torn at seeing her solo).

Well, it didn’t matter because my family was invited to a Passover dinner that night AND, this show was cancelled anyway.

I received an email the day before:

Hey y’all,

The show tomorrow is canceled due to health reasons.

On her instagram, Dana wrote

So sorry Philadelphia but I must cancel the show tonight I am still unwell and have not made it to America 🪦 the optics are good though I’ll be with you asap

She did play the New York show, but had to cancel both LA shows.  Yikes.

But at least I didn’t bail on FOUR shows this weekend.

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Teenage Fanclub / Sweet Baboo (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, April 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jersey City, NJ, Sweet Baboo, Teenage Fanclub, White Eagle Hall on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 27, 2024] Teenage Fanclub / Sweet Baboo

I feel like I saw Teenage Fanclub not that long ago, but it was way back in 2019!

I’ve been a fan of Teenage Fanclub since I heard “The Concept” back in 1991.  The band has changed (and mellowed) a lot since then (they had long hair, they had hair, and they could have been teenagers, maybe), but they still write gorgeous harmony-filled, pop-rock songs.

Last year when bassist Gerald Love retired (amicably) from the band, I assumed they were done.  Love wrote a little more than 1/3 of the songs (Norman Blake wrote a lot and Raymond McGinley wrote a bit less) and he wrote some of their catchiest songs.

But they have continued and announced they were returning to the States.  I had tickets to see Me First and the Gimme Gimmes but I assumed I’d be going to see Teenage Fanclub instead.  Although the parking at White Eagle Hall is terrible, especially now that I’ve had a hard time walking.

And for whatever reason, I was really tired that night.  I wound up doing a lot of things that day and was asleep by 9:30.  I probably could have gone to the show and been awake enough to enjoy it, but I didn’t have the motivation to go to either show.

Sweet Baboo is the musical alias of Welsh singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Black, whose idiosyncratic style encompasses psychedelia, indie pop, folk, electronic, and even classical music. Active since the early 2000s.

His music is chill and perhaps a little forgettable.

 

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Belle & Sebastian (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2024)

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Philadelphia, PA, The Weather Station, Union Transfer on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2024] Belle & Sebastian

I was shocked to discover that it had been SEVEN YEARS since we’d last seen Belle & Sebastian.  I would have sworn that the show at the Mann was just a couple of years ago.

But I see that in 2019 we just “didn’t feel like going” to Union Transfer.  What?  That’s insane–I mean, not really, I’ve felt like that many times, but in retrospect to miss out on a B&S show was crazy.

Then in 2022, the show was scheduled on the same night as my daughter’s graduation.  And last year they cancelled the tour for health reasons.

My wife and I were pretty excited to go to this show and then it turned out their Girl Scout troop scheduled a trip leaving on Friday night.  So she had to miss the show.  And I hate to say this, but she would have loved the show–a setlist geared very much to her.

But it was also geared to me, because holy cow they played all kinds of great songs.

They even joked about how anyone who followed them back in the old days would be shocked at how different they are now, and it’s true.  Their early albums were quiet and introspective, but as they played more and more they got really fun and dancey.

Indeed, they started with two songs off of Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, and it boded very well for the rest of the night. (more…)

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Me First & the Gimme Gimmes / The Defiant / Ultrabomb (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, April 27, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Hüsker Dü, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, The Defiant, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Ultrabomb on April 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 27, 2024] Me First & the Gimme Gimmes / The Defiant / Ultrabomb

I initially didn’t want to like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes because I didn’t like their name.  There are worse reasons to not like a band. Then I learned that they are a cover band doing punk covers of classic rock songs and I thought their name was actually pretty perfect and now I want to see them live too.

I bought a ticket for this show but learned a few weeks later that Teenage Fanclub was playing the same night.  Very different vibes, but a tough decision.

And, best of all, my family was going to be out for the night so I didn’t even have to feel guilty about going out without them!

But for whatever reason, I was really tired that night.  I wound up doing a lot of things that day and was asleep by 9:30.  I probably could have gone to the show and been awake enough to enjoy it, but I didn’t have the motivation to go to either show.

