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Archive for the ‘The Fillmore Philadelphia’ Category

Jesse Welles / S.G. Goodman (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, March 4, 2026) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jesse Welles, Philadelphia, PA, S.G. Goodman, The Fillmore Philadelphia on March 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 4, 2026] Jesse Welles / S.G. Goodman

I started following Jesse Welles online because he made videos of himself singing songs in a field that were political and timely.  Something stupid would happen and he would have a decent song about it within a day.

I had no idea that he was  the same guy they were playing on WXPN. I really liked the song Horses and now they play Wheel all the time (possibly too much).

I’m not really sure what his set would be like–I assume it’s just him.  He seems like he’d be a really good performer–personable and easily improvised.  But this show was sold out pretty quickly, so I didn’t bother investigating more.

During the pandemic, S.G. Goodman was supposed to open for Nada Surf.  So back in 2021 I wrote

S.G. Goodman is a singer-songwriter from Western Kentucky known for her rootsy sound and raw, honest lyricism. Her debut album came out in March.  I’ve listened to “The Way I Talk” and wow, what a cool song.  A simple repetitive beat with Goodman’s raw voice.  She doesn’t sing like a country singer (so that’s good), she tells a song story that ends with some amazing guitar feedback.  I’d love to see her live.

Since then she has gotten a ton of airplay on WXPN/  I like most of her songs although she is a bit overplayed now too.

This was probably a fun, upbeat folkie night.

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Champagne Jam 2025 (Brooklyn Bowl, The Foundry, Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, December 19-20, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties, Alex Orange Drink, Annie DiRusso, Balance and Composure, Brother Bird, Chmpagne Jam, Family Dinner, Funambulist, Kevin Devine, Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band, Leisure Hour, Palomino, Philadelphia, PA, Public Works, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Front Bottoms, The Lunar Calendar, This is Lorelei on December 19, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 19-20, 2022] Champagne Jam 2025

Every year for quite some time, The Front Bottoms have been doing a Champagne Jam at the close of the calendar year.

I got tickets in 2022 but we didn’t go.  This year I didn’t plan on going although my daughter surprised me by saying she wanted to go to one of the days.  Then I explained what all was involved–that it wasn’t just a headliner and opener and she agreed that she didn’t want to deal with all that.

So who was there this year?  It was much smaller than the 2022 edition, which seemed to have several venues involved.  This one was just the Fillmore and the Foundry. (more…)

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The Mars Volta (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025)

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] The Mars Volta

My son and I saw The Mars Volta open for Deftones in an arena and the sound was terrible.  They played an unreleased album so it was really hard to know what was going on in a cavernous place where all subtlety was lost.

So when they announced a headlining tour I grabbed tickets for my son and I.  And what a treat to get there early and be right up front for the show.

Visually there wasn’t a lot going on–the band is largely dressed in black and white and there was only a black curtain behind them.  The lights tended toward the dark and the blue so you couldn’t see super clearly.  But this was really all about the music.

This show was for them to play their new album, Lucro sucio straight through, just like they did opening for the Deftones.  That set was 40 minutes (like the album) but this show was about twice as long with lots of trippy jamming sections.

The set opens quietly with Fin wherein Cedric Bixler-Zavala sings to a synth opening–his voice soaring to great heights–as it did all night, his voice is incredible. (more…)

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Kianí Medina (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025) [THE MARS VOLTA]

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] Kianí Medina

After Feliz y Dada, I wasn’t really sure what to expect next.  The change was pretty dramatic.

Out came two normal-looking people.  They stood in the same place as Feliz y Dada but could not have been more different.

Kianî Medina is from Puerto Rico and she sang soaring vocal lines over a pre-programmed backing track and live guitars from her brother Jerry.  The songs were kind of dancey but the live guitar added so much texture and, at times, rocking out.

She sang in Spanish and has a gorgeous voice.  I liked how the songs were mostly synthy (sometimes synth sounds triggered by the guitar) and dancey and then the guitar sound would come in an play some ripping solos.

Kianî had some smooth dance moves especially when Jerry soloed.  And on one of her middle songs (I don’t have a setlist or know any song titles), things slowed down for a lovely sounding ballad.

It was followed by a staccato dance song with some cool guitar–Jerry’s guitar playing sounds like Omar’s on this one.  (more…)

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Feliz y Dada (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 5, 2025) [THE MARS VOLTA]

Posted in Feliz y Dada, Kianí Medina, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Mars Volta on November 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 5, 2025] Feliz y Dada

My son and I saw The Mars Volta open for Deftones in an arena and the sound was terrible.  They played an unreleased album so it was really hard to know what was going on in a cavernous place where all subtlety was lost.  But my son was intrigued and I told him we could see them again.

So when they announced a headlining tour I grabbed tickets for my son and I.  And what a treat to get there early and be right up front for the show.

The opening band was Feliz y Dada, whom I had no heard of.  When I looked  them up it was unclear if they were a real band, a novelty band or possibly even members of The Mars Volta.  Many speculated that the lead singer was Teri Gender Bender.  I never found out, but I didn’t care because their set was bizarre and wonderful.

The stage was curtained off to give them a small area up front.  A massive stack of (fake) speakers was behind them and they were given a black curtain to hide the rest of the stage.

Feliz y Dada is a trio.  All three members wear masks with a kind of horn on top and four eyes.  They also wear robes and dance around slowly–waving their bodies back and forth–a perfect encapsulation of “alien life.”

There is literally nothing like them.  The guy on the left had a large pyramid that he kept tapping as if he was playing bass notes or something (it clearly didn’t make any sound, but it did light up). I assume the guy on the right was playing all of the sounds–although it’s also possible he simply started the song and then pretended to play things like the guy on the left.

