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Kevin McDonald: Superstar (with Dave Hill opening) (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, August 27, 2025)

Posted in Dave Hill, John Wlaysewski, Kevin McDonald, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Robin Rothman, Scott Thompson, The Kids in the Hall on August 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 27, 2025] Kevin McDonald: Superstar

I saw Kevin McDonald do a bit of storytelling last year.  In this very venue.

This year he was back again, this time bringing his musical Kevin McDonald: Superstar to the MOCA.

I didn’t really know what to expect.  I had read that it was a musical, but what does that mean?  Well, when the show started, Kevin and guitarist John Wlaysewski came up on stage and play 2 songs that Kevin wrote.  One was all about grass (not that kind of grass, backyard grass).  Then he told a long story about Johnny Rotten and an AIDS test (which he told in a slightly different style last year but which was still very funny).  And then another song “Just Keep Dancing.”

Then Dave Hill came out on stage.  I hadn’t heard of Dave, but he is apparently quite well known (well known enough to play a ripping guitar solo version of the Canadian and American national anthems before a hockey game (easily found om YouTube).  Dave is also a comedian.  He came up on stage and played a hilariously self-deprecating character (who was secretly loving all of the fame).

He told a few stories and then played some songs.  Even though he is a massively talented guitarist, his songs were hilarious.  He played Danzig’s Mother by getting the sound just right on his guitar, singing the word Mother and the first line and then mumbling his way through to the next time he screamed Mother (just like everyone else who has no idea what the words are).  When he took requests, someone (of course) shouted Freebird (gag), and he said, ok you asked for it I’m playing the whole thing.  He played 30 seconds of the intro and said, there you get the picture.  After a very long song/story about being a part of the biggest meat heist ever, he stayed up on staged and introduced the players for the evening.

It was John and Dave on guitars, Joe Moore as the narrator and Robin Rothman as a few characters (she has an amazing voice). (more…)

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Hundreds of Beavers (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 2024)

Posted in Hundreds of Beavers, Mike Cheslik, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews on December 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 5, 2024] Hundreds of Beavers

I had seen an ad for Hundreds of Beavers and it looked weird and fantastic.

When I saw that it was playing at PhilaMOCA, I grabbed a ticket for myself and my son (my wife was bummed that she said no when I asked if she wanted a ticket, because she admitted that it sounded like fun).

So I picked up my son from school and we drove to Philly.  We had pizza at a nearby shop and wow was it bad.  It was made worse by the fact that when I poured grated cheese on it to make it more palatable, the grated cheese was actually sugar.

In fairness, it was in a sugar dispenser, but why is there sugar on the table at a pizza joint?  Have you ever had pizza with sugar on it?  It is, simply, not good.

But we were there in time for the movie and we grabbed seats in the back.

This was a special screening in which they had random prizes to give out (posters and such).  We didn’t win, but that’s okay. (more…)

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Makoto Kawabata+ Tim Dahl + Simeon Cain (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2024)

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Basic, Makoto Kawabata, Mental Jewelry, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Simeon Cain, Tim Dahl on November 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 9, 2024] Makoto Kawabata+ Tim Dahl + Simeon Cain

I had missed Acid Mothers Temple when they played Philly last month, so I was pretty excited to see that Kawabata Makoto was hanging around the Northeast to do a mini improvised tour with Tim Dahl and a rotating cast of drummers.

This November, a collaborative music tour between guitarist Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple) and bassist Tim Dahl (Lydia Lunch, Child Abuse) will hit the American Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, promising rock intensity, avant-garde design, and psychedelic perception. With a combination of predetermined material and improvisation, one can expect a focused yet unpredictable and dynamic sonic experience. This collaboration will take audiences on a journey through chaotic, noise-infused passages that suddenly give way to moments of serene beauty, showcasing variety, creativity, and fearlessness. Each night’s concert will be enriched by the distinctive styles of a notable regional guest drummer, adding fresh, unpredictable elements to the performance. Audiences should expect a whirlwind of sound that pushes the boundaries of conventional music and celebrates the expression of unrestrained artistry.

I had never heard of Tim Dahl and was entirely interested in the show for Kawabata.  But it’s possible that Tim Dahl may have been the real draw?

Tim Dahl is a New York based bassist and vocalist best known for his work with the noise-rock bands Lydia Lunch Retrovirus and Child Abuse.

The name of that last band tells you a lot about Dahl’s sound.  He plays a fascinating bass style–in which it doesn’t seem like he is actually playing notes–just running his hands up and down the fretboard at random.  He also uses a finger slide but in his picking hand, generating all kinds of noise.  Combine this with the fact that his microphone seemed to have a very fast repeating echo on it so whatever he said or sang into the mic was repeated beyond recognition and he really seemed to dominate the room. (more…)

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Nick Millevoi + Mental Jewelry (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, November 9, 2024) [MAKOTO KAWABATA + TIM DAHL + SIMEON CAIN]

Posted in Acid Mothers Temple, Basic, Makoto Kawabata, Mental Jewelry, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Simeon Cain, Tim Dahl on November 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 9, 2024] Nick Millevoi + Mental Jewelry

I had missed Acid Mothers Temple when they played Philly last month, so I was pretty excited to see that Kawabata Makoto was hanging around the Northeast to do a mini improvised tour with Tim Dahl and a rotating cast of drummers.

