[DID NOT ATTEND: December 2, 2022] Dinosaur Jr. / Guided By Voices / Eugene Mirman
I have seen Dinosaur Jr. three times and I don’t really need to see them again. They were great but there’s not a lot new in the mix to make it worth the trip. And that’s fine.
Guided By Voices are supposedly the greatest (or at least the most prolific) indie band of the 90s. And I’ve never really gotten into them. I like some of their songs just fine, but I feel like Robert Pollard plays two chords for 80 seconds and write some nonsense and there’s the new GBV song.
If I had seen them open for someone I’m sure I’d appreciate it, but they weren’t going to drag me to this show.
Eugene Mirman is a comedian and the voice of Gene on Bob’s Burgers. I wanted to go to this show just for him. But I didn’t. Once again, though, I love a comedian opening for a rock band.
Back in May of 2021 I was pretty excited that Måneskin won Eurovision 2021. I am in no way a Eurovision watcher, but during the lockdown I decided to do some dives into recent Eurovision happenings. Måneskin was unusual–a rocking band who were glammy but heavy. Their song “Zitti E Buoni” had it all (in a tidy three minute package).
I enjoyed the song, played it a few times and then kind of forgot about them.
So it was weird when, a few months later, my daughter became obsessed with them. I realized that in 2022, it’s easy to be obsessed with a band from a non-English speaking country, but it still made me happy because obviously I am obsessed with lots of bands from far away places.
Måneskin announced a small concert in October 2021 and I missed out on the announcement and it sold out very quickly. That sucked because she would have loved to see them (and it would have been pretty cool to see them in a small club before they toured the States).
It took almost five months for Måneskin to announce a proper U.S. tour. There was no way I could miss out on these tickets and I grabbed them immediately. She was thrilled and I was pretty excited to see them as well. I was somewhat surprised, but not really, that it sold out. But I was a bit more surprised that they announced a second show in Philly.
That one didn’t sell out and as the show approached, the idea came to us to go to the non-sold out show instead. There was also the possibility of a few her friends going to–we may have been our own crowd. Various things came up and it turned out to be just my T, S and me. But i did manage to sell our Monday tickets, so it worked out. (more…)
I bought tickets to this show back in march–the day they went on sale and old out. My daughter and I were excited to go, although wasn’t sure how much she’d enjoy a sold out show.
As the day grew closer, we thought it might be more fun to go to the second night–not sold out, tickets still available. I also bought one for my wife so the three of us could enjoy the show together.
I was able to sell these tickets and all was well. We may have gotten more poseurs at our show, but it was still more fun.
~~
Back in May of 2021 I was pretty excited that Måneskin won Eurovision 2021. I am in no way a Eurovision watcher, but during the lockdown I decided to do some dives into recent Eurovision happenings. Måneskin was unusual–a rocking band who were glammy but heavy. Their song “Zitti E Buoni” had it all (in a tidy three minute package).
I enjoyed the song, played it a few times and then kind of forgot about them.
So it was weird when, a few months later, my daughter became obsessed with them. I realized that in 2022, it’s easy to be obsessed with a band from a non-English speaking country, but it still made me happy because obviously I am obsessed with lots of bands from far away places.
I saw Jinjer almost exactly one year ago to the day. It was also the night before Thanksgiving (that’s kind of weird, no?}
When they announced this show I bought a ticket immediately. Last year, there was no war in Ukraine. There was no crisis or concern. This year, I wanted to support them and their country. I didn’t even really pay attention to the rest of the bill.
P.O.D. (really?), Vended and from Ukraine, Space of Variations.
I didn’t want to see any of these other bands (well, maybe Space of Variations). And I didn’t want to spend two and a half hours standing around listening to bands I didn’t really want to hear.
So I thought I might not go. But I listened to some Jinjer and decided that I did want to see them after all. Especially when I saw that they were playing “Pisces” on this tour (which they didn’t play for us last time). (more…)
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 18, 2022] I Prevail / Pierce the Veil / Fit for a King / Stand Atlantic
My son has really been getting into Pierce the Veil lately. I didn’t know them, but I’ve really enjoyed what I heard from them. They haven’t toured in a long time, so when they announced this show (second on the bill), I grabbed us tickets.