The singer was singing live but her voice was so distorted and auto-tuned as to be unrecognizable and completely un-understandable.  But she danced around slowly and approached everyone in the front in a slow and methodical way–waving and seeming to suss out what the vibe was.  She also sang into a telephone at one point for what I think was Well Hello.

They sang four short songs and that was that. (more…)

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Little Simz / La Reezy (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in La Reezy, Little Simz, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on November 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 2, 2025] Little Simz/ La Reezy

I really like Little Simz’ delivery and attitude and I thought she’d be a lot of fun to see live.  Apparently a lot of other people did too, because in 2022 her show that was originally scheduled for The Foundry got moved to TLA.  However, she cancelled the tour saying it wasn’t financially viable for her.

Now, three years later, she was back again, this time at the Fillmore!  I would have liked to see her.  Although now that I’ve been to a few more underground rap shows I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed this one, really.  Although maybe she steps up her production.

But I had tickets to see Boris and I hate to miss them when they come to town.

I’ve not heard of La Reezy, who is from New Orleans.  I watched a video and he looks like he’s about 12, (he’s 21) but I really like his flow.  Largely because you can hear all the words.  He’s got energy and an intensity that I really like.  I’ll bet he has fun live.

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Alex G / Nilüfer Yanya (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 11 & 12, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Alex G, Nilüfer Yanya, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on October 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11 & 12, 2025] Alex G / Nilüfer Yanya

I saw Alex G when about ten years ago when he opened for Built to Spill. There was a bunch of buzz around him but I didn’t really know why.  I thought he was a guitar shredding type, but he’s not.  I wrote

At first I was a little unimpressed.  The songs are pretty simple and short–lo-fi recordings, which I do enjoy, but were not what I was expecting.  But by the middle, he had won me over.  The last five or six songs in particular were really good.  The band was pretty no-nonsense–not a lot of banter.  Just song after song, some really short and few with some good extended jamming.

Since then he’s released a lot more music and has seen a lot of success.  I like the songs I’ve heard by him and my daughter is a fan.  He played at All Things Go two years ago, but he was on the other stage and we could only see a video of him.

Because he’s a Philly guy (more or less) he added a second show to the Fillmore.  The first night I had tickets to see My Morning Jacket.  And since we had seen MMJ the night before that as well, there was no energy left for Alex G.

I saw Nilüfer Yanya open for Sharon Van Etten in 2019.  I enjoyed her set quite a lot and have wanted to see her again.  Although I haven’t enjoyed her newer stuff as much as what she put out back then.  She had a headline show last year but I couldn’t make it.

I would have enjoyed this double bill, but not as much as I enjoyed MMJ.

 

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Kneecap / Bricknasty (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 8, 2025) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Bricknasty, Kneecap, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on October 8, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: October 8, 2025] Kneecap / Bricknasty

Kneecap was making news all over the world by the time I heard about this show.  And Irish trio who raps in Engliash and Irish?  Sounds amazing.  They are political and very vocal.  And because they are so notorious, this show was sold out. And then, more controversy caused them to cancel their entire U.S. tour:

Kneecap have cancelled the entirety of their 2025 United States tour. The tour was set to being on October 1 in New York City and run for 15 shows; four shows in Vancouver and Toronto will continue as planned.

In a press statement, the Irish rap group said they were forced to pull the dates as they were too close to a scheduled court date for Kneecap member Mo Chara, who faces a terrorism charge for displaying a flag of the militant group Hezbollah during a 2024 concert.

They are still doing their thing, but I have no idea if they’ll come to the U.S. especially right now.

Bricknasty is another Irish rap band.  They blend experimental jazz, hip hop and neo-soul.  They seem like a much mor mellow bunch, but they share the same values.

This would have been an interesting show to be sure.

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Chance the Rapper / Adamn Killa / DJ Oreo (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, October 1, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Adamn Killa, Chance the Rapper, DJ Oreo, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia on October 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 1, 2025] Chance the Rapper / Adamn Killa / DJ Oreo

I don’t like a lot of young rappers, but I do like Chance the Rapper.  He’s more musical than a lot of rappers who tend to do mumble rap.  I didn’t really plan to go to this concert, but it’s nice to know he’s back, doing his thing.

I hadn’t heard of either opening act.

A review from Shifter Magazine says this about them

Chance’s best friend and DJ, DJ Oreo who performed an energetic opening set to get the crowd ready for the show, however, what really got the crowd turnt up was surprise guest and viral Tik Tok sensation Adamn Killa and his crew of miscreants. Another Chicago native who has found massive online fame for his crazy antics, viral dances, and pitchy rap songs that really know how to get people going. The crowd erupted as he took over the venue and made it his own personal playground.

 

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PUP (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, September 17, 2025)

Posted in Alanis Morissette, Ekko Astral, Jeff Rosenstock, Philadelphia, PA, PUP, The Fillmore Philadelphia on September 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 17, 2025] PUP

My son and I have seen Pup twice and have enjoyed both shows immensely.  I assume I’ll want to see them whenever they come around because they are so much fun.

This was the first time we were fairly close to the stage (we were one person from the barricade at the beginning of the night, although by the end we had been pushed around a bit.  And indeed, my son jumped in the pity later in the night.

This was a busy bill–3 bands, with Jeff Rosenstock playing an hour.  I was really impressed with the efficiency of the night (are you listening Wet Leg?).  15 minutes between Jeff Rosenstock leaving the stage and Pup taking over.

I realized that I hadn’t listened all that much to their new album, which was not a great plan going into a tour for the new album.  All Pup songs are catchy and fun, so it doesn’t really matter if you don’t know them–except that when you know them you can sing/scream at the top of your voice.

But it wasn’t all new songs at all.  They opened with a new song (the opening song of the album). (more…)

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