Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Sigur Rós, The Met Philadelphia on June 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: June 7, 2022] Sigur Rós
Few bands are as amazing live as Sigur Rós. I can’t believe it has been five years since I’ve last seen them.
My wife and I were looking forward to this show so much.
And that’s when we learned that you can never schedule anything in June if you have kids. Our daughter won an award and it was scheduled for this evening.
What timing. Obviously, there was no chance for going to this show.
Posted in 100 gecs, Nine Inch Nails, Philadelphia, PA, Skinny Puppy, The Met Philadelphia on May 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 24 & 25, 2022] Nine Inch Nails / 100 gecs
I saw Nine Inch Nails open for Skinny Puppy on Halloween in 1988 at Irving Plaza in New York City. My memory is hazy, but I recall Trent Reznor playing all of his music on a giant reel to reel player and no one else on stage. No idea if that’s correct. I recall not thinking much of him/them. “Head Like a Hole” wouldn’t come out for another year and a half.
Obviously, things went pretty well for him.
I don’t really think I would have gone to this show even if it hadn’t sold out. I have nothing against the new version of NIN, I’m just not all that interested. Plus its fun to have my memory.
100 gecs are a crazy band who apparently put on a wild show (and sell out pretty quickly).
My son played us “Stupid Horse” a while ago and I thought it was crazy–funny, catchy, irritating–a perfectly weird pop song. When they announced a tour, I asked him if he wanted to go and he laughed and said no.
I looked up a concert review to see what their show was like and people said they played their entire catalog, which was like 30 minutes. And that was it. (Turns out they played for 50 minutes at their headline show in Philly).
There were some interesting openers on this tour. More power to Trent:
Yves Tumor, Boy Harsher and a little band called Ministry.
I just found out that someone ha a recording of that 1988 show
And here’s a poster for the 1988 show
Posted in Beach Bunny, C., Deftones, Ky Vöss, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Union Transfer, Wednesday on May 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: May 18, 2022] Beach Bunny
T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021. I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….). Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.
I had really enjoyed her at Union Transfer and was looking forward to what she’s do at this show.
Last time the stage was filled with old video game cabinets. This time it had old small TV screens.
Lili Trifilio came out with bunny ears on and jumped right in with “Oxygen.” The crowd seemed very young to me (which, I guess to me they were very young, but I believe the Fillmore was designed for a largely under 21 crowd).
My daughter seemed a little overwhelmed by the crowd and the show and decided to hang nearer to the back. She felt like she could see better, which may have been true). But i always feel disconnected from the show when I’m too far back. (more…)
Posted in Beach Bunny, C., Deftones, Ky Vöss, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Union Transfer, Wednesday on May 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: May 18, 2022] Ky Vöss [Wednesday cancelled]
T. was really into Beach Bunny when we saw her back in November of 2021. I was pretty surprised that she was going to tour again in May of 2022 (in fairness, the 2021 tour had been rescheduled twice and I think she was ready to play new stuff, but she had all the gear from the old tour so….). Plus, this new tour moved her from the 1500 capacity Union Transfer to the 2500 capacity Fillmore.
Of course I got her a ticket!
It also happened to be the same night as my rescheduled (three or four times) Deftones show which I was incredibly excited to go to. Which my son really wanted to go to having recently gotten into the Deftones.
I tried so many different ways to make this night happen for all of us.
Perhaps I could get a ticket for him for Deftones and we could go together. Mine was GA, but GA was upselling for like $300 (NO!). I could get him a seat in the balcony–that would suck) and even that was upselling for like $175 (NO!). (more…)
Posted in Coronavirus, Deftones, Full show video, Gojira, Philadelphia, PA, Poppy, Postponed, Quarantine, The Met Philadelphia, VOWWS on May 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 18, 2022] Deftones / Gojira / VOWWS [rescheduled from August 22, 2020 and August 27, 2021]
I was pretty excited to see this Deftones show. But I was even more excited when my son said he wanted to go to the show with me. Well, it had sold out a long time ago and I couldn’t get a Pit ticket for a reasonable price. I didn’t want my son to be in the balcony while I was in the pit. But I also didn’t want the reverse.