I like the singer’s voice and that they seem to mix genres in interesting ways all within a heavy base.
But as the show drew closer, and I told my son that Pierce the Veil probably wasn’t going to play that long and that we’d have to sit through at least two other bands, possibly three others if we stayed until the end, we kind of agreed that maybe we didn’t need to go to this show. Especially since, assuredly, Pierce the Veil would tour as a headliners soon (which they have since done).
So I sold my tickets for a small profit and we stayed home. I mean honestly four bands is practically a festival.
I didn’t really know any of the other bands. I’d heard of I Prevail–they were supposed to tour with Ice Nine Kills
Here’s a hilarious review of the I Prevail album True Power from Sputnik Music
No one does it quite like I Prevail. There’s something to be said about a band capable of pleasing dudebro-core fans and “I-dig-Evanescence” mums alike. Unfortunately, the majority of that thing isn’t exactly positive. Everything I Prevail does is so predictable, so glossy, so vapid that it’s easy to see why they aren’t exactly revered. Simultaneously, everything I Prevail does is so predictable, so glossy, so listenable that it’s easy to see why the majority of their songs have accumulated well over ten million streams on Spotify. Three years after the highly successful and utterly disposable Trauma, metalcore’s most slippery boys have returned with the brand new full length True Power to please their legions of fans. …. While most elements of True Power are perfectly listenable (outside of every single rapped verse), there’s hardly a single original idea to be found on the record.
Other reviews are more positive.
Fir for a King is a metalcore band out of Texas. It seems like there’s either a ton of metalcore bands these days or the bands that I want to see keep getting paired with metalcore bands. They opened for Ice Nine Kills in Philly, but we ate cheesteaks and missed their set. Ice Nine Kills seems to be the common thread here, I guess.
My new favorite site for snarky review, Sputnik Music says
On one hand, I marvel at the technical competence and musicianship of this band. I know that as a drummer I am not, and never will be, as good as Trey Celaya. The musician in me, knowing I am nowhere near as capable as these guys, finds it hard to be objective. What right do I have to judge or be critical? I am not the one spending years writing the songs, going on tour, or releasing the albums. I sure couldn’t write it myself. I’m not the “man in the arena” so to speak.
On the other hand, as I continue writing reviews and taking a more methodical or academic approach to listening to music, it’s very difficult to dismiss the shortcomings and drawbacks of this record. Furthermore, I am a consumer, and it is an unfortunate reality that one of the surest ways to lose customers in an industry as competitive or cutthroat as music is to fail to routinely provide an improved product.
Herein lies the problem with The Hell We Create: By itself, the album is passable, acceptable, adequate, or whatever other adjective you want to use for something that is perfectly alright. Unfortunately, next to Dark Skies, those descriptions could just as easily be swapped for words such as mediocre or middling, second-rate or passé. So while it is marginally better than The Path, it is not anywhere close to the quality it could or should be, and Fit For A King’s struggle to settle on where they are going musically greatly overshadows any forward progress they might be making.
I rather like the catchy parts of the songs.
Stand Atlantic are an Australian pop-punk band that seems to have embraced a more metal sound on their newest album. Their first two albums are pretty widely varied. They are no doubt playing up their heavier side for this tour. But I think I like some of their other stuff better.
When Mercyful Fate announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. They were one of my favorite metal bands back in high school. I listened to their two albums constantly. My friend Joe and I used to jam to them, learning how to play fast metal.
They basically broke up in 1985 and lead singer King Diamond went solo. He was the main focus of the band for me, so I followed his career for an album or two then gave up on the whole thing.
I had no idea they’d reunited in the 90s and released a bunch of albums.