There hadn’t been an opening band and then it was announced that Nick Millevoi and Mental Jewelry would open the show.

I knew Millevoi from BASIC, the band he’s in with Chris Forsyth.  I’ve actually seen him twice although both times I was more or less behind him (he sat facing the center of the stage and I mostly saw his back).  I had not heard of Mental Jewelry and assumed it was a band.  But it is the stage name of Steve Montenegro, who has also played with Moor Mother (as Moor Jewelry).

Their blurb says

Nick Millevoi and Mental Jewelry’s collab combines repetitive electronic beats and noisy improvised guitars into the groove-fueled future that the ’80s dreamed we’d discover.

And that’s pretty accurate.  Nick set up the drum beats (simple, but with interesting effects on them) and played his baritone guitar.  He mostly played simple chords–riffs would be too strong a word for the chord patterns.  But he manipulated the sounds with effects pedals and dynamic fretboard work.  Everything I’ve read about Mental Jewelry (which is not much) suggests that he is a keyboard player. But he played guitar as well.  He added the higher end to the sound of the songs.  He didn’t add a lot–complimentary chords and minimal “soloing.”

Most of the songs were minimalist and catchy by virtue of repetition.  The fourth (of five) songs was my favorite and felt like an actual song rather than just repeated chords.

At this stage it’s fair to say that this venture is more fun live than on record, but I’m interested to see how it evolves.

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Xiu Xiu / mcdazzler / J Lesser (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in J Lesser, mcdazzler, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Xiu Xiu on October 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2024] Xiu Xiu / mcdazzler / J Lesser

I’ve been intrigued by Xiu Xiu for quite a while.  The band is an experimental art-pop group of Jamie Stewart, Angela Seo, and David Kendrick.  Although I don’t really know all that much about them, I’ve heard their live shows were pretty wild.

But it seems like I’d probably never actually go to a show of them.  Especially if there were other shows going on that week.

Although seeing the opening acts, maybe a future show should be investigated.

mcdazzler is someone I’d never heard of.  She sounds like a wild and fun show–she is in the video for Xiu Xiu’s latest song (it is quite NSFW).

Behind the @mcdazzler handle is Alicia McDaid, a self-proclaimed “disgusting feminist” who has been making confessional, character-driven performance art since the late ’90s. After a stint at Smith College and some time in London she ended up in Portland. While working as a traveling puppeteer touring the Pacific Northwest states she found herself lonely and unhappy, and with a friend’s camcorder embarked on a series of videos where she simply cried on camera or performed monologues in character

J Lesser is the stage name for Jason Doerck–between 2003 and 2006 Doerck was a member of the laptop group Sagan, alongside Blevin Blectum, Wobbly, and video artist Ryan Junell.

He was listed as Lesser on the bill, but there is a band called Lesser from the UK.  It’s not that band.

I listened  to some of his stuff on Soundcloud, and I guess it’s exactly what you might expect a laptop musician who is opening for Xiu Xiu to sound like.  Lots of noises and sounds and no beats or rhythm.  If I was in the mood, I’d have enjoyed this, but I definitely wasn’t.

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Lifeguard (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2023)

Posted in Cold Court, Font, Lifeguard, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on July 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2024] Lifeguard

Before this show I hadn’t heard of Lifeguard.  Which is why I was surprised that this was a co-headlining tour. But then I saw that in May Monster Children (yea, I don’t know what that is either) wrote an article called “Lifeguard is a band you should know.”

Their music is youthful, energetic and intentional, channeling the nostalgic sounds of bands like Dinosaur Jr and Fugazi while still remaining distinctly their own. They give a shit, putting all of themselves into the band and everything surrounding it, creating a sound that encapsulates this youth collective that they’ve played such a major role in creating.

I don’t know how old the members of the band are, but I assume they are teenagers.

And the first notable thing about them was that singer guitarist Kai Slater was on crutches.  So he sat for the whole set, his right foot in a boot.

Then he started playing guitar–a great crisp, punky guitar sound.  The reminded me a bit of Gang of Four.  Their songs were pretty catchy and yet they were absolutely unafraid to simply make a lot of noise–screamed vocals, angular sharp guitars and crashing drums. (more…)

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Font (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2023) [LIFEGUARD]

Posted in Cold Court, Font, Lifeguard, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on July 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2024] Font

I saw Font back in October of 2023 opening for Chai and I loved them.  They hadn’t released any music at the time but this mini tour was in support of the release of their debut album.

So who are they?

Font is an Austin-based band made up of Thom Waddill, Jack Owens, Anthony Lawrence, Roman Parnell, and Logan Wagner. Fontbegan playing shows regularly in the beginning of 2022.

They make noisy, unexpected songs with catchy parts and decidedly uncatchy parts.  The songs tend to have something–a piano note, a guitar riff–that recurs enough to call it a hook.  And each song is unique in its own way.

