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Archive for the ‘Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association’ Category

clipping. (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025)

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 18, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] clipping.

I haven’t been to the Ukie Club for two years.  A lot of good bands play there and it’s easy to get to and to park around, but something about the club feels so young (although Ty Segall did play there and he’s not young).  The last time I was there, I wrote:

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

And this time I say, holy crap was it hot in the Ukie Club!  I sweated from the second I walked in and my shirt was soaked so thoroughly that it was still wet when I got home an hour after the show ended.  There were a/c units on, but they did nothing near the stage.

But even sweating constantly couldn’t ruin a fantastic show.

We saw clipping. open for The Flaming Lips back in 2017.  They were supposed to play Philly during COVID and now, finally, after eight years, they have returned.

For the last show I had just learned about them (and liked them) about a month before this show.  And I wrote

Lest this seem like a vanity project for Diggs, producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes [Snipes is a sound designer, film composer, and experimental musician who records glitchy, snarky pop-deconstructionist noise music under the name Captain Ahab; Snipes and Hutson are also in the noise band Unnecessary Surgery] are the forces behind all of the music.  The group began in 2009 as a remix project, with Hutson and Snipes taking a cappellas of mainstream rap artists and making power electronics and noise remixes of them to amuse themselves. Diggs joined in 2010 and began to write his own raps over their compositions.  By the way, if we can trust Wikipedia, Diggs and Hutson met in grade school, and Hutson and Snipes were college roommates.  And for the record, Hamilton premiered in Jan 2015.

Unlike last time, I was right up front for this show.  I could have gotten closer but I was enjoying leaning against the pole that’s about six feet from the stage. (more…)

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Open Mike Eagle (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 16, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Open Mike Eagle

I saw Open Mike Eagle headline at Milkboy at the end of 2023–I was really happy to have finally seen him live.  He played a lot of songs from my favorite album of his and I really enjoyed his style and the way he interacted with the crowd.

I actually found out about this show because Open Mike popped up on my concert radar.  I was psyched to see him again.  And when I saw he was opening for clipping, I grabbed a ticket as fast as I could.  I assumed it would sell out and it did but not as quickly as I would have thought.

After OME’s set, Daveed Diggs said he drove all the way from Chicago and basically came out on stage with no prep work.  If that’s true then this set was even more impressive than I originally thought.

OME started with a song from Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, the album that introduced him to me (I am surprised to see he’s put out 5 albums since then!).  He didn’t play Brick Body Complex last time, and I was all there for it.

There was a guy in front of me who knew all the words to everything (except the new songs) and he was thrilled to be up so close to Mike.

He rapped four more songs that he had done last time.  And I was delighted to hear them again. I like I’ll Fight You and I really like Very Much Money.  Microfiche is from a great EP. (more…)

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Fatboi Sharif (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, August 15, 2025) [CLIPPING.]

Posted in Captain Ahab, clipping., Daveed Diggs, Fatboi Sharif, Hamilton, Open Mike Eagle, Philadelphia, PA, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association, Unnecessary Surgery on August 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 15, 2025] Fatboi Sharif.

I haven’t been to the Ukie Club for two years.  A lot of good bands play there and it’s easy to get to and to park around, but something about the club feels so young (although Ty Segall did play there and he’s not young).  The last time I was there, I wrote:

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

And this time I say, holy crap was it hot in the Ukie Club!  I sweated from the second I walked in and my shirt was soaked so thoroughly that it was still wet when I got home an hour after the show ended.  There were a/c units on, but they did nothing near the stage.

I didn’t realize the show went on at 8:30 and arrived at 7:45, so I was sweating for no reason.

Around 8:30, a guy cot up on stage behind some gear and he started playing loud beats.  He talked about what he was playing and really tried to get the crowd hyped up.  I assumed this was Fatboi Sharif, but it turned out it was DJ Boogaveli, Fatboi’s DJ.

Because a little while later Fatboi Sharif came up on stage.  The music was loud and his delivery was good, but I really couldn’t follow him very clearly.  I listened to a few of his recorded songs and his delivery is much cleaner.

The fascinating thing is that he brought several guests up on stage–and then stayed to the side while the guests did their own songs.

The first guest was EightyNiner Grant who I liked.  And then came GDP who i liked less (although on Fatboi’s album, I like his delivery quite a lot).

The set was pretty enjoyable.  I would probably have liked it more if I knew his stuff already, but I am intrigued to be sure.  (He is from Rahway, NJ).

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Pool Kids (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2023)

Posted in Chase Petra, Philadelphia, PA, Pool Kids, Sweet Pill, Sydney Sprague, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association on July 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2023] Pool Kids

Wow was it hot in The Ukie Club.

After two bands (and the inability to buy water at the bar–I can never catch a bartender), I splashed water on my face in the bathroom and prepped for Pool Kids.

The band set up, left the stage and then moments later came on stage to a familiar song that I realized I had no idea the name of.  And you probably don’t either.

It was “Sandstorm” by Darude.  You know it.  Everyone knows it. When I looked up the song the top comment on YouTube is “This song would have well over a billion views if people could actually find it”  And it’s true no one knows the name of it. [The video is quite good too.]

Anyhow, the band came out to it, getting everyone pumped, and then the song slowed and wavered as they kicked into the opening chords of “Swallow.”  There’s some great guitar lines on this song and even though there’s some mellow middle parts (on record–live it’s much heavier), the crowd immediately started slam dancing.  Several people who were up front headed for the sides and I moved over a bit to let them get their dancing out. (more…)

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Sydney Sprague (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2023) [POOL KIDS]

Posted in Chase Petra, Philadelphia, PA, Pool Kids, Sweet Pill, Sydney Sprague, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association on July 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2023] Sydney Sprague

I had seen Syndey Sprague open for The Front Bottoms a couple years ago.  She was the first band of  the night and I wound up walking in after the first two songs.