But after their 1999 album Mercyful Fate went on hiatus again. And now, here they were back together after 23 years. Well, sort of together again. The new lineup features two of the five original dudes. The King of course and original guitarist Hank Shermann. Then there are some dudes who joined them for the mid 90s reunion drummer Bjarne T. Holm and guitarist Mike Wead. The final piece was supposed to be Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera, but he was off playing with Armored Saint. So they found Becky Baldwin, who has been on a dozen albums by bands I don’t know. But she totally kicked ass on stage and frankly it was nice to have a female presence on stage.
After Kreator was gone, we all rushed the stage and waited. There was some turmoil as a big dude seemed to be lurking and lurching at the women in the audience. I anticipated trouble, but none was had. And then people started pushing . Really hard. Because the pit was being formed. So I was far from where I started but still plenty close enough.
As with Kreator, I thought that the sound was too loud. But that compliant is more for the fidelity of the music than the actual volume. It felt like the music was very crackly and I actually thought it sounded better with earplugs in. I also thought it was very un-Mercyful Fate like to play lead guitar in a baseball hat and sunglasses, but such is Hank Shermann’s deal I guess.
But honestly who cared as long as the music sounded good and that King Diamond could still do his magic.
They opened with “The Oath” and I was immediately transported back to 1985. The riffs were spot on and, amazingly King Diamond sounded just as unholy and insane as always.
The stood at the top of the stage–there was a balcony over the drum riser with stairs leading to the stage–in front of a “marble” room. He wore a giant horned mask and a red robe. And of course his face was painted white. And he had his femur bone/cross/microphone. The song started, the recognizable riff blasting through the speakers, and the King’s unholy falsetto soaring through the crowd: “I deny Jesus Christ.”
Yup, the giant floating upside down cross and goat’s head pentagram weren’t the only thing Satanic about this meeting. It was followed by a song from their debut EP, “A Corpse Without Soul.”
I wasn’t really sure how many people liked Mercyful Fate. I mean, I know they are hugely influential (Metallica covered them after all), but who knew if that translated into actual fans. But not only were there a lot of people there, most of them seemed to know all the words.
They played a new song, but I didn’t really care all that much about it. I haven’t listened to anything past 1985 by them and doubt that I will. It seemed to be a historical, rather than a Satanic song. Between these three songs, it had been over twenty minutes already!
By this time, the King had gone up to the room and removed his horns. He came back with the crown that he wears for most of the show.
And then they moved onto a song from Melissa. It quickly became clear that I know Melissa a bit better than Oath, because every note of “Curse of the Pharaohs” was instantly familiar. King Diamond hit those insanely high notes of the chorus with no trouble. It was almost shocking how short the song is when compared t o the others.
King Diamond was pretty fun and funny throughout the show. He invited us to “A Dangerous Meeting.” They followed that up with “Doomed by the Living Dead,” another deep cut that shows a really catchy chorus.
I was pretty delighted that this tour was pretty much all classic songs–no 90s songs at all. I wouldn’t exactly say hit after hit, but for a fan of those two records it felt like hit after hit.
Then it was on to a whole bunch of songs from Melissa. They played pretty much all of the album (skipping “Into the Coven” and “At the Sound of the Demon Bell”).
The King climbed up to his room as Hank and Mike played the opening guitar riff and solo of “Melissa.” King came out and knelt in front of the pentagram as he crooned the opening words. I’ve listened to this song so much, I knew everything that was coming. It was pretty awesome.
They followed it with the remarkably short “Black Funeral” and then the album opener “Evil” which I swear EVERYONE sang along to (except the high notes, thankfully).
The final song of the set was “Come to the Sabbath” (which he of course invited us to).
I knew they were playing “Satan’s Fall” on this tour and I was unreasonably excited to hear it. I didn’t know if there was anything else I especially wanted to hear. “Nuns Have No Fun” would have been a hilarious addition, but I didn’t expect it. And quite frankly, I was happy for the show to be relatively short.
So after an encore break, the band came out and began the epic journey. It was crazy hearing that riff, hearing that voice (even if I had no idea what the words actually were), and feeling everyone moshing and slamming and singing around me. If I had been 15, it would have been the greatest moment of my life, I’m sure.
The song was epic and they finished it and we all went crazy.
Then the band gathered near the front of the stage and it was very funny to see King Diamond smiling and waving to people.