But then, what happened was that I got a ticket to see Beach Bunny across town on the same night. And so, my daughter and I went to the Beach Bunny show and I gave my son the Deftones ticket. Yes, he would be by himself in the pit.
The timing actually worked out just fine, because while Wednesday bailed on our show, VOWWS bailed on their show. This meant I had to do some mathematical time keeping to see if I’d have to leave Beach Bunny early to get him so he wasn’t hanging around on the streets of Philadelphia.
But it turned out that his show ended almost exactly the same time as our show. Since our show was only ten minutes away, there was still plenty of foot traffic when I went to go get him.
He said the show was great. And Markit Aneight kindly recorded the entire Deftones set.
~~~~~~~
I was pretty excited to see this show this summer. It turned out, however, that the show was the night that we returned home from vacation. Ie, it would have been a pretty exhausting day. So, the fact that Deftones decided to postponed until May was fine with me.
I’m bummed that Poppy is no longer part of the tour because I’d really like to see her. But she is now headlining her own tour–which I don’t really want to see. I’m not sure a full show of hers would be that much fun. But hey, maybe she’ll be back on board
~~~
I saw Deftones at a lousy location (Sands Bethlehem hall), but it was one of my favorite shows that year. The crowd was pushy and shovey, but Chino came within five feet of me and the energy was amazing.
Plus at the end of the show, when a roadie threw out a drumstick, I actually got it.
I knew I’d want to see them at least one more time, but wow was I surprised to see that they were going to play The Met in Philly, which I think of as a more “delicate” hall. I’d be slightly afraid for the seats at a Deftones show.
The opening acts were really intriguing as well.
Gojira area French heavy metal band whose 2012 album I loved. Heavy and very technical I’d imagine they put on a great show.
Poppy is an absolute mystery. She’s an internet creation whose every song is is a different genre. Her latest album was really really heavy but with that fake internet sheen on it (in a Babymetal kind of way but less sincere, if that’s possible). I’ve been intrigued by here since I first heard about her, but I wouldn’t want to see her show if she was headlining. This seemed like a great way to experience her weirdness. I hope that she is still on the bill next year and that she is still into metal, otherwise it could be kind of awkward.
I really thought that this show at the end of August might go on but on May 19, they sent this note.
Due to the current regulations, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we must reschedule our North American summer tour dates with special guests, Gojira and Poppy. We’re currently rescheduling the dates for 2021, and you’ll be the first to know once they are confirmed. All tickets will be honored or refunded upon our next announcement regarding the tour.
I’m glad they are promising to come back And by then, their new album (due in September) will be familiar to all of us.
Posted in Companion, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Tori Amos on May 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: May 9, 2022] Tori Amos
I
last saw Tori Amos over 20 years ago. I was a die-hard looney fan back in the 90s. That has since passed. I saw her a lot of times in the span of five years and then I was kind of over her. I still enjoyed her music but the fanbase was getting too intense for me.
I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to get tickets to this show, I though it would have sold out immediately. But when the presale was announced, I was able to score third row. When I was a huge fan, I was never anywhere closer than half way back. So this was sort of a last hurrah for seeing her. If I had gotten these tickets twenty-five years ago I would have ben beside myself.
Turns out that the intense fanbase is still there and they may have been unhappy that I was in that third row seat because there was a coordinated effort by the folks in the first three rows to control the audience. Not in a “you must do this” way but in a “this is how it’s done” way. It almost felt like church–which is very funny given Tori’s upbringing.
Tori’s band (bassist Jon Evans and drummer Ash Soan) came out and did a little jamming before Tori walked out in a lovely flowing kimono type thing and the highest spikiest heels that one might ever see on a pianist.
She opened with “Juárez” from To Venus and Back. Not my favorite song from the album (I would have loved to hear “Bliss”), but a promising start to the idea that she was going to be playing from all over her career. Plus, the all sounded great–the band was excellent and Tori’s voice sounded in good form. She also made a lot of eye contact and gestures to the folks in the front row–just like the old days, but I could actually see them.
