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Archive for the ‘The Foundry’ Category

Lydia Persaud & Christine Bougie (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, December 3, 2022) [STARS]

Posted in Bahamas, Christine Bougie, Lydia Persaud, Philadelphia, PA, Stars, The Foundry, The Weather Station on December 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2022] Lydia Persaud & Christine Bougie

I have been a fan of Stars since about 2004.  I have wanted to see them for a really long time.  I thought I’d be able to see them last year on their Christmas Together Tour.  It was at LPR in New York (which is just too much of a pain to get to) and at World Cafe Live.  But it happened to be on the same night as our holiday party, so I couldn’t swing it.  I never guessed they’d do another one.  So this year I made sure to get tickets and schedule our party around this show.

I didn’t know who would be opening.  Technically, the opening act was just Lydia Persaud, but since it was just Lydia and her guitarist Christine Bougie, (and I’d never heard of either before) I’m listing them both here.

Lydia was speaking for herself, but I believe that they both play together in a lot of things.  Lydia has been a member of The Soul Motivators, The O’Pears and Dwayne Gretzky and she and Christine are part of the the Queer Songbook Orchestra.  

They played a jazzy set of remarkably sad music. (more…)

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Let’s Eat Grandma (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2022)

Posted in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Julien Chang, Let's Eat Grandma, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on November 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2022] Let’s Eat Grandma

I first heard about Let’s Eat Grandma back in 2016 from NPR music.  They had put out an album, I, Gemini that was weird and quirky, the creation of two weird and quirky girls–Rosa Walton (r, on the poster) and Jenny Hollingworth.  The album was really bizarre–strange music and spoken/shouted lyrics in thick Norwich accents.

I really wanted to see this concoction live, but they were quite young at the time and didn’t come over to the States until 2018.  Their 2018 album, I’m All Ears had a very different sound (more synthy and dancey, but still quirky).  The song “Hot Pink” from that album is about as weird as a catchy pop song can be.

Then in 2022 they put out Two Ribbons.  They had a series of personal crises in this time and it feels like a lot of the quirkiness was bashed out of them.  This makes the new album poppier and a lot mre accessible but to me a bit less interesting.

I read a review of their live show to make sure I still want to go, and it did make me want to go.  But I couldn’t help feel that there was something a little flat about the whole thing. (more…)

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Julien Chang (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, November 2, 2022) [LET’S EAT GRANDMA]

Posted in Julien Chang, Let's Eat Grandma, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on November 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 2, 2022] Julien Chang

I hadn’t heard of Julien Chang (pronounced “Chong” according to him) before this show.  He has an album out and a new one out on November 4.

I had listened to a couple of songs beforehand and found them to be nice enough.  I was in no way prepared for the band that he brought with him.

His lead guitarist Utah Miller was really fantastic.  They looked really young, but there was some serious shredding going on.  Julien’s bassist (whose name I didn’t catch played some great riffs and a few sliding bass-like sounds.  He also played guitar on a couple of songs (for a three guitar attack!).  But his most impressive bandmate was drummer Maya Stepansky.  She was all over the kit but in a very controlled manner.  With a small drum kit, she played some really impressive and timely fills.  She had a lot of subtle moments of the cymbals and was just a stellar accompanist.

Then there was Chang himself.  He wrote and played all of the songs on the record (with a couple of exceptions) and his songwriting skills is really quite accomplished.  I found some of his arrangements to be really complex and wonderful.  He has a jazz composer’s technique, with time changes and major rhythmic shifts in the songs.  And obviously allowing Miller to shred and Stepansky to riff shows a complex song structure.

I’m not even sure how to best describe his music.  It felt jazzy and poppy.  There were some prog rock elements (in the time shifts) and musically I really enjoyed what I heard.

I haven’t heard any of the studio recording of these songs, but I feel like they will simply be a lot better live.

  1. Heart Holiday
  2. Snakebit
  3. Butterflies in Morocco
  5. Marmalade

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Mac Sabbath / Speedealer / Lung (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, October 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Lung, Mac Sabbath, Philadelphia, PA, Speedealer, The Foundry on October 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 3, 2021] Mac Sabbath / Speedealer / Lung

I saw Mac Sabbath back in 2019 and enjoyed their weird schtick.

