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Archive for the ‘Venues’ Category

Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, June 10) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Deer Tick, Jobi Riccio, Philadelphia, PA, Underground Arts on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 10, 2026] Deer Tick / Jobi Riccio

There are three Deer bands on my radar.  And I can never remember which one is which because I don’t really listen to them all that much.

There’s Deerhunter, the creation of Bradford Cox who played artpop and psych pop.  I liked them a bit but never got really into them.

There’s Deerhoof, a wacky band from San Francisco featuring drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez.  Matsuzaki has a high pitched and very distinctive style of singing I would like to see them live.

And then there’s Deer Tick.  They’ve been around since 2004 and are the most conventional of the three.   They fall into the Americana side of alt folk rock.  I listened to a song to see if I wanted to go and realized I didn’t.

So, basically I really only need to pay attention to Deerhoof going forward.

Jobi Riccio is from Colorado.  While posting about all of these singers that I’ve never heard of, I’m getting a real kick out of how intense and potentially insane all of the bios of these people are:

Jobi Riccio grew up surrounded by music and found inspiration in artists ranging from Sheryl Crow to Joni Mitchell. Sonically, Jobi’s music exists between worlds, melding the classic craftsmanship of her songwriting with modern indie-leaning production to forge a lush, expansive sound that feels traditional and experimental all at once.

I listened to a couple of songs and I have to say of all the young folk and folk adjacent women I’ve listened to recently, I like her the best.  Her voice is big and powerful–not mumbly like so many other new singers.  And she throws some interesting chord progressions into her songs.  I’d happily see her if she opened for someone I liked.  She veers toward country, but only slightly.

I also wonder if she was named for the character in Elf, since no one was every named Joby before that movie.

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Palinoia (Nikki Lopez, Philadelphia, PA, June 10, 2026) [HOLY WARS]

Posted in Holy Wars, Nikki Lopez, Oxymorrons, Palinoia, Philadelphia, PA on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2026] Palinoia

This show was announced rather unexpectedly.  Holy Wars and Oxymorrons are playing the Warped Tour in Washington D.C.  But they had a few days off, so they decided to play some small clubs in NY and Philly.   I didn’t know Holy Wars, but I love Oxymorrons. A few days beforethe show, I received an email: IMPORTANT – Your upcoming event at Nikki Lopez Philly has changed.

Which was worrying.  But they just wanted to let us know that there was an opening act–Palinoia.  Here’s their deal

Palinoia is a post-hardcore/metalcore band from eastern PA and NJ, formed by lead vocalist Via Weiss, bassist Adam Tomcho, drummer Thomson Estabrook, and guitarist Kenan Salazar.  Palinoia [are] influenced by 2000s alternative metal, contemporary post-hardcore, and modern metalcore. Their sound is marked by heavy melodic riffs and searing vocal hooks.

And that’s pretty accurate.  They are a solid four piece.  Estabrook broke his snare drum after five songs (he had a replacement).  I was in front of Tomcho and I was happy to see that on a number of songs, he was playing some really cool bass lines.  He used a four string for most songs, but for one of them he switched to a five string and added a lot of cool riffs to the song.

Their first song was Harridan, their single. I was really impressed by Salazar’s guitar playing.  He had serious shredding chops, but he didn’t show off with them.  Some songs didn’t have solos, but the ones that did were really tasty.  Like in Lilith.  Lilith has some what I think of as chunky chords–heavy notes one or two at at time, which works well to transition parts of the song.  I also liked that this one had a cool bent note during the chunky part.

They played a cover song which I didn’t know (but she was sure everyone would).  I didn’t know it was a cover, but I assumed it was because it didn’t sound anything like their own stuff.  I don’t know Thrice at all, but it was catchy.

I actually thought the staccato chords and soaring chorus of Lay This to Rest were catchier than Harridan, but what do I know.

They slowed things down with Falling, a quieter song that allowed Weiss’ voice to be heard more clearly.  Since for the other songs everybody was really loud, I couldn’t tell how good her voice was.  Last December was similarly melodic with some more quiet moments–and the five string bass with some great bass lines.  Salazar switched to a seven string guitar for this song, too.