There were actually some dudes shouting “one more song” as if a) you could top “Satan’s Fall” and b) you could actually tell King Diamond what to do.
Markit Aneight posted a full video of the show
The Oath Ø
A Corpse Without Soul ¥
The Jackal of Salzburg [new]
Curse of the Pharaohs ϖ
A Dangerous Meeting Ø
Doomed by the Living Dead ¥
Melissa ϖ
Black Funeral ϖ
Evil ϖ
Come to the Sabbath Ø
encore
Satan’s Fall ϖ
new song 2022 Ø Don’t Break the Oath (1984)
ϖ Melissa (1983) ¥ Mercyful Fate EP (1982)
When Mercyful Fate announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I didn’t care who the opening bands were. The fact that it was billed as a kind of double bill with Kreator was no big deal. And we had support from Midnight, whom I’d never heard of.
I wanted to arrive late enough that I wouldn’t be too far back but also with hope that I didn’t have to sit through too much of Kreator.
I missed Midnight entirely–they sound like a band I would have enjoyed back in high school (solid Metal Blade music).
I had heard of Kreator, (they’ve been around since 1985, after all) but I really didn’t know anything about them. Apparently they are quite legendary in the metal world. Wikipedia even says
Pleasure to Kill is widely considered a landmark thrash metal classic, along with Master of Puppets by Metallica, Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? by Megadeth, Reign in Blood by Slayer, Eternal Devastation by Destruction and Darkness Descends by Dark Angel, all released in 1986.
But I’m guessing that since I didn’t get into this album back in the 80s, I never would. I found the whole show, of which I saw about six or seven songs, too loud (so I’m too old). And kind of samey. (more…)
Metric’s Fantasties was one of my favorite albums of 2009. I liked it so much I went back and got their first two albums as well and really enjoyed their brand of gritty synth pop all based around Emily Haines’ astute and observantly dark lyrics. Then I kind of lost track of them. They put out a record in 2012 Synthetica which I don’t understand why I didn’t listen to. They’ve continued to release albums every three years or so, and I’d been hearing how good their live shows were so I decided to check out The Doomscroller tour.
The stage setup was quite simple–a wall of lights behind them. The four members stood close to the center. Amazingly, the four members have been the same since more or less the beginning (they had a different bassist but he left before their first album). Joules Scott-Key on drums in the back. Joshua Winstead on bass more or less in front of us. James Shaw on guitar on the far side and singer Emily Haines in the middle. They were all standing at keyboards as the moody intro to “Doomscroller” started. Emily moved to one of the keyboards to add her parts and when the song shifted, she walked over to another keyboard–do they have different purposes?
When the sound shifted, the guys moved away from the synths and started rocking out. The lights changed. Emily moved into the middle and the whole room rocked out. Until things settled down again. The song is ten minutes with several parts and it showed exactly what the band was going to do and what the show was going to be like.
It was exciting and cathartic all together. (more…)
Metric was on my radar back in the early 2000s, but their album Fantasties proved to be one of my favorite releases of 2009. I had not considered seeing them live until I’d heard such glowing reviews of their live show.
When this tour was announced, Secret Machines was listed as the opening act for all shows but Philly and one other location. No other information was given. Even walking into the venue I wasn’t sure if there was an opening act. The only clue was that Metric was live streaming their show at 9 and the venue said the show started at 8.
A few minutes after 8, the lights dimmed and two people walked out. The crowd cheered, and then I heard someone say, “Wait. is there an opening band?” So I wasn’t the only one confused.
The people on stage were a guy behind some keyboards and a woman with a guitar.
The first song began and the keyboards made some cool sounds–weird and catchy–with a beat. Then the woman started singing. I liked the whole vibe she projected. As the song came to an end, she played some really wicked guitar licks–they reminded me of the earlier sounds that St. Vincent made on her first couple of albums–weird, unexpected and really compelling.
