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Isiliel / Eternal HOSHI (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, October 11, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Eternal HOSHI, Isiliel, Necronomidol, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on October 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2026] Isiliel / Eternal Hoshi

I saw Isiliel twice in a few months back in 2023/2024.  It was weird and fun.

So, who is Isiliel?  She is Himari Tsukishiro who is the main singer in the Japanese band Necronomidol.  As her site puts it

Isiliel is a solo dance/vocal project by Himari Tsukishiro (NECRONOMIDOL).
Mixing genres as diverse as folk, blackgaze and city pop via a worldwide team of veteran songwriters such as King Dude and NARASAKI of COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS, through Isiliel Himari will express hitherto unexplored depths of pathos and beauty on stage.

She basically sang to her music that was played over the speakers.  As I said, it was fun but weird.

I would have liked to go to this, but initially, I had a ticket to Voivod, so I kind of forgot about it.  When Voivod was cancelled, I thought about going and considering asking my wife to come along.  She might have enjoyed it, but it was a crazy couple of days and it seemed better to stay home.

Eternal HOSHI is a J-Rock and Anisong Cover Band based in NJ.  I didn’t really understand what that meant.

Then I looked into it some more and found out that they play Anime and Video Game (maybe) theme songs.  And from my watching of anime, those songs are fast and challenging.  I imagine they were a lot of fun to see.  And I’d love to see them sometime.

 

2024 2023
Lilith * Koumyou Kishi ⊄  光明生死
Koumyou Kishi ⊄  光明生死 Geshoku Senka ⊄  月蝕戦歌
Geshoku Senka ⊄  月蝕戦歌 Jodo Dokushou ⊄ 浄土独唱
Jodo Dokushou ⊄ 浄土独唱 Seian Kengen ⊄ 聖暗顕現
Seian Kengen ⊄ 聖暗顕現 Keisei Densetsu ⊄ 景星伝説
Keisei Densetsu ⊄ 景星伝説 Kikoku Enbu ⊄ 鬼哭演舞
Seiha Sougyou ⊄ 制覇早暁 Lilith *
Qliphoth § Enen Futou ⊄ 奄奄不撓
Sange Ittai ⊄ 散華一体 Sange Ittai ⊄ 散華一体
Genesis ⊄ Genesis ⊄
pinky promise Seizon Senryaku $ 生​存​戦​略

§ single (2024)
* single (2023)
⊄ Moonglow Genesis (2023)
$ single (2022)

Here’s what she played in 2026 (bold are new to me)

SE
Lilith
MC
Black Moon
散華一体 (Sange Ittai)
Genesis
MC
聖暗顕現 (Seian Kengen)
Umbral Exorcism
Serpent’s Aubade
MC
Moonbow Legion
Blutschwer
浄土独唱 (Jodo Dokusho)
MC
Liebestod

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Queen of Jeans / Bren (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, October 9, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bren, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Queen of Jeans on October 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 9, 2026] Queen of Jeans / Bren

Queen of Jeans is a Philly band who I’ve seen on a lot of marquees.  I feel like for a while, back before the pandemic, they were opening for a lot of shows that I didn’t go to.   I see now that they haven’t done much since 2019, but they came back with a new album last year.

I was always kind of dismissive of their name (not sure why) and for some reason I thought they were scrappy and punky.  But I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Described as indie sweethearts, after listening to the album, I find that this bio is spot on

their sound has always been soft around the edges but explores feelings that are anything but. As their sound has developed, they’ve refined a signature built around dreamy guitars, adventurous instrumentation, crushing lyricism, and one of the most underrated voices in modern indie rock: vocalist/guitarist Miri Devora. With guitarist Mattie Glass and bassist Andrew Nitz, Queen of Jeans are effortlessly timeless but still of-the-times, and continue to be one of indie’s most consistently compelling bands.

This blurb is right, Miri’s voice is gorgeous!

This was an album release show for their new album hard/SWEET which is delightful.

Bren is a Philadelphia-based artist who weaves together elements of punk, indie-folk, alternative, and post-grunge into a musical tapestry that is all her own. Through her sonically cathartic songs, she shares authentic stories of human experience that resonate at a deep emotional level with her audiences. Her powerful yet nuanced vocal performance takes listeners on a journey from the transcendent and tender to the fierce and feral. And the music behind her is equally dynamic, ranging from massive “wall of sound” guitars and blasting beats to haunting, ethereal acoustic parts and subtle percussion.