Basically, they are a Black Sabbath cover band, but all of their lyrics are about McDonald’s and the fast food industry in general.  So that’s pretty funny.  But that’s not all.  They have taken this concept to an absurd length.   Each band member is costumed or wears makeup.  And the costumes are phenomenal–not cheap little handmade things, but remarkably detailed and well constructed heads and bodies.  The attention to detail is really impressive.

I don’t really think I ever need to see them again, frankly.  And I almost feel like playing the small Foundry would be a detriment to them, with their full size costumery and everything.

Speedealer was supposed to open for Fu Manchu on theat ill-fated tour.   They were originally called REO Speedealer, which I love.  They were told to cease and desist from REO Speedwagon (imagine that).  They play a kind of aggressive garage metal.  They have a punk edge and the lead singer has a growly punk voice that is clear enough amid the roughage.

Lung is a two-piece based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, comprised of Kate Wakefield (vocals, effected electric cello) and Daisy (drums).  This set up is pretty wild.  Kate plays an electric cello (it’s very thin, with all the wood cut off.  And Daisy plays a stripped down drumkit.  Kate plays mostly heavy deep notes, but there’s that distinctive cello feel that makes it all sound so surreal.

It’s hard to imagine anyone not in a comedy band opening for Mac Sabbath.  I can kind of see Lung because they are pretty unusual, but it seems odd for Speedealer.

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The Linda Lindas (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2021) [rescheduled]

Posted in Bacchae, Bikini Kill, Philadelphia, PA, The Blue Hearts, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Foundry, The Go-Go's, The Linda Lindas on July 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 26, 2021] The Linda Lindas [postponed from July 21, 2022]

I was excited to take my daughter to see The Linda Lindas since she is the same age as they are.  She didn’t really know their music (I heard about them when they played at a library in LA), but I thought she’d enjoy the show and the venue.

But when the show was postponed (it was pretty cool that it was only postponed five days), the new date was on a night that she has a 4H commitment.  So she couldn’t go.

So, I went since I wanted to see them while they were still buzzed about.  If you know them at all, you know that they are four teenaged girls who made a great punk song called “Racist Sexist Boy” about their experiences with a racist sexist classmate.  They did a pandemic-era show at the L.A. library and made huge news.

The foursome are great musicians, they write rocking, relevant (to them) punk songs and, most important, they have a ton of fun.  At the time of our show, the drummer, Mila de la Garza, was possibly not yet 12.  She played a solid drum, sang her heart out, drew a cat under her nose like a mustache and had a great time. (more…)

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Bacchae (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 26, 2021) [THE LINDA LINDAS] [rescheduled]

Posted in Bacchae, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Foundry, The Linda Lindas on July 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 26, 2021] Bacchae [postponed from July 21, 2022]

I was excited to take my daughter to see The Linda Lindas since she is the same age as they are.  She didn’t really know their music (I heard about them when they played at a library in LA), but I thought she’d enjoy the show and the venue.

But when the show was postponed (it was pretty cool that it was only postponed five days), the new date was on a night that she has a 4H commitment.  So she couldn’t go.

So, I went since I wanted to see them while they were still buzzed about.

The opening band I hadn’t heard of.  They are called Bacchae (a good start for a intellectual show, right?).  They are a Washington D.C. based punk band with really smart lyrics.

They released their last album just in time for the pandemic. (more…)

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The Linda Lindas / Bacchae (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, July 21, 2021) [postponed]

Posted in Bacchae, Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Foundry, The Linda Lindas on July 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 21, 2021] The Linda Lindas / Bacchae [moved to July 26, 2022]

I was excited to take my daughter to see The Linda Lindas since she is the same age as they are.  She didn’t really know their music (I heard about them when they played at a library in LA), but I thought she’d enjoy the show and the venue.

We drove all the way to Philly.  We parked.  We walked to the venue.  And discovered that the show had been postponed!