After playing a song I didn’t know (I have American Doll Posse, but couldn’t tell you when I last listened to it), she jumped all the way back to play “Little Earthquakes.” The crowd went berserk (as they should) and then we sat back and enjoyed it. Because this was part of the coordination from the front row, as soon as the second song was done, they turned around and motioned for everyone to sit, like they knew the next song was going to be a slow one and we should sit now so we didn’t sit during the song. It was weird (although not unappreciated). (more…)
Posted in Companion, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia, Tori Amos on May 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[ATTENDED: May 9, 2022] Companion
I last saw Tori Amos over 20 years ago. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see her again and then this tour was announced. I liked the new song from the new album and since it was the met and I was able to get presale tickets, I figured I’d give it a shot.
It wasn’t clear to me who would be opening for her, if anyone. But as the show drew closer the date was listed as Tori Amos and Companion. Which was confusing to be sure. I’d never heard of a band called Companion. Was this a suggestion that Tori would have a companion on stage?
Well, it soon became clear that Companion is a band. A duo, actually. As their site explains:
Companion is the Fort Collins, CO-based duo of identical twin sisters Sophia and Jo Babb. The pair’s music presents immaculate harmonies, delicate folk melodies, and a nuanced approach to songwriting that feels at once lighthearted and weighted with palpable empathy.
The duo came out in spectacular outfits. Sophia in a yellow, wildly patterned 70s era pantsuit (and straight hair) and Jo in a floral shirt and jeans (and curly hair). (more…)
Posted in Holly Humberstone, Olivia Rodrigo, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 6 & 7, 2022] Olivia Rodrigo / Holly Humberstone
Olivia Rodrigo kind of busted out of nowhere (okay, actually Disney) with her super catchy and mildly punkish album Sour. My daughter loved it and it is fun as heck.
The more I listened to the songs, the more I thought it would be fun as anything to see her live.
Well, evidently everyone else in the world thought the same thing because this tour (both nights) sold out in about 2 minutes.
Well, I’ll never get to know how this tour went.
Holly Humberstone opened for Girl in Red the first time we saw them.
She was really good. I wrote:
Well, I was impressed by her. She played guitar, keyboard, piano and created live beats on the drum machine while singing. And her voice was really lovely too.
Her songs are on the pop side but with some good loud guitars from time to time. “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet” was the synthy song (that featured sped up samples of her voice trilling in the background. I enjoyed the way she jumped from the synth rack to the piano mid-song.
Would have been a fun show.
Posted in Lorde, Philadelphia, PA, Remi Wolfe, The Met Philadelphia on April 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: April 20, 2022] Lorde / Remi Wolfe
I have enjoyed most of Lorde’s output even if she is quite poppy. In fact, I love the song “Solar Power.” I find her rather intriguing and was curious about seeing her live.
This sow sold out (or nearly sold out) very quickly, so I didn’t bother even trying to get tickets. It sounds like there was some kind of controversy at recent shows about her shushing people while she was singing. Which is kind of cheesy, although, having been to shows where someone with an amazing voice is drowned out by a fan who cannot sing, I understand the sentiment.
Remi Wolfe is a singer songwriter whom I do not know. The fact that she appeared on American Idol in 2014 makes me not like her. That’s unfair, but whatever.
Posted in Khruangbin, Nubya Garcia, Philadelphia, PA, The Met Philadelphia on March 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
[DID NOT ATTEND: March 19, 2022
] Khruangbin / Nubya Garcia
I’m intrigued by Khruangbin. I wanted them to sound a little different than they originally did. And then they made some EPs with Leon Bridges and they did sound different–more trippy, but more catchy as well.
I thought they’d be fun to see live.
S. likes the EPs even more than I did, but she didn’t really want to see them. So I refrained from buying tickets. Then the Kim Gordon show was announced, and I was sue I’d go see that one. But I didn’t get tickets to any of the shows today.
Go figure.
I know Nubya Garcia from a Tiny Desk Concert. She’s a jazzy saxophonist who would probably go well with Khruangbin, although I don’t know that I’d want to see her on her own.
I Just Read About That... 