I liked her vibes and overall sound.  But I was surprised/disappointed by her record which was a lot more poppy than her live show (which was kind of grungy and rocking).

For this show, she came out in an oversized shirt(she must have been very hot).

The other two bands were fairly heavy and rocking, and Sydney was almost in that style, but was a little softer, a little quieter.  Just a little.  The biggest difference was in her singing style which was a lot more monotone than t he other two singers.  Not monotone exactly, but nowhere near as expressive as the other singers.

Having said that, her set was a lot of fun and was full of songs from her new (as yet unreleased) album.   The first two (new) songs were catchy and a rocking.  The third, “Steve” slowed things down a bit but retained that catchiness with a big chorus.

“Object Permanence” is a poppy song–super catchy.  (more…)

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Chase Petra (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, July 28, 2023) [POOL KIDS]

Posted in Chase Petra, Philadelphia, PA, Pool Kids, Sweet Pill, Sydney Sprague, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association on July 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2023] Chase Petra

I wasn’t sure if I was going to make the show this evening.  Things were confusing at my house, but got straightened out enough that I wound up leaving almost an hour after I would normally have.

I assumed I’d missed Chase Petra.  It was stupidly hot in The Ukie Club and the band on stage was setting up at roughly 8:40.  I guessed it was Sydney Sprague, but when someone on stage shouted for help with Syndey’s amp, I realized that this was Chase Petra.

And I thought, jeez, I’m glad I didn’t arrive on time if they’re just going on now.

But it turned out there was a secret guest who started the show.  New Jersey’s Sweet Pill, who I could have seen at a Front Bottoms festival, but have now missed twice (and whose album is very good).

A few minutes later, amid loud (and accurate) grumbling about how hot it was, Chase Petra took the stage. (more…)

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Cheekface (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2023)

Posted in Cheekface, Philadelphia, PA, Sad Park, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association on March 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2023] Cheekface

I first heard of Cheekface about a month ago.  I’m not even sure what made me check them out, but as soon as I did, I knew I had to see them live.

Cheekface is America’s local band.  They are a trio comprised of Amanda Tannen on bass guitar, Greg Katz on vocals and guitar
and Mark Echo Edwards on drums.

Musically, they fill a niche that is often overlooked : witty lyrics delivered in a talk-sing way, choruses that are impossible not to sing along to, and razor sharp instrumentals with the bass taking more of a lead role than the guitar on a lot of songs (thanks Get Alternative).

Indeed, the rhythm section is outstanding, with Tannen generating a fantastic bass sound as she plays the interesting melodies and Edwards using all parts of his kit to create interesting sounds.  The songs also have lots of parts–so they jump from quieter to louder, slower to faster and back again.

But all eyes are on Greg Katz (who reminded me of Will Ferrell at his most charming).  He does, indeed deliver his lyrics (which are great) in a kind of speak/sing manner.  But it’s a bit more than a poetry recital to music, because Katz emotes a lot as he delivers lines like “Pledge Drive”‘s (more…)

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Sad Park (The Ukie Club, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 2023) [CHEEKFACE]

Posted in Cheekface, Philadelphia, PA, Sad Park, The Ukie Club, Ukrainian American Citizens' Association on March 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 26, 2023] Sad Park

This was my first show at the Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association (The Ukie).

The show is in the basement bar–it felt like an improved First Unitarian Church (at least I enjoyed the space a lot more than the Church).  There’s free parking nearby.  Sadly there was no Ukrainian merch for sale–although there was plenty of Ukrainian beer!

I was a little sad to find out that Sad Park went on at 8:45 and not 8, as I got there just in time for 8.  I had done a lot of shifting of things all day so my legs were pretty beat.  Fortunately, I found a pole (not a Pole) that I could lean against.

And soon enough, the four guys from Sad Park came out on stage.

Vocalist/guitarist Graham Steele was front and center, bassist Sam Morton was in front of me and drummer Grant Bubar was in the back.  Second guitarist Aidan Memory (possibly not a full member of the band?) was the only one with a brighter light shining on him, which accentuated the bleach in his hair.

Memory was the most fun guy to watch as he jumped around and thrashed his guitar and was generally having a great time.  His guitar playing was pretty great too.

I was also really impressed with Morton’s basslines.  He wasn’t content to ape the guitar or just play the low end–there were plenty of runs that moved up the neck.

Bubar was loud and thrashing–but also handled the time changes with ease.

Steele was great fun to watch.  He emoted as he sang his lyrics of despair (sometimes) and comedy (sometimes).  He also had a great scream/growl that he busted out from time to time.

Their songs were really catchy with a fantastic energy.  But they also knew how to play quietly–usually in aid of setting up for the heavier stuff to come.  There was one moment when a guy up front lit an actual lighter (!) for a quiet moment.

There was another guy in the middle of the crowd who knew the words to every song I hope they saw him).

I thought they were great and I’m passing their name around for a (newish) band for young emo punks to enjoy.

 

2023
I Should ≠
Feel Like Shit ♦
unknown (“Such a good time, such a bad time, such a short time” “Don’t’ wanna leave you without saying thanks”)
Tragically Young ⊗
Nothing Ever
Awake ≠
No Name §
OMW ◊
unknown  (“After it’s all over” ” waiting, watching” “leaning on each other I know we’ll be okay”)
Alone ⊗
In My Head ⊗
End. ⊗

◊ OMW single (2022)
≠ It’s All Over (2021)
⊗ Sleep (2018)
♦ Feel Like Shit single (2018)
§ Sad Park (2016)

 

 

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