In fairness to the world, apparently it was known on July 19th, that these shows were being postponed because of a case of COVID in the touring party.  BrooklynVegan posted on the 19th (more…)

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Vundabar / Runnner (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 23, 2022) [rescheduled date] [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in M.A.G.S., Philadelphia, PA, Runnner, The Foundry, Vundabar on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 23, 2022] Vundabar / Runnner [moved from March 25, 2022, First Unitarian Church]

This show was moved forward a couple of months.  By this time I knew who Vundabar was and was interested in seeing them because of their ubiquitous (in my house) old song “Alien Blues.”

This show sold out before I really knew about it, so there was no way i was going.

I was also a little surprised to find out that their music doesn’t really sound like “Alien Blues”–that song is a bit more frenetic and weird than their most recent album anyway.  Although most live reviews I’ve read say they are terrific live.

M.A.G.S. was supposed to open for this tour, but he couldn’t accommodate the new dates.

Instead, Runnner was the opener.  Noah Weinman is the singer-songwriter behind the melancholy bedroom-folk project.  I listened to a couple of songs and yes, “melancholy bedroom-folk” sounds about right.  I wouldn’t have enjoyed them as an opener, especially if I thought Vundabar was going to be a rocking outfit.

 

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La Femme / Cumgirl8 (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, June 4, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Cumgirl8, La Femme, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 4, 2022] La Femme / Cumgirl8

I heard about La Femme through the Levitation Sessions releases.  I have enjoyed just about everything that Levitation has released in this series–most of it trippy psychedelia.

La Femme is a different beast though.  While still trippy, the are more of a disco-based, Kraftwerk-inspired form of Parisian punk psych pop.  They could be trashy psych as played by techno acts, or prickly electro as louche sophisti-noir.  Whatever the case, I though they’d be fun to see live.

I found out about this show pretty late in the game and it happened to be on the same night as the Crawlers show that my daughter really wanted to go see.  So I hope La Femme comes back around sooner rather than later.

Cumgirl8 sounds like the name of a band that is trying too hard.  But they are getting some good review for their music.

Like this from V Magazine.

Founded on the idea of taking back control and fighting against toxicity, cumgirl8 is true adventurist-punk group. The group has received praise from the likes of Stereogum and Fader, and their latest song, “dumb bitch,” has already garnered over 15,000 listens on Spotify.

They remind me of a British 70s punk band ala The Slits (I thought they were British–they are not).  The music is weird, with a pulsing bass that follows the main vocal line and jagged, echoing guitars.

Here’s an interesting factoid about the band: singer and bass player Lida Fox and guitarist Veronika Vilim are both models, as in big baller runway Marc Jacobs type shit, with drummer/synth tweaker/producer Chase Noelle having played in BOYTOY and others.

I wonder how much durability they’ll have.

 

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Little Simz (Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, May 21, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Cancelled, Little Simz, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, Theatre of Living Arts on May 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: May 15, 2022] Little Simz

I’ve never been to a rap show, but this week I had an opportunity to go to three that I wanted to go to: DAVE (British), SHAD (Canadian) and Little Simz (British).

I really like Little Simz’ delivery and attitude and I thought she’d be a lit of fun to see live.  Apparently a lot of other people did too, because this show was originally scheduled for The Foundry but it got moved to TLA.

However, on April 20, Little Simz cancelled her American tour.

Little Simz has cancelled her upcoming US tour, citing the financial unviability of the undertaking as an independent artist.

“I take my live shows seriously and would only want to give you guys nothing but the best of me,” the 28-year-old rapper and actor, born Simbiatu Ajikawo, tweeted.

“Being an independent artist, I pay for everything encompassing my live performances out of my own pocket and touring the US for a month would leave me in a huge deficit. As much as this pains me to not see you at this time, I’m just not able to put myself through that mental stress.”

The 11-date tour was due to commence in May. It would have been the first time that Simz had showcased her widely acclaimed 2021 album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, in the US. A representative for the musician could not confirm whether the cancellation would also affect her planned dates in Canada and South America.

Simz advised artists to “know your worth and stick to your guns”.

Good for her for knowing her worth.  And obviously the stress would be too much, but I still think she might have made some money on this tour.

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