The bass wanders all over the place–in a great New Wave sorta way.  And, as it turns out the percussionist is a major component of the band.

I stood in front of singer/guitarist/sound effects manipulator Thom Waddill.  In the center of the stage was Anthony Laurence who played guitar and was in charge of a lot of the other sounds that came out–he had a cool array of equipment up there.  On the far side was bassist Roman Parnell.

Then in the back were the real noise makers: Jack Owens on Drums and Logan Wagner on Percussion.  Wagner had a vast supply of equipment that he kept changing out, creating really interesting organic sounds.  He also triggered some samples.

There were two guys up front.  One was the singer.  He played guitar and all kinds of gear that he had around him.  The other guy also played guitar although he seemed to play more of the electronic gear that was around him.  At one point the guy in front of me also play the gear in front of the other guy–there was a lot of gear.

They have weird, interesting songs that people don’t make anymore.  The laziest comparison I can make is Parquet Courts, for the diversity of style and sometimes angular and harsh melodies, but they don’t sound anything like Parquet Courts, not really.

I can’t wait to hear what else they do.  They were terrific.

I told Waddill that I thought they were headlining and he said that they and Lifeguard were co-headlining.  So that made sense.

I would certainly see them again.

 

2024 2023
Cattle Prod § The Golden Calf §
Two Answers Sentence I §
It § Hey Kekulé §
Hey Kekulé § It §
Looking At Engines § Two Answers
Natalie’s Song § Looking at Engines §
The Golden Calf § Cattle Prod §
Signal Drama Natalie’s Song §
Sentence 1 § [maybe one more]

§ Strange Burden (2024)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Font (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2023) [LIFEGUARD]

Posted in Cold Court, Font, Lifeguard, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on July 16, 2024| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2024] Font

I saw Font (from Austin, TX) open for Chai about nine months ago. They weren’t really compatible in terms of style, but they were both a little weird an a pretty noisy.

I really enjoyed Font a lot and was a little bummed that they had, basically, one song available online.  Well a few days ago they released an actual album.  It’s not long (less than half an hour), but it’s packed with all the weirdness that makes Font awesome.

They play a great mix of catchy and really abrasive–repetitive sounds that contrast (in both time signature and style) to the drum/percussion or the great bass sound.

There’s five guys in the band: vocalist/guitarist/sound creator Thom Wadhill, guitarist/sampling savant Anthony Lawrence, bassist Roman Parnell and dual percussionists Jack Owens and Logan Wagner.

Last time, I noted

The bass wanders all over the place–in a great New Wave sorta way.  And, as it turns out the percussionist is a major component of the band.  From where I was I couldn’t really see the drummer (there was so much STUFF on stage), but I could clearly see the percussionist who had cowbells, blocks, cymbals (which he moved around to make different sound) and some bongos.  He must have been exhausted.

There were two guys up front.  One was the singer.  He played guitar and all kinds of gear that he had around him.  The other guy also played guitar although he seemed to play more of the electronic gear that was around him.  At one point the guy in front of me [Wadhill] also played the gear in front of the [Lawrence]–there was a lot of gear.

(more…)

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Cold Court (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, July 15, 2023) [LIFEGUARD]

Posted in Cold Court, Font, Lifeguard, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on July 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 15, 2024] Cold Court

I saw Cold Court back in July of last year when they opened for Black Midi.  All I could find out about them then was that they were from Philadelphia.

They have an Instagram page but there’s not much on it.  And any searches reveal pretty much that they opened for Black Midi and very little else.

According to live at the Lawn Jawn (a video online), this was the lineup of the band about two weeks before the Black Midi show:

Mini Serrano (Guitar, Vocals), Josyah Lavina-Maldonado (Guitar, Vocals), Theo Shuttleworth (Bass), Jett Mann (Drums), Charlie Westlake (Saxophone, Synth), Alex Ramirez (Viola), and Joe Kuck (Percussion).

There were five members of the band for this show.

I didn’t know what songs they played last time.  And I’m not really sure what they played this time. (more…)

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Emily Robb (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, July 10, 2023) [MDOU MOCTAR]

Posted in Emily Robb, Mdou Moctar, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on July 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 10, 2024] Emily Robb

Emily Robb is a guitarist from Philadelphia.  I didn’t know much about her, but the last time she opened a show (which I didn’t attend) I wrote:

Emily Robb plays an electric guitar (and is referred to as a guitar abuser).  She has a solo album out that is an incredible amount of fuzzy guitar noise.

No vocals, no artifice, barely even a drum. It’s a totally fried, mutant offering that’ll entice the twisted seekers– a sustained, distilled meditation on the unabashed revved up freedom of rock.

She came up on stage with her guitar and pedals and amp and… played.   For forty plus minutes.

She played bluesy riffs.  She looped herself.  She played solos over those riffs.  She made noise.  She experimented with melodies and feedback.

Sometimes it was interesting.  Sometimes it was tedious.

She played a whole section in which sliding her pick up the strings was a major part of the sound. (more…)

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