When they said they had only one more song, someone shouted, No Two!  And Via told us that they didn’t know any more.  They played their entire EP (but not in order) and one cover.  Scarlet Letter is a moodier piece that stretched out to nearly 6 minutes.  The middle section has some cool heavy riffs and guitar tricks that I rally liked.

It was fun seeing a brand new band.  I have no idea how many shows they’ve played out, but they sounded great.  And maybe this show will give them some more exposure.

June 2026, Nikki Lopez
Harridan ∞
Lilith ∞
Falling (Back to You) ∞
The Artist in the Ambulance (Thrice cover)
Lay This to Rest ∞
Last December ∞
Scarlet Letter ∞

∞ Palinoia EP (2026)

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Holly Humberstone / Diva Smith (Theatre of Living Arts [TLA], Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Holly Humberstone, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Theatre of Living Arts on June 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 9, 2026] Holly Humberstone / Diva Smith

Holly Humberstone opened for Girl in Red the first time we saw them.

She was really good.  I wrote:

Well, I was impressed by her.  She played guitar, keyboard, piano and created live beats on the drum machine while singing.  And her voice was really lovely too.

Her songs are on the pop side but with some good loud guitars from time to time.  “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet” was the synthy song (that featured sped up samples of her voice trilling in the background.  I enjoyed the way she jumped from the synth rack to the piano mid-song.

She has a new album out, but I don’t need to see her again.

Diva Smith was born and raised in Los Angeles and is now based in New York City.  She offers an “idiosyncratic take on the modern pop artist. Growing up in a musical household, Diva was influenced by listening to the likes of Bread and Fleetwood Mac as a child, learning the piano at 8, and picking up the guitar by 10. Diva’s sonic interests led to her becoming her own creative, beginning to record her music in 2016.  Her self-proclaimed “therapy pop” ballads reminiscent of Bon Iver meets St. Vincent.”

I can almost see the comparison.  There’s definitely a Bon Iver vibe (his more electric sounding stuff) and her voice sort of sounds like the softer St. Vincent.  But listening to her songs, it’s really not that compelling.

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Meet Me @ the Altar / Flourescents (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Fluorescents, Meet Me @ The Altar, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on June 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 9, 2026] Meet Me @ the Altar / Flourescents

Five years ago I wanted to go to see Meet Me @ the Altar at The Foundry.  But The Beths had a show the same night so I didn’t go.

Since then I have seen Meet Me @ the Altar three times–once at a festival, once as a headliner and once as an opener.  I don’t really need to see them again even though they are a fun band live.   But five years later and they’re back at the Foundry.  They’ve had some troubles over the last few years I see.  Since I saw them last, one of their team (Téa Campbell–guitar and bass) has left, which surprises me as they seemed pretty tight.  They now have touring members playing guitar and bass.

Fluorescents bio says they are a hard-hitting Pop-Punk band based in the City of Chicago. Taking influence from early 2000s pop-punk & 2010s easycore, Fluorescents strives to fuel the next wave of pop-punk music and keep the torch burning strong for generations to come. What sets Fluorescents apart from the pack is the combination of three vocalists each bringing their own unique flavor into the mix. Combine that with wall-rattling drums, epic leads, chugging rhythms & BIG production, you get what Fluorescents calls “Post-Pop-Punk”

But holy cow, I checked out their album and they sound like an autotuned pop punk band.  Not as fun as I would have guessed.  And in fact, I think I hate them.

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Echo & The Bunnymen: More Songs To Learn and Sing / Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 9, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND] [RESCHEDULED FROM JUNE 7]

Posted in Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society, Echo & the Bunnymen, Echo and the Bunnymen, Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA on June 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 19, 2024] Echo & The Bunnymen [postponed from June 7, 2026]

I’m not a huge fan of Echo & The Bunnymen, but I have (and love) their greatest hits album Songs to Lean and Sing.  So it would seem that this tour was made especially for me.