Bren permanently relocated to Philadelphia and recorded her 2023 debut EP “Too Late for Flowers.” Bren lives and breathes the Philly indie scene, performing at numerous venues and sharing bills with both local and national artists. All of these experiences are being poured into her new music, and will culminate in her next record out in 2027.

Bren rocks harder that Queen of Jeans, but shared a similar sonic vein.  This would have been a really fun show and I’d happily see both bands when they play again.

 

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Pansy Division / Teenage Halloween / Hot Seat (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, September 18, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Hot Seat, Pansy Division, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Teenage Halloween on September 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2026] Pansy Division / Teenage Halloween / Hot Seat

Three years ago, Pansy Division played Johnny Brenda’s but I was too busy to check them out.

When Pansy Division first appeared in the late 1990s, I was hugely supportive.  I loved that they were out and proud.  They introduced me to a whole subculture that I wasn’t aware of and which I am still really supportive of.  It almost seemed like it wasn’t much of a subculture anymore until Florida got their hands on it. But whatever.  Evidently the world still needs Pansy Division.

There have been gay musicians hidden throughout rock music history, but when Pansy Division began in 1991 in San Francisco, they were the first to be so boldly open about it.  Founded by guitarist/singer Jon Ginoli and soon joined by bassist/singer Chris Freeman, with the intent of forming a gay rock band, Pansy Division blew the closet doors open. Raised on a diet of 60s pop and 70s punk, their sound was suitably crunchy and catchy as hell. They wrote in-your-face lyrics, but did it with a sense of humor. Not only did their music and stance defy stereotypic norms of rock musicians being openly gay, they also broke gay cultural stereotypes that rock wouldn’t interest gay people.

So glad they’re still loud and proud.

I saw Teenage Halloween open for THICK a while back and thought they were great.   The Asbury Park band plays short blasts of catchy emo songs–lots of punk feelings (their bio says)

At the heart of vocalist and guitarist Luk Henderiks’ lyrics is an urgent longing for community. Despite their often strikingly personal vulnerability, these songs reach out to the wider world, striving to hold themselves and those around them accountable for their actions and to make space for those that need to be heard.

and occasionally fantastic guitar solos (Eli Frank is a total shredder, but doesn’t overuse that skill).  Luk seemed to sing more of the songs, but Tricia Marshall (bass) sang about four or five of the seventeen (!) they played.  I would absolutely see them again.

They played with Wax Jaw a month ago but I couldn’t make that show either.  Crazy that I could have seen them twice in a month at different venues with different openers.

Hot Seat is a Philly band that I hadn’t heard of.  Their blurb says

Punchy guitar and bass riffs, fast as hell drums , and witty vocals make up this Philadelphia four piece punk band. Inspired by The The Distillers, The Muffs, Lunachicks and L7, Hot Seat wants everyone to SCREAM.

And I’d say that’s pretty accurate. They are, without a doubt, a fun live band.

Another fun night in Philly.

 

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The Body / Big | Brave / Carnivorous Bells (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, August 7, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Big ‡ Brave, Carnivorous Bells, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, The Body on August 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2026] The Body / Big | Brave / Carnivorous Bells

I saw Big | Brave open for SUNN0))).  I can’t believe it has been almost ten years since that show.  Big | Brave left a huge impact on me and I’ve been following them ever since.  I’ve really wanted to see them again and it just never seems to happen.

I had a ticket for this show long before we decided to go on vacation this week.  We actually arrived home on the night of this show, but there was just no way I could make it work.

I didn’t know The Body even though they made an album with Big | Brave back in 2021.  They are a doom/sludge metal band who have expanded into using other genres as well.  From what I can tell, vocally there is a lot of distorted screaming

Carnivorous Bells are from Philly.  They’re noisy and weird and remind me of noisy weird bands from the 90s.  I don’t think I’d enjoy a 90 minute set from them, but a short opening set was probably a lot of fun.

Here’s a video of them from Ortleib’s

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Lip Critic / Flatwounds / Bejalvin (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 24, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Bejalvin, Flatwounds, Lip Critic, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2026] Lip Critic / Flatwounds / Bejalvin

I saw Lip Critic last year and the blew me away.  I’d never want to listen to their records, but live, they were incredible.  Noisy and chaotic with two drummers and a guy who plays keys/samples/something.  And a singer who commands the room.  I definitely wanted to see them again, but I put off getting tickets to this show for a while. I jad so much going on this week that something had to give and this was it.  It eventually sold out, so at least I didn’t have to feel like I should have tried to go.   Plus they were opening for Mannequin Pussy in a few months, so I’d get to see them again, at least.