I hadn’t heard of The Defiant, but had I known about them, it probably would have swayed my decision to go to this show

Members from The Offspring, Smash Mouth, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Street Dogs and The Briggs have united to form the new band THE DEFIANT. The members of The Defiant are no strangers to success as individuals but as a group their music stands for so much more on both a personal and professional level. Together the five members create a rock ’n’ roll pedigree that culminates into a riot of melodic punk. The Defiant will release their twelve-song debut album this October with touring to follow.  The Defiant is:  Pete Parada on drums (The Offspring),  Greg Camp on guitar (Smash Mouth),  Johnny Rioux on bass (Street Dogs),  Joey LaRocca on guitar and keys (The Briggs) Dicky Barrett front and center (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones).

Mostly, I have wanted to see The Mighty Mighty Bosstones for decades (I saw them once back in the 90s) and was very sad when they broke up.  Had I known that I could have seen Dicky Barrett (who is really the one I wanted to see), I would have absolutely gone to this show. Ignorance is a bad thing.

And holy crap Ultrabomb features Hüsker Dü’s Greg Norton!  Why didn’t I read about these bands before this show?

UltraBomb, the eagerly anticipated international supergroup, have now arrived bringing together three iconic musicians from the cream of punk rock. On bass is the legend that is Greg Norton, once the driving force behind one of the most influential bands to emerge from the American punk scene, Hüsker Dü. Next up is the indefatigable singer-guitarist Finny McConnell, a name you’ll recognise from thirty years as the frontman of the Canadian Irish folk-punk sensation The Mahones. Completing the trio is the drumming powerhouse Jamie Oliver, having served well over fifteen years in the seminal British punk band UK Subs, as well as shorter stints with the likes of SNFU among others.

Oh boy, do I regret missing this show.

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The Weather Station (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 26, 2024) [BELLE & SEBASTIAN]

Posted in Belle and Sebastian, Philadelphia, PA, The Weather Station, Union Transfer on April 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2024] Belle & Sebastian / The Weather Station

This is my third time unintentionally seeing The Weather Station.  They opened for Mitski, First Aid Kit and Belle & Sebastian.  And this is my third time walking in during the middle of their set.

My wife and daughter were going away this weekend and they wound up leaving later than I thought they would.  So I did too.  I missed about half of the set.  But i did get to hear Robber which is the one song of theirs that I really like. (more…)

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AF2K (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 25, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Rush on April 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 25, 2024] AF2K

I recently met a guy through one of my daughter’s clubs.  He is a huge Rush fan, which is very cool.  He told me about this cover band AF2K (A Farewell to Kings) that was playing in Garwood.

I’ve said before that I don’t always care about cover bands all that much.  But it would have been fun to see this band with a new friend.

Musically they sound great.  I’m not 100% about the guy’s voice, but overall, they seem like quite the solid show.  They play primarily 70s/80s Rush songs, and that’s my favorite era.

As it turned out, I already had tickets to a show that night so I had to bail on this one.  But it sounds like they play around quite a lot.

 

 

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Black Country, New Road / Camera Picture (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Black Country New Roads, Black Midi, Camera Picture, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on April 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 25, 2024] Black Country, New Road / Camera Picture

I was vaguely intrigued when Black Country, New Road first came out (NPR music loved them).  I mean this blurb from 2021 was amazing sounding

the new band I’m most excited to see when they come back is a group of U.K. art-school kids called Black Country, New Road. Their 2019 single “Sunglasses” is a 10-minute swirl of post-punk, jazz, long blurted spoken-word passages and frenzied klezmer freak-outs. It’s a wild song, and it must be incredible to take in live.

And then, maybe I was getting ready to g to a U.S. show at Johnny Brenda’s, when

On 31 January 2022, lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood announced his sudden departure from the band four days before the release of Ants From Up There via the band’s Instagram, citing struggles with his mental health. This resulted in the cancelling of the band’s planned first US tour.

(more…)

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Juana Molina – Madison Cunnigham: Not That Similar Tour (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, April 23, 2024)

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Juana Molina, Madison Cunningham, Philadelphia, PA on April 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 23, 2024] Juana Molina / Madison Cunningham

I have wanted to see Juana Molina for a few years (I was supposed to see her in 2020 but her show was cancelled due to COVID).  I’d rather have seen her as a headliner, but this collaborative night sounded like a lot of fun.

And holy cow was it ever.