The rest of the set was more or less like this. Sometimes the guitar parts were more of a lead. Sometimes they were more like solos
She didn’t say much. She thanked Metric. Thanked us for coming early. And just as she was about to start the last song, someone shouted, Who are you? She smiled, leaned into the microphone and whispered something inaudible, which I think was her saying Miss Grit. I had actually heard of Miss Grit on an All Songs Considered episode from a couple of years ago. I remembered liking the song.
The only way I knew the band was by doing an audio search on my phone during the last song “Like You” which had a distinctive guitar riff.
Then they walked off, with the audience pretty much blown away. I think we all enjoyed her set immensely and I’m surprised she didn’t make sure we all knew who she was.
[DID NOT ATTEND: October 10-15, 2022] Philly Music Fest 2022
Every year since 2019 I have participated in Philly Music Fest in some way. But this year I wound up giving the whole thing a miss.
Philly Music Fest is a non-profit endeavor focused exclusively on local bands, with all proceeds donated to local music education charities. Philly Music Fest features both established and up and coming artists, showcasing the diversity of the Philadelphia music scene.
It wasn’t because of a bad lineup or anything, it was that I had tickets to other shows every night. I wound up not going to all of those shows anyway, but basically I was already booked for the whole Fest.
This year’s line up was even bigger than last year’s
October 10, 2022 at Ardmore Music Hall
Marielle Kraft is a poignant indie pop singer-songwriter
Electric Candlelight is a heavy psychedelic band that I was supposed to see open for Fuzz
Mt. Joy is a band I’ve heard on the radio a bunch who I don’t particularly like, so not so great in the headliner here.
October 11, 2022 at Ardmore Music Hall
Stereo League is apparently impossible to describe using concrete words as I can’t figure out what their music sounds like from the blurbs I’ve read.
Salika is an R&B singer
Mt. Joy of the two nights I wouldn’t have picked this one anyhow.
October 12, 2022 at World Cafe Live
Perpetual Motion is described as dynamic acoustic jazz who play blues, rock, jazz, and world music
Kayleigh Goldsworthy is a folk singer who I saw open for Frank Turner. She was great.
Ron Gallo is not Vincent Gallo, which is what I think every time I see his name. Ron is an indie guy who I’ve never heard but who must be pretty popular or interesting if he keeps popping up.
Lady HD is a kind of psychedelic pop band whose name reminds me too much of that Lady A fracas that bubbled up a few years ago.
Low Cut Connie is one of the bigger bands at the festival. I’d never want to see them, but I like some of their songs.
October 13, 2022 at Johnny Brenda’s
This was the night I would have gone to
The Ire is a four-piece goth-tinged post-punk band. I like their overall sound.
Ghosh is a band I’ve wanted to see: they’re pissed off, informed, and ready to party.
Screaming Females are terrific and even better live. I thought this would sell out in a second.
October 14, 2022 at REC Philly
This was a free show. A night of hip hop and beat curated by Working on Dying who I’ve never heard of of
October 14, 2022 at The Dolphin
The Dolphin is a new-ish venue that I’ve yet to check out.
Max Swan is saxophonist, vocalist, and producer influenced y likes of Stevie Wonder, James Blake.
Echo Kid is two guys from RFA. This is a hazier, no-holds-barred, psychedelic reimagining of the way they’d approach their songwriting process with a languorous sense of ease, effortless genre-blending, and an amalgam of intentional recorded conversation
Shamir is an artist I’d like to see live. They keep popping up as an opening act and then something happens and I don’t see them. Here’s another miss.
October 15, 2022 at Underground Arts
This would have been my pick for show of the Fest, if I hadn’t already been overbooked.
Justmadnice is blues-dipped psychedelic jazz.
Riverby are a fun indie rock band with a loose sound (and a cover of “Walk Through the Fire” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Empath is a band I was supposed to see open for Fucked Up but the couldn’t make the rescheduled date. They are kind of noisy and poppy and punky and are probably very fun live.
Mannequin Pussy is one of my favorite new(ish) bands. They are amazing live and are always worth seeing.
I have seen Dinosaur Jr. three times and I don’t really need to see them again. They were great but there’s not a lot new in the mix to make it worth the trip. And that’s fine.
I Just Read About That... 