Flatwounds are from Albany.  They combine a kind of hardcore vibe with some 90s grunge sounds.   New York hardcore bounce[like Helmet] with a dark, grunge-flavoured vibe [like Alice in Chains–the vocals are similar with a touch of Stone Temple Pilots].  Their sound has morphed over a few EPs–never going too far from what they do, but exploring different nooks of the stuff they reference.  I dig it.

Bejalvinare a weird hyperpop band (like 1000 Gecs, I suppose) who describe themselves as straightedge electronic fight music.  The vocals are largely growled and the music is mostly glitchy chiptune. It’s the kind of “music” that annoys a lot of people, but which I find intriguing and would enjoy seeing how they do it live.  They seem like a perfect fit for Lip Critic, tbh.

I suspect that this show was a wild night of chaos.

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Chinese American Bear / Layton Wu (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 17, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Chinese American Bear, Layton Wu, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 17, 2026] Chinese American Bear / Layton Wu

I hadn’t heard of Chinese American Bear until I was looking at the PhilaMOCA site for another show.  The name was cute and I looked into them and immediately wanted to see them live because their live shows are playful and interactive. Tong leads the audience in singing Mandarin and dancing.  There is a background dancer in a dumpling hat or a bear hat, and the duo throw dumpling or boba plushies into the crowd.

I mean, how fun would that be?  But we had tickets to see Wilco (why do all the good events happen on the same night?).  Since they’re from Seattle there’s a chance they’ll come back to the East Coast sooner rather than later.  The band consists of married couple Lingbo Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten. They play psychedelic C-pop (or mando pop) with both Mandarin and English lyrics.

Layton Wu is a New York based Taiwanese bedroom pop singer.  He might be too soft for my liking.  I wonder if he’s more fun live.

 

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Panic Shack / Flavorless Gum (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, June 12, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Flavorless Gum, Panic Shack, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA on June 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 12, 2026] Panic Shack / Flavorless Gum

I didn’t know about Panic Shack until this show was announced.  They sounded really fun, so I looked them up and immediately fell in love with their irreverent punk attitude and catchy songs.

I grabbed a ticket and it sold out soon after.

Panic Shack are from Wales and, although they’ve been a band since 2018, they’re starting to get noticed now.  I would have lived to see them at PhilaMOCA instead of what ever much larger venue they’re going to play when they get back here next time.  But my daughter wound up having a graduation party that night and I couldn’t leave the rest of the family to deal with it.

It looked like a really fun show and I hope they do come back in the not too distant future.

Flavorless Gum is an indie band from Philly.  Their bio says the band “brings a fresh and daring approach to indie rock with poetic lyrics about local characters seemingly stuck in time, the influences of wealth and greed, and the counterbalance between perfection and humanity.”

I’ve listened to their debut album and they remind me of some off-kilter indie bands form the 90s.  They say their inspirations are Let It Be by The Replacements and The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse.  They don’t sound like either band but I can see how they got from there to here.

This is a good summary (again, from their bio) rough around the edges vocal melodies, heart pounding basslines, and fierce drum grooves.  I’m curious to see what they do next.

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Mint Field (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026)

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Mint Field

I found out about Mint Field during the pandemic from their outstanding Levitation Sessions record.  They headlined at Silk City back in September and I was really surprised to see them back again so soon.

I couldn’t make their previous show but I was sure to grab a ticket to this one.

Mint Field is from Tijuana.  The band is Estrella Snachez (vocals and guitar) and Sebastian Neyra (bass). The laziest description of them is shoegaze, but they incorporate other elements as well–dream pop, ambient and occasionally loud feedback.  I’m not sure who their drummer was for this show, but she was really good.

They opened with the quiet Horizonte, a gentle guitar melody and soft bassline.  The funny thing about this song is that as soon as you start to really get into it, it’s over.  It’s just under 2 minutes long.   But it’s a great introduction to Estrella’s floating vocals and their overall vibe.  “Recuerdo de los dias” has a more pronounced bass line and a simple but bouncy drum beat.

El mar me veia was the first song that really showed off Estrella’s cool guitar techniques–she makes interesting sounds by sliding her pick up and down the strings–using various pedals and looping, it created a cool visual.

Delicadeza is one of many songs where Sebastian’s bassline is wonderful–he doesn’t simply follow the guitars, he plays high notes and lets the music really revolve around what he’s doing.

While most of the opening was dreamy and trippy, Sensibilidad showed that they can get loud with both guitar and bass building the intensity before pulling back into a very quiet middle section.  And Susiro sailed back off into the dreamy skies again.