Madison Cunningham (who is 27) is labelled an Americana singer, but that’s a limiting description.  Primarily because, as she told us, she listened to Juana Molina before she listened to The Beatles (and Juana is cooler than all four of them).  I didn’t know her music that well, but I love her song “Hospital,” which I think is just fantastic.

Juana Molina’s music is not exactly outrageous, but it is often unexpected.  And that has clearly impacted Madison Cunningham’s songwriting, because her songs are anything but verse-chorus-verse folk songs.

The two singers came out on stage and played a 20 minute improv.  Juana played a basic intro on the guitar which she then looped.  She added drums and keyboard sounds.  All the while, Madison was playing guitar solos–nothing fancy and showoffy, just notes here and there, some pretty, some noisy.

They jammed and jammed and just when you thought it was winding down, Juana would shift gears and take it in a different direction.  It wound up pretty noisy and harsh.

Enough so that when Madison left the stage for Juana to play her solo songs, Juana felt the need to calm everyone down saying that normally their improvs are more mellow and they lead into the next song very well.

Juana’s first song is from her second album (recently reissued on vinyl), The song is a soft guitar ballad that progresses in different ways–with some quiet synths and then after a brief spoken interlude: “If you see someone else winning, leave them alone” the song built into a mild rocker.  It segued into the final song off of Molina’s Wed 21.  It’s a quiet song that loops on itself and turned into a trippy psychedelic song by the end with all of the fun synthy sounds Juana threw into it.

Her third song was from the only album I know (Halo).  “Estalacticas” is a cool song with a deep guitar riff and then a wild synth melody (thrown over the top).  She looped more and more sounds onto it until it filled the room.

Then Madison came out and Juana left.  I was blown away by Madison’s guitar playing.  She pulled out a small acoustic guitar and played “Broken Harvest,” a song with a massively detailed and complicated guitar melody, with interesting chords and main melody lines.  Her voice was also really pretty and impressive.

She was also really funny.  When she commented on how quiet the crowd was, someone replied, “we’re in awe.”  And Madison was super quick with “My mom say the nicest things.” (more…)

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KT Tunstall / Shawn Colvin (McCarter Theater, Princeton, NJ, April 20, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in KT Tunstall, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, Shawn Colvin on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2024] KT Tunstall / Shawn Colvin

All through the pandemic, I enjoyed watching as the various KT Tunstall shows were cancelled and then rescheduled and then cancelled again.  I was sad that they were cancelled, but I loved how doggedly she persisted in getting those shows on the calendar.

I have yet to see her live, but when I saw her Tiny Desk around the same time, I was really impressed.

So this show, in the very close by McCarter Theater seemed like a great opportunity to check her out.

I also kind of like (or at least liked) Shawn Colvin.  I haven’t given her any thought this century, though, and I was pleased to see that she’s still performing.

But I didn’t want to see the two of  them together on stage.  It worked amazingly for Juana Molina and Madison Cunningham and it probably worked really well for this show too, but it’s not what I wanted to see.

Plus, I was going to go see a crazy noise show with Metz that night anyway.

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Restorations (album release) Signals Midwest / Town Liar (First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, Restorations, Signals Midwest, Town Liar on April 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2024] Restorations / Signals Midwest / Town Liar

I saw Restorations back in 2016 when they opened for Band of Horses.  I loved them and thought they were a perfect opener for them.  Since then I’ve wanted to see them again.  But I’m never going to the First Unitarian Church, so I had to bail on this one.  I’m kind of surprised that they played such a small venue, but maybe they liked the intimacy of it.

Signals Midwest describe themselves as a “loud, smiley punk rock band from Cleveland, OH. Been at it since 2008. Will play in your kitchen or anywhere really.”

I find them to be a really enjoyable band on the softer side of punk but with big guitars and soft/quiet melodies.  A really fun band.

I had not heard of Town Liar, but that makes sense as they appear to be brand new.  Jason Shevchuk of Kid Dynamite and None More Black has formed a new band called Town Liar. The band also includes Heath Saraceno, Nick Remondelli, and Benny Horowitz. The band has released an EP called Lies: One Through Seven

I thought I had heard of these other bands, but maybe not.  People seem divided on his work, mostly based on his voice.  I listened to a track and found that I did not enjoy his voice.

 

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