They had done the Songs to Learn and Sing tour two years ago and I couldn’t make it.  This tour was billed as More Songs to Learn and Sing.  It was originally scheduled for the same night as the Geordie Greep show that I couldn’t miss (but somehow, I did).

And then, the night before the show, they had to postpone:

Echo & the Bunnymen were forced to postpone their June 7 concert at the Fillmore Philadelphia after vehicle carrying singer Ian McCulloch was involved in a “road traffic incident,” the band announced on their social media platforms.

“As a result, Ian required medical treatment,” the band’s post reads. “Thankfully, the injuries sustained are not believed to be serious; however, as you can appreciate, he has been left understandably shaken by the incident. As a precautionary measure, Ian is undergoing further medical assessment, including scans and X-rays.”

He was fine and they went to Brooklyn the following night.

And in the most rapid rescheduled date I’ve ever seen, they were able to head back to Philly on the 9th.

I had read a recent review that said the show “felt like watching a drunk guy do Echo and the Bunny Men karaoke with a good band.”  And that wasn’t the only review like that.  When it was a good show, people were pleasantly surprised.  So I’m quite glad I didn’t get a ticket.

I believe that the previous time there was no opening act.  This time Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society opened.  And I’m fascinated by this bio (more…)

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An Evening with Geordie Greep (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, June 6, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Geordie Greep on June 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 6, 2026] Geordie Greep

Geordie Greep was one of the vocalists in Black Midi (who are no more and I’m really glad I got to see them when they came to the States).  He’s a fascinating dude with a fascinating voice.  When I saw that he was doing a solo tour, last year, I was really intrigued, but the shows sold out before I found out about them.

There was a show announced at Ardmore Music Hall back in February and I grabbed a ticket and then couldn’t go.  But I knew he was also playing at Asbury Lanes, so I grabbed a ticket for this show.

And, as seems to happen in my house, a miscommunication meant that I was unable to get to this one as well.  I assume at this point that I’ll never see him because surely he’s going back home by now.

 

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St. Vincent Live with Orchestra / Ruby Plume (The Met Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, June 6, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Ruby Plume, St. Vincent, The Met Philadelphia on June 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 6, 2026] St. Vincent Live with Orchestra / Ruby Plume

I have seen St. Vincent four times and each time has been amazing.  I told myself that I would never miss a show if I could.  Then she announced this show with an orchestra–the Philly Pops.  I’ve seen two bands with orchestras.  Sigur Ros was mind blowing.  King Gizzard was pretty cool.  But the thing that I love about St. Vincent is her unpredictability.  You never really know what you’ll get or what she’ll do.  When I saw her last time, she climbed up the box seats in the Met and sat with an audience member.  She even crowd surfed.

The thing about an orchestra is that there is no room for improvisation.  You have an entire orchestra who has learned the music and is ready to play it as written.  It works great for Sigur Ros because that’s what their music is like.  But St. Vincent—well, I listened to the Live from London CD and it was good.  But not good enough for me to want to see.  Basically, I knew what I was getting and didn’t need to experience it.  I’ve heard it was great, and I’m sure it was.  But I don’t regret not going.

Ruby Plume‘s bio says that she is an alt folk-pop artist from Nashville whose intricate storytelling and lush guitar melodies form a liminal, daydreamy musical canvas. Her vocals carry a quiet intensity, layering youthful clarity over emotional depth reminiscent of artists who defined alt-pop for a new generation. Ruby’s songs are subtly prismatic-shifting effortlessly between vivid emotions and elusive mystery, warmth and introspection.

Damn, that is some fifty-cent word verbiage there.

Seeing some other setlists, it looks like she played six songs, including a Joni Mitchell cover and a Bob Dylan cover. Having listened to a couple songs, she is a gentle folks singer with a pretty, slightly muffled voice.

 

 

  1. We Put a Pearl in the Ground
  2. Hell Is Near
  3. Reckless
  4. Violent Times
  5. Black Rainbow
    [The Strangers on Live record]
  6. Marrow
  7. The Bed
  8. Smoking Section
  9. Now, Now
  10. Live in the Dream
  11. The Nowhere Inn
  12. Digital Witness
  13. Los Ageless
    [The Party on Live record]
  14. New York (Walked through crowd)
  15. Paris Is Burning
    Encore:
  16. Candy Darling
  17. Slow Disco

 

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Modest Mouse / Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, June 5, 2026 / Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA, June 6, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Allentown PA, Archer Music Hall, Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo, Starland Ballroom on June 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 5 & 6, 2026] Modest Mouse / Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo

I continue to not go to Archer Music Hall.  I really ant to go to at least one show there.  Although recently a very loud man (with very bad breath) told me the sound there was terrible.

I’ve seen Modest Mouse a lot (eight times) and every time I think I don’t need to see them again, they do something that makes me jump back in.  Mostly I wanted to go to this show because it was at Archer. Especially since they announced a show in Philly that I got tickets for my wife and I to go to.

So, since I’d be out the night before this and I assumed I’d be going out on Sunday to see Geordie Greep, I sold these tickets.  I’m curious how much this setlist will reflect what they play in Philly.

I hadn’t even considered the Starland Ballroom show because I had tickets to two shows already that night.  And, honestly, I don’t love Starland.  For certain shows it’s a great venue.  But the last time I saw Modest Mouse there, the crowd was…icky.  So, it was never in contention anyhow.

Modest Mouse often chooses odd bands to open for them.  Although, that is how I first discovered Tropical Fuck Storm.  But the Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo are from Portland, Oregon and make sci-fi roadhouse music & noise collage for dissociatives.   That’s not what I thought they’d sound like at all (I imagined three women singing a capella or something).  Instead, they’re three guys (in white suits I gather) who play slow Western music with trippy sound effects added in.  I’m pretty sure I’m happy I didn’t see them. (more…)

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KulfiGirls / Eraser / Farewell Days / Máty Rodriguez (Warehouse on Watts, Philadelphia, PA, June 5, 2026) [Saw 2 songs from Farewell Days]

Posted in Eraser, Farewell Days, Máty Rodriguez, Philadelphia, PA, Warehouse on Watts on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[SAW 2 SONGS: June 5, 2026] KulfiGirls / Eraser / Farewell Days / Máty Rodriguez

I found out about KulfiGirls a few weeks ago and I was really interested in them.  Then I saw that they were playing W.O.W. right around the corner.  But it turned out to be the same night as the Mekons show.  I figured that the Mekons show might end early enough that I could get over to W.O.W. and see their set.  Although someone on IG said that KulfiGirls would be going on at around 10.  So I left Mekons a little early (which I never do, but I wasn;t really feeling it).

When I got to W.O.W. I asked who had gone on and he said that Farewell Days was going on.  Which at first made me happy that I hadn’t missed Kulfi Girls.  But then I realized that I Eraser had not been on yet.

Farewell Days was still setting up when I walked in.. My leg was feeling really sore and it was actually hard to stand (no idea what I did to myself).  I took a seat over by the merch, but I just wasn;t feeling it at all.  When Farewell Days finally got going, I liked their sound, but just couldn’t get into it.

Formed in 2024, Farewell Days are a new band out of Philadelphia blending layers of distorted guitars with haunting atmosphere, modern sensibilities and a strong melodic framework.  Fronted by charismatic singer/guitarist C.J. Davis, whose ethereal vocals float over the walls of shimmering guitars and driving beats, each Farewell Days performance is a mesmerizing installment.  Drawing inspiration from the dreamy vibes of Shoegaze and the raw energy of Grunge, Farewell Days are poised to become a force in the indie scene for the foreseeable future.

On record they sound like the best of the Deftones’ shoegaze style.  Live, they were a lot louder.  The shoegaze vibe was replaced by a really heavy sound that I just wasn’t in the mood for, I guess.   So I did a crazy thing and walked out.

I heard two songs but have no idea what they were.  And I don’t blame the band at all.  In fact, the more I listen to their records, the more I like them.  So maybe I’ll see them open for someone else one of these days.