Sueño Despierto (with a cool bass line) and Infinito are slow and dreamy (Infinito is a newer song) but Contingencia adds a real pace to the set. It’s fuzzy and rocking and a lot of fun.  As the set reached the end, they got a lot more noisy with Ve hacia la ventana bringing out some fuzzy guitars in between quiet parts.  But no one could expect the explosive ending!  Un flro sin interior starts like many of their songs–fairly mellow and dreamy.  But mid song, the full band kicks in loudly with a big riff that the band jammed for several minutes.  Estrella stood by her amp generating lots of feedback and looping it around while Sebastian and their drummer were going nuts–it was the loudest and craziest the drummer had been all night–like catharsis after being so chill.  (On record the song is 2 minutes total, but live, they stretched it out wonderfully).  It felt like a set-ending but of noise and chaos, but they brought it back in and finished the song with one more verse and that was that.

I was a little bummed that they didn’t play the songs that I really fell in love with like Jardin De La Paz and Sentimental Mundial, but there were two tracks from that session that they did play (Delicadeza and Contingencia) so that’s cool.  I was glad to finally see them, although now I kind of wish I had seen them play at Union Transfer during that shoegaze festival–to get fully surrounded by their songs.

I got the impression, or maybe they just said, that they wouldn’t be touring the U.S. for quite a while.  So I’m even more happy that I got to see them.

  • Horizonte ∇
  • Recuerdo de los días €
  • El mar me veía €
  • Delicadeza ∅
  • Sensibilidad dormida €
  • El Suspiro Cambia Todo ∇
  • Sueño Despierto ∇
  • Infinito §
  • Contingencia ∅
  • Aterrizar ∅
  • Ve hacia la ventana €
  • Una flor sin interior €

§ single (2025)
€  Aprender a Ser: Extended (2024)
∇ Aprender a Ser (2023)
∅ Sentimendto Mundial (2020)

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Knotfall (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Knotfall

Knotfall is another band from Philly. I’m guessing that the band is the project of singer/guitarist (and for one song, drummer) Sami Rahman.  Because there have been different people on the different releases.

They totally threw me for a loop when I listened to them because I thought that they were basically a shoegaze band (since Mint Field is).  August in the Water starts their album and this set.  It has quiet guitars and soft vocals.  It’s quite lovely and I could see how they fit with Mint Field.  The song built to a louder sound, but still rather shoegazey (actually I found that his voice sounded a bit like Grandson and sometimes like Pavement).   But as the song reached the end, he started screaming in an intense, voice cracking sort of way.  And then the song dropped down to quieter moments again.  It was surprising on record but it was even better live.

Beyond Memory had an early Cure feel with lots of fuzz and I loved when the song broke and the two guitars played a really cool and clear riff–that blasted through the fuzz.  But the bigger surprise came at the end of the song when it shifted gears into a really heavy sound and really dark almost doom metal riff.  It was great and really intense–I would have happily let that riff continue for several more minutes, but it stopped after just a few runs through.

Sami told us that five of the six songs they were playing were from their recently released debut album.  Surprisingly they didn’t have any for sale and their shirts (which were really cool) were only Small-Large. (more…)

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Sherrie (PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA, May 19, 2026) [MINT FIELD]

Posted in Knotfall, Mexico, Mint Field, Philadelphia, PA, PhilaMOCA, Sherrie on May 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 19, 2026] Sherrie

I like going to PhiaMOCA, it’s so casual and it’s such a great space to meet and chat with a band.  For whatever reason, I was early for this show.  When I walked in (probably at 7:30) Sherrie was still doing a sound check.  It was pretty weird and slightly awkward.  But it was hot out and cool inside, so I did some NY Times puzzles and listened to the band get ready for the show.

Sherrie is a band from Philadelphia.  When I saw that they were opening for Mint Field, I went to their bandcamp site and saw that they had three songs out.  I hadn’t realized until writing this that each of these songs came out at a rate of one a year, and that none of the songs were released in the last five years.

I can’t find out much about the band.  The lead singer is Rae and there’s a guy who has been with Sherrie since the beginning, whose name is Drew.  Their Instagram page has a few things up before COVID and then nothing until 2024.  Ah, and then I see that their first gig was at Ortlieb’s in March 2024–they were a two piece.  Then they played Johnny Brenda’s in April of this year as a five piece.  For this show they were a four piece.

Sherrie describes their music as dream pop, but it feels more like bedroom pop to me–remarkably spare, although it is sweet.  There’s not a lot of movement from the band–except for the last song when the Rae walked over to the keyboard that someone else was playing and pushed a button to change the sound of the keys.  She stayed for a bit and then turned it off again. (more…)

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