KulfiGirls are a Philadelphia-based rock band fronted by lead vocalist Abi Natesh who, through her use of the South Indian Saraswati veena, presents a novel “carnatic rock” sound inspired by diverse genres of pop and rock. I listened to their album and really liked it.  I was really excited to be able to see them, but I couldn’t believe how bad I felt and how much I didn’t want to stay there.  I’m sure they’ll be playing in the area again, but it would have been cool to see them on their album release night.

I saw Eraser open for Remember Sports a little while ago.  They were weird but good.  But I didn;t feel like I needed to see them again.

Máty Rodriguez is from New Brunswick New Jersey and now lives in Philadelphia.  She moved to Philadelphia about four years ago with the encouragement of her longtime producer, Justin Calaycay with Mt. Moon Recording Studio.  She’s a young, new musician with an EP, Standup Show.  And I guess she now goes just by Máty.  Decisions like not returning to college, getting sober, and her first major heartbreak are revived and recounted, some expressed as somber realizations (I’m Tired, Unilover) and others as cathartic releases (Ghost, T-Town).

I didn’t know anything about her and would have missed her regardless, the EP has a nice vibe, although I prefer her early single Ghost to the more mellow EP.  Her voice (which is great) sounds like a lot of other peoples–the mellow Billie Eilish comes to mind.  And it’s weird that on I’m Tired she sings in that mushmouth way that is very popular these days.  But the EP ends with QUE PEDO which sounds like Mannequin Pussy.

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Built to Spill (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, June 3, 2026)

Posted in Built to Spill, Guerrilla Toss, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 3, 2026] Built to Spill

Built to Spill is a fascinating band.  I’ve seen them seven times.  They change their setlist nightly which is awesome, and even some of the bigger “hits” don’t get played every show.  They didn’t play Carry the Zero the last time I saw them and there’s no song that they’ve played at every show (I Would Hut a Fly is pretty close).

So they are an indie rock band who tour a lot but who don’t put out a ton of new music.  And yet their fan base is devoted (and pretty obnoxious).  The age range is pretty broad, but there are a mix of twenty-somethings scattered in there who are awful–drunken bros and chatty girls.  The girls next to me couldn’t stop talking and taking pictures of each other and the bros at the bar were audible during the quiter moments–one of them even said something about the bass player which was borderline salacious.

This is the third time I’ve seen the band with this lineup: Melanie Radford on bass and Teresa Esguerra on drums.  It’s the most times I’ve seen them with the same players.  And they have really been gelling.  Onec of the most fun parts of the shows is when Dug does a lengthy improvised solo and Melanie steps back and looks over at Teresa and they smile and get into a tight groove.  It’s great!

Teresa plays in Prism Bitch who opened for BtS back in 2019 and Melanie Radford plays in Blood Lemon who opened for BTS in 2022.  As a trio, they are fantastic.  A friend of mine says he misses the larger band, and yea, it is cool when there are two guitars playing off each other, but this format give Dug a lot of space to play around.

Every setlist is different, even from show to show.  I’m intrigued, though, that they never play songs from Ancient Melodies of the Future (I’ve only seen them play one song from that record).  But as for the other albums, he mixes it up.  And tonight’s show started with Some Other Song and Spiderweb.  The crowd was really loud after his solos–I’m fascinated that there’s so many people who enjoy jammy guitar solos.

I was psyched to hear The Plan, a personal favorite.  It was followed by The Wait which I haven’t seen them play since 2019.

By this time I was getting really annoyed by the girls near me.  They were talking so much.  And I wanted to let it not bother me but they were so annoying.  But they were also apparently really into the show.  They were excited by Center of the Universe, but I have to wonder what songs they really like.

They started Tomorrow, a song I had not heard them play before and a guy at the far left of the crowd shouted They’re Playing My Song!  And he bounced his way to the middle right in front of me, obnoxiously singing and facing everyone until he pushed his way to the barrier ans shouted along. Security came a few moments later and the loud girls next to me started shouting No No, He didn’t…  whatever.  At that point I had to leave the area because I hated everyone.  I was glad my wife hadn’t come because the crowd was awful